Recently someone spoke to me of home runs. He seemed to speak with amazement and wonder. But I wonder if it is really something to marvel at. Please bear with my labored sports metaphor.

Whether we contemplate the greatest hitters of all time or the average hitter, certain things are a given in the game. When we walk to the plate, many variables are out of our control and each attempt is a once in a lifetime situation. Whether it is a pitcher we have never faced or simply the uncertainty of what pitch will be thrown next, we struggle to predict what will come next. Even on days when we are on our home field where we have practiced and we are facing our best known opponents, we still don't control the wind, the brightness of the sun, or the noise and distraction of the crowd. And what about when the bat shatters?

Then there is the uncertainty of traveling to an unfamiliar ballpark. Every field has a different distance to the fence. Some ballparks are famous for unforgiving conditions like swirling winds. Fenway park even has the Green Monster at 37 feet 2 inches in height. No player, no matter how great or how many home runs he has hit in the past, controls whether he hits a homerun on a given pitch or even on a specific day. If a person could do that, then he or she would hit a home run at every at bat when the reality is that the best of the best get on base one out of three times. Home runs are so rare that the best of the best hit a homer one percent of the time.

As humans competing against humans, we don't control the field or the fence. We don't control the other players. We don't control the weather. So it all comes down to how we play the game.

I'm going to propose something a shocking. What if we play the game as if there is no fence? Instead of aiming for the fence, what if we listen to Jesus and realize the fence isn't the point of the game? What if we play the game so that every hit is a home run not because we view ourselves as the star, but because God guides our effort. What if we spend our time taking down the fence or at least placing it where the person we are facing can hit a home run too.

God's love is universal. It is infinite. It is a home run every time at bat. It knows no fence or boundary of any kind. I think I will live in a world where God built my ball field.

Let us go to the Lord in prayer, as the organ plays, as we step to the plate, may Your plan be what guides us. May we persevere when we strike out. May we give the glory to you, Lord, when we hit the proverbial home run. Teach us how to lower the fence for those that need our help. Let us all play ball together in the name of the one who built the ball park, Amen.

This devotional was written by Jill Pope and read by Susan Daves.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

You are listening to Grace for All, a daily devotional podcast produced by the people of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee.

This is Scripture Saturday, a time when we pause and reflect on the scriptures we have read throughout the week. If you missed any of our devotionals on these passages, you can find them on our website at 1stChurch.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Now, we invite you to listen and receive Grace. Welcome and thank you for joining us.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

It is no secret that as a species, we are environmental disasters. From oil spills to trash heaps to climate change to deforestation to air pollution… We sure miss the mark when it comes to caring for creation. We miss so many opportunities to do and to be better.

I think about our earlier generations, who lived more simply, preserving the earth. When my dad and his wife Cathie married, they chose to do so in an outdoor ceremony on a piece of family land in the mountains of Monroe County. That particular spot is what my family refers to as “the knob,” a small clearing on a hilltop in the woods of land that has been in my family for generations. My uncle is its current steward, and as such, he spoke at the beginning of the wedding ceremony, inviting us to consider that while this land has been in our family for quite a long time, it existed for thousands of years before that, barely touched by the Cherokee people who inhabited it. Just down the mountain from the knob is my uncle’s house, which my grandfather built in 1981. My uncle renovated it about twenty years ago, but from the outside, it looks pretty much the same as it has all my life. It’s a simple, small house with a couple of sheds and a big vegetable garden. Up the road from his house is where my great grandparents lived about a hundred years ago. There isn’t much else there. A family cemetery, a couple of small homes, a pond or two, a church… and the most incredible, untouched forest you’ve ever seen with a creek running right through the middle of it. It has rhododendrons and laurels for days! I remember as a boy sitting on the bank, petting the soft moss as I looked down to the creek. It all looks pretty much the same today as it did decades ago when I was a child.

However, up the mountain in the other direction from my great grandparents’ home is a large piece of land that was sold to developers. At the top of that mountain, they clear cut trees in order put in rental cabins about ten years ago or so. The result of this is that the view is amazing, I hear, if you can put up with constant gale-force winds that will nearly knock you over. The trees they removed previously had provided a barrier from the winds.

