Tapestry
March 30, 2025
Sermon
Our 9:00 am Traditional Service:
Our 10:30 am Contemporary Service:
March 23, 2025
Sermon
Our 9:00 am Traditional Service:
Our 10:30 am Contemporary Service:
March 16, 2025
Sermon
Our 9:00 am Traditional Service:
Our 10:30 am Contemporary Service:
March 9, 2025
It is the Blood that Makes Atonement.
Our 9:00 am Traditional Service: https://www.facebook.com/BRBUMC/videos/9327423843971474
Our 10:30 am Contemporary Service: NOT AVAILABLE
I’m glad Lent is here.
God is a very understanding God. He knows His creation very well, He knows you…like the
palm of His hand, because He formed you… in the palm of His hand. So God knows how easily
His little children are distracted, and that is why He gave them feast days, or days of holy
observation. These days serve as a tether…or maybe a winch, to draw back to God, and to
remind us of who we are, and who we belong to. I am glad Lent is finally here. I am excited to
see what God is going to do in my life…I am expecting Him to do something wonderful!
To be completely honest, I am feeling a bit weary. I know that I am not alone in this. We have
many of our church family going through some “marrow” level trials, the kind that pierce your
heart and soul. They need our love and support, and they need for us to stand in the gap, and
pray for them. Often when we go through a time of trial, we feel utterly alone, and the truth is
we do have to face those trials alone, because they are our trials, no one can face it for you, but
the love, the encouraging words of hope, and the promise of prayers, that we receive from a
brother or a sister, can make all the difference, we may have to face the trial alone, but we are
never really alone, because we have family who prays for our hurts, and asks for our strength,
and we have a God, who although we may not feel His presence at times, He is there, because
He promised that nothing could ever separate us from His love, and we can go to Him and pour
out our hearts, and lay our burdens before Him, and He will hear.
Along with the many needs in our church family, there are family members around the world
who are suffering. Many for the sake of claiming Christ. On February 13, In the democratic
Republic of Congo, Isis Militants rounded up 70 Christians, and beheaded them. These were
our brothers and sisters, and we should grieve their deaths. The church in Ukraine, is also
under persecution, there have been arrests of clergy, and raids on churches. We in America, do
not really understand persecution, but our brothers and sisters across the globe live with it on a
daily basis. This should move us to prayer, because we all know that this will only get worse,
because we have read Revelation, and God has not been wrong yet. My heart is burdened for
people that I have never met, but I know that my prayers bring them comfort.
There is a lot going on, in our daily personal lives, and there is a lot going on around the world,
and that is why I am looking forward to this Lent season. My intention is to withdraw from the
distractions, and hide under my Father’s wing. I am asking for a time of renewal, refreshing,
and strength…and some extra energy, because there is a lot of work to be done. I am asking
that God would continue the work that He began in my heart all those many years ago, and that
I would be willing, able, and available for all the good works that He has for me, and that by the
end of the Lenten season, I would find myself knowing God better, and loving Him more! And I
will be praying that for all of you, as well ! Praying that God will do wonderful things in each of
us! – Ginny Axelrod
March 2, 2025
Miracles
Our 9:00 am Traditional Service: https://www.facebook.com/BRBUMC/videos/652312160549165
Our 10:30 am Contemporary Service: https://www.facebook.com/BRBUMC/videos/1179924503801578
The Creator of the universe wants to spend time with you! Isn’t that a lovely thought? When I think about God, The Creator, The Sustainer, The Perfect, and think that He wants to spend time with me, I have to wonder why? God knows me. He knows my thoughts; He knows me inside and out, and yet, He still wants to spend time with me. It is hard to believe, at times, especially on a bad day, but even on my worst day, when I don’t even want to spend time with me…my Heavenly Father loves to hang out with me, so much that He died so that He could.
