Church On The Path

With so many responsibilities, competing priorities, and demands on our time, how do we know what really matters? What should guide our decisions, our relationships, and the way we live?

In this episode of The Church on the Path Podcast, Rev. Brent Dehlbom shares his sermon, “The One Thing That Holds Everything Together,” based on Matthew 22:34–46.

When a religious expert asks Jesus which commandment is the greatest, Jesus gives an answer that cuts through all the complexity:

Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. And love your neighbor as yourself.

Everything else hangs on these two commandments.

But knowing the answer and living the answer are two very different things.

We can become so busy managing our responsibilities, defending our opinions, and checking things off our lists that we forget what gives our lives meaning in the first place.

Jesus reminds us that love isn't just another thing on our to-do list. Love is what gives everything else its purpose.

And this isn't simply about warm feelings or being nice.

Real love tells the truth. It takes responsibility. It protects others from harm. Sometimes it means having a difficult conversation, admitting we were wrong, offering forgiveness, or showing up when nobody else will.

Love becomes visible in the way we treat our families, our neighbors, the people we disagree with, and even ourselves.

As Pastor Brent reminds us, caring for others doesn't mean forgetting that we, too, are people God loves.

And here's the good news: We don't have to manufacture that love through willpower alone.

We love because God first loved us.

Through Jesus Christ, God's grace reaches us, forgives us, and gradually transforms us into people whose faith moves from our hearts all the way to our hands.

So perhaps the question isn't simply, “Am I doing enough?”

Maybe the better question is:

“Is what I'm doing rooted in love?”

This week, Pastor Brent offers a simple challenge: Begin each morning by asking God to help you love Him and the people He places in your path. Then look for one opportunity to put that prayer into action.

Because when everything else feels complicated, Jesus brings us back to what matters most.

Love God. Love your neighbor.

Love First…Love Always.

Scripture: Matthew 22:34–46; Deuteronomy 34:1–12; Psalm 90:1–6, 13–17; 1 Thessalonians 2:1–8

Sermon: The One Thing That Holds Everything Together — Rev. Brent Dehlbom

Keywords: what really matters most in life, what is the meaning of life, finding purpose, life priorities, how to love others, greatest commandment, Matthew 22:34–46, love God and love your neighbor, Christian purpose, faith in everyday life, living with love, God's grace, Christian discipleship, Jesus' greatest commandment, United Methodist sermon, Christian podcast, Charleston SC church, St Andrews Parish UMC, The Church on the Path.

The Church on the Path
Worship + Service = Discipleship
Love First...Love Always

Who am I, really? Am I defined by my job, my success, my failures, my political opinions, or what other people think of me? And what if my true identity is something much deeper?

In this episode of The Church on the Path Podcast, Rev. Brent Dehlbom shares his message, “Whose Image Do You Bear?”, exploring Matthew 22:15–22 and one of Jesus' most remarkable responses to a question designed to trap Him.

The religious leaders ask Jesus whether it is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar. It sounds like a political question, but beneath it is something much more important: Who has the ultimate claim on our lives?

Jesus asks them to show Him a coin.

“Whose image is this?” He asks.

“Caesar's,” they answer.

Then Jesus responds:

“Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.”

But Jesus isn't simply teaching a lesson about taxes or government. He is pointing toward a truth that reaches into every part of our lives.

The coin bears Caesar's image.

But whose image do you bear?

From the beginning, Scripture tells us that human beings are created in the image of God. That means our deepest identity isn't determined by our possessions, accomplishments, social status, political loyalties, or even our past mistakes.

We belong to God.

And that changes everything.

We live in a world that constantly asks us to choose sides, defend labels, prove our worth, and measure ourselves against others. We can become so consumed with the things that divide us that we forget the One whose image unites us.

Jesus invites us to remember that our ultimate allegiance belongs not to a political party, a government, a cultural movement, or any earthly power.

Our ultimate allegiance belongs to God.

That doesn't mean withdrawing from the world or ignoring our responsibilities as citizens, neighbors, parents, workers, and members of our communities.

It means engaging the world faithfully without allowing the world to claim ownership of our souls.

