Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Sixteenth Sunday after PentecostJames 3:1-12 “Brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers!” It’s a great back-to-school message, isn’t it? James isn’t saying that his readers aren’t qualified to be teachers—he’s saying that for those who teach there is a higher standard, a higher expectation. If … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Fifteenth Sunday after PentecostJoint Worship with Hillsboro United Methodist ChurchJames 2:1–17, Santiago 2:1–17 I cannot hear this text from the Letter of James without thinking of a sermon my wife Melissa and I heard nearly 20 years ago. No puedo escuchar este texto de Santiago sin pensar en … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Tenth Sunday after PentecostJohn 6:24-35 Do you notice how the crowd and Jesus seem to be talking past each other? Jesus never seems to give a direct answer to any of the questions they ask him. The crowd always seems to misunderstand what Jesus is saying. Βut that’s … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Ninth Sunday after PentecostEphesians 3:14-21 The Olympic Games started this week. Of course, it was supposed to be last summer. These are the 2020 Olympics. But COVID disrupted the games, as it has disrupted everything else. Even postponed by a year, there are still serious concerns about the … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Eighth Sunday after PentecostMark 6:30-34, 53-56 Come Away With Me, v.1, 2202Come away with me to a quiet place,apart from the world with its frantic pace,to pray, reflect, and seek God’s grace.Come away with me. Come away. Jesus and the disciples have been very busy. You might remember … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Seventh Sunday after PentecostEphesians 1:3-14 There is something that jumped out at me from one of the readings assigned for today. In fact, it’s really just one word that jumped out at me: adoption. The Greek word is υἱοθεσίαν. It literally translates as “to make into a son.” … [Read more…]
Due to extreme weather conditions expected this Sunday (the current forecast is 111º) all in-person activities at the church are cancelled. Early Church will meet via Zoom. For worship, please enjoy the Ordination and Commissioning Service from the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference on Saturday. You can find the bulletin here and the video here. A quick reminder: Food collection is … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Third Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 6B1 Samuel 15:34-16:13; 2 Corinthians 5:6-17 The great prophet Samuel is nearing the end of his career. The boy who spent his children in the tabernacle, sleeping each night next to the Ark of the Covenant, has grown up and come nearly to … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King PentecostActs 2:1-21 Pentecost. It’s one of the major religious festivals in Jerusalem, celebrating the first fruits of the grain harvest. The population of the city explodes as Jews from all over the known world, and even some Gentiles, flock to the holy city for the festivities. For many of … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King Ascension SundayActs 1:1-11, Luke 24:44-53 Jesus is gone. After his death, they had thought he was gone forever. But then he appeared to them, alive and well. And he kept on appearing to them for forty days. And they were hoping that he was really going to reveal his … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King, OSL The Sixth Sunday of Easter, Mother’s DayJohn 15:9-17, 1 John 5:1-6 This is the last of a three-part series of readings we’ve been following in the Gospel of John. In the first, we heard about Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Last week we explored the idea of Jesus as … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King, OSL The Fifth Sunday of EasterJohn 15:1-8 I’ve never been much of a gardener. It’s a bit of a shame to my mother. In the house where I grew up the first twelve years of my life, on five acres up in the hills outside of Banks, my parents … [Read more…]
Rev. Wendy Woodworth The Fourth Sunday of EasterJohn 10:7-18
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Third Sunday of EasterLuke 24:36b-48 The early church had a problem. They had a dead Messiah. The Messiah, the Anointed One of God, the Savior of the world, was not supposed to die. Other Messiahs had come along from time to time. They would raise the people up … [Read more…]
Shared worship with United Methodists from across Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King Easter SundayMark 16:1-8 We have four different official accounts of the Easter story, one in each of the four gospels: Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John. The version you’ve heard the most often is from John. It’s actually the last of the four. My favorite, though, is the earliest one, … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Fifth Sunday in LentJeremiah 31:31-34 I will make a new covenant with you, says the Lord. Not like the old covenant—a covenant which you broke. I will put my law in you, write it on your hearts; I will be your God, and you will be my people. … [Read more…]
Rev. Dr. David D. M. King The Fourth Sunday in LentNumbers 21:4-9; John 3:14-21 We just heard, from the Gospel of John, probably the most well-known passage in the New Testament. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may … [Read more…]