Resumé, Request, Blessing, Mission

May 17, 2026 PastorPartridge Sermon Acts, Alliance, anxiety, Bible, blessing, Broadway, Christ, christianity, church, faith, fear, God, humility, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John, John Partridge, Methodist, mission, Ohio, Peter, promise, purpose, request, resume, Street

Resumé, Request, Blessing, Mission

May 17, 2026*

(Seventh Sunday of Easter)

By Pastor John Partridge

John 17:1-11 Acts 1:6-14 1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11

If you are like me, many of you have changed jobs from time to time. As a young person, the first time you apply for jobs, the process is intimidating, unfamiliar, awkward, and uncomfortable. But the second time the process feels more familiar, and by the third or fourth time, you understand the process well enough to feel the flow of it, to anticipate what will happen next, and almost read the minds of the people interviewing you. There is a current that flows between the initial contacts that are made and the work that is performed after you are hired to do the job. And, as I read our scripture passages for today, it is that flow that came to mind, and that process that you will see as we read, digest, and understand the path that the disciples, the followers of Jesus Christ, and we ourselves follow from the time we meet Jesus until he sends us out to do the work of God’s kingdom. We begin this morning by reading John 17:1-11, as Jesus prays with, and for, his disciples before his arrest and crucifixion.

^17:1 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:

“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. ²For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. ³Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. ⁴I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. ⁵And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

⁶“I have revealed youto those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me, and they have obeyed your word. ⁷Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. ⁸For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. ⁹I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. ¹⁰All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. ¹¹I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power ofyour name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.

As Jesus prays to his father, it is as if he reads his resume and reminds God of the work that he has done during his time on the earth. And afterward, he requests that God return him to the glory that he had with God before the world began. Next, Jesus prays over the resume of his disciples, as if reminding God of who they are, what they have done, and what Jesus had taught them and given to them. And again, afterward, Jesus requests that God would protect them so that they would be unified in spirit, purpose, and mission for the kingdom work that they would be sent to do.

But, before that could happen, Jesus concluded his time on earth, ascended into heaven, and returned to his father. But only a moment before he did so, he made a promise and assigned a mission to them, both the promise and the mission have been passed on to us. We hear this in the words of Acts 1:6-14:

⁶Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

⁷He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

⁹After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

¹⁰They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ¹¹“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

¹²Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walkfrom the city. ¹³When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. ¹⁴They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

Jesus is plain in saying that there are limits to God’s willingness to share the details of his plans for the future. While he called the disciples in the first century, and calls us today, it is not for us to know when God will choose to do the things that God will do. The important thing is that God promises to give us the power to do the things that he calls us to do, and that our mission is to carry his story and message of hope to the ends of the earth. Like the disciples, we cannot simply stand around, looking up at the sky, waiting for Jesus to return. Instead, we must wait in anticipation, and busy ourselves with the work that must be done until the time of his return.

But doing the work to which God has appointed us will not always be easy. In his letter of 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11, the apostle Peter gives the people of the church some advice on how we should live in order to accomplish the work of the kingdom, saying:

^4:12Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. ¹⁴If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

^5:⁶Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. ⁷Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

⁸Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. ⁹Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

¹⁰And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast. ¹¹To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Peter reminds the people of the church that they should not be surprised that an ordeal of suffering had come to test them. Instead, rather than complain, flee, or quit, he encouraged them to rejoice that they cold share their suffering with Jesus and be happy that they would be rewarded on the day of Christ’s return. If we are insulted because of our faith in Jesus, Peter says, that is a sign that the Spirit of God’s glory, and the Spirit of God itself rests upon you.

Moreover, rather than being proud, or arrogant, that you are a follower of the Jesus and a follower of the most high, creator God, humble yourself before God and let him lift you in praise as he sees fit at a time of his choosing. Instead of worrying and being anxious about your life, trust the God that cares for you, and let him carry the burden of your anxiety and fear. Your job is to be alert to the manipulations of the enemy because he prowls the earth looking for ways that he can deceive, subvert, mislead, and consume the followers of Jesus Christ. Resist these temptations that are so common in our culture and stand firm in the faith that you share with many who are suffering. In the end, although God may allow you to suffer temporarily, he will ultimately restore you in body, mind, and spirit.

As we have seen in our scriptures today, there is often a process with God just as there is when we seek employment. God has seen our resume and Christ himself has prayed that God would protect you and bless you so that the followers of Jesus Christ might be one with God and be united and unified in purpose. We won’t always know the plans that God has for our future, but God promises to give us the power to do the things that he calls us to do. Our lives, as the followers of Jesus Christ, are not guaranteed to be filled with roses, and rainbows, and unicorns, but may often have its share of discomfort, suffering, insults, and fiery ordeals. But we rest in the knowledge that as we suffer, we share in the suffering of Jesus, and we are invited to humble ourselves, and let him carry the burden of our anxiety and fear.

Our calling is to stand firm in our faith and to resist the enemy of our souls, to be alert for his attempts to deceive, mislead, and tempt us to wander from the path of truth. Our mission is to carry the good news of Jesus Christ and his message of hope, healing, and restoration to the ends of the earth.

Just like finding a new job and building a career, it isn’t something that happens overnight. It is a path. It is a process. And it is a journey that we must choose to travel…

…one step at a time, one day after another, until at last we meet Jesus at the throne of grace.

Until then, let us do as the disciples did so long ago, let us pray together, worship together, and work together to rescue the lost, and do the work of God’s kingdom.