Prayer is just visiting with God. We have the honor, and the privilege, and even the right to “pop in”, and visit with our Father any time we like. Isn’t that a nice thought? Any time you are sad, or lonely, or depressed, or scared, or worried, you can run to your Daddy. He is always available, and there is no request that is ignored…He is always listening. You may not have received an answer yet, but that does not mean that He hasn’t heard. God has knowledge of the past and of the future, so He knows what is going to serve you best…it is always about what is best for His children.
In the book of Jonah, God wanted the citizens of Nineveh to receive grace, and He had chosen the reluctant prophet, Jonah, to deliver the warning. Jonah was not thrilled with this mission trip, so he turned his back on the call. God will not force a person to accomplish His will, but He certainly made Jonah’s mutiny uncomfortable and allowed him to wallow in that discomfort until he was ready to obey. My point is that God wanted a message delivered, so that the souls of Nineveh would be spared, but He needed for His servant to come around to HIs way of thinking.
You may be praying for something good, and maybe you have been waiting a long time, but there are many pieces to that “puzzle”, that you are not aware of…maybe there is a stubborn piece to the puzzle, like our reluctant prophet Jonah, that God is patiently waiting for, until they willingly submit to His plan, and the answer to your request. Keep praying!
I would not want to get out of bed in the morning, if I were not confident that God was on His throne, and despite all the craziness going on in the world, God is in control, and He has a plan, and you are part of that plan.
Could God have saved Nineveh, without Jonah? Yes, absolutely, but God had chosen Jonah to be the means of His grace, and likewise God has chosen to accomplish His will, through the prayers of His people. Your prayers are important, and the joy that you will feel, when you see your prayer fulfilled…not because you “got what you wanted”, but because the God who is enthroned above it all, bent His ear to listen to you, and He cared. He is a good Father! – Ginny Axelrod
February 23, 2025
We are all Lepers.
Our 9:00 am Traditional Service: https://www.facebook.com/BRBUMC/videos/644081398007445
Our 10:30 am Contemporary Service: SERMON UNAVAILABLE
DEVOTION NOT AVAILABLE
February 16, 2025
Sermons Unavailable
Our 9:00 am Traditional Service: SERMON UNAVAILABLE
Our 10:30 am Contemporary Service: SERMON UNAVAILABLE
What is the truth?
For about the last 20 years or so, there has been a trend in church culture, where a group of Christians gather together and discuss what a passage in scripture means to them. This is all well and good, discussion is a good thing, but here’s the problem; often, these discussions are based off of feelings, opinions, or the desire to justify sin within their own lives, and because of this they can miss the true message in the text. I guess at this point it is no longer considered a trend, and rather just the state of the church in America.
When we read scripture, we tend to ask the questions; How do I fit into this story, or what does this story mean to me? But the more important question to ask is, “What does it mean to God?” After all, it is His story, and He is the author of it. Each word has a meaning, and those words were grouped together to form sentences which convey the thoughts and ideas of the Creator to you. Now I don’t mean this to be rude, but I don’t really care what you think it means or what you would like it to mean, I want to know what God meant, because that is really all that matters, and that understanding has the ability to change the heart of a man.
The Bible is an ancient document, and as we scour its pages, we must take that into consideration. Does it have a message for us today in this modern world? Yes, yes it does, but we will not have a clear understanding of that message unless we first understand what it meant to its original audience.
When we study the Bible, we need to consider the language used, the cultural norms of the time, the literary style being employed, and “kingdom and tribal politics”, or how the various people groups related to one another. There is a story being told, and there are lessons to be learned, but if we don’t understand the words that are used, or the culture of that day, we could miss the important truths that are being revealed. We do not want to miss that!
There are many religions that hold to the position that Jesus was a sage, a prophet, a good man, but that Jesus never actually claimed to be God. Jesus being part of the Trinity is a foundational truth embraced by all religions with orthodox values, and it is one of the foundational truths on which our faith stands. Jesus, God himself, died for man’s sins. It was necessary for God to do this, because only a perfect man could pay the price for sin, and the only one born without sin was God Himself, in the person of Jesus Christ. When Jesus said, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was, I Am”, He was giving His name, just as, when Moses asked of God, who shall I say sent me, or what’s your name, and God responded with, “I Am”. Jesus was claiming the same title as God.