I share all of this not only because this nostalgic piece of heaven is so very important to me, but also because it demonstrates the problematic nature of humankind. We are so inclined to seeing opportunities without considering the full implications of the impact acting on these opportunities will have. We so often heed God’s call to work the land, but not as much to care for it. We can learn from our indigenous ancestors how to respect the land that has been put into our care, though. While I won’t say that we necessarily have to go as far as the Cherokee people did, making no noticeable impact at all, we also should not go as far as the developers, seeking to create a financial opportunity at the detriment of the land. Hopefully, we are able to find ways to be like my uncle, stewarding the resources and land as best we can, making little impact out of respect for the gift we have been given.

God of Creation, you gifted us this amazing earth, but with the great gift, we have great responsibility for its upkeep. We fall short. Help us to find ways to respect and preserve this land that we borrow from you for a short time. With gratitude for the abundance of ways you bless our lives, we pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

This devotion was written and read by Dwight Dockery.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

This is the beginning of The Lord’s Prayer as told in Matthew’s gospel. But the Common English Bible makes more of a point of God’s Kingdom being here and now. The request to God is “Bring in your kingdom.” Jesus makes the point that the kingdom of God or, as it is described in other places as the kingdom of heaven, is not simply something to look forward to at the end of our lives but something to live out every day.

Jesus does not describe the kingdom in terms of jeweled gates or golden streets. Rather, he speaks of it in terms of mustard seeds, buried treasure, lost coins, fishnets, a wedding feast, yeast, or a farmer spreading seeds. These are things his audiences lived with every day, not something they imagine in the future. The kingdom of God is here and now.

All this is not to say that heaven is not important; but Jesus’ focus, his teaching and miracles had more to do with meeting the needs of the daily lives of people and serving them in love.

In fact, Jesus tells us in Matthew 25 that the final exam for kingdom living is how we feed the poor, offer drink to the thirsty, show hospitality to the stranger, clothe and visit the needy and imprisoned, and care for the sick. These things have less to do with proper theology and more to do with how we live our lives and love our neighbors. This is how God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven. Let this be our fervent prayer.

Father God, bring in your Kingdom. Show us every day how to experience kingdom living by how we love and care for each other with Jesus as our ultimate example. It’s in his name we pray. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Charlie Barton

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Psalm 19 is the inspiration for a familiar hymn, “For the Beauty of the Earth.” The lyrics begin:

These words from the hymn are familiar to many of us. They express wonder and awe at God’s creation. We all have sunrise and sunset moments of awe, seasonal moments of awe, and weather moments of awe.

But in these dissonant times, more often I find myself turning inward and seeking messages of certainty and validation through my friends on social media and texts. I forget that we humans are a microcosm in time, and that we exist in a world created by God, a world of oxygen that allows me to breathe in and out, a world of gravity that allows me to move in predictable ways, a world of taste, touch, sight, sound, and smell.

I live in a senior community, and all our residents are blessed to receive a daily email from a neighbor, Bob. Bob is a man of science who seeks beauty in the natural world and photographs it. Over the years he has helped me see anew the glory that is all around: in the snowflakes of winter, tiny flowers in groundcovers, Lenten roses, the first daffodils and crocuses, the swelling buds on trees, the fungi that explode into mushrooms, and yes, even the exquisite beauty of dandelions. Bob sends a photograph and provides both scientific and historical information and makes us see things new.

And recently, our adult Sunday school class enjoyed a presentation on a book titled The Power of AWE.

AWE stands for Attention, Wait, and Expand. The author promises that investing one minute a day in the immediate moment will ‘”overcome burnout and anxiety, ease chronic pain, and bring clarity and purpose.” That’s a large order! But essentially, it’s what my neighbor Bob does when he creates an AWE moment with his emails. I now search daily for the AWE in my world. A friend and I have expanded AWE to AWES by adding the word SHARE. In this way we create community and joy each day.

