John Wesley United Methodist Church

John Wesley United Methodist Church John Wesley United Methodist Church, located in the City of Harrisonburg - Sunday Services at 10am Worship at 11 AM on Sunday Mornings. All are welcome!

01/11/2025

For safety concerns (ice & snow), worship at John Wesley United Methodist Church is canceled for January 12th. See you next week for a discussion of the church as a place of sanctuary. Blessings, pastor g.

12/22/2024

A memory of 2017.

In Prayer, A Few Questions for Joseph.

Hi, Joseph, my name is Gordon. I am a pastor.

“Hi, Gordon. How do you know my name? Usually you guys spend all your time in praise of Mary and the Christ child. I don’t get a whole lot of attention.”

Joseph, you have always been a hero to me...as a Roman Catholic one of the statues in the sanctuary at Our Lady Queen of Mercy Church was a depiction of you looking down on the congregation. I spent a lot of time at your feet asking for help in my growing up.

“I remember you. You had all kinds of problems with authority and girls, right?”

Yeah...that sounds about right...Still have those problems.

“What can I do for you today, Gordon?”

Some of the guys and I were talking about the virgin birth and all...and we were curious why you bought in so quickly to the child that Mary carried being of the Holy Spirit...that’s a leap! I mean, its one thing that she has been unfaithful...that would be tough enough to forgive, but if you really loved her, I could see that happening. But she says it was the Holy Spirit?! #? Whoa! That’s a whole other issue. We are dealing with God now. And Mary is something special...real special...to bear the Christ child!

“Well, there was this dream...and....”

Yeah, we got all that. In a dream this angel says its okay and gives you the low down on this whole situation. Joseph, none of us feel like we would be worthy to step up to be God’s foster dad. How did you feel about that challenge?

“Well, at first I was mad and then terrified. After all.....the Angel asked that I ignore the obvious....that Mary was pregnant...that I was not the father. Then I am told the father was God, and the child was the Messiah we have all been waiting for, and finally I was to raise the child as my own. And all this in a dream.”

Its hard for me to accept that you just said okay, based on a dream.....

“Well there is another part your scriptures don’t say....I loved her...she was so incredibly special...so pretty...so sweet...I just wanted to be with her.....God gave me hope that the child was as special as Mary. I wanted to be part of this. Imagine.....to raise this child of God as my own. Given the task of teaching, loving, and nurturing the child that would come to change the world forever. And I, Joseph, a simple carpenter from Nazareth, was asked to be the stand in Dad to the Christ.....it really was not a hard decision...Gordon. Do you think I did the right thing?”

O God, Joseph, yes! Thank you. Bless you.
So Be It.

12/05/2024

Written on Dec 5, 2017, West Point VA

A Simple and Gentle Touch

Lord, can my touch heal....?

Not to mend a broken bone, or flush a virus, or purge a hungry cancer,
But a simple gentle touch, to soothe the frazzled nerve,
To comfort a lonely heart, to mend the hurts of life,
To know someone is there, someone to care?

To touch with a gentle compassion the soul of another,
To give hope and promise to the time to come,
To lead another to Your love and mercy,
To bring us together as one in Spirit?

Not a grab, nor grasp, not grope,
But a simple and gentle touch
of Your Spirit, Your grace,
Your compassion,
Your love.

Lord, can my touch heal?

Of this I pray.
So Be It, g

11/28/2024

"I confess, Dear God,
that I cannot for the life of me
figure out how to pray for him.
He mocks your beloveds,
and seems to think that he is you.
I cannot for the life of me
figure out how to pray for him
whose god is power,
whose currency is cruelty.
I know, I know,
he is also your child,
made in your image.
I know, I know,
I have promised
to be faithful in prayer.
I know, I do know
what you want me to do.
I just don’t know how.
And I really, really don’t want to . . .
because his name tastes so sour on my lips.
Dear God, the best I can do right now
is to name this aversion.
The best I can do is to want to pray better.
Please hear this stumbling confession of mine.
Please make something of my willingness to try.
Please help me speak his name to you
until I can do it without flinching.
Because although I can’t for the life of me
figure out how to pray for him,
praying for him IS for the life of me
- and for the life of the world -
as much as it is for him.
Amen."
+ Rt Rev Susan Goff
retired Bishop Suffragan
of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia

11/27/2024

The 25th Hour.
Lord, I need another hour in the day. Just one more to get it all done. 24 is not enough.....not sure why You limited us to 24 to start with? 25 makes more sense. But regardless all will be righted with adding an additional hour to the day.