*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.™

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How You Fit in God’s Big Picture

May 3, 2026May 3, 2026 PastorPartridge Sermon Acts, Alliance, big picture, Broadway, chosen, Christ, church, faith, fit, forgettable, Frank Willis, God, holy nation, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John, John Partridge, Luke, Methodist, minor, Ohio, Peter, royal priesthood, Street, unimportant, unnoticed

How You Fit in God’s Big Picture

May 03, 2026*

(Fifth Sunday of Easter)

By Pastor John Partridge

John 14:1-14 Acts 7:55-60 1 Peter 2:2-10

Have you ever read a book, or watched a movie, and considered what the story would look like to one of the minor characters? You know what I mean, the people who, at the end of the movie appear in the credits without even having real names but simply listed as “Woman on the street” or “Cop #3.” But minor or not, there was a larger story swirling around them and sometimes, despite being unnoticed, their presence and their contribution made a difference to how the story turned out. In the Star Wars saga, hardly anyone talks about Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, but they were the ones who raised Luke Skywalker from infancy to adulthood and who shaped his morals, ethics, and sense of justice. Without them, the story falls apart.

And I doubt that few, if any of you would recognize the very real name of Frank Willis. Frank Willis was an ordinary man, living an ordinary life that led him to be invisible to the world around him both before and after one singular event that, by itself was unremarkable but led to the fall of one of the most powerful men on the planet. While working as a night security guard, Frank Willis noticed a piece of tape. That’s it. That is the thing that made Frank Willis famous. A piece of tape. One evening, while making rounds that he had made a thousand times before, Frank Willis noticed a piece of tape where it should not have been. A piece of tape that was preventing a door from locking properly in the Watergate building in Washington D.C. Frank reported his findings and the subsequent investigation forced the resignation of President Richard Nixon.

Most of us spend our lives feeling as if we were unnoticed people on the street, important to our families, but minor characters in the world around us. But that isn’t what scripture says. Scripture is clear that each of us, no matter how unimportant we might feel, has a vital role to play in the drama that God is creating. Like Aunt Beru, or Frank Willis, while our screen time might seem short, the part that we play has world changing implications in the big picture of God’s story. And we see that in our first scripture this morning in John 14:1-14 when Jesus says:

^14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. ²My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. ⁴You know the way to the place where I am going.”

⁵Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

⁶Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷If you really know me, you will knowmy Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

⁸Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

⁹Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. ¹¹Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. ¹²Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

To begin, there are two big “asks” that we need to discuss. The first is when Jesus tells his disciples that they should not only believe in God but also believe in him. We tend to skip past that without thinking, but this is important. This is something much bigger than asking someone to listen to, or to follow a teacher. Jesus is literally asking his disciples to believe in him in the same way that they already believe in God and therefore describing himself as an equal to God. In saying this, we are left with only two choices: either Jesus is the son of God and a member of the Trinity, or he is, as the Pharisees accused, a blasphemer and heretic that must be ignored at all costs.

The second big ask is when Philip asks Jesus to “show us the Father” as if that is a simple thing. You should remember that Elijah, in 1 Kings 19, and Moses, in Exodus 33, were allowed to be in God’s presence, but even then, Elijah covered his face with his cloak, and Moses only saw Gods back because anyone who saw God’s face would die. So, Philip asking to see the Father was no small thing, but Jesus expanding on the idea that he and God were equals, says that because they have seen him, they have already seen God.

But next comes the part that connects to you and me when Jesus says, “whoever believes in me will do the works that I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these…” My friends, we may think of ourselves as ordinary, unimportant, and forgettable characters on the world stage, but Jesus’ opinion of you is quite different. Jesus says that if you believe in him, you will, not can, will, do even greater things than he has done, and that is no small thing. That is world changing, powerful, amazing stuff.

And some of what we just read is confirmed as another minor character becomes what we often describe as the first Christian martyr, Stephen. We don’t really know much about Stephen except that he was a follower of Jesus and knew the disciples personally. But despite otherwise being a somewhat ordinary and unremarkable follower of Jesus, Stephen is given some amazing and impressive gifts that we will see as we read his story in Acts 7:55-60.

⁵⁵But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

⁵⁷At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, ⁵⁸dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁵⁹While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

Stephen looked up, and rather than seeing the sky, we are told that, being full of the Holy Spirit, he looked up, was given a vision, and saw heaven itself, he saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. The second gift that we see comes as the witnesses throw the stones that will kill him, and Stephen has the grace to pray for the forgiveness of his own murderers. For us, once again, the message we can find is that even minor characters are given important gifts. Because we believe in Jesus Christ, and because we are therefore filled with the Spirit of God, we too can be given visions by God and can see the truth in the world around us even when it is obscured by culture, influence, money, and power. Moreover, even minor characters can be unnaturally filled with grace and forgiveness even when surrounded by people that despise everything in which we believe.

And finally, as we read 1 Peter 2:2-10, we are reminded that we are more than unimportant, minor characters because we belong to something that is bigger than ourselves. Peter explains this saying:

²Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, ³now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

⁴As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— ⁵you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”

⁷Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

“The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,”

⁸and,

“A stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

⁹But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Peter says that like newborn babies, we must crave the food that will make us grow and mature because we know that God is good. And Peter continues by saying that as we come to Jesus, we should understand that we, as individuals, are being built into a collective, just as individual bricks are built into something bigger. Just as individual bricks collectively become a house, we, as the followers of Jesus Christ, are becoming a holy priesthood that collectively offers sacrifices that are acceptable to God. The people around us who have rejected Jesus and who struggle and stumble over values, ethics, and attitudes that are shaped by the teaching and the example of Jesus, are struggling precisely because they are disobedient to the message and witness of Jesus.

