Pastor Gail Ray – New Life United Methodist Church

5/17/2026 Sunday Worship Service

Deanna DeBruin — Sun, 17 May 2026 13:51:43 +0000

Sunday, May 17th: “With the Master: Taxes for Caesar”

In our scripture passage for this week, Jesus is in the Temple Courts, arguing with the Pharisees’ disciples, and surrounded by crowds of Jewish peasants. Jesus is also talking about money. In fact, Jesus talked A LOT about money. Sixteen of the thirty-eight parables were concerned with the handling of money and possessions. Credit card, debit card, check, cash, coin – the format of our money doesn’t change Jesus’ message one bit. We need to give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God. Jesus isn’t describing a compromise that divides human loyalties neatly between God and the emperor. You may divide your budget, but you must never divide your allegiance – You belong entirely to God!

5/10/2026 Sunday Worship Service

Deanna DeBruin — Sun, 10 May 2026 13:42:17 +0000

Sunday, May 10th: “With the Master: The Wedding Party”

This week, we have the third of Jesus’ parables of Judgment, as Jesus responds to the Pharisees challenging him about his authority to heal and teach. The Parable of the Wedding Party portrays the subtle relationship between the grace of all people being invited and the obligations of obedience. To be obedient, in the biblical sense, is to be clothed with Christ, to live in Christ. Grace is freely given, placing us in God’s company, by a loving act on the part of God claiming us. But the real gem of this parable isn’t judgement, but the inclusiveness of the invitation. Everyone’s invited, including the “evil and good.” It’s on the basis of this reality that all Christians can enjoy salvation!

5.3.2026 Sunday Worship Service

Deanna DeBruin — Sun, 03 May 2026 13:30:42 +0000

Sunday, May 3rd: “With the Master: The Two Sons”

Jesus, and his crowd of rabble-rousing followers, are becoming a problem for those in power. He’s disrupting the status quo and challenging the authority of the Jewish leaders. So they try to trap Jesus by questioning the source of his authority. And, as typical for Jesus, he responds with a parable, not a simple answer. Which son was more obedient to the father’s authority? Jesus uses this parable to call us to lives of wholeness and unity with God and with each other. Lives based on love, instead of fear. Lives where our emotions match our words and actions. Jesus, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, provides the love needed to live as our authentic selves, the people God intended us to be!

4/19/2026 Sunday Worship Service

Deanna DeBruin — Sun, 19 Apr 2026 13:28:58 +0000

Sunday, April 19th: “With the Master: The Vineyard Workers”
In this worship series, we’ll join the disciples and crowds who are learning from Jesus, as he teaches them with parables. These many-layered stories surprise, comfort and confound his audiences, as he teaches about the Kingdom of God. This week’s parable, The Vineyard Workers, is about the generosity of God. It’s not about equity or proper disbursement of wages, but about a gracious and undeserved gift. God’s generosity often violates our own sense of right and wrong, our sense of how things would be if we ran the world. God’s grace is a free gift that’s available to all of us. It’s a free gift that we receive, but it isn’t what we deserve. It’s about mercy, not fairness. It’s for the last, as well as the first. And, to be honest, we should all be grateful that God doesn’t give us what we deserve!

4/12/2026 Sunday Worship Service

Deanna DeBruin — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 13:59:02 +0000

Sunday, April 12th: “Encounters with Jesus: An Unwelcomed Encounter”
Jesus’ encounter with a Canaanite woman, in the Gentile region of Tyre and Sidon, is again about transformation, but in a most unexpected way. It’s important to remember that Jesus was a Jew. He was born Jewish, raised Jewish, and sent by God to be the Jewish Messiah, so he rarely trod on Gentile soil. But this week’s narrative is one of those rare exceptions, and this time, Jesus is the one who leaves transformed. Some people may consider the idea that Jesus is subject to change to be scandalous or irreverent. But, if God isn’t open to change, why did Abraham and Moses argue with God, and win? Lots to think about this week, as we wrap up our “Encounters with Jesus” worship series.

