Faith in the Body We Have | Beyond the Sermon

Well Rounded: Part 2 // Pastor Justin LaRosa //August 16, 2026

John Wesley wrote a book called Primitive Physick, or an Easy and Natural method of Curing Most Diseases. It included his cures for 40 different ailments. While parts of it are devoid of modern medical wisdom, it does reinforce ideas that we know to be true: the importance of a healthy diet, exercise, and maintenance of good daily rhythms.    Reflection Questions: 1. Paul reframes the question from "How do I feel about my body?" to "How does God see my body?” Where in your life is the old question still running the show, and what would change today if you actually believed the new one? 2. Wesley didn't chase health because he worshiped the body. He chased it because a well-stewarded body freed him to love God and serve his neighbor. What's one way your care of your body is currently shaping your capacity to show up for other people? 3. What scar are you still hiding, and who might God be inviting to speak a truer word over it? Or who might you be called to speak that word to? Find out more at HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps

Faith in the Body We Have | Beyond the Sermon

This week Mat sits down with Justin LaRosa for a deeply personal conversation about faith, health, and our bodies. Justin had already planned this sermon on caring for the body when he was diagnosed with cancer, giving his words about health and vulnerability a meaning he could never have anticipated. They talk about what it means to care for our bodies, listen to what they’re telling us, and hold both our physical health and our faith with honesty and grace. Find out more at HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps

What Will Our Kids Believe? | Beyond the Sermon

In week one of Well Rounded, Mat sits down with Sally Campbell-Evans to talk about what it means to keep growing in faith—and what that growth looks like when we're raising the next generation. Drawing from Proverbs and John Wesley’s understanding of discipleship, they explore how following God engages both our heads and our hearts, why we never truly graduate from learning, and how raising faithful kids can become part of our own journey of faith. Because teaching children what we believe also invites us to keep asking questions, growing, and living out that faith ourselves. Find out more at HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps

Well Rounded: Week One // Pastor Sally Campbell-Evans // August 9, 2026

In his sermon “On Family Religion,” Wesley said this about the education of children: “Instruct them early in the morning. Speak to them plainly. Observe the few ideas they have and graft what you say upon them. Teach them frequently. Persevere.” He likely learned these principles from the way his mother Susannah instructed him and his siblings, and it translated into a lifelong commitment to improving the educational systems throughout England. It is part of our legacy and ongoing work as United Methodists.  Questions for reflection: 1. Name someone who grafted some important aspects of faith onto your heart. 2. If education is "a lifelong spiritual practice," what is something new you are learning in recent days? 3. How is what you are learning shaping your character? Find out more at HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps

Holy Struggle: Part 4 // Pastor Magrey deVega // August 2, 2026

Hosea 12:1-4 gives us insight into this famous story of Jacob wrestling with God. Jacob not only fought with the angel; he also wept as he entreated God. This gives us permission to feel our emotions, even amid the toughest, most existential struggles we have with our faith. But we should always maintain a readiness to “return to God, with loyalty, justice, and hope.” For all his trickster manipulations, Jacob models for us a tenacity that enables us to wrestle with our faith and maintain our faithfulness to God.    Reflection Questions: 1. What inner struggle might God be using to reshape your identity? 2. When have your deepest questions become opportunities for spiritual growth? 3. What false version of yourself is God inviting you to release? Find out more at HydeParkUMC.org/NextSteps