MTP Sermon Resources

“First Step” Sermon Study Guide for October 1, 2017 Scripture: Genesis 12:1-9 A sign from God… 1. Abram 75 years aol…a new mission God’s actual call: “_________________________!” Promises… (12:2-3; 15:5) Counting the stars… 2. Our Call Called to ministry… Called to ministry in the midst… It’s God calling… Will not contradict ____________________ Affirmation of a ______________________ Don’t rely on a _______________________ Blessed to be a ________________________ Matthew 28:19-20 Questions to Discuss or Ponder: If God gave you a sign, how do you think it would come? Have you ever heard from God directly? How did you know? What role did geography play in Abram’s life? How does God use geography to get Abram to where he needed to be? What do you think the conversation was like between Abram and Sarai? What promises does God make to Abram? What sorts of promises does God make to those who answer his call today? What do you believe God has called you to? How are you responding

“The Tower of Babel” Sermon Study Guide for September 24, 2017 Scripture: Genesis 11:1-9 When we try to be God… 1. The Tower Romans 15:4 A story of confusion and chaos… Romans 7:15-20…what I want to do… Romans 1:25 - created vs. creator Babel - ____________________________ Ecclesiastes - chasing of the wind “Be fruitful and multiply…” 2. Pride & Arrogance Herod - Acts 12:21-23 Nebuchadnezzar Proverbs 16:18 Different languages…confusion & chaos Ephesians 2:11-22 Questions to Discuss or Ponder: In what ways do we try to live as if we are God? Read Romans 7:15-20. Have you ever felt like this? What helped you get past this dilemma? What does it mean to “chase the wind”? When have you known someone whose life could be best described as a “chasing of the wind?” How does pride breed arrogance? What effect does that have on our relationship with God? Have you ever experienced different languages and mis

Genesis 7:1-5 September 10, 2017 • Mount Pleasant UMC I remember the flood. It was late summer, early fall of 2008, and the rain began and did not quit. I love to listen to the rain as I fall asleep, but I fully expected it to quit overnight. Boy, was I surprised when I woke up the next morning to hear it still beating against the house. It seemed the storm had not dissipated any. That weekend, we watched it rain and rain and rain; I don’t think I had never seen weather quite like that. The parsonage we lived in at the time was at the top of a small rise, with the lowest spot being the fence we shared with the neighbor behind us. Our garden was down there, and we watched as the garden went under and the water crept up toward our house, covering half the back yard. Thankfully, our sump pump kept up and the rain quit eventually. We didn’t have any damage, but people in our city and in neighboring cities were not so lucky. I know you all experienced a flood here that same year

“Get In The Boat!” Sermon Study Guide for September 10, 2017 Scripture: Genesis 7:1-5 Floods… 1. Noah Mesopotamia Noah’s world Noah found… 2. The Flood “de-creation” God’s provision… Revelation 21:1 The silence of God The promise… 3. New Creation Matthew 24:37-40 1 Peter 3 “nave” Salvation… Questions to Discuss or Ponder: How would you compare the world Noah lived in to our own?  What does it mean that God “regretted” creating humanity? Did God believe he made a mistake? Why or why not?  What does it mean that Noah “found favor” in God’s eyes?  When have you felt like you were facing a flood? What happened?  Why does the sea represent chaos? In what way is Noah’s story “de-creational”?  What have you experience “the silence of God”? What happened? How did you respond?  Do you know the salvation that Jesus offers? If not, what is standing in the way of you “getting in the boat”?  Scripture for the Week: Monday - Genesis 6:1-7 Tuesday - Genesis 6:8-22 Wednesday -

Genesis 3:1-7 September 3, 2017 • Mount Pleasant UMC “I can resist everything except temptation.” So wrote the nineteenth century Irish author Oscar Wilde (qtd. in Goldingay, Genesis for Everyone—Part One , pg. 46). Wilde may have been speaking facetiously, but his statement rings true for all of us. Honestly, it wouldn’t be called “temptation” if it weren’t, well, tempting. Think about the number of businesses who use that reality to their advertising advantage. There are businesses that sell everything from lingerie to ice cream that go by the name of “Temptations.” And doing a Google search of “temptation ads” will bring up all sorts of…interesting things; I don’t recommend you let your kids do that sort of search! But what is so interesting to me in many of those ads, which I won’t put up on the screen, is that in so many of them is found the imagery of a man, a woman, and an apple—imagery that is rooted in our cultural consciences but which originally comes from the st

“A Twist of the Lie” Sermon Study Guide for September 3, 2017 Scripture: Genesis 3:1-7 “I can resist everything except ___________________.” Starting at the Beginning Creation stories… Humanity - “very good” (1:31) Good and evil Serpent - Revelation 12:9 “Did God really say…?” “You will be like God…” beautiful but broken 2. Temptation Two gardens Don’t put yourself ___________________________ Know your ___________________________ Romans 14:22 Run to ____________________________ Find ______________________________ Questions to Discuss or Ponder: 1. What is Genesis specifically trying to tell us about creation? 2. Who, according to Genesis, gets to determine what is good and what is evil? Why? How do we get that all messed up? 3. Why did Eve add to God’s restriction? What was her hoped-for result? What was the actual result? 4. What was lost as a result of Adam & Eve’s sin? 5. How can we recognize that