Last week in my sermon I mentioned a great resource for study and devotion. I was talking about the weekly video devotions that New Testament scholar, N.T. Wright, produces. I have been watching these devotions for several months, and I would encourage you to join me. There is a great “library” of previous devotions, and a few weeks ago, he started a new series on salvation and what salvation means for us as Christians and for the world. It is a thought-provoking and interesting study. As always, I am here for you to discuss with you any questions that may arise!
Here is the link to the first episode – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnKOYjKz5us
Here is a link to N.T. Wright’s YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/@NTWrightOnline
In my sermon for this coming Sunday, I reference an organization call Open Doors International. They are a Christian group that supports and encourages persecuted Christians around the world. I have engaged with them in the past to write letters of encouragement and to know who to pray for.
Here is a link to their website for Open Doors US – https://www.opendoorsus.org/en-US/
Finally, this coming Sunday also is World Communion Sunday. This is the day when we celebrate our global faith and our siblings in Christ from around the world. What is neat is that our Virginia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church is a diverse conference. We have siblings in our conference from around the world who speak different languages and who claim different ethnic and racial backgrounds. We saw this on display at Annual Conference. Our opening worship service at this year’s Annual Conference celebrated this unity across our differences.
Here are two clips that show the Call to Worship for the Opening the Worship Service. I wasn’t able to figure out how to clip the larger video into only one clip, which is why I had to create two links 🙂 – https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxYHi36pPuHnnb5s8OjLz-TKzr8gF-PLKF?si=pcbIhDlJ6Gd1iDOt & https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxQa8BmDDSHika0sd1PWaM8wp2H_TKt5DK?si=e7LwT5lEnf6ky04g
May God bless and keep you in the love of God, love of our neighbors, and love of ourselves!
Scottsville United Methodist Church 