MTP Sermon Resources

Edge of the Cliff Luke 4:14-30 June 30, 2019 • Mount Pleasant UMC “Going home” can be a surreal experience. About a month ago, we went back to Rossville, where I graduated from high school (34 years ago), for my niece’s graduation party. It’s a different experience to be “home” when you’re not “from there” anymore. Life has taken you in different directions and suddenly people you’ve known all your life feel a bit like strangers. A couple of times, I have “gone home” to preach at my home church. Let me tell you, that's even stranger, and it’s a bit intimidating. Those people knew you when you were the kid in the front pew, west side, timing the pastor’s prayers with your cool new digital watch. They knew you when you were the kid who acted up in Sunday School. They knew you when you were the kid who talked back to his parents and who drove the beat-up blue pick-up truck on the senior paper drives and who worked at the IGA grocery store. They know the rough edges, the good...

“Edge of the Cliff” Sermon Study Guide for June 30, 2019 Scripture: Luke 4:14-30 Going home… Luke “synoptic” 2. Hometown Synagogue Isaiah 61:1-3a Isaiah 58:6 “the year of the Lord’s favor” Jubilee - Leviticus 25 3. In our Hometown the ones no one wants… against the status quo… Questions to Discuss or Ponder: What does it feel like when you return to the place you grew up? What feelings do you have in such a return? Who did Jesus come to preach to? Why, do you think, these are the people that are on his heart? In what way(s) do we still affirm the wrong belief that wealth is a blessing and poverty is a curse? How do we live that out? Why do you think Israel never celebrated the Jubilee? How is Jubilee a threat to our “normal” way of life? Why do the people in Nazareth get so upset at Jesus? In what way does Jesus threaten culture today? Do you believe the church is doing enough to threaten the status quo tod...

Next Sunday, we begin a new sermon series on the Gospel of Luke. Here are the readings for this week so that you're ready to dive in! Monday - Luke 1 Tuesday - Luke 2:1-21 Wednesday - Luke 2:22-52 Thursday - Luke 3 Friday - Luke 4 Saturday - Luke 5

Lawless Galatians 5:22-23 June 16, 2019 • Mount Pleasant UMC Rick Hoyt was born in 1962 to Dick and Judy Hoyt, but at his birth, his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck meaning he was deprived of oxygen for a long time. Doctors gave Rick no hope for a meaningful life, but his parents refused to listen. Instead, they nurtured him and cared for him and enrolled him in public school—and, against the odds, he graduated. Then he went to college and he graduated again. But at age 15, Rick had decided he wanted to run, and his father was determined to make it happen. Dick wasn’t a runner, but he became one. Take a listen to part of their story. VIDEO: Team Hoyt That video is a few years old now, but to date (according to their website), Dick and Rick have completed 72 marathons (including 32 Boston Marathons, Rick’s favorite race), 97 half-marathons, 257 triathlons, and a whole bunch of other races—totaling 1,130 events. In 1992, they biked and ran across the con...

“Lawless” Sermon Study Guide for June 16, 2019 Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23 Love Joy Peace Forbearance Kindness Goodness Faithfulness Gentleness Self-Control Questions to Discuss or Ponder: What does it mean that Paul is describing the “fruit” of the Spirit rather than the “fruits”? Describe a modern contrast between “works of the flesh” and “fruit of the Spirit.” Which one contributes to the life of the community? What does it mean that Paul does not “rank” these works of the flesh? What is new to you about any of these fruit aspects? What aspect or facet of the fruit of the Spirit do you most need to see grow in your life? What needs to happen in your life to allow you to surrender to the Spirit’s work? How does the fruit of the Spirit growing in us help others to come to know God? Scripture for the Week: Monday - Matthew 22:34-40 Tuesday - Matthew 5:3-12 Wednesday - John 14:23-31 Thursday - J...

Helper Acts 2:1-6 June 9, 2019 (Pentecost) • Mount Pleasant UMC We spend a lot of time waiting. In an average lifetime, you will spend six months waiting in line, and twenty-seven days waiting on transportation (busses, taxis, airplanes). Researchers say we spend seven years of our lives waiting to fall asleep, and twenty-six years actually sleeping. We spend 2 weeks of our lives waiting at red lights and 38 hours every year waiting in traffic, though the researchers did not factor in Terre Haute trains. We wait at doctor’s offices, we wait for our meal to be delivered to our table, we wait for the coffee to brew and we wait for the water in the shower to warm up. Of course, we’re not really good at waiting, and we don’t like it much, so now we have apps on our phones that allow us to order our food so it’s ready when we arrive at the restaurant, map apps to tell us when there is a crash or construction so we can re-route our trip, and when we do get caught at a light, we...