Grace for All

Luke 6:32-36 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.Jesus is making a specific point in this passage about our enemies, or those who oppose us or who seem to be the opposite of what we are. We should love those people and do so extravagantly. We have heard this many times.I think there is another lesson in these verses that we may miss if we focus solely on enemies. During nearly forty years of my adult career, I was privileged to be a college teacher, and I loved the work that I did. I truly enjoyed delving into the topic that I was assigned to teach, and I always tried – sometimes more successfully than others – to generate some enthusiasm for those topics and to convey that enthusiasm to my students. It was sometimes hard work, and it often required many daytime, nighttime, and weekend hours. But I enjoyed it and felt like that’s what was required if I wanted to give my students a good experience in my classes.Along the way, I learned something that all teachers know. It is a secret of the profession, but I will let you in on it. When you teach, you inevitably learn more than your students.I was always trying to give my students something. But I always found that the rewards of knowledge and understanding were greater than what I could convey to them.Yes, you should love your enemies – and your friends. You should love without expecting anything from them. You should give your whole self to other people without holding back. Then, according to Christ, your reward will be great and you will be the children of God.Prayer:Our Father, show us ways that we can give ourselves to others without expecting anything in return from them. Show us how to love extravagantly and generously. Amen.This devotion was written by Jim Stovall. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected]. First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

John 13:34–35 (CEB) “I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.”In a world divided by politics, denominations, and doctrinal disagreements, we often look for ways to distinguish who’s “in” and who’s “out.” Is it the way we baptize? The name on the church sign? The theological statements we affirm? But Jesus cut through all of that with a single, unmistakable command: “Love each other.”That’s it. That’s the identifying mark of a follower of Jesus.In the early days of the church, when Christians faced persecution, believers had to find ways to identify each other discreetly. One such method was the ichthys, the simple fish symbol. When meeting someone new, a Christian might draw one arc in the dust. If the other person completed the fish, they knew they were in safe company. It was a quiet symbol of shared belief. But while the fish marked one another in secret, Jesus said love would be the visible sign to the world.Tertullian, a second-century Christian writer, famously described how the pagans of Rome viewed the early believers: “See how they love one another!” That’s what stood out. Not their theological precision. Not their rituals. Not even their preaching. It was their love, a love that reached across social classes, that embraced the sick and the outcast, that gave generously and forgave deeply.Imagine if that were still the first thing people noticed about Christians today.Too often, we let lesser things divide us. We argue over who’s doing church the right way. We draw lines over politics or preferences. And in doing so, we sometimes lose sight of the very thing Jesus told us would reveal Him to the world.The fish might have helped early Christians identify one another, but love is how the world is supposed to identify us.Love isn’t optional. It’s the command. And not just any love, but the kind Jesus showed: sacrificial, patient, persistent. Love that gets its hands dirty. Love that holds space for differences. Love that serves, listens, and forgives.If we want the world to know Jesus, then we must start by living out this one identifying mark He gave us.Prayer:Lord Jesus, you didn’t say the world would know us by our buildings or beliefs, but by our love. Teach us to love as you loved: boldly, humbly, and without condition. Let our lives reflect the grace we’ve received. May those who meet us say, “See how they love.” Amen.Today’s devotional was written and read by Donn King. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected]. First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

