I cannot remember a time when music was not part of my life. Growing up in a small, country Methodist Church, I learned hymns from the old Cokesbury hymnal at a very young age. I started taking piano lessons at age 10 and by age 12 I was playing those hymns for Wednesday night services. And now, as an adult, the words of those hymns come to mind frequently in different situations I am facing.

Throughout my life, music has carried me through many difficult times. When my father died unexpectedly, I, along with my whole family was devastated. My siblings asked me to choose the music for his funeral. Remembering the hymns he had loved and deciding which ones to include in the service was comforting to me. A long-time close friend sang “How Great Thou Art,” his favorite. As he sang, I thought about my father’s faith and how he lived a life that exemplified it.

He was a humble man who loved God and others; his whole life was one of praise and thanksgiving.

Several years later, I was facing another difficult time. My mother’s health was in decline, and she was in denial. My siblings and I were constantly on alert for the next phone call telling us she had fallen or developed bronchitis or pneumonia because she preferred not to seek medical attention.

It was a very stressful time, to say the least. My respite was Wednesday night choir practice. For those two hours, I was able to lose myself in the lyrics and melodies and leave refreshed and renewed in faith, ready to deal with whatever the next day would bring. During our closing prayer time, I always lifted my mother to God, giving thanks for the years of love and care she had given our family, and asking for guidance in providing for her needs. Those years never got easier, but music and giving thanks to God enabled me to persevere and remain positive.

Through good times and bad, praising God through music and glorifying him with thanksgiving provides a path that gives life meaning. He knows we aren’t all great singers or musicians, but He deserves our praise and thanks however we can express it.

God, thank you for the gift of music and its transformative power in our lives. All good and great things come from you, and we praise you. Amen.

This devotional was written by Pat Scruggs and read by Joey Smith.

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

Blaise Pascal lived in the 1600’s and wrote, “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” These words are so appropriate for today! Except, we do sit still in rooms, not in quiet, but with a device speaking to us. We are constantly bombarded with noise, news, and sound.

God is not very likely to yell at us from a cloud, as he did Peter! He is more likely to come as he did to Elijah on that mountain, not in a windstorm, earthquake, or fire, but in a “still, small voice.” Without sitting in the quiet, how can we hear God’s still, small voice? How can we “listen to Him”?

Jesus modeled this way of listening for us. He withdrew alone from the crowds and noise, to pray. He listened and heard when God spoke in that still, small whisper. We must emulate Jesus! We need to withdraw, to be alone, to pray silently and to listen for that “still small whisper.” We need this daily. But we won’t make it happen without disciplining ourselves as Jesus did. Make a vow to withdraw, unplug, turn off electronics and find time to tune in to God. Just listen! He might be whispering right now…

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/.

Mentioned in this episode:

This month on Grace for All, we are replaying some of our most listened to episodes. If you are enjoying these devotions and would like to have them in written form, our first six months of content is now available in print. You can find it by searching Grace for All, a book of daily devotions, by Jim Stovall on Amazon. As always, thank you for joining us, and we pray that you will be blessed.

Many people use the refrigerator door for more than keeping cold stuff in. They put messages there. And lists. And reminders. And pictures! And, sometimes, inspirational words.

On our refrigerator door there are pictures of our grandkids. And a small cross. For a few years now we have had a list. Not a grocery or to-do list, but a list of words. These words—there are 30 of them—came from a sermon given by our pastor at the time. She told us of research that revealed that some words are slowly disappearing from usage. They have been in decline for the past 50 years. All of these words had been common in the first half of the 20th Century and well into the second half, but they are now in significant decline in regular conversations and discourse. They all, these 30 words, are virtues or values. Here are some of them: patience, kindness, sincerity, generosity, humility, faith, love, perseverance, courtesy, modesty, gratitude.

The concern, of course, is not primarily with the lessening of the use of the words themselves, but with the corresponding lessening of the presence of the virtues. The less we champion these qualities the less they are part of the world we live in.

