West End United Methodist Church

What Is and What Can Be: Aligning our Hearts and Heads with God’s

Speakers:Stacey Harwell-Dye
Topics:Lent, Sunday service

What Is and What Can Be: Aligning our Hearts and Heads with God’s – Through Lent we are considering what we can do to “act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly,”  and this is the second week our focus is on justice.  The reading for today is a passage from Isaiah (10:1-4) that is clearly from a God angry at those who “pronounce wicked decrees” that deprive the needy.  Stacey Harwell-Dye, our Pastor of Mercy and Justice Ministries is preaching, and she traces the idea of broken relationships back to the Genesis creation story and the delivery of the people from slavery in Egypt, demonstrating that right worship is very much related to right relationship.  She cautions us to beware of enclosing ourselves inside a bubble of worship at West End and seek relationship with those outside our inner circle.  She gives a number of examples of that in her own life and proclaims that God is on the side of the vulnerable, referring to Isaiah 58 as God’s ideal.    (NOTE: Reflecting the importance of the Word, the video begins with the scripture, but once it starts you can scroll back to the beginning of the service if you want.  The entire service is videoed.  NOTE: There was a technical issue with the video of the late service.  As soon as that is corrected, we will post that video here.)

References

  • Isaiah :10:1-4

Downloads

Early Service Bulletin (2/25/2024)

Late Service Bulletin (2/25/2024)

Audio

What Is and What Can Be: Aligning our Hearts and Heads with God's (scripture and sermon)