1 Corinthians 10:24No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.Proverbs 19:17Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed. Several years ago, I was heading up a USAID project in Southern Africa and I found myself in Mozambique at an agricultural experiment station. The grant I had contained little room for unplanned expenses. But with that grant, we trained more than 15,000 farmers in Lesotho, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe and greatly improved corn yields for those farmers.But on this day, I needed to go to another location. I found a minibus going that way, and I paid the equivalent of about $5, and got in. Occupancy should have been twelve, but I counted more than 20 people. It took us 5 hours to go about 130 miles.I got the seat on the hump next to the driver and had to put my arm around him so I could breathe. The bus was hot, everyone was sweaty, and the smell of the disinfectant used to clean wounds was thick. Many on the bus had bandages on extremities and eyes. But everyone had a smile. The driver said that just about all the passengers were going to a hospital for surgery or follow-ups, Many made the trip weekly. The road was awful. The potholes were huge and could be more than 4 feet deep. We hit one and had to sit on the edge of the pothole and to wait for the water to evaporate so the engine would start. The temperature climbed past 100..I was hungry. My breakfast had been gone for hours. In my backpack I had two packets of cookies.. I got a package out, opened it, and then handed them back to the seat behind me. I did the same with the other package. I had just given away all of my food and had kept nothing for me. Soon there was a tap on my shoulder and a small bag of potato chips to share, some salty crackers followed, and some homemade food and there were always smiles and thank you’s given. Then one of my cookie packets came back with one cookie left in it. The lady behind me took it out and handed it to me. And then the other one came back with one left, and it was handed to me. The kindness brought tears to my eyes.I have so much to learn. And that day I learned the lesson Mom and Dad tried to teach me. If you put others first, good things will happen.Prayer:Dear Lord, help us to remember that practicing generosity is what you expect of all who walk with you. Amen.This devotion was written by Neal Esh and read by Jim Stovall. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected]. First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Isaiah 58:2, 4, 7Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God. (Isaiah 58:2)Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. (Isaiah 58:4)Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? (Isaiah 58:7)In 2022, along with others, I followed a program to read the entire Bible. When we read this selection from Isaiah, some editions subtitled it “False and True Worship.” The jest of the passage is that true worship is a lot more than attending a gathering to sing a few songs, follow a ritual, say a prayer and say the right words. It is also how we think and act and what we say outside those gatherings.Does this mean that when we serve or deliver food to others that these can be times and acts of worship? Does this mean that if by our circumstances we cannot do any of these activities personally but support them, that this can be an act of worship?If yes, does it affect the way we approach and go about these activities?I think that the answer is yes. These can be more than “feel good” activities. If done in a way that is an expression of reverence to God, they are part of true worship. Approached as a part of worship they not only feed the body, but feed the soul, ours and theirs.PrayerEver present and loving God, forgive us when we fail to honor and reverence you. Help us share what you have given us in a way that pleases you. AmenThis devotional was written by Alvin Jenkins and read by Owen Ragland.Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Luke 3:9-11 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”“What should we do then?” the crowd asked.John answered, "Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same."(Luke 3:9-11)I volunteer at a local non-profit called Good Neighbors. We provide emergency assistance for rent, rent deposits, utilities and utility deposits. I have had many memorable experiences while working there but one day there was what I could call a "first." A woman came in inquiring about the "Coats for the Cold" program sponsored by the Knox Area Rescue Ministries. It’s a program where donated coats are handed out free to those who need them. She was looking for a coat for her mother who recently moved in with her. We had no more vouchers available for the coats, so I gave her a list of several places where vouchers could be found. I returned to my desk to complete some paperwork when I overheard this conversation from the reception area. Another of our neighbors, someone who was seeking utility assistance, stood up, removed her own coat, and said, "Could she wear this one? It's clean and I want her to have it." The first lady responded, "I can't take your coat!" but the other one answered, "I have another one at home, and you need it." The first woman was shocked but took the coat and left thanking her over and over. I was stunned for a moment, but went to her and said, "Thank you for that amazing act of love." As she started down the hall to speak with a coach about her own needs, she answered. "We've all been there, and her mother needed a coat."She did get help for payment of her utility bill and thanked me as she left. I again thanked her. Yes, I donate frequently, but inside I was in turmoil as I had a coat hanging on the hook in the hall and offering mine had never even entered my thinking. A moment of grace had happened right in front of my eyes, but I somehow felt I had missed an opportunity. PrayerDear God, open our eyes so that we can see the need of the moment and respond in love. Amen.This devotion was written and read by Susan Daves.Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected]. First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Luke 10:25-29 (NIV)25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”Who is my neighbor?This is as difficult a question today as it was in Jesus’ time on earth. It is a question that begs for limits. Is it my next-door neighbor? Is it my brother-in-law? Is it the homeless person I drive by at highway entrances?I have a story. Back in the 1980s we lived in Cedar Rapids, Indiana and were members of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church. St. Paul’s is a historic church. Its building was designed by Louis Sullivan, a brilliant architect and mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright. St Paul’s was for many years the flagship Methodist church in the state of Iowa. But that is not the story.At St. Paul’s, I was a member of a church committee dedicated to outreach. The neighborhood around the church was changing and many of our members had moved to the suburbs. We decided we needed to establish an event titled “Who is My Neighbor?” We wanted to identify and celebrate people in our city who had been good neighbors to others. We found that our first good neighbor was a member of our church.In 1961, Dr. Percy Harris was a renowned physician in Cedar Rapids and the only Black member of St. Paul’s UMC. He and his family wanted to build a home on a lot in a residential community owned by the church. The problem was that Dr. Harris was a Black man. Even though he was Linn County Medical Examiner and County Clinic Director at St. Luke’s Methodist Hospital, his desire to build a home in a white neighborhood was controversial. The church members had to vote on whether to approve the sale. The vote was 460 yes and 291 no, and some members left the church afterwards. But the property was sold to Dr. Harris and his wife Lileah, and he built a home for his family and lived there for many years.In 1981, the first “Who is My Neighbor” award was presented to Dr. Percy Harris, and the award was named “The Percy and Lileah Harris Award ” in honor of their leadership and lifelong roles in bringing the community together.44 years later, the “Who is My neighbor” Award continues to be presented at St. Paul’s. When Jesus was asked “Who is my neighbor?” he told the story of the good Samaritan, a stranger on the margins of society who stopped to help another stranger in need. This year’s award was presented to Mike and Toni Loyal, a same sex couple who serve as leaders in arts and education in the Cedar Rapids community. The plaque they received states, “In recognition of your commitment to live in harmony with others and promote equality and social justice in the community.” St. Paul’s UMC has raised up many in the community who reach out to expand the meaning of neighbor and to heal divisions and bring people together.Please pray with me:Dear Lord, be with us as we seek to be neighbors to those whom we are tempted to pass by, or overlook in our everyday lives. Give us the courage and strength to stop and connect with new and unexpected neighbors. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.Today’s podcast was written by Laura Derr and read by Greta Smith.Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Matthew 13:31-32 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”So many sermons and commentaries focus on how small and insignificant a mustard seed appears, but there is something else to be noticed. More attention should be given to the act of planting it in the field and what it takes to become the largest of garden plants.A seed is about potential- a catalyst. Seeds, despite their size, have always held great value because they will feed us in the future. But if we hoard them in hopes of amassing wealth, they are wasted and lose their ability to germinate.Not all seeds will grow into a thriving plant. It is not a given that we will become a thriving part of God’s vision. If each of us is a mustard seed, we have the opportunity to grow and thrive, to shelter and care for, bringing the kingdom of heaven to those we shelter and care for.If God’s kingdom is like a mustard seed then it has the potential to grow and be used. We are also given the opportunity to sow seeds, to nurture growth in the lives of those around us, helping to grow a tree that shelters the next generation.But first the seed must be planted and nurtured. Not left on a shelf. Not hoarded like gold.And like all things in nature, plants have their season of growth and then wither. The seed perishes in the process of creating the plant. The plant that produces more seeds for the next season expends its life to create many more seeds. Once our own seed has been nurtured into maturity, we have a responsibility to nurture others’ seeds and growth. We have a responsibility in the present because we create the seeds of the next generation.What we do in the present is what happens in the future. If we hesitate to act, waiting to grow and assuming someone else will sow the seeds, then we will not bring the kingdom of God near.With all seeds, it is not about the humble seed which starts the process but what the plant becomes and produces that makes the world what it is. It is not where we start our journey, not even when we start, but where we end and what we have produced along the way that fulfills the mission of Jesus.Please join me in prayer today.Lord, may we grow in your mission to provide a present and future worthy of your vision. We are as small and humble as the mustard seed, but with your help and nurturing love, may we grow and thrive so that we may share all you have given us with those around us. May we spread your love in this world until the next generation grows to fill our place in this mission, Amen.This devotional was written by Jill Pope and read by Greta Smith. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Isaiah 43:18-19 "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." We live in a world where every day we are bombarded with sounds and images of new things. Often, they are images of violence and destruction. It is easy to forget that some things in our world are eternally new and beautiful: the changing of the seasons, a baby’s laugh, voices lifted up in harmony. It is also easy to forget that God’s message to human beings is new every day. Recently, our congregation heard the story of Sam Dzobo, a Zimbabwe native and Assistant District Superintendent in the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church. Rev. Dzobo is a graduate of Duke Divinity School and Asbury Seminary. But Dzobo’s encounter with “a new thing” began when he was 13 years old in a village in Zimbabwe. While running an errand for his father on Sunday morning, he happened to hear singing in the schoolhouse. He told us, “The woman who was leading the worship invited me in … and that whole congregation started singing.” The song they sang in the Shona language is translated in English as, ‘Now that you have come, it is good.’” * Dzobo’s heart was overcome with what he called “a rush of welcome and love.” His life was changed that day. As part of the Holston Conference, Dzobo has served numerous small congregations in East Tennessee, including Mary’s Chapel in Bean Station, a congregation of about 35 people. When Dzobo shared his dream of building a church in his hometown in Zimbabwe, the congregation raised over $48,000 in six years and the dream is now a reality. When he was invited into a worship service in a school building as a 13-year-old, a new thing transformed Sam Dzobo’s life. He said, “’It just turned my whole world around.” Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to see what new thing is waiting for us each day, and to respond with joy. Amen. This devotional was written by Laura Derr and read by John Cherry. All quotations are taken from Holson Conference article in The Call, “Pastor from Zimbabwe Prays for His Nation, Church,” December 11, 2017, by Annette Spence.Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Welcome to a special bonus episode of the Grace for All podcast. With this episode, we are stepping out of our normal format to bring you this 25-minute reflection by Herb Sadler. In it Herb takes us deeply into one of Jesus' most famous stories: the Parable of the Good Samaritan. We hope you enjoy this episode.The Christian faith comes down to the great commandment. If you distill it, the essence of Christian living is to love God and love your neighbor with equal regard to yourself. The two most famous and best-loved stories Jesus told were the Prodigal Son—about our relationship with God—and the Good Samaritan—about our relationships with other people.It is recorded in the 10th chapter of Luke's gospel, and it happened like this. There was a group of people and an expert in religious law asked Jesus a question: “Teacher, what do I need to do to have eternal life?”And Jesus said, “Well, you know the scripture. What do you think?”And the man replied by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength.” And then he added Leviticus 19:18, “...and love your neighbor as you love yourself.”Jesus said, “That's it. You got it.”Then the lawyer asked the second question. He said, “Well, who is my neighbor?”Great question. In other words, who is it I am supposed to love? And in answer to that question, Jesus told a story.A man was traveling on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. Now, let me stop here. I know this road. I have traveled this road a dozen times or more. Jerusalem sits at a high altitude, approximately 2,500 feet above sea level. Jericho, just 17 miles away, is adjacent to the Dead Sea, 1,300 feet below sea level—the lowest point on the surface of the Earth. In other words, in those 17 miles, you lose three-quarters of a mile of altitude. So, it's all downhill. And once you clear Jerusalem, there's nothing. There are rocks and hills and wadis and maybe the occasional ragged Bedouin tent with a couple of goats, and that's it. Nothing. And the ancient road ran parallel to the modern road, and people knew that it was a favorite hideout spot for bandits.And so this happened. They stripped him, beat him, and left him half dead beside the road. Now, by chance, a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.Then a Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine, bandaged them, put the man on his own donkey, and took him to an inn where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins telling him, “Take care of the man. If the bill runs higher than this, the next time I'm here, I'll pay you.”“Now, which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”And Jesus said, “Yes, now you go and do the same.”In this story, there are three groups of people, and every character in the story represents a group of folks, as we shall see.The First Group: Those Who Are HurtThere are all kinds of ways of being hurt. Physically, emotionally, spiritually, relationally, financially—all kinds of ways of being hurt. So, who fits in this category? Who are those who hurt? Well, sometimes it's you, and it's me. We've already heard it in the joys and concerns period. I have a son dying with cancer, and it hurts. Some of you have lost a spouse; the Bones have lost a child. You got somebody you love who has Alzheimer's. You're estranged from somebody you love. Every one of us sooner or later hurts. And even when we don't, the people around us do.For many years, I had the same routine when I was working. I would get up about 5:30 in the morning. Barbara is an early riser, but not that early. So, I would slip away, drive down to the local Waffle House, go in, turn right, last booth, sit there. All the waitresses knew me. I knew all of them. I knew their stories. They would bring me a cup of coffee and a glass of water and leave me alone until I needed another cup of coffee. And I would read the newspaper, and I would meditate, and I would work on a sermon a little bit. I spent an hour or so, six days a week, early morning.On Saturdays, though, I would come in later, 9:00 or 9:30. So this had to be on a Saturday. The parking lot was full, the restaurant was full, somebody was in my booth. So I just stood there at the high counter waiting for a stool, and the guy finished his breakfast, and I sat down. The person who came over to serve me was a haggard-looking young woman. I didn't know her. I knew all the waitresses. So, they had imported this girl, I guess, because it was so crowded.