Our modern-day false religions may not understand what Jesus was getting at, but the pharisees of His day certainly did, and that is why they wanted Him dead. Every person within earshot would have known exactly what scripture Jesus was referring to, and they knew exactly what He was claiming, because they had context, and they understood what the Old Testament said, so they understood that Jesus was claiming to be equal to God. Understanding this today, is just as important as it was back then. And that is why understanding God’s Word, and what it is saying is so important. There are people who will present their version of the truth with absolute confidence, and with the best intentions, but in the end those good intentions will lead many to a death without God. That is heartbreaking.
The Bible is the most important document ever to be penned, each word, each sentence, is God revealing who He is, to us. It was written with love, and paid for with blood, people have sacrificed their lives to ensure that it would be carried to the ends of the earth. It has the power to save, and the wisdom for how to live, and that can change the world…One soul at a time! – Ginny Axelrod
February 9, 2025
Sermons Unavailable
Our 9:00 am Traditional Service: NOT AVAILABLE
Our 10:30 am Contemporary Service: NOT AVAILABLE
2025…So what do you think of it so far? I feel like we have all lived a year’s worth of News in this first 36 days; actually, I felt that way by January 3rd! There is an awful lot going on in our little world, isn’t there? There is also a lot going on in our little church. We all have “things” going on. We are all dealing with our own little…or big, trials.
As Christians we are told that there will be trials, so we shouldn’t be surprised, and yet we often are. James tells us to:
“Consider pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance” James 1:2-3 Notice that it is not “if” you face trials, no, it is “whenever.” We will face trials, and those trials may break our hearts, they may make us angry, they may even make us angry at God, but they will serve a purpose, they will produce perseverance, and we need that to “finish our race.” Each time we face a trial 1 Peter tells us
“3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:3-7
In the passage above, I love that Peter gives us the good news first! He starts out by lifting up a little praise, because it is hope for a weary soul! If you read verse 3, Peter praises God for His great mercy. What is that great mercy? He has caused us…you, to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of His Son. What is that living hope? We have an inheritance that is imperishable (there is no expiration date), undefiled (it is pure), and it is unfading, and it is being guarded, protected, “Kept in heaven for you” …for you! Peter goes on to say in verse 5, “who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time”. Who is being guarded through faith? That would be you, and me too! Peter tells us to rejoice in that, remember that, hold on to that, because he knows that here on planet earth, the home of the original sin, we will be “grieved by various trials”. But…. There are some important, encouraging things to be learned in this short passage, especially if you are being grieved by your own variety of various trials;
First: You may be in a time of pain and suffering, but God has not forgotten you; He is guarding your inheritance in heaven, and He is guarding you here on earth, through the faith He has imparted to you. God will keep you in this storm, you will hold fast to Him, because He is holding you together, you will not be lost! You may feel that He is far, far away in this time, but He is right there, causing every breath, every heartbeat, saving every tear, feeling all your pain.
Second: In verse 6, Peter tells us that this trial is only “for a little while”, this should give us hope in the midst of the storm, our suffering is not forever, there will be an end. Just hold tight to God, as the waves come, the Word of God will be your lifeboat.
Third: Notice, also in verse 6, it says “if necessary”. There would be no trials if they were not absolutely essential to our growth. Consider this; God is a good Father, and He loves you so much that He allowed His Son to go through unimaginable pain and suffering, so that you could be His child, that is how important you are to Him, so with that in mind, do you think He would make you face the storm if it wasn’t essential? The storm is horrible, but He is not making you walk alone; He is right there with you, lean into Him, and you will find comfort.
