Epworth UMC Toledo

The Bread and the Cup

The Institution of the Lords Supper 23For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread,24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body that is foryou. Do this in remembrance of me.25In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.26For as often as you eat this bread and drink the...

The Teacher

The Man with an Unclean Spirit 21They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught.22They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.23Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit,24and he cried out, What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.25But Jesus rebuked him, saying, Be quiet and come out of him!26A...

Come into His House

Psalm 84 The Joy of Worship in the Temple To the leader: according to The Gittith. Of the Korahites. A Psalm. 1How lovely is your dwelling place,OLordof hosts!2My soul longs, indeed it faints,for the courts of theLord;my heart and my flesh sing for joyto the living God. 3Even the sparrow finds a homeand the swallow a nest for herself,where she may lay her young,at your altars, OLordof hosts,my King and my God.4Happy are those who live in your house,ever singing your praise.Selah 5Happy are...

God is Able

Prayer for the Readers 20Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine,21to him be glory in the church andin Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

A Giving Heart

Encouragement to Be Generous 2for during a severe ordeal of affliction their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.3For, as I can testify, they voluntarily gave according to their means and even beyond their means,4begging us earnestly for the favorof partnering in this ministry to the saints,...

The Next Level of Faith

11He came to what was his own,and his own people did not accept him.12But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God,13who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. 14And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a fathers only son,full of grace and truth.

Remembering Peace

From Paul's Letter to the Congregation in Philippi 4Rejoicein the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.5Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever ...

The Birth of the Church

The Coming of the Holy Spirit 2When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.2And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.3Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. 5Now there were devout Jews from every people under heav...

A Living Sacrifice

The New Life in Christ 12I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, on the basis of Gods mercy, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable act of worship.2Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of Godwhat is good and acceptable and perfect.

Senior Reflections

On this Youth Sunday, we celebrated not only our wonderful new confirmands into Epworth as official members, but we also celebrated our graduating seniors Tressel and Markus. Here are their senior reflections, sharing their plans for the future, memories of the past, and stories of what inspires them as they enter a new part of their life. Tressel and Markus, we are so proud of you and grateful for you and your time here. Continue to share and spread the love of Christ with everyone you meet....

Youth Sunday 2024

How God Wants Us to Run the Race

The Example of Jesus 12Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely,and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,2looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

Living Out Our Calling

Prayer of Thanksgiving 8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world.9For God, whom I serve with my spirit by announcing the gospelof his Son, is my witness that without ceasing I remember you always in my prayers,10asking that by Gods will I may somehow at last succeed in coming to you.11For I long to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift so that you may be strengthened12or rather so that we may be mutuall...

At the Gate Called Beautiful

Peter Heals a Crippled Beggar 3One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, at three oclock in the afternoon.2And a man lame from birth was being carried in. People would lay him daily at the gate of the temple called the Beautiful Gate so that he could ask for alms from those entering the temple.3When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked them for alms.4Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, Look at us.5And he fixed his attenti...

Cast Your Net on The Right Side

Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples 21After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he showed himself in this way.2Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin,Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples.3Simon Peter said to them, I am going fishing. They said to him, We will go with you. They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4Just after daybreak, Jesus stood...

He is Risen

The Resurrection of Jesus 24But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared.2They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,3but when they went in they did not find the body.4While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them.5The womenwere terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the mensaid to them, Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here but has risen.6...

The Road to Triumph

Jesuss Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem 21When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples,2saying to them, Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me.3If anyone says anything to you, just say this, The Lord needs them. And he will send them immediately.4This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet: 5Tell the daughter of Zio...

The Greatest Among You

The Request of the Mother of James and John 20Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favor of him.21And he said to her, What do you want? She said to him, Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.22But Jesus answered, You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?They said to him, We are able.23He said to them, You will...

Putting On the New Self

That is not the way you learned Christ!21For surely you have heard about him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus,22to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts,23and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,24and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.25So then, putting away falsehood, let each of you speak the truth with your neighbor, for we are members of one another.

We Preach Christ Crucified

hrist the Power and Wisdom of God 18For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.19For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart. 20Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scholar? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?21For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God ...

The Audacity of Faith

The Healing of Blind Bartimaeus 46They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside.47When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!48Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, Son of David, have mercy on me!49Jesus stood still and said, Call him here. And they called the blind man, saying t...

To Be As One

Jesus Prays for His Disciples 20I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word,21that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us,so that the world may believe that you have sent me.22The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one,23I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved...

Acts of Righteousness

JOEL 2 Blow the trumpet in Zion;sound the alarm on my holy mountain!Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,for the day of theLordis coming, it is near2a day of darkness and gloom,a day of clouds and thick darkness!Like blackness spread upon the mountains,a great and powerful army comes;their like has never been from of old,nor will be again after themin ages to come. 12 Yet even now, says theLord,return to me with all your heart,with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;13rend your ...

A Mountaintop Experience

The Transfiguration 28Now about eight days after these sayings Jesustook with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.29And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.30Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him.31They appeared in glory and were speaking about his exodus, which he was about to fulfill in Jerusalem.32Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep, but as...

The Kind of Caring That Jesus Loves

Were Not Our Hearts Burning Within Us

Trusting the Wisdom of God

Grace for New Beginnings

A City on a Hill

Dismissed Servants

It's a Wonderful Life

Dreamers

Toilet Paper in the Christmas Tree

Hope Is on the Way

The Word is Hope

The Extravagance of God

Is God Egocentric?

When Dogs Wag Their Tails

The Widow's Might

Stepping Forward in Faith

Finding One's Marbles

I Love A Good Hypocrite

My Chains Fell Off

Hopping into the Wheelbarrow

A Good Fish Story

Leave the Weeds Alone!

Grammar and Football

The Graduate School of Discipleship

Putting the Fun in Dysfunction

Big Buts