John 19:28-30 (ESV)After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.When Jesus said, in verse 30, it is finished, every Jewish person who heard him would have immediately understood their significance. Every year, on the Jewish holiday known as the Day of Atonement, the Jewish High Priest sacrificed an animal to atone for the sins of the nation of Israel, as prescribed in the law of Moses. The sins of the nation were symbolically placed on the animal, and its blood served as payment for those sins. Immediately after the sacrifice was made, the Priest would come out of the temple and announce, "It is finished." The sins of the nation were covered for another year.When Jesus used that same phrase - it is finished - he signaled that the need for animal sacrifice was over. In his death, he took the sins of the world on himself and paid for them with his own blood.The “it” in the sixth utterance of Christ on the cross - it is finished - refers to the whole reason he came to earth in the first place. He came to take the sin of the world on His shoulders and offer Himself as a sacrifice to His Father for it. He came to pay for my sins and yours. He came to give us a new beginning.That "it" is the reason we all sit here today reconciled to God with the hope that we will live with Him, starting today and for eternity.Let’s all remember that as Jesus uttered his last words, He was thinking about you and about me, and how he had just accomplished His mission—the "it" of making all of us God’s children again.God, we thank you that you made a way. We thank you that although we live in rebellion, you love us and want a relationship with us. We are thankful that Jesus finished his mission and because of that, we can once again and forever call you Father. Amen.This devotion was written by Cliff McCartney and read by Judy Wilson.Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. A very wealthy man publicized that he was willing to pay a substantial price to the artist who could best illustrate the presence of peace. Several artists submitted pictures depicting sunsets, lazy rivers, and serene landscapes, but none of those were what he was looking for. One day he came across two paintings: one was a quiet mountain lake as still as glass and reflecting the bright blue sky and the mountains. Sitting next to it was a painting of the same lake, but choppy waves, dark clouds, rain, and lightning. The people who were following this exercise watched as the man examined the paintings, thinking that of those two paintings, surely he would choose the one with the still lake and mountains. They were shocked as he chose the second picture - the one depicting the stormy lake. The crowd looked to man, understandably confused. He explained his choice: The first painting was peaceful, but it didn’t describe where peace came from. Peace is easy to see in a crystal-clear lake with white clouds drifting across the sky. Then he pointed out something in the second painting. There was a waterfall, and tucked into a crevice of the mountain near it was a small nest on which a mother bird sat on her eggs. The man said, “This second painting is a picture of true, perfect peace because it is within the storms of life we find real peace in God, knowing His presence will guard and protect us even in the midst of this world’s storms.” Peace is not the absence of strife or despair or hope. It is not the absence of anything. It is the presence of God. The word for peace used in our scripture today - eirēnē - is the same word used in Galatians chapter 5 in which the fruits of the spirit are listed: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. It is the same word used in Paul's letter to the Philippians in which he says that the peace of God "which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Strong's Concordance beautifully defines eirēnē as, "the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is."When Jesus said he was leaving his peace with us he was speaking of an active component of a life lived under the influence of the Holy Spirit; a peace that is unlike what passes for peace in our world today. It is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of Jehovah Shalom - the "God who brings peace."We all can have that peace. We just have to ask—and receive. Prayer: Father, thank you for your peace. Thank you for always being with us. Give us the strength to share your peace with all those we meet. Amen. This devotional was written and read by Cliff McCartney. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Isaiah 42:9-10 See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them. Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth! Isaiah 42:1-9 is often referred to as the first of the Servant Songs. Early in the history of the Christian church these songs became associated with the life, ministry and death of Jesus. God, through the Prophet Isaiah is proclaiming new things will happen. And new things require a new song, sung not just by some, but by all the earth! In Luke, the story of Jesus’ birth, the new thing that God declared would happen, is filled with music. We have Mary’s song, called the Magnificat, Zechariah’s song, the Angel’s singing “Glory to God in the highest!” on the night of his birth and in the temple Simeon breaks into song at seeing the infant Jesus. It seems as if all the world is singing as God does a new thing. What a great reminder to all of us. When new and amazing things happen in our lives we should not take them for granted but instead pause and sing out our praise. When the news is joyous, like the birth of a baby, praise comes easily to hand. But sometimes the new things come with loss and heartache and pain. Are we still to sing a new song to the Lord? We know the answer, it is yes. If not for what we are experiencing, at least for the knowledge that God is with us and we are not going though this time alone. And that song may go out and touch people in ways we do not expect. So God is always doing a new thing in our lives. Sometimes what is new causes us great joy and at times what is new is also pain filled. Even then we are comforted that God is with us. Our God is the God of creation. Our God is continually doing a new thing. We are encouraged to sing praises to God for his love and faithfulness. Where has God done a new thing in your life? Did you pause to sing out your praise? It isn’t too late to do it now. Where is God doing a new thing right now in your life? Are you singing your praises? Let us pray: Loving God. We take comfort that you are with us in all the newness of life. May we always celebrate your loving presence by singing a song of praise and may it echo to the ends of the earth. Amen. This devotion was written by Bill Green and read by Amy Large. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected]. First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Psalm 30:5 (NIV)For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.This verse is part of a Psalm that is a direct conversation with God. It moves from the emotions of dismay, despair and wailing to dancing, joy and praise. The Psalmist moves from the realm of death to renewed life and hope in the Lord.We all have moments in our lives that cause us dismay and despair. These moments stop us in our tracks and can change the course of our lives. They test our resilience and faith.Bishop Michael Curry, who is the first African American Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, described such an event in his memoir, Love is the Way. In 1986, Curry was serving as Rector of St. James Episcopal Church in Baltimore. He found himself in a once prosperous church, the church where Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall had been baptized. But the neighborhood had changed, As Curry said, “In West Baltimore, high society had long ago ceded the area to the merely ‘high.’” Crack cocaine had taken over the streets. Curry encouraged the church to reach out into the community and reclaim the lives of children and the poor. He believed “the church is the only society that exists primarily for those who are not its members.” He and other ministers went out into the streets and preached. St. James established programs for children and youth. The church was making a difference. But one night lightning from a thunderstorm struck the church tower and the entire roof caught fire. Curry feared that “Another good, lasting part of the neighborhood seemed to be disappearing before our eyes.” The fire chief told Curry the only way to save the building was to break the largest stained-glass window to allow oxygen in. Curry gave permission and the firemen saved the building but lost the window and the roof. It felt like God was giving up on this neighborhood. It felt like a time of weeping and loss.A reporter at the scene asked Curry if the church would rebuild in the suburbs. But Curry looked around and saw a young neighborhood boy who was in St. James’ confirmation class. And he said aloud, “We are not leaving. We will rebuild right here.” And over the next two years the congregation did just that, meeting in a plain parish hall in folding chairs. It was a time of joy and renewal. Bishop Curry said, it “might have been the best years we had at St. James.” What seemed like a disaster actually brought renewal. By the time Bishop Curry moved on, the congregation had grown from 250 to 400. Let us pray: Dear God, help us see the hope in times of loss. Help us experience renewal when all we can see is destruction in our lives. We know that you are with us and will show us how to reclaim and renew our lives for your purposes. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.This devotional was written by Laura Derr and read by Ryan Smith. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Mark 4:30-32 He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” A tiny seed growing to great stature! That is what we can all be! Through our actions we can be the wind that gusts upon the calm waters of the pond, stirring up a ripple effect for Christian good in our community. The editorial notations in my Bible indicate that the book of Mark is one of action! Forty two times the Greek word for hurry up is used across Mark. This gospel is imploring us to hurry up! Make a difference for Jesus! So let’s follow Mark’s example and let’s hurry up and grow our own faith. Let’s hurry up and get out there in the world and make a difference modeling the love that God has for us.There are so many things that can grow as the mustard seed does. This podcast originated as an idea, a discussion among three Christians that I know of, and they hurried up and got busy!In my own experience at the food pantry, local middle schoolers hurried up and collected bags and bags of canned goods that were donated. Well, all those cans upon arrival at the pantry had to be organized into flats and moved onto the shelves. We hurried up and got busy!For some reason those students were focused on peas! With their own creativity, I am told that they created a “leaning tower of Peasahhh”! They hurried up and got busy, and we had plenty of peas on flats, on shelves to share with those in need, to share God’s love, as those students and their teachers did! Let us pray: Heavenly Father, give us the energy and conviction to hurry up as Mark urges us to model our lives after Jesus! Amen.This devotion was written and read by Sam Barto. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Romans 5:15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! AdamJesus ChristDust and breathe to dustThe Word incarnate, eternalSinGraceBrokenUnbreakableSelfish sinGrace-filled sacrifice and forgivenessTake and take and takeFreely given in boundless measure The gift given through Jesus Christ is so fundamentally different from any sin committed by Adam or any other person that there is no comparison to be made. No strength I have, no love I share, no forgiveness I offer, no sin I commit, no anger I feel compares with God’s act of love, sacrifice, and forgiveness. Nothing I do—absolutely nothing—good or bad will ever be greater than the love and forgiveness shared through the gift of Jesus Christ. Friend, if you take one thing today, let it be the grace of God. Take it humbly. Take it with thanksgiving. Take it to share with all you encounter today and become one in the body of Christ.Let us pray: Merciful God, whose immeasurable grace always exceeds our greatest trespass, may we receive your gift of grace with joy, that it may, indeed, overflow to many. Amen. Today’s devotional was written by Jill Pope, and read by Greta Smith. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Luke 4: 16-21 When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.” He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. Then he began to speak to them. “The scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!” It long has been recognized that the more clearly an organization understands its mission and the more nearly it operates by that mission, the more effective it is. This is true of corporations, non-profits, athletic teams, and other organized groups, including churches. So the fundamental question for any group to ask is: what is our mission? It likewise is true that individuals who discover a personal mission and build vision and behavior around it likely live highly productive and rewarding lives. Therefore, all of us would do well to ask ourselves: what is my mission in life? As Jesus began his ministry he announced his mission when he preached his very first sermon in his home synagogue in Nazareth. It’s worth noting that this came after he had: 1) Been baptized, and in effect, commissioned; 2) Spent 40 days of preparation and discernment in the Judean wilderness. The mission statement of Jesus, which we read a moment ago, is followed by his declaration, “The scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day.” In other words, Jesus was saying of the Isaiah prophecy, “This is me. This is what I came to do. This is my Mission!” Those of us who have pledged our allegiance to Jesus as Lord and Savior, who have committed to follow in his steps, should see that his mission must become our own, and we are called to the very people he identified in his inaugural public message. Notice again, who these people are:The poor The captives The blind The oppressed It is easy to forget that our Lord saw his mission to the marginalized of society. And Christians, when we understand Jesus, know these are the very people we are to be lifting up. It was his mission. And it’s ours. Prayer: Dear God, Forgive us when we limit Jesus to what he means to us and what he has done for us. Remind us again that belonging to him means that he sends us out to where there is brokenness and darkness. Help us to make his work our work, and his people our people. Amen. Today’s devotional was written and read by Herb Sadler. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected]. First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

