Guest Preacher:
Min. Christy Ann Clark is the new Minister of Children, Youth and Young Adults at Saint Mark United Methodist Church (Los Angeles). Prior to that, she served as Youth Director at St. Paul UMC in Redondo Beach. Raised in South Central LA, her call and dream has always been to return and serve the youth of our inner city.
Raised in a combination of foster homes, group home and kinship care settings, God helped Christy overcome rough beginnings and called her to serve other foster and at-risk youth and children. Answering that call has led her to pursue ordained ministry as a Deacon in the United Methodist Church.
Before enrolling and graduating from Fuller Theological Seminary with a Masters in Divinity (M.Div.) in 2015, She graduated from California State University – Monterey Bay and worked in social work and related fields. Her training in social work, and youth and family ministries has uniquely situated her as a bridge for people to enter the church and those already within the walls of the church to enter the experience of those hurting on the outside. In United Methodism, Ordained Deacons are called to a lifetime ministry of service, Word, justice and compassion. By the power of the Holy Spirit, this beloved, faithful, young black woman with a visual impairment and a rough beginning, stands as a testament to God‘s grace, love and power. This is the place from which she shares God‘s Word.
She and her husband, Marlon, have been married for 11 years and have one son, Shaun!
Mark 8:34-36 (Common English Bible)
34 After calling the crowd together with his disciples, Jesus said to them, “All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me. 35 All who want to save their lives will lose them. But all who lose their lives because of me and because of the good news will save them. 36 Why would people gain the whole world but lose their lives?
Summary:
Throughout, our worship series Changing the Game, we discover how God is changing our lives for the better. Change is difficult and hard, but necessary to live in God’s promise. In this scripture, Jesus asks, “What does it profit to gain the world and lose your soul?” What looks like a loss to the world is a win with Jesus. Change your life to gain your soul.
Reflection Questions:
- What does Jesus mean by “gaining” the world?
- What does Jesus mean when he says you can “save your life by losing it?”
- What is God working to change in you in order to save your life?