Grace United Methodist Church - Franklin, IN
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  • About Us
    • Staff
    • What to Expect
    • What We Believe
    • Calendar
    • Upcoming Events
    • Institutional Partners
  • Classes & Small Groups
    • Adult >
      • Classes and Spiritual Formation Opportunities
      • Small Group Locations & Times
    • Youth
    • Children
  • Missions
    • Service Opportunities
    • Ministry Partners
  • Give
    • Giving
    • What is tithing?
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  • Preschool
    • Home
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    • Kroger Community Rewards
  • Resources
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Developing 20/20 Vision - 2 Corinthians 5:15-27

1/28/2020

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How do you see the world in which we live?  What does it take to see our world, our relationships, careers, communities, families, and faith more clearly?  How do we develop 20/20 vision when it comes to our faith - to our understanding of God and Jesus? How we navigate it all and still see clearly?  How would we see our responsibilities, purpose, strength, weakness, and the same of others differently if we looked through another lens? What would happen if we saw our world; the environment, the people, the concerns and issues of our day, through the lens of Jesus?   

2 Corinthians 5:15-17  is considered one of Paul’s greatest passages in which he addresses the ministry of reconciliation through Christ.  He illustrates this by affirming what Christ means to him, he lays out the nature and purpose of ministry as he has come to understand it through the Holy Spirit.  By doing so, he describes and calls believers to remember that upon choosing Jesus they are a new creation; the old is gone and the new has come. And it is because of that - we are given the chance to develop what this sermon series is calling, a faith with 20/20 vision.  

The Christian community in Corinth were dealing with what it meant to be and do church in a place of promiscuity, corruption, and political unrest.  They were trying to understand pastoral responsibility. There were dealing with believers who couldn’t agree on things and had differing views. There was confusion over the best way to handle certain things in church and in their community, politics, power plays, and disagreements over how to do ministry and what position, gift, or teaching was better or more important.  (Glad that doesn’t happen anymore)

By telling them about his powerful transformation moment (which we will learn more about later in the series) and his spiritual growth, Paul reminds the believers of what happened at their conversion.  What they felt and how things shifted for them; how their perspective changed - how their eyes were opened. He brings them back to the simplicity of their faith when it was about them and Jesus and the call to follow.   Imagine if that could be the focus of all we see. At the end of the day, isn’t that all any of us can do; have faith and follow Jesus? The old way to see is like looking through glasses with pro or anti lenses or like using blinders.  We don’t see the way intended. It is a limited way of looking at others. Human judgments are limited and inadequate, they are tinged with prejudice, bias, ulterior motives, and conflicting emotions. We need the eyes of Jesus to help us see truth, wisdom and the value of people in all situations and circumstances.

When we see the world and the people in it through the lens of Jesus, it is a vision that no longer sees, views, perceives, judges, critiques, or looks at people the way we used to - the old is passed, the new has come.   What would the world look like if you let go of those glasses of fear, doubt or shame? What would you see if you retired those lenses of bitterness, anger, or regret? How would things be different if you no longer looked through glasses of prejudice, hate, or judgmentalism?  How would that make a difference for our families, for your happiness, for your relationship with Jesus, or for our own church, our ministries, our partnerships, our relationships, life outside these walls?  

The power of this text is two-fold: first the power of what we call a theology of reconciliation - Us in Christ and Christ in us and second the fact that this text is written to the church - to a body of believers - NOT the least, last or the lost and unbelievers of the community.  It is written to those who are called to see the world differently! You - the church. You who proclaim to follow Jesus. The church is called, even commanded to see things differently - through glasses of faith, hope and love. Through the lens of compassion, justice, and forgiveness.  Through the eyes of Jesus that dwells in us.  

It is time we change the lenses in our glasses church.  May we strive to see the truth of what God is doing in our midst and in our world.  May we strive to bring a clear vision of hope, faith, and love to all those we encounter. 

​Pastor Jenothy Irvine


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Know Your Why and Be Thankful - Isaiah 42:1-9

1/21/2020

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God provides us with a mission, but we learn this mission by learning from Jesus himself, by paying attention to what he did.

In book of Isaiah, we learn about this mission: that long before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Isaiah had foretold of the mission of God’s Servant-Messiah. In Isaiah 42, we read how God calls this Servant “my chosen one in whom my soul delights” (42:1), and we go on to read how God’s own Spirit will be upon this Servant: He will bring forth justice to the nations (42:1a). God will bless this Servant and, in turn, will bless the world (cf., Genesis 12). 

