“I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.” (1 Corinthians 1:10)
When it comes to modern day heroes of the faith, we probably think of individuals like Mother Theresa, Billy Graham, and – Mr. Rogers? Though you might never have realized it just from watching his show, Fred Rogers was an ordained pastor, who went to Pittsburgh Seminary where he studied theology, Hebrew, and Greek. Everything that Mr. Rogers did–from the title of his famous show “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood” to the iconic song “Won’t You be my Neighbor”–focused on this idea of what it meant to be a neighbor and part of a community, a neighborhood.
Jesus also spent a considerable amount of time talking about neighbors and neighborhoods. He taught that the greatest commandments were to love God and love your neighbor. On the surface, that doesn’t sound too hard, right? Love the person who lives right next door to you. Easy. Right? In our communities today we see people struggling to get along with each other—so many differences of opinions and beliefs, theological, moral, cultural, political, and many others.
The Apostle Paul tells of another community with multiple struggles in his letter to the Church in Corinth. Paul beckons his readers to participate in the story of the cross–a narrative in which all that we think we know about the world, its value, its knowledge, its wisdom, its virtue, is reconfigured by God’s great act of salvation in Christ. The message of the cross is not something that only applies to the people of God—But impacts and gives shape to the entirety of our lives together as humanity.
Join us this week at Sedona United Methodist Church as the Rev. Fred Mast begins a new Sermon Series entitled “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” Sunday mornings we enter the spirit of worship at 9:30 am featuring meaningful and uplifting music, special times of prayer and passionate life changing messages designed to move you closer in your relationship with Jesus Christ and others.
Immediately following worship, you are encouraged and invited to stay and join us in our Fellowship Hall for the friendliest and best fellowship time anywhere featuring delicious snacks and great coffee and always friendship.
We offer several weekly book and bible studies: Wednesday’s our Men’s Bible Study at 9am; and Thursday’s our Women’s Bible Study at 9:45am. So many great missions, ministries and events happening at Sedona UMC—Visit our website at us on www.sedonaumc.org and “Like” us on Facebook.
We would love to pray for you! —Prayer requests may be submitted online or by calling us at 928-282-1780. We are conveniently located at 110 Indian Cliffs Road off the Back O’Beyond roundabout on Route 179 in Sedona. All are welcome at Sedona UMC—Come and grow with us!
