“Connected in Christ” – Midweek Message – 20 November 2024
Dear Campbell UMC Family & Friends –
I am filled with gratitude for the changes happening within and around our congregation. As cooler days arrive, a renewed spirit of connection is warming our hearts here at Campbell UMC! There’s an undeniable excitement in the air as we embrace the joy of new beginnings, welcome new people into our midst, and witness a beautiful renewal of engagement in our ministries. Thanks be to God!
The Gift of Growing Connections
One of the most heartening developments has been the emergence of new groups and the infusion of new energy into long-established ones. It’s a joy to see members and newcomers alike finding community and purpose through these opportunities.
Whether it’s through Bible study, a fellowship group, or a ministry team, there’s something for everyone. If you’re not already connected to a small group, I encourage you to take that next step. Explore this website to learn how you can get involved. 
Let’s grow together!
If you have a passion or interest that you don’t see reflected in our current offerings, I would love to hear from you. Let’s dream together about what could be. Starting a new group to foster deeper connections and meet the evolving needs of our congregation is always a welcome endeavor. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you’d like to explore this possibility. Stay tuned for more groups to be organized and launched in January 2025.
Give Thanks – Celebrating Our Young People
This past Sunday, our Youth led the entire Worship service, and I must say – it was an incredible gift! From the heartfelt prayers to the inspired music and thoughtful messages, our young people reminded us of the importance of investing in their spiritual growth and leadership. They invited their families and friends – creating a powerful experience of faith, family, food, and fellowship.
I’m deeply grateful for every youth and adult who helped make last Sunday so special. Your energy and dedication offered a glimpse of what is possible when we prioritize nurturing the next generation of disciples. It is my hope and prayer that our young people will lead worship regularly in the coming year. Providing spaces for our youth to grow in faith and share their gifts ensures a vibrant future for our congregation. As we reflect on the gifts of our youth, we are also invited to turn our hearts to the gifts we can offer as a congregation in this season.
Reign of Christ the King Sunday
This Sunday, I look forward to preaching on Reign of Christ the King Sunday, which also marks the final Sunday in the Christian liturgical year. My sermon, entitled The Coming Reign of Christ, will explore John 18:33-37, where Jesus reveals the nature of His kingdom to Pilate – a kingdom not of this world, but one grounded in truth and love.
Join us for worship this Sunday as we celebrate the transformative power of Christ’s love and consider how we might live as citizens of His kingdom. And don’t forget to invite someone to join you – it’s a wonderful way to share the joy of our faith and stories!
The Power of Story
Speaking of sharing stories, in our Sunday Worship, we’ve introduced a meaningful new practice – members sharing their personal stories as part of the offering moment. This “offering before the offering” is a chance for individuals to reflect on questions such as:
– What brought you to Campbell UMC?
– What did you find when you got here?
– Why do you keep coming back?
– Why do you support this congregation?
– How can you get involved?
Not a single Sunday has passed without someone mentioning how the sharing of one of our members’ stories impacted them that day – whether it’s a newcomer connecting over a shared interest or a longtime friend discovering something new about someone they’ve known for years during the service. These 3-5 minute testimonies are powerful reminders of the ways God is at work in our community. They inspire us, connect us, and deepen our understanding of what it means to belong to this congregation. Whether you’ve been here for 5 weeks or 5 decades, we’d love to hear your story. If you’re interested in sharing, please email me at pastortheon[at]campbellunited[dot]org. If you’re curious about sharing your story, I’d welcome an opportunity to walk through what to expect. Thank you to everyone who has shared so far. Your stories enrich our worship and remind us of the deep connections we share.
Blessings for the Journey
As we move through this new week, I invite you to join me in prayer for our church, our community, and our world. Know that I am praying for you, and I ask for your prayers as well.
Together, we are part of something extraordinary – a congregation united in faith, hope, and love – committed to participating in God’s coming reign.
Have a wonderful week and I look forward to seeing you this Sunday!