The way God’s Servant will carry out this mission, however, will not be by commanding armies, but by suffering love: This Servant of God will accomplish his mission through gentleness and weakness, not by physical force (42:2-3). He will bring light and open the eyes of the blind, both physically and spiritually (42:6). He will liberate the oppressed and embody God’s new age of righteousness (42:9).

Such a mission is what Jesus will fulfill. In fact, one of Jesus’ first sermons was telling his home “church” in Nazareth that the Spirit of God was indeed upon him to preach good news to the poor and give sight to the blind (Luke 4:18-19). From the beginning, Jesus was going to live out this mission. He was going to call Israel back to God and God’s covenant and then suffer death on a cross and bring resurrection. 

Coming up out of the waters of the River Jordan in baptism, Jesus was going to fulfill this mission as God’s beloved Son and teach in the power of the Spirit. He would include others in this mission as well and call persons to him who would carry out this mission to the ends of the earth (Matthew 28:20).

How is God calling us to fulfill our mission, to know our “Why”? How is God calling us to share and grow in how we follow Jesus?
​
Pastor Andy Kinsey
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Lift Your Eyes - Isaiah 60:1-5

1/7/2020

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It was only days ago, this sanctuary was filled with the scent, color, candlelite, and song of the season.  We shared with children, families, relatives, visitors, friends and strangers. We welcomed, celebrated, and honored the birth of Jesus.  The moments that make Christmas so special, so magical, now seem long gone already. Practically everything is put back in boxes and stored away until next year.  

It seems that one brief moment is so quickly swallowed up by the very darkness it broke through.  One glance at the headlines in the past 24-48 hours reveals such truth doesn’t it? Fires in Australia killing ½ billion animals. Talk of revenge from Iran after the death of top official Suleimani. The unofficial word of a denominational split.  Continued impeachment arguments. Word of airstrikes in Iraq and the ever increasing incidents of violent hate crimes against targeted minorities.  

That is why today matters.  That is why epiphany matters. We don’t just walk our way to Bethlehem, poke our head in the stable, “shout congrats, its a boy” only to turn around and leave.  There is more to unwrap. Epiphany is an appearing or revealing. It is typically the time the church celebrates the coming of the Magi - the wise ones from the East, and the appearing of the star, and of course the incarnation of Christ - God taking on human form. 

It is the time to take it all in.  To pause. To wonder. A time to close our eyes and consider what it is we see through the eyes of the baby we celebrated just days ago; through the eyes of God. It is a time to open our eyes to the appearing of the truth of Jesus - of his being the very presence and power of God yet one who came to walk with us, showing us how to live, get along, build community, serve another,  take care of things, and how to love.  

Have we forgotten already church?  Have we lost sight so soon? Did we even wait in Bethlehem long enough to meet the wisemen?  Have we heard their story or listened to what their journey and example might teach us? 

“Wake up, put your face in the sunlight”  - the light of hope continues. Move forward.  Bring what you know and allow God to use you. Trust that God is with you, with us and that God continues to break through the darkness of our world, our circumstance, and situations.  

“Shine”  Like the wise one’s from the east, bring what you know, use what you have been given, be aware, and trust that God will guide you through come what may.  Take action but do so in a way that the light of God is present. Be the vessel of compassion and kindness.  

“Look around” - see what God is doing.  See how the light of advent, the light in the manger, the star of Bethlehem shines and you, the church, are a part of it.  In the midst of our darkness, whether personal, communal, national, or international, epiphany is the appearing / revealing / unwrapping of God with us.  

Do not avoid the darkness (the truth, the tough conversations, the stranger, that which makes you uncomfortable, the demanding, the controversial, but rather trust the faithfulness of a God whose beauty, goodness and truth is far bigger than anything we fear, question, or doubt; a God whose light cannot be extinguished. 

The text today is promise, hope, and celebration in the midst of oppression, exile, and defeat.  It is a vision of restoration and healing in the midst of despair, brokenness, and uncertainty.

Dear church, may the light that walked us to Bethlehem, the light born in the stable, lying in a manger, and the light that brought the wise ones from the East, may that light burn bright in the midst of mixed up emotions, conflicting thoughts, searing differences, political tensions, denominational uncertainty, economical rifts, and so much more.  
AMEN
Pastor Jenothy Irvine
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Grace United Methodist Church
1300 E Adams Dr,
Franklin, IN 46131

Phone: 317-736-7962
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Weekend  Worship Services
Saturday: 5:30pm 
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