Holy Cross United Methodist Church

Thursday, May 19th Devotional as we prepare for Sunday, May 22nd Worship. The readings for May 22 point us toward a readiness to respond to the leadings of the Lord, whether they are what we expect or not. Read John 14:23-24 ... 23 Jesus answered, Whoever loves me will keep my word. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Whoever doesn’t love me doesn’t keep my words. The word that you hear isn’t mine. It is the word of the Father who sent me. Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright 2011 by Common English Bible *** What proves to you that indeed you love Jesus?

Wednesday, May 18th Devotional as we prepare for Sunday, May 22nd Worship. The readings for May 22 point us toward a readiness to respond to the leadings of the Lord, whether they are what we expect or not. Read Acts 16:11-15 ... 11 We sailed from Troas straight for Samothrace and came to Neapolis the following day. 12 From there we went to Philippi, a city of Macedonia’s first district and a Roman colony. We stayed in that city several days. 13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the riverbank, where we thought there might be a place for prayer. We sat down and began to talk with the women who had gathered. 14 One of those women was Lydia, a Gentile God-worshipper from the city of Thyatira, a dealer in purple cloth. As she listened, the Lord enabled her to embrace Paul’s message. 15 Once she and her household were baptized, she urged, Now that you have decided that I am a believer in the Lord, come and stay in my house. And she persuaded us. Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright 2011 by Common English Bible *** Look at the map in your Bible which traces Paul’s missionary journeys and follow the geography of this passage. Think also about helpful people who have come along at just the right time, like Lydia.

Tuesday, May 17th Devotional as we prepare for Sunday, May 22nd Worship. The readings for May 22 point us toward a readiness to respond to the leadings of the Lord, whether they are what we expect or not. Read Acts 16:9-10 ... 9 A vision of a man from Macedonia came to Paul during the night. He stood urging Paul, Come over to Macedonia and help us! 10 Immediately after he saw the vision, we prepared to leave for the province of Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them. Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright 2011 by Common English Bible *** Have you ever had a vision which has motivated a change in your life? Review some of the things which informed your most important decisions.

Monday, May 16th Devotional as we prepare for Sunday, May 22nd Worship. The readings for May 22 point us toward a readiness to respond to the leadings of the Lord, whether they are what we expect or not. Read Psalm 67 ... Let God grant us grace and bless us; let God make his face shine on us, Selah 2 so that your way becomes known on earth, so that your salvation becomes known among all the nations. 3 Let the people thank you, God! Let all the people thank you! 4 Let the people celebrate and shout with joy because you judge the nations fairly and guide all nations on the earth. Selah 5 Let the people thank you, God! Let all the people thank you! 6 The earth has yielded its harvest. God blesses usour God blesses us! 7 Let God continue to bless us; let the far ends of the earth honor him Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright 2011 by Common English Bible *** Spend some time today praising the Lord for blessings which you have received and the difference they have made in your life.

We continue our exploration of the life and work of Jesus this week as we look at the temptations he endured in the wilderness and then how his public ministry began, according to the gospels of Matthew and Luke. Monday, February 15th Devotional as we prepare for Sunday, February 21st Worship. Read Matthew 4:1-11:... 4 Then the Spirit led Jesus up into the wilderness so that the devil might tempt him. 2 After Jesus had fasted for forty days and forty nights, he was starving. 3 The tempter came to him and said, Since you are God’s Son, command these stones to become bread. 4 Jesus replied, It’s written, People won’t live only by bread, but by every word spoken by God. 5 After that the devil brought him into the holy city and stood him at the highest point of the temple. He said to him, 6 Since you are God’s Son, throw yourself down; for it is written, I will command my angels concerning you, and they will take you up in their hands so that you won’t hit your foot on a stone. 7 Jesus replied, Again it’s written, Don’t test the Lord your God. 8 Then the devil brought him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 He said, I’ll give you all these if you bow down and worship me. 10 Jesus responded, Go away, Satan, because it’s written, You will worship the Lord your God and serve only him. 11 The devil left him, and angels came and took care of him. Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright 2011 by Common English Bible ***Which of these temptations pose the greatest threat to your spiritual equilibrium? How do you turn to the Bible for help?

February 14 , 2021

A message for our children:

A message for our youth:

As we move towards Lent, we will interrupt our study of the Old Testament to spend several weeks immersed in the life and teachings of Jesus. This week we will consider Jesus' baptism and the beginning of his public ministry. Saturday, February 13th Devotional as we prepare for Sunday, February 14th Worship. Read John 1:35-50:... 35 The next day John was standing again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus walking along he said, Look! The Lamb of God! 37 The two disciples heard what he said, and they followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and saw them following, he asked, What are you looking for? They said, Rabbi (which is translated Teacher), where are you staying? 39 He replied, Come and see. So they went and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. 40 One of the two disciples who heard what John said and followed Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, We have found the Messiah (which is translated Christ[a] ). 42 He led him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas (which is translated Peter). 43 The next day Jesus wanted to go into Galilee, and he found Philip. Jesus said to him, Follow me. 44 Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law and the Prophets: Jesus, Joseph’s son, from Nazareth. 46 Nathanael responded, Can anything from Nazareth be good? Philip said, Come and see. 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, Here is a genuine Israelite in whom there is no deceit. 48 Nathanael asked him, How do you know me? Jesus answered, Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree. 49 Nathanael replied, Rabbi, you are God’s Son. You are the king of Israel. 50 Jesus answered, Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these! Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright 2011 by Common English Bible ***Take a few minutes to look clearly at how people responded to Jesus when he called them, and how it seemed that some of them had been looking for someone to follow prior to Jesus' arrival on the scene.

This week's readings follow the fortunes of the people of Israel as they move through the wilderness, dealing with disappointment and frustration. Friday, November 13th Devotional as we prepare for Sunday, November 15th Worship. Read Exodus 16:1-36...Continue reading

November 8, 2020