Midweek Messages – 15 January 2025
Dear Campbell UMC Family & Friends –
It’s remarkable to think that we are nearly halfway through the first month of the new year! This serves as a powerful reminder that among all things, time is always on the move.
As we embrace this new year, we are blessed with the opportunity to reflect, re-engage, and re-imagine how we live out our faith in community with one another.
I want to express my deep gratitude for the gift of ongoing engagement within our congregation.
Thank you to everyone who continues to work tirelessly to create opportunities for increased connection and participation. Your efforts are shaping Campbell UMC into an even more vibrant and inclusive space for all.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Today, we honor the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as we celebrate his birthday. On this day, I give thanks for his unwavering commitment to justice & equality and the transformative impact of his life in the struggle for civil rights. Dr. King’s dedication reminds us that each of our lives holds profound meaning. Each of us is uniquely created with a purpose that only we can fulfill. As we celebrate his legacy, let us recommit ourselves to the work of justice and to living lives that reflect God’s love & grace.
On Natural Disasters
I invite you to continue holding in prayer the many communities affected by natural disasters – including those facing wildfires in Los Angeles. Around the world, countless individuals are grappling with the challenges brought by hurricanes, floods, and other crises. Let us lift these communities in prayer and remain mindful of ways we can extend support and compassion.
Sharing Our Stories – Sign Up for February
One of the most joyful ways we have been engaging with each other is through our new initiative of storytelling – an offering before the offering. This exciting addition to our Sunday worship experience invites members to share a brief glimpse of their journey with Campbell UMC by responding to these questions:
– 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?
Hearing these personal reflections has been both heartwarming and inspiring. We’ve listened to stories from longstanding members and those who have connected with our congregation in just the past few months. Each testimony reminds us of the unique threads that weave our community together.
If you feel led to share your story, I warmly invite you to contact me via email at pastortheon[at]campbellunited[dot]org. We’re looking for individuals to sign up for February and I’m excited to see how these testimonies will continue to foster excitement and engagement within our congregation. To all who have shared so far – thank you!
This Sunday: Grace & Abundance
This Sunday, I have the privilege of preaching on John 2: 1-11, which recounts Jesus’ first public miracle at the wedding in Cana. Transforming water into wine, Jesus not only began His ministry but also revealed a profound truth about God’s Kingdom. The abundance of wine symbolizes God’s overflowing grace and generosity – far more than we could ever expect or deserve. My sermon, titled The First Sign: Revealing God’s Abundance, will explore how this moment calls us to live into the fullness of God’s grace and extend that same generosity to others.
I encourage you to attend worship this Sunday and to invite someone to join us.
Whether they are new to faith or seeking a church home, this is a wonderful time to get connected to our congregation. Let us continue to embody a welcoming spirit and make every visitor feel at home at Campbell UMC.
Prayers Abound
As we move through this week, may we remain united in prayer. Please know that I am praying for each of you and I invite you to join me in lifting up our community, our world, and our shared journey of faith. Wishing you a great week filled with God’s peace and blessings.
~ Grace & Peace,
TJ3 (Pastor Theon)
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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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