christianity

Still They Endured

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Still They Endured

December 2025

by John Partridge

15:4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had,6 so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:4-6)

***********

Dear Friends,

As I was reading the scripture from our devotional guide today, I thought how important it was to our understanding of Christmas. In Romans 15:4-6, Paul says that every scripture that has been written was given to us to teach us that through the endurance taught by scripture, and the encouragement that we find there, we might find hope. Those are, honestly, not the words that we expected. We expect to hear that our hope comes from our faith in Jesus Christ, or from a future home in heaven, or from our confidence in an all-powerful, all-knowing God. But Paul teaches us that the entire purpose of the Old Testament (and we can include the New Testament as well) was to teach us that hope comes from the endurance that we witness in the people of the Bible and the encouragement that we find as we begin to understand it.

But why? How do we find hope in the stories of endurance that we find in scripture?

It’s simple when you think about it. I have often said that one thing that becomes obvious as we read history and scripture, is that human beings haven’t changed much. For as much as we pride ourselves on our enlightenment, knowledge, education, and technology, the things that motivate human beings, and the way that they behave, haven’t changed much, we are just as motivated by love, lust, money, greed, power, and pleasure as we were three thousand years ago. As much as we like to think that humanity has changed, it seems more like we’ve repainted the cover of the book and left the contents unchanged.

And that’s why we are encouraged by the endurance of the people that we find in the ancient writings of scripture. When we read the stories, we find people who are just like us. Sure, they lived in an entirely different culture but the desire for love and for children, the need for parents to provide for, and to protect their families, and many of the other emotion driven stories all resonate with us. It isn’t difficult at all for us to put ourselves in the place of the heroes and heroines that we find there. They seem familiar because in many ways they look just like us.

And that’s when we notice that the heroes of the Bible didn’t have perfect lives. Their entire world often was set against them. They weren’t perfect people. They had flaws. They struggled. They had everything they had taken away from them. And they waited, sometimes for times that must have seemed like forever.

And still they endured.

The greatest desire of Abraham and Sarah was to have children. And they waited for almost one hundred years to get one. Jacob fell in love with Leah and agreed to work for seven years to pay off her bride price. But he was tricked by his uncle and ended up working for fourteen years instead. David was anointed as the king of Israel when he was fifteen years old but didn’t actually become king until he was thirty. And much of that time, he was a fugitive that lived in the wastes of the desert as King Saul, and his entire army hunted him so that they could take his life. Over and over again we see the great heroes and heroines of scripture struggle, stumble, fall, wait, and endure.

And as we see their imperfections, their struggles, their endurance, and their faith, we are encouraged because we see that our struggles and failures aren’t new or unique. God’s people have been where we are before. They have felt what we feel. They have passed through the same trials in their lives that we face in our own.

And yet they endured.

Even in the Christmas story, the lives of Elizabeth, Zechariah, Mary, Joseph, and even Jesus, were far from perfect. They were poor, they were powerless, they struggled, and they endured. As Paul said, as we read these stories, we are encouraged by the endurance of the people that look just like us. And as we encouraged by their endurance…

…we find hope.

May we find hope, together, as we welcome the birth of the Prince of Peace this Christmas.

Blessings,

Pastor John

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Photo by Comstock on Freeimages.com

What Does “Clothe Yourself” Mean?

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What Does “Clothe Yourself” Mean?

by John Partridge

In a recent worship service, we read a scripture in which Paul urged the church to “clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 13:14) And, as we concluded the service, I offered the following story to expand our understanding of that phrase.

Marie Chapian’s book Of Whom the World Was Not Worthy (Bethany House, 1980). The book follows the Yugoslavian Christian church’s suffering under a corrupt church hierarchy:

One day an evangelist by the name of Jakov arrived in a certain village. He commiserated with an elderly man named Cimmerman on the tragedies he had experienced and talked to him of the love of Christ. Cimmerman abruptly interrupted Jakov and told him that he wished to have nothing to do with Christianity. He reminded Jakov of the dreadful history of the church in his town, a history replete with plundering, exploiting, and indeed with killing innocent people.

“My own nephew was killed by them,” he said and angrily rebuffed any effort on Jakov’s part to talk about Christ. “They wear those elaborate coats and crosses,” he said, “signifying a heavenly commission, but their evil designs and lives I cannot ignore.”

Jakov, looking for an occasion to get Cimmerman to change his line of thinking, said, “Cimmerman, can I ask you a question? Suppose I were to steal your coat, put it on, and break into a bank. Suppose further that the police sighted me running in the distance but could not catch up with me. One clue, however, put them onto your track: they recognize your coat. What would you say to them if they came to your house and accused you of breaking into the bank?”

“I would deny it, ” said Cimmerman.

“‘Ah, but we saw your coat,’ they would say,” retorted Jakov. This analogy quite annoyed Cimmerman, who ordered Jakov to leave his home.

Jakov continued to return to the village periodically just to befriend Cimmerman, encourage him, and share the love of Christ with him. Finally, one day Cimmerman asked, “How does one become a Christian?” Jakov taught him the simple steps of repentance for sin and of trust in the work of Jesus Christ and gently pointed him to the Shepherd of his soul. Cimmerman bent his knee on the soil with his head bowed and surrendered his life to Christ. As he rose to his feet, wiping his tears, he embraced Jakov and said, “Thank you for being in my life.” And then he pointed to the heavens and whispered, “You wear His coat very well.”

We are called to be ambassadors for the kingdom of God and to “clothe ourselves” in Jesus Christ.

How well are you wearing his coat?