Did you notice that this list corresponds closely with the list Paul gives us in Galatians of the qualities of one who has God’s Spirit within him or her. We who belong to Jesus Christ are to demonstrate these virtues, making our lives and our world better. Let’s reclaim these words by living them. And in the process, make our society a kinder, gentler place.

Dear God, Post on the door of our hearts your to-do list for us. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Herb Sadler.

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/.

Mentioned in this episode:

This month on Grace for All, we are replaying some of our most listened to episodes. If you are enjoying these devotions and would like to have them in written form, our first six months of content is now available in print. You can find it by searching Grace for All, a book of daily devotions, by Jim Stovall on Amazon. As always, thank you for joining us, and we pray that you will be blessed.

In this passage, we see the transfer of leadership of the children of Israel from Moses to Joshua. It is a political transfer, but God infuses it with his presence and makes it holy. God makes some incredible promises to Joshua. No one, he tells Joshua, will be able to stand before him throughout his life. He promises Joshua success.

Joshua, of course, has his role to play. He has his decisions to make. He is not some wind-up toy that God simply sets in motion. He is a human being with free will to make his own choices, but God cautioned him to follow in the ways of Moses, and to turn neither to the left or to the right. Joshua will be successful only as long as he acts in concert with God.

This is a powerful passage, one that demonstrates God’s direct intervention into the life of a person. Joshua is to “go and do,” as we all are, but we are always to go with the Lord. What do we see and hear when we imagine the conversation between God and Joshua? Does God treat us any differently from Joshua?

God makes promises to us. What are we to do to fulfill our part of those promises? Joshua, as we know from later parts of the story, had many successes in leading his people into the land of Canaan. What successes does God have in store for us?

Dear God, give us the strength to fulfill your promises. Give us the wisdom to turn, neither to the right, nor to the left, but to follow in your Paz, and to act with your guidance. Amen.

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/.

Mentioned in this episode:

Thank you for joining us for Grace for All. This month, we are repeating some of our most loved episodes. We hope they will inspire and encourage you on your faith journey. Welcome.

What words do you associate with the word, “go”? Go home? Go away? Go ahead? Go back?

Do you envision a crowd shouting “Go!” at a sporting event, cheering on your favorite team? Do you think of places you want to visit, of going on a trip, or a vacation?

Chances are that these associations to the word “go” are much more likely to come to mind than the concept of being sent. But when God instructs God’s people to go, it is almost always a “sending to,” and not a “sending to” a place as much as a “sending to” a person or a people.

This is the message of Christ to his disciples when he appears to them after the resurrection. Remember, he says, that God sent me to you. And now I am sending you so that the grace of God will be multiplied. And he breathed on them, saying Receive the Holy Spirit. By the power of the Holy Spirit, then, we are moved. We are sent.

As God sent Jesus into a world in need, and as Jesus throughout his earthly ministry personally touched people in need, God sends us as the Body of Christ to serve one another in love, to reach into the loneliest and lowliest places, to continue to minister to a world in need.

In this season of life, where and to whom are you being sent?

Lord Jesus, love of God in the flesh, you were sent to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. Now send us to those who need an extra measure of your grace this day. Amen.

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/.

Mentioned in this episode:

Thank you for joining us for Grace for All. This month, we are repeating some of our most loved episodes. We hope they will inspire and encourage you on your faith journey. Welcome.

Several decades ago, a song appeared on some of the country music charts that was titled, “Who Will Pray for Me When Mama’s Gone?” In the song, the narrator regrets the life that he has lived and confesses that he does not feel worthy enough to get down on his knees to speak to God.

No one, we believe, is so far away from God that he or she cannot call upon God and be redeemed. But we can certainly understand that lost feeling. In this instance, the narrator’s hope is that someone else — in this case his mother — can pray effectively for him. But what if his mother is no longer with us?

The song’s narrator fears that no one will take him up in their prayers.

In the passage of scripture that we just read, the writer of the epistle makes the point that prayer should be more than just individuals in communication with God. Prayer should be a communal effort. For that to happen, those who enter into prayer should, if possible, do so as members of a community of faith. We should pray for one another. We should share each other‘s joys, concerns, and sorrows. Again and again, while he was on earth, Jesus prayed for other people. His example is one that we are admonished to follow.

