Oregon City
United Methodist Church
18955 S South End Rd, Oregon City, OR 97045
503-656-3433
This Week and
beyond
Wanna know what's coming up in worship?
Check it out here. Each week we'll update this page to let you know what our preacher will be speaking on.
Join us this Sunday, Febraury 9th at 10:00am
For a Service of Word & Prayer
as Pastor Tom brings the message
The Challenge of Being Called
Welcome to a Season of Ordinary Time
Ordinary Time is a season between seasons. It begins with the Epiphany on January 6th, completing the Christmas cycle, and ends with Transfiguration Sunday. It's a time to reflect on the beginnings of Christ's ministry; his baptism, the calling of his first disciples, some of his early teachings and miraculous deeds and the people's reactions to them. It is also a season of calm, before the penitence of Lent.
This Sunday is the Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time. Isaiah 6:1-8 & Luke 5:1-11 will be our focus this week. These passages both focus on call. Isaiah retells the story of how Isaiah was called to be a prophet. Luke we are witness to the calling of Peter, James, and John to be fishers of men.
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How would you have reacted if God appeared to you as God appeared to Isaiah?
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Would you have followed Jesus, leaving home and job and family behind?
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What does God call you to be and do in Christ's service? What does God whisper to you in the language of your heart?
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Does it excite you or scare you or both?
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What peace does God offer you in the calling?
UPCOMING SCRIPTURES:
Sunday February 16th: Healings and Backwards Blessings
Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Luke 6:17-26 - Jesus teaches and heals many as his apostles learn from him. Then he offers them the teachings of the Beatitudes (Luke’s version) which on a surface reading seem possibly a little backwards. Let’s unpack.
Sunday February 23rd: A Lesson in Love and Hate
Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time
Luke 6:27-38 - Jesus teaches about love and hate and judgment. It’s not as cut and dry as we would like it to be. Because reality isn’t cut and dry. Our black and white categories too often mush into hues of gray.
Sunday, March 2nd: Light Upon Light
Transfiguration Sunday
Exodus 34:29-35 & Luke 9:28-36 - Moses comes down from Mt. Sinai, his face shining, as he brings the law of God to the people. Jesus brings Peter, James, and John up the mountain where he is transfigured and joined by Moses and Elijah. What does it mean when the light of Moses meets the brighter light of Christ?
Wednesday, March 5th: Slow and Penitent Wins the Faith
Ash Wednesday
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 & Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 - Ash Wednesday is a day to come to God in humble penitence and confession, not as a ritual or to satisfy a requirement, but to recognize in all authenticity we are not perfect and we continue to seek God's guidance as we work to set our assumption, perceptions, and prejudices aside to create a greater kin-dom.
Sunday, March 9th: Temptations Come and Go, Christ Remains
First Sunday of Lent
Deuteronomy 26:1-11 & Luke 4:1-13 - The Israelites are instructed to offer their first fruits before the Lord in the Promised Land. In Luke, Jesus goes into the wilderness for a time of prayer and preparation, then is tempted in the wilderness. Jesus remains fully committed to God relying on his knowledge of Scripture and his faith. We are not Christ though. What do we struggle with? What is our greatest temptation? How do we rely on God to help stare it down?
Sunday, March 16th: Unrequited Love
Second Sunday of Lent
Genesis 15:1-12,17-18 & Luke 13:31-35 - In Exodus, God makes a covenant with Abram to provide the Promised Land to Abram's descendants. In Luke, Jesus laments over Jerusalem wishing he could gather them like a mother hen gathers her chicks. God has given so much, yet the people continue to be obstinate in their clinging to power over compassion.