Hyde Park United Methodist

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 th…

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 everywhe…

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 …

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 o…

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: invisi…

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…

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 t…

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 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…

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 invit…

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 “…

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 fea…

 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 th…

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 o…

This all-too-familiar story from John 3 captures the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, who came to Jesus at night. It is in the midst of their conversation about being born again that Jesus s…

The synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) all place the turning of the tables in the Temple in the middle of Holy Week, after the triumphal entry in Jerusalem. John places the story much, much e…

The story of the temptation of Jesus offers us a guide for how to deal with the temptations in our lives, and shift our orientation away from ourselves and toward the benefit of other people.

HydePark…

In Mark’s gospel, the Transfiguration serves as the halfway point in the story of Jesus. It is a marked shift away from the miracles and teachings of Jesus to the journey of Jesus to the cross. Likew…

Perhaps the greatest cause of our loneliness and disconnectedness is the tense political and social climate. What if there was a way to bridge differences and have civil conversations about tough iss…