But here, in the church, we are becoming something else as we answer God’s call upon our lives. We are not alone. We are not insignificant, unnoticed, unimportant, minor characters because in the big picture of creation and God’s redemptive plan for the world, you are a chosen people, hand picked to do the work of God’s kingdom and to act as agents in accomplishing God’s goals. You are a royal priesthood who are, collectively sacrificing to give gifts that are acceptable to God. You are not just a small group of friends and worshipers of Jesus Christ who gather at Christ Church in Alliance, Ohio, you are being built into a spiritual house that is bigger than yourself, a house that is bigger than your imagination, because you are a part of a holy nation, a people devoted to Jesus Christ, and a special possession of God. You are a people who do the work of Jesus Christ and who praise him for rescuing you from sin and darkness and calling you into a new life filled with joy, grace, hope, mercy, and light.

That’s a lot of words. But I want you to hear and to remember the heart of what has been said.

You are not alone.

You are not insignificant, unnoticed, or unimportant.

You are a part of something bigger than yourself; a stone being built into God’s spiritual house.

You are an important and vital part of God’s plan of redemption for the world.

You don’t have to believe me, believe scripture. You don’t have to believe dogma, believe God.

You are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people chosen by God.

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Called to Doubt and Skepticism

April 28, 2026April 28, 2026 PastorPartridge Blogs Alliance, Broadway, Christ, church, doubt, faith, false prophets, God, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John Partridge, Methodist, Ohio, religion, skeptic, skeptical, skepticism, Street, test, truth

Doubt. Test. Be Skeptical.

May 2026

by John Partridge

There is an internet meme that says, “Don’t believe everything you read on the internet” and is then sarcastically “signed” by Abraham Lincoln. While obviously false, the admonition is justifiably accurate. We are constantly reminded to doubt what we have read on the internet, to check for the accuracy of the sources of information, and to double check the information before reposting or ranting about what we thought we knew. Several recent stories have been widely misinterpreted and misrepresented by political partisans on both sides rather than admitting uncomfortable truths. There really isn’t any point in saying which ones that I saw, because next week, and next month, there will be different stories and different truths that have been similarly abused. The reminder, however, remains true, we should remain skeptical, doubt everything, check sources, and then double check.

I have heard secular friends make similar accusations about what we teach at church. They have said things like, “The church just twists the truth for their own profit.” Or “Scripture is interpreted and twisted however it best benefits the church and the clergy.” As disappointing as this is to hear, the accusations aren’t new, or even secular. Charlatans and unscrupulous churches and clergy have twisted and misinterpreted scripture since before the Bible was collected into a unified whole. As a result, when Paul writes to the church in Thessalonica, he tells them to “Test everything” and “hold fast to what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). And Luke praises the Berean church above the Thessalonians because they “examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11). This is consistent with what Paul said as well in his letter to the church in Galatia when he declared that “even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!” (Galatians 1:8)

Jesus himself said that his followers should “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them.” (Matthew 7:15-16) Jesus knew that people would come who acted as if they spoke for God, but who only spoke words that would gain them an advantage, profit, or power. For these, Jesus said, we should watch to see what “fruit” was produced for their ministry. Did they raise lots of money? Then what did they do with it? Did they spend money so that the false prophets could live in luxury? Or did they feed the hungry, clothe the naked, speak for the voiceless, and do the work that God’s people have been called to do?

It may be true that sometimes the clergy or the church twists the truth for their own profit. But that isn’t anything new. The Old Testament prophets knew it, the disciples knew it, Paul knew it, and Jesus knew it. And just as it is today with the internet, they all warned us to be skeptical of everything and everybody. Test everything your teachers preach against the scriptures. Check sources. Double check. Then watch to see what kind of fruit is produced and look to see if the work of God’s kingdom is being accomplished.

We must follow Jesus We must be faithful. But we must also doubt, test, and be skeptical.

As Jesus said, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore, be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16)

A Right Way, A Wrong Way

April 26, 2026May 3, 2026 PastorPartridge Sermon Alliance, Broadway, Christ, church, faith, forgiveness, God, grace, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John Partridge, Methodist, Ohio, right, Street, United Methodist, wrong

A Right Way, A Wrong Way

April 26, 2026*

(Fourth Sunday of Easter)

By Pastor John Partridge

John 10:1-10 Acts 2:42-47 1 Peter 2:19-25

If you have ever played strategy games, or even something as ordinary as Monopoly, you know that there are many strategies that work. There are many “right” ways to win, but there are other strategies that are just as clearly wrong and almost guaranteed to help you lose the game. I’ve heard the same sort of discussion about military matters, while there is no one “right way” to win, there are certainly wrong ways, and I am certain that this principle applies to a great many other things. There are situations, however, in which there may be only one right way to do things, and this is particularly true in situations where there are gatekeepers. If you want to open a bank account, then you must fill out the form and do whatever else that the bank says that you must do. I have heard of patients that were sent home on the day of their scheduled surgery, because they had not done the things that the surgeon told them that they had to do.

