MTP Sermon Resources

Matthew 18:1-5 May 22, 2016 • Mount Pleasant UMC He began training when he was age 12, and at the tender age of 22, he won the world heavyweight championship. That was in 1964, and just before the championship fight against boxer Sonny Liston, Muhammed Ali (or Cassius Clay, as he was known then) made this declaration. VIDEO: “I Am the Greatest” (Ali) What does it mean to be great? For Muhammed Ali, to be great was to win the most fights, to be the best boxer in the world—and his declaration has not been forgotten, even now some 52 years later. You probably knew what he was going to say even before we played the video! It’s perhaps his most famous moment. “I am the greatest!” For some, being the greatest is getting honor or a promotion at work. For others, being the greatest means getting the highest or most academic degrees; the preacher S. D. Gordon told people, “Get every qualification you can” (qtd. in Green, Matthew for Today , pg. 170). Some people define great

Matthew 13:24-33 May 15, 2016 ( Pentecost ) • Mount Pleasant UMC This is an old selfie—before the advent of the smartphone! Many of you have probably seen this before, but the question is always this: what do you see? Do you see a young woman with her back to us? Especially in this “updated” version of the old line drawing, that seems to be the easiest thing to see. Or do you see an old woman, in profile? Part of what we see in this “selfie” is determined by what we expect to see. And isn’t that true in so many situations in life? What we see is often determined or at least influenced by what we expect to see. So when you look around at our world today—a world dominated by changing norms, political craziness and money obsessions—what do you see? Do you see a world out of control, a world you don’t understand or maybe even like anymore? Or can you—do you—see the kingdom of God? This morning, we’re continuing our journey through the Gospel of Matthew, trying to unde

Matthew 5:1-12 May 1, 2016 • Mount Pleasant UMC I was twelve years old when life changed forever. It was in 1979 when McDonald’s introduced the first Happy Meal. Two years earlier, a advertising manager in St. Louis by the name of Dick Brams had what Time magazine called a “brilliantly simple idea.” Why not create a meal just for kids? And so, two years later, McDonald’s introduced a circus-themed box that contained either a hamburger or cheeseburger, french fries, cookies, a soft drink and a toy. In those first boxes, you got either a "McDoodler" stencil, a "McWrist" wallet, an ID bracelet, a puzzle lock, a spinning top or a McDonaldland character eraser, all for the low, low price of $1.10. In 1987, Disney got on board with the toys, and since then McDonald’s has had all sorts of promotions based on Disney movies, along with Transformers, Legos, Hello Kitty and, of course, Beanie Babies. Over time, the toys began to take center stage, moreso than the