And if we bear God's image, there is another truth we cannot ignore:

So does our neighbor.

The person who disagrees with us.

The person whose life looks nothing like ours.

The person we find difficult to love.

The person society has overlooked.

Every human life carries God-given dignity.

And following Jesus means learning to recognize that image in others, even when disagreement, disappointment, or fear makes it difficult.

So perhaps the question isn't simply whether we believe in God.

Perhaps the deeper question is:

Does the way we live reflect the God whose image we bear?

Do our words reflect His love?

Do our decisions reveal His priorities?

Does our treatment of others demonstrate His mercy?

Are we allowing our identity in Christ to shape how we engage the world?

The good news is that God's image is not something we have to earn. It is part of how God created us.

And through Jesus Christ, grace is at work restoring us, shaping us, and teaching us to live more fully as the people God created us to be.

You are more than your mistakes.

More than your accomplishments.

More than the labels others have placed upon you.

More than the divisions of this world.

You are created in the image of God. You are loved by God. And you are invited to live as someone who belongs to God.

So, who are you, really?

And whose image will the world see when it looks at your life?

Scripture: Matthew 22:15–22; Exodus 33:12–23; Psalm 99; 1 Thessalonians 1:1–10

Sermon: Whose Image Do You Bear? — Rev. Brent Dehlbom

Keywords: Who am I really, what defines my identity, finding my identity, identity and purpose, who does my life belong to, created in God's image, image of God, whose image do you bear, Matthew 22:15–22, render unto Caesar, give to Caesar what is Caesar's, Christian identity, finding purpose in Christ, faith and politics, Christian citizenship, ultimate allegiance to God, human dignity, loving people who disagree with you, spiritual identity, following Jesus, God's grace, Christian discipleship, Wesleyan theology, United Methodist sermon, Christian podcast, Charleston SC church, St Andrews Parish UMC, The Church on the Path.

The Church on the Path
Worship + Service = Discipleship
Love First...Love Always

Can people really change? Can we become less angry, more forgiving, more generous, more compassionate—and more like the people we know we were created to be?

In this episode of The Church on the Path Podcast, Rev. Brent Dehlbom shares the message “Invited—but Unchanged?”, exploring Jesus' challenging Parable of the Wedding Banquet in Matthew 22:1–14.

At the heart of the message is a powerful promise:

God welcomes us by grace—and that grace is meant to change us.

Jesus describes a king who prepares a wedding banquet for his son. The invitation is freely given, yet many invited guests are too busy to respond. Their farms, businesses, schedules, and ordinary responsibilities become more important than the invitation before them.

That sounds surprisingly familiar.

We rarely tell God an outright “No.”

More often, we say, “Not right now.”

Maybe when life settles down.
Maybe when the schedule clears.
Maybe when we're more prepared.
Maybe next week.

But these are the days we've been given. God is at work in the life we actually have, and we can receive His invitation today.

And the invitation is wider than we might imagine.

When the original guests refuse to come, the king sends his servants into the streets to invite everyone they can find—the good and the bad.

That's the scandalous generosity of grace.

God's invitation reaches people with beautiful stories and broken stories. People who have been close to the Church and people who have spent their lives running from it.

The table isn't filled with people who earned an invitation.
It's filled with people who accepted one.

There is a place for you.

But then Jesus' parable becomes uncomfortable.

One guest arrives without the appropriate wedding garment. Jesus isn't teaching a lesson about clothing or wealth. He's asking what happens after we accept the invitation.

It is possible to come into the room but resist being changed.

It is possible to talk about grace while treating others without grace. To sing the songs, say the prayers, and still cling tightly to bitterness, prejudice, pride, greed, or resentment.

That's where Pastor Brent offers an important image:

Putting on grace is putting on the wedding clothes.

We don't change ourselves so God will invite us. God's invitation makes transformation possible.

We are welcomed by grace, and then that same grace begins working within us.

Compassion begins replacing indifference.
Humility begins replacing pride.
Generosity begins replacing selfishness.
Forgiveness begins loosening resentment's grip.