“My son, I give you 24 hours now and you can’t manage that effectively, what will you do with a 25th hour?”

Well, I will fill it with completions of tasks unfinished in my day.

“Oh really....You won’t just fill it with more of the chaos and dysfunctional work of your current ways? Will you fill it to the benefit of others? Use it in praise of Me?”

Oh, no, Lord, l will fill it with work to free myself of the burdens of life, so I can spend more time with You, with family, to myself in prayer and thought....no, Lord, there is so much on my plate any extra time will be a blessing.

“I offer you 24 hours to manage, how are you doing with that? How much time do you spend with me or doing My work? How much of the day do you spend caring for others, and yourself? I fear another hour would just be filled with more of the same nonsense and busy work that controls your day now. How about take a step back and manage the day you have to My glory, and less to your own priorities.”

All good, Lord, but if I had more time.......

“Well, you don’t. So, take back the time I give you, only you can control how you use it. Guard each minute of the day as precious. Give the day its due in worldly concerns, but offer a place for our time together, and you will find your day complete.”

Lord, I thank you for my 24 hour day. May I use it to Your Glory each day. My time is Your time.

So Be It.

11/06/2024

“Have I not commanded you?Be strong and of good courage, do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1: 9) corrected for you.

10/17/2024

My Soul Awaits.....
Lord, there are creaks and groans in every step these days. When I push the accelerator, the body just doesn't have the giddy-up of just a few years ago. My mind slows in plodding cadence struggling to connect the dots or fit the pieces of the puzzle that were an ease in just the recent past. My rhythm of life is changing from a race to the finish to a determined grind.....and to the side my soul awaits.

Lord, each day I face down my own aging in disbelief. I didn't anticipate this. I am slowed to do less just when I have the right stuff to make the difference. My body can't do what my mind urges on. My mind burdens such to trip the body.....while my soul awaits.

Lord, my soul awaits in eager anticipation for the reunion and rebirth in Your presence. As this war of attrition of body and mind plays out before me, may I grow in the Spirit to be invigorated with the promise of the life yet to come......as my soul awaits.
So Be It. Gordon

10/06/2024

October 6, 2017

Lord, To Trust In Worry.

Lord, this morning, my mind drifts in thoughts of uncertainly and worry.
My place in this world is fading.
Opportunities have slipped into the fog of age.
Expectations and credibility slip quietly from the present,
Pushed to the back of the parlor to make room for the young.
Each day brings one less story to be written, one less ballad to be sung,
Is there no room for me in the hope and dreams of tomorrow?

And the Lord comes to me,
"Make do with the present, My son.
Cherish this time as a gift.
Forsake the burden of the coming day,
But trust always in my ways, not your worries.
You are not done.
Live this life to the fullest,
And rest when you are able,
For the next life is to be even busier in My promise."

So Be It. gkm

08/20/2024

A Morning Prayer-Thought from Pastor G.

On My Heart.
Lord, I pray this morning to hear clearly Your Voice on my heart.

To hear Your “Trust Me...” and not question,
To feel Your push.....and let go,
To see Your rugged path....and not challenge,
To be only Your child....and obey.

Give me the courage and strength to “trust and obey, for (I know) there’s no other way.”

On my heart, I listen...speak to me, O Spirit of the Morn.

So Be It.

Address

455 Sterling St
Harrisonburg, VA
22802

Telephone

+15404349795

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