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Moving from Fear to Hope

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Moving from Fear to Hope

(First Sunday of Advent)

November 30, 2025*

By Pastor John Partridge

Isaiah 2:1-5                Matthew 24:36-44                 Romans 13:11-14

As we begin the season of Advent this week, we celebrate hope. Hope is both key, and central to, this season as we prepare for the arrival of the Messiah at Christmas. The subject, and the message of hope has arisen many times in our studies together throughout the year, but it is especially apparent as we read the stories of scripture to which the lectionary points during the seasons of Advent and Christmas. We begin this morning by reading the promises of God to the people of Judah given through his prophet Isaiah. In these words, Isaiah offers encouragement regarding Israel’s eventual return from their captivity in Babylon, but as we read, we will quickly realize that the promise that God gives them goes far beyond their return from Babylon in 538 BCE. Reading from Isaiah 2:1-5, we hear this:

2:1 This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

2 In the last days

the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established
    as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,
    and all nations will stream to it.

3 Many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
    so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
    the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He will judge between the nations
    and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
    and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
    nor will they train for war anymore.

5 Come, descendants of Jacob,
    let us walk in the light of the Lord.

This begins simply by saying that God sent a vision to Isaiah and what follows is a description of what he saw regarding the last days of the earth before the judgement of God. And in those last days, Isaiah says that God’s temple would be built on the highest of mountains and Israel’s God will rule over all the nations and all the people of the earth. People will come to God’s city so that they can learn to walk in the ways of his teaching, and not only will they set aside their weapons, but their abandonment of war and their commitment to living in peace will be unending so that peace will prevail upon the earth for all time.

This is a message that is as relevant for us today as it was six centuries before Jesus. Like us, the people of Israel and Judah had watched centuries of wars and violence tear apart their families, villages, and their nation as well as the nations around them. Israel had been conquered by several nations, and would be conquered by several more, as well as the violence of a civil war before the coming of Jesus Christ. While we may be able to list many wars fought in the last century by memory, all the wars on Israel’s list had been fought over the land in which they lived. And so, then, as now, the promise of unending peace was an almost unbelievable message of hope.

And then, nearly six hundred years later, as Jesus speaks with his disciples about the end of the age and the coming of the Son of Man, they all understand that what Jesus is describing is the final fulfillment of the promises of God contained in the message of Isaiah. The disciples want to know when that is going to happen, when will the Romans be overthrown, when will Israel’s God be worshipped by the entire world, when will the violence end, and when would there finally be peace on earth? And in Matthew 24:36-44, Jesus says:

36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

42 “Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

Jesus is clear in telling his followers that none of us can ever know exactly when the end of this age is going to come, but just because we cannot know, doesn’t mean that we should be unprepared. If you live on the east coast of the United States, you cannot know when a hurricane is going to hit the town in which you live, but you can be certain that it will happen eventually. And because you know, you learn how to watch for the signs. You can read the clouds, you watch the weather on television, you keep an emergency weather radio charged up during hurricane season, and you have a list of preparations made in advance. You may have a supply of food, an escape route planned out of the city, a place to stay with friends inland, precut boards or hurricane shutters to cover your windows, and a host of other preparations. And Jesus says that like the residents of the east coast we, as the followers of God, should keep watch, look for the signs of the coming of the end of the age, and to be prepared so that when it comes, we will be ready.

But how?

As we live neither in the past of the old or new testaments, and not yet at the end of the age, how do we live in the now? This is the same question that the people of the first century were asking. While Jerusalem had not yet been destroyed, at the time that Paul wrote his letter to the church in Rome, there was already growing violence in Israel. Assassins had already murdered the high priest, many communities and people were in open revolt against an increasingly corrupt occupying Roman government, and the Roman army was fighting back with great violence. In less than ten years, there would be all out war between the Jews and Rome. And in this time of uneasiness and alarm, Paul gives this advice on how the followers of Jesus Christ should live their lives in Romans 13:11-14, saying:

11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.

While Paul admits that we do not know when the end will come, he explains that it is obvious that the end was closer now than it was when Isaiah wrote the promises of God, or when Jesus walked with his disciples. Even though we don’t know when Jesus will return, each day that passes after the resurrection is one day closer to his return and the day of judgement. And so, as we hold tightly to the hope that we have been given through the promises that we have heard in the words of Isaiah and the gospel writers, we must live in the now by setting aside the deeds of darkness and living lives that are filled with light. We must set aside drunkenness, sexual immorality, and internal church conflicts and live in ways that reflect the teaching and the model of Jesus Christ. It is the universal temptation of humanity to live lives in the selfish pursuit of pleasure and greed, to do what feels good, or what is the most profitable. But instead, Paul tells us that our calling is to set aside these desires of the flesh, and instead do our best to wear the clothes of Jesus Christ and to represent him well. Our goal should not be to do what feels good, but to live so much like Jesus that others can see him in us.

God has given us great promises that fill us with hope for the future. But, as we live our lives today, as we live in the “now,” we must watch for the signs of the last days, and live as if Jesus were coming tomorrow so that the world can see him in us, be drawn to him, and be rescued with us.