I confess that I do not know how prayer works. What I do know is when I pray for others, the burdens that I carry seem to be lighter and more bearable. This passage of scripture and the old country song raise the questions: who is praying for us, and who are we praying for?

Dear Lord, we come to you today with thankful hearts that just as we pray for others, there are people in our lives who are praying for us. May our prayers join with those of our family and friends to keep us close to your kingdom. Amen.

This devotional was written and recorded by Jim Stovall.

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/.

Mentioned in this episode:

This month on Grace for All, we are replaying some of our most listened to episodes. If you are enjoying these devotions and would like to have them in written form, our first six months of content is now available in print. You can find it by searching Grace for All, a book of daily devotions, by Jim Stovall on Amazon. As always, thank you for joining us, and we pray that you will be blessed.

Most of us pray for peace at some point in our lives. The prayer for “peace on earth“ is one that we echo from what the angels sang at the birth of Christ. We wish the tribes and nations, including our own, would be more peaceful. We wish that armies would stop fighting each other.

In our political and social lives, most of us crave peace. We wish to see an end to the bickering, the backbiting, the fighting, and the constant divisions with which the news media bombard to us every day.

In our personal lives, we wish that family members, again, including ourselves, could just learn to get along. Family gatherings of any type should be a time of peace. All too often they are a time of conflict.

Jesus, in this verse, has promised his peace, and we want to cash in on that promise. We are likely to skip over the part where he says “my peace“ is what he is giving us. We tend not to think very deeply about the words “I do not give to you as the world gives.“

So what is it that Jesus is offering us? It certainly is not the peace of our definition, the “peace on earth“ that we so desperately seek at all levels. The peace of Jesus is something different, something else, something very special.

It is the peace of the Kingdom of Heaven, which Christ came to declare in his ministry on earth. It is the peace of knowing that whatever wars and conflicts are occurring around us, we can have the peace of Jesus with us to calm the storms, not on the outside of our lives, but those storms that are in our hearts.

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/.

Mentioned in this episode:

This month on Grace for All, we are replaying some of our most listened to episodes. If you are enjoying these devotions and would like to have them in written form, our first six months of content is now available in print. You can find it by searching Grace for All, a book of daily devotions, by Jim Stovall on Amazon. As always, thank you for joining us, and we pray that you will be blessed.

Jesus said, “Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Have you ever crossed the street to avoid someone? Or ducked into another aisle in the grocery store, hoping they didn’t see you? Maybe it was someone you knew but felt you didn’t have the time or energy to face. Or maybe it was someone you didn’t know, but you made a judgement based on their behavior or appearance.

Regardless, something about that person made you uncomfortable, so you looked away, or moved in another direction.

What about the opposite? Has anyone ever crossed the street or looked the other way to avoid you?

We tend to avoid engaging with people who might pull us out of our comfort zone.

In the parable, Jesus tells to demonstrate what he means when he says, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” He chooses to identify the protagonist as a person who was used to being avoided.

As a Samaritan living on the fringes, he had likely watched people cross the street to avoid him on many occasions. And now, here was his chance to do the same. After all, even the religious leaders crossed over and walked on by. This robbed, beaten and injured man was not their problem. It was a reasonable thing to do.

Who would have blamed the Samaritan if he had crossed the street and kept on walking too?

What would it take to stop and offer help to someone knowing that if another the situation were reversed, they would have crossed the street to avoid you?

This is the grace Jesus offers each of us, and it is the grace he calls us to offer our neighbors.

It is what he means when he says, “Go and do likewise.”

Brother Jesus, teach us how to be good neighbors, that the deep woundedness of this world might be healed. In Your Holy name we pray. Amen.

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/.

Mentioned in this episode:

Thank you for joining us for Grace for All. This month, we are repeating some of our most loved episodes. We hope they will inspire and encourage you on your faith journey. Welcome.