Pastor Will Shewey, Shades of Grace United Methodist Church Link to YouTube Video – John 5::1-9 From Pastor Will Shewey This Saturday morning began with a crisp forty degrees But hearts were strangely warmed as we gathered for worship in God’s Living Room. Our crowd was down with about sixty five people in attendance but I did meet a couple of first time guests. That is to be considered since…Keep Reading

102 THINGS TO DO THIS MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND When I was a boy, it was called Decoration Day, or just “the 30th of May,” a day when families honored their dead and people wore paper poppies in their lapels or their hair. It was not until I was much older that I realized it was about honoring those who gave their last full measure of devotion while serving in the…Keep Reading

Rev. Nate and Julie Ware This message is called, “What Did I Know” The other day while having a conversation with my doctor, I asked, “Why didn’t you . . .?” “Well, I was nineteen; what did I know,” She said. Thought about the many decisions that was being made at the young age of nineteen . . . And, yes . . . “What did I know?” Our young…Keep Reading

THE POWER OF GRACE Grace changed Paul from a passionate persecutor of Christ to a passionate preacher of the cross. Grace doesn’t just give us slight course corrections but causes 180-degree turns in our lives. We might reason that this was true of Paul, but not of us. We were born into a Christian family, obeyed the gospel at a very early age, attended a Christian college or university, married…Keep Reading

1 John 5:13 “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1 John 5:13 There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it.” Do you remember hearing those words from a parent who had just “laid down the law” about something? We certainly did not have to ask, “What do you…Keep Reading

I will arise and go to my father…” Luke 15:18 He stood with the congregation as they started to sing. Wanting to slip out of the church, and wanting to stay, was a tug of war in his soul. With fingers gripping the pew he stood there like Peter when he wanted to step out of the boat: “Lord if it is you, If this is real, let me come…Keep Reading

LETTING OTHERS DO OUR THINKING Buzzards—more correctly, vultures—are scavengers. They search high and low (pun intended) for the dead and the dying and would as soon eat a skunk as a rabbit. They don’t carry morsels back to their young, but (in non-scientific terms) puke food up for the young. This reminds me of some Christians. Not the babes in Christ, mind you, because they have an insatiable appetite for…Keep Reading

Revelation 14:2-3 “And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne.” (Revelation 14:2-3) They are the redeemed in Heaven, and they are singing in glorious harmony. There are no solo performances, but an innumerable people with one voice…Keep Reading

PRACTICING OUR PRIESTHOOD Peter addresses his first epistle to sojourners or temporary residents in a country that is hostile to them. Paul said that our citizenship is in heaven. However, so long as we sojourn here, we have an essential role. We are God’s chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation within a nation (1 Pet 2:9). In chapters two and three, Peter sets forth seven priestly responsibilities relevant…Keep Reading

Heretic Hunters Are Not Licensed by Jesus When Jesus spoke the Parable of the Tares, saying they should be allowed to grow with the wheat until harvest time, he said that he was speaking of the kingdom of heaven (Matt 13:24). When he explained the parable to the disciples, he said that he is the Sower, and the field is the world (vv.37-38). Some have concluded that allowing the tares…Keep Reading

2 Peter 1:3 “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life…” 2 Peter 1:3 I am thankful that we don’t have to carry all of the weight of life at one time; and that grace will always show up at the right time. Grace is necessary for many things. There is grace to get through our troubles, grace for living and for dying, grace to…Keep Reading

2 Corinthians 4:18 “We don’t look for things that can be seen but for things that can’t be seen. Things that can be seen are only temporary. But things that can’t be seen last forever.” 2 Corinthians 4:18 Faith in God is living while surrounded by the invisible. If we must see it to believe it we have missed the point. Consider when the disciples were in the upper room…Keep Reading