The word “advent”, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, means “the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event.” “Advent” as a word has taken on such a religious meaning such that it seems odd to consider using it any other way. No one awaits the “advent” of a long-awaited parcel delivery. A groom might anticipate the “advent” of his …

It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is already upon us! I’ll be praying for you this week – that your time with friends and family is a blessing and life-giving! I’m also hopeful that you’re able to experience some of what we’ve explored of Jesus’s meals for the last few weeks. Recall that when Jesus gathered people together, it was …

It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is already staring us in the face!  Our current message series, More Than Enough, was designed to help us prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving more meaningfully, but the time snuck up on me nonetheless!  Before we get to the week of Thanksgiving, I hope you’ll consider a pre-game tailgate of sorts. As we’ve seen with …

The benefits of shared meals are well-documented and have been written about extensively. From a psychological standpoint, sharing a meal with another person is one of the best ways to build a connection. It strengthens social ties, provides comfort in difficult times, and allows people to exchange ideas and stories. From a health standpoint, eating together has been shown to …

PTCUMC Family, I hope your meals are beginning to take on a new level of meaning and importance as we explore the meals that Jesus shares with his disciples and others throughout his ministry.  After the first meal that Luke recalls in chapter 5 (with Levi and the tax collectors), Pastor Sean helped us explore the feeding of the 5,000 …

Some Christians focus on believing correctly, what some call “orthodoxy.” Some focus on doing rightly, or “orthopraxy.” Most of us understand our faith in a way that incorporates both faith and action. James, the brother of Jesus, certainly understood that authentic Christian discipleship involves both. He wrote assertively to those who seemed to feel that belief alone was sufficient: What …

For generations, ‘meal times’ have represented important opportunities for families and loved ones to gather, enjoy each other and connect with one another. At least that’s the plan! They’re also a time for hard conversations about lessons learned and disagreements that often fail to reach a resolution. Either way, conversations shared over food with friends and family can be deeply …

“Back to normal”. I don’t like that phrase for many reasons. The one obvious reason being that we are at the end of a pandemic that changed the way we do things, especially the way that we think about church. If you ask me, I don’t want to go back to normal. Jesus never called us to live a “normal” …

Dear PTCUMC family,We’re nearing the end of “The Space Between,” which is the series we’ve been working our way through for the last four weeks.  I hope it has been a helpful tool for you, particularly if you are new to scripture or have struggled like so many to grasp the overarching narrative that unfolds in the Bible.   You might …

3 Ways to Listen to God’s Voice I remember when there wasn’t a 24/7 news cycle. I’m that many years old. If you wanted to know what was going on, you would have to wait until 6:00 pm; or wait until the evening paper was delivered; or hope your neighbor was more informed than you were. Now we have more …