Grace & Peace,
~ TJ3 (Rev. Dr. Theon Johnson III)
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Come to Sunday Worship in-person! You may also view Sunday’s worship streamed live at 10am on our Facebook Page OR on our YouTube Channel. You do not need an account to view the worship video. If you subscribe to our channel and Like our Facebook page, you will be notified of new videos. You can also view/hear previous worship services and anthems on our website. Check Coming Up in Worship for instructions to view Sunday’s online service (for streaming or viewing later).
Read the last blog post from Pastor Larry LaPierre,
“The Circuit Writer”
about prayer and speaking with God –
“Giving Up on God”
OTHER MESSAGES WORTH PONDERING
July 19th, 2020
View the online service on YouTube
Music: Horn Concerto – French horn, Brian Holmes; Piano, Shine Kwon
Text: Psalm 135:1-3; 13-21
Sermon: “Abyss, Mystery, and Wonder”
— Rev. Ouk-Yean Kim Jueng Read Sermon
December 8th, 2019
“Bring Us Hope” – Chancel Choir with Zhou Yi, cello
Text: Romans 8:24-25
Sermon: “Miracle on 34th Street – Hope”
— Rev. Ouk-Yean Kim Jueng Listen to Sermon Read Sermon
August 11th, 2019
“I Waited for the Lord” – Abraham Akapo, Samuel Akapo
Text: Isaiah 40:28-31
Sermon: “A Candle Against the Wind”
— Rev. Richard Corson Listen to Sermon Read Sermon
March 3rd, 2019
“Milele (Forever)” – Carillon [Handbell] Choir
“Feed Us Now, O Son of God” – Chancel Choir
Text: 1 Corinthians 1:10
Sermon: “When the Church is Divided”
Rev. Ouk-Yean Kim Jueng Listen to Sermon Read Sermon
June 3rd, 2018 – Music Sunday
“Stand Up & Praise Him” – The Joyful Notes
“Down By the Riverside” – Chancel & African Joint Choir
Text: Acts 16:25-34
Sermon: “Empowered to Praise”
— Ouk-Yean Kim Jueng Listen to Sermon Read Sermon
For more Sermons, click here.
STATEMENTS OF FAITH
“Why I Am United Methodist: Because Of Love” 
– a blog post by Ben Gosden
Precious Pearl ~ Words of comfort (for all) from a Memorial Service of 5 November 2016… Click to read…
BOOKS WE’VE BEEN EXPLORING
“On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity & Getting Old“ by Parker J. Palmer. This book is not for elders only. It was written to encourage adults of all ages to explore the way their lives are unfolding.
Available on Amazon and through Santa Clara public libraries or San Jose Public Library.
Check it out via the “look inside” feature at Amazon.
“Jesus through Middle Eastern eyes: Cultural studies in the Gospels” by Kenneth Bailey.
Beginning with Jesus’ birth, this study of the four gospels examines the birth and the life and ministry of Jesus with attention to the Lord’s Prayer, the Beatitudes, Jesus’ relationship to women, and especially Jesus’ parables.
It is never too late to set aside some time for one’s “intentional spiritual development.”
Together we will read and discuss Marcus Borg’s book “Days of Awe and Wonder: How to Be a Christian in the Twenty-first Century” as Borg explores the Christian faith and what it means to be a Christian today. (Kindle $10, hardcover/paperback $15.)
The book, “If the church were Christian: Rediscovering the values of Jesus”, by Philip Gulley (a Quaker minister) is a readily accessible, thought-provoking presentation of how focusing on the positive aspects of Jesus’ values can help one to discover their own spiritual path.
The book and e-book are available and can be previewed at smile.amazon.com.
Convictions: How I Learned What Matters Most
by Marcus J. Borg
On the occasion of his seventieth birthday, the renowned scholar Marcus J. Borg shares how he formed his bedrock religious beliefs, contending that Christians in America are at their best when they focus on hope and transformation and so shows how we can return to what really matters most. The result is a manifesto for all progressive Christians who seek the best path for following Jesus today.
