Grace for All

Thank you for joining us for today's Grace for All podcast.

On Saturdays, we pause for a few moments to look back on our week and to review the scriptures that we have used in our podcast.

We encourage you, after listening to this episode, to go back and listen to the episodes you missed, or to review the ones that were particularly meaningful for you. We trust that the thoughts that we have shared with you this week have provided a full portion of the joy, peace, and love of Jesus Christ.

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1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)

A friend recently told me of her cancer diagnosis and the news that the cancer that had started in her lungs may have metastasized, spreading to other organs. Her treatment is beginning soon. As I write this sad news, I am heartbroken for her and her family. 

When she told me the news, I cried with her and prayed with her. Her heart is breaking, and she feels afraid, but thankfully not...

Psalm 118:24 

How do you begin your day? Do you first spend a few minutes intentionally praying about things or do you just pop out of bed ready to start your day? I have to admit that for many years that second way was my usual routine. I would wake up and immediately my to do list filled my mind. It felt like I was behind before I even started my day, So, I would jump out of bed...

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

All human beings have difficulties in their life, times of great happiness and joy, and times of sorrow and darkness. The command in this passage is not too hard to obey when things are going well: rejoicing when we are feeling happy and optimistic; praying when meditating or worshipping; giving thanks when we have been abundantly blessed. The challenge to obey comes in the challenging times, the dark times, the t...

Ezekiel 34:26 (ESV) 

Back in 1883, evangelist Daniel W. Whittle wrote the hymn, "Showers of Blessing," pulling his inspiration straight from this verse in Ezekiel. He teamed up with James McGranahan, music director for evangelist D.L. Moody, and together they created a song that would resonate in churches across the country, and is still sung in worship today. 

The late 1800s were a ti...

Psalm 103:2 (New English Translation)

In preparing for this time together, I decided to read several versions of this verse. The Message speaks to me right now.  

It says, “O my soul, bless God from head to toe, I’ll bless His holy name! O my soul, bless God, don’t forget a single blessing.” 

Our focus for November is on “showers of blessings”. This reading made me think of the children’s song/chant, “heads and shoulders, knees and toes, knees...

Psalm 95:2 (NIV) 

The Psalms frequently speak to something that is obviously very near and dear to the work I do as a church musician. And that isn't the only place in scripture where music and singing is lauded. From Jubal's lyre in Genesis to the trumpets, harps, and songs of Revelation, references to making music are found throughout the Bible. 

But why is that? What is it about music that is so central to our worship and our experience as Christians? Tha...

You are listening to Grace for All, a daily devotional podcast produced by the people of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. 

This is Scripture Saturday, a time when we pause and reflect on the scriptures we have read throughout the week. If you missed any of our devotionals on these passages, you can find them on our website at 1stChurch.org or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Now, we invite you to listen and receive Grace. Welcome and thank you for joining us.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast pr...

Matthew 6:34

These words were spoken by Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount, as he was assuring his audience that God would take care of their needs and that worrying about things would not help. But I'm afraid too many of us do worry. In fact, worry, stress, anxiety, and fear, enhanced and blown out of proportion by information overload, seems to be the normal state of mind for so many of us. We...

Exodus 23:4-5

When we hear Jesus tell the story of the Good Samaritan, we usually focus on the kindness of the Helper and the callousness of those who passed by. But Jesus' original audience would have heard something very different, something much more challenging and uncomfortable. Picture...

Today’s scripture is found in the book of Psalms, Chapter 27:14. I referenced several translations as I meditated on this verse. 

The New English Translation reads like this: “Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident. Rely on the Lord!”. 

The New International Version uses the word “wait” instead; the New Living Translation says “Wait patiently for the Lord” and the common English says, “Hope in the Lord”. So, we have Rely; Wait; Wait patiently and Hope in the Lord. Perhaps one more version might help us even more. In this version, we hear “Stay with God! Take heart...

Isaiah 55:8-9

A casual reading of these verses might lead us to believe that God wants us to be sure of the difference between the divine and humans. “My ways are higher than your ways” is a pretty strong delineation between God and us. However, I do not think God is making a show of his p...

