MTP Sermon Resources

“Ready, Set, Go” Sermon Study Guide for December 30, 2018 Scripture: 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 Ephesians 6:12 1. Toward the New Year…2019 Philippians 3:13 - press on… Fearful or faith-filled? “What if…?” Trained and equipped… 2. Why We Have Confidence a. God is For Us Romans 8; 1 John 4 b. Spiritual Warfare of the Mind Romans 12:2; Proverbs 23:7 (KJV) Where the mind goes… Change your _______________, change your _____________ Philippians 2:5 Three R’s… Isaiah 26:3 - Promise & Challenge Questions to Discuss or Ponder: What are you most looking forward to in the New Year? What do you need to do to “tie up loose ends” from this year? When you are preparing for something new, what process do you go through? Are your thoughts toward the New Year fearful or faith-filled? Why? In what area(s) do you most struggle with controlling your thoughts? What does it mean to you that “God is for you”? How does that affect

Keeping Christmas Well Luke 1:26-38 December 24, 2018 • Mount Pleasant UMC The very first doctor to perform a successful human-to-human heart transplant was Dr. Christiaan Barnard in December 1967. The patient was Louis Washkansky, a 54-year-old grocer who had diabetes and incurable heart disease, and the operation took place in Cape Town, South Africa. Dr. Barnard commented later that the decision to undergo such a new and risky procedure wasn’t a difficult one for Washkansky. Barnard wrote, “For a dying man it is not a difficult decision because he knows he is at the end. If a lion chases you to the bank of a river filled with crocodiles, you will leap into the water, convinced you have a chance to swim to the other side.” Washkansky knew he was dying, so he was willing to take whatever risk was necessary to receive a new heart. He lived for eighteen days before dying of pneumonia, but his willingness to undergo the operation helped untold numbers of people in the future as

Going Home Another Way Matthew 2:1-18 December 23, 2018 • Mount Pleasant UMC George was supposed to be a lawyer. That’s what his father wanted him to do. But George had extraordinary natural talent as a musician. When he was nine years old, he was playing the organ at his church; by age 12 he had written a musical composition and was substituting for his own music teacher. He learned to play oboe and violin, among other instruments, but when he began college, he respected his father’s wishes and enrolled in a prestigious law school. He tried hard, but it was a bad fit, and it wasn’t long before he had abandoned law and immersed himself in music. In particular, his skill on the organ was amazing. When he would play the postlude after a worship service, people would stay as long as he played. Sometimes they had to ask him to quit so people would go home. He also wrote music, and for a time his music was popular, but then the public’s tastes changed, and George found it dif

“Going Home Another Way” Sermon Study Guide for December 23, 2018 Scripture: Matthew 2:1-18 Notes on Scrooge…. Notes on the Magi… Writing another ending… Readings for the Week: Monday - A Christmas Carol , Stave Four Tuesday - A Christmas Carol , Stave Five Wednesday - Luke 2:22-35 Thursday - Luke 2:36-40 Friday - Matthew 2:13-18 Saturday - Matthew 2:19-23 Resources for Moving from Humbug to Hallelujah Kalas, Ellsworth. Christmas from the Backside . Abingdon, 2003. Van Dyke, Henry. The Other Wise Man . 1895.

Matthew 1:18-25 December 16, 2018 • Mount Pleasant UMC I love getting Christmas cards. Most days, for me, Facebook messaging, e-mail or texting takes the place of putting pen to paper, and about the only time I still use the postal service is to pay a bill—and I do that less and less these days. Most of our bills we pay online. Of course, we do get plenty of junk mail. I told Cathy we should just put a recycling bin out by the mailbox and save us the trouble of carrying all the junk in. But during December, I kind of look forward to going to the mailbox, even though the whole “Informed Delivery” service has already told me who we’re getting cards from today. But I don’t yet know what’s inside! The cards are always the first thing I open, and in many cases, I haven’t heard from some of those people since last year at this time. It might be easy to become cynical about that, but I choose to be thankful that they at least thought of us enough to send a card. It also reminds me how