When we visit our son Jonah on a military base, Jonah must first officially invite us, and then we must stop at the visitors center, show our identification, our automobile registration or rental car information, and wait for them to approve our visit and print out a temporary pass to go on base. Without that, the Military Police at the gate will simply turn you around and send you away. And this is just the sort of thing that Jesus is saying to the Pharisees in John 10:1-10. Jesus says that there is a right way, and only one right way, and any other way will only lead to death.

^10:1 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. ²The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” ⁶Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

⁷Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. ⁹I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. ¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

While I used a military analogy that is familiar to many of us, Jesus uses an analogy about a sheep pen that was far more familiar to his rural followers. In the ancient near east, and even today, a sheep pen was often just a circular wall with an opening that sometimes had a physical gate. Other times, the shepherd would just lay down in front of the opening, and he rested for the night. Pens varied in size so that the sheep of one, or several shepherds could be penned together for protection overnight. And that is the picture that should come to mind when Jesus says, “I am the gate.” The shepherd would only allow his sheep, or those known to him, to enter the pen and anyone who entered would be safe and protected. But anyone who tried to go “over the wall” or somehow around the gate, could automatically be assumed to be a thief, a robber, a murderer, or otherwise up to no good. But Jesus had come so that the sheep could have life, and not just “a” life, but life to its fullest.

But, once we have chosen to follow Jesus and accept that he is our shepherd, then what? What does it look like to be his follower or, more accurately, what should it look like? And, although it isn’t true in all cases, we find the example of Jesus’ apostles in Acts 2:42-47 to be both useful and instructive when Luke explained how the disciples and other followers lived after the resurrection of Jesus saying:

⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. ⁴⁴All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. ⁴⁶Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

After Jesus’ resurrection, his followers worshiped in the temple, listened to the teaching of the apostles, ate together, spent time socializing with one another, and spent time in prayer. They met together and shared meals with other believers in their homes because they had no church other than the temple itself but, as a group and as individuals, they sold some of their belongings and property as they were able, and they gave to anyone who needed their help. And, likely because they were so helpful and free with their resources, everyone around them looked at them favorably. But we recognize that that is overly simplistic and that is not all there is to be a follower of Jesus. Sometimes things don’t go well, sometimes we lose our way, and sometimes the cultures of the world punish us for doing what Jesus has taught us to do. If we’re honest, we shouldn’t be surprised, Jesus did everything that God wanted, never once sinned, and was the perfect man, and the world still hated him so badly that both religious and political leaders conspired to kill him. So, what do we do then? And one answer to that can be found in Peter’s letter to the church in 1 Peter 2:19-25 where he says:

¹⁹For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. ²⁰But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. ²¹To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

²²“He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

²³When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. ²⁴“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” ²⁵For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Peter tells the church that if we suffer because we did the things that God wants us to do, or because we act in ways that God has taught us to act, those actions are commendable and good. Peter also says that being punished or suffering because you did something wrong is simply justice and not commendable at all. Instead, do all you can to do good, as Jesus did, and if you suffer, know that you follow in the footsteps of his suffering. Moreover, Peter reminds us that even those of us who have wandered away of God are invited, and welcomed, to return to the shepherd and overseer of our souls. Just as we remember Jesus’ parable of the prodigal wayward son, no matter how far we have gone off course, no matter how we have screwed up, no matter how much we have sinned against God, we are always welcomed when we repent of our sin and return to him.

It isn’t rocket science. It’s forgiveness.

It isn’t an accounting of grievances. It’s grace.

We always have a choice. But there’s a right way, and a wrong way to live our lives.

I pray that we choose the right way.

⁹I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. ¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

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The Day After the Dawn

April 19, 2026April 26, 2026 PastorPartridge Sermon action, aha, Alliance, Broadway, Christ, church, dawn, epiphany, faith, God, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John Partridge, lightbulb, Methodist, Ohio, power, realization, realize, Revelation, Street, truth

The Day After the Dawn

April 19, 2026*

(Third Sunday of Easter)

By Pastor John Partridge

Luke 24:13-35 Acts 2:14a, 36-41 1 Peter 1:17-23

Have you ever worked on a problem, whether it was math, or a puzzle, mystery, raising children, something at work, interpersonal relationships, finance, or anything else, that just had you stuck and your brain spinning in circles? And then, suddenly, there was some kind of clarity and the answer just popped into your head. These things have been called “aha” or lightbulb moments, epiphany, revelation, dawn, and likely a few other things. But one moment you were baffled, confused, and in a fog, and the next moment you were certain that you knew what to do. These moments of inspiration and revelation are rare and valuable, but what is more important than having such a moment is what you do with it. If you suddenly realize how to fix your problem, but do nothing, then you still have the same problem. That is the situation that we find in our scriptures this morning and the first of these is found in Luke 24:13-35, and the story that we refer to as the Walk to Emmaus, which says:

¹³Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven milesfrom Jerusalem. ¹⁴They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. ¹⁵As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; ¹⁶but they were kept from recognizing him.

¹⁷He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”

They stood still, their faces downcast. ¹⁸One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

¹⁹“What things?” he asked.

“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. ²⁰The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; ²¹but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. ²²In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning ²³but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. ²⁴Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”

²⁵He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” ²⁷And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

²⁸As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. ²⁹But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So, he went in to stay with them.