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601.  These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com .  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Peace and the Over-Shepherd

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Peace and the Over-Shepherd

(Christ the King Sunday)

November 23, 2025*

By Pastor John Partridge

Jeremiah 23:1-6                     Luke 23:33-43                        Colossians 1:11-20

C.S. Lewis once said that we simply cannot say that we accept Jesus as a great moral teacher but not accept that Jesus is God. Lewis explained it this way in his book, Mere Christianity:

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

Going in a different direction to explain Lewis’s point, if you haven’t yet done so, I strongly recommend reading the classic novel, Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. This book was originally published in February 1678 and has been rewritten in modern languages many times since. It was in reading this book that I first encountered the term “under-shepherd” which refers to those people, such as pastors and lay leaders but also sometimes kings, who lead and guide the flocks of God’s followers and who therefore serve under the Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ. And it was this word, and this understanding, that came to mind as I read our scriptures for today. We begin by reading from Jeremiah 23:1-6 as God condemns the spiritual and political leaders that have led Israel and Judah astray and caused them to come to harm. Jeremiah writes:

23:1 “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. 2 Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the Lord. 3 “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4 I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.

5 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
    “when I will raise up for Davida righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
    and do what is just and right in the land.
6 In his days Judah will be saved
    and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which he will be called:
    The Lord Our Righteous Savior.

It doesn’t take a genius to understand that God is not at all happy with the failed shepherds that had been, and were still, leading his people. By their actions, and their inaction, they had caused God’s people to lose their faith, to be defeated and captured by their enemies, and to flee to wherever they could to find safety. God goes as far as to say that Israel’s leaders had driven God’s people away from him by their failure to adequately care for them and, for doing so, God intended to punish those leaders for their evil. But God wouldn’t stop there. God also announces his intention to gather those who remained faithful, from all of the nations to which they had been taken or to which they had fled, bring them back to his pasture, and enable and empower them to be fruitful and increase in number. God would then appoint replacement shepherds who would protect them and keep them safe. In addition, God then promises that there will be a day when he would send a new king, a new over-shepherd or chief shepherd, who would rule wisely, with justice and righteousness, and who would rule over both Judah and Israel, and who would be known as both Lord and Savior.

At this point, we all know who Jeremiah was describing, but we can hear Luke’s answer to the prophecy of Jeremiah as we hear the way that he describes the events of Jesus’ crucifixion in Luke 23:33-43 where he says:

33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

38 There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the Jews.

39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

As we consider this conversation, we realize that the man described only as “the other criminal,” after only a few hours on the cross next to Jesus, has grasped something that even Jesus’ disciples struggled to understand. This man looks to Jesus and asks that he remember him when Jesus comes into his kingdom. (pause) In that moment, the man known as the “other criminal” understands that Jesus has power and authority far beyond an ordinary human being and beyond that of chief priests and kings. And having made this request, Jesus answers that before the day was over, they would meet again in paradise. Although it is unlikely that the “other criminal” made any connection between Jesus and the person described by Jeremiah, I think that Luke certainly made that connection and uses this story to tell the world that Jesus is the Chief Shepherd, King, and eternal savior of God’s people.

Paul obviously understands this, and goes one step further in his description of Jesus and of Jesus’ authority as he writes to the church in Colossae in Colossians 1:11-20, saying:

11 May you be strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified youto share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Paul says that because of the work of Jesus Christ, God has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his people, rescued us from darkness, and brought us into the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Because of him, we have been forgiven of our sins and redeemed from sin and death. Further, Paul says that Jesus is in control of all that exists and is the force that keeps everything in the universe from coming apart. Jesus is the head and chief shepherd of the church, the first to rise from the dead, and through him God created a path for all people to restore their relationships with God. It was through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross that God is able to bring peace to our lives and to the world.

To summarize, God got angry that the under-shepherds that he had sent to oversee his people broke trust with both God and the people, and God promised that he was going to make things right first by sending replacement shepherds, but would also, eventually, send a new chief shepherd, king, and savior. Luke makes it clear that Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise, and Paul expands on this and explains that Jesus not only oversees God’s people but also oversees the entire universe and holds it all together. It is Jesus that has rescued us from sin and death, it is Jesus who has made it possible to receive a portion of the inheritance of God’s people, it is Jesus who has made it possible to repair our relationship with God, to make our home in God’s heavenly kingdom, and it is Jesus who has made peace possible, both in our lives as individuals, but also between the peoples of the world.

The message of scripture is clear. Jesus simply cannot be reduced to a description of “just a great moral teacher” because God’s promises, and Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, make it abundantly clear that he is much, much more than that. Jesus is the Chief-Shepherd, the king of the universe, the savior of the world, and the source of all peace.

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601.  These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com .  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Pastor’s Report 2025

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Pastor’s Report 2025

Each year during our Charge Conference, we report on the activities and accomplishments of the year to the East Ohio Annual Conference. What follows is what I reported. As is often the case, I am proud of what the people of Christ Church have accomplished, and I continue to be optimistic for our future.

__________________________________

In 2025, Christ Church continues to be committed to keeping our mission statement in front of our awareness and keeping our focus on reaching out to our community by using our gifts to do what we can to meet the needs of the people around us. Our committees are challenging themselves to find ways that we can be a visible presence in our community rather than just “hiding out” inside the four walls of the church.

This year, after forty years of participation in the Alliance Carnation Days in the Park with our burger booth, Christ Church made the decision to pass the baton and hand off the booth, and the accompanying income stream, to our youth ministry through Scout Troop 2050. Troop 50, aided by some of the veterans of Christ Church’s previous experience, did extremely well and was able to raise funds that are greater than their anticipated operating costs for the year. Their hope is that with this additional funding will give them additional opportunities for growth, training, previously unaffordable excursions, and even, in future years, the possibility of high adventure camps out of state.

