Beyond Education
So why should we care about the educational journey of all children and not just our own? Because every child is created in the image of God. Every child is worthy of an excellent education.
Beyond Education
Advocating for the education of all children is a discipline because the idea that every child regardless of sex or race or income level or the neighborhood they live in deserves an excellent education—is a concept at the very heart of our Christian faith and Methodist tradition.
Let me start with our Christian faith—in the beginning, you remember that line from Genesis, chapter 1…God makes it clear that every human being is made in God’s image. Let’s look at the verse:
Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’
So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them.
So why should we care about the educational journey of all children and not just our own? Because every child is created in the image of God. Every child is worthy of an excellent education. And what’s more is—according to the text—our human purpose is to care for our planet and the people in our planet.
Podcast: Bumping Up Against Grace
Pastor Blair talks with Dr. Mark Stamm about John Wesley feeling “strangely warmed” and the practices that we can use in our daily lives to get close to God, or as he puts it - to “Bump up against Grace.”
The Practicing The Presence Podcast
With Guest: Dr. Mark Stamm
Practicing The Presence is a podcast from Arapaho United Methodist Church. This episode (Episode 2) features Pastor Blair Thompson-White and Perkins’ School Of Theology Professor Dr. Mark Stamm as they talk about John Wesley feeling “strangely warmed” and the practices that we can use in our daily lives to get close to God or as he puts it, to “Bump up against Grace.”
About Dr. Stamm
Dr. Mark W. Stamm is a Professor of Christian Worship at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. He is a graduate of Boston University (Th.D.) where he served as a research associate and consultant on the Boston University Worship, Music, and Religious Identity Project.
Dr. Stamm is an ordained elder in The United Methodist Church, he came to the Perkins faculty in July 2000 after serving seventeen years as a pastor of local congregations in Pennsylvania and Kentucky. At Perkins, he teaches courses in liturgical and sacramental history, theology, and practice. As Chapel Elder, he gives oversight to the school’s chapel program. He also served eight years as Abbot of the Order of Saint Luke.
He has written several books related to the theology and practice of the sacraments including Let Every Soul Be Jesus’ Guest, A Theology of the Open Table (Abingdon Press, 2006) and Devoting Ourselves to the Prayers, A Baptismal Theology for the Church’s Intercessory Work (Discipleship Resources, 2014).
He is married to Margie Stamm, a nurse in the Dallas Independent School District, and they are the parents of two adult children.
Covered By Grace
You are covered by Grace. Maybe you don’t believe you are covered, maybe you feel like you’ve done something along the way and your coverage got dropped.
No, you are still covered; so you messed up, so you think you aren’t worthy of coverage, maybe you’ve forgotten that this isn’t a divine points game, this isn’t about earning or achieving. I mean the rest of the world is into that but God isn’t into that and we know that because of Christ crucified, because through him, success is redefined - weak is the new strong, the way up is the way down.
You are covered…do you know that you are covered…maybe you don’t believe you are covered, like maybe you feel like you’ve done something along the way and your coverage got dropped…
No, no you’re still covered. So you messed up, so you think you aren’t worthy of coverage… maybe you’ve forgotten that this isn’t a divine points game, this isn’t about earning or achieving, I mean the rest of the world is into that but God isn’t into that…and we know that because of Christ crucified, because through him, success is redefined, weak is the new strong…the way up is the way down…
Watch the clip used in the service below
The Radical Thing About This Table
We may disagree on the issues, we may have conflict with one another, but we never ever stop seeing one another as brothers and sisters.
The pull of tribalism is strong now...it is strong and it is trying to influence us to treat one another as less than human beings, it is trying to get us to name call and to have closed minds and mean spirits…but it is no match for the power of Christ that is present at this table and in this bread and cup that compels us to love our neighbor.
We may disagree on the issues, we may have conflict with one another, but we never ever stop seeing one another as brothers and sisters.
The pull of tribalism is strong now...it is strong and it is trying to influence us to treat one another as less than human beings, it is trying to get us to name call and to have closed minds and mean spirits…but it is no match for the power of Christ that is present at this table and in this bread and cup that compels us to love our neighbor.
Becoming Deeply Devoted Disciples of Jesus Christ
I wonder if we pulled out our calendars right now and looked at this past week or this past month, or if we were to keep a running log of the hours in the day and what we did in each hour, it would be a good insight into our devotion...
Now if you have a group of people like those members of the early church whose calendars are for the most part synched, who all live in the same rhythm of life, who all give their time and energy to the same things, oh my the power of that!
Becoming Deeply Devoted Disciples of Jesus Christ
I wonder if we pulled out our calendars right now and looked at this past week or this past month, or if we were to keep a running log of the hours in the day and what we did in each hour, it would be a good insight into our devotion...
Now if you have a group of people like those members of the early church whose calendars are for the most part synched, who all live in the same rhythm of life, who all give their time and energy to the same things, oh my the power of that!
Sermon Notes:
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