From The Pulpit of DUMC

#176. This Thing Called Church - Episode 8, September 8

David, Kevin, and Karen give an overview of the book "Five Practices of Fruitful Living" by Robert Schnase for our upcoming church-wide book study and also discuss ways you can participate. They also have conversations about officiating weddings and parenting moments.

#175. Rev. David Hockett - September 5

Christianity is an embodied faith, a way of life, a way of living and being in the world that reflects the love and mercy of God. Jesus calls us to come and follow, to live and love like him. With that in mind James reminds us that “faith without works” is dead. Now to be clear, salvation is God’s gift to us. Our works or acts of service cannot and do not earn us God’s love and acceptance. That said, it is not enough to simply confess “I love and belong to Christ” if that confession isn’...

#174. Rev. Dianne Lawhorn

Now that we have wrapped up our summer sermon series from the book of Ephesians, we continue journeying through our lectionary texts, with a mini- series, from the book of James. This mini-series will carry us through until we begin our Church-Wide Sermon Series on The Five Practices of Fruitful Living! This week’s message will focus on James 1: verses 2-8 and 16-18. This is a rich passage that speaks to the trials and temptations that we all experience in the Christian life that test our fa...

#173. This Thing Called Church - Episode 7, August 25

The Lord's Prayer is the topic for today's discussion. It's a prayer the majority of us know by heart, but David, Kevin, and Karen dig deeper into where it came from, the meaning behind it, and why you should pray it every day.

#172. Rev. David Hockett - August 22

This Sunday we will conclude our journey through the letter of Ephesians, focusing our attention on selected verses from chapter six. Here Paul reminds us that our struggle is not against enemies of “blood and flesh.” Contrary to the divisive and dehumanizing rhetoric and behavior that occupies too much of our common life, we’re not at war with or seeking to defeat or destroy those individuals with whom we disagree or are in conflict. Rather, our struggle is with what Paul often terms the ...

#171. Rev. David Hockett - August 15

In writing to the Church in Ephesus, Paul reminds us that our calling is not to superficial faith, casual Christianity, or cheap grace.  Our calling is to imitate God, to be holy.  What Paul hopes we’ll see is that the resurrection means that God’s new world has come, that there is a better way to be human, and that we are invited to take part in it.  As such Paul urges us to wake from our spiritual slumber and live as children of light.  In short, God wants nothing less than to make us new,...

#170. This Thing Called Church - Episode 6, August 11

After a short summer break from recording, David, Kevin, and Karen are back together again and recap what has been happening lately. Kevin and Karen give David a special mug to add to his collection. Recapping the Youth Choir trip that happened this summer creates a conversation about keeping people engaged and connected at church and why it's important to be together in-person.

#169. Rev. Brad Hinton - August 8

This week as we continue to reflect on the book of Ephesians, we will reflect on how this Scripture relates to our calling to go and be the hands and feet of Christ in the world. The Scripture says, “let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors” (4:25). What does speaking the truth to our neighbors mean when we respond to our faith and participate in mission work in our community? We will also reflect on speaking the truth to our neighbors as it relates to disaster response.

#168. Rev. Jim Humphries - August 1

As we continue our study of Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus, this Sunday we will look at Ephesians 4: 1-16, where we are encouraged to “bear with one another in love and make every effort to maintain unity….” Unity in our world and country, and especially in our churches, must surely be one of the most difficult challenges we face as a people. We might even ask: Is it possible to hold on to our truths while seeking unity among those with whom we disagree? The early churches, such as th...

#167. Rev. David Hockett - July 25

In this week’s reading from Ephesians (3:1-13) Paul points to the great mystery of Christ, that “…people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of God all their lives (what I’ve been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board.” (Eph. 3:6, The Message) Too often we view God’s love and mercy as scarce resources which mu...

