Hyde Park United Methodist

Howard Thurman was one of the greatest preachers, writers, and mystics of the 20th century. His book “Jesus and the Disinherited” was a landmark work that invited us to see Jesus on the side of the oppressed, and inspired us to work through non-violent means to bring justice and social change. Every day, Thurman read Psalm 139, as a source of strength and courage, and verses 13-18 capture the intimate relationship he sought to have with God. HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions:1. What group or person is it most difficult for you? How might you practice seeing the divine in them?2. How have you or will you build a relationship with the disinherited?3. How can you dismantle discrimination? Specifically, what action will you take?  

Mat and Magrey dive deeper into Mother Teresa's story, paying particular attention to her own struggles with doubt, faith, and God's perceived absence. We talk about what we can learn from that today and how we can manage our own anxieties and fears.Resources:"The Questions Jesus Asked"Magrey deVegahttps://a.co/d/05e3zfA1"Come Be My Light"Mother Teresahttps://a.co/d/02AQBil8

Mother Theresa of Calcutta was the greatest charitable force in our lifetimes. She inspired us to give of ourselves humbly and obediently for the sake of the poor and needy, regardless of the cost. Hers was a living embodiment of the psalmist’s words, to “raise the poor out of dust, and the needy out of the ash heap.” Her life and witness is captured in her quote, based on Psalm 113: “Joy is prayer; joy is strength: joy is love; joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.” HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions:1. What is “Your Own Calcutta?” How will you practice and compassion and mercy to others? 2. In what ways can you be more persistent in doing the work Jesus calls you to do? 3. What lessons can you learn from Mother Teresa in how she named and dealt with doubt?

Mat and Magrey sit down to discuss the impact Dietrich Bonhoeffer had on Magrey's calling to ministry and the conflict between our inner and outer selves.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one of the most significant martyrs of the 20th century, whose courageous stance against the Hitler and Christian Nationalism continues to inspire us. In his famous book “The Cost of Discipleship,” he calls the church to remember that when God calls people to follow him, he “calls them to come and die.” HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions:1. Who have been the significant “voices of inspiration” in your own spiritual journey? 2. What is something new you learned about the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer? 3. How will you follow Jesus more closely this week?

Prayer is the lifeblood of the disciple of Jesus. In his final days with the disciples, Mark told the disciples in Mark that their faith would allow them to pray with such conviction and confidence that whatever they asked for would be granted to them by God. But that belief carries an important precaution. Prayer is not a cosmic vending machine, that demands God to act on our own terms. Prayer is an act of vulnerability and obedience, in which we declare our dependence on God, and our willingness to decenter our own needs and desires.  HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions:1. What is the mountain you’d like to move?2. How has the power of prayer changed you? The world? 3. Who do you need to forgive?

For many, the existence of suffering and evil in the world is the greatest hurdle to full faith and belief in God. It seems irreconcilable that a God who is all-powerful and all-loving could allow the presence of pain and hardship. It is a dilemma that preacher and biblical scholar Tom Long called “the impossible chess match,” in which there is no clear and clean outcome. But faith allows us to trust where there are no easy answers, and follow God when we ask our hardest questions. HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions:1. When have you wrestled with God’s relationship to human suffering? 2. What has given you strength during times of hardship? Where do you think God was? 3. How have you experienced God transforming your suffering into something positive?

The early church theologian Anselm defined God as “a being than which nothing greater can be conceived.” This central premise led to the classic “omni” qualities of God: Omnipresence (God is everywhere), omnipotence (God is all powerful), and omnipresent (God is all knowing). These qualities have occasionally been problematic for us due to the presence of suffering and evil in the world. By reframing these qualities and incorporating God’s “omnibenevolence” (God’s all-lovingness), we can discover who God is in a deeper, more uplifting way.  HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions:1. Who are people who have embodied a quality of God for you? 2. Which attribute of God do you have the hardest time understanding or accepting? 3. When have you experienced the omnibenevolence of God?

The dual nature of Jesus is central to Christian belief. We believe Jesus was 100% human and 100% divine. It is as difficult to understand this concept empirically (1+1=1) as it is to believe in the trinity (1+1+1=1). But claiming the full humanity and divinity of Jesus allows us to have a full relationship with God, who through Christ is both greater than us and is deeply connected to us.  HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions:1. Do you tend to have a “high” or “low” image of Jesus? 2. What significance does the full divinity and humanity of Jesus have for you? 3. How will you deepen your love and appreciation for Jesus this week? 

The doctrine of the trinity is one of the most essential tenets of the Christian faith. It is also the hardest to explain and understand rationally. By claiming our belief in the triune God, we not only allow for the mystery of God’s nature and activity; we also discover how to fully live a trinitarian life, the way God intends.  HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps.comReflection Questions:1. What are the hardest questions about the faith that you wrestle with? 2. What is your favorite image of the trinity? 3. How will you live a trinitarian life this week?