We continued our goal to offer training to members and leaders that will equip us to do the work of Jesus in our community. Toward that end, we held an afternoon seminar, led by Rev. Dr. Chris Martin, on usher and greeter training and began what we hope will be a continuing conversation, involving all our church committees, about hospitality. We hope that this conversation will create an environment that is welcoming to visitors and encourages them to choose Christ Church as their spiritual home. Further, next month Christ Church will host a training event in the use of Automatic Electronic Defibrillators (AED) led by one of our city firefighters. This training has been announced and has invited our scout leaders as well as the members of the Alliance Chamber of Commerce.

Christ Church also is continuing to pursue the development of a more active presence and ministry on the campus of the University of Mount Union UMU). After failing to develop a productive relationship with the Coalition for Christian Outreach (CCO) due to a shortage of staffing on their part, we have now partnered with Rev. Tim Morrison, the UMU Chaplain, in his successful application for grants, and the development of three Resident Spiritual Life Assistants (RSLA) who now live in the freshmen dormitories. Partnered with each of these RSLA’s are married partners from Christ Church who will serve as Community Mentors. These mentors will attend bible studies on campus, at least monthly, offer fresh baked treats, and build relationships and friendship with students.

Once again, Christ Church had a presence at the summer concerts in downtown Alliance where we gave out popcorn, water, and ice cream in exchange for donations to Habitat for Humanity. This allowed us to increase our gifts and sponsorship of this year’s Apostle Build house that is funded, in large part, by many churches in and around Alliance. We also continue our collections in support of the Alliance Community Food Pantry, the Salvation Army, and the Alliance of Churches as well as our monthly children’s “noisy can” offering which is directed to the Alliance of Churches bread ministry and the Salvation Army food pantry. Christ Church also continues its ministry of offering Thanksgiving dinners, in partnership with the First Christian Church and others, to deliver over 1400 meals on Thanksgiving morning to members of our community.

We continue to have two Sunday school classes for children and have now begun offering a small youth group meeting for our middle school students. Likewise, our youth ministry through scouting which connects us to nearly one hundred local families between our Scout troop and Cub Scout pack.

Though we experienced a substantial summer drop in attendance, our membership remains stable. Though we lost three members, (two to death and one to transfer), we also added two new members. We are hopeful that our increased emphasis on hospitality will aid us in attracting more new members in the year ahead. Additionally, while our endowment income has insulated us somewhat, we have seen a decrease in giving over the last two years, likely due to the death of longtime members and as a result, we have decreased our budget for next year to compensate. Even so, I remain optimistic that we are laying the groundwork for future growth, and I believe that there is much life left in this community of faith, its mission to the people of our community, and our part in the work of Jesus Christ in this place.

Blessings,

Pastor John Partridge

Resisting the Urge to Withdraw

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Resisting the Urge to Withdraw

by John Partridge

There are times in our lives when we simply want to give up and quit.

In those moments, we feel as if God, or life, or the universe has stacked the deck against us, that everything is going wrong, or just that we’ve taken such a hit to the life that we once had that we just want to take our ball and go home. It happens when our lives make major, often unexpected, and unpleasant, changes. Whenever we experience job loss, relationship breakups, divorce, the death of a loved one or spouse, or even watching your church grow older and shrink in membership.

In those times, we often feel crushed and powerless, and it is common for us to retreat into our safe spaces and hide out. We make a cup of tea, sit on the couch, pull a warm blanket over us, and hide from the world. But as comfortable as it might feel in the moment, that is often quite the opposite of what we ought to be doing. When we are in pain and suffering from loss, one of the keys to healing, moving forward, accomplishing our goals, and rediscovering joy, is not to retreat from the world (although we may very well need some time to do that) but to reconnect with out friends, our family, and get back into the world.

As human beings, as well as members of the family of Jesus Christ, we are social creatures at our core. We long for human connection. While they may often limit their interactions with others, even those who tend to be bookish introverts will feel isolated if they stay away from everyone for too long. We might not want to be in a crowd, or even in any kind of large group, but we still long for friendship, connection, and community. But more than that, it is when we share our burdens with others that we feel our burdens get lighter. Carrying on, moving forward, or even just standing up after life has dumped tough times on us can seem impossible. But when we open our hearts and share our souls, and our burdens, with others, we are encouraged and find the strength to move onward together.

Just as it does with a block of ice, insulating ourselves from the world only makes the chill last longer. The way to melt the chill, find joy again, and start growing again is to open ourselves to the world again, to seek out new opportunities, do new things, and reconnect with our friends and community. I’ve seen these things happen in the lives of both people and churches. While it might be comforting at first, retreating for too long and insulating ourselves from the world only prolongs our suffering. The path to growth and rediscovering joy will not be found under a warm blanket on the sofa surrounded by comfort food. The path to joy and growth can only be found in community.

As members of the family of Jesus Christ, the key is that we already have the greatest family ever.

We just need to get out of our safe spaces, get off our sofas, and invite others to join the family that we already found.

A Future Without Fear

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A Future Without Fear

November 09, 2025*

By Pastor John Partridge

Haggai 1:15b-2:9                   Luke 20:27-38                        2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17

What do you do when your reality falls far, far short of your dreams and expectations, or your life reeks of disappointment? Or when your philosophical and theological adversaries show up to make fun of you in the public square and point out how your beliefs don’t make sense? Or when the church across town is preaching stuff about Jesus that isn’t true, everyone is talking about it, and even the people in your church are starting to believe it?  

Does that sound a little farfetched? It isn’t. Because all these things happen in our scripture lessons for today, and in each case, the people involved are given cause to worry about their place in the world, their place in God’s kingdom, and about their future in general. Likewise, in each case, their fears are put to rest, or at least comforted, and they are given words of instruction to help them to continue moving forward.

