Saint John AME Church- Baltimore

08/23/2026

Disability Awareness Sunday | Rev. Dr. Marion Crayton | August 23, 2026

08/16/2026

Join us for morning worship.

08/14/2026

Beloved, after wrestling with everything that doesn't make sense, Romans 5:8 finally gives us the answer: “But God proves his love for us…” There it is. That's the missing piece. Why would God send Jesus? Love. Why would Christ die for people who didn't deserve it? Love. Why would God keep reaching for people who repeatedly fall short? Love. Why would grace keep showing up? Love. What didn't make sense begins to make sense when love gets involved.

Love explains the manger. Love explains Jesus walking dusty roads healing the sick and touching people everybody else avoided. Love explains Jesus sitting with sinners, welcoming outsiders, restoring broken people, challenging oppressive systems, and seeing value in people society had discarded. Love explains Calvary. Nails didn't keep Jesus on the cross—love did. And because love refused to allow death to have the final word, three days later Jesus got up again!

That's the kind of love God has for you. Not fragile love. Not conditional love. Not love that disappears the first time you disappoint God. Scripture declares that neither death nor life, things present nor things to come, height nor depth, nor anything else in creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Life may change. People may change. Circumstances may change. God's love remains.

And when you know you're loved like that, it ought to change how you live. Loved people don't have to beg everybody to validate them. Loved people don't have to shrink themselves to be accepted. Loved people can admit when they're wrong because failure doesn't destroy their identity. Loved people can celebrate somebody else without feeling diminished. Loved people can walk away from what is unhealthy because they know mistreatment isn't the price they have to pay to receive affection. God's love gives us both security and freedom.

But God's love was never intended to stop with us. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God.” If we have received extravagant love, then we are called to become conduits of that love. The church should be one of the places where lonely people experience community, wounded people encounter compassion, forgotten people are remembered, hungry people are fed, children are valued, seniors are honored, people with disabilities are welcomed, and people society has pushed aside discover that they matter. Love isn't merely something we preach. Love is something people ought to experience because we showed up.

Application: Make love visible today. Don't merely tell somebody you love them—do something loving. Check on someone you haven't heard from. Encourage somebody who's struggling. Forgive where forgiveness is possible. Help somebody without posting about it. Speak up for somebody being mistreated. Spend time with someone who feels forgotten. And before the day ends, take sixty seconds and simply receive God's love for yourself. You don't have to perform for it. Just receive it.

Prayer: God of everlasting love, thank You for loving me beyond what I can understand. Thank You for Jesus. Thank You for the cross. Thank You for grace that reaches me, mercy that keeps me, and love that refuses to let me go. Help me live today knowing that I am deeply loved, and then make my life an expression of that same love to somebody else. When life doesn't make sense, remind me that Your love still does. In Jesus' name, Amen.

08/13/2026

Beloved, Romans 5:8 contains one of the most liberating truths in Scripture: “But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” Notice what Paul doesn't say. He doesn't say Christ waited until we became perfect. He doesn't say Christ waited until we stopped struggling. He doesn't say Christ waited until we became church-going, Bible-reading, tithe-paying, prayer-meeting-attending saints. No—while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

That's what makes grace so difficult for some of us to understand. We are accustomed to transactional relationships. You do something for me, I'll do something for you. You treat me right, I'll treat you right. You earn it, then you receive it. But God interrupts our human system of earning and deserving. God says, “Before you could earn it, I loved you. Before you could repay Me, I loved you. Before you got yourself together, I loved you.”

Some of us have spent years trying to earn a love God has already given. We believe if we serve enough, give enough, pray enough, preach enough, achieve enough, or become good enough, perhaps we'll finally deserve God's affection. But you cannot earn what Jesus has already purchased. Your obedience should flow from knowing you're loved, not become an exhausting attempt to get God to love you.

