Centenary United Methodist Church, Beatrice, NE

06/08/2026

Before Jesus preached a single sermon, healed a disease, or carried a cross, the Father spoke these words over Him: “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

The Baptism of Christ is one of the most remarkable moments in Scripture because it revealed all three Persons of the Trinity together:

- The Son stood in the waters of the Jordan.
- The Holy Spirit descended like a dove.
- The Father's voice resounded from heaven.

It reminds us that Christianity isn't merely about moral teachings or religious rituals. It's the story of the Triune God who stepped into history to redeem His creation.

Through Christ, those who belong to Him are welcomed into this same relationship of grace. The One who heard, “This is My beloved Son,” came so that sinners could become beloved sons and daughters of God.

06/07/2026

Sunday 6/7 10am Worship Service

06/05/2026

06/05/2026

Imagine standing on that hillside, watching the risen Christ slowly ascend into the clouds. For forty days, He had appeared to His disciples, teaching them, encouraging them, and proving that death had been conquered. Then, before their eyes, He was taken up into heaven.

What must they have felt like? Awe. Wonder. Joy. Longing.

But the Ascension was more than a farewell. It was a declaration that Jesus had completed His earthly mission and had returned to the Father in glory. The One who’d been mocked, beaten, crucified, and buried, was now exalted as King.

Acts 1 tells us that as the disciples stood gazing into heaven, angels appeared and gave them a promise: "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."

That promise still stands today. The Ascension reminds us that Christ isn't absent. He reigns, intercedes, and is building His Church. And one day, the skies that received Him will open again. The same Jesus who ascended in glory, will return in glory.

Until then, we live with our eyes lifted upward, our hearts anchored in hope, and our confidence fixed on the King who reigns forever.

06/04/2026

God didn’t send the rainbow to make us feel warm and fuzzy. He placed it in the sky as a reminder of something far more profound: humanity deserved judgment, yet God showed mercy.

The rainbow appeared immediately after the flood narrative, when Noah stepped out of the ark and onto a cleansed world. It stood as a visible sign of God's covenant - a declaration that despite mankind's sinfulness, God would preserve the world and continue His redemptive plan.

The rainbow reminds us that God takes evil seriously enough to judge it, while lovingly offering a path of salvation in His kindness. It points to a God who judges sin, keeps His promises, and provides rescue for those who trust in Him.

06/03/2026

The Earth may seem enormous to us, but before the Lord it's a small part of a far greater creation. Scripture reminds us that God's perspective isn't limited by the scale that overwhelms us. That nations are as "a drop in a bucket" before Him (Isaiah 40:15). The Lord is enthroned above it all, unchanged and unchallenged.

This truth is humbling and comforting. Humbling because it reminds us that humanity isn't the center of reality. Comforting because it means the world isn't spinning out of control. The God who governs galaxies also governs history. Nothing surprises Him. Nothing threatens His throne. Nothing can overturn His purposes.

When we’re consumed by fear over the future, Scripture invites us to lift our eyes higher. The same God who hung the stars in place, is directing history toward its appointed end. The story of the world isn't about presidents, kingdoms, markets, or world events. The story is about Christ. The King who created all things, sustains all things, and one day will return to rule over all things.

"For from Him and through Him and for Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen." (Romans 11:36)

06/02/2026

In Matthew 4:8-10, Satan took Jesus to a high mountain and showed Him "all the kingdoms of the world and their glory." Then he made an astonishing offer: "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."

Think about what was being offered. Not wealth alone. Not comfort alone. Not pleasure alone. Satan was offering Jesus power over the nations. Immediate rule. Immediate glory. A crown without a cross. The temptation wasn't merely to gain the world. It was to bypass God's plan for redeeming it.

Satan offered a shortcut. Christ refused.

Instead, He chose obedience. He chose the Father's will. He chose the cross. That's what makes this moment so significant. The kingdoms below may have looked magnificent, but they were temporary. Christ's kingdom would be eternal.

The same temptation still confronts us today. We're constantly offered shortcuts to success, influence, security, and fulfillment that require compromise. Jesus reminds us that gaining the world is never worth losing God.

"Be gone, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'" (Matthew 4:10)

06/01/2026

Our culture is full of Pilates - people who know what’s right but won’t say it because they’re afraid of backlash.

Pilate looked Jesus in the eye. He examined the evidence. He repeatedly declared, “I find no fault in Him.” He knew Christ was innocent. He knew the accusations were driven by envy.

Yet knowing the truth and standing for truth aren't the same thing. Pilate feared the crowd more than he feared being wrong. He feared losing approval, losing influence, and losing position. So instead of defending the innocent, he washed his hands and surrendered to the pressure around him.

Two thousand years later, the temptation remains the same. It's easy to speak when the crowd agrees. It's easy to stand for truth when it costs nothing. The real test though comes when obedience carries a price. When conviction threatens popularity. When doing what's right may cost relationships, opportunities, comfort, or reputation.

The tragedy of Pilate wasn't that he couldn't recognize truth. The tragedy was that Truth was standing directly in front of him, and he still chose the crowd. May we have the courage to do what Pilate couldn't - to stand for what's right, even when it's unpopular, and to follow Christ, even when the world demands otherwise.

05/31/2026

Sunday 5/31 10am Worship Service