#166. Rev. David Hockett - July 18

In this week’s reading from Ephesians (2:11-22), Paul invites us to think about the walls we build - the dividing wall of our sin that separates us from the God, the walls we erect that divide us from one another, and the walls that barricade our hearts, keeping us from our true and best self. Walls have their place, they support the roofs of our offices, schools, and homes, but then they also can do great harm. So, to a people who have a tendency to build walls, Paul proclaims that in Jesu...

#165. Rev. David Hockett - July 11

It is easy to be overwhelmed and disheartened by the challenges facing the church and our world. We may even feel ill-equipped or powerless to make much of difference. The earliest Christians surely knew what this was like. This week we begin a seven-week series focusing on Paul’s letter to the first Christians living in Ephesus. Ephesians is a wonderful letter in which Paul encourages the early church to not lose heart, to remain focused on Christ, and to lean into their giftedness as the...

#164. This Thing Called Church - Episode 5 - July 7

David, Kevin, and Karen recap their Fourth of July weekends, talk about space travel, and then discuss some of the differences and similarities between Methodists and other religions. These are the books that Kevin and David referenced during the conversation; Living as United Methodist Christians, by Andy and Sally Langford Being United Methodist in the Bible Belt, by F. Belton Joyner Why I Am a United Methodist, by William Willimon

#163. Rev. David Hockett - July 4

Sunday is Independence Day, a day we celebrate freedom. As we gather for worship we will encounter a section from Paul’s magnum opus, the Epistle to the Romans. There Paul acknowledges our lack of freedom and how at times we seem prone to do the very things we know we shouldn’t, and incapable of doing the things we know we should. He then points to Christ as the source of perfect freedom. As we celebrate Independence Day we will reflect on how we at times settle for the smaller “freedom” ...

#162. Rev. David Hockett - June 27

#161. This Thing Called Church - Episode 4 - June 23

Last week's theme with David and animals continues as he shares another interesting tidbit. June 28 is John Wesley's birthdate and David, Kevin, and Karen discuss the foundation of Methodism and what it means to be a disciple. Kevin also explains tying in discipleship through music and hymns.

#160. Rev. Dianne Lawhorn - June 20

This Sunday, June 20, is Father’s Day. This is a holiday that often gets overlooked in our Christian calendar. In honor of this day, we will be exploring a scripture passage from Deuteronomy 6:4-9, known as The Shema. This scripture passage calls us to hear anew the great commandments and to make living them and sharing them a part of our daily lives. This invitation highlights for us the importance of leaving a legacy of faith, through our example, our witness, and our ministry to others...

#159. Rev. Dr. Preston Davis - June 13

#158. This Thing Called Church - Episode 3 - June 9

In this episode, our new Youth Director, Evan Nester, joins David, Kevin, and Karen. Learn more about Evan and what fun and exciting plans he and Brittany are working on for our Youth Ministry. Also, find out what unique animal David ate for dinner once while on a Mission Trip.

#157. Rev. David Hockett - June 6

In Christ we are a new creation and are granted a shared in Christ’s ministry of reconciliation. That is, as friends of Christ we participate in God’s work of reconciling all things, of healing division, and making all things new. This transformation involves a new perspective, a new lens through which we view the world. Being a new creation means, that we come to see the world through the eyes of Christ. We see ourselves and our neighbors, friends and enemies alike, as Christ sees us – w...

#156. Rev. Brad Hinton - May 30

This week is Trinity Sunday. We will discuss the Triune God and how we encounter the Trinity within Scripture and in our lives. We will look together at some of our theological understandings of our one God in three persons. As you prepare for worship this Sunday, we invite you to reflect on how you see the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit present in your life.

#155. This Thing Called Church - Episode 2 - May 26

Kevin and Karen are back along with our new Pastor, Rev. David Hockett! In this second episode, Kevin graduates again, the three discuss Sunday's service with Confirmation, and then define/explain the Trinity. David shares what our on-campus Covid guidelines will look like starting on June 1.