And here's where it gets uncomfortable: the same grace we celebrate for ourselves is the grace God extends to people we wouldn't choose. Christ died for the ungodly. That means grace reaches beyond the people we think deserve it. Grace reaches the addicted, the angry, the broken, the difficult, the dishonest, the confused, the person who messed up publicly, and even the person you don't particularly like. The Gospel destroys our ability to stand on a pedestal and look down at somebody else.

Because when you really understand grace, you stop asking, “How could God love them?” and start wondering, “God, how could You love me this much?” Not because you hate yourself, but because you understand the extravagance of God's love. We all stand at the foot of the same cross. Nobody gets VIP access because of their résumé, denomination, education, bank account, family name, or social status. Our access is Jesus.

Application: Today, stop trying to earn God's love. Before you accomplish anything, remind yourself: “I am already loved by God.” Then allow that truth to affect how you treat someone else. Extend patience where you normally would judge. Offer forgiveness where appropriate. Encourage somebody who is struggling. Remember that the grace you needed yesterday may be the same grace somebody else needs from you today.

Prayer: God, thank You for loving me before I ever had myself together. Thank You that Your love isn't a prize I have to earn but a gift I am invited to receive. Deliver me from believing my value is determined by my performance, and keep me from withholding grace from others while celebrating grace for myself. Teach me to live loved and to love others from the abundance of what You've already given me. In Jesus' name, Amen.

08/12/2026

Beloved, one of the biggest lies we tell ourselves is that God can only use people who have everything together. We look at our past, our weaknesses, our mistakes, our insecurities, and the places where we're still growing and conclude, “Surely God can't use me.” But when you actually read the Bible, you discover something strange: God has always had a habit of using unlikely people. The people God calls rarely look perfect on paper
Moses had difficulty speaking. Gideon was afraid. Jonah ran from God. Peter denied Jesus. Martha worried. The disciples couldn't even stay awake when Jesus asked them to pray. Paul persecuted Christians before becoming one of Christianity's most influential witnesses. Again and again, God looks at somebody humanity might overlook and says, “That's the one I can use.” It doesn't make sense according to human standards, but that's how grace operates.

Perhaps you're spending too much time looking at what you think disqualifies you while God is looking at what God can develop in you. Your past doesn't surprise God. Your weakness doesn't intimidate God. Your struggle doesn't make God nervous. God knew everything about you before God called you. God didn't accidentally select you and then discover your issues later! God knew your history, your fears, your failures, your insecurities—and God still saw purpose.

That doesn't mean God celebrates dysfunction or gives us permission to remain unhealthy. Grace isn't an excuse to avoid growth. God loves us enough to use us where we are and loves us too much to leave us where we are. The same God who calls us also shapes us, stretches us, corrects us, heals us, and develops us. God doesn't require perfection, but God does invite transformation.

Maybe that's why your story looks the way it does. Maybe the very thing you thought would prevent God from using you will become the place from which you minister to somebody else. The wound can develop compassion. The failure can produce wisdom. The struggle can produce humility. The season you wish you could erase may eventually become evidence that God can redeem anything surrendered to God's hands.

Application: Identify one part of your story that you've been using to disqualify yourself. Instead of saying, “God can't use me because…,” change your language today: “God, show me how You can use even this.” Then take one practical step toward the thing God has been calling you to do. Make the phone call. Volunteer. Apply. Serve. Start writing. Apologize. Go back to school. Ask for help. Your imperfections do not cancel God's purpose.

Prayer: God, thank You for seeing possibilities in me that I sometimes cannot see in myself. Forgive me for believing that my mistakes, weaknesses, or history are greater than Your grace. Heal what needs healing, correct what needs correcting, and develop what needs developing. Then use my life—every victory, every scar, every lesson and every redeemed part of my story—for Your glory and somebody else's good. In Jesus' name, Amen.

