MTP Sermon Resources

Luke 2:1-20 December 24, 2015 • Mount Pleasant UMC Some say the cultural winds are shifting or have shifted. Some say there’s a war on Christmas. Some say Starbucks red cups are a sign of the apocalypse and others get really worked up when someone wishes them “Happy Holidays.” There’s a tension in the air that seems to have been growing for a lot of years and it centers on what this night means, what Christmas is all about. Check out this scene from a recent sitcom that sort of spells out the tension we find ourselves in. VIDEO: “New-tivity” ( Last Man Standing ) By the end of the episode, Jesus was back in the manger, all was well with the world (because everything can be solved in 22 minutes), but the whole story sparked a discussion in our home. Of course, it’s a good thing to be tolerant, to make room for others to celebrate, but here’s the simple truth: there are lots of holidays this time of year, and Christmas is ours. Christmas is about Jesus, not some othe...

Matthew 1:18-23 December 13, 2015 • Mount Pleasant UMC Sermon Study Guide A week from tomorrow, December 21, is traditionally called the “longest night.” That day, the winter solstice, has the least amount of daylight and has, for some, become the symbol of this season of the year. Though we talk about joy and we sing happy carols, for some—even for some who are gathered here this morning—the Christmas season is not a happy time. It’s a time when you can’t help but remember that you have lost someone you cared about this past year. Or you’ve lost someone in a previous year around Christmas, and the season only brings up painful memories. For others, the lack of daylight contributes to a sort of funk, a blue mood during these days. We even have a name for it: “Seasonal Affective Disorder,” or “SAD.” Whatever the circumstance, maybe you come to church and paste on a smile, but you’re not feeling all that joyful. And you look around at the smiling faces here and wonder if ...

Luke 1:39-56 December 6, 2015 • Mount Pleasant UMC Sermon Study Guide Christopher was just about to turn a year old, and we had waited that whole first year before giving him any chocolate. Somewhere we had been told that’s what good parents did, so that’s what we did. So for his first birthday party, we had a big surprise planned for him: his own chocolate cake. Of course, he had no idea what was really going on, and had this sort of quizzical look on his face when we sat him down in his high chair with everyone surrounding him, staring at him, cameras ready. Then, the big moment, We put the cake on the high chair tray for him and stood back. As we sang “Happy Birthday” to him, he sort of looked around at us, then at the cake, but quite sure what to do. Finally, he stuck his hand into the cake and brought a handful to his mouth and we knew in a moment we had a hit on our hands. He loved the cake, and he showed us that by not only smearing it all over his head and face,...

Luke 1:5-25 November 29, 2015 • Mount Pleasant UMC My first trip to the Holy Land was in 1995, and on that particular journey, we had a “free day” during which we could explore whatever we wanted to in Jerusalem. So a friend and I hopped in a cab to go visit the Shrine of the Book. We wanted to see the Dead Sea Scrolls, which, as many of you may know, are a set of Biblical and other scrolls uncovered in the desert around the Dead Sea nearly seventy years ago now. A lot of the scrolls are in small pieces, and it’s taken decades to identify many of them, to piece some of them back together, but one of the real treasures in that archaeological find is a complete scroll of the book of Isaiah. It is the oldest copy known to exist, nearly 1100 years older than any previously held copy. So my friend and I, both being archaeology nerds, wanted to see the Isaiah scroll. However, when you enter the Shrine, you don’t just go straight to that scroll. There are numerous exhibits and exp...