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The denomination wants to hear from you!
Click the picture below to do a denomination wide
survey that EVERYONE is encouraged to fill out!
Deadline is THIS SUNDAY, February 15.
Click the picture below to do a denomination wide
survey that EVERYONE is encouraged to fill out!
Deadline is THIS SUNDAY, February 15.
Rev. Missy Turbeville *From the February 2026 FUMC of Bartow Newsletter
Who are you looking for? - John 1:38
What does it mean to belong to Jesus? What does the Bible tell us? What do we tell ourselves? Over the next few months we are going to be looking at who we understand Jesus to be, and what that understanding means to us as Christ followers.
Last month, the church family was asked to provide five words or short phrases that you would use to describe Jesus if you were asked by a friend. At last count, 125 descriptions had been turned in. Some of the descriptions are very similar to each other (for example- love and loving) but there are still 55 different ways that you described Jesus. All those different descriptions mean we have a wide variety of ways that we encounter Christ.
There is nothing wrong with that. In fact, it is to be expected because the Bible is set up that way. The New Testament has four separate accounts of Jesus‘s life and ministry in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and the rest of the New Testament continues with diverse understandings of Jesus. The early church understood that Jesus was more than one thing. It is important that we grasp this as well.
What does it mean to you that Jesus is King? Messiah? True Vine? Redeemer? Prince of Peace? Rabbi? Light? Friend? Savior? Our answers to these questions shape who we are as Christians and define how we live out the love of Christ in the world.
Jesus asked the question, “What are you looking for?” of those who would become his first disciples. He later asked his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” And at points in his ministry through word and deed, Jesus made it clear who he was. He even used “I am” statements such as, “I am the good Shepherd” and “I am the true vine.” Jesus was many of the things that the people were looking for. He was also more than they could ever imagine. The disciples were beginning to grasp who Jesus was, but they still sometimes misunderstood, just like we do. Even when Jesus told them, and tells us, exactly who he is we can still have difficulty understanding and following. The discussions we will have over the next months are to help us to widen our view of who Jesus is.
This is not simply an exercise in knowledge. This is about confronting our need for a Savior and the expectations that we place on God. Like the people in Jesus’ time we might be looking for an earthly king instead of a king to rule our hearts. We might be looking for a zealot who seeks to topple society and create a new order instead of recognizing the power of healing to turn the world on its head. We might be looking for pacification instead of peace with justice. Like the people in Jesus’ time we might be surprised by some of the answers that we find. Perhaps like Nicodemus, it will take us a while to recognize what the power of the Holy Spirit to help us to have new life can mean for us and for those around us. Perhaps like Peter, we have a tendency to take one step forward and two steps back in our walk with Christ. Perhaps like Thomas, we need to see just a little bit more to recognize the wonder of resurrection in our lives.
How we follow Jesus, the kind of Christians that we are, is based on who we understand Jesus to be. If we are not careful, we can create a version of Jesus to follow based upon our own expectations. May these weeks and months ahead be a surprise and a joy. May we grow in our relationship with Jesus and learn new and exciting ways to live out our life in Christ. May our Jesus become so big that in following him our lives and all around us will be forever changed!
With love in Christ,
Pastor Missy
Who are you looking for? - John 1:38
What does it mean to belong to Jesus? What does the Bible tell us? What do we tell ourselves? Over the next few months we are going to be looking at who we understand Jesus to be, and what that understanding means to us as Christ followers.
Last month, the church family was asked to provide five words or short phrases that you would use to describe Jesus if you were asked by a friend. At last count, 125 descriptions had been turned in. Some of the descriptions are very similar to each other (for example- love and loving) but there are still 55 different ways that you described Jesus. All those different descriptions mean we have a wide variety of ways that we encounter Christ.
There is nothing wrong with that. In fact, it is to be expected because the Bible is set up that way. The New Testament has four separate accounts of Jesus‘s life and ministry in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and the rest of the New Testament continues with diverse understandings of Jesus. The early church understood that Jesus was more than one thing. It is important that we grasp this as well.
What does it mean to you that Jesus is King? Messiah? True Vine? Redeemer? Prince of Peace? Rabbi? Light? Friend? Savior? Our answers to these questions shape who we are as Christians and define how we live out the love of Christ in the world.
Jesus asked the question, “What are you looking for?” of those who would become his first disciples. He later asked his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” And at points in his ministry through word and deed, Jesus made it clear who he was. He even used “I am” statements such as, “I am the good Shepherd” and “I am the true vine.” Jesus was many of the things that the people were looking for. He was also more than they could ever imagine. The disciples were beginning to grasp who Jesus was, but they still sometimes misunderstood, just like we do. Even when Jesus told them, and tells us, exactly who he is we can still have difficulty understanding and following. The discussions we will have over the next months are to help us to widen our view of who Jesus is.
This is not simply an exercise in knowledge. This is about confronting our need for a Savior and the expectations that we place on God. Like the people in Jesus’ time we might be looking for an earthly king instead of a king to rule our hearts. We might be looking for a zealot who seeks to topple society and create a new order instead of recognizing the power of healing to turn the world on its head. We might be looking for pacification instead of peace with justice. Like the people in Jesus’ time we might be surprised by some of the answers that we find. Perhaps like Nicodemus, it will take us a while to recognize what the power of the Holy Spirit to help us to have new life can mean for us and for those around us. Perhaps like Peter, we have a tendency to take one step forward and two steps back in our walk with Christ. Perhaps like Thomas, we need to see just a little bit more to recognize the wonder of resurrection in our lives.
How we follow Jesus, the kind of Christians that we are, is based on who we understand Jesus to be. If we are not careful, we can create a version of Jesus to follow based upon our own expectations. May these weeks and months ahead be a surprise and a joy. May we grow in our relationship with Jesus and learn new and exciting ways to live out our life in Christ. May our Jesus become so big that in following him our lives and all around us will be forever changed!
With love in Christ,
Pastor Missy
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Worship on Sundays at 10:30AM both at the sanctuary and streamed online on our Facebook page.
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