John 13:34 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. (John 13:34) To love others seems so easy. A statement we hang on our walls or draw into notebooks surrounded with red hearts. However, when God calls us to love, he doesn’t always mean easy love. Love that comes natural to others who look, talk, act and love like us. That’s simple love. That’s not commandment love. That’s not love that even needs to be taught. God is constantly reminding us that he loves every single one of us. The one’s of us that don’t look like us. The one’s that don’t worship or rejoice or mourn like us. That don’t read the same books to their children or live in the same type of homes or spend their money like we do. The one’s whose families make up an entire rainbow. This type of love can be hard work! It calls me and you to love everyone we meet like family. Like they are part of ourselves. It calls us to put down my expectations that I am right and recognize that we are called to something larger. Prayer: Lord, I pray that all who hear this message will feel pulled to real love–love for a stranger, love for themselves, and love for You. May You teach each of us to love just like You do, without question or hesitation. Amen. Today’s devotional was written and read by Wendy Wand. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Ephesians 6:10-18 (NIV) Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. It seems that the troubles and woes of the whole world are piling up higher and higher, right outside our own front doors! The news is filled with wars and rumors of wars, death and destruction, cruelty and starvation! We are bombarded with bad news stories, rumors and speculation. I don’t know about you, but I sometimes worry for the whole world and I often feel helpless against the onslaught.I think today’s scripture is particularly important, as we live under the heavy burdens of too much information and so much bad, sad news. Most of us desperately want to help, to do something about the pain of the world, to help alleviate the suffering. And my fellow Christians, we can help! Each day we can wake up and put on the Armor of God!First, strap on your Belt of Truth, and your Breastplate of Righteousness. Tie on your Sandals of Peace and put on your Helmet of Salvation. Now, holding your shield of Faith, strap on your Sword of the Spirit. Ready for your battle, you now Seal it all with Prayer, which activates your armor, and you are ready for whatever comes your way! Step into your day alert and praying for others – all others – especially your enemies! Pray for LOVE to win and backup your prayer by moving through your day in the Fruit of the Spirit, with Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness, and Self; confident that God is in control.Will you pray with me? Dear Loving God, help us to be your faithful servants, wearing Your Armor and sealing our hearts with trust in You. Help us to remember what you said in Ephesians 6:12 – “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”And Dear Lord, lead us in the way we should go. Help us to contribute to good in the world and to stand wearing your Armor as a beacon of Hope for the world. In Jesus Name we Pray. Amen.This devotional was written and read by Bernice Howard. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Joel 2:12 -13 CEB Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your hearts, with fasting, with weeping, and with sorrow; tear your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, very patient, full of faithful love, and ready to forgive. The Prophet Joel was tired of the shallow faith he saw in the lives of the people around him. Theirs was a “surface” type of faith. Saying all the right things but without remorse or commitment to real and serious change. He challenges them to a time of fasting and repentance, He uses this visual image: “tear your hearts not your clothing,” which was the ritual way of showing remorse. He wants them to go deeper, to move beyond the external symbols to a real change. Too often we, like the people Joel first challenged, tend to live this surface type of faith. We bless people we meet, we go to church on Sunday, and we ask for forgiveness often. While all of these are good, without sincerity and changed lives we do not improve as a person and we do not deepen our walk with God.I think of an example. A person I knew had an anger problem. Just about anything would set him off. He would yell and sometimes act in a threatening way that scared his family and friends. He would feel genuine remorse later and come asking for forgiveness. Yet nothing really changed. One night he was standing outside of the bedroom as his wife put their daughter to bed. He listened to her prayers. After the normal thanking God for the people and pets in her life she said this, “And God, help daddy to not be angry because I am tired of being afraid.” He was guilt stricken. Words of forgiveness were not enough. He had to do something. That night he got out a jar and put a label on it, “Angry Fines.” The next day he told the family that every time they saw him getting angry to tell him to put a dollar in the jar. Whenever it got to a set amount the family, without him, would go to the movies. Early on the family went to a lot of movies. But each day he strived harder to not have to put in a dollar. One day a year or so later the family realized that it had been more than a month since he had last paid a fine. To celebrate they all went to Disney Land. Sometimes words are not enough. Enacting real change is hard but we don’t have to do it alone. Joel reminds us of the true nature of God. God is patient, loving, compassionate, merciful and ready to forgive. When we truly strive to change we have all the help we need.Change is hard, full of weeping and sorrow, but with love God will see us through to a new beginning. Let us pray:Loving God, help us to go deep to tear our hearts not our clothes. Give us the strength to really change and forgive us and love us throughout this journey. AMENThis devotion was written by Bill Green and read by Amy Large. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Matthew 5:44 NIVBut I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.Jesus said these words in His sermon on the Mount, and he emphasized this command again in Matthew 6:14-15: “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”Forgiving is very important and sometimes quite difficult for us. Think that through. If I asked you to sit down and write a list of your enemies, who would make the list? Maybe people from your past who harmed you, or someone you love, would be first on the list. Maybe you would list collective enemies who harm other people or do great wrongs in the world. Maybe some politicians would make your list, or terrorists, or murderers, and other violent criminals. Maybe some people who disagree with your theology or your philosophy would make the list. Maybe that former friend who betrayed you and broke your heart would be high on the list. Perhaps a close family member who hurt you so much that the bitterness still fills your heart when you are reminded of that person. The list may be long or short, but it is hurtful.Perhaps we need to make a second list of all the sins and hurts we have committed; all the things we need God to forgive us for.Put the two lists side by side, literally or figuratively, and see what God sees—two sinners in need of His great LOVE and forgiveness. Two lists that He can eliminate! He will forgive us if we forgive them! Will we?Let’s pray…Dear loving God, forgive me and help me to forgive my persecutors and my enemies, as well as my loved ones and neighbors. Help me to be most generous with my LOVE and forgiveness. Please forgive these on my list, Lord. You know my heart, Lord, and you know I need a lot of mercy and forgiveness. Help me to be as generous as you, Lord, forgiving over and over – constantly striving to live in LOVE. Help me to remember to love my enemies and to pray for the ones who may hate me and persecute me, just as I pray for myself and all those who love me. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.This devotional was written and read by Bernice Howard. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

1 Peter 4:8 (First Nations Version)Above all, never stop loving each other, for like a warm blanket love covers a great number of broken ways. The comforting warmth a blanket can give on a chilly day or a cold night is something we all have enjoyed since we came into the world. Babies are swaddled, children are tucked under comforters, and adults sometimes enjoy the warmth of quilts made by family members or previous generations. The first people who walked this land had only blankets, animal skins, and wood fires for keeping warm. In the rich imagery of these cultures, love is like a warm blanket. This nurturing love offers a chance to learn from our mistakes and faults. If someone in our lives needs forgiveness, love can help restore harmony and connection. Love acts as a powerful covering for failings within families and community and even ourselves. It can help with feelings of security and safety.We are asked in this verse to love “above all.” Instead of focusing on our broken ways the teachings of Jesus focus on love. When we walk the road of love it becomes easier to build unity with the people around us, with the marginalized, and with those from cultures or groups different than our own. Wounds heal and strong bonds are built as the blanket of love covers and forgives, encourages and brings peace.Think for a moment about where you, in your life journey, might benefit from being surrounded by extra comfort and warmth. Then visualize a colorful, thick blanket wrapping fully around you, bringing peace to the broken places, the heartaches, or the worries. This is a never-ending love, always present, and worth sharing with everyone who walks beside us.Prayer:Loving God, we offer you our broken places and broken ways, knowing that you heal and restore us each day. Help us walk the good road of love, reaching out to those who need comfort. AMEN.This devotional was written by Jenny Green and read by Amy Large. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Ephesians 4:2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.Sometimes I think we have completely forgotten how to be humble. So I asked myself, what does it mean to be humble? I looked it up, and I reviewed the etymology, “from the ground, i.e., humus.” For the language lovers listening—how mundane. But on the other hand, how profound. From the dirt, just like every other creature on the planet, we are all mundane from birth until death.As I pondered the world I live in, I realized that the humble are among us. They simply disappear in a crowd unless we intentionally search for them. They are quiet, almost invisible, and small- intentionally. They move among us whispering, not about themselves, but to check on others, to ask questions like “are you alright?” and to thank others. They do not point out wrong and shout, but they do ask, “Can I help?” They do clean up messes, hug liberally, and provide nourishment for the stomach and the soul. They show up. They look with both eyes open, seeing the hurt and ugliness in the world, and yet seeking out the good and beautiful that sits waiting amongst it all. They hear the shouts, the hurt, and the anger, yet instead of yelling back, they shed a tear, sweep up the broken pieces, offer a kind word, and ask if they can be of help. They break the bread, offer to run the errand, and give up a seat. They do not wear their pride like armor to protect themselves from perceived slights. They bear their hands, not arms, in order to do the work Jesus asks of us in the service of God’s creation.For all the imperfections we see in the world, let us not forget that it is nothing more than a mirror of our own humanness and imperfections. Why do humans feel the need to point out imperfections and flaws? When we see someone stumble, do we stand by and say, “if they had been paying attention, they would have seen that stumbling block?” Or, do we help them up from their fall, ask if they are ok, and help them push the stone from the path so that we do not stumble in the future?We should all realize how little value there is in spending our time focusing on the dead ends and hollow words of our mundane humanness and imperfections. Let us direct our attention and others to what can be done in love. At each moment, shouldn’t we choose a next step that draws us closer to The Way—a step that can help us and others focus on what is of value? For the humble among us quietly share the love of God by focusing on what really matters.Let us pray together:God, help us to accept that we are mundane. In humility, may we accept that we are all of this earth and show us how to value what matters. May we clear paths, offer support, and encourage those around us. Help us to heal wounds, not create them. In quietness and confidence, please guide us with the strength that needs no pride, Amen.This devotional was written by Jill Pope and read by Susan Daves. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Welcome to the Saturday episode of the Grace for All podcast. Thank you for joining us today. Saturday is a special time when we take a few moments to review the scriptures that we have cited in the episodes this week.If you missed any of those episodes, you might want to consider listening to them today. And even if you heard them all, there may be one that you might want to listen to again. We hope that each of these scriptures and podcasts will bring you a full measure of joy, peace, and love.Now, let's listen to the scriptures that have been on our hearts this week.Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Proverbs 17:17 (CEB)Friends love all the time, and kinsfolk are born for times of trouble.Friendship is an easy word to use when life is calm. It becomes harder to define when circumstances change, and the structures that once held relationships in place fall away.Over more than twenty years of caring for our disabled daughter, I’ve learned that some relationships fade not because people are unkind, but because endurance asks more than sympathy. When a situation becomes long-term instead of temporary, love is tested quietly.When Hannah moved into a nursing home last August, many relationships naturally shifted. Nurses who had cared for her in our home for years were no longer part of our daily lives. That was expected. Roles had changed.But one nurse continued to come to Hannah’s room even after she had no professional obligation to do so. She washed Hannah’s hair, brushed it slowly, sat with her, and talked with her. She wasn’t doing that for us. She was doing it for Hannah.Hannah could not communicate in typical ways, but she was clear about how she felt around the people who cared for her. On those days, she was visibly calmer and at ease. Her body told the story her words could not. She knew she was being loved.That care was not transactional. Hannah could not repay it. And yet the relationship was real and mutual. The nurse knew the difference her presence made. Hannah knew she was safe. Something meaningful moved in both directions, even though it looked different on each side.Proverbs says that a friend loves at all times, and that a brother is born for adversity. It’s not drawing lines between friendship and family. It’s reminding us that love proves itself by staying.Sometimes, family is defined by genetics. Sometimes it is discovered through faithfulness. Often, it is recognized only when obligation has ended, but love has not.Prayer:Father, thank you for love that shows up quietly and keeps showing up. Help us notice the gifts of presence we’ve been given, and shape us into people who offer the same to others. May our love reflect yours. Amen. This devotional was written and read by Donn King. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