Life is, for most of us, that we are either in the midst of a trial, or we are just coming out of one, or we are heading into one, they vary in severity, and intensity, but they all serve a purpose, and Peter sheds light on that. Verse 7, “so that the tested genuineness of your faith…may be found to result in praise and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ”. This essentially is telling us that once we arrive on the other side of suffering, we will praise and glorify God, because we will see that the faith which He has given us has held sure against the storm, and we will remember that for the next storm, and we will be able to praise His name through that storm, and we will be able to offer hope to a world that is suffering in an ocean of sin and pain, we just need to “cast the net” and share that hope. – Ginny Axelrod
February 2, 2025
The Mesiah Spoke in Parables.
Our 9:00 am Traditional Service: https://www.facebook.com/BRBUMC/videos/1132131318457911
Our 10:30 am Contemporary Service: https://www.facebook.com/BRBUMC/videos/1132131318457911
I’ve said it before, in this little corner of my life, that God hates sin. God takes sin very personally, after all, sin directly opposes, and seeks to obscure, God’s nature. Think of it like this; an artist, not just any artist, but the greatest artist of all time, with great care, and thoughtful creativity, paints a masterpiece, and it is perfect; the colors, the shading, the perspective…everything is perfect, and then some crazed, irrational, lunatic, approaches the painting, and takes a black crayon, and violently slashes through that breathtaking work of art, with that black crayon. The beautiful painting is ruined, and that is what sin has done to God’s creation.
God created a perfect world. I know that you will agree with me that even with the mar of sin, we can still see the beauty of this planet…imagine what it would have been like before the bite was taken. We witness the evidence of the intelligence of the Creator when we look at the human body…when the human body behaves as it should, it is a brilliant design, designed to grow, learn, and heal itself. God has quite a colorful imagination. You know He could have just made a “fish”, and lots of the same design, but no, God made somewhere between 25,000 to 35,000 species of fish…Why? So, we wouldn’t get bored? No, I think God just had fun creating the various varieties with His artistic flourish. And within that creative genius, He has a whimsical sense of humor. Consider the platypus, or better yet, the axolotl. If you don’t know what that is, run to google! An axolotl is an aquatic salamander, and it resembles a cartoon drawing. They smile and have little hands, and they are adorable! Oh, but they can also be a little cannibalistic, and I’m pretty sure that would be the result of sin. Because sin affected everything. This is why God hates sin.
Before sin entered the world, everything was perfect, axolotls did NOT eat each other! There was no jealousy, there was no strife, there was no war, there was no sickness or disease, and there was no death, but most importantly, before sin made its destructive entrance into the world, there was perfect communion between man and God.
Sin creates a division between man and God, and sin ultimately leads to death. God hates sin, not because He is a grumpy old man, who takes pleasure in denying His creatures a “little fun”, but rather because He is a loving benevolent Creator, who wants to protect His creation from the anguish that sin always causes. I challenge you to name one sin that is good for you. Sin destroys the body, sin causes division, sin tears families apart, sin breaks down society, sin has caused a destructive imbalance to our ecosystem. What we think of as “just a little fun”, is the very thing that wreaks havoc in our lives. God hates sin, because it hurts YOU. God hates sin because it keeps you from His presence, and He knows that we experience the “fullness of joy” in His presence. God always, always, always wants what is best for us.
We talked about shame last week. Internal shame is the result of sin (sometimes shame is thrust upon us by someone else’s sin), and shame is a barrier that keeps us from pursuing God, and sin is quick to offer a substitute for God….sin is quick to offer up something that will distract us momentarily from that shame, but the result of the sin….more shame, and thus a cycle begins….sin, shame, sin to distract from shame, more shame…more sin.
Are you ashamed of the things that you have done? Well, you are not alone in that “club”, but sin causes isolation, because we try to hide that sin. You may be able to hide that sin from your friends and family, but you will never be able to hide that sin from God. It is laid out before Him, and He witnesses it all, but guess what? God is not shocked. In fact, that is exactly what He expects from an unregenerate person. God has offered a remedy for your sin, and it is available to all mankind. You see, sin seeks to obfuscate the truth about God, and part of that truth is that He is truth (John 14:6), and in His High Priestly Prayer, Jesus prayed that His followers would be sanctified in the truth, and He followed with, “your word is truth”.