The arrival of the Holy Spirit not only birthed the church. It also inaugurated a new way of experiencing the power and presence of God, which is the very same way we can experience God today: invisible, but active, and very real.HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps

Walking was the most common form of transport in both the Ancient Near East and the Greco-Roman World. Roads were important facets of the landscape; they enhanced travel, promoted safety and commerce, and improved connections between communities. Many biblical references use the image of a road or path as a metaphor for the faithful life. Discipleship is about taking the journey, one step at a time.HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions:1. What landscape are you currently in?2. What does setting God’s ordinances before you look like in your life?3. How can you choose faithfulness this week?

Rivers and streams in the Bible symbolize places of refreshment and nourishment. Elijah was fed by a brook. Jesus was baptized in the river. The Israelites found hope when God parted the Jordan for them so they could enter the Promised Land. Psalm 1 describes the law of God, which enables a person to be planted like a tree in water. We all need times of encouragement that can come from meeting God at the river.HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions:1. Among the 1000s of decisions you make everyday, can you think of a time where you felt really close to God, certain that you were on the right path with God, and felt deeply connected to the Holy. What was that like? 2. In what ways are you choosing to delight in the God’s instructions? 3. How might God be inviting you to change your thinking, your meditating, and/or the path you’re walking on, so as to bring renewal and refreshment to your life?

The heavens declare the glory of God, says the Psalmist. Often throughout the Bible, the skies symbolized the promise and hope of God. The skies contained a rainbow that signified an end to the flood. The pillar of fire and cloud in the sky led the Israelites through the exodus. And in 1 Kings, Elijah instructed his servant to look into the skies for a sign of the end of the drought. That cloud, the size of a human hand, was enough to remind people that God’s promise and provision were imminent.HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions:1) Which of the three parts of Psalm 19 do you most resonate with—nature, scripture, or personal reflection?2) What are ways you have found scripture, particularly the Old Testament, to be life-giving?3) Where do you need balance in your life today?

The wilderness and desert are two of the most common natural landscapes in the Bible. Psalm 107 captures how the desert can be a place of loneliness, stress, and anxiety, which are common experiences for us today. But just as every biblical figure who entered the wilderness discovered, the desert is also a place to experience God’s presence in a new and profound way.HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions:1. What are your most vivid memories of being in a desert?2. Which of the four metaphors in Psalm 107 best describes what you are struggling with?3. Do you believe that God loves you? What difference does that make for you?

Just as there are mountaintops in life, so there are valleys. The most famous reference to a valley in the Bible is in Psalm 23, where it depicts the long shadow of grief and loss. This service invites us to name our grief and loss, and points us toward healthy ways to process that grief and find hope.HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions:1. What valleys are you experiencing right now? 2. How will you shift from talking about God to connecting personally with God? 3. How will you remember that God is with you?

Psalms 120-134 are often referred to as the “Psalms of Ascent,” which would have been uttered as the Israelites ascended the Temple Mount to experience the presence of God. The Bible is filled with “mountaintop moments,” when people experienced God personally and intimately. This service invites us to ask when we have had such moments in our lives, whether on a literal mountain or not.HydeParkUMC/NextStepsReflection Questions:1. What are your most memorable “mountain top” moments? 2. How does an “uphill climb” and a “downhill descent” help you focus on God and slow your pace? 3. How will you let God help you keep your highs from getting too high, and your lows from getting too low?

In Mark’s Easter gospel, the power of the resurrection through Christ can redeem the lingering guilt and shame of our yesterdays, the real time struggle and suffering of our present days, and the fear and anxiety of our tomorrows. God’s resurrection power is timeless, resilient, and always with us.HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions:1. What boulder-type burdens are you carrying today? 2. Where have you seen evidence of God’s love at work in your past? In your present? 3. In what way will you move forward and claim the new life God is preparing for your future?  

 The story of Holy Week begins with shouts of Hosanna, but by week’s end, those shouts become cries to murder Jesus. Holy Week is an invitation for us to locate ourselves in the story, and ask, as the old hymn says, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?”HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsHydeParkUMC.org/EasterReflection Questions:1. For what reasons are you praying “Hosanna” today? 2. How might your daily prayer time include both verse 24 and 25 of Psalm 118? 3. How will you participate in the services and observances of Holy Week this week?

Jesus compared his imminent death on the cross to the burial of a seed, which is necessary in order for it to spring to new life. Likewise, once we are willing to have Jesus put to death the sin in our lives, we can be raised to new life in Christ.HydeParkUMC.org/NextStepsReflection Questions:1. What is the most challenging aspect of these  words of Jesus  for you personally? 2. Who has modeled for you servanthood and self-sacrifice? 3. What are the “little deaths” that you are experiencing right now? How might they be the gateway to new life?