I Corinthians 13:4-7 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.I John 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.God is love. This simple truth is the heart of the Christian faith. God is love, and today’s beautiful and often quoted scripture from Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church describes how love shows itself in action. It can help us discern God’s activity in the world. If we substitute God for love, we can be reminded that God is patient and God is kind. God does not boast, and is not proud. God does not dishonor others and is not self-seeking. God is not easily angered and keeps no record of wrongs. God does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. God always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.I find this so comforting. It blesses me to pause and consider the tenderness, patience, and strength with which God loves me and all of those whom I love. God is love. It is a simple truth to which I cling. But simple does not mean easy. Simple can be challenging. Simple can be downright hard.Whoever does not love does not know God. And that means that if I am trying to live as a Christ-follower, I should also be able to describe myself and my actions with these words. They teach me not only what love is, but how to love. What happens if I substitute my name for the word love in this passage? Is Greta patient? Is she kind? Does she envy, or boast? Does she dishonor others? Is she proud, self-seeking, easily angered? Or, here’s a tough one: does she keep a record of wrongs? Does she delight in evil, or rejoice with the truth? Can I say with conviction, Greta always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres? Today and every day, may I be challenged to love as God loves. May I open my heart to make more room for God, that I might be perfected in love.Prayer:Dear God, you are perfect love. Forgive us when we love imperfectly, and transform us to love as you do, that the world might know you through us. In Christ’s holy name, amen.Today’s devotion was written and read by Greta Smith. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

LamentationLet’s listen to some words of lament from two people discussing anger toward God: PERSON 1: Hey my friend, why so glum? PERSON 2: Oh, you know, work’s not going well; I’ve got family issues, and my marriage is on the way out. PERSON 1: So life is hard, but God is good, right? PERSON 2: If you say so. PERSON 1: What do you mean? You can’t blame all your problems on God. PERSON 2: Why not? If God’s so good and so powerful, why is he allowing life to dump all this stuff on me? PERSON 1: I think you need to pray about all this. PERSON 2: Maybe I do, but I don’t think God would like what I have to say to him right now. God’s not treating me fairly. PERSON 1: It’s not right to pray like that! PERSON 2: Why not? You think God wants me to lie to him? PERSON 1: Well no, but, but, (emphatically) who do you think you are? PERSON 2: I think I’m one of God’s children, but a pretty angry one. PERSON 1: Well maybe you should start your prayer by praising God as your heavenly Father. PERSON 2: I’d rather start by telling him about my anger!Dialogue improvised after this.Our prayer is from Proverbs 3: 5 & 6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight!” Narrated by Ralphine Hood and Bernice Howard. Produced and recorded by Sam Barto.

1 John 4:12Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; If we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.The fourth chapter of 1 John, is the fullest discussion concerning the love of God that we find in our Bible. It is a richer and more challenging message than is to be found in 1 Corinthians 13, often called the “Hymn of Love.” It gives us a definition of God: “God is love.” Think about that. From the beginning of time, people have tried to describe and understand God. The writer of 1 John sums it up in those three words, “God is Love.” Because this is the very nature of God, we have the absolute assurance that God loves us. These are not just words of affirmation but also words of challenge. For the writer of 2 John this means that God is love, we must love one another. All of us who take the name Christian must understand that loving others is not a choice but our duty if we are to faithfully follow our God who is love.We know how hard it is to love everyone. Let’s face it, there are people out there who, to our way of thinking, are unlovable. They have hurt us or ones we love. Others think or believe in ways we see as wrong. Then there are those who, by their choices, seem to have misery and brokenness follow them. But we are, as followers of Christ, to love them anyway.When we do strive to love all people, this passage of scripture says some amazing things happen.The first of these is that God lives in us. God knows how hard it is for us to love some people, and so we don’t have to try to do it all by ourselves. The God of love abides in us, giving us the power and strength to love. Think about it. Don’t we all want God to live deep inside us, helping us and bringing light to all of our lives? If God is Love, then the only way to make that happen is to love others. Loving others opens our hearts and lives to more fully welcome God into our lives.Second, as we do this, God’s love matures within us. Loving as God wishes is a skill that is to be learned. And like all skills, the more you practice it, the better you get at it.Finally, others, because of that love, glimpse God. No one can see God, but as we live out the command to love, there are glimpses of God for the world to see. The sure sign of God’s continued dwelling among us is our love for one another.As I examine my responses towards people over the past few days, I see where I could have done better. I was not always loving others as God loves me. Those individuals did not, I am guessing, glimpse the light of God’s love in my actions. So this day and every day, I am going to live and love in such a way that God’s love will live in me, enlighten me, and grow in me.Let us pray:O dearest God, you are the source of all love. When our actions betray your loving presence, forgive us. Strengthen us so that we can do better. We know your love is a gift not to hold but to pass on to others through our actions so that they can see you more fully and come to know you more deeply. Guide us and help us to love. AMEN.This devotional was written by Bill Green and read by Cliff McCartney. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Proverbs 17:17 (NIV)A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.Proverbs 17:17 (The Message)Friends love through all kinds of weather, and families stick together in all kinds of trouble.I believe the kind of love spoken of in both of these scriptures is Agape love—love which is selfless, unconditional, and sacrificial. It is rooted in goodwill and action rather than feeling.I have heard it said that it is better to have a friend nearby than a brother far away. I have no brothers, just brothers-in-law, some 500 miles away. As our family has grown, I now have sons-in-law and grandsons-in-law. I know my brothers-in-law would show up if they were needed and lived closer. I also feel that I could call on my sons-in-law if I needed help with almost anything.My observation and experience have been that women develop closer friendships than men. There are surely exceptions, especially where there is a strong common interest like a love of fishing, golf, or some other passion. However, men seem less willing to show any signs of weakness or vulnerability to other men.When we say “love is a verb,” it certainly implies action of some kind. I believe it means an intentional commitment to the well-being of others without expecting anything in return.I have had individuals just show up and offer to help in situations where help was obviously needed. After my father died many years ago, a friend called and said, “Emmit, when are we going to shear the sheep?” There is not one person in a thousand who would make that offer. While not the most unpleasant job, it is very physically demanding. This is especially true if one is not physically fit, as you must put your body in unusual positions for a sustained period. I will never forget that phone call.I hope you have a good friend. They may be in your family or not. They need to be someone you can trust with some of your deepest thoughts, hurts, or feelings. If you don’t have one, maybe the best way to start is by being a good friend and sharing Agape love with others.Prayer: Father, we pray that all can have a good, trusted friend. We know that You are always a friend, but it probably helps to have one with skin on. Amen.This devotion was written and read by Emmit Rawls. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Galatians 5:13 (NIV)Serve one another humbly in love.This is an eye-opening scripture for me. As I have been thinking and reflecting on it these last couple of weeks, memories have been flooding in of people I have known and know who serve humbly often. First, it is important to think about what a humble servant actually looks like. They are not proud, don’t believe they are better than others, respectful, modest, gentle, and unpretentious. Admirable qualities, though they don’t always come naturally. In James 4:6, we read that “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” I believe that humility is a sign of strong character and is often shown in empathy. Humble servants also appreciate their blessings and our thanks.As I have been reflecting, I am more aware of those who modeled being humble servants in my life. Two of the most humble people I ever encountered were my parents. Though I didn’t recognize it fully at the time, looking back, it is very clear. Yes, I knew they were quietly serving others even through small gestures over the years. My mother worked full-time outside the home (most mothers did not at that time), and yet she found time to serve. She baked cookies for our neighbors, created and made crafts for fundraisers for a local organization, knitted blankets, beanies, and dog sweaters for the people she knew and for those she might never meet. Her job was in social services, and she helped so many people. It did not matter who they were, what the situation was, nor how very different their ideas or values might be. She loved our community and was always working to make it safer and more hospitable. She sat with those in need, comforted, and assisted in any way she could.My Dad was also very humble and very much a servant. He was always available to any household on our street – no matter the need. He taught us to see the person behind the story and how their circumstances just might be causing issues for them. He spent so much time with the neighborhood kids, playing ball and assisting with our math homework. When I first married, I discovered some of the quiet services he provided. He went to a local nursing home and read to a very sweet lady who was almost blind. While the reading was a gift, more important was the time he spent with her sharing his love each week. He knew about his fellow workmates, their families, and their ups and downs. He actively prayed for them and helped whenever he could. He wrote letters to his siblings, his friends, those he met when attending banking classes, his kids, and others. He never said a word, but these acts of service were revealed later.My special mentor, an older woman, also served humbly and quietly. No task was too small, unimportant or beneath her. She loved so deeply, and somehow, she always seemed to know what to do. There were many days we spent merely sharing a meal that became moments of real grace as she listened to a much younger person struggling with life. She would never take credit for the many things she did behind the scenes, all done out of love with a servant’s heart. She connected people to each other for the purpose of sharing faith and hope.And then, my neighbor. He’s just amazing. He goes to work in the very early hours of the morning and returns in mid-afternoon. Quietly, we often find our trash can returned to its proper place, our leaves blown off the driveway and side yard. He keeps an eye on the house, moving packages onto the porch when it rains; he bakes cookies to share and spends time chatting with us. He is often found helping the other neighbors as well with mowing, tree limbs, and whatever might happen. It’s just his nature. He is kind, humble, and operates from his faith. He expects no thanks or pat on the back. He’s just following his servant heart.There are many others I might share, but there isn’t enough time in any day. The reality is that all 4 of these servants are humble, not self-serving. They don’t serve others for recognition (in fact, they would rather not be applauded). They are called to serve, to serve quietly, to invite others by their actions into service.I am so grateful for these servants in my life. Today, take a moment to reflect on those humble servants in your life. Thank God for them. Then, start pondering how you serve others. Be a humble servant in the days to come. You will be blessed.Let's pray together.Gracious God, help us this day to serve you by serving others. May we really see the person, your creation, as we serve. May our hearts be humble and our service be meaningful and filled with love. Let us be a blessing to others every day. We pray these things in the name of your son, Jesus Christ. Amen.This devotion was written and read by Lisa Blackwood. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love