The garment doesn't earn the invitation. It reveals our response to the One who invited us.

And that transformation won't happen instantly.

We'll stumble. We'll struggle. We'll need mercy every day.

Needing help isn't the same as refusing to follow.

So the question isn't:

“Have I made myself good enough for God?”

The question is:

“Am I allowing God's grace to change me?”

Sometimes we want God's comfort without God's direction, God's forgiveness without God's correction, or a Savior who rescues us but never challenges us.

We want Jesus as our co-pilot.

Maybe it's time to switch seats.

Following Jesus means trusting Him enough to let Him choose the path—even when that path leads toward someone we need to forgive, generosity that costs us something, a responsibility we've avoided, or a person whose life is very different from ours.

The good news is that we don't make that journey alone.

We have a Friend to whom we can bring every burden.
We have a community called to help carry it.
And we have a Good Shepherd who knows the way.

Come with your questions.

Come with your failures.

Come with your wounds and doubts.

Come with the burden you've been trying to carry alone.

Come as you are—but come ready to receive the grace that can change you.

Grace is free.

But grace is not casual.

It reaches us.
It welcomes us.
And it calls us into a new way of living.

So, can you really change who you are?

Not simply through greater willpower or determination.

But through the transforming grace of Jesus Christ, you don't have to remain exactly who you have been.

You are invited.

You are loved.

And you are being called to follow.

 

Scripture: Matthew 22:1–14; Philippians 4:1–9

Sermon: Invited—but Unchanged? — Rev. Brent Dehlbom

Keywords: can people really change, can I change my life, how do I become a better person, finding purpose and direction, changing who I am, Jesus and transformation, God's grace, transforming grace, Matthew 22:1–14, Parable of the Wedding Banquet, wedding garment parable, invited but unchanged, grace and discipleship, come as you are, Christian transformation, following Jesus, forgiveness and change, Good Shepherd, Christian encouragement, United Methodist sermon, Christian podcast, Charleston SC church, St Andrews Parish UMC, The Church on the Path.

The Church on the Path
Worship + Service = Discipleship
Love First...Love Always

What does it mean to actually live out your Christian faith? Is following Jesus about what we believe and say—or about what we do with what we believe?

In this episode of The Church on the Path Podcast, Pastor Brent explores Jesus’ Parable of the Two Sons in Matthew 21:23–32 and a simple but challenging truth:

Faith is more than what we say. Faith is what we do.

Jesus tells of a father who asks two sons to work in his vineyard. The first says no—but changes his mind and goes. The second gives the perfect answer, “I will, sir,” but never shows up.

Jesus asks: Which one actually did the will of the father?

The question isn’t who sounded more faithful, knew the right religious vocabulary, or made the better first impression. The question is who actually responded.

Or, as Pastor Brent asks:

Has our yes reached our feet yet?

This week’s message follows the testimony of members of our youth ministry who served at Salkehatchie, repairing homes for neighbors who could not afford the work or could no longer do it themselves. They didn’t simply talk about loving their neighbors. They picked up tools. They climbed ladders. They sweated. They served.

Love put on work gloves.

That’s what it looks like when grace becomes action.

Drawing from Philippians 2:1–13, Pastor Brent reminds us that Jesus Himself is our model. Christ didn’t love humanity with words alone. He humbled Himself, took the form of a servant, and became obedient even to the cross.

Love put on flesh.
Love knelt to wash feet.
Love touched the untouchable.
Love carried a cross.
Love walked out of the tomb.

We don’t work for salvation as though God’s grace could be earned. We work it out because God is already at work within us. Grace isn’t opposed to action. Grace produces action. God works in us, and then God works through us.

And you don’t have to travel to a Salkehatchie worksite to find your vineyard.

Your vineyard may be a lonely person who needs someone beside them. A child who needs a reading buddy. A hungry family that needs food. A neighbor who needs help. An apology you’ve promised but haven’t offered. A phone call you keep meaning to make. A ministry you believe somebody ought to support.

Sometimes our greatest spiritual problem isn’t that we don’t know what Jesus asks of us. It’s that we substitute good intentions for faithful obedience.