“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” John 17:17-18
From the beginning, Satan sought to muddy the waters of truth, The truth of His greatness, the truth of His grace and mercy, and the truth of His love, but the truth is out there, available on every page of the Bible, and on those pages you will learn about a loving Father, who sent His equally loving Son, to ransom you from sin’s grasp (you may still sin, but sin won’t “have” you), and you will learn that true joy and contentedness is found in God, and you will also learn about the Holy Spirit who will now and forever help you to navigate around those “thirst traps” of sin.
We all sin, and we all deal with the mess that it creates in our lives, but God is good, and He is not waiting for you to “clean up your act”, He is just waiting for you to come…just as you are! He will welcome you with open arms, and a heart full of love! – Ginny Axelrod
January 26, 2025
Tapestry . . . Oops Part 2
Our 9:00 am Traditional Service: https://www.facebook.com/BRBUMC/videos/2923208064528235
Our 10:30 am Contemporary Service: https://www.facebook.com/BRBUMC/videos/610251278429375
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”, and although I cannot tell you everything that was in the heavens, or on the earth, what I can tell you, is what there was not. When God created the heavens, the earth, the living creatures, and man, there was no sin, was no shame, and there was no guilt. Can you imagine a world without the hefty weight of guilt and shame?
I think that many non-Christians think of the God of the Bible as an uptight, narrow-minded, prude, who spends His time casting down shame and guilt lightning bolts from heaven, while clutching His pearls. But God is not the author of shame. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve roamed around without a stitch of clothing. When God created Adam, he was naked, and after God created him, God said that it was very good. God did not think that there was anything shameful about their naked bodies, nor did He feel the need to cover them up. Adam and Eve felt no shame, because they had never sinned, and without sin…there is no shame.
When Eve was seduced by the serpent’s lies, sin was ushered into the perfect world, and the two humans felt the effect immediately; they felt shame. You see humans were created in God’s image, and that means we share in His ability to create, we also have emotion just as He does, we have the power of reason, intellect, and will, but we also know what is right in the eyes of the Lord, because His Law is written on the hearts of men (Romans 2:15). Eve knew the “rules” of the Garden, after all there was only one; Don’t eat from the tree, but she decided to take a nibble anyway, and then shared it with her husband, and in that instance their innocence was gone, and they stood there feeling exposed, and ashamed, and so they scurried off to “make themselves presentable”. My point is that God saw no shame in who they were; it was Adam and Eve who sought to cover themselves, but it was God who covered their shame with the first blood sacrifice, and that is a wonderful foreshadow of the ultimate everlasting sacrifice that He would make by dying for our sins, and covering our sins with His blood.
For the Christian, all of our sin has been forgiven, all our debt is paid. Remember that piece of penny candy you stole when you were 7? Well, God doesn’t. He has forgiven you, that sin is gone, and if there is no sin, then you have no shame! But along with that, if you are a Christian, and you do sin, you are going to feel that same emotion that Adam and Eve felt…shame, and in that case, that shame is a reminder that you have done something against God’s nature, and it should signal us to run to the Father. Shame should never stand between you and your Father, because He is always waiting for His children to remember who they are, and who they belong to. There is absolutely nothing that you can do that would ever cause God to revoke His love for you. He paid a one-time price, but it’s the gift that keeps giving…every time we sin. But when we really consider the cost of our salvation, it causes us to consider the weightiness of sin, and every sin that we committed, or commit, equaled a portion of God’s wrath poured out on His sinless Son. God knew the perfect amount of wrath to cover the sins of all those who would come to Him, but if I willfully decide to sin, I have willfully added to that wrath, and that thought makes me want to run as far as I can from sin. The bonus…less sin, less shame! And this is a side note. God hates sin. He doesn’t hate it because He is a stodgy old thing who hates fun. No, God hates sin because it harms His people. Have you ever known of a sin that benefits a person’s life? Have you ever heard of a sin that makes a person healthier, whether spiritually, emotionally, or physically? I haven’t. Sin destroys and ultimately leads to death. God has always sought to protect His children from the ramifications of sin.
