On Mother’s Day, our church reflected on a powerful truth through the sermon “Women as Witnesses.” While history has often overlooked or diminished the voices of women, Scripture tells a different story, one where women are central to God’s work from beginning to end.
Throughout the Bible, women like Miriam, Ruth, Naomi, Mary, and Elizabeth demonstrate faith, courage, and deep trust in God. Most profoundly, the Gospels reveal that women were the first to witness the resurrection of Jesus and to share that life-changing news with others. At a time when their voices were often dismissed, God chose them to carry the message of hope and new life.
This message continues to speak clearly to us today. God still works through people the world may overlook, reminding us that every voice has value and every life holds purpose. We are all called to be witnesses, sharing love, offering compassion, and bringing hope into our community.
As we move forward together, may we remember that the same power that raised Christ is alive within us. Let us live as faithful witnesses, carrying God’s love into the world with courage, grace, and hope.
Saint Matthew UMC invites everyone to join us for our Second Thursday Monthly Potluck Luncheon on Thursday, May 14, for a meaningful afternoon of fellowship, food, and conversation.
Guests are encouraged to arrive with food between 11:30 AM and noon. Lunch will begin at noon, followed by a special presentation from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM.
This month, we are pleased to welcome Susan Trump as our guest speaker. Susan is a registered nurse with 30 years of experience in ICU and wound care and has been affiliated with Texas Health Resources for nearly 20 years. She currently serves as the Faith Community Nursing Program Manager, supporting holistic and faith-based approaches to community health and wellness throughout the community.
Susan’s presentation, “Advance Care Planning: What I Need to Know,” will offer helpful information and thoughtful guidance on an important topic that impacts individuals and families alike. The discussion will focus on practical planning, communication, and caring for one another with wisdom and compassion.
Whether you regularly attend the luncheon or are joining us for the first time, we hope you will come and enjoy this time together. Events like these help strengthen the connections within our church family while offering opportunities to learn, encourage one another, and grow together in faith and community.
We give thanks for the many ways God’s love is shared through the life of our church.
On Sunday, we celebrated Mother’s Day together with worship, fellowship, and gratitude for the people who help nurture faith, kindness, and compassion in our lives. The children brought smiles to many faces as they planted flowers to give to their mothers and special women in their lives.
We are also thankful for Rev. Mary Teague’s message, “Women as Witnesses: Courage, Purpose, and Hope,” which reminded us that God often works through voices the world may overlook. Through worship, music, prayer, and community, we were encouraged to carry Christ’s hope into the world together.
Thank you to everyone who helped make Sunday special through worship leadership, music, hospitality, teaching, and fellowship. Every act of care helps strengthen our church family and reminds us that we continue to grow together in faith, love, and belonging.
Have you ever met someone and already decided what kind of person they were before really getting to know them? Sometimes people can surprise us, especially when God begins working in their lives in new ways.
This week, we learned about Paul, who once opposed Jesus and the people who followed Him. Paul traveled to Damascus planning to arrest Christians, but along the way, he had a life-changing encounter with Jesus. After that moment, Paul’s whole life began to change. He started telling others about Jesus and wanted to join the disciples in Jerusalem.
The disciples were nervous and unsure about Paul. They remembered the harm he had caused before his conversion and found it hard to trust him. But Barnabas saw something different. He listened to Paul, watched how his life had changed, and spoke up for him when others hesitated. Because of Barnabas’ kindness and courage, Paul was welcomed into the community, and together they helped spread the good news of Jesus.
Sometimes people need someone to believe in them, encourage them, or help them feel included. Barnabas reminds us how important it is to be a good friend and to make space for others to grow and change. God’s love can transform hearts, and hope often begins when someone is willing to give another person a chance.
What We Learned
God can change people’s hearts and lives.
Good friends encourage and support others.
Everyone deserves kindness and a chance to grow.
Small acts of love can brighten someone’s day.
We can help others feel welcomed and included.
On Mother’s Day, we also planted flowers in small vases to give to our moms and special women in our lives. It was a joyful way to share love and gratitude, and we hope those flowers brought many smiles throughout the day!
On this Mother’s Day Sunday, Rev. Mary Teague reflected on the powerful witness of the women who first discovered the empty tomb and carried the news of Christ’s resurrection to others. At a time when women’s voices were often dismissed or overlooked, God entrusted them with the message of hope that would change the world. Their story reminds us that courage is often found in simply showing up, remaining faithful, and speaking truth, even when others may not yet understand.
Drawing from Luke’s Gospel, the message explored how God continually works through people the world may underestimate. Women throughout Scripture demonstrated deep faith, trust, compassion, and perseverance, and the resurrection story continues that pattern. The women at the tomb became witnesses not because they held power or status, but because they responded faithfully to God’s presence. Their testimony reminds us that every person has value, every voice matters, and every life can participate in God’s work of renewal and hope.
As a church, we are invited to live as witnesses in our own community by carrying Christ’s love into the world with courage, purpose, and hope. Whether through acts of compassion, encouragement, service, or quiet faithfulness, we continue the work of sharing the good news. The resurrection is not only a story we remember, but a living promise that still shapes how we love and care for one another today.
Take Time to Reflect
Who has been a faithful witness of God’s love in your life?
Where might God be calling you to speak or act with courage?
How can we bring hope into the lives of others this week?
Luke 24:1-12 New International Version
Jesus Has Risen
24 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 8 Then they remembered his words.
9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
