News

WORDS ARE NOT ENOUGH Bishop Deborah Lieder Kiesey Easter 2022 Brad told me once about an Easter sermon he heard in his home church when he was young. This minister wasn’t a particularly great preacher, but he gave the only Easter sermon Brad said he could remember (except for mine, of course!). On Easter Sunday, when the pastor got up to preach, he confessed he couldn’t come up with a sermon for Easter. After thought and prayer, it seemed words were too trite and too overused. He couldn’t find ...

Subscribe to Lenten Devotions "Letting God do God Things"  Palm Sunday - April 10, 2022 Luke 28:19-40 (CEB) Rev. Ron Carlson Conference Superintendent, Camp Clear Lake District Luke 28:19-40 (CEB) 28 After Jesus said this, he continued on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As Jesus came to Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, he gave two disciples a task. 30 He said, “Go into the village over there. When you enter it, you will find tied up there a colt that no one has ever ...

Subscribe to Lenten Devotions "A SEASON OF ANTICIPATORY HOPE"  Fifth Sunday in Lent - April 3, 2022 John 12:1-8 Rev Dr. Heecheon Jeon Conference Superintendent, Riverview Park District John 12:1-8 12:1 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' ...

Subscribe to Lenten Devotions "THE TENSION OF BEING LOST AND BEING FOUND"  Fourth Sunday in Lent - March 27, 2022 Luke 15 Rev Dr. Moody Colorado Conference Superintendent, Pictured Rocks District The background of this devotion is Luke 15, usually given the title, “Prodigal Son.” Today, I’d like to remind us of the concept of the tension of being lost and being found by using Paul’s letter to the Corinthians.  Paul said, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who ...

Subscribe to Lenten Devotions "IT'S THE ROOT - NOT THE FRUIT"  Third Sunday in Lent - March 20, 2022 Luke 13:1-9 By Rev. Doug Cue, Conference Superintendent, Golden Valley District Yeah…that’s me, the owner of the vineyard. I am the guy walking around the garden with a chain saw. I’ve got a simple one word solution for fruitless fig trees….      "Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?” Fig trees exist for one reason…to produce figs…period.   I’ve got to admit…sometimes the ...

Subscribe to Lenten Devotions "STANDING ON THE PROMISES"  Second Sunday in Lent - March 13, 2022 Genesis 15:1-12, 17=18 By Rev. Melissa Drake, Conference Superintendent, Aldersgate District As much as I like to think that I am a fun, spontaneous, go with the flow kind of person, at my core, I’m just your average first-born child. Fun and go with the flow, only if everything else is in control. Spontaneous and flexible, but only if my regular habits aren’t disturbed. Reasonable ...

Subscribe to Lenten Devotions "I'LL BE BACK!"  First Sunday in Lent - March 6, 2022 Luke 4:1-13 By Rev. Dr. Jaye Johnson, Director of Congregational Excellence If you are like me, certain movie lines stick with you:  "Show me the money!" - Jerry Maguire, 1996 "You can't handle the truth!" - A Few Good Men, 1992 "If you build it, they will come." - Field of Dreams, 1989 "There's no crying in baseball!" - A League of Their Own, 1992  But by far, the famous line that often comes to ...

Bishop Laurie begins the season of Lent with a video for Ash Wednesday, "Leave Your Pot on the Fire." It is available as a video or audio file to download and share with your church. The Iowa Annual Conference's Appointive Cabinet will be also be writing weekly Devotions that will be sent to you in an email. If you would like to receive the Lent 2022 emails, please subscribe below. Subscribe to Lent 2022 Devotions →   Ash Wednesday: Leave You Pot on the Fire Introduction: "The ...

There will be a free, twenty-minute virtual worship experience available for clergy and local IAUMC churches for April 11, 2021 - the Sunday after Easter Sunday. The Simpson College Youth Academy community will be providing the service, as an effort to support clergy in resting following Lent and Easter.  The service will include worship music, Scripture from the lectionary (John 20:19-31), and reflections and blessings from high school students in response to the text. It will be a Youtube ...

