MTP Sermon Resources

Luke 5:27-32 August 25, 2019 • Mount Pleasant UMC It’s been almost two years since my open heart surgery, and here is what I have learned: that event shapes every day going forward. Those who have had been through similar things know that as well. For one thing, before my most recent valve replacement, I only took a couple of pills a day. Now, between turning 50 and having my heart valve replaced, somehow I’ve ended up on a whole lot of medication. I remember when I was being released from the hospital I was handed a stack of papers. Some of them were instructions on what I could and could not do, and several others were prescriptions. Little slips of paper that contained illegible handwriting which pharmacists somehow translate into life-saving or life-giving instructions for medications. Prescriptions: guidance for what we need to live well. I’ve learned to follow the instructions well. There are others of you here who are on coumadin or warfarin or other blood thinners, ...

“Prescription” Sermon Study Guide for August 25, 2019 Scripture: Luke 5:27-32 Levi “tax farmer” Follow me… dinner party & religious police not the healthy but the sick… (7:31-32) 2. Witness ______________________ your story ______________________ your story Romans 10:17 1 Peter 3:15 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 ______________________ to Jesus Questions to Discuss or Ponder: What is your “gut reaction” to the word witness ? Where does that come from? What sorts of things, do you imagine, were going on in Levi’s life to make him follow Jesus so quickly? When you think of someone like Levi in your life, who comes to mind? Why, as we get “older” in the faith, do we tend to ignore those who need Jesus? What does the image of someone being “sick” communicate about “sin”? In what way(s) do you struggle to live your story? Have you ever shared your story with someone who wasn’t yet a Christian? What happened? What...

“What Really Matters” Sermon Study Guide for August 18, 2019 Scripture: Philippians 1:1-11 Church is a mystery - Galatians 1:1, 12 Whose Church? servanthood… 2. Prayer-Centered Church thankfulness joy 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 Ephesians 2:10 source of service and love… what really matters… (1:10) James 1:27 - pure religion 1 Peter 3:1 - enjoying life T. H. I. N. K. Questions to Discuss or Ponder: What does it mean that Jesus is the foundation of the church? What does it mean for prayer to be a dialogue? How have you experienced prayer as dialogue? What is Paul’s pattern of prayer for the church? Which elements of Paul’s pattern are most reflected in your pattern of prayer? Which are most neglected? What is the source of our practice of service and love for one another? As part of the church, in what way(s) are we to be growing in our faith? Are you living a life Jesus would be proud of? In what way ...

Unswerving Hebrews 10:19-25 August 11, 2019 • Mount Pleasant UMC I grew up in church. I was baptized in the Sedalia Methodist Episcopal Church and shortly after that, in the midst of the merger that created the United Methodist Church, Sedalia Church was closed and my parents’ membership and a lot of our family activities shifted to the Rossville United Methodist Church, five miles away. We always said we were in the church building any time the doors were unlocked, and that isn’t far from the truth. Sunday School, worship, youth activities, Bible studies, church dinners in the basement—all of those are a treasured part of my growing up years. I got involved early on. My dad would take me to United Methodist Men’s breakfasts every month, and I would listen to the men talk as Ned cooked the eggs on the griddle. I earned those coveted perfect attendance pins from Sunday School and made my way through each grade level until I got into Miss Esther’s high school class. I was p...

“Unswerving” Sermon Study Guide for August 11, 2019 Scripture: Hebrews 10:19-25 “Let us _______________________________” (10:22) 1 Timothy 6:16 Matthew 27:51 Deuteronomy 4:24; Hebrews 12:29 John 14:6 For who or what am I _________________________? 2. “Let us _________________________________” (10:23) hope… unswerving… To who or what am I __________________________? 3. “Let us __________________________________” (10:24) John 15:13 Matthew 16:24 With whom __________________________________? Key word: ______________________________ Questions to Discuss or Ponder: What was your experience of “church” growing up? If you did not grow up in the church, what were your impressions of the church? What does it mean to say “Jesus is better” as Hebrews does? How do we say that in today’s world without turning people away? What does it mean for you to “draw near” to God? How do you do that? What image comes t...