Ecclesiastes 3:1

Often, this verse is used when things are challenging. It reminds us of God’s will and our inability to know all. It reminds us that even the challenges of war, death, and illness are part of God’s kingdom. 

I do think these kinds of sentiments bring comfort in challenging times, but today, let us focus on being a tiny part of God’s creation. If we allow ourselves to contemplate that we are each a...

Psalm 62:5 (NIV) 

Friends, here is an important and timely question: where does your soul find rest? Who, or what, is your rock and salvation? Your fortress? 

Rest seems to be a hot commodity right now. Sleep aids are estimated to be a 65 billion dollar market, and insomnia is being identified as a public health issue in America. I think it is fair to say that a sense...

Thank you for joining us for today's Grace for All podcast.

On Saturdays, we pause for a few moments to look back on our week and to review the scriptures that we have used in our podcast.

We encourage you, after listening to this episode, to go back and listen to the episodes you missed, or to review the ones that were particularly meaningful for you. We trust that the thoughts that we have shared with you this week have provided a full portion of the joy, peace, and love of Jesus Christ.

...

Psalm 27: 13 &14 

Waiting for God’s goodness doesn’t always feel like helpful advice. When we are experiencing challenging life moments, such as loss. When a loved one is in the midst of a major medical crisis, we want action, not to be told to wait. When we look at the news and feel weighted down by all the negatives that are happening...

2 Corinthians 12:7–10

Jeremiah 29:11

This oft-quoted verse is part of a letter from Jeremiah to the Israelites in captivity in Babylon under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah prophesies that they should not give up hope; they will not be captives in a foreign land forever. Jeremiah says they should build houses and settle down, plant gardens and eat what they produce. They should marry and have children and in general contribute...

Romans 5:3-5 (CEB)

I believe that a lot of scriptures give us only part of the story and beg the question, “To what end?” This very familiar passage from Romans is a prime example for me. It brings to mind someone who works out to get stronger physically. Weight produces resistance and resistance builds strength and strength produces a more fit and healthy body. But to what end? To admire...

Matthew 6:34 (NIV)

I'm retired now, but I used to get anxious on Sunday nights about the week ahead. I called it the "Sunday Blues"—that familiar knot in my stomach that would start around dinnertime, thinking about Monday's meetings, Tuesday's deadlines, Wednesday's presentation I wasn't ready for. 

I'd sit at the dinner table with my family, but I wasn't really there. My mind was already in conference rooms and inbox battles that had...

Romans 12:2

I selected this passage during a trying week in the United States. It was the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States; Charlie Kirk, a political activist, was murdered during an event on a college campus, and two high school students in Colorado were injured in yet another school shooting. 

Lord, have mercy. C...

You are listening to Grace for All, a daily devotional podcast produced by the people of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. 

This is Scripture Saturday, a time when we pause and reflect on the scriptures we have read throughout the week. If you missed any of our devotionals on these passages, you can find them on our website at 1stChurch.org or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Now, we invite you to listen and receive Grace. Welcome and thank you for joining us.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast pr...

John 14:6

It can’t be much clearer than that! We all need to set our sights on Jesus to listen to and apply all He had to say. 

This world is filled with noise in every available electronic form and beyond. It is necessary to tune it out and focus on the truth. The truth that is found through Jesus! 

Don’t be distracted by the misinformation and dysinformation that we can easily...

Lamentations 3:22-25 

Many of you, upon hearing these verses, will recall the hymn, “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” It is a hymn that celebrates God’s steadfast love and grace. While the hymn may have taken its chorus from these verses, the reality of the writ...

1 Thessalonians 5:11

Every year, Pastor Sarah makes star words for our congregation. They are simple wooden stars with a word printed on them that is to be our focus word for the year.

My late wife Barbara got her very first star word in January 2024, and it was Motivate. She asked me to clarify with Sarah that this could be the same as nagging.

Throughout that year, we had lots of fun with that. She "motivated" me to s...

Ralphine Hood:

"God has been urging me to write about prayer. That should be easy for me since I am such a strong believer in prayer. Our Lord's prayer was taught to the Disciples and to us."