08/11/2026

Beloved, every now and then you ought to look back over your life and ask yourself one question: How in the world did I make it through that? How did you survive what you survived? How did you keep going when you wanted to quit? How did you get back up after life knocked you down? How did you smile again after crying so many tears? How did you keep believing after disappointment tried to rob you of your faith? And when you run out of reasonable explanations, perhaps the only answer left is: if it weren't for Jesus!

There are parts of your testimony that cannot be explained by intelligence, education, connections, money, or strength. You were strong, but not that strong. You were smart, but you couldn't think your way out of everything. You knew people, but there were doors nobody you knew could open. There were situations where your resources ran out, your options disappeared, and your strength was exhausted. Yet somehow you kept moving. Somehow provision showed up. Somehow peace found you. Somehow grace held you together.

That's why you should never become so accustomed to God's grace that you forget what grace has done. We can become so focused on where we're going that we forget where God brought us from. We start thinking we did this by ourselves. No, beloved! Somebody ought to testify, “I worked hard, but it wasn't just me. I made some good decisions, but it wasn't just me. I had some people help me, but it wasn't just them. If it weren't for Jesus, I wouldn't be where I am today.”

Romans reminds us that our greatest “if it weren't for Jesus” testimony isn't about a job, house, healing, promotion, or opportunity. It is our relationship with God. Paul teaches that Christ came for us while we were weak and died for us while we were still sinners. Jesus didn't wait until we had everything together. Jesus didn't wait until our behavior deserved grace. Jesus stepped into our weakness and did for us what we could never do for ourselves.

That means your testimony isn't simply, “Look what I accomplished.” Your testimony is, “Look what grace accomplished in me!” You're still becoming. You're still growing. You're still getting some things right and getting some things wrong. Yet Jesus continues to love, forgive, strengthen, correct, restore, and walk with you. Stop disqualifying yourself because you're still under construction. Grace has never required you to be a finished product before God starts working
Application: Take five minutes today and intentionally look backward. Write down three moments in your life that make you say, “If it weren't for Jesus…” Maybe it was something God brought you through, something God kept you from, or something God provided when you couldn't provide it yourself. Then thank God specifically for each one. Don't just remember your testimony—rehearse it. Somebody else's faith may eventually need to hear how God kept you.

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for every place You've carried me, every moment You've kept me, and every time Your grace sustained me when my own strength wasn't enough. Forgive me for the times I've taken credit for what only Your grace could accomplish. Keep me humble enough to remember where I've come from and faithful enough to tell somebody else what You've done. My testimony today is simple: if it weren't for You, I don't know where I would be. In Jesus' name, Amen.

08/10/2026

Beloved, there are some things in life that simply do not make sense. You can pray, plan, prepare, do your best to treat people right, and still find yourself standing in the middle of something you never expected. There are losses that don't make sense. Relationships that don't make sense. Doors that close without explanation. Good people get sick. Faithful people experience trouble. Sometimes you can search your mind all night long trying to understand why something happened and still wake up without an answer. Sometimes the most faithful thing you can say is, “Lord, this just doesn't make sense.”

But everything that doesn't make sense isn't necessarily bad. Sometimes the blessing doesn't make sense either! You weren't qualified on paper, but they chose you. You didn't have all the resources, but somehow you made it. You thought the door was closed, but God opened another one. You thought you were finished, but God gave you another opportunity. You thought what happened would break you, but somehow you're still standing. Sometimes we spend so much time asking God to explain our pain that we forget there are blessings in our lives that we cannot explain either!

The good news is that God has never been limited by what makes sense to us. God's ways are higher than our ways, and God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts. We like formulas: if I do A, then God should do B. But God refuses to be reduced to our calculations. Sometimes God takes the long way. Sometimes God uses the unlikely person. Sometimes God allows the unexpected interruption. Sometimes God opens a door you weren't even knocking on. And sometimes God lets you walk through a season without giving you the explanation you desperately want.

