UMC Darlington

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - Sermon from 11.01.20

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - Sermon from 10.18.20

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - Sermon from 10/11/20

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - Sermon from 10/4/20

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - Sermon from 9/27/20

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - Sermon from 09.13.20

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - Sermon from 9/6/20

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - Sermon from 08.30.20

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - Sermon from 08/23/20

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - Sermon from August 16, 2020

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - Sermon from Matthew 14:22-33

Sermon from 08.02.20

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - based on scripture Romans 5:1-11

Guest speaker Brittany McCloud - based on scripture Psalm 121

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - based on scripture Romans 5:12-19

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - based on scripture 2 Peter 1:16-21

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - based on scripture 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Guest speaker Matt Hudson - based on Matthew 5:13-20

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - based on scripture 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - based on scripture 1 Corinthians 1:10-18

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - based on scripture 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Guest speaker - Rob Hoffman - based on scripture Psalm 139:13-17

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - based on scripture Ephesians 3:1-12

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - based on scripture 1 Peter 1:13-25 and the sermon series Almost Christmas

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - based on scripture Luke 1:46-55

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - based on scripture Luke 6:22-23.  From the sermon series "Almost Christmas"

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - based on scripture 1 Peter 1:3-5 and the sermon series Almost Christmas

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - based on scripture Matthew 2:1-16

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - based on scripture Colossians 1:11-20

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - based on scripture Luke 21:5-19

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - based on scripture Luke 20:27-38

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - based on scripture Luke 19:1-10

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - based on scripture Luke 18:9-14

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - based on Luke 18:1-8

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - based on scripture Luke 17:11-19

Guest speaker - Rob Hoffman.  Based on scripture Acts 1:4-8

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - based on scripture Luke 16:19-31

Luke was very concerned about the end times and was urging everyone to do what they could do to get themselves prepared for the Messiah.  We'll talk about being separated from God and what we can do to NOT be!

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - based on scripture Luke 16:1-13

Speaker - Rob Hoffman - based on scripture Psalm 139:1, 23

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - based on Luke 14:7-14

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - 8/25/2019 - Based on Luke 13:10-17

Pastor Dirk Caldwell - Based on Luke 12:49-56

8/11/19 - Pastor Dirk Caldwell, message based on Luke 12:32-40

Pastor Dirk

Guest Speaker: Jake Lowe

Guest Speaker: Rob Hoffman

7/14/19

Guest Speaker: Jason Surber

Guest Speaker: Matt Hudson

6/23/19 - Ryan Threlkeld

5/15/19 - Mary Taylor

5/19/19 - Mary Taylor

5/29/19 - Mary Taylor

6/5/19 - Rob Hoffman

6/9/19 - Rob Hoffman

6/16/19 - DeDe Beedle

For our final sunday together, we shall celebrate the wonderful season we’ve had.

We have all been Samuel—reluctant to move forward as we are called. God is already where we are called to be. Let us embrace the new season by first letting go of the old.

Jesus addresses his disciples late in our Gospel we call "John."  He tells them they are no longer servants (the greek means slaves) but friends.  Then he expresses the love for his friends he is about to show them through the cross.

What does it mean to be friends with God?

Do you feel like God is your friend?

Do you have the same kind of relationship with God you have with your closest friends?

Or are you still afraid of God...like God may not actually be your friend but a slave master (as if you are still a servant)?

What does a friendship with God look like?

In December of 2017, I took a trip to Israel with my seminary (Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary) for a cross-cultural experience.  We did much more than sight-see.

These past months I have been forming the appropriate way to tell people about the experience.  This is where I currently stand with the continual life-changes of my time in The Holy Land.

Our mission as the United Methodist Church is "to make disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world."

Where do we even begin?

Let's focus on the Holy Spirit and our own spirits to understand what Jesus invites us into when we are called to be "born from above/anew."

If we can learn from Nicodemus's difficulties, perhaps we can begin to discover transformation within which will lead to transformation of the world.

We celebrate 50 years of the merger which created The United Methodist Church.  Our history runs much longer and deeper, but it is a time of celebration as we look back to the more ancient observance of Pentecost.

We look across time to see how God is ever drawing us together through the Spirit which unites us.  Will we continue on the way forward?

Let's revisit our past to help us moving towards the will of God.

We have come a long way since the Ascension...

yet in some ways we are still there.

God IS love, and we are all invited in.

Jesus offers the disciples the image of he as the vine and God as the vineyard grower to help his disciples endure the events of his death in the following days.

In this Easter season we remember the words and image as a reminder for the life we are called...for the invitation we are offered.  We often confuse the idea of Love and then taint our relationship with our faith by trying to get God to fit into our own ideas.

Let's revisit the image and see LOVE for how God reveals it in Jesus Christ.  Let's consider how a disciple put this love into practice as a way for us to understand our own invitation today.

Come, grow into LOVE.

The strange scene on the resurrection day of Jesus offers us many wonderful images of grace and faith.  The scene eight days later follows up with a goldmine of images to reflect and ponder.

Let's walk through the passage and consider some of the more unsung details.

Let us hear how the story of Jesus is the story of us all.

The passage where we find two disciples heading to Emmaus is a popular and powerful scene.  The ways we can all relate to these two people (possibly husband and wife) are abundant.

Let us hear the story and hear our own story within.

Let us remember and be Re-Membered into the household of God through Jesus Christ.

Matt Hudson has been a member of Darlington UMC for a couple of years.  He asked to share his story to express his appreciation to God and the congregation full of his sisters and brothers in Christ Jesus.

This is his story and testimony.

The Gospel of Mark ends strangely...with confusion, fear, and misunderstanding.

Given the many stories of that nature throughout the Gospel, should we be surprised?

We all have our ending to the story, and we need to tell it and live it.

Or are we telling another story by the way we try and be the judge?

Let's revisit the story and consider the gospel of Jesus Christ UNCONTAINED.

We read the Passion of Jesus Christ from the Gospel of Mark.

It's Palm Sunday!  Jesus is riding towards Jerusalem...people are throwing their cloaks on the ground...branches are waving...and shouts of "Hosanna!" fill the air.

Just a few days later they will be shouting "Crucify him!"

What happened?

What changed?

What about their turn is true in our own lives?

Let's revisit the Way of the Kingdom and decide if we are ready to see what Jesus came to reveal to us.

Immediately preceding the Last Supper (two days before Passover) comes a scene at Simon's (the leper) house.  During the meal a woman comes in (we don't know from where) who is not named.  She breaks open a jar of perfume oil and pours every drop upon the head of Jesus.

Some people present (disciples?  Simon?  others?) get angry and try and discredit and even condemn her actions, but Jesus lifts up her act as important as the good news itself (v.9).

Why did she do this?  We never get insight into her motives but Jesus claims the gift as the sign of his imminent death as a king on his throne.

What does this story say to us?

How can this story speak to us about the Kingdom of God?

Let us leave everything behind and venture into the story to see in what way God's Holy Spirit is waiting to speak to us.

After some fierce debating and biblical sparring, a scribe asks Jesus a serious question out of respect and curiosity.  They exchange some wisdom on the greatest commandments as the scribe (an expert in the Law/lawyer) understands the love of God and neighbor as yourself to be greater than even the happenings of the temple...which they were standing in to have the discussion.

Jesus tells him, "You are near to God's Kingdom."

Isn't that what we all hope for?

So let's spend time with these great commandments to understand how we can invest our whole selves into the only thing worth investing them in: love.