³⁰When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and began to give it to them. ³¹Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. ³²They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

³³They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together ³⁴and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” ³⁵Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

There are several things here that are important. First, Jesus begins walking with Cleopas and his friend, and they are surprised that he is unaware of the happenings surrounding Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as if it were a common topic of discussion and gossip most everywhere. Second, though they admit that the women had told them that he was alive, Jesus admonished them for foolishness and slowness to believe, not only what the women had said, but what the prophets had foretold. The men then invite Jesus to stay the night because walking in the dark was foolishly dangerous and, as Jesus breaks bread with them, they suddenly have their revelation and realize with whom they have been walking and talking all afternoon and evening. Despite the danger of the night, they immediately rush back to Jerusalem where the eleven disciples and those gathered with them confirm that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead and had appeared to Simon Peter.

And next, you may remember, as Peter stood in the Temple courts, he addressed the crowd and said that he had had his own epiphany, and finally realized that God does not show favoritism, and had commanded them to tell others the story because they were witnesses to what had happened. And, in that same setting, we hear Peter continue his speech in Acts 2:14a, 36-41.

¹⁴Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd:

³⁶“Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

³⁷When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

³⁸Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

⁴⁰With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” ⁴¹Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

As the people hear Peter’s speech, they have their lightbulb moment and suddenly Peter’s words help them to make sense of the things that they had seen and the stories that they had heard. And, as soon as they have this revelation, they ask Peter and the other apostles, “What shall we do?” They understand that now that they finally put the pieces together, now that they finally comprehend what had happened and what it all meant, that something must be done with that knowledge. And Peter has the answer saying, “Repent and be baptized… and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” But we should note that Peter also tells them that they must save themselves “from this corrupt generation.” The meaning of that is fairly obvious, that the teaching of the temple was, to some degree, corrupted by teachers who wanted to maintain their power and authority more than they wanted to teach the whole truth, but Peter’s words also have some important implications for the church, for us, that we will shortly see.

Taken as a whole, what does this all mean for us, and why does it matter two millennia later? And for that, let’s begin with Peter’s own words in 1 Peter 1:17-23 where he writes:

¹⁷Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. ¹⁸For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, ¹⁹but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. ²⁰He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. ²¹Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

²²Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. ²³For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

This is addressed to us, to the church, to believers, for now, and for all time. This is personal. Peter uses the pronoun “you” or “your” no less than seven times. He says that because you call on God, then you should live your life in reverence as if you were a foreigner. You know that you were not rescued by wealth or houses or things that will pass with time, but by the sacrifice of Jesus. It is because of him that the path to God was opened so that you could have faith and hope. You have now been purified by your obedience and love; you are commanded to love one another even more deeply. And, because you have been born again, your life is now imperishable and eternal through the living and eternal power of God.

In this, Peter tells us a lot about how we should live our lives as the followers of Jesus Christ. Live in reverence to God in recognition that we are foreigners, not in this country, but in our culture and in our world. This world is where we live, but it is not our home. Remember that our intellect, money, and power are not ever things that can save us, but only the sacrifice of Jesus and, because we have been saved and purified, we must now love one another even more deeply than we did before and love the people around us more deeply than our culture can imagine.

But also remember what Peter said in the temple courts: Just as it was so in the first century, each generation must save themselves from the corruption that surrounds them. We must recognize that not every political or religious leader loves truth more than they love power and our calling is to hold tight to the truth even if, and when, that means speaking truth to power and telling leaders that we love that they are wrong. And that, as I mentioned before, sends out expanding ripples of implication. Speaking truth to power, or even just rejecting the teaching of respected politicians or religious leaders can come at great personal risk, but we are called to do so anyway. In addition, as lovers of the truth, we cannot keep the truth to ourselves. If a new disease caused a global pandemic that was killing millions, or hundreds of millions of people, and you knew how to cure it, it would be nothing short of monstrous to keep it to yourself, or only in a small circle of friends. If we knew how to save the people around us from certain death, and chose not to do so, what kind people would we be?

And what we have learned from Jesus, and from Peter, is that this is exactly the kind of life-saving information with which we have been entrusted.

What kind of people would we be if we did not share how the people around us can be rescued from certain death?

That is our “aha” moment, our epiphany, and the dawn of our realization.

What kind of people would we be if we did not share how the people around us can be rescued from certain death?

We cannot be that kind of people.

What will we do…

…the day after the dawn?

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From Chaos to Confidence

April 5, 2026April 19, 2026 PastorPartridge Sermon Acts, Alliance, Bible, Broadway, Christ, church, Colossians, creation, culture, Easter, faith, Genesis, God, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John, John Partridge, Methodist, Ohio, Paul, resurrection, testify

From Chaos to Confidence

April 05, 2026*

(Easter Sunday)

By Pastor John Partridge

John 20:1-18 Acts 10:34-43 Colossians 3:1-4

Easter can still be surprising if we look at it from a different angle than we usually do. And one way to do that is to consider Easter as an act of God’s creation. That may seem unusual but bear with me and this message will become clear before we’re done. In the first words of Genesis, we hear these words:

^1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ²Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2)

And, as easily as this passage comes to our memory, consider that the Hebrew that we translate as “formless and empty” is tohu va-bohu which implies an environment understood by the ancient world as one of terrifying disorder, such that in some modern translations, this phrase is being rendered simply as chaos. The world in the beginning was a place of terrifying chaos, and from it, God created order. And again, while the parallels might not be immediately apparent, bear with me as we begin this morning by remembering the first Easter morning that we read in John 20:1-18:

