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Grace for All: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Jim Stovall, Greta Smith, First United Methodist Church, Maryville, TN
"Grace for All" is a daily devotional podcast from the laity of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. Each episode presents scripture and a brief reflection, written and recorded by members of our church. These short episodes are meant to inspire you and support your journey of understanding and faith. We believe the central message of Jesus is one of grace. Grace for all human beings. Grace for All is a podcast ministry of First United Methodist Church, Maryville, TN
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- Yesterday5 min
The Coffee Mug
Lamentations 3:22-23 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. One of the last Christmas presents I received from my Mammaw before she died was a coffee mug. I should back up a bit to say that even as a teenager and young adult — at whatever point in my life I started realizing a bit about how far money goes — I marveled at Mammaw’s gift giving. A lady with nine living children, many of whom have spouses, more than a dozen grandchildren, many of whom also have spouses, and even great-grandchildren never skipped anyone over for Christmas, despite subsisting on a paltry Social Security check. I can remember Christmases in which I received socks that had clearly been part of a larger package that she divided to give to multiple people. It was quite common that she would recycle the cardboard boxes that her cereal came in so she would have boxes for all the gifts. To this day, I am astounded at her ability to express her love through giving on the most limited of budgets. So, it makes sense at my surprise one year receiving a lovely coffee mug with some sort of flavored coffee. On the mug is inscribed the statement, a paraphrase of today’s verse: “God’s promises are new every morning.” For a few years, I used that mug every Sunday morning as I got ready for church, and I thought of Mammaw every time I did. As I said, it turned out to be one of the last gifts I received from her. You can imagine my heartbreak, then, when the mug tipped over and the handle broke. We glued it, and it still worked, but it tipped again, breaking in new spots. Eventually, I decided it wasn’t a good idea to continue drinking from it, as it’s just too fragile. So now, it just rests on the counter, braced by a wall behind it. I simply couldn’t bear to part from it, as it is such an important keepsake of mine. It makes me think of a woman who loved richly despite her poverty. It reminds me of whence I come. It reminds me of being loved.It also reminds me of exactly what it says: every morning is a new day. Every day is a new opportunity. Each sunrise presents us with a new slate of blessings from God. Moreover, the mug reminds me of what it is: broken, but still doing good. When I look at that mug, I know that even though I have scars, even though I feel broken at times, God can still work through me. Even though Mammaw had little to give, God worked through her to make her family feel loved. Regardless of our flaws or imperfections, regardless of the brokenness and scars we bear, God both loves us and uses us to love others. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. God’s mercies never come to an end. Great, indeed is God’s faithfulness. Let us pray.God, we thank you for your love and we thank you for putting people in our lives who demonstrate that love to us. We know that, regardless of our circumstances, you can use us to help others. Keep us open to your call on our lives so that others will think of us and know you. We pray this in Christ’s name. Amen.This devotion was written and read by Dwight Dockery Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org. First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.
- 2 days ago4 min
God Doesn’t Waste the Pit
Romans 8:28 (CEB)We know that God works all things together for good for the ones who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.Romans 8:28 may be one of the most comforting verses in the Bible. It may also be one of the most misused.I grew up hearing, “All things work together for good.” When something terrible happens, someone may even say, “Everything happens for a reason.” But that can make it sound as though suffering somehow produces good all by itself, or worse, that God caused the terrible thing because God had something good in mind.But it’s Bible, right?Notice how the Common English Bible puts it: “God works all things together for good.” The emphasis is not on the terrible thing, but on what God does with it.We see that throughout Scripture. Joseph’s brothers threw him into a pit and sold him into slavery. God didn’t have to cause the pit to use it. The pit was still evil, and the betrayal was still wrong. But none of what happened to Joseph could keep God from working.There’s an old saying: “God doesn’t waste pain.” I like that. It doesn’t pretend pain is good. Some things that happen to us are simply terrible, and calling them good because something good came from them doesn’t make them less terrible.But Romans 8:28 offers us something better than an explanation for our suffering. It offers us a promise about God. Whatever has happened, God is still at work.God can bring compassion out of grief, wisdom out of failure, courage out of fear, and new life out of places that looked completely dead.We don’t have to call the pit good. But we can trust that God is not finished working in it.Let’s pray.Lord, when I face things I cannot understand, help me resist easy answers. Remind me that even in the worst places, you are still at work. Take even my pain and use it for good, and help me trust you when I cannot yet see what you are doing. Amen.This devotional was written and read by Donn King.Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.
- 3 days ago3 min
Scripture Saturday (September 19, 2026)
You are listening to Grace for All, a daily devotional podcast produced by the people of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee.This is Scripture Saturday, a time when we pause and reflect on the scriptures we have read throughout the week. If you missed any of our devotionals on these passages, you can find them on our website at 1stChurch.org or wherever you get your podcasts.Now, we invite you to listen and receive Grace. Welcome and thank you for joining us. Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.