We begin by reading the words of the prophet Haggai who had returned to Israel with 50,000 of the people who had lived in exile in Babylon. The problem, however, was that while they had much initial success in rebuilding the city of Jerusalem and had almost immediately built the foundations of a new temple on the temple mount. But as soon as they had done so, their neighbors, the Samaritans, and a few others, became particularly unhappy with the idea of a vibrant and active Jewish state returning to the neighborhood. And so, their complaints and disruptions, along with a lack of backbone and willpower on the part of the people of Israel, caused the work on the temple, and on the city walls, to grind to a halt… for eighteen years. It is in this environment that Haggai brings the words of God to his people saying in Haggai 1:15b-2:9:

1:15 In the second year of King Darius, 2:1 on the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: 2 “Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people. Ask them, 3 ‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? 4 But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord. ‘Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the Lord Almighty. 5 ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’

6 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea, and the dry land. 7 I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty. 8 ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty. 9 ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place, I will grant peace,’ declares the  Lord Almighty.”

Haggai is one of the people present who remembers what Jerusalem looked like when Babylon conquered them. He and many others remembered the temple that Solomon had built, and so he understood the hopelessness and depression and the weight of the memory that sat on their chests when they thought about it. He asks them because what stood in front of them was just a beginning, a foundation of a new temple that had sat unfinished for eighteen years. But God encourages them to be strong and to do the work that was needed to restart their building program and to finish the construction of a new temple and new city walls. God says that if they will do the work, he will shake the world and make Israel a place that is sought after by people everywhere because the new temple will become even greater than the temple of Solomon that they remembered. God tells his people that despite the losses that they had witnessed, and despite the sadness of the unfinished building that was in front of them, the future is bright if they will only be strong, be persistent, and do the work.

But what do we do when the people around us mock us for our beliefs? Can their ridicule shake our faith? This very thing happens to Jesus in Luke 20:27-38, and what we learn is that we should learn and understand our own beliefs well enough to have confidence both in what we believe, and what our beliefs mean for our hope in the future. Luke says,

27 Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question. 28 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. 30 The second 31 and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. 32 Finally, the woman died too. 33 Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”

34 Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, 36 and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection. 37 But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ 38 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”

The Sadducees ask Jesus the same or similar question that I have seen thrown around as criticism of Christian beliefs in various forums online in the present day. It would seem to be an issue if you thought about the problem in the way that the Sadducees presented it. If one woman were, as required by the scriptures, married to seven men, whose wife would she be in the afterlife after the resurrection? But Jesus avoids answering the question by saying that the question itself misunderstands the very nature of the resurrection because it assumes that the life that comes after our death on this world would be the same as the life that we know. Instead, Jesus says, the rules that govern our lives after the resurrection will be different. In the life to come, marriage doesn’t exist just as death will no longer exist.

Unfortunately, Jesus doesn’t elaborate on that at all so we don’t know anything about what relationships between men and women would look like, other than to know that they will be different. In any case, Jesus goes on to say that while our relationships will be different, that despite the Sadducees disbelief in an afterlife, there will be life after death because God is the God of the living, both those living before death, and those living after death. The two things we should take away from this passage this morning are these: First, that, like Jesus, we should seek to understand our faith well enough to know that sometimes the difficult questions with which we are presented are unanswerable, not because our faith is wrong, but because they are asking the wrong questions entirely. And second, our future is bright because we can be confident that there is life after the resurrection despite the death that we witness in the world in which we currently live.

But we return to the question of how we should live in our present day with the time that we each have before our own death and eventual resurrection. How should we live our lives, and how can we find the strength to make it through the trials that we face every day? What do we do when we hear preaching that we know is wrong and contrary to scripture, and when people around us, even people in the church, begin to believe things that are wrong? And at least a part of the answer to our question can be found in the words of comfort that the Apostle Paul sent in his second letter to the church in Thessalonica in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17 where he says:

2:1 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. 3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessnessis revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

5 Don’t you remember that when I was with you, I used to tell you these things?

13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14 He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

15 So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

Paul says that whether wrong teaching comes from pastors, prophets, letters, or books, we should not be alarmed or unsettled. But we should expect that the enemy of our souls will be at work spreading false prophecies, fake news, and misinformation so that he can set himself up as God, even in God’s churches. And these are just one type of trial that we face as we navigate our way through this life. But as we find our way, we should stand firm, hold fast, and stay true to the truth that has been taught to us and continue to share what we have learned with others. Paul’s prayer, and ours, is that Jesus Christ would continue to encourage us and give us hope so that our hearts will be strengthened and enable us to continue doing good and sharing the word of God with the people around us.

And so let us look at the words of advice that we have received: Despite the pain that we have endured, despite the trials that we have faced, despite the losses that we have witnessed, we should not be tempted to fall into hopelessness because God promises that our future is bright and full of hope. Rather than giving in to fear and doubt, we must remain strong and do the work to which God has called us. We should seek to understand our faith well enough to know that sometimes the difficult questions with which we are presented are unanswerable, not because our faith is wrong, but because they are asking the wrong questions entirely. We should be confident that there is life after the resurrection despite the death that we witness in the world around us. We should stand firm, keep doing good, and keep telling others about the good news of Jesus Christ because, despite the trials that surround us, because we follow the God of creation, resurrection, repentance, and restoration, the future, as it has always been, continues to be bright and full of hope.

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601.  These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com .  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Focus Determines Destination

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Focus Determines Destination

October 26, 2025*

By Pastor John Partridge

Joel 2:23-32                Luke 18:9-14              2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18

All of us drive. Most of us drive automobiles, but some of the younger people in the room ride bicycles. For my illustration this morning, either works. Imagine that there is no traffic and you are going down the road as fast as you can. Now imagine closing your eyes.

