Vancouver First United Methodist ChurchVancouver First United Methodist Church
We celebrate not only Jesus’ resurrection but the living hope of all Creation. This is an opportunity to explore how our way of life is consistent with God’s invitation to us to live as part of Creation. Together, let’s celebrate the health and well-being of the elements that sustain our lives and those of God’s beloved.
In-Person and Online via YouTube
We Walk in the Light
Text: Psalm 133, Acts 4:32-35, 1 John 1:1-2:2, John 20:19-31
1 John 1:1-2 1:1 We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life–this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us.
We Purify in Hope (What We Shall Be…)
1 John 3:2 Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.
Luke 24:36b While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
What we shall be has yet to be revealed . . . In the letter the writer makes a witness that the church, the people of faith yearn for this perfect love, that we might be like Jesus, without sin and righteous. United Methodists have had a wide variety of views on what sin is for a long time. Wesley’s Methodist in England struggled with sin and righteousness in regards to social behavior such as the drinking of hard liquor. Methodists in the newly forming United States struggled with social class and standing especially in regards to race and slavery. United Methodists since our formation in 1968 have been struggling with human sexuality. What we shall be has yet to be revealed, but we know when he appears, we shall be like him.
We Abide in Christ (Let us Love in Truth & Action)
1 John 3:18 Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.
John 10:14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me.
Let us love in Truth and Action . . . The church carries a burden of our own making, for the church has caused harm. Throughout western history the church misled by humans has caused harm. In efforts to protect the institution, some were cast aside. To create unity heretics were executed. In order to support troops, peacemakers have been vilified. Lord hear our prayer. The good shepherd continues to call the church beyond our human barriers. The good shepherd continues to call us to love in truth and action.
We Bear Fruit
John 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.
We are called to give glory to the Vine by being branches that bear fruit
We Love One Another
Acts10:45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.
John 15:12 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
We are called to Love One Another. How will that love guide us as we serve Jesus Christ in our Local and Global Community?
We Share Christ
1 John 5:11 And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
Jesus Prays for his disciples and pours out his heart for the disciples, he prays they would be sanctified in truth, the truth of God revealed through Jesus. This truth is eternal, it lives on as we are called to live eternally in the kingdom of God.
These Bones Will Live
Acts 2:4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
Ezekiel 37:3 He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.”
Holy Spirit! Can these bones live? In the midst of war, can these bones live? With a climate in crisis, can these bones live? With growing economic division, can these bones live? With declining participation in churches, will these bones live? YES! “Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Pastor David Nieda
Text: Isaiah 6:1-8, Psalm 29, Romans 8:12-17, John 3:1-17