#154. Rev, David Hockett - May 23

This week we gather to celebrate Pentecost and the outpouring of the Spirit upon the Church. Pentecost reminds us that we are not alone; God is with us in all times and places. As we celebrate this holy day in the life of the Church, we also gather to celebrate the confirmation of 33 DUMC youth. This is a significant day for our youth as they will affirm for themselves the faith into which they were baptized. I have reminded them that confirmation is not the end of the journey, but one mor...

#153. Rev. David Hockett - May 16

On Sunday we observe the Ascension of the Lord, recalling that bit of the Creed where we affirm that Christ “ascended into heaven.” This does not mean that Christ has retreated to his heavenly home and we stand idly by hoping one day to follow him there. Rather, the ascension means that the risen Christ is now present everywhere, and earth and heaven “overlap and interlock”. This is why Jesus taught us to pray for God’s Kingdom or reign to come on earth as it is in heaven. It is to the ho...

#152. This Thing Called Church Episode 1 - May 12

Watch (or listen) to our new Zoomcast called This Thing Called Church. Kevin and Karen are back along with our new Pastor, Rev. David Hockett! In this first episode hear about Kevin's unexpected house guest, what you can do with any extra coffee cups you have, and meet/learn more about David. Karen puts him in the "hot seat" and has him answer the "famous" eight questions.

#151. Rev. David Hockett - May 9

Last Sunday, we heard from one of the letters of John where the writer encourages us to love like Jesus. In the epistle the writer reminds us that how we love others is a reflection of our love for God. In this Sunday’s gospel reading, John tells us that our ability to love like Christ loves grows out of our relationship with Christ. John suggests that when our relationship with Christ is organic, like a branch connected to the vine, we are friends of Jesus and we bear the fruit of love. ...

#150. Rev. Jim Humphries - May 2

The word “love” appears in the Bible hundreds of time, and is one of the central themes of scripture. But we would be hard-pressed to find a more definitive analysis of God’s love than this Sunday’s passage: 1 John 4: 7-21. John tells his readers that God is the source of all love (“love is from God” and “God is love”). Therefore, our very ability to love is the result of our first being loved by God. The reality of receiving such love, says John, must mean that we can’t keep this love to our...

#149. Rev. David Hockett - April 25

The late Gordon Cosby, founder of the Church of the Savior in Washington, DC, often wrote about the shape of the Christian life involving our Journey Inward, Outward, and Together. Last Sunday we reflected upon the importance of listening to Christ, the Inward Journey, as a necessary practice for faithful discipleship. Listening well shapes our doing or the mission and activity of the Church. At Davidson UMC we say that “we are called to be the Body of Christ in our community.” And before we ...

#148. Rev. David Hockett - April 18

As we begin this new season of ministry together, I invite us to return to a point of beginning in Jesus’ own ministry with his disciples. Following Jesus’ transfiguration atop the mountain, Mark tells us that Peter, James and John are instructed to “listen” to Jesus as they descend the mountain and head back into the towns and villages where Jesus will heal, teach, share meals, and point to the coming Kingdom. Before they are asked to do anything in the name of Christ, they are invited to ...

#147. Rev. Dianne Lawhorn - April 11

Our Scripture for this week comes to us from John’s Gospel, Chapter 20. It’s the part in our narrative where some of the disciples encounter Jesus following the resurrection. Upon returning home and sharing the good news with the disciples who weren’t with them, Thomas says that he doesn’t believe them. He says that he won’t believe until he sees and feels the nail marks in Jesus’ hands and side. A week later Jesus comes to visit the disciples and shows Thomas his hands and side and tells...

#146. Rev. Jim Humphries - April 4

We enter today the most sacred hours of our Christian faith. The Paschal or Easter Triduum begins with our Holy Thursday service, remembering Jesus’ final moments with his disciples; followed by Good Friday’s solemn message of Christ’s sacrifice and death; and Holy Saturday’s time of rest and remembrance. And finally, we gather on Sunday morning for Easter, the most joyous and celebrative season of the Christian year, as we give thanks for the resurrection of Jesus. Worship with us this weeke...

