Just Sitting Here Thinking
A collection of sermons and lessons by Rev. J. Vance Eastridge of the United Methodist Church, including study series and ”introspective” character monologues. After more than 40 years as a pastor in the Holston Conference, Rev. Eastridge continued his ministry through the Virgil Anderson Sunday school class at Munsey Memorial United Methodist Church from 1995 to 2012.
Episodes
Friday Apr 28, 2023
Live In Peace
Friday Apr 28, 2023
Friday Apr 28, 2023
Lesson on Isaiah awaiting the messiah and the coming of peace. The meanings of peace outside of conflict, between individuals, and within ourselves.
The importance of forgiveness over hatred, and the walls hatred puts up between us and God. The story of St. Francis, and our role as peacemakers to bring the kingdom of God to earth.
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Friday Apr 14, 2023
6-26-05 The Resurrection as told by Mark
Friday Apr 14, 2023
Friday Apr 14, 2023
For the second Sunday of Easter, we revisit this lesson on St. Mark's account of Jesus' resurrection and the history of its translation and revision. The importance of the three women who discovered the empty tomb and the enigma of Joseph of Arimathea.
The closeness of Mark and Peter, and ending the story with the Great Commission: the message to spread the Good News, heal the sick and poor of spirit, and to be the power of Christ in the world.
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Friday Apr 07, 2023
Easter - He Is Risen! The Triumph Over Death
Friday Apr 07, 2023
Friday Apr 07, 2023
For Easter we revisit this lesson about how, on that day, the pain and grief of Jesus' mother and disciples was transformed into joy. The Resurrection of Jesus means the resurrection of all and triumph over death through the love of God.
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Friday Apr 07, 2023
4-14-90 Easter - Introspective on Simon Peter
Friday Apr 07, 2023
Friday Apr 07, 2023
In the continuing tradition of Rev. Eastridge's introspective character monologues, here is an earlier, different take on the character and experience of the father of the church, Simon Peter, and his witness to the ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus.
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Friday Mar 31, 2023
4-01-90 Maker of Peace
Friday Mar 31, 2023
Friday Mar 31, 2023
For Palm Sunday, we finish the journey to Jerusalem with the question of how to follow and spread the peace that Jesus knows and brings, to beat swords into ploughshares and ourselves become peacemakers.
The Prayer of St. Francis, and Luke 19:42 - "If only you knew the things which make for peace."
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Friday Mar 24, 2023
3-25-90 Jesus, Man Of Peace
Friday Mar 24, 2023
Friday Mar 24, 2023
Sermon on our collective journey through Lent and the gift of peace through Jesus. How we hesitate to seriously open our hearts to Jesus because of our subconscious resistance to change. Knowing that change is painful but that our relationship with Christ transforms us, making all things new. Coming to our own Gethsemane and making our choice to follow Him.
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Friday Mar 17, 2023
3-20-05 Romans - Justification by Faith
Friday Mar 17, 2023
Friday Mar 17, 2023
Lesson on Paul's letter to the church at Rome and his vital message which lies at the core of Christianity.
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Friday Mar 10, 2023
3-11-90 A Gift Of The Spirit
Friday Mar 10, 2023
Friday Mar 10, 2023
Sermon on living in the way of peace and the meaning of shalom..
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Friday Mar 03, 2023
3-04-90 It’s All In Your Mind
Friday Mar 03, 2023
Friday Mar 03, 2023
Sermon on the power of faith in healing and Jesus' reflections on Jerusalem.
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Friday Feb 24, 2023
2-25-90 Mistaking Pebbles For Pearls
Friday Feb 24, 2023
Friday Feb 24, 2023
The parable of the pearl, the story of the magic stone, the danger of overlooking true joy and meaning in our lives while trying to conquer our aspirations. In today's world it's hard to tell the difference between the stones and the pearls.
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Friday Feb 17, 2023
2-18-90 Burning Up The Cargo To Make The Trip
Friday Feb 17, 2023
Friday Feb 17, 2023
Sermon on the simple life that gives fulfillment. Parsing through all the voices in society competing for our attention and the values they hold. The sacrifices we make to get ahead, the danger of burning through the good parts of life in order to satisfy artificial goals and grab meaningless treasure. The necessity and mystery of grace in our lives.
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Friday Feb 10, 2023
2-11-90 That’s The Way It Is
Friday Feb 10, 2023
Friday Feb 10, 2023
Sermon on the story of Jesus making the blind beggar see. Who do we trust in a world of vested interests and ulterior motives? Where do we find a credibile source after being continually disappointed by our leaders in society, work, and politics?