We can’t do everything—but that cannot become our excuse for doing nothing.

So ask yourself:

What is the one thing God is asking me to do?
Who is the one person God is placing before me?
Where is the vineyard where God is saying, “Go and work today”?

The world doesn’t need a Church that merely talks about love. It needs a Church that shows up, gets its hands dirty, notices the forgotten, serves without seeking applause, and loves people in practical ways.

It needs a Church on the Path.

Because grace means our first answer doesn’t have to be our final answer. We can change our minds. We can change direction. We can take the next faithful step.

Jesus isn’t asking for polished promises.

He’s asking for surrendered lives.

Faith is more than what we say.

Faith is what we do.

It’s time to Walk the Talk.

 

The Church on the Path
Worship + Service = Discipleship
Love First…Love Always

 

Scripture: Matthew 21:23–32; Philippians 2:1–13

Keywords: Walk the Talk, Matthew 21:23–32, Parable of the Two Sons, Philippians 2:1–13, living out Christian faith, faith and works, Christian service, obedience to God, what does it mean to follow Jesus, putting faith into action, grace and good works, mind of Christ, Christian discipleship, serving your neighbor, Salkehatchie, youth mission trip, practical Christianity, United Methodist Church, Christian podcast, Charleston SC church, St Andrews Parish UMC, The Church on the Path.

Why does God give grace to people who don’t seem to deserve it? And why can it be so difficult to celebrate when God is generous to someone else?

In this episode of The Church on the Path Podcast, Pastor Brent explores Jesus’ surprising Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard from Matthew 20:1–16—a story that challenges our assumptions about fairness, deserving, comparison, and the extravagant grace of God.

A landowner hires workers throughout the day—some early in the morning, others at noon, some late in the afternoon, and a final group with only an hour left to work. At the end of the day, everyone receives the same wage.

And the workers who had been there all day respond exactly as many of us probably would:

“That’s not fair!”

But Jesus isn’t primarily teaching about payroll. He’s teaching about grace.

The first workers weren’t cheated. They received exactly what they had been promised. Their anger began when they saw generosity being extended to somebody else. They were satisfied with their blessing until they compared it with another person’s blessing.

That leads to the question at the heart of this message:

Can we celebrate when God is generous to someone else?

Jesus reveals a Kingdom that doesn’t operate according to our spiritual timecards. We cannot place God in our debt through years of service, sacrifice, generosity, or religious faithfulness.

Grace is not merely fair. Grace is more than fair.

The landowner keeps returning to the marketplace—at nine, noon, three, and even five o’clock—because he keeps looking, calling, inviting, and making room.

That’s good news for anyone who has ever wondered if they waited too long, wandered too far, made too many mistakes, or missed their opportunity with God.

God keeps going out.
God keeps calling.
God keeps making room.

There is no hour when God stops seeking people, and there is no past so broken that Jesus says, “There is no place for you.”

This message also challenges longtime Christians to examine the danger of comparison. Another person’s blessing doesn’t diminish ours. A newcomer isn’t a threat. Someone else’s second chance doesn’t take ours away. And years of faithful service don’t give any of us ownership of the vineyard.

The Church belongs to Jesus Christ.

We are all here because the Landowner came looking for us. We are here because Jesus called our names. We are here because grace found us.

At the cross, Jesus didn’t come to pay us what we had earned. He came to give us what we could never earn: forgiveness, reconciliation, new life, and a place in the Kingdom of God.

So how do we live this kind of grace?

Practice gratitude before comparison.
Celebrate grace in another person’s life.
Serve without keeping score.

And if you’ve been standing at the edge of the vineyard wondering whether there is still room for you, hear the good news:

Jesus is still calling.
Grace is still making room.
It is not too late.

Because God’s Kingdom is more than fair.

It is generous.

Grace is not merely fair. Grace is more than fair.