#145. Rev. Brad Hinton - March 28

This is the beginning of Holy Week. It is a time to remember the many events which took place 2000 years ago. God speaks to us today through these powerful moments in time. We continue to see them lived today. People praised Christ, people cursed him. Jesus ate with his friends, Jesus wept and was in agony. Holy Week is a week of holiness, and it’s not without suffering. Let us turn our eyes together to the One who saves us.

#144. Rev. Dianne Lawhorn - March 21

In the our lectionary gospel lesson for today, we find John’s version of the Gethsemane prayer, where Jesus says, “my soul is troubled.” In this moment, he considers if he should ask to be saved from this hour. He realizes that this is what He was sent for, so instead, He asks for the Father to be glorified through it. There is the fragrance of grief and sorrow here. Our Lenten journey reminds us that we grieve Jesus’ death, so that we can celebrate the joy of His resurrection. In this,...

#143. Rev. Brad Hinton - March 14

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (John 3:16 – NRSV). For many of us this verse was the first verse of Scripture that we memorized. We have seen it written on billboards and bumper stickers. On this Fourth Sunday of Lent, the lectionary offers this well known passage for us to consider as we prepare for Easter. We hope you will join us this week to reflect on how God continues to speak thr...

#142. Rev. Jim Humphries

This Sunday, the third Sunday in Lent, we will look at Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. Corinth was a fledgling church in a wealthy trading area, so these new Christians were influenced by many philosophies that contradicted the message of Christ; thus causing problems that permeated the young church. Were the people of the Corinthian church devoted to following Jesus, or more interested in the ideologies of their culture? This was the question and the challenge Paul offered his reader...

#141. Rev. Shane Page - February 28

This Sunday, the second Sunday of Lent, we will reflect on the most illuminative moment in Mark’s gospel next to the Resurrection: the Transfiguration of Jesus. On a high mountain, and with three of his most intimate disciples, Jesus becomes radiant with glory, his face and clothing shimmering with supernatural brilliance, as Moses and Elijah, two Old Testament archetypes, speak with him. Encapsulated in this brief episode is the essence of our faith, its whole point, and its final end. Let’s...

#140. Page-Turner Episode 38 - February 24

Shane explains the reason for his unique piece of artwork in his house. Kevin and Shane answer two questions from viewers; one about praying and the other about judgement, heaven, and hell. Shane share's some parting words and Karen discusses what is next after Page - Turner.

#139. Rev. Shane Page - February 21

This Sunday, having concluded our sermon series on apprenticing with Jesus, we return to the liturgical calendar of the church and will observe the first Sunday of Lent. Each year the appointed reading for this particular Sunday concerns Jesus’s flight into the desert where for forty days he underwent intense temptations orchestrated by the devil. This week we may spend some time considering just who is the Devil in biblical theology and of what role temptations consist in the interior life. ...

#138. Page-Turner Episode 37 - February 17

It's Ash Wednesday and Shane, Kevin, and Karen talk about the importance of this holy day and how to experience this time of sacrifice for Lent. They also discuss Shane's last sermon for the church wide book study, Apprenticeship With Jesus and how to live every day as an apprentice.

#137. Rev. Shane Page - February 14

This Sunday we end our series on Gary Moon’s Apprenticeship with Jesus with a word of exhortation. Our text for this Sunday will come from Luke 5 as the master Jesus calls his apprentices to follow him (Luke 5:1-11). Luke’s narrative presents an outline of what it means truly to become the Lord’s apprentice. Let’s spend time reflecting for one last Sunday on the meaning of imitating our Lord, so that the lessons we have learned these last five weeks, instead of ending, will constitute for eac...

#136. Page-Turner Episode 36/February 10

Shane, Kevin, and Karen discuss another upcoming church holiday that has turned into commercialism, Valentine's Day. Then they dig deeper into Shane's sermon from Sunday regarding imitating Jesus on his cross and how apprenticing with Jesus also includes suffering. They answer a confirmand's question, "If God created us perfectly, why is there sin?" and give an update on events at DUMC for Ash Wednesday.