You are listening to Grace for All, a daily devotional podcast produced by the people of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee.This is Scripture Saturday, a time when we pause and reflect on the scriptures we have read throughout the week. If you missed any of our devotionals on these passages, you can find them on our website at 1stChurch.org or wherever you get your podcasts.Now, we invite you to listen and receive Grace. Welcome and thank you for joining us.Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Proverbs 10:12 (NIV) Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers all wrongs. There have been several songs written through the years about love being something the world needs now more than ever, with such examples heavy on my mind lately being “Where is the Love?” by the Black-Eyed Peas and “What the World Needs Now is Love” by Dionne Warwick. In watching recent news stories regarding the atrocities that have taken place in Minnesota at the hands of ICE, I feel that the lyrics of each of these songs are something that we ought to be paying closer attention to. The hatred and atrocities brought on by the agents from ICE have taken on many forms, from the murders of Rene Good and Alex Pretti, who were innocent citizens, to the detaining of Liam Ramos, a five year old boy and his forceful separation from his parents all the while defense is being given that the ultimatum was to leave this young, innocent child wearing a blue, rabbit-eared hat to freeze, the hatred is speaking loud and stirring up conflict to the point that it feels impossible to find any sort of hope or love in the world and makes it easy to ask the question the Black-Eyed Peas ask: “where IS the love?”While it seems impossible to find hope and think that love covers all wrongs at the moment, and it will surely take time for it to do so in this time, as Mister Rogers once said: “When I was a boy and would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You always find people who are helping.’” I feel that in this day and age, now more than ever, it’s crucial that we follow Mister Rogers advice that we look for the helpers, or strive to be helpers, to spread that love that the world desperately needs now.Will you pray with me?God, please wrap your loving arms around everyone affected either by the tragedies taking place in Minnesota or those who are simply shaken up seeing more bad news being a constant. But help us not to forget to look for the helpers and try to help give even a faint gleam of love that the world desperately needs now so we may move towards a better tomorrow. In your name we pray, amen.This devotion was written and recorded by Grace Jonas. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Proverbs 17:17 (ESV) A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. A couple of years ago, my family and I took a trip to Normandy, France. We stood on Omaha Beach and Utah Beach. We walked through the American Cemetery, where row after row of white crosses stretch toward the sea. We drove through the Normandy countryside, where during World War II, American soldiers fought their way through hedgerows and small French villages. It's quiet there now. Beautiful, even. But you can still feel the weight of what happened in 1944. Band of Brothers is a TV series based on the Stephen Ambrose book of the same name. I've read the book, and I've seen the series more times than I can count. It is a tradition in my house to watch all 12 hours of the series every Memorial Day. It tells the story of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division—their experiences in World War II, from training in Georgia to celebrating the end of the war at Adolf Hitler's Eagle's Nest. The men in Easy Company weren't related by blood. They came from different states, different backgrounds, different walks of life. They were just regular guys thrown together into an Army unit. But their shared experiences changed that. By the time they reached the Eagle's Nest, they weren't just friends anymore. They were brothers—men who would die for each other, who knew each other's souls, who carried each other's pain. The series takes its name from Shakespeare's Henry V. Before the Battle of Agincourt, King Henry tells his outnumbered soldiers: "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother." Shakespeare understood something about the way shared adversity affects people. Which brings us to Proverbs 17:17: What's the difference between a friend and a brother?The Hebrew word for friend is rea—someone you choose. But ach, the word for brother, carries the sense of being born into relationship. You don't choose your siblings; you inherit them. So here's what the proverb is saying: Friends who love at all times—who show up in the hard moments, who stay when things get difficult—they become brothers. Adversity doesn't just test relationships; it transforms them into something deeper. That's what happened to Easy Company. They chose to be friends, but combat forged them into brothers. Standing there in Normandy, I could almost see it—how every shared foxhole, every battle, every loss made them more family than some people born in the same house ever become. And here's where this hits home for us: The Church isn't meant to be a social club of people who happen to share similar beliefs. We're called to be a family—brothers and sisters forged together through shared adversity. What transforms us from friendly acquaintances into actual family? The same thing that transformed Easy Company. Showing up when it's hard. Sitting with someone through grief. Walking alongside them through doubt. Being honest about our own struggles instead of pretending we've got it all together. Jesus calls us friends in John 15, but by the time we've walked through real life together—through loss and doubt and failure and redemption—we become something more. We become the family of God, brothers and sisters, not by birth but by choice made permanent through shared adversity. So, who in your life has moved from friend to family? Who showed up when everyone else disappeared? And maybe more importantly, who needs you to be that person for them right now? Prayer Father, thank you for the friends who became family by loving us at all times. Help us show up for each other in the hard moments, knowing that's where true brotherhood is forged. Amen. This devotional was written and read by Cliff McCartney. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected]. First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

1 John 4:12 (NIV) No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.No one has ever seen God. That's a bold statement, and it might surprise us at first. What about Moses on the mountain? What about Isaiah's vision of the throne room? What about Ezekiel and the wheels within wheels?But the Jewish teachers understood something important. Moses saw God's glory, but not God's face. Isaiah saw the hem of God's robe, the train filling the temple. Ezekiel was careful to say he saw "the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord." These are protective phrases, theological qualifiers. They saw manifestations, revelations, glimpses. But God's essence, God as God truly is, remains beyond human sight.So if no one has ever seen God, how do we know God is real? How do we encounter the invisible?John gives us the answer, and it is disarmingly simple. If we love one another, God lives in us. Love makes God visible. Not in some abstract, mystical sense, but in concrete, everyday action. When we love our neighbor, we are not just doing something nice. We are participating in a revelation. The unseen God becomes recognizable through human faithfulness.We are made in God's image. That's what Genesis tells us. But that image is not a static thing we possess like eye color or height. It is something we enact. When love remains just a word, just a sentiment we feel but never act upon, the image stays hidden. But when love becomes active, when it takes the form of kindness and generosity and honest engagement with our neighbors, then the image of God becomes legible. People can read it in our lives.This is what it means for God's love to be made complete in us. Not that we perfect ourselves, but that God's own character becomes visible through what we do. We become, in a sense, everyday theophanies. Not burning bushes or pillars of fire, but ordinary people through whom the invisible God shows up.PrayerOur Father, we cannot see you with our eyes, but we can make you visible through our love. Help us to be faithful in this calling, so that others may catch a glimpse of you through us. Amen.This devotional was written by Jim Stovall. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Proverbs 10:12 Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.Turn on the news, open Facebook, any social media sites, or check your preferred news sources, and you will invariably find angry, bitter comments and fighting words. Read or listen for a while, and opponents will soon start slinging angry comments at each other, tempers flare, words get nasty, and hatred boils.Later, we may have conversations about our feelings on the debates we’ve heard, and our anger can grow into hatred for those ideas. Perhaps we even feel hatred for those who take the opposing side. That feeling of hatred can make us unhappy and uncomfortable and can lead to more conflict inside our thoughts. The hatred of the idea pushes us to feel conflicted toward the person and negative words may slip out. Hatred simmers. Where is LOVE?The hated idea is not the person, but the person holding the hateful idea gets stuck in our feelings as an enemy. We don’t start out to hate someone, but those awful conflicting ideas that we disagree with are so hard to separate from the person! How can we forgive the person for the ideas we find detestable ,and how can we LOVE that person, in spite of the awful ideas?Only with the help of God can we reach this goal. Only with the LOVE of Jesus can we get a handle on this dilemma. We must not let hatred stir up conflict in our hearts, for there it will boil over into words or actions and will control our thoughts. If we really focus on the Greatest LOVE ever known in the world – the LOVE God showed for us by giving His only begotten Son to die for us – then God’s LOVE can help to keep our feelings and emotions in check, even when we feel righteous anger.God’s LOVE covers all wrongs. God’s LOVE can transform our angry feelings and relieve our conflict. God’s LOVE overflowing from our hearts can end the battle of ideas and keep us focused on the truth…God is LOVE, and he is asking us to live in that LOVE. He will help us to LOVE our enemy. He will help us to relieve our pain, but we have to allow His LOVE to be first in our minds and hearts.Prayer: Dear God, help us today and every day to center our hearts and minds in your LOVE. Draw us to you in prayer and help us to constantly forgive our enemies and to turn these worries over to you. Help us to remember that an idea is not the person. We don’t have to agree with bad ideas, but we have to find a way to LOVE the people who have the bad ideas, who take the bad actions. We have one job – LOVE YOU and LOVE our neighbors as we LOVE ourselves. Help us to stay focused on that job and to allow you to keep our thoughts covered in LOVE. We can’t change another’s thoughts, but we can change ours with your help. Help us keep our thoughts in LOVE. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.This devotional was written and read by Bernice Howard. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

