Pastor’s Ponderings: What is Love? (9/22/22)
What is True Love? Can we love unconditionally, regardless of what someone says about us or does to us? Does love have strings attached (“I’ll love you IF…”)? In this post, we see how God is calling us to a deeper level of love and “good will” towards all people.
Read MorePastor’s Ponderings: What’s John 3:16 Really Mean?
We’ve heard John 3:16 over and over. We’ve memorized it. We even see people wearing “3:16” T-Shirts! But do we really appreciate its meaning? In an email on 7/9/20, Pastor Jim offered these thoughts on this amazing verse.
Read MorePastors Ponderings: His Love Endures Forever!
God was faithful to people like Noah, Moses, David, and Paul. David wrote that “His love endures forever.” But is God’s love and faithfulness deep and long enough to reach into our time?
Read MoreFor Unto YOU (Christmas Eve, 2019)
Our 2019 Christmas Eve service was marked by tradition, familiar music, and familiar Bible readings. But the key verse from the sermon challenged us to awaken from the familiar and consider how deeply our Creator-God loves each one of us. “For unto ME is born a Savior…”
Read MorePress Report from Bethlehem! (12/22/19)
In what is becoming a Sunday before Christmas tradition, Rev. Jim Hughes visited PUMC and gave us a first hand account of what happened on that First Christmas. This year, he appeared as Amos, a newspaper reporter who happened to be covering the beat in Bethlehem on that wondrous night. Amos challenged us to go beyond being a casual and impartial observer of Jesus. Become part of the story.
Read MoreNo Ram Caught in the Thicket (Camp Meeting, 8/11/19)
Rev. Jim Hughes preached at the Camp Meeting on 8/11/19. On this evening, he didn’t present his customary first person dramatization. Instead he painted a vivid picture of two sacrifices on two hills linked by eternity. God provided a Substitute for Abraham, and for us. But there is no substitute for Jesus.
Read MoreAh Ha! Moments (Camp Meeting, 8/4/19)
During the Camp Meeting service on 8/4/19, Rev. Bill Wilson asked us to consider what happens when we fall into a “pig pen”; when we’re trapped in a difficult situation. We may feel hopeless, but if we listen we’ll hear God calling us to “come home.” If we pay attention, God will wake us with an “Ah Ha!” moment.
Read MoreRunning on Empty (4/8/18)
Easter is over. All of the plans, dinners, and holidays are finished. It’s time to get back to normal. But what was “Normal” for the disciples? They were totally drained. Worn out by worry and fear. Doesn’t that happen to us? Do we sometimes feel that we’re running on fumes?
Pastor Jim’s service on the 2nd Sunday in Easter 2018 shows us how Jesus fills up our tank.
His Love Makes no Sense!
Members of our BLAST Youth group recently returned from a week at Malaga Camp. The theme of the week was God’s love. How can God send His Son to dies for us and continue to love us even when we keep on rejecting Him and breaking away to do our own thing? One of the people attending the camp wrote the following… “His love makes no sense.” I turned to the woman next to me (who later would become a new friend) and cried, “Why does Jesus love me so much? I don’t deserve...
Read MoreA Week of Strength
During her Mother’s Day sermon on 5/14/17, Stephanie Hogan invited us to (re-)consider the depth of God’s awesome love for YOU, how He chose you, and how He is with you constantly to guide and strengthen you. God wants to deepen your relationship with Him by molding you into the man or woman He wants you to be; the person He created you to be. The “scripture reading” for her sermon was a series of 7 passages which talked about God’s special personal relationship...
Read MorePastors Ponderings: A Divine Love Song
Pastor Jim submitted the following on April 5, 2017… Greetings Friends: PLEASE READ: 1 John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God” (NASB). PLEASE READ: Hebrews 6:1-2 “Let us stop going over the same old ground again and again, always teaching those first lessons about Christ. Let us go on instead to other things and become mature in our understanding, as strong Christians ought to...
Read MoreGod’s Love Story (2/12/17)
Valentine’s Day! Love!!! What is Love? More importantly, what is God’s Love? In this sermon Pastor Jim took a look at the book of Hosea to see a demonstration of what God’s love looks like.
God is crazy in love with you. Will you return that love? Will you accept Him into your heart? He wants to forgive you and begin a relationship with you right now. What does this story in Hosea teach us about that love?
God the Father (6/19/16)
Why did Jesus call God “Father”? Is God a man??? On this Father’s Day, Pastor Jim started with Deuteronomy 6:6-9 and guided us through the Bible to see what it means to see God as our “Father.”
Read MoreJust Believe (12/24/15)
What do you believe? It’s Christmas Eve… God wants to give you a big gift! Not just a package under tomorrow’s tree, but a big lifelong gift. One that lasts. One that makes a difference. Are you ready for it? How do you receive this awesome gift? Pastor Jim’s Christmas Eve sermon helped us revisit the manger in a fresh light. Click the below “Play” button and scroll down to follow along… Our scripture reading was Luke 2:1-20 and Isaiah...
Read MoreGod the Rock Star (10/25/15)
Does God really care about us? We know John 3:16 (“For God so loved the world…”), but how’s that apply to me??? The prophet Zephaniah writes that God will “take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love.” On October 25 2015 Pastor Jim looked at this passage and led us into a closer glimpse of our Creator’s amazing love. Click the “Play” button to start the recording (from the 11:00 service), then scroll down to follow along....
Read MoreJesus Loves You- Is the Feeling Mutual?
The following message was posted on our signboard as we begin to prepare for the upcoming Valentine’s Day holiday: JESUS LOVES YOU! IS THE FEELING MUTUAL? Jesus Loves You… Jesus loves you… we hear that so many times that it begins to sound kind of cliche, or trite. Jesus- the Son of God- loves… ME? Really??? The familiar Sunday School song says, “Jesus loves me, this I know. For the Bible tells me so.” How does the Bible tells us that Jesus loves us? ...
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