DuQuoin Methodist Church, DuQuoin, IL

05/10/2026

05/03/2026

Worship 5-3-26 “The Only Limits to God’s Power” Ephesians 3:20-21

04/26/2026

Worship 4-26-26 “How Strong and How Deep Are Your Roots?” Ephesians 3:14-21.

04/19/2026

Worship 4-19-26 “There Is Always More” Ephesians 1:15-23

Here is a link to the “Wake-Up Call” devotional I mentioned this morning: https://seedbed.com/wakeupcall/

04/03/2026

“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” John 1:29

Official Lyric/Chord video for “At The Cross (Love Ran Red)” by Chris TomlinSubscribe to Chris Tomlin’s Channel: https://christomlin.lnk.to/youtubesubYD Get ...

04/02/2026

Today is known as “Maundy Thursday.” “Maundy” comes from the Latin, “Mandatum” found in John 13:34-35:
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you,
you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.”

A new command I give you.
A new mandate I give you.
What is that new command?
Love.

What Jesus did next was extraordinary. The Lord of the universe did the most mundane of tasks: He washed his disciple’s feet. It was a task that only the most lowly of servants performed.

We are living in a divided and hate filled time. Jesus words come down to us, “A new mandate I give you, that you love one another as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” and if we are honest, these words are deeply convicting. His mandate gives the answer on how to do it if we look / listen closely. “Love one another as I have loved you.” We can only give love as we receive his love.

One of the beautiful things about what we call, “The Lord’s Supper” is Jesus is offering himself to us. We don’t “do” this Christian life on our own; out of our own strength. Jesus offers himself to us.
He is the Lamb of God.
He is the Bread of Life.
He is the Living Water.

We come to him and he gives us the strength, the grace to live for him, to stand for him, to love the unlovable. In the sermon on the mount, Jesus tells the people in Matthew 5:43-48:

"You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may
be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the
good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what
reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only
your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Perfect? How are we to be perfect? We are perfect through HIM as we yield to him and give Jesus the pain, the hurt, the hatred in our heart. He came to give us life.

On this Maundy Thursday of 2026, hear the words of Jesus again: "A new commandment / a new mandate I give you: Love one another. Just as I have loved you. You also are to love one another. By this, all people will know you are my disciples if you have love for another." When is the last time you sat in the presence of the Lord and asked the Holy Spirit to come and shed abroad the love of Jesus in your heart? (Romans 5:5 "God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us"). Take time to do that today. Don’t let your love grow cold and your heart become bitter.

Love isn’t a gushy, mushy feeling.
Jesus shows us what it means to love: It is to serve and honor one another.
It is an act of kindness; it is an act of servanthood. Jesus served and loved those who would later deny him and betray him.

May God give us grace in this hour to love one another and those around us.
May he give us a kind word instead of a harsh tongue.
A blessing instead of a curse.
A smile instead of a scowl.
Help us Jesus, to love as you loved us.
Fill us with your love for your glory we pray, Amen.

02/15/2026

Video didn’t record today. Here is the podcast for the service today. Worship 2-15-26 “The Hush of Heaven” Rev 8:1-5.

02/01/2026

There is a 28 second delay on today’s podcast. It will be on at the 29 second mark.

01/25/2026

Thoughts on a Snowy Sunday morning, January 25, 2026:

“A kingdom and priests unto our God.” That portion of Scripture, that line, has been on my heart the past three weeks. Both Peter in his epistle (1 Peter 2:9), and John in Revelation (Revelation 1:6; 5:10) use that phrase and imagery. It is a powerful one.

For the month of January, JD Walt on, "The Wake-Up Call," is taking his listeners through the book of Proverbs; one Proverb for each day of the month. He encourages those who listen to the podcast to read the chapter first before listening to the podcast. I’ve never been a big listener to the text on bible apps but I’ve done so this year. It is different somehow to listen to a text rather than read it. On some mornings, I would just let the reader on the bible app keep reading beyond the selected text for the day.

This past Friday, I selected the Psalms and let the reader read Psalm 1, Psalm 2, and on and on until Psalm 20. What struck me was how many of those early Psalms are credited to, “The sons of Korah.” In your bible, the author of those Psalms is usually in italics and in tiny print and we skip right over it. But in the Hebrew bible, the author of the Psalm, is actually the first verse. As I listened to the reader read those Psalms and I kept hearing the repetition of, “The sons of Korah” it took me back to the Scripture, “He has made us a kingdom and priests to our God.” The sons of Korah were priests (long, complicated history culminating in Numbers 26:9-11). I won’t get into all the details here, but they were faithful priests to the Lord. Their job was to minister to the Lord in worship, help with the sacrifices, and offer up prayers.

Both Peter and John refer to the followers of Jesus as a kingdom and as priests. Jesus was the final sacrifice (see Hebrews 10:1-18). What does it mean that we, as God’s people, are priests? We are to worship and we are to pray. Jesus made a way into the holy of holies, so we can stand before him and intercede on behalf of our friends, our family, our nation and the world (Heb 10:19-22).

With so much going on around us, it is easy to get overwhelmed and forget the privilege and the power we have as we stand before God and pray. In my younger years, I prayed a lot, but it came from a place of fear and anxiety. Part of what of means to be a kingdom and priests is to be secure in God’s love for us, heart and mind firmly standing on the word of God, and praying from a place of peace, rest and hope.

Priests came into the presence of God and they prayed, and they worshipped. I missed worshipping with you all this morning. If you haven’t already, take time today to set your heart and your mind on Jesus. Pray for God’s kingdom to come and his will to be done. Pray for our leaders, that they would have wisdom and the fear of God. Pray for the persecuted throughout the world that they would have courage to stand for Jesus and that they would have peace that passes all understanding, courage, and signs and wonders to would follow them (see Acts 4:30).

Just some thoughts on a snowy Sunday morning. I will probably preach on the truth that we are a kingdom and we are priests in the future. It is a profound, deep thought. "A Kingdom and priests," that is what the Scriptures call the New Testament followers of Jesus. Let's rise up and be the people he calls us to be - for his glory.

If you have any prayer requests, post them below and we will pray. If you are not getting the “Wake-up Call” here is a link to today’s entry. https://youtu.be/o9ORvOF_PGY?si=Y4_U4d6gAP44yAYX

01/24/2026

No services tomorrow due to weather conditions.
Stay in, stay safe, stay warm.