 

The Church on the Path
Worship + Service = Discipleship
Love First…Love Always

 

Scripture: Matthew 20:1–16

Keywords: Matthew 20:1–16, laborers in the vineyard, workers in the vineyard parable, generosity of God, God’s grace, why is God unfair, fairness and grace, undeserved grace, Christian comparison, jealousy and envy, God’s generosity, second chances, grace for everyone, kingdom of God, Christian discipleship, Jesus parables, United Methodist sermon, Wesleyan grace, Christian podcast, Charleston SC church, St Andrews Parish UMC, The Church on the Path.

How many times does Jesus expect us to forgive someone—especially when they keep hurting us, never apologize, or don’t seem sorry?

In this episode of The Church on the Path Podcast, Pastor Brent explores one of Jesus’ most challenging teachings: forgiveness.

Peter asks Jesus a question many of us have asked in one form or another: “Lord, how often should I forgive?” Peter suggests seven times, but Jesus responds, “Not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Jesus isn’t giving Peter a bigger number to track. He’s telling him to put away the calculator. Forgiveness isn’t an accounting system; it is meant to become a way of life for people who have received the mercy of God.

Through the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant in Matthew 18:21–35, Jesus tells of a man released from an impossible debt who then refuses to show mercy to someone who owes him far less. The message is uncomfortable but powerful: grace received is meant to become grace extended. We can be forgiven people who have not yet learned how to become forgiving people.

But what does biblical forgiveness actually mean?

Forgiveness does not mean pretending the wound didn’t matter. It doesn’t eliminate accountability, automatically restore trust, or require someone to return to an abusive or dangerous relationship. Forgiveness and reconciliation are connected, but they are not identical. Reconciliation requires repentance, truth, change, and the rebuilding of trust. Forgiveness means releasing our claim to revenge and placing the person, the wound, and our desire for justice into the hands of God.

And sometimes forgiveness isn’t accomplished in one dramatic moment.

Sometimes the pain comes back.
Sometimes the memory returns.
Sometimes we discover we’ve picked up the stone we thought we had already put down.

So how many times should we forgive?

As many times as the pain returns.
As many times as the memory rises.
As many times as resentment begins taking hold again.
As many times as we’re tempted to pick up the stone.

Forgiveness can become a daily act of discipleship because God’s grace meets us again and again.

Drawing also from Israel’s journey through the Red Sea, Pastor Brent offers a powerful picture of forgiveness as walking out of bondage and toward freedom. Forgiveness doesn’t mean returning to Egypt and pretending slavery was acceptable. It means refusing to allow what happened in the past to keep controlling our future.

The person who hurt you may never apologize. They may never understand what they did. They may never repair what they broke.

But through the grace of God, they do not get to determine whether you walk free.

What stone have you carried long enough?

Jesus isn’t shaming us for being wounded. Jesus is inviting us into freedom.

We forgive because we have been forgiven.
We show mercy because mercy has been shown to us.
We release others because Christ has released us.

 

The Church on the Path
Worship + Service = Discipleship
Love First…Love Always

 

Scripture: Matthew 18:21–35; Romans 14:1–12; Exodus 14:19–31

Keywords: How many times should I forgive, Matthew 18:21–35, seventy times seven, seventy-seven times, Jesus on forgiveness, Christian forgiveness, forgiving someone who isn’t sorry, forgiveness without reconciliation, forgiveness and boundaries, letting go of resentment, overcoming bitterness, unforgiving servant, biblical forgiveness, grace and mercy, Christian discipleship, Christian podcast, United Methodist sermon, Charleston SC church, St Andrews Parish UMC, The Church on the Path.

What does Jesus say we should do when someone hurts us? How should Christians handle conflict, forgiveness, and broken relationships?

Pastor Brent is back in the pulpit at St. Andrews Parish UMC – The Church on the Path this week with a message about something everyone of us experiences: conflict.

In Matthew 18:15–20, Jesus gives His followers a radically different way of responding when relationships are wounded. Instead of gossiping, humiliating, recruiting people to our side, holding grudges, or simply walking away, Jesus tells us to go directly to one another and seek restoration.

Why?

Because love does not walk away.

