NUMC Podcasts

Huddle Up

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:00:04 -0800

Mark 1:21-28

The Man with an Unclean Spirit

They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, ‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.’ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit, throwing him into convulsions and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, ‘What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.’ At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

Brave Little Chicken Heart

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 11:00:40 -0800

Jonah 2:1-5, 10

A Psalm of Thanksgiving

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, saying, ‘I called to the Lord out of my distress,  and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried,  and you heard my voice.  You cast me into the deep,  into the heart of the seas,  and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows  passed over me.  Then I said, “I am driven away  from your sight; how shall I look again  upon your holy temple?”  The waters closed in over me;  the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped around my head

Then the Lord spoke to the fish, and it spewed Jonah out upon the dry land.

Living in the Spot Light

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 11:00:26 -0800

John 1: 43-51

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he said of him, ‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’ Nathanael asked him, ‘Where did you come to know me?’ Jesus answered, ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ Nathanael replied, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.’ And he said to him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’

Where to Start

Sun, 8 Jan 2012 11:00:38 -0800

Genesis 1:1-5

Six Days of Creation and the Sabbath

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

If I Had a Million Dollars

Sun, 1 Jan 2012 10:00:14 -0800

Galatians 4: 4-7

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

Alleluia is a Sound

Sun, 25 Dec 2011 10:00:37 -0800

Luke 2: 1-20

The Birth of Jesus

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,  ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,  and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’ So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

A Promise Kept - A Dream Delivered

Sun, 18 Dec 2011 11:00:35 -0800

Luke 1: 46-55

Mary’s Song of Praise

And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord,   and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,  for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.  Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;  for the Mighty One has done great things for me,  and holy is his name.  His mercy is for those who fear him  from generation to generation.  He has shown strength with his arm;  he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.  He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,  and lifted up the lowly;  he has filled the hungry with good things,  and sent the rich away empty.  He has helped his servant Israel,  in remembrance of his mercy,  according to the promise he made to our ancestors,  to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’

Dreams for my Children

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 09:00:32 -0800

Isaiah 61: 1-4

The Good News of Deliverance

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,  because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,  to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives,  and release to the prisoners;  to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour,  and the day of vengeance of our God;  to comfort all who mourn;  to provide for those who mourn in Zion—  to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning,  the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness,  the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.  They shall build up the ancient ruins,  they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities,  the devastations of many generations.

Isaiah 61: 8-11
 For I the Lord love justice,  I hate robbery and wrongdoing; I will faithfully give them their recompense,  and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.  Their descendants shall be known among the nations,  and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge  that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.  I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,  my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,  he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,  and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.  For as the earth brings forth its shoots,  and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise  to spring up before all the nations.

God of the Interstate Highways

Sun, 4 Dec 2011 11:00:52 -0800

Isaiah 40: 1-11

God’s People Are Comforted

Comfort, O comfort my people,    says your God.  Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,    and cry to her that she has served her term,    that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord’s hand    double for all her sins.
 A voice cries out: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,    make straight in the desert a highway for our God.  Every valley shall be lifted up,    and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level,    and the rough places a plain.  Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,    and all people shall see it together,    for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’
 A voice says, ‘Cry out!’    And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’ All people are grass,    their constancy is like the flower of the field.  The grass withers, the flower fades,    when the breath of the Lord blows upon it;    surely the people are grass.  The grass withers, the flower fades;    but the word of our God will stand for ever.  Get you up to a high mountain,    O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength,    O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings,    lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah,    ‘Here is your God!’  See, the Lord God comes with might,    and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him,    and his recompense before him.  He will feed his flock like a shepherd;    he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom,    and gently lead the mother sheep.

Hide and Go Seek

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 11:00:07 -0800

Isaiah 64: 1-9

O that you would tear open the heavens and come down,  so that the mountains would quake at your presence—  as when fire kindles brushwood  and the fire causes water to boil— to make your name known to your adversaries,  so that the nations might tremble at your presence!  When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect,  you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.  From ages past no one has heard,  no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you,  who works for those who wait for him.  You meet those who gladly do right,  those who remember you in your ways. But you were angry, and we sinned;  because you hid yourself we transgressed.  We have all become like one who is unclean,  and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf,  and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.  There is no one who calls on your name,  or attempts to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us,  and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity.  Yet, O Lord, you are our Father;  we are the clay, and you are our potter;  we are all the work of your hand.  Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord,  and do not remember iniquity for ever.  Now consider, we are all your people.