“And they were calling to one another, holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty- the whole earth is full of his glory.”

This passage details Isaiah’s vision of God’s heavenly throne room where angelic beings declare that the whole earth is full of his glory. This means God is present in everything on earth. His glory is reflected in the seasons, the ocean’s waves, skies of blue and gray, the sounds of children playing and even in quiet moments of reflection.

In our fast paced lives we often overlook God’s magnificent glory in things around us. Isaiah’s vision reminds us to pause and appreciate God’s creation and love. Whether it is the wonders of nature, the birth of a baby or the sound of birds in the trees, God’s creation and ever present glory permeates the world around us.

This is most apparent to me when I visit the Smokey Mountains near my home. Isaiah’s vision of heaven is grand and awe-inspiring. Angelic beings circle the throne of God, calling out His holiness with powerful voices. Yet, the same glory that fills heaven also saturates the quiet beauty of earth. In the stillness of the mountains, away from life’s noise, we can often sense God’s presence most clearly. The towering peaks, the flowing streams, and the vast skies seem to echo the seraphim’s song: “holy, holy, holy, is the Lord Almighty- the whole earth is full of his glory.”

Isaiah 6:3 challenges us to shift our perspective—to see beyond the surface and recognize that the world is a reflection of God’s creative power and love. Knowing that the earth is filled with God’s glory calls us to live lives that honor Him—showing kindness, seeking justice, and extending grace to others.

God’s holiness isn’t distant—it’s near, surrounding us and calling us to notice, to worship, and to live lives that honor His glory. Today, slow down, look around, and embrace the beauty of a world filled with His presence.

Lord Almighty, Your holiness echoes through the heavens and across the earth. In the peacefulness of the mountains, I sense the depth of Your glory and the serenity of Your presence. Quiet my heart so that I can hear Your voice and see Your beauty in all creation. Help me to live in constant awe of who You are. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

This devotion was written by Gary Hensley and read by Amy Large.

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/.

Mark 4: 30 to 32

A tiny seed growing to great stature! That is what we can all be! Through our actions we can be the wind that gusts upon the calm waters of the pond, stirring up a ripple effect for Christian good in our community.

The editorial notations in my Bible indicate that the book of Mark is one of action! Forty two times the Greek word for hurry up is used across Mark. This gospel is imploring us to hurry up! Make a difference for Jesus!

So let’s follow Mark’s example and let’s hurry up and grow our own faith. Let’s hurry up and get out there in the world and make a difference modeling the love that God has for us.

There are so many things that can grow as the mustard seed does. This podcast originated as an idea, a discussion among three Christians that I know of, and they hurried up and got busy!

In my own experience at the food pantry, local middle schoolers hurried up and collected bags and bags of canned goods that were donated. Well, all those cans upon arrival at the pantry had to be organized into flats and moved onto the shelves. We hurried up and got busy!

For some reason those students were focused on peas! With their own creativity, I am told that they created a “leaning tower of Peasahhh”! They hurried up and got busy, and we had plenty of peas on flats, on shelves to share with those in need, to share God’s love, as those students and their teachers did!

Let us pray:

Heavenly Father, give us the energy and convection to hurry up as Mark urges us to model our lives after Jesus! Amen.

This devotion was written and read 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/.

While under house arrest in Rome, the apostle Paul had a visit from a man named Epaphras. Epaphras started the church in Colossae, a city in Asia Minor (modern Turkey), about 1,300 miles from Rome, and he sought Paul's council on a problem with his congregation.

The church was doing reasonably well, but the members were under tremendous strain. Many of them were raised in a society that worshiped the many Greek and Roman deities. Although they believed in Jesus, they viewed him as just another god. In addition, the Jewish converts in the church insisted that commitment to Jesus could not be complete until they began to follow the Torah and to observe Jewish customs such as circumcision, a special diet, and observance of Jewish holy days.

So Paul wrote a letter to the Colossian church. The letter opens with a prayer that first thanks God for the church and its people and then asks God for wisdom and understanding for the church.

Immediately after those prayers, we find today's scripture. This poetic passage expresses two essential points: First, Jesus is supreme over everything. Nothing created in nature or by man, invisible or visible, is superior to Jesus, including the gods they grew up worshiping. Second, Jesus is enough. No adherence to the Jewish law and no deeds or actions need to be added to God's gift of salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

After that declaration, the rest of the book serves as a treatise on the life of a follower of Christ. The entire book is about Jesus's superiority and sufficiency and how that empowers his followers to live.

While we might not worship other gods, and we don't follow the Jewish law, if you're like me, you feel the strain of many things vying for your attention and maybe even your worship. It is easy to make Jesus just another thing that demands our time and devotion.

It is also easy to rationalize our work in the name of Jesus as being the completion or fulfillment of our Christian life or that somehow, we need to show God that we deserve our salvation.

When we feel the strain of this world, we should take a page from Paul's playbook. The very first thing he did for the church at Colossae was pray. The next thing he did was emphasize the truth that Jesus is above all else. He is superior to anything we can see or imagine. And he is sufficient. He is all we need, now and forever, in everything.

After we internalize that, we can live the life that God intended for us.

That's a solid strategy.

Father, thank you for the gift of Jesus. Constantly make us aware that his death and resurrection are complete, superior, and sufficient. May we rest in that and live the life you purchased for us with his blood. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Cliff McCartney.

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...

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/.

Welcome! We have so many questions about the world around us, there is much we do not know about how and why our universe works the way it does.

Today’s scripture reading does make one thing clear about our world…hear these words from the Book of Deuteronomy chapter 10 verse 14.

Everything? That means all the physical things we can see, mountains and oceans, cities and fields, plants and animals. Also things we can’t see…wind, gravity, warmth and cold. It is the same with humans…we can see bodies and hear words, but can not see thoughts and emotions. And yet ALL these things were created by and belong to God. He cares about all these seen and unseen things in our world, none are hidden from him.