^20:1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. ²So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

³So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. ⁴Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. ⁶Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. ⁸Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. ⁹(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) ¹⁰Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

¹¹Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb ¹²and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

¹³They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” ¹⁴At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

¹⁵He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

¹⁶Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

¹⁷Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

¹⁸Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

The actions of the players in this story may not seem all that strange to us in the twenty-first century, but in the context of the first century, everything understood to be culturally normal is turned on its head. Women were believed and understood to be unreliable such that, under Roman law, the testimony of a woman in court was only considered to be dependable if produced under torture. But here, while the women are understandably emotional, they are the ones doing the work that must be done while the men have remained at home paralyzed with grief. Similarly, we are told that the disciples, who had walked with Jesus for three years, still did not understand that Jesus had to rise from the dead. These men were baffled, confused, and emotionally incapacitated to the point that they follow the leadership of Mary and the other women. Moreover, Jesus’ first appearance isn’t to any of his trusted friends and disciples, but to the women whose testimonies would automatically be doubted. From the perspective of the disciples and the people in story, everything here is upside-down and utterly chaotic. If the disciples had chosen to invent a story about the resurrection, this is exactly the kind of story that they would have avoided at all costs because it would have been completely unbelievable. To the original audience, this story is utter chaos.

But just a few weeks later, when Peter confronts a crowd of people in the temple courts in Acts 10:34-43, he says this:

³⁴Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism ³⁵but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. ³⁶You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. ³⁷You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— ³⁸how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

³⁹“We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, ⁴⁰but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. ⁴¹He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴²He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Peter admits that it all seems crazy. He knew that the women saw Jesus first, that the men were the ones who were overly emotional and paralyzed by grief, and he finally sees the truth, he now understands that God’s plan doesn’t automatically follow the prejudices and favoritisms of human culture. Despite the chaos, despite turning the preconceived assumptions of culture on their heads, Peter admits that they stood as witnesses to the truth of the story that they shared and the message that they preached. The story that Peter and the disciples were preaching was chaotic, crazy, culturally disconnected, and felt uncomfortable and wrong to many who heard it, but nonetheless, they stood up and swore that this was the truth that they had witnessed.

But where does that leave us? Why does it matter? And what does it mean for us?

And as we read Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae, he connects the dots for us. Reading from Colossians 3:1-4, we hear this:

^3:1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ²Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴When Christ, who is yourlife, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Paul summarizes the story that the disciples told. Because Jesus died and rose to life again, and because we have chosen to follow him and to put our trust in him, we too have been raised from the dead. But, because have, and because we have this hope for the future, God calls us to live our lives differently from the people around us. We are called to focus on God’s kingdom and not on the things that our earthly cultures label as important. More importantly, we have confidence that when Christ returns, we will live with him in the glory of his kingdom.

Just as God’s presence in the story of creation transformed chaos into order, the resurrection of Jesus on that Easter morning two millennia ago has transformed the confusion and chaos of our culture into a calm assurance for our future and for eternity.

What began as chaos has been transformed, through faith, into confidence.

Our mission is to remember, and to live out, the words of Peter that we heard in Acts 10. ⁴²He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. We are called to preach, and to tell the world, not because we seek power, or influence, or because we want to manipulate people for our own selfish purposes, but because we choose to share the peace, confidence, assurance, and love that we have found, and because we want to help others to escape the chaos of our culture.

Happy Easter everyone!

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Betrayal, Humility, Sacrifice

April 2, 2026April 2, 2026 PastorPartridge Sermon Alliance, betrayal, Bible, Broadway, Christ, christianity, church, Corinth, Corinthians, faith, God, Holy Thursday, humility, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John, John Partridge, Methodist, Ohio, Passover, Paul, sacrifice

Betrayal, Humility, Sacrifice

April 02, 2026*

(Holy Thursday)

By Pastor John Partridge

Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

What is it that makes your family, your church, your civic organization, or your community unique? What is the story that you tell others about how you started, or about your mission, that explains who you are and what you do? As I was growing up, I often heard that while we were encouraged to try new things, Partridges did not quit. If we tried something new, we had to give it a fair trial. Learning to play an instrument is difficult, and so was wrestling when I only weighed seventy-two pounds. But I wasn’t allowed to quit until I had, at least, completed a year or two of band and at least a full season of wrestling. I stayed in band until my second or third year in college and stayed in wrestling for two seasons until I finished junior high school. Patti and I sent the same message to our children when they were growing up. We encourage you to try new things, but once you start, you cannot quit until you’ve given it a fair chance. Every group, and every family, has similar stories that shape the character of the organization as well as the character of its members. And for the people of Israel, and later for the followers of Jesus Christ, one of those formative and defining stories is the story of the first Passover that we find in Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14.

^12:1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, ²“This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. ³Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. ⁴If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. ⁵The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. ⁶Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. ⁷Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. ⁸That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. ⁹Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs, and internal organs. ¹⁰Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. ¹¹This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.

¹²“On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. ¹³The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

¹⁴“This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.

The Passover story declares to everyone that all of Israel, from the least to the greatest, is a family and that everyone is included. It is also a story of God’s rescue and his love for his people.

And it is with this background in mind that we enter the story of Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, and crucifixion found in John 13:1-17, 31b-35 and hear this:

^13:1 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

²The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. ³Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

⁶He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

⁷Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

⁸“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

⁹“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

¹⁰Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” ¹¹For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

¹²When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. ¹³“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. ¹⁴Now that I, your Lord, and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. ¹⁶Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

³¹When he [Judas] was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in him. ³²If God is glorified in him. God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.