- 4 days ago4 min
Whatever Became of Wisdom?
Proverbs 2:6For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.When Solomon became king, he had one big request for God: give me the wisdom to govern well. God said, “Yes,” and gave it to him generously.Here's the thing we often overlook. The Hebrew word for "wisdom" is bigger than the kind you need to run a kingdom. It covers a craftsman's skill, an artist's eye, and something closer to home — the everyday competence of living life well. Scripture even pictures Wisdom as a friend – a woman standing at her door, inviting people to the hospitality of her table.Solomon asked for administrative wisdom, and he got it in full. His judgments were sharp, and his governance was shrewd.But he never asked for the wisdom of living well, and you can see the problem it left by the end of his life: hundreds of wives and concubines, a treasury piled high, and stables full of horses collected just to have them.Scripture tells us plainly where he failed:So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not completely follow the Lord, as his father David had done. – 1 Kings 11:6Solomon's administrative wisdom was legendary. His faithfulness to God was not. And that gap, more than any missing skill, is what left him short.I think most of us know something like this. We carry real wisdom characteristics — good judgment, discernment, a knack for our work, an eye for people. They're genuine gifts. But none of them were meant to run on their own.Without a faithful relationship with the God who is the source of all Wisdom, those gifts will only take us so far. They'll carry us for a while, and then, like Solomon's, they'll run out.Wisdom, in its fullness, was never meant to be a set of traits we collect. It's a life built on faithfulness to the God who gives it.Let us pray."Father, grant us Your Wisdom in all of its fullness, and remind us that Your gift of Wisdom is built upon our faithful relationship with You. Amen."This devotional was written and read by Chuck Warnock.Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.
- 5 days ago4 min
The Light of the World (encore)
John 8:12Again Jesus spoke to them saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but have the light of life”.It is summertime and there is plenty of light! I enjoy my wildflower gardens that thrive in that light. I find they are a place where I can pause, reflect and enjoy God’s creation right in front of me. It has been cited that a walk in the garden can bring down your blood pressure. I know that I certainly feel better after a few moments there!The Pharisees were in the crowd as Jesus taught and it is very likely that they were having a spike in their blood pressure! It was their business to know the Scriptures and it is very likely that Psalms 27:1 may have flashed through their minds: “The LORD is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?”Or maybe the Pharisees were thinking “The unfolding of your words gives light” Psalm 119:130. Either way they surely looked around them and saw the definite influence that Jesus was having on the crowd and certainly felt the threat to their vaunted standing in society.Our challenge comes in Matthew 5:16.“ln the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”Are you teaching Sunday School? Excellent! Are you helping to feed the hungry or shelter the homeless? Terrific! Looking out for your fellow brother, sister, stranger to lend a helping hand or share a gesture of kindness? Well done! As in “Well done good and faithful servant! Welcome!” Yes! To hear those words in the Kingdom of Heaven!Light references truth and eternal life.In John 12:45 Jesus cried out,“And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness. I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.”The chapter ends with verse fifty:“And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I speak, therefore, I speak just as the Father has told me.”How much clearer can the message be? Jesus’ light is radiating before us!Let us pray.Send us Jesus out into the crowd of daily life that our actions, our words, and our behaviors would glorify your name and spread your light in this contentious world. AmenThis devotion was written and recorded by Sam Barto.Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.
- 6 days ago5 min
Hurry, noise, and crowds (encore)
Luke 5:16Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.Barbara and I were returning from a family reunion in Alabama not long ago and making our way up the interstate highway. We encountered several impatient drivers who zoomed in and out of traffic, seeking to get to their destination quickly. They put the rest of us at risk. I’m sure that was not their intention, but the result was to make us uncomfortable and vulnerable, and create a climate that raised anxiety for everyone.I thought of the counsel of Richard Foster, who in his classic guide, The Celebration of Discipline, wrote, “Our adversary majors in three things: hurry, noise, and crowds .”Think about this wisdom: the three things that stand between us and spiritual peace are hurry, noise, and crowds. There are times when we cannot avoid hurry. And times when we can not avoid noise. Nor crowds. But none of these things contribute to our peace. In fact, they are the most significant factors standing in the way of our peace.Barbara and I had this conversation with our son and daughter-in-law. She said, “This is easy for you because you are retired. It’s difficult for us because we have to go to work every day and can’t control our situation.” She was right. But the truth remains that hurry prevents peace, noise inhibits peace, and crowds restrict peace.Jesus understood that life requires a rhythm—engagement and retreat, helping and restoring. And the very thing that enables us to help adequately is the time of quiet and prayer that replenishes our spiritual resources. Our Lord withdrew for prayer and renewal. And so must we.Keep this truth near you. Our spiritual adversary majors in hurry, noise, and crowds. We must major in rest, quiet, and solitude. This is what replenishes our spirits.Prayer:Dear God, slow me down, quiet me down, and enable me to be alone with you so that I may be the one you intended for me to be. Amen.This devotion was written and read by Herb Sadler.Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.