Even the idea can be terrifying.

If you were forced to drive without being able to see, you wouldn’t go far.

Now imagine that you can, and must drive, but while you can see, your vision is significantly impaired. If you need glasses to drive, imagine what it would be like if your glasses were broken and you had to drive anyway. The worse our vision, the slower we are likely to drive, and we would certainly avoid some of the main highways in favor of less traveled back roads for an additional safety measure even if it slowed our travel even more. But the worse our vision gets, the more likely it is that we wouldn’t even arrive at our chosen destination at all. At some point, we would choose a place of safety at the home of a friend, or even the parking lot of a random business, where we would stop and phone a friend or family member for help.

When we think in terms of driving, or even walking, when we can’t see well, it seems obvious how important our focus is to reach our destination. But our journey through life, whether that is our family life, our career life, or our spiritual life, depends upon our focus just as much. It has been said, regarding our careers or education, that if you don’t know where you want to go, you will go somewhere, but not necessarily where you want. It’s silly, but it makes a point. Similarly, the Cheshire Cat in “Alice in Wonderland” said, “If you don’t much care where you are going, then it doesn’t matter which way you go.” Regardless of whether it is our career, family life, or our spiritual life, if we have a destination in mind, then we must resolutely keep our focus on our goal.

After the people of Israel and Judah had been devastated by a series of locust swarms, they were, not surprisingly, filled with despair and worried about their future. They wondered what had become of their dreams, aspirations, and goals but as they worried, God sent a message through the prophet Joel that had much to do with how they chose to focus their lives. As we read this message in Joel 2:23-32, we will find that we can read it in two parts. The first is a promise to the people of the ancient nation of Israel, and the second is a promise both to them, and to all of us who have come afterward. God said:

23 Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful.
He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.
24 The threshing floors will be filled with grain;
    the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.

25 “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—
    the great locust and the young locust,
    the other locusts and the locust swarm—
my great army that I sent among you.
26 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God,
    who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed.
27 Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the Lord your God,
    and that there is no other;
never again will my people be shamed.

28 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams,
    your young men will see visions.
29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
30 I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth,
    blood and fire and billows of smoke.
31 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood
    before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
32 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved;
for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance,
    as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.

In the first half of our reading, God tells his people that there is hope for a brighter future, that what was lost will one day be restored to them despite the famine, starvation, and death that they had witnessed. And in the second half, God tells his people, and all who follow, that after he has restored his people to their nation, God is going to do something new. Rather than sending his spirit occasionally to selected prophets or people in dreams and visions, God will send his spirit into all his people so that everyone will be given gifts of the spirit. While there will still be wonders and disasters to be seen in the world, everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be delivered.

But still, even though God will send his spirit to live in all his people, there are still ways that we can take the wrong path and find ourselves off the road and stuck deep in the weeds. In Luke 18:9-14 Jesus tells a parable that illustrates how and where we must keep our focus.

9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Because there were people in the room who were full of themselves and overconfident in their own abilities, religiosity, and righteousness, Jesus goes out of his way to point out that overconfidence and arrogance is a trap that causes us to lose focus and wander from the truth. In Jesus’ parable, the first man was full of himself and prayed to God focused entirely on himself, saying ‘I’ four times. Never once did this man ask for forgiveness, or for aid, or to say thank you for what he had been given, or anything. His entire prayer was filled with bragging about what he had done. But the second man was entirely different. His prayer focused entirely on God. He recognized his shortcomings, failure, and sin, and simply asked God for mercy. Jesus then goes on to say that only the second man was justified before God while the first man was on a path that would surely see him humbled before God.

In contrast, before Paul’s death, we hear his summary of his life and ministry as he writes to his spiritual son, Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18. Paul says:

6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

16 At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. 17 But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Paul knows that the end is near and that he will soon die. He says that his life is being emptied as his life is being poured out like a pitcher of water or wine. But as he faces the end of his life, he knows that he has done the best that he could. He fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept true to his faith in God. For that, Paul knows, that he will be awarded with righteousness on the day of judgement. Paul also says that even when he stood alone, and was abandoned by friends, family, coworkers in the church, and everyone else, he continued to do his best to share the message of Jesus Christ with the people around him even though they didn’t even believe in the same God. Paul knew that until God called him home, that same God would rescue him from every sort of evil because Paul had kept the faith and had done his best to accomplish the mission on which God had sent him.

Paul never lost his focus on what was important even when everything, and everyone, stood against him. And because Paul had kept his focus on the path to which he had been called, he knew that he would safely arrive at his destination and be rewarded by God when he got there.

While every follower of Jesus receives the gift of God’s spirit, if we want to arrive at the destination to which we are called, we must keep our focus on the path ahead with humility and persistence. Because, just like driving on the highway, if we lose our focus, we can take the wrong path and find ourselves off the road and stuck in deep weeds.

Because, in the end, our focus will determine our destination.

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601.  These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com .  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Who Do You Serve?

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Who Do You Serve?