2 Timothy 4:6-8 As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me, but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.Bonnie Ware spent a number of years as a palliative care nurse. She cared for the dying. Over the course of that time she heard a great many patients express regrets, and she began to catalog them. Some were particular to an individual, but many of them she heard from a lot of patients. She listed the ones she heard most frequently, and from that list and her experiences she wrote a book, “The Top Five Regrets of the Dying.” Here are a couple of them.The most frequent regret she heard was: I wish I had had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others wanted for me. In other words, I wish I had listened to my heart and followed my own dreams rather than trying to meet the expectations of others.Number two was: I wish I hadn’t worked so hard. Every male patient who expressed regret said this. They were saying I wish I had spent more time with the people I love.As I reflected on the most common regrets people have as they near the end of life, what strikes me is that all of them,at the base, have to do with relationships. Jesus told us that what is most important is our relationship with God, with others, and with ourselves. We call this the Great Commandment.In contrast with those who ended up with a life of regrets, listen to the Apostle Paul. He says, “The time of my death is near. I have fought the good fight (that is, I’ve given my life to what matters), I have finished the race (my life is ending), I have remained faithful.” No regrets!It’s not too late for you and me to turn our regrets into resolutions. I Resolve: to live an authentic life, not one someone else wants for me but one true to who I really am.I Resolve: to put relationships first: my relationship with my Creator and my Savior, with central people in my life, and to engage everyone with kindness and helpfulness. So there are no regrets!Prayer:O Holy One, I have this one life to live. Help me not to waste it, but to make your priorities mine, and finish my race with faithfulness. Amen.This devotional was written and read by Herb Sadler. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Galatians 5:13 Serve one another humbly in love.We spend our lives learning how to live. The world is a complicated place. We get to a point where we have knowledge and experience, and we look around trying to solve problems. With an eye to help and being a servant, we try to help others. We want to share. We want to help. We want to love. But sometimes, we think others should thank us for telling them what to do, how to do it, or when to do it. Since childhood, isn’t this how we’ve been told to react to someone who has gone out of their way to help us? Isn’t that what being polite and grateful is about? Heaven help us, we think that they should learn from us, be like us, and value what we have. Where is the humility in this? With closer examination, neither the giving nor the thanking is an issue. So what is the issue then, but simply the expectation. What is humility if not simply abandoning expectation, leaving behind the expectation to be thanked, to be repaid, to be thought well of, to be praised, to be rewarded, to be noticed. Humility is the ability to abandon expectation, both positive and negative. If we carry the love of God to others, then why be troubled by whether we are praised, insulted, or ignored? Let the faith and hope that God’s love brings us be shared regardless of whether others understand the motivation. Let us begin each interaction by looking to what others need and want. Let us start with a question not an answer. Let us start by listening, not speaking. Let us start and end with love, not arrogance. Then the light and love that we share can shine brightest in a world that is filled with need. Let us pray together: God, forgive us each time we let pride in our accomplishments overshadow our gratitude for what you have shared with us. May we not expect to be given but grateful that we have been given love in such abundance that we should never want. May hope and faith lead us to share with others with no expectation other than your love being there for us every moment, Amen. The devotion was written by Jill Pope and read by Susan Daves. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected]. First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Welcome to the Saturday episode of the Grace for All podcast. Thank you for joining us today. Saturday is a special time when we take a few moments to review the scriptures that we have cited in the episodes this week.If you missed any of those episodes, you might want to consider listening to them today. And even if you heard them all, there may be one that you might want to listen to again. We hope that each of these scriptures and podcasts will bring you a full measure of joy, peace, and love.Now, let's listen to the scriptures that have been on our hearts this week. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Psalm 29:11 Let the Lord give strength to his people! Let the Lord bless his people with peace! In isolation the closing verse of Psalm 29 is a soothing verse. But in context, it is even more soothing.It reminds me of a memory I have from childhood. I grew up in West Tennessee. Tornadoes were just part of the landscape, with 92 of them between 1960 and 1980. We didn’t have as many as the folks in Oklahoma. I once knew a guy from Oklahoma who claimed his home had a wind-checker by the front door. It was a knothole through which you poked a crowbar to test the wind. If the crowbar bent, you didn’t open the door. But we had a lot of tornadoes in West Tennessee, and even more storms that were nearly tornadoes.We didn’t have a storm shelter, but my parents had their house built with a central hub instead of a hallway, including a windowless bathroom. I remember huddling with my family in that place of relative safety, insulated from the other rooms with windows that could break in the wind and scatter life-threatening glass shards. Many times we sat in that room lit only by candles with the power out, and listened to the winds howling outside.When the storm passed, the quiet felt more peaceful, less taken for granted, than before the storm.Psalm 29 seems to be a Psalm of David, written as he witnessed a storm sweeping in from the Mediterranean Sea, shattering cedars in Lebanon, and tearing through Israel destroying wilderness and forests before finally devolving into peace, leaving God still enthroned and his people at peace.When God goes with us through the storms of life, it makes the peace he ultimately brings that much more profound.Father, we face many storms in this life. You came to us in the person of Jesus and lived as one of us, among us, and so you know the storms of life firsthand, beyond the knowledge that comes from being our Creator. Thank you for the peace that passes understanding when we trust in you despite our circumstances. In the name of Christ we pray, Amen.This devotion was written and read by Donn King. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

1 Peter 5:7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.This devotion was written and read by Leslie Ragland. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Psalm 28:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.A pivotal figure in the book of Psalms is King David. Each of the Psalms shows a different aspect of the life of King David and his unwavering faith in his Lord, which is what I find perhaps the most impressive about David as a character.What I find even more impressive about David is how far back this faith traces: to his battle with Goliath, in which it seemed the odds were stacked against him, armed only with a slingshot and several stones, while his adversary towered over him and wielded a sword. However, despite these terrifying odds, David stood strong in the face of adversity, placing his trust in the Lord, and was able to slay the giant.David is a testament to the Lord being his strength and shield, as the Lord helped him through what should have otherwise been an impossible battle. However, due to his unwavering faith and trust, he was able to stand strong in the faith of adversity and have God as his strength and shield. In modern times, it is easy to feel that our battles are impossible or likened to Goliaths, however, we should all strive to be like David and let the lord be our strength and shield, for as long as we place our trust in him, he will help and protect us always.Let us pray:Dear God, help us always remember that while we may face some harsh battles, like David, that you are with us. May we place our faith in you so you may be our strength and shield now and always. Amen.This devotion was written and recorded by Grace Jonas. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

John 16:33 (NIV) “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” This scripture appears in the Gospel of John, as part of Jesus’ long soliloquy to the disciples preparing them for his departure. It provides the transition between the Last Supper and the arrest of Jesus. The disciples are confused and troubled by Jesus’ words. It is only after his death and resurrection and appearance in their midst that they begin to understand. Over 2000 years later, we are like the disciples. At moments in our lives, we are stunned by loss and grief and we cannot see the promise of new life. Perhaps it is the end of a relationship; the loss of a job; the death of a loved one. Where do we go from here? One of my favorite stories in the New Testament takes place near the end of the book of John. It is set at the tomb of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, a place of death and loss. It is pre-dawn and Mary Magdalene has come to the tomb and discovered it is empty. She runs to tell Simon Peter and the other disciples. The men rush to the tomb and likewise discover it to be empty, then leave. But Mary stands there weeping. She looks into the tomb and sees two angels inside. They say, “Woman why are you weeping?” Mary replies she does not know where the body of Jesus has been taken, then turns around and, through her tears, sees a man she believes to be a gardener. The figure is actually Jesus, but Mary does not recognize him. He asks her why she is weeping and she says, “Sir, tell me where they have taken him, and I will take him away.” This is the darkest hour, both physically and spiritually, for Mary. Earlier she stood at the foot of the cross. All her hopes and dreams for Christ to be the Savior of the world, have died. And now she cannot even find the body to prepare it for burial. Mary is in despair. Then Jesus speaks her name, “Mary!” and she recognizes his voice. “Rabboni!” she exclaims. And the sun comes up over the tomb and her heart nearly bursts with joy. A new world is dawning, and Mary realizes that Jesus has fulfilled his promise. “In the world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Let us pray: Dear God, we thank you for the fulfillment of your love through the life of Jesus Christ. We know that in this world we will have trouble. But we take heart that you have overcome the world and will work all things for ultimate good. Thanks be to you for the gift of your Son. Amen. This devotion was written by Laura Derr and read by Susan Daves. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected]. First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

John 3:30“He must become greater; I must become less.”In this scripture, John the Baptist is recognizing that his ministry and notoriety will be diminishing as Jesus’ ministry begins. The brash desert preacher is happy to now take a back seat to the Messiah.When I was a teenager, my brother lived in a communal home referred to as The Jesus House in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. Our family once had an opportunity to visit the house and meet the residents. It was quite an experience to see a group of young people immersed in the mission of following Jesus.On one occasion later, my brother brought the leader of the house to Maryville to visit with my family. When I greeted him, I’ll never forget that he said, “You look more like Jesus every time I see you.” I was so proud of that, something that probably should have been a real red flag, but I was new in my faith and my love language has always been words of affirmation. I mean, who wouldn’t want to hear that?For me, new life in Christ means more than a beginning but rather a constant evolution towards the goal of “More of You, less of me.” I should always be working to morph into a state where I am a reflection of Christ to the world rather than a really good version of me.In reality, I’ll admit that it still feels good to be recognized for the good that I do, the good that I give, and the good that I have become. I’m afraid that I haven’t quite tipped the scales to John’s declaration of “He must become greater; I must become less.” So how do we make this a reality for ourselves?The new life for each of us should become a daily striving to achieve what Paul wrote about in the very familiar Romans 12:1. Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.I struggled a bit with what this means in practice. But The Message translation explains to me better what is meant by a living sacrifice. It says: So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.If we can make this a consistent, daily practice, I believe we can begin to see the scales start to tip towards “More of You, less of me.”Let’s pray together:Father God, I want to better reflect your love in every aspect of my everyday living. Help me to always seek the new life in Christ that you desire for me so that only your light shines through me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.This devotional was written and read by Charlie Barton. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Ephesians 4:2 (NLT) Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love. Well, well……. Patience is an interesting concept. It is about how we handle adversity, delays, unpleasant circumstances, and trouble. Our first thought, at least mine, is how often I am caught in traffic and am irritated with the slow or distracted driver in front of me. That driver is keeping me from my destination for no obvious reason. In the end, I might be delayed by one or two minutes, but the frustration I feel and anger I feel are just not examples of patience at all. I am the only one affected by that childish outburst. As I was thinking about this scripture, I realized that frustration and impatience often go hand in hand and might even be confused. Frustration is more about the inability to cope with situations, much like a child learning a new skill who throws a tantrum when their early eIorts are not successful. Impatience, on the other hand, is about an unwillingness to wait for something. We often tap our foot, honk our horn, drum our fingers or pour out those great big sighs. Our scripture today tells us to be patient with each other, making allowances for each other. I must say my mother lived this to the fullest. No matter the circumstances, she always rallied with the most kind reason someone might behave in a manner that annoyed the rest of us. With these kind words, she reminded us that we should remember to love others and accept their faults, behaviors, attitudes (whatever the situation) with grace and love. After all, God still loves us even when we are not well behaved. She hoped that her example of patience would grow in us and we would learn that getting angry or upset out of a lack of patience would diminish over time. She strongly wanted our capacity to overlook and accept these situations without responding negatively, complaining, or getting riled up. She expected us to love first and to live in harmony with others. Patience is something that has grown in me over time. I have learned that some situations that challenge my patience are simply out of my control, and I must turn them over to God and quit trying to fix them on my own. I must be patient with others and myself. Recently, a situation with a family member was resolved after several years. At first, I tried my way to make things better, and then I gave it to God. Out of the blue, with patience, love and persistent prayer, the relationship was renewed. The peace that follows is abundant. I think The Message says it well, “And mark that you do this with humility and discipline – not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences. So, we must learn to be and be willing to be patient, to seek harmony, and to love even when we don’t understand, even when we are delayed and our plans are turned upside down. Patience allows us to work through conflicts and misunderstandings so that we might have harmony and peace in our lives and relationships with others. May we pray together? Gracious and loving God, be with us as we grow in our ability and desire to be patient. Allow us to be quick to listen and understand, to see that just as you are patient with our shortcomings, we too should recognize the differences of our fellow travelers and truly seek to live in harmony. You call us to love others and to be patient with them. Guide us as we grow in our love and service with you. In the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. This devotional is written and read by Lisa Blackwood. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected]. First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