God is good! He is so loving that He crafted a perfect world free of guilt and shame for man to rule over, and knowing exactly what would happen in the Garden, He provided a Savior, who would ransom humanity from their prison of guilt and shame, and restore them to right standing before their heavenly Father, not separated by sin, not weighted down by guilt, and not hiding in shame, but standing before Him as an heir, as His beloved…just like in the Garden. – Ginny Axelrod
January 19, 2025
Tapestry . . . Oops!
Our 9:00 am Traditional Service: https://www.facebook.com/BRBUMC/videos/1752221232226414
Our 10:30 am Contemporary Service: https://www.facebook.com/BRBUMC/videos/921621616826494
INCARNATION
That is what Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter – all of the “Jesus seasons”, are all about…INCARNATION. So, what is it? What is incarnation, and why should we care?
Incarnation is the idea that God became a human being, took on flesh and blood and lived in our midst. In Jesus Christ, God became fully human and lived among us.
How did this happen? For starters, God gave us His “Law” – found in the first five books of the Old Testament which include such wondrous teachings as the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5). But humanity, people, you and I needed more. We didn’t seem to get it, although God gave us plenty of opportunity to try.
So, God sent prophets…quite a number of them, to interpret His Law…to show us what it means to live a godly life. And if the teachings of one prophet didn’t work, God would send another and then another. There was Amos, then Hosea, then Isaih – actually in the Book of Isaiah can be found at least three different prophets. Jeremiah must be listed, and this page could be filled with many more.
We didn’t listen to them very well either. In fact, some were run out of town; some were jailed; some were even put to death.
Mixed in with all the prophets, there was a history itself. Kings were raised up – people like David, Josiah, and Hezekiah. But most of the kings were pretty rotten, even causing the split of Israel into two nations, north and south, occasionally even fighting each other.
And of course, Israel and Judiah were in the midst of huge empires that continually harassed them. First, there was Egypt who originally held them in bondage. Then, there was Assyria who conquered the northern kingdom of Israel, gobbling up the ten northern tribes. Later on, the Babylonians conquered Judiah taking the important people into exile for 70 years. Persia’s defeat of the Babylonians made it possible for the exiles to begin returning home (although many had become acclimated to Babylon and remained there). And of course, the little country would have to deal with Alexander and the Greeks, and later the Romans.
Finally, God looked at the mess that humanity had made, and no doubt said to Himself, “I’m going to have to down Myself.” Hence, TA DAH! INCARNATION.
God came in Jesus becoming a human being, living the life of a human being. He was born as a wee baby. He faced a life similar to the life we live. He was raised in a family with brothers and sisters…INCARNATION. He remained as a part of that family until he was about thirty – perhaps as head of the family after Joseph apparently died. Then at 30, he began his ministry, teaching the word of God to all who would receive it. And many would not receive it; hence he gave his life on a cross
Of course, we know that the story doesn’t end there, does it?
But why all of this? And why INCARNATION?
John’s gospel make it clear; God loved the world so much…despite our misconceptions, despite our sins, despite our likelihood to turn our back on Him…Lod love you and me so much…so much…so much…that he walked this earth in the flesh of His Son (INCARNATION), living for us, teaching us, reaching out to us, even giving His life for us. And even that is not the end of the story.
The story begins all over again with Jesus’ Resurrection and continues to our day and beyond. Praise God! – Paul O. Bond
January 12, 2025
Peace on Earth
Our 9:00 am Traditional Service: https://www.facebook.com/BRBUMC/videos/1191630725925698
Our 10:30 am Contemporary Service: https://www.facebook.com/BRBUMC/videos/822093320078626
Not Available
January 5, 2025
No Services Due to Inclement Weather
Not Available
December 29, 2024
One Service Followed by Potluck Luncheon
Tapestry
Our 10:30 am Contemporary Service:
Not Available
December 24, 2024
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve Service: https://www.facebook.com/BRBUMC/videos/1095862898532196
Our 10:30 am Contemporary Service: https://www.facebook.com/BRBUMC/videos/1277556070030062
December 22, 2024
Christmas Traveling.
