MTP Sermon Resources

Is It a Time for You? Haggai 1:1-11 February 24, 2019 • Mount Pleasant UMC You may or may not be aware, but we have been having a baby boom of sorts here at Mount Pleasant. In just a short time last spring, we had four babies born, and babies have continued and are continuing to arrive. It’s a great challenge to have, and Ginger doesn’t mind at all having to get extra help in the nursery because it means we get to have celebrations like we’re having today. In the 10:30 service today, we are celebrating with seven of our families as they give their babies to the Lord, dedicating them to Christ. As I shared with the parents a week and a half ago, the Old Testament has a word for this, and it originally referred to the act of putting oil on a baby’s mouth before they nursed. Later, it took on the broader meaning of preparing them for life, pointing them in the right direction. It’s the word found in Proverbs 22:6, which I learned in the King James Version many years ago: “Train

“Is It a Time for You?” Sermon Study Guide for February 24, 2019 Scripture: Haggai 1:1-11 Proverbs 22:6 - “train up” Haggai exile… Ezra 3:10-13 - a sound heard far away “paneled” houses 1 Kings 6-9; 1 Chronicles 22:8 2. Priorities Expectations for Mount Pleasant: _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ Questions to Discuss or Ponder: Recall a time when your priorities got “out of whack.” What happened? What is the importance of the church to you? In what way is the church building “God’s house”? What do you think was behind the neglect of God’s house in the story of Haggai? What parallel situations exist today? Why does God need a “house”? What would you say are your top 3 priorities in your life right now? Ask a close friend to describe your priorities, based on what they know of your life

Is It Right for You to Be Angry? Jonah 4:1-11 February 17, 2019 • Mount Pleasant UMC I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but we live in an angry world. I’ve been saying that for probably fifteen or twenty years in various sermons, but it’s never been as true as it is today. Everyone is angry about or offended by something, and every day it seems there is something new we’re supposed be angry about. I came across a list online of the top ten things that make people angry, and I wondered how many of these things are on your list of “things that make me angry.” Let’s do this: pull out your sermon study guide and you’ll find there a list of numbers, 1-10. Every time I mention something that makes you angry, mark that number off. Then we’ll see how angry we are as a congregation. Ready? Okay, here is the list, beginning with number ten. 10. People who talk during movies. (By the way, the first date Cathy and I went on was to see Star Trek 4 , during which she kept asking ques

“Is It Right For You To Be Angry?” Sermon Study Guide for February 17, 2019 Scripture: Jonah 4:1-11 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10 Reasons we get angry… Jonah’s Story… Nineveh… Tarshish - Psalm 139:7-8 God’s character 2. “Angry Enough to Die” God failed us… John 1:29 Mathew 11:1-6 John 6:60-71 1 Peter 2:8 - stumbling stone 3. Your Ninevites Questions to Discuss or Ponder: How do you respond to the “reasons” we get angry? Which one(s) do you most experience? What would you add to the list? Recall a time when you tried to “run” from God. What happened? How did God get your attention again? Which aspects of God’s character described by Jonah means the most to you right now in your life? Why? Have you ever been “angry enough to die”? What/who makes you the most angry today? What strategy or action most helps you to deal with your anger? Who are your Ninevites? How will you respond to t

Can These Bones Live? Ezekiel 37:1-14 February 10, 2019 • Mount Pleasant UMC I don’t really have an official “bucket list,” and honestly a lot of the things that might be on there I’ve already had the opportunity to do. But if I had such a list, there is one thing that would be at the top. It’s always been a dream of mine to take part, in some small way, in an archaeological dig. I blame “Indiana Jones” for making archaeology fascinating to me, and visiting archaeological sites all over the Holy Land has only made my fascination stronger. I’ve always loved history, and to me, archaeology gets me that much closer to being able to see and imagine how people lived “way back then.” There was one time I got very close to being part of a dig; the Conference offered a continuing education trip to Israel that included working a few days on a couple of digs, and my friend and fellow pastor Chris Nunley was going on that trip. He and a couple of others invited me to come along, and I p