- 1 weeks ago6 min
Do Not Be Dismayed
Isaiah 41:10“So, do not fear, for I am with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”This verse is a powerful reminder that God, the Helper of Israel, and of all human kind, does not want us to live in fear. There are also a dozen times in the New Testament where Jesus encourages people not to be afraid. We should take something repeated by God that many times, as absolute truth! Yet we worry and are fearful of many things in this day and age!Chapman University, a top private University in California, in 2025 compiled their poll entitled – What Americans Fear Most. The result of that poll shows that many of us experience common fears. The Top 10 are felt by more than 50% of Americans. The following are the Top 10…Corrupt government officialsPeople I love becoming seriously illEconomic/financial collapseCyber terrorismPeople I love dyingUS becoming involved in another World WarPollution of drinking waterRussia using Nuclear WeaponsPollution of oceans, rivers, and lakesGovernment tracking of personal dataFor the 10th consecutive year, fear of “Corrupt government officials” has topped the list, with 69% of Americans making this their #1 fear in 2025.Now, I would add AI and all sorts of unknown emerging technologies to this list of things we can’t control or sometimes can’t even understand. The world can feel too big. Who is in control, we might ask, when the news of the day bowls us over in anxiety and fear! But, my friends, GOD is in control. Yet we might ask – then where is He?!Let’s consider what Jesus said about that when he walked on the earth as a man 2000 years ago… In Matthew 28:18-20 we find these words, Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.He is with us, but we may not be holding onto his promises. It’s so easy to get caught up in the news of the day, so we need to make time to read our Bibles, to pray in quiet space with Jesus, and to center ourselves on God’s LOVE and promises. He is with us, but we have to accept His presence, His promises and His peace.Let’s do that right now. Please pray with me…Dear loving, faithful God, please help me to remain centered in your promises. Help me to trust you and to focus on your strength, and your love, and not my own fear and helplessness. Help me to rest in your peace. In Jesus' name we pray…AMENThis devotion was written and read by Bernice Howard.Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org. First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.
- 1 weeks ago5 min
Twelve Baskets of Hope
Romans 15:13 (NRSV) May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.In Paul’s letter to the Roman church, he spends the first eleven chapters building one long argument: Jew and Gentile stand on identical ground before God. No distinction, he says in chapter 3 — all have sinned, all are justified freely by grace. In chapter 11, Gentile believers are branches grafted into an old olive tree, sharing its root with Israel rather than replacing it.A few years before this letter, the emperor Claudius had expelled the Jews from Rome — Jewish Christians included. The church kept meeting without them, shaped by Gentile believers who'd never kept kosher and saw no reason to start. When the ban lifted, Jewish believers came home to a congregation with its own habits already set. Paul calls one side "weak in faith" and the other "strong," and neither gets a compliment. The weak still ate only vegetables, still marked certain days as holy. The strong ate anything, treated every day alike, and chapter 14 opens by telling them not to look down on the ones they disagree with. Two groups at the same table, two consciences, each sure the other had it wrong.Paul doesn't referee that argument. He keeps pointing both sides back to Christ, who died for the believer sitting across the table. Early in chapter 15, he quotes four Old Testament passages picturing Gentiles praising God alongside Israel, one voice. That's what he's been building toward since chapter 1. Our verse for today, verse 13 of chapter 15, serves as the letter’s benediction, right before Paul shifts into travel plans and personal greetings. Everything he's argued for fourteen chapters lands here, in a prayer.The word translated "abound" in verse 13 is perisseuō (per-is-SYOO-oh), and it means to overflow or exceed a standard measure. It describes having more than enough, a surplus, or a superabundance in quantity and quality. By my count, Paul used the word over 20 times in his other letters, but the most notable use in the Bible is in John's Gospel, after Jesus feeds five thousand people with five loaves and two fish. "Gather up the fragments left over," Jesus tells the disciples (John 6:12). The same word, perisseuō, describes what remained: Twelve full baskets (v. 13). Not a crowd barely fed. A crowd fed until they were full, with room to spare.Paul’s prayer is not that the argument would end. He prays, "May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace, so that you perisseuō in hope.” More hope than it takes. More than you asked for. More than you can imagine.The whole letter's theology rests on one request: that what fills this newly rejoined, still-adjusting family would be more than the moment required. Not enough to get by. Left over. Twelve baskets of it.Prayer Father, you are the God of hope. Fill us with joy and peace in the middle of what isn't resolved, and let your Spirit make that hope abound — more than the moment requires. Amen.This devotional was written and read by Cliff McCartneyGrace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org. First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.
About Grace for All
"Grace for All" is a daily devotional podcast from the laity of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. Each episode presents scripture and a brief reflection, written and recorded by members of our church. These short episodes are meant to inspire you and support your journey of understanding and faith. We believe the central message of Jesus is one of grace. Grace for all human beings. Grace for All is a podcast ministry of First United Methodist Church, Maryville, TN
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