The values we need to anchor us in an ever more complicated world - integrity, trust, learning the basis for our beliefs, and gaining wisdom from our own experience. We can rely always on God for steadfast and constant truth to anchor us.
Carrying God's truths and love out into the world, and how we can only love God by loving one another.
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Friday Feb 03, 2023
2-04-90 Use It Or Lose It
Friday Feb 03, 2023
Friday Feb 03, 2023
Sermon on using our God-given gifts in life. The importance of exercising our talents to keep them honed, and exercising our faith to keep our spiritual life fresh and renewed. The importance of taking time in the busyness of life for our spiritual health, and the joy that comes into everyday life from regular prayer and reflection.
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Friday Jan 27, 2023
1-28-90 You Are Never Alone
Friday Jan 27, 2023
Friday Jan 27, 2023
Sermon on finding hope through loneliness, hopelessness, and abandonment. When we feel forsaken by God by the silence we feel, and how we hide or distance ourselves from God out of that fear that God will not be there when we feel most alone. The story of Francis Thompson and "The Hound of Heaven."
Often the one light in darkness is the promise that God will never leave us, and how that affirmation can give us the courage to live and continue on. How we can share that hope with others to pull each other out of the darkness.
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Friday Jan 20, 2023
1-21-90 Hang A Towel In Your Lapel
Friday Jan 20, 2023
Friday Jan 20, 2023
Sermon on the jacket lapel, representing the place where we place the messages of all the pins, jewelry, tags and bumper stickers in our lives. The symbols we wear and the priorities we show to the world, and the towel as a symbol of service and discipleship. How we become disciples when we take up Christ's mantle of service to others.
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Wednesday Jan 18, 2023
1-14-90 Taking A Quantum Leap
Wednesday Jan 18, 2023
Wednesday Jan 18, 2023
Sermon reflecting on the television series "Quantum Leap" and the importance of taking quantum leaps in our own life. In reflecting on the past, propelling us into the future, and stretching our abilities to improve our lives through faith.
David's journey from fear to triumph, Saul's conversion experience into Paul, and Rev. Eastridge's personal journey as a young man from confusion and ambivalence into a life of discipleship. Reflecting on the impact of one summer evening with a young local evangelist named Billy Graham.
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Friday Jan 06, 2023
01-08-06 The Pastoral Letters
Friday Jan 06, 2023
Friday Jan 06, 2023
An introduction to Paul's letters to Titus and Timothy, and the challenges and critical decisions described in the early church. The importance of unity and openness, and the crucial need and power of prayer.
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Friday Jan 06, 2023
12-18-05 Making Christmas Match The Christmas Card
Friday Jan 06, 2023
Friday Jan 06, 2023
Classic and often-requested sermon of Rev. Eastridge's, always remade fresh and contemporary with the time of its telling.
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Friday Dec 16, 2022
12-22-02 Taking Jesus Out of the Manger
Friday Dec 16, 2022
Friday Dec 16, 2022
A special Christmas lesson on the promises of "the baby in the box." Celebrating the fulfillment of the prophecy of the Messiah and the hopes and faith of all who believe in Him. The impact the hope of a child can have to transform a world.
How Christ has brought about those changes, to open the minds of the people to tolerance and acceptance, and to open the souls of humanity to reconciliation with God.
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Friday Dec 09, 2022
12-15-02 Joseph: A Father’s Call (Advent Lesson)
Friday Dec 09, 2022
Friday Dec 09, 2022
Advent lesson on Joseph, the responsibilities upon him and the sacrifices he endured for the love of his wife and the child he raised as his son. The dangers and hardships they faced in the communities they crossed, desperate to keep the child safe. The values he instilled in Jesus as a young man and the heartbreak of a nurturing father at the end.
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J. Vance Eastridge
From 1955 to 1994, Rev. Eastridge served as senior pastor of over a dozen churches throughout Tennessee, Georgia and Virginia in the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church. Upon retirement, Rev. Eastridge found a new ministry as a writer and teacher of the Virgil Anderson Sunday school class at Munsey Memorial United Methodist Church in Johnson City, Tennessee. His books include a memoir, I Don't Know Who You Are...But I'm Glad You Came, a brief history of Methodism A Man Named Wesley Passed This Way, and a collection of essays, meditations, poems and photographs Just Sitting Here... Thinking, for which this podcast is named.