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the tomb. Look, there was a great earthquake, for an angel from the Lord came down from heaven. Coming to the stone, he rolled it away and sat on it. Now his face was like lightning and his clothes as white as snow. The guards were so terrified of him that they shook with fear and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Don’t be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - President of the Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church Bishop Kenneth H.  Carter has urged Christians to rely on the power of Easter to overcome the forces of death, division, darkness, and despair in the amidst of the COVID-19 global pandemic.   In the Easter message to The United Methodist Church, Bishop Carter noted that, “Easter is the moment when who we are, what we believe and what we do becomes clear. Easter is the power of the crucified and risen Jesus over...

The 40-day season of Lent began on February 26 and Bishop Laurie, clergy, and friends of The Iowa Annual Conference have written short devotionals for each day to help us journey through this season together.  If you would like to receive these daily in an email, subscribe here. They will also be published in the News and will be included in our Weekly 360 e-news each Friday during Lent.  Monday, April 6, 2020 Scripture: Six days before Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, home of Lazarus, whom ...

God's Love Never Ends from Iowa Annual Conference on Vimeo.   Listen to the Bishop Laurie's message for Holy Week 2020 Grace to you and peace on this Palm Sunday. Lament is a common word that we are using in these days to describe our coronavirus world. Lament in the Bible has always been a deep expression of grief and sorrow for someone who has died or for something that is gone. In the midst of the deadly effects of the virus and our attempts to stop its spread, we lament all that we have ...

The 40-day season of Lent began on February 26 and Bishop Laurie, clergy, and friends of The Iowa Annual Conference have written short devotionals for each day to help us journey through this season together.  If you would like to receive these daily in an email, subscribe here. They will also be published in the News and will be included in our Weekly 360 e-news each Friday during Lent.  Monday, March 30, 2020 Scripture: On the first day of the week, as we gathered together for a meal, Paul ...

The 40-day season of Lent began on February 26 and Bishop Laurie, clergy, and friends of The Iowa Annual Conference have written short devotionals for each day to help us journey through this season together.  If you would like to receive these daily in an email, subscribe here. They will also be published in the News and will be included in our Weekly 360 e-news each Friday during Lent.  Monday, March 16, 2020 Scripture: Now, dear friends, I am requesting that we love each other. It’s not as ...

The 40-day season of Lent began on February 26 and Bishop Laurie, clergy, and friends of The Iowa Annual Conference have written short devotionals for each day to help us journey through this season together.  If you would like to receive these daily in an email, subscribe here. They will also be published in the News and will be included in our Weekly 360 e-news each Friday during Lent.  Monday, March 9, 2020 Blessed are all who fear the Lord,     who walk in obedience to him. You will eat ...

The 40-day season of Lent began on February 26 and Bishop Laurie, clergy, and friends of The Iowa Annual Conference have written short devotionals for each day to help us journey through this season together.  If you would like to receive these daily in an email, subscribe here. They will also be published in the News and will be included in our Weekly 360 e-news each Friday during Lent.  Monday, March 2, 2020 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, how he had killed all Baal’s prophets ...

The 40-day season of Lent begins on February 26 and Bishop Laurie, clergy, and friends of The Iowa Annual Conference have written short devotionals for each day to help us journey through this season together.  If you would like to receive these daily in an email, subscribe here. They will also be published in the News and will be included in our Weekly 360 e-news each Friday during Lent.  Wednesday, February 26, 2020 I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so ...

To the Clergy of The Iowa Annual Conference, The 40-day season of Lent will be beginning soon and Bishop Laurie invites clergy of The Iowa Annual Conference to prayerfully consider writing a short devotional to help members and friends of the Conference journey through this season of spiritual refocusing and renewal.  Every morning during Lent, these short devotionals are delivered via email to every person who has subscribed to help facilitate their journey during the 40 days. You are invited ...