These verses help me be mindful about how I treat Gods belongings, the things I can see and those I cannot. To treat the environment, our physical surroundings with care, to treat other people with kindness, to watch my words and emotions. It is easy to feel insignificant in this huge world and these verses help me realize that I am important to God, me just one human being.

Father God, we live in an amazing world you have created for us, full of beauty and wonder. Also sadness and violence. Help us to care for all of your belongings, people and animals, rivers and pastures, everything seen and unseen you have provided. We give you thanks for our community and ask your help to be good caretakers. Amen.

This podcast was written and read by Leslie Ragland.

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/.

Psalm 19 is the inspiration for a familiar hymn, “For the Beauty of the Earth.” The lyrics begin:

These words from the hymn are familiar to many of us. They express wonder and awe at God’s creation. We all have sunrise and sunset moments of awe, seasonal moments of awe, and weather moments of awe.

But in these dissonant times, more often I find myself turning inward and seeking messages of certainty and validation through my friends on social media and texts. I forget that we humans are a microcosm in time, and that we exist in a world created by God, a world of oxygen that allows me to breathe in and out, a world of gravity that allows me to move in predictable ways, a world of taste, touch, sight, sound, and smell.

I live in a senior community, and all our residents are blessed to receive a daily email from a neighbor, Bob. Bob is a man of science who seeks beauty in the natural world and photographs it. Over the years he has helped me see anew the glory that is all around: in the snowflakes of winter, tiny flowers in groundcovers, Lenten roses, the first daffodils and crocuses, the swelling buds on trees, the fungi that explode into mushrooms, and yes, even the exquisite beauty of dandelions. Bob sends a photograph and provides both scientific and historical information and makes us see things new.

And recently, our adult Sunday school class enjoyed a presentation on a book titled The Power of AWE.

AWE stands for Attention, Wait, and Expand. The author promises that investing one minute a day in the immediate moment will ‘”overcome burnout and anxiety, ease chronic pain, and bring clarity and purpose.” That’s a large order! But essentially, it’s what my neighbor Bob does when he creates an AWE moment with his emails. I now search daily for the AWE in my world. A friend and I have expanded AWE to AWES by adding the word SHARE. In this way we create community and joy each day.

And in this way, we see again that the earth is the Lord’s and that we must care for God’s gift and work as stewards of God’s creation. When we stop and pay attention to the birds, insects, water, and plants that inhabit this beautiful world, we realize that we must be better stewards of God’s creation.

Dear Lord, who has set your glory throughout the heavens and the earth, open our senses to your glory and create in us a sense of awe. Help us to become true stewards of your creation, not just consumers. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

This devotion was written by Laura Derr and read by Judy Wilson.

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

I remember when I was a little girl studying in school about the Sun, the Moon, the nine planets, and the far away stars. Yes, there were nine planets at that time, including little Pluto. My grandmother used to let me read from her huge family Bible that sat in a prominent place of honor, in her living room.

I loved reading the creation story in Genesis 1 – “In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth…” The story goes on to explain that God created everything in, on, and above the Earth. When he got everything else ready and saw that it was good, he created humankind – male and female – in his own image, and blessed them, turning over the care of all his Earthly creation to humans.

He gave instructions to us to fill the earth and care for it – to tend it. He gave us a Paradise and told us to watch over it, together.

So, of course our Scripture today says – “The Earth is the Lord’s and all who live in it.”

Unfortunately, the filling part of that command has worked out more successfully than the tending part.

Not all the people on the earth look at the Earth with reverence and care. Multitudes look at the Earth as theirs, not God’s own. Multitudes abuse her and her rich treasures. Multitudes fight over her resources and abuse her and deny God’s sovereignty.

God knows that we can’t control other people.

God knows that we even have trouble controlling ourselves!

But, God also knows our hearts and can see our good actions, our efforts to live out his instructions to tend the Earth and to follow His instructions to LOVE one another.

If we Christians all band together in LOVING the Earth and ALL her people, we can make a difference. We can show God and all mankind that we know whose we are and that we live for and in HIM. So, let’s join our hearts and hands and do just that!

Dear Lord, show us the way we should go. Help us to love and forgive, to nurture and tend your Earth and all her inhabitants, just as you commanded us to do.

In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen!

This 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/.

Welcome to Grace for All, a daily devotional podcast produced by the people of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee.

Today is a special day that many people around the globe have set aside to honor the place where we live, the earth. For more than a half century, this day as been known as Earth Day.

• For some, this is a day to recognize and preserve our environment.
• For others, however, this day reminds us that the miracle of this planet is God’s creation.

For the next several weeks on the Grace for All podcast, we will emphasize this particular aspect of our faith. Thank you for joining use.

The lines of the old hymn ring loudly in my brain:

Maltbie Babcock, a Presbyterian minister, published this hymn in 1901, and it has become a standard for hymnals of many denominations since then. The words are simple, direct, and clear. This is my father’s world. It is not my world. It is not the world of some power-mad politician. God created this world, and He still owns it.

God gave humans stewardship of the world. By any measure, we have not fulfilled our stewardship responsibilities of caring for this miraculous creation.

What is happening to the world today, environmentally and politically, is troubling. We continue to destroy what we should preserve. We continue to heap curelties onto one another instead of showing love, mercy, and kindness. Evil in its many forms seems to dominate our lives and the whole earth.

Yet, the words of the old hymn return to us:

We can rest ourselves in that thought. This is my Father’s world.

Our Father, remind us daily that this is your world and not ours. Help us to find ways to preserve rather than destroy. Help us to be good stewards of what you have given to us. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Jim Stovall.

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...