#133. Rev. Shane Page - February 7

This Sunday we come to the fourth of our five sermons on Gary Moon’s Apprenticeship With Jesus. To apprentice with Jesus is to imitate the Lord’s life, to let him, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, live the fullness of his life in us. There is, then, another central component to the imitation of the Lord’s life, a component the Lord enjoins on all his followers, a component about which the apostle themselves testified in their New Testament letters. That component is the cross, sharing in the ...

#132. Page-Turner Episode 35/February 3, 2021

Did you know that there is another holiday on February 2 besides Groundhog day? Super Bowl Sunday is this week and the three briefly discuss the upcoming game. The main topic of this episode is continuing to dig deeper into the churchwide book study of Gary Moon's Apprenticeship with Jesus and Shane's sermon about the counter culture nature of Christianity. Shane and Kevin answer a Confirmand's question, Why do some people give up on God and become Atheists after having once believed?

#131. Rev. Shane Page - January 31

This Sunday we continue our reflections on Gary Moon’s Apprenticeship with Jesus. We will re-emphasize another key component of apprenticing with Jesus, an implication we must embrace with all enthusiasm if we wish to assimilate our Lord’s manner of life: non-conformity to the predominant culture or what the New Testament refers to as “the world” (See Romans 12 for a glimpse at this week’s theme). Non-conformity is what sets admirers of Jesus apart from apprentices of Jesus. On Sunday let’s e...

#130. Page-Turner Episode 34/January 27

Shane addresses the recent announcement about his leaving DUMC, and then Kevin, Karen, and Shane have a discussion about the current churchwide book study, Apprenticeship with Jesus, by Gary Moon. Confirmation classes have started and they answer a student's question, "is sin forgiven if the sinner did not really believe in Jesus?"

#129. January 24 - Rev. Shane Page

This Sunday we continue our sermon series and churchwide book study on Gary Moon’s Apprenticeship with Jesus. This week we will reflect on a fundamental principle of the Bible, a principle sprinkled throughout the book, the subject of our current study: the Imago Dei. The image of God. The Old Testament begins by affirming how God made human beings in God’s own image. Then in the New Testament Jesus bears the designation of being the true image of God (See Colossians chapter 1, one of our two...

#128. Page-Turner Episode 33/January 20

On this Inauguration Day, Shane, Kevin, and Karen have a guest, Mary Shea, join them. Did you know that the DUMC Chapel has a bell in the steeple? Kevin shares where the bell came from and when it was rung for the first time. The main topic the group discusses today is about the new building proposal that has been in the works for years. Mary gives an update on the progress the Building Committee has made and what the next steps are. They also share images of what the new building will look l...

#127. January 17 - Rev. Shane Page

This Sunday we begin our first sermon in our new series and churchwide book study on Gary Moon’s Apprenticeship with Jesus: Learning To Live Like The Master. We will launch the series by reflecting on the question posed by two prospective disciples to Jesus, a question which begins John’s gospel: “Master, where are you staying?” Their question captures the essence of what discipleship, a word often bandied about without much thought nowadays, would have meant in the ancient world and still do...

#126. Page-Turner Episode 32/January 13

In typical fashion, Shane, Kevin, and Karen go down a rabbit hole of discussing old tv shows and movies and come out with a topic idea for a future episode. Shane also shares what character he dressed up as for Halloween based on a popular 80's television show. The main topic for today focuses on the events of last week at the Capitol and how the Girardian philosophy regarding the mob and scapegoat mechanism took over and how that relates to the Bible and today.

#125. January 10 - Rev. Shane Page

This Sunday we will commemorate, along with churches the world over, the Baptism of Jesus, which officially began the mission for which he was born at Christmas. Remembering our Lord’s baptism will also provide us a chance to remember our own baptism and to recall what happened on the day when we too entered the blessed waters and had pronounced over us the name of the Triune God. Much was at stake in that moment and it is only fitting that we renew this Sunday the good work God began in each...