Our 9:00 am Traditional Service: https://www.facebook.com/BRBUMC/videos/1281974129781050
Our 10:30 am Contemporary Service: https://www.facebook.com/BRBUMC/videos/1277556070030062
December 15, 2024
Two things can be true at the same time.
Our 9:00 am Traditional Service: https://www.facebook.com/BRBUMC/videos/2034550616970040
Our 10:30 am Contemporary Service: https://www.facebook.com/BRBUMC/videos/1732289157503931
December 8, 2024
Blood is thicker than water, or is it?
Our 9:00 am Traditional Service: https://www.facebook.com/BRBUMC/videos/955909946395352
Our 10:30 am Contemporary Service: https://www.facebook.com/BRBUMC/videos/599741742432287
December 1, 2024
Tapestry: This
Our 9:00 am Traditional Service: https://www.facebook.com/BRBUMC/videos/562731143137930
Our 10:30 am Contemporary Service: https://www.facebook.com/BRBUMC/videos/950740930439763
HOPE
When God created the world, He said that it was good! When He created man, He said that it was very good! But then…. sin entered the world. Sin has permeated everything in this beautiful world that God created. Everything in this world has been affected by sin. Even the things that we count as beautiful have been tainted by sin. Think about it, the rain, once pure and drinkable is now contaminated. The rivers at one time provided fresh water for weary travelers, but nowadays, leery travelers will risk a sip only with a filtration straw. The soil we grow our crops in are depleted of its minerals, and if the soil has less mineral content, then guess what, so does your food. There is a lot more I could point out, but I think you get the picture. The world has been affected by sin.
Mankind has also been affected by sin. Right and wrong no longer exist, but rather “what is right for you may not be right for me.”. Love, kindness, compassion, and empathy, seem to be wanting in our world. Not too long ago, and you may remember this from the News, a mother left her baby in a pack and play, with a bottle full of formulas, and went off on a vacation. When she returned, she found her baby was no longer alive. I mention this because in my opinion it reveals the depths of sin in our culture. When a mother is able to leave her baby uncared for…to suffer a horrible death all alone, her cries for comfort unanswered, it shows how far we have strayed. I use this example, because the most natural thing in the world is for a mother to love her child. In Romans 1:26, Paul tells us how much sin has affected mankind, and within his list, he tells us “that even women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.”, and while this could be referring to sexual sin, every time I read a news report of child abuse, or child exploitation, this is the scripture that comes to mind, and it breaks my heart. But I think it is just an example of how sin has corrupted what is good, and natural. If it were not for the Gospel there would be no hope!
When sin entered the world, God was not surprised. He, the Triune God, had already made a plan. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, agreed that the Son would come and save the day! God didn’t keep this a secret, He shared this plan with His prophets so they would have HOPE. Those prophets recorded these promises, and those promises were fulfilled in the birth of Jesus, and this was a sign that HOPE had arrived! (If you are curious to read a few; Isaiah 7:14, Micah 5:2, Jeremiah 23:5-6.)
God, from the beginning, has promised to make things right, and to undo the effects of sin, and what happened on Christmas, all those years ago, was the beginning of that process. Jesus was born in that manger, but that is just the beginning, He would go on to live a life that began a revolution. He would heal, He would feed, and He would teach, and through those teachings mankind would learn that God places value in life, and that every person born is precious to Him. That is why Jesus willingly gave His life, so that they could be saved, but not just saved from the consequences of their own sin, but also freedom from the influence of sin that would cause them to victimize others. Jesus humanized…. humans. He taught those who “heard” to love others and showed them what that looked like. And if we listen today, we hear that same message. And that is why I have hope for a better world, because for each person who hears the Gospel, and receives that message, their lives are changed, and the way they treat others also changes…and that changes the world! We hold on to that hope, even in the darkest days, because we know that God’s promises hold true! – Ginny Axelrod