Matthew 6:9-13

Matthew 6:34

Square in the center of the Sermon on the Mount, in the last verse of the sixth chapter of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus gives us this advice: don’t worry about whatever has you down. A few verses earlier, in verse 27, he poses this related challenge: “And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?” 

There is so much in the Sermon on the Mount o...

2 Corinthians 4:16-5:1 (NRSV)

In the 1980s, when we lived in Cedar Rapids, IA, I volunteered in an oral history project. Community volunteers interviewed nearly a...

Thank you for joining us for today's Grace for All podcast.

On Saturdays, we pause for a few moments to look back on our week and to review the scriptures that we have used in our podcast.

We encourage you, after listening to this episode, to go back and listen to the episodes you missed, or to review the ones that were particularly meaningful for you. We trust that the thoughts that we have shared with you this week have provided a full portion of the joy, peace, and love of Jesus Christ.

...

Psalm 46:10 (NIV) 

I’m a big fan of the movie Groundhog Day. I’ve seen it a couple of dozen times, and it is a tradition in our house to watch it on February 2nd every year. In the movie, weatherman Phil Connors, played by Bill Murray, gets stuck reliving the same day over and over again in the small Pennsylvania town of Punxsutawney, the home of the famous groundhog “Punxsutawney Phil.” At first...

Galatians 2:20 

Repeatedly throughout my Christian walk, I have considered the question, “What does it mean to be crucified with Christ?” 

Surrender—of my life, of my will—is central to my understanding of what it means to be a Christ-follower. When I chose to follow Jesus, I decided to give myself to Jesus. F...

Welcome to the Grace for All podcast. Our theme for this month is Let Go and Let God - A Season of Surrender.

Normally, I would begin by sharing today’s verse of scripture and then a short devotion; however, I believe today’s format should be story first and then scripture because that is exactly how it happened. 

I will begin the story by saying the theme of Let Go and Let God - A Season of Surrender is both the worst title for this story….and the perfect title. 

Surrender? Not a chance...

John 12:24

If a seed does not germinate, it bears no fruit. It has been formed to create, yet it does not fulfill that destiny. It is squandered. It wastes away, dried up and useless. What a loss! 

We also must realize that the majority of seeds in the history of creation have been planted by the wind, birds, and other animals. They have germinated and gone on t...

Ecclesiastes 3:1

I suppose we didn’t study Ecclesiastes in my childhood Sunday school classes because, for a long time, I thought this verse, and the examples of opposite human experiences (life and death, planting and reaping, weeping and laughing, love and hate, war and peace, and others) in the following eight verses, were the lyrics to a song.

And they are!

Singer and activist Paul Seeger wrote the song “Turn, Turn, Turn” in 1961, incorporating these verses, and it was recorde...

Matthew 6:34 

There are several songs in popular movie musicals that refer to the hope and promises of tomorrow. Perhaps one of the most popular examples of this is the song “The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow” from the musical Annie. 

In the musical, the orphan Annie sings this song after she escapes the orphanage in an attempt to find her parents, after she and the other girls residing in the facility have been h...

You are listening to Grace for All, a daily devotional podcast produced by the people of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. 

This is Scripture Saturday, a time when we pause and reflect on the scriptures we have read throughout the week. If you missed any of our devotionals on these passages, you can find them on our website at 1stChurch.org or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Now, we invite you to listen and receive Grace. Welcome and thank you for joining us.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast pr...

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NLT)

There are different seasons in our lives. When I was a young boy, I thought as a young boy. All I could think about was receiving my long list of wants. I believed that all would be right with the world if only I had a certain toy or bike. Birthday and Christmas gifts? Did they make my life more fulfilling? Actually, they only provided a short-lived, very brief, intense excitement. We humans do pray for a lot of th...

1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 

Philippians 4:6-7 (the Living Bible)

The constant drone of awful information can cause us to feel afraid, worried, and overwhelmed. Reports fill our eyes and ears with news of the constant drone...

Romans 3:23-24

One doesn’t have to be a performer to have heard the advice for someone who is nervous to go on stage or speak or perform in front of a crowd: just imagine everyone in the audience in their underwear (or sometimes, it’s even “imagine them naked”). I think that I first heard that advice on a cartoon as a child, b...