With each chapter embodying a distinct conviction, Borg writes provocatively and compellingly on the beliefs that can deeply ground us and guide us, such as: God is real and a mystery; salvation is more about this life than an afterlife; the Bible can be true without being literally true; Jesus’s death on the cross matters—but not because he paid for our sins; God is passionate about justice and the poor; and to love God is to love like God.
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Other notable group readings:
In the Shelter, by Padraig O’Tuama
There’s an old Irish proverb: “It is in the shelter of each other that the people live”. In this book much-loved poet, storyteller, theologian, and speaker Pádraig Ó Tuama applies ideas of shelter and welcome to journeys of life, using poetry, story, biblical reflection and prose to open up gentle ways of living well in a troubled world.
The fourth gospel tells of Jesus arriving in the room where the disciples are gathered, full of fear, on Easter Sunday. He does not chide or admonish; instead he says ‘Peace be with you’, which, in the Aramaic of his day, was simply a greeting. ‘Hello,’ he said, welcoming people locked in a room of fear to a place of deep encounter; encounter with themselves, with their fear, with each other and with the incarnate one in their midst.
Interweaving everyday stories with analysis, gospel reflections with mindfulness and Celtic spirituality with poetry, this book explores the practice of welcoming as a spiritual discipline. In particular, Pádraig tells careful stories of welcoming parts of life that are often unwelcome.
and
When Breath Becomes Air, by Paul Kalanithi
New York Times Bestseller • For readers of Atul Gawande, Andrew Solomon, and Anne Lamott, a profoundly moving, exquisitely observed memoir by a young neurosurgeon faced with a terminal cancer diagnosis who attempts to answer the question, What makes a life worth living?
At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, and the next he was a patient struggling to live. And just like that, the future he and his wife had imagined evaporated. When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi’s transformation from a naïve medical student “possessed,” as he wrote, “by the question of what, given that all organisms die, makes a virtuous and meaningful life” into a neurosurgeon at Stanford working in the brain, the most critical place for human identity, and finally into a patient and new father confronting his own mortality.
What makes life worth living in the face of death? What do you do when the future, no longer a ladder toward your goals in life, flattens out into a perpetual present? What does it mean to have a child, to nurture a new life as another fades away? These are some of the questions Kalanithi wrestles with in this profoundly moving, exquisitely observed memoir.
The Active Life: Wisdom of Work, Creativity and Caring by Parker J. Palmer
Vital, down-to-earth wisdom for active people who serve others or work for social change. Drawing from the teachings of Chuang Tzu, Martin Buber, Jesus, and Julia Esquivel, Palmer presents a detailed framework for a spiritual life in the active world–for the uncelibate, unsolitary, and unsilent lives that most of us lead.
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More inspirational reading…
Change Your Questions, Change Your Life
by Marilee Adams
In this new expanded edition of her classic international bestseller, Marilee Adams shows how the kinds of questions we ask shape our thinking and can be the root cause of many personal and organizational problems. She uses a highly instructive and entertaining story to show how to quickly recognize any undermining questions that pop into your mind—or out of your mouth—and reframe them to achieve amazingly positive and practical results. The third edition includes a new introduction and epilogue and two powerful new tools that show how Question Thinking can dramatically improve coaching and leadership.
What Did Jesus Ask?
edited by
As a teacher, Jesus Christ put many of his lessons in the form of questions. The gospels recorded some 100 others. Some are rhetorical, needing no answer, but most were real questions posed to real people. Many of Jesus’ questions are familiar to readers today, yet the context and the potential interpretations of such phrases will offer enlightenment to many.
Organized by Biblical verse, in “What Did Jesus Ask?”, more than 70 of today’s most prominent spiritual writers, religious leaders and artists offer modern meditations on the questions Jesus asks in the Bible. Their contemplations provide telling context, with both contemporary and traditional interpretations to lead readers on an exploration of their own faith and to shape their own meaningful answers.
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