³³“My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

³⁴“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Jesus knew that these were his last hours on earth and, rather than fleeing to save his own life, Jesus followed the pattern of God, of Israel, and of the Passover, by placing love, family, and rescue ahead of his own wellbeing. Jesus takes on the role of the lowest ranking servant and humbles himself as he washes the feet of those who follow him. Jesus says that just as every person who belongs to the nation of Israel is a part of the family, every person who follows him must be humble enough to wash feet and serve others. The distinguishing character of Jesus’ followers will not only be family but also love and humility. Jesus says, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” This can’t be the ordinary love that we see among families and friends, but it must be so extra-ordinary, so singularly distinctive, that people will see it and know that we belong to Jesus.

But there is another thing that makes our community unique and shapes the character of the organization and its members, and it goes beyond who we are and how we act. In 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, the Apostle Paul explains it this way:

²³For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Paul says that he was passing what he knew forward to new generations and that this was a key part of his mission. It was important that he passed on to others the knowledge and teaching that he had received from God. He passed on the importance of sharing a meal at the Lord’s table and remembering Jesus’ last supper, but he emphasizes that each time we share that meal together, we proclaim the message of Jesus’ sacrifice, death, and resurrection and teach others about him. Our celebration of the Lord’s table, or the Eucharist, or Communion, is a reminder to us, and a reminder to the world, of the gift that Jesus gave to all of us. And, like Paul, our mission is not to keep that gift to ourselves, but to share it with others and pass it forward to new generations.

*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.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Easter and Kermit the Frog

March 26, 2026 PastorPartridge Blogs Alliance, Broadway, choices, Christ, church, Easter, faith, God, Jesus, John Partridge, Kermit, Kermit the Frog, Methodist, Ohio, reflection, triggers

Easter and Kermit the Frog

by John Partridge

As I began thinking about what to say as we celebrate Easter and see the end of the Lenten season, it occurred to me that we should challenge ourselves to remember the regular appearance of Kermit the Frog on Sesame Street. Frequently, Kermit, in addition to his many other vignettes, Kermit would appear in various sketches asking the question, “What happens next?” In each case, there was a Rube Goldberg (some of you will have to look that up) contraption that Kermit would examine and repeatedly, ask, “What happens next?” And, I think, that’s where we find ourselves as we come to the end of Lent and the beginning of Eastertide.

During the season of Lent, we spent time in private study, Zoom devotionals with Pastor Chris, and both Sunday morning and evening opportunities for worship. In many, if not all of these, we spent time in self-examination considering our sins, our relationship with God, and with one another. But as we reach the end of this season, celebrate Easter, the resurrection of Jesus, and the beginnings of Eastertide and Spring, we should be asking ourselves the question that Kermit has asked so many times, “What happens next?”

It isn’t enough for us to go to school and get an education. All of us, as we approach graduation, whether from high school, undergraduate, or graduate education, must ask ourselves, “what happens next?” Will we continue our education? Will we pursue a job and a career? Will we take a “gap year” and travel? Eventually, life will force us into a decision, but choosing our course and making plans for what happens next is always better than stumbling forward and allowing others to choose for us.

Easter is no different. We have spent six weeks in self-reflection, but what have we learned about ourselves? And, more importantly, what are we going to do about it? I had a professor in seminary who taught classes on how to preach, and to do it well. And in his classes, he was fond of reminding us that while a well-prepared sermon was important, we should often, at the end of each message, answer the question, “So what?” We have spent hours studying, writing, preparation, and rehearsal, the scattered congregation has gathered and listened, but so what? It isn’t enough to do all those things if the congregation departs without knowing what they should do with the information and instruction that they have been given.

After all our study and time of self-reflection, what have we discovered about ourselves? As this season ends and another begins, what will we do with what we have learned?

Have we learned what triggers, or leads us into sin?

Have we considered choices and behaviors that cause us to wander away from, rather than closer to God?

Have we discovered habits and resources that are useful in building and maintaining a richer, fuller, relationship with Jesus?

After spending a season in self-reflection, what have we learned? And, what will we do with that information?

We should do something.

And so, as Kermit often asked…

… “What happens next?”

Blessings,

Pastor John

Are You Marble, Sponge, or Tea?

March 25, 2026March 25, 2026 PastorPartridge Blogs Alliance, Broadway, Christ, church, faith, God, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John Partridge, marble, Matthew, Methodist, newsletter, Ohio, salt, sponge, tea

Are You Marble, Sponge, or Tea?

by John Partridge

As we pass through the seasons of Lent and Easter, and move ever closer to spring and warm weather, it is worthwhile for us to consider what we will do with what we have learned. After spending time during Lent in contemplation of our need for forgiveness, and celebrating the arrival of that opportunity at Easter, we must consider what we will do with what we have learned, and more importantly who we will be, as we go forward.

A visual analogy that has stuck with me for many years has been to ask the question of whether you are a marble, a sponge, or tea. If we imagine that the world and the culture which surrounds us is a big pot of water, lemonade, or soup, what happens because we are in it? If we are marbles, we take up space, we displace the water, but our presence changes nothing. If we are sponges, then we absorb so much of what surrounds us that we take on the flavor and essence of what surrounds us. But, if we are tea, what we are, and who we are, steeps into every drop and every crevice of the culture around us so that its flavor is irreversibly changed to reflect our morals, ethics, and values.

