Camden First United Methodist Church Beth A. Waldrup

If you do not understand the story of Abraham, you will not understand Paul's theology. Abraham was not redeemed by the Law; he was redeem by faith.

Paul began his ministry as a Pharisee, sworn to abide by and protect the law then he encountered Jesus. Paul's call was to the Gentiles. Paul's call was to preach salvation by faith alone in the grace of Jesus Christ. Peter knew this but took heat from the church in Jerusalem where they followed Jesus and kept the law. It is a debate we have been having for 200 years.

In every letter of Paul, both the seven certain and the two maybes, there is a greeting followed by a prayer of thanksgiving except one - Galatians. Why is Galatians different? That is what we will be learning in this seven week series.

On this Easter Sunday, we take a look at the two disciples walking home to Emmaus. This story is a real story of discipleship. We walk together, we listen to the word, and we receive grace in the breaking of the bread together.

According to the gospel of Luke, Jesus spent his last week on earth teaching at the Temple in Jerusalem. He told his followers they might be persecuted but do not hire a lawyer to prepare a defense. Prepare your faith to be steadfast.

Today we talk about excessive pride. We look at a short passage in the ninth chapter of Luke that contains three examples of the damage pride can cause.