Trying to determine who is “in” and who is “out” has been a question haunting the church for centuries. Peter in our New Testament Lesson found himself crossing the line of in and out in a dramatic fashion, and this story in Acts tells us how all of us Gentiles came to be included in the Christ followers. After Peter baptized these Gentiles who ...…

This passage from the book of Acts is a favorite for many preachers. You may have heard reflections on this passage before. They usually go something like this…the Ethiopian eunuch was an outsider – he was different, foreign, and sexually taboo. Philip came along and was progressive enough to see him as a child of God, taught him the Scriptures ...…

Around the 2012 presidential election, you could take a quiz online to find out if your Jesus was more of a “red state Jesus” or a “blue state Jesus.” For the makers of the quiz, a red state Jesus was one that emphasized Jesus saving believers (John 3:16), but the blue state Jesus called people to reach out to “the least of these” (Matthew 25:4 ...…

April 15th Sermon “Hands and Feet” by Rev. Victoria Robb Powers (Click sermon title to watch video.) Luke 24:36b-48 Jesus presents himself to his doubting and fearful disciples in Luke 24 with the curious statement that they should look at his hands and feet for assurance of his identity. For us, we may also be curious to know if we could recog ...…

Victoria, several other staff members that are familiar to us in Cox Chapel, and a group of HPUMC members returned last week from the Holy Land. Honestly, there were some moments of disappointment because, after all, the Holy Spirit is no closer in Israel than in your car as you commute to work through traffic each day. However, there were some ...…

The season of Lent has its ancient roots in questions of preparation for baptism. Our Gospel lesson this week shows Jesus being baptized for repentance – a turning away from something toward the Reign of God. It may seem like an odd way to treat the Son of God, but Jesus was immediately thrown into the wilderness by the Spirit of God. This barr ...…