That's why faith cannot depend upon understanding everything God is doing. Faith says, “God, I don't understand this, but I still trust You.” Faith says, “I don't know why this happened, but I believe You're still here.” Faith says, “I don't know how this chapter fits into my story, but I refuse to believe my story ends here.” There is a difference between understanding God's plan and trusting God's presence. You may not have the first, but you can always hold onto the second.

And if you need evidence, look backward. There are already things you've survived that you once thought would destroy you. There were nights you didn't know how you would make it until morning. There were seasons when you couldn't see your way forward. Yet somehow, some way, by the grace of God, you're still here. You may have some scars. You may have some questions. You may still have some healing to do. But you are here! And sometimes your survival is the explanation: if it weren't for Jesus, it wouldn't make sense.

Application: Today, stop demanding an immediate explanation for everything you don't understand. Identify one situation in your life that still makes no sense and consciously surrender your need to figure it all out. Then identify one thing you've already survived that once made no sense. Let yesterday's faithfulness become evidence for today's uncertainty. You don't have to understand everything to trust God through anything.

Prayer: God, there are things in my life that I still don't understand. There are questions I cannot answer and circumstances I cannot explain. Help me resist the temptation to believe that because I don't understand You, You aren't working. Remind me of every place You've already carried me, every door You've opened, and every situation You've brought me through. When life doesn't make sense, give me faith to trust Your presence. In Jesus' name, Amen.

08/09/2026

Join us for worship as Pastor McAfee reminds us of what still makes sense.

08/08/2026

08/07/2026

Talk to Me Nice | Pastor Brandon O. McAfee | Friday, August 7, 2026
Scripture: “Pursue love and strive for the spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophesy.” — 1 Corinthians 14:1, NRSVUE

“Talk to me nice” is a phrase used to remind people that how they address us matters. It can mean, “Speak respectfully,” “Come correct,” or “Put some care into your words.” Paul may not have used that phrase, but his teaching to the Corinthian church communicates a similar principle: when you speak to God’s people, speak in a way that reflects love and strengthens their lives.

The Corinthians were spiritually gifted, but they had become caught in comparison and competition. Instead of asking how their gifts could serve the church, they focused on which gift made them appear most spiritual. Paul redirected them from performance to purpose. The Holy Spirit does not give gifts merely so we can impress people; the Spirit gives gifts so we can impact people.

That is why Paul elevates prophecy in the gathered church. Prophecy communicates in a way people can understand. It constructs the believer, calls the believer forward, and comforts the believer in pain. It is not valuable because it creates attention around the speaker. It is valuable because it produces growth within the community.

This gives us a practical test for our words. Do they construct, or do they destroy? Do they call people forward, or do they keep reminding them of who they used to be? Do they comfort, or do they deepen wounds? Every word will not perform all three functions, but our communication should consistently reflect the character of love.
“Talk to me nice” does not mean that we avoid truth. Love does not require dishonesty, silence, or pretending that everything is acceptable. Paul’s vision includes truth, accountability, and discernment. However, truth can be spoken without cruelty. Correction can be given without humiliation. Disagreement can occur without becoming disagreeable.

Today, make love the filter for your communication. Before responding, ask whether your words are necessary, truthful, timely, and constructive. Refuse to gossip about people you should be praying for. Refuse to use someone’s vulnerability as conversational entertainment. Refuse to speak permanent labels over people who are still being transformed by God.

This weekend, use your voice intentionally. Construct somebody whose confidence has been weakened. Call somebody who is drifting back toward faithfulness. Comfort somebody whose burden has become heavy. You may not stand behind a pulpit, but your words can still become instruments of the Holy Spirit. Talk to God’s people nicely—not weakly, falsely, or fearfully, but truthfully, lovingly, and prophetically.

Prayer
Lord, consecrate my mouth and govern my words. Help me speak truth without cruelty, correction without condemnation, and encouragement without flattery. Let my words construct those who are weak, call forward those who are drifting, and comfort those who are wounded. May everything I say reflect the love of Christ and strengthen the Body of Christ. In Jesus’ name, Amen.