September 21, 2025*

By Pastor John Partridge

Jeremiah 8:18 – 9:1               Luke 16:1-13              1 Timothy 2:1-7

Have you ever gone through a time in your life when God seemed distant and far away? Or just a time when it seemed as if God didn’t care about what you were going through? If we’re honest, I think that most of us have felt like that from time to time. But in times like that, I have been reminded of a poster that I saw many years ago that simply said, “If God seems far away… who moved?” Let me say that again, “If God seems far away, who moved?” Now, I admit that summarizing the complexities of life this in way may be a little over-simplistic, but it does seem to get to the core of the issue. While scripture tells us that there have been times when God didn’t seem to listen, the far more common theme tells us of times when God has chosen to appear distant because his people turned their backs on him first. Our first scripture for today recounts an example of such an occasion that was recorded by the prophet Jeremiah as God’s people mourn over the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of God’s people in Babylon and we hear these words in Jeremiah 8:18 – 9:1:

18 You who are my Comforterin sorrow, my heart is faint within me.
19 Listen to the cry of my people from a land far away:
“Is the Lord not in Zion?
    Is her King no longer there?”

“Why have they aroused my anger with their images,
    with their worthless foreign idols?”

20 “The harvest is past,
    the summer has ended,
    and we are not saved.”

21 Since my people are crushed, I am crushed;
    I mourn, and horror grips me.
22 Is there no balm in Gilead?
    Is there no physician there?
Why then is there no healing
    for the wound of my people?

9:1 Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears!
I would weep day and night for the slain of my people.

Jeremiah reaches out to God because he is filled with sorrow and God is the one who he normally seeks out to find comfort. Jeremiah asks that God listen to the voices of his people as they weep in sorrow and asks why God is no longer in Jerusalem. But God answers that his people have angered him by worshiping images and idols instead of him and, because of God’s displeasure, the people feel disconnected, they know that God has withdrawn his saving power, and they feel crushed, horrified, and wounded. Jeremiah declares that he is so filled with sorrow that if his head were a spring of water, and his eyes were fountains, he would weep day and night over the deaths of his people.

But as sad as the story is, it is important to remember that the disconnection from God started long before the invasion of the Babylonians. God’s people turned their backs on him and worshiped foreign gods, images, and idols and refused all of God’s attempts to call them back to himself. It was only then that God turned his back, and it was only then that God allowed the Babylonians to rise in power and bring punishment to the people, and to the nation, of God.

But in Luke 16:1-13, Jesus tells a story about changing allegiances with an entirely different sort of spin while still being a story about obedience.

16:1 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2 So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

3 “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— 4 I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’

5 “So, he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

6 “‘Nine hundred gallonsof olive oil,’ he replied.

“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’

7 “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’

“‘A thousand bushelsof wheat,’ he replied.

“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

8 “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

In the story that Jesus told, we discover that at some point, the manager decided that his allegiance was to himself more than it was to the owner, to ethics, to morals, or the teachings of God. The manager began to siphon the owner’s money in wasteful ways that we would describe as graft, theft, and embezzlement. When the owner gives the manager a few days to show him his accounting ledgers, the manager seeks out some of his boss’s biggest clients and debtors, and allows them to settle with him for enormous discounts so that they then become indebted to him rather than to his boss and he can count on them for employment and support after he loses his job.

The point that Jesus makes is that while the manager was shrewd in his dealings, he had lost faith with his employer and shifted his loyalties to himself, to his pleasure, and to his vanity even at the expense of his continued employment. While Jesus compliments the shrewdness of the manager and encourages us to use those same kinds of street smarts to the advancement of God’s kingdom, Jesus also notes that we cannot serve two masters. If we allow our bank account, pleasure, vanity, other gods, family time, politics, or any number of other things to become our master, then God becomes secondary and no god at all. Christian radio show host Larry Burkett, in his weekly show on finance, used to be fond of saying that if he could spend five minutes with your checkbook, he could tell you what your priorities were. Your priorities, and your master, are the things that you put first.

If we want to get our priorities right, if we want to serve the right master, and put God first, then it is worth looking at the advice that Paul has for his protégé Timothy in his letter that we find in 1 Timothy 2:1-7 where he says:

2:1 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. 7 And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles.

Paul says that what God really wants from us is godliness and holiness. These are the things that we should make central to our lives and the things that we should give priority in our lives. God wants all people to come to a knowledge of truth, to know that there is one God, and one mediator between God and humanity, found in the man Jesus Christ.

Yes, there are times in our lives when it seems as if God is far away, but most often when that happens it is not because God moved, but because we did. We wandered off, we drifted, we forgot, we allowed our focus to shift to other things, we allowed other things to become our priorities and take a central place in our lives. The way to keep God close is to make God our first and most important priority. God wants us to have peaceful and quiet lives, but to do that we are called to live lives of godliness and holiness and expend ourselves in pursuit of God’s mission to save all the people of the earth and help them to find a knowledge of the truth.

Any attempt to serve more than one master causes us to abandon one of them. Dividing our loyalties causes us to give priority to one and to hate the other.

We can only serve one master.

Choose wisely.

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601.  These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com .  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Hospitality: Curse or Blessing?

PastorPartridge Sermon , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hospitality: Curse or Blessing?

August 31, 2025*

By Pastor John Partridge

Jeremiah 2:4-13                     Luke 14:1, 7-14                      Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

You’ve heard it plenty of times, sometimes even within these walls, when churches proudly proclaim that “We are a welcoming church!” But whenever you hear that, it always pays to look a little deeper. A year or two ago, as I walked around downtown Akron during a break from our Annual Conference, I stopped in front of a parking deck for a downtown church. The signs were strikingly specific, and while there were several of them, the clear and emphatic point was that these parking spaces were to be used only by church members. While there was one sign that noted visitor parking, two others clearly said, “No Parking Members Only,” and “Church Parking Only – Decal Required – All others will be towed at the owners expense.” Despite the sign noting that visitors were welcome, the other two would cause me to be quite reluctant and anxious to park there if I didn’t belong.