And in this way, we see again that the earth is the Lord’s and that we must care for God’s gift and work as stewards of God’s creation. When we stop and pay attention to the birds, insects, water, and plants that inhabit this beautiful world, we realize that we must be better stewards of God’s creation.

Dear Lord, who has set your glory throughout the heavens and the earth, open our senses to your glory and create in us a sense of awe. Help us to become true stewards of your creation, not just consumers. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

This devotion was written by Laura Derr and read by Judy Wilson.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

This passage details Isaiah’s vision of God’s heavenly throne room where angelic beings declare that the whole earth is full of his glory. This means God is present in everything on earth. His glory is reflected in the seasons, the ocean’s waves, skies of blue and gray, the sounds of children playing and even in quiet moments of reflection.

In our fast paced lives we often overlook God’s magnificent glory in things around us. Isaiah’s vision reminds us to pause and appreciate God’s creation and love. Whether it is the wonders of nature, the birth of a baby or the sound of birds in the trees, God’s creation and ever present glory permeates the world around us.

This is most apparent to me when I visit the Smokey Mountains near my home. Isaiah’s vision of heaven is grand and awe-inspiring. Angelic beings circle the throne of God, calling out His holiness with powerful voices. Yet, the same glory that fills heaven also saturates the quiet beauty of earth. In the stillness of the mountains, away from life’s noise, we can often sense God’s presence most clearly. The towering peaks, the flowing streams, and the vast skies seem to echo the seraphim’s song: “holy, holy, holy, is the Lord Almighty- the whole earth is full of his glory.”

Isaiah 6:3 challenges us to shift our perspective—to see beyond the surface and recognize that the world is a reflection of God’s creative power and love. Knowing that the earth is filled with God’s glory calls us to live lives that honor Him—showing kindness, seeking justice, and extending grace to others.

God’s holiness isn’t distant—it’s near, surrounding us and calling us to notice, to worship, and to live lives that honor His glory. Today, slow down, look around, and embrace the beauty of a world filled with His presence.

Lord Almighty, Your holiness echoes through the heavens and across the earth. In the peacefulness of the mountains, I sense the depth of Your glory and the serenity of Your presence. Quiet my heart so that I can hear Your voice and see Your beauty in all creation. Help me to live in constant awe of who You are. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

This devotion was written by Gary Hensley and read by Amy Large.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

And let’s hear that in The Message Version of the Bible...

The Message version of this scripture clearly points out how we must behave toward other people. And, friends, that sounds like a fine plan!

Jesus said, “LOVE one another” and we sometimes find that so hard to do. We see LOVE as a feeling we must have and we just can’t feel LOVE for that bad person, that one hurting others. Thank God, this Message version clarifies how we are to LOVE those difficult people...

We don’t have to feel all that warm and fuzzy LOVE for everyone! We have to treat people with kindness, stop talking bad about them, stop condemning them, pray for them, help them when we can. And when we can’t physically help them, pray for them generously.

I know my day would feel the presence of God’s LOVE a lot more often if I practiced this advice full-time instead of slinging angry thoughts and words out into my sphere of influence. What if we band together as Christ followers and help others more often, through our thoughts, prayers, words, and actions? Let’s work to LOVE our neighbors as Jesus advised and let’s stop judging and condemning.

Dear Lord, it’s so hard to control our thoughts, words, and deeds when we are constantly bombarded with bad, sad news and negative commentary from dozens of sources. Help us to turn oY and tune out much of the chatter. Help us to find and commit to quiet, reflective time in your presence. Help us to treat all people with kindness, compassion, and forgiveness – just as you do. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Bernice Howard.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Welcome to the Saturday episode of the Grace for All podcast. Thank you for joining us today. Saturday is a special time when we take a few moments to review the scriptures that we have cited in the episodes this week.

If you missed any of those episodes, you might want to consider listening to them today. And even if you heard them all, there may be one that you might want to listen to again. We hope that each of these scriptures and podcasts will bring you a full measure of joy, peace, and love.

Now, let's listen to the scriptures that have been on our hearts this week.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.