According to scripture, our calling is to be tea. Or, in the language of the bible, salt.

In Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus said:

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.

If we are salt, we don’t just take up space, or absorb the culture around us, but our saltiness flows the other way, like tea, and flavors the world around us. Likewise, as the people of light, we don’t just take up space, or even navigate through a world filled with darkness, we bring light into the darkness. By our presence, and the light that we bring, we show the people around us where the pitfalls lie and reveal a path of safety as we move forward together.

As we consider the lessons of Lent and Easter, and think about who God calls us to be, both as a church and as individuals, let us think about who we will be in the days ahead.

Will we be marbles, sponges, or tea?

Blessings,

Pastor John

Photo by Ablestock.com on FreeImages

Restoring Hope

March 22, 2026 PastorPartridge Sermon Alliance, Broadway, Christ, church, dry bones, Ezekiel, faith, God, hope, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John, John Partridge, Lazarus, life, Methodist, Ohio, Paul, peace, restore, resurrection, Romans, Street

Restoring Hope

March 22, 2026*

(Fifth Sunday of Lent)

By Pastor John Partridge

Ezekiel 37:1-14 John 11:1-45 Romans 8:6-11

Once again, this week’s selection of scriptures is quite long. But unlike previous weeks, the stories are so good, and so important, that I am reluctant to skip through them. Instead, I will attempt to make my introduction and commentary brief and then use what time I have left to connect the dots for you afterwards.

The theme, if you have read the title of today’s message, is Restoring Hope and so, each of today’s scriptures tell us something about the way that God works and, hopefully, before we’re done, will reveal something to each of us about our roles as the followers of Jesus Christ. We begin this morning by hearing the vision that was given by God to the prophet Ezekiel at a time when the people of Israel lived in captivity in Babylon. Worse, they had only recently heard the news that Jerusalem had fallen and had been utterly destroyed. The people were emotionally crushed and without hope. It is at that moment that God takes Ezekiel’s hand and gives him the vision that he describes in Ezekiel 37:1-14:

^37:1 The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. ²He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. ³He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”

⁴Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! ⁵This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. ⁶I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

⁷So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

⁹Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” ¹⁰So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

¹¹Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ ¹²Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. ¹³Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. ¹⁴I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”

In Ezekiel’s vision, he sees the people of Israel as a valley full of dead, fleshless, dried bones. It would be ridiculous to imagine that any life could return to bodies so decayed, but God commands Ezekiel to prophecy over the bones, and when he does, their flesh is restored and God breathes life into them once again. God declares that he will bring this same restoration to his people in Babylon and through this message, God restores hope to his people.

We see a similar message as Jesus raises his friend Lazarus from the dead in John 11:1-45:

^11:1 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ²(This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) ³So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

⁴When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” ⁵Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, ⁷and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

⁸“But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”

⁹Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. ¹⁰It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”

¹¹After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”

¹²His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” ¹³Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

¹⁴So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, ¹⁵and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

¹⁶Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

¹⁷On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. ¹⁸Now Bethany was less than two milesfrom Jerusalem, ¹⁹and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. ²⁰When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

²¹“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²²But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

²³Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

²⁴Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

²⁵Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; ²⁶and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

²⁷“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

²⁸After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” ²⁹When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. ³⁰Now Jesus had not yet entered the village but was still at the place where Martha had met him. ³¹When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

³²When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

³³When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. ³⁴“Where have you laid him?” he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

³⁵Jesus wept.

³⁶Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

³⁷But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

³⁸Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ³⁹“Take away the stone,” he said.

“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”

⁴⁰Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

⁴¹So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴²I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

⁴³When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

⁴⁵Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

Mary and Martha are crushed as they grieve the death of their brother Lazarus. When questioned, Martha confesses that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God who was foretold by the prophets of Israel, but even in her confession we can see that Martha is still blinded by her grief, but even so the words of Jesus give her a tiny ray of hope. But after Lazarus climbs out of his own grave, and his sisters unwind his burial shrouds, many who were in attendance came to believe in Jesus as Martha did and were filled with hope.

But, as I often ask, what does that have to do with us? And, as it often is, there is an answer from the Apostle Paul, and we find these words in Romans 8:6-11 as he says:

⁶The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. ⁸Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

⁹You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. ¹⁰But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives lifebecause of righteousness. ¹¹And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

Paul says that the mind that is governed by the Spirit of God is a mind of life and peace. But he also says that even though our bodies are subject to death because of sin, the Spirit of God gives us life because of the righteousness that has been credited to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is because of Jesus’ sacrifice that God gives us life through the Spirit that lives in us. These things, these words, like having a mind of life and peace, of being confident of forgiveness, righteousness, eternal life, and the daily strength and assistance of the Spirit of God that lives within us, are like those words spoken to the people of Israel by the prophet Ezekiel and like those spoken and demonstrated to Mary and Martha at Lazarus’ funeral and resurrection.

In short, these are messages that, even in the twenty-first century, are words that give us hope.

Our calling, especially in a world that seems increasingly violent and chaotic, is to share these words of hope so that others can also find a place of peace and rest.

We are a people of hope…

…and our mission is to share that hope with the world.

Photo by gnmills on FreeImages

Pastor Partridge

Sermons, blogs and other things from Pastor John Partridge

Ohio

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Restoring Hope

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