4/5/2026 Sunday Worship Service

Deanna DeBruin — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 14:12:38 +0000

Easter Sunday, April 5th: “The Unexpected Ending”
“He lives, he lives, Christ Jesus lives today!” These words, from a familiar Easter hymn, help us remember how Jesus’ resurrection has changed everything, since the angel spoke to the women at the tomb over 2,000 years ago, saying “‘He has been raised from the dead. He isn’t here!’” As we’ve continued our journey through Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, we’ve experienced the grief, guilt, confession and repentance associated with Jesus’ betrayal and crucifixion. An unexpected ending for the long-awaited King of the Jews. Now, with Easter morning, God has more unexpected endings in store for the early disciples, and for us as well!

3/29/2026 Sunday Worship Service

Deanna DeBruin — Sun, 29 Mar 2026 13:38:47 +0000

Sunday, March 29th: “Encounters with Jesus: The Crowd”
In the Gospels, Palm Sunday is one of many encounters where The Crowd is present. In fact, the character most frequently encountered by Jesus in the Gospels is The Crowd. Its composition changes, because The Crowd in Galilee isn’t made up of the same folks as The Crowd in Jerusalem. More than any other character in the Gospels, The Crowd portrays the open-ended nature of encounters with Jesus, being mostly indifferent to the Gospel. Yet, between Good Friday and Easter, The Crowd disappears, so that another community may emerge: the church, the ekklesia, “the called out ones.” How is Jesus calling you out today?

3/23/2026 Sunday Worship Service

Deanna DeBruin — Sun, 22 Mar 2026 15:33:17 +0000

Sunday, March 22nd: “Encounters with Jesus: Transformed”
This past weekend, we experienced our communities being transformed into a winter wonderland! Transformation, in addition to call, challenge and rejection, is also another possible response to the presence of Jesus. The path to such transformation, like the path of Lent, is not without difficulty or disruption. The status quo for others, and ourselves, doesn’t fade gently into the night when are lives are in the midst of change. This week we’re reflecting on the Widow of Nain’s encounter with Jesus, from Luke 7:11-17. Both her husband, and now her son, are dead, and she’s left alone in a society where women are very vulnerable. And Jesus’ response is compassion, bringing healing and restoration. This week, pray about places in your life, or in the lives of others, where a transformational encounter with Jesus’ compassion is needed!

3/8/2026 Sunday Worship Service

Deanna DeBruin — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 13:25:55 +0000

Sunday, March 8th: “Encounters with Jesus: Rejected”
Being rejected. It’s that awful, sinking feeling that everyone can identify with. The tension of choosing teams, trying out for the school play, or applying for a job. The experience of rejection is also closely associated with Lent, because rejection permeated Jesus’ teachings of what awaited him in Jerusalem. Yet, from the beginning of his ministry, Jesus’ message and person were rejected. This week we learn about Jesus’ rejection in his home town, Nazareth, where they knew him so well. Their refusal to change their perceptions of Jesus resulted in their refusal of his blessing. Just like the folks in Nazareth, we’re free to choose to reject or accept the truth of Jesus. What choice are you making today?

2/22/2026 Sunday Worship Service

Deanna DeBruin — Sun, 22 Feb 2026 14:47:00 +0000

Sunday, February 22nd: “Encounters with Jesus: Called”
What does it mean to be “Called”? Think back on what it was like as child, to be called by the adults in your life to come indoors at night. For both the children of my Waukesha neighborhood, and for the individuals who encountered Jesus, the same rule applies: To be called is to be singled out for the purpose of a response. Call, like faith, has everything to do with response. Gospel encounters with Jesus hinged on the response to those calls. This Sunday, we’ll be listening to Bartimaeus’ call and response from the Gospel of Mark. In listening, you’re invited to also attend to the voice sounding your own name, and calling you to a faithful response.