MonroeOHUMC

Rising Together Scripture: Mark 2:3-4 (NRSV) “Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof…” Sometimes healing doesn’t come through our strength—but through the strength of our community. The paralyzed man in Mark’s Gospel had friends who carried him, dug through a roof, and lowered him to Jesus. That’s what love looks like in action. We’re not meant to heal alone. Whether you’re the one on the mat or the one doing the carrying, we all need each other. Healing is not only personal—it’s communal. Who’s carrying you right now? And who might need you to carry them? Action Steps: Identify your people. Text or call someone who has helped carry you in a tough season. Thank them. Be a lifter. Reach out to someone you know is hurting and offer to walk alongside them. Break the roof. Look for a way your church or small group can remove barriers for othe...

A Wounded Yet Willing Heart Scripture: Psalm 147:3 (NRSV) “God heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds.” Healing doesn’t erase our scars—it honors them. God doesn’t wait for us to be “all better” before drawing close. Instead, the Holy One meets us right in the mess, binding up our wounds with tenderness and grace. In a world that teaches us to hide our brokenness, God invites us to bring it into the open. Your healing journey doesn’t need to be perfect or fast. It just needs to be honest. You don’t have to pretend you’re okay. The God who heals the brokenhearted is still at work in you. Action Steps: Let the wound breathe. Journal about a pain you’ve been keeping hidden or locked away. Speak to a safe soul. Share your story with someone who can listen with compassion—friend, pastor, counselor. Receive the balm. Spend 10 minutes in quiet, breathing deeply and picturing God gently binding your wound. Prayer: Holy Healer, You see what others don’t—the ...

Do You Want to Be Well? Scripture: John 5:6 (NRSV) "When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, 'Do you want to be made well?'" Reflection: Sometimes the first step toward healing is the hardest one—admitting we need it. The man by the pool had been stuck for 38 years, waiting for someone else to help, but Jesus met him right where he was. With one question— “Do you want to be well?” —Jesus invited him into a new life. We may not be lying by a pool, but we all have places in our lives where we feel stuck, alone, or hopeless. Healing doesn’t always look the way we expect. It begins not just with physical change, but with an inward willingness to let God do something new. What’s your “mat”? What have you been lying on for too long? Jesus is still asking: Do you want to be made well? Action Steps: Name your mat. Write down one area of your life where you feel stuck or unwell—emotionally, spiritually, or relationally....

  Do You Want to Be Well? John 5:1-9; Revelation 22:1-5 In the series, “Rise Up -- How to Start Living Again” There's a question that cuts through all our pretenses, all our excuses, all the ways we've learned to make peace with being less than whole. It's the question Jesus asked a man who had been waiting by a pool for thirty-eight years: "Do you want to be well?" It sounds almost cruel, doesn't it? Of course he wants to be well. Who wouldn't? But maybe Jesus knew something we often forget—that sometimes we get so used to being stuck that we stop believing change is possible. Sometimes it feels safer to stay where we are than to risk hoping for something different. Picture this scene with me. It's Jerusalem, near the Sheep Gate, at a place called Bethesda—which means "house of mercy." There are twin pools surrounded by covered walkways, and they're filled with people who are sick, disabled, hurting. The word on the street is ...