You are listening to Grace for All, a daily devotional podcast produced by the people of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. This is Scripture Saturday, a time when we pause and reflect on the scriptures we have read throughout the week. If you missed any of our devotionals on these passages, you can find them on our website at 1stChurch.org or wherever you get your podcasts. Now, we invite you to listen and receive Grace. Welcome and thank you for joining us. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected]. First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Colossians 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. STRESS, everyone seems so stressed. Is this new? I don’t really think so. Life is stressful. It’s not going to change. Nothing I say here will change how the world and human society operates. I could say that I’m too busy to write this; too busy to listen, too busy to notice, too busy to care, too busy to help, too busy to love. I could say that I’m too poor to share; of my money, my time, my love. Is it that I don’t have enough, or am I stressing the wrong things? Have you ever noticed that stress also means what we emphasize- what we focus on? In fact, when I put the “em-PHA-sis on the wrong syl-LA-ble,” I misunderstand and am misunderstood. We don’t get to choose what happens in life. We don’t get to choose how other people behave. But it has been pointed out that there is one thing, and one thing only, in life that we have control over, and that is how we react to what happens around us. There is an option to be thoughtful about what we focus on. There is a battle for our attention and focus. What do we choose to focus on? Being stressed is a choice. Being thankful is a choice. Being sad is a choice. Being happy is a choice. Living in fear is a choice. Living in faith is a choice. Of course, this is not true about the emotion you feel in a split second. This is about pausing, reflecting, and deciding who we want to be in this world. It takes strength and patience to find the peace of Christ in our hearts. Whose image do you follow, and is it something that you do with or without thought? The choices we make become the habits of our behavior. They form the pattern of who we are. As we weave the tapestry that becomes a lifetime, what picture will emerge from our choices? Will it be random, angry, and fearful, or will it be intentional, loving, and thankful? The next time you find that you have lost the peace of Christ in your heart because of the stress of life, what choice will you make? Let us pause, choose, and pray together. May the peace of Christ rule in our hearts in the quiet times and the stressful times. Give us the strength to follow Your path and emphasize what matters. Give us the strength and the foresight to pause, reflect, and choose. Thank You for Your grace and forgiveness when we fall short of this, and help us to make choices that show our love for You and our neighbors. Amen. This devotion was written by Jill Pope and read by Judy Wilson. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected]. First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Psalm 13:5 “But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.” One of the greatest aspects of my faith is my understanding of God’s unfailing love. I don’t know about you, but I have so many days when, taking stock at the end of the day, I think about so many more things I have done wrong than that I’ve done right. Those seem to be easier to catalog for some reason. Among them, though, are things I’ve said or done that make me feel less-than-lovable. I consider that “I probably shouldn’t have said that” or “how was that thing I said perceived?” or “I missed that opportunity to do a nice thing for someone” or worse, “I was really a jerk to so-and-so.” Gosh, sometimes I go through that list and wonder how I have any friends left at all! Don’t get me wrong. Those who know me well know that I’m someone who is trying to be and do better. I fail, but I’m trying. But in those times when I’m getting more wrong than right, one of the greatest ways I find hope and respite is in the love of God that will never leave me. When I think about the remarkable strength of the bond I have with my spouse or with my parents, or even with my closest friends, I know that there are things I can say that are heard differently; conversely, they can say the hardest truths to me, as well, and I hear them more earnestly than I would from a stranger or even a person with whom I do not have that bond. I can really be my honest, relaxed self around those closest to me without fear of abandonment or rejection. That level of loving trust is so very special. But what is remarkable is that the trust in God’s love is even more sure. It is even purer. When we feel our least lovable, it is helpful to know that God’s love is there without judgment — inexplicably from the very One most positioned to judge us — and it never, ever fails us. Of course, just as I try to do the best and be the best for those I love most in the world, not because I am trying to get them to love me more, but because I want to express my affection for them, this love with God is similarly a two-way street in which I want to be better and be more loving and lovable because I feel so loved. In short, I want not only my heart to rejoice in God’s salvation, but God’s heart to rejoice in my adoration. Let us pray. God, we are so thankful for your unwavering, unending, unfailing love. Let us not only never take it for granted, but let it inspire us to love you and your people and your world more fully. Amen. This devotion was written and read by Dwight Dockery. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected]. First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Luke 15:3-7 (NIV) Then Jesus told them this parable: "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn't he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. When Jesus told this parable, he was speaking to people who understood sheep and shepherding. For centuries, the Jewish people had been known throughout the ancient world as expert shepherds. They knew how to care for flocks, how to protect them from predators, and how to find good pasture. So when Jesus began talking about a man with a hundred sheep, his listeners would have nodded along. This was familiar territory. But then Jesus says something that must have made them pause. The shepherd loses one sheep and leaves the ninety-nine to go searching for it. Wait a minute. Would a good shepherd really do that? Would he really abandon ninety-nine healthy, obedient sheep just to track down one that had wandered off? From a practical standpoint, it doesn't make much sense. You could lose the whole flock while you're out chasing after one stubborn animal. We understand this kind of thinking in our modern world. Business people today build losses into their calculations. They expect a certain percentage of customers to leave, a certain number of products to fail, a certain amount of shrinkage in their inventory. It's just the cost of doing business. You accept the loss and move on. But that is not the way God does business. God is not interested in acceptable losses. He does not write off the wanderers and focus on the ones who stayed put. Every single one of us matters to him, not as a percentage or a statistic, but as a beloved child. The image of the shepherd putting that lost sheep on his shoulders is a tender one. He doesn't drag it back by the ear or scold it for wandering. He carries it home with joy. And then he throws a party. That's what our return means to God. Not relief that the numbers are back in order, but a genuine celebration. Our Father, thank you for seeking us out when we wander. Thank you for not treating us as acceptable losses. Help us to understand how precious we are in your sight, and to extend that same relentless love to others. Amen. This devotional was written and recorded by Jim Stovall. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected]. First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Colossians 3:10 (New Living Translation) Put on your new nature and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. This letter to the Colossians was written by Paul and Timothy, chosen by God to be apostles of Christ. In this letter, Paul clearly teaches that Christ has paid for our sins, that Christ has reconciled us to God and that we have been given the knowledge and the ability to grow spiritually. Christ shows us how to live and provides an example of how we are to live and what He would have us become. Christ is Lord of all creation, center of our lives, and King of all. He is Lord over our lives and the head of the body, his church and we are called to nurture our connection to him. This same scripture found in the Message includes an extra verse which may aid in our understanding. Hear these words…. “Don’t lie to one another. You are done with that old life. It’s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you stripped off and put in the fire. Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the creator, with His label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete.” And verse 11 adds, “From now on, everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ.” Through these two versions of this verse, we can see many rituals and seasons where we receive validation and opportunities for new life and pathways to leading a Christ-like life. The most obvious are baptism, communion, Easter, and Christmas. As Paul has clearly taught us, when we learn what Christ is like, we see what we need to become, and all the promises and resolutions we make to be better Christians will be natural. Sin is all around us, but we can improve and conquer our personal sin, and we will then become more Christlike. Every new year, many people in the world make promises or resolutions to begin once again and make a fresh start. Many resolutions, such as improved health, regular exercise, spend more time with family, visit parents or grandparents more, volunteer more, work on anger issues, share more love, worship more, pray more, and so forth. All these reflect the acknowledgement that our lives can be made better and we can become more Christlike. What changes have you committed to this year to become more like Christ? Let us pray together. Gracious God, as we are entering this new year, let us make our faith, our church, our families, and your children our priority. May we be ever aware of your call on our lives and your desire for us to follow. Let us not only be dressed in new attire but also be filled with the desire to serve every day. In the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. This devotion was written and read by Leland Blackwood. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected]. First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

II Timothy 4: 6-8 As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me, but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing. Bonnie Ware spent a number of years as a palliative care nurse. She cared for the dying. Over the course of that time she heard a great many patients express regrets, and she began to catalog them. Some were particular to an individual, but many of them she heard from a lot of patients. She listed the ones she heard most frequently, and from that list and her experiences she wrote a book, “The Top Five Regrets of the Dying.” Here are a couple of them. The most frequent regret she heard was: I wish I had had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others wanted for me. In other words, I wish I had listened to my heart and followed my own dreams rather than trying to meet the expectations of others. Number two was: I wish I hadn’t worked so hard. Every male patient who expressed regret said this. They were saying I wish I had spent more time with the people I love. As I reflected on the most common regrets people have as they near the end of life, what strikes me is that all of them,at the base, have to do with relationships. Jesus told us that what is most important is our relationship with God, with others, and with ourselves. We call this the Great Commandment. In contrast with those who ended up with a life of regrets, listen to the Apostle Paul. He says, “The time of my death is near. I have fought the good fight (that is, I’ve given my life to what matters), I have finished the race (my life is ending), I have remained faithful.” No regrets! It’s not too late for you and me to turn our regrets into resolutions. I Resolve: to live an authentic life, not one someone else wants for me but one true to who I really am. I Resolve: to put relationships first: my relationship with my Creator and my Savior, with central people in my life, and to engage everyone with kindness and helpfulness. So there are no regrets! Prayer: O Holy One, I have this one life to live. Help me not to waste it, but to make your priorities mine, and finish my race with faithfulness. Amen. This devotional was written and read by Herb Sadler. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected]. First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected] United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.