Skip to main content

Posts

Unashamed: The Courage to Forgive and Proclaim

  Unashamed: The Courage to Forgive and Proclaim A Sermon on 2 Timothy 1:1-14 and Luke 17:1-10 – Alan Swartz October 5, 2025 – EUMC and BCUMC (posted 11/5/2025) When Paul sat down to write his second letter to Timothy, he was in chains. A prisoner in Rome, facing an uncertain future, writing to a young pastor who was struggling with his own fears and doubts. And when Jesus spoke the words we heard from Luke’s Gospel, he was on the road to Jerusalem – walking deliberately toward the cross that awaited him there. Both of these moments – Paul in prison, Jesus on the road – remind us that faithful discipleship has always been costly. It requires courage. Not the kind of courage that comes from our own strength or willpower, but the kind that flows from God’s grace at work within us. Today we’re exploring what it means to live unashamed as followers of Jesus – unashamed in two specific ways that challenge us deeply: the courage to forgive, again and again, and the courage t...
Post a Comment
Read more
Recent posts

Fruits of Repentance

  Fruits of Repentance Preacher: Alan Swartz Date: November 2, 2025 Place: Ebenezer UMC Scripture: Isaiah 1:11-17; Luke 19:1-10; Ephesians 2:8-10; Matthew 3:8-10; James 5:1-6; Ezekiel 16:49 Introduction One of the most astounding experiences of my ministry occurred when my wife Jo Anne and I lived in Oxford, North Carolina, during the 1990s. After preaching one Sunday morning, I was walking to my car when a parishioner came running up, eager to tell me how much my sermon had touched his life. As he explained what he had heard, I realized with shock that he had “heard” the exact opposite of what I had said. Someone once observed that a sermon is not simply the words that come out of the preacher’s mouth—it is the words that go into the hearer’s ear, the words we live by. As we gather around Scripture this morning, I pray that the Holy Spirit will speak to both preacher and congregation, that we may truly hear what God is saying to us. I. Grace and Works: The Fu...
Post a Comment
Read more

Expendable Resources: Faithful Service to God

 Expendable Resources: Faithful Service to God Alan Swartz – 10/26/2025 – EUMC & BCUMC The second letter to Timothy holds a unique and strategic place within the New Testament. It is the final letter we have from the Apostle Paul, his last will and testament, penned from a prison cell as he awaited his own execution. Along with his first letter to Timothy and his letter to Titus, it forms a collection we call the “pastoral epistles”—letters written not to a whole congregation, but to individuals entrusted with the pastoral care and leadership of the burgeoning church. To truly grasp the weight of Paul’s words, we must first understand the deep relationship between the aging apostle and his young protégé. Timothy and Titus were young men in whom Paul had seen the promise and power of the Holy Spirit. He had recruited them early in his ministry, mentoring them not only in the foundations of the faith but also in the practical and demanding work of church leadership. He trai...
Post a Comment
Read more

Enduring Faith

 Enduring Faith: A Call to Persevere October 19, 2025 – Proper 24c – EUMC & BCUMC Introduction: A Season of Endings, A Call to Endure Today’s scriptures converge upon a powerful and recurring theme: the certainty of endings. We are brought to stand with the prophet Jeremiah as he bears witness to the catastrophic fall of Jerusalem. We listen in as the Apostle Paul, knowing his death is near, pens his last words of encouragement to his young protégé, Timothy. And we follow Jesus, who has turned his face resolutely toward Jerusalem, marching steadily toward the conclusion of his earthly ministry, aware that the same crowds shouting “Hosanna” will soon demand his crucifixion. From these disparate and dramatic moments of closure, a single, unifying message emerges with profound clarity—the critical importance of perseverance and steadfast faith in the face of trial and persecution. This call to endure is not a passive suggestion but an active command, one that Jesus himself w...
Post a Comment
Read more

Choose Life - Grace That Empowers Decision

  Choose Life - Grace That Empowers Decision September 7, 2025 – Proper 18, Year C – EUMC & BCUMC Scripture Texts: Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 1; Philemon 1:1-21; Luke 14:25-33 Introduction: Standing at the Crossroads Every day we make choices. Some are trivial—what to wear, what to eat for breakfast. Others carry weight that extends far beyond the moment. We choose careers that shape decades of our lives. We choose relationships that define our hearts. We choose words that can heal or wound. But among all the choices we face, there is one that stands above all others—a choice so fundamental that it determines the very meaning of our existence. Today’s scriptures present us with this ultimate choice, painted in the starkest possible terms: two ways of living that lead to vastly different destinations. From Moses’ final charge to the people of Israel to Jesus’ radical call to discipleship, we see the same profound truth echoing through the ages. God places before...
1 comment
Read more

Themes and Concepts in the Book of Revelation

The book of Revelation, also known as the Apocalypse, is a complex and powerful New Testament writing that evokes a wide range of reactions due to its strange symbols, visions, and often challenging content. Despite its perceived difficulty, it offers a rich resource of theological treasures and a message of profound significance for its readers. Here are the major themes and concepts of the book of Revelation: Sovereignty of God The ultimate power and control of God is the most central theological theme in Revelation. God is presented as the "Alpha and Omega," the creator and consummator of the world and history. Despite appearances of chaos, confusion, or evil triumphing, Revelation consistently asserts that God is supreme and in control. God's sovereignty is exemplified not through coercive domination, but through the sacrificial work of the Lamb. The heavenly throne room, where God is seated, is depicted as the center ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Original Audience of the Book of Revelation

The Book of Revelation is addressed to seven specific churches in the Roman province of Asia Minor . The author, John, explicitly identifies these churches by name. Here are the seven churches: Ephesus Smyrna Pergamum Thyatira Sardis Philadelphia Laodicea Location and Context These cities were situated along the western coast of what is now Turkey, looking out on the Aegean Sea. They were connected by Roman roadways, forming a roughly circular route that a messenger would follow to deliver John's letter, starting from Patmos and going north through Ephesus, Smyrna, and Pergamum, then turning southeast to Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and finally Laodicea. The average distance between these cities was about thirty to forty-five miles. By the end of the first century CE, Christianity was an urban phenomenon, and these were sizable cities, with Ephesus being the provincial capital. Their Situations and Characteristics John wrote to these churches to addres...
Post a Comment
Read more