If We Died with Christ

The Third Sunday after Pentecost Two weeks ago, United Methodists from Oregon and Idaho gathered in Meridian for an Annual Conference. I always think the highlight of Annual Conference is the commissioning and ordination worship service. There’s nothing quite like it in non-Methodist traditions. Prospective clergypersons are first reviewed by their home congregations, then by … [Read more…]

Nations Will Come to Your Light

Rev. Dr. David D. M. King, OSLEpiphany of the Lord Isaiah 60:1–6, Matthew 2:1–12 Today we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany. So what does that mean? As with so many things in the church, it comes from Greek. Epiphany means to appear, or to appear in the flesh. It was a word often used … [Read more…]

Will He Find Faith on Earth

Sunday 16 October 2022The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecostby Rev. Dr. David Dean Mimier King Luke 18:1-8 Jesus has a problem. His disciples are losing heart with their prayers. They are getting tired of praying over and over for things that God is just not providing. They are tired of praying for the liberation of the … [Read more…]

The Abundance of Possessions

Rev. Dr. David D. M. King, OSL The Eighth Sunday after PentecostLuke 12:13-21 Today we have to tackle the single most difficult topic in the Bible. It’s more difficult than politics, more difficult than all of the details of religious doctrine, more difficult than sex. And surprisingly, though this topic is very difficult to talk … [Read more…]

Teach Us to Pray

Rev. Dr. David D. M. King, OSLLuke 11:1-13 Jesus’s disciples ask him, “Teach us to pray. And Jesus responds to them with words that sound somewhat familiar, and also a little off. I’m going to read it again from Luke, but from a translation that is a little closer to the version we use each … [Read more…]

Whenever You Enter a Town

The Fourth Sunday after PentecostRev. Dr. David D. M. King, OSL Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 We find ourselves at the beginning of Jesus’s journey to Jerusalem. Toward the end of chapter 9, Luke tells us, “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” For the … [Read more…]

Beside Him Like a Master Builder

Sunday 12 June 2022Trinity Sunday, Peace With Justice Sunday Rev. Dr. David D. M. King, OSL Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 Today is the day in the church year that we call Trinity Sunday. It’s the day we celebrate the one God that we know in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—the Creator, … [Read more…]

How Can Each of Us Hear?

Sunday 5 June 2022Pentecost Sunday Rev. Dr. David D. M. King, OSL Acts 2:1-21 Today is the festival of Pentecost. It is named Pentecost because it happens on the fiftieth and final day of the Season of Easter. It was already a festival in the Jewish Calendar, occurring 50 days after the Passover. In the … [Read more…]

Being Convinced That God Had Called Us

Rev. Dr. David D. M. King, OSL Sunday 22 May 2022The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost Acts 16:6-15 It has been a hard time for Paul. Things had been going fairly well in his mission to the Gentiles. But then other missionaries started showing up, interfering with his methods, and telling him that he should stop. … [Read more…]

Banquet of the Unclean

Rev. Dr. David D. M. King, OSL Sunday 15 May 2022The Fifth Sunday of Easter Acts 11:1-18 We as the church have a problem. On the one hand, we know that as Christians we have certain standards to maintain. There are certain boundaries that we are supposed to uphold. There is a limit to what … [Read more…]