In another case, I have often heard stories about new pastors or evangelists who dressed as a homeless person and spent the night, or at least the early morning before their first Sunday at a new church, sleeping on the steps of the church. They were often shooed away, or they watched as members of the church made a wide berth around them on the way to their fellowship inside. In the story, the people were then deeply embarrassed to discover that the disheveled person that they had seen outside was their new pastor or visiting evangelistic speaker.

It is often an unfortunate truth that when churches, and many other groups, proclaim that they are welcoming, the implied message is that they are only welcoming of a certain kind of people. It was clear in my last appointment that while everyone agreed that they wanted their church to grow, some (only a few) of them were only welcoming to the people who were like them and who worshiped like them. They openly opposed everything to do with our non-traditional worship service (which was growing) and insisted that if we eliminated it, that everyone could worship together in their traditional worship service. I warned them that many of the people who attended the non-traditional service felt that service was their home and would have chosen the traditional service if they had preferred it. The message, in any case, was that “we are a welcoming congregation… as long as you look like us and like the things that we like.”

And so, the question of the day is this: What does real hospitality look like? How do we accept it when it is offered to us? And how do we offer it, openly, honestly, and without reservation? And for that, we begin once again with a message that God sent to the people of Jerusalem through his prophet Jeremiah as we read the words of Jeremiah 2:4-13:

4 Hear the word of the Lord, you descendants of Jacob,
    all you clans of Israel.

5 This is what the Lord says:

“What fault did your ancestors find in me,
    that they strayed so far from me?
They followed worthless idols
    and became worthless themselves.
6 They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord,
    who brought us up out of Egypt
and led us through the barren wilderness,
    through a land of deserts and ravines,
a land of drought and utter darkness,
    a land where no one travels and no one lives?’
7 I brought you into a fertile land
    to eat its fruit and rich produce.
But you came and defiled my land
    and made my inheritance detestable.
8 The priests did not ask,
    ‘Where is the Lord?’
Those who deal with the law did not know me;
    the leaders rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal,
    following worthless idols.

9 “Therefore I bring charges against you again,”
declares the Lord.
    “And I will bring charges against your children’s children.
10 Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus and look,
    send to Kedarand observe closely;
    see if there has ever been anything like this:
11 Has a nation ever changed its gods?
    (Yet they are not gods at all.)
But my people have exchanged their glorious God
    for worthless idols.
12 Be appalled at this, you heavens,
    and shudder with great horror,”
declares the Lord.
13 “My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
    the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
    broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

God sends word to Jerusalem, Israel, and all the descendants of Jacob that he is disappointed, hurt, and angry that he has given them freedom, land, a nation, and many other gifts of his hospitality, but after he gave it to them, they abused and destroyed them. For that, God says that he is bringing charges against them in court. No other nation, God says, has ever changed its gods. They might be completely wrong about who is god, but at least they were faithful. But God’s people have exchanged their true God for a pocket full of worthless beans, or in this case, worthless idols. They exchanged gold and riches for lumps of clay. God says that his people have turned their backs on his hospitality and walked away from their God because they decided to worship themselves even though they have no power of their own.

And then in Luke 14:1, 7-14, we find Jesus people-watching at a banquet at the home of a prominent Pharisee, and after he watches for a while, Jesus comments on how we should show hospitality in a way that would please God.

14:1 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched.

7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8 “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. 11 For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Jesus says that if you use your hospitality to show off, make yourself feel important, impress the right people, or to move up in your social and business circles, then God may knock you down and teach you something about humility. But, if you use your hospitality to humble yourself, then God will exalt and lift you up. Jesus says that the right way to show hospitality is to use it to care for people who can’t afford to give anything back, to feed the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. The core value here is that God will repay you when you use your hospitality to show genuine generosity and grace.

This same sentiment is echoed by the author of Hebrews as he reflects on hospitality, marriage, and how we should choose our heroes and leaders. As we read Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16, we hear this:

13:1 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. 2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. 3 Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

“Never will I leave you;
    never will I forsake you.”

6 So we say with confidence,

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
    What can mere mortals do to me?”

7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

The writer of Hebrews says that while we should continue to love one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, we should not forget to show hospitality to those who do not belong to our church, our fellowship, or even to our faith. It is through our hospitality, generosity, and kindness that people will see, hear, and feel the love of Jesus Christ and be drawn to faith in him. Similarly, while we should continue to love one another as brothers and sisters, we should also continue to love, and be faithful to, our spouses. But, when it comes time to choose our leaders, or to identify the people that we admire and respect, we should first consider the outcome of their faith and their way of life. Consider whether their example is worth following by looking to see how they have modeled their lives after Jesus Christ.

When we consider these things together, we understand that hospitality isn’t just about inviting people to our homes or to our churches. It’s about loving the people with whom we worship, but also about showing compassion, generosity, and love to the people around us who don’t belong to our fellowship, our church, or our faith. Hospitality is about using what we have to care for people who have less than we do. It’s about loving our spouses in a way that is exclusive, monogamous, and faithful to them and to the vows that we took before God. Hospitality is about remembering the things that God gave us, giving thanks for them, continually offering God a sacrifice of praise and worship so that we don’t turn our backs on him and exchange the richness of our God for a lump of clay.

Don’t fall into the trap of believing that hospitality is just occasionally offering an invitation to your church or to your Sunday school class. Hospitality is about giving thanks for what we have been given, it about how we live our lives, how we model Christ’s example to the people around us, it’s about doing good, and it’s about sharing what we have with others.

Hospitality isn’t just one thing; it’s the whole package of how we live our lives and reveal Christ to the people around us.

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601.  These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com .  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™