Come and be inspired by the Word. St. Matthew's United Methodist church is located in Annandale, VA. We are a home for All God's Children. For more information visit our website at stmatthewsumc.org.
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St Matthew's United Methodist Church, Annandale, VA
🍂 Grateful in Every Season 🍂
Yesterday in worship, we began our new series, Grateful in Every Season, and explored simple ways to show gratitude for the many blessings in our lives.
So, how can we put gratitude into practice? Here are this week's Next Steps:
❤️ 1. Say Thank You – Express gratitude to God, friends, coworkers, and family members.
🙏 2. Count Your Blessings – Take time to write down the things you are thankful for, big and small.
🎁 3. Give Back to God – Show your gratitude through generosity, service, and sharing your blessings with others.
Gratitude isn't just something we feel—it's something we practice every day!
What are you grateful for today? 🍁
2 Nov 2026
The Question of Suffering: How Do I Move Forward?
We concluded our Questions of Suffering series by exploring How Do We Move Forward?
We learned that grief is the experience of loss, while lament is what we do with that grief. Lament is bringing our pain honestly to God, trusting that He is still with us.
We move forward with both lament and hope.
Here are this week's Next Steps:
Hold the tension between high lament and high hope.
Pray the Psalms.
Write your own laments.
Don't walk alone.
❤️ Even in our suffering, God is with us, and hope remains.
26 Oct 2026
The Question of Suffering: Can I find Meaning?
God through the Holy Spirit can take our surrendered suffering and repurpose it into something that makes us more like Jesus. Here are the next steps.
1. Create a surrender prayer card i.e. "God, I don't understand this, but I give it to you. Make something of it."
2. Write your valley down (Psalm 23), name it to pray over it.
3. List 3 gifts a valley revealed.
4. Reach out to someone in a valley. Let them know you love them and care.
21 Oct 2026
The Question of Suffering? Why Me?
Why Me? Yesterday in worship, we explored one of life's most difficult questions: “Why me?” Pastor Gordon reminded us of the hope we have in the resurrection—that one day, everything sad will become untrue. God is not the cause of our suffering, but He is always with us through it. Here are this week's
Next Steps: Say your “why” out loud to God. Bring your questions and struggles to Him.
Show up for one person. Be a reminder of God's love to someone who is hurting.
Look to the cross when you're tempted to doubt God's love. No matter what you're going through, remember that God is with you, even in the midst of suffering.
13 Oct 2026
The Question of Suffering: Where is God?
Next steps:
1. Pray the 23rd Psalm every day this week.
2. Try contemplative prayer sitting quietly in the presence of God.
3. If you're suffering, tell someone you trust.
4. If you know someone who is suffering, reach out to them this week and be an example of God's loving presence in their life.
5 Oct 2026
Words of Life
Our everyday words are powerful. Do we build people up or do we tear them down? Our words matter. The focus is on our words and how we can do our best to build people up. Matthew 12:33-37.
28 Sept 2026
How to Complain Without Complaining
There is a faithful to way to talk about things that frustrate us, disappoint us and lead us into seasons of discontent. Jesus teaches to bring our concerns directly to one another with honesty and prayer and above all love.
24 Sept 2026
Complaint Free Living
We are the salt and light of the world, and we change it from within. Complaint is the greatest obstruction to our witness.
24 Sept 2026
Why Do We Complain?
Have you ever thought about why it is that we complain as much as we do? Our chronic complaints often arise from an emptiness within, an inherent dissatisfaction within out soul.
1 Sept 2026
Finding God in Music - Blackbird
We found God in the music of the Beatles’ 1968 song “Blackbird.”
The song became an invitation:
1. Name your broken wing. Where are you wounded or struggling to rise?
2. Sit with Isaiah 61.
3. See the poor, struggling, oppressed and marginalized.
4. Be someone’s “This is your moment.” See someone. Encourage someone. Help someone rise.
This week, may we name our own broken wings, see the people Jesus sees, and become the voice that says: “This is your moment. Rise. You were made to fly.”
17 Aug 2026
Finding God in the Music-"Blowin' in the Wind" Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind,” a song of lament still speaks to us today as it raises questions about peace, justice, and human dignity. What can we learn, as followers of Jesus, from his words in John 3:8, “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So, it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
11 Aug 2026
God Calls the Discouraged
God calls us even when we’re discouraged, based on John 21:2–17.If you missed the service, be sure to watch and hear what our Director of Family Ministries, Katie Fritchman, shared about finding hope when we feel discouraged, disappointed, or ready to give up.And don’t forget to check out the suggested next steps as you consider how God may be calling you this week. Even in discouragement, Jesus meets us where we are—and calls us forward.
5 Aug 2026
God Calls the Fearful/Doubtful
All Hands on Deck: God Calls the Fearful. We were reminded that every sailor encounters storms. The same is true in life. Storms aren't a sign that God has abandoned us or is judging us—they're simply part of the journey.As the disciples battled the wind and waves, Jesus came to them on the water, reminding us that His presence is greater than anything we fear.
28 Jul 2026
God Calls the Resistant
Jonah wasn't just a prophet—he was a resistant prophet who tried to run from God's call. His story reminds us that God never gives up on us, even when we're reluctant to follow where He leads.
22 Jul 2026
God Calls the Faithful
Noah
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