Drawing from Jesus’ teaching and Paul’s words in Romans 13:8–14, Pastor Brent explores what it means to truly speak the truth in love. Biblical love—agapē—isn’t simply being nice or avoiding difficult conversations. Christian love listens. Love forgives. Love tells the truth. Love establishes healthy boundaries. And love continues to hope for redemption, healing, and transformation.

Jesus teaches that the goal of Christian conflict isn’t winning an argument.

The goal is restoration.

The world teaches us to win by defeating someone. Jesus teaches us to win by regaining a brother or sister. Truth without love can become a weapon, while love without truth can become avoidance. But when grace and truth walk together, reconciliation becomes possible.

This message also takes a fresh look at one of Jesus’ most familiar promises: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” In its original context, Jesus is talking about conflict, accountability, and reconciliation. When two people sit down for a difficult but loving conversation, when someone admits, “I was wrong,” when forgiveness begins, and when broken relationships move toward healing—Jesus is there.

And as we gather at the Communion table, we remember the ultimate example of a love that refused to walk away. When humanity wandered, failed, and sinned, God did not walk away from us. In Jesus Christ, God bore the cost and made a way home.

So whom do you need to talk to?

Whom do you need to forgive?

Is there a difficult truth you need to speak with love?

Is there a relationship where you’ve been more interested in being right than being reconciled?

Jesus offers us another way.

Love listens.
Love forgives.
Love tells the truth.
Love seeks restoration.
Love puts on Christ.
And love does not walk away.

 

The Church on the Path
Worship + Service = Discipleship
Love First…Love Always

 

Scripture: Matthew 18:15–20; Romans 13:8–14

Keywords: Speaking the Truth in Love, Matthew 18:15–20, Romans 13:8–14, Christian conflict resolution, what does Jesus say about conflict, how Christians should handle disagreements, forgiveness and reconciliation, difficult conversations, biblical forgiveness, broken relationships, Christian boundaries, where two or three are gathered, put on Christ, agape love, Christian relationships, Holy Communion, United Methodist sermon, Christian podcast, Charleston SC church, St Andrews Parish UMC, The Church on the Path.

 

What does it mean to pass our faith to the next generation—and what kind of Church are we handing them?

This week’s episode of The Church on the Path Podcast is a special one. Rev. Brent Dehlbom and Rev. Ray Gibbs exchanged pulpits for the day as an intentional expression of our United Methodist connection.

Pastor Brent, a white pastor serving a historically white congregation, and Pastor Ray, a Black pastor serving a historically Black congregation, stepped into one another’s pulpits—not pretending that the histories and experiences of our congregations are the same, but affirming something deeper: in Jesus Christ, we belong to one another.

Our churches may worship in different places and serve different communities, but we share one Gospel, one mission, and one calling to carry the love of Christ into the world. Sometimes living into that connection begins with something as simple—and as meaningful—as making room for one another, listening to one another, and trusting one another enough to exchange pulpits.

In this message, “Pass the Torch to the Next Generation,” Rev. Ray Gibbs draws from Matthew 16:21–28 and Psalm 71:17–21 as we consider the responsibility of one generation to faithfully share the story of God’s grace with the next.

Psalm 71 declares, “O God, from my youth you have taught me,” and then looks toward the generations still to come. Christian faith was never meant to stop with us. We receive the Gospel, live the Gospel, and pass the Gospel forward.

And perhaps one of the most important things we can pass to the next generation is a Church willing to cross boundaries, build relationships, listen to one another, and demonstrate that our unity in Christ can be stronger than the things that have historically divided us.

What kind of Church will we hand to those who come after us?

May it be one rooted deeply in Jesus Christ, courageous enough to take up the cross, generous enough to make room for one another, and faithful enough to pass the torch.

The Church on the Path
Worship + Service = Discipleship
Love First…Love Always

 

Scripture: Matthew 16:21–28; Psalm 71:17–21

Keywords: Pass the Torch to the Next Generation, Matthew 16:21–28, Psalm 71, Christian generations, passing on faith, next generation church, Christian discipleship, take up your cross, United Methodist connection, pulpit exchange, racial reconciliation, church unity, Black church, white church, Christian unity, intergenerational ministry, United Methodist Church, Charleston SC, The Church on the Path.