MTP Sermon Resources

Who Is My Family? Mark 3:20-21, 31-35 June 21, 2020 • Mount Pleasant UMC Downloadable Sermon Study Guide Today is Father’s Day, and on this day and on Mother’s Day, we tend to focus on and think about that word “family.” We know, in this time and place, “family” means different things to different people. The “norm” of Mom, Dad and 2.5 kids is not a norm anymore; families come in all shapes and sizes. But whatever yours looks like, there are still some images that permeate any sort of family. Songwriter Drew Holcomb tried to capture some of those in a song called, appropriately enough, “Family,” and I’m not going to show you the whole thing, but take a listen to just a little bit of this and see if some of these images don’t resonate with you. This morning, we’re wrapping up this short series on “Questions Jesus Asks.” And it has been a short series; we’ve barely scratched the surface on questions Jesus asked those who followed him. But my hope is that the way we’ve exami

“Who Is My Family?” Sermon Study Guide for June 21, 2020 Downloadable Version here . Scripture: Mark 3:20-35 1. Jesus in Capernaum Mark and the Gospel… Roman religion and families… 2. Jesus and His Family “He is out of his mind" Religious leaders - “He is possessed” 3. “Whoever Does God’s Will…” Matthew 25:40 Mark 12:30-31 Mark 1:16-20 Matthew 6:10 Questions to Discuss or Ponder: If you could ask Jesus one question, what would it be? What was your family like growing up? What struggles did you most often face? Why did Jesus’ family think he was out of his mind? What led them to that conclusion? Why is Jesus’ response to his family so shocking? What would be a similar response today? What are your main sources of support? How would you respond if those sources turned against you? What is God’s will for us? Discuss the question “What does love require?” in light of current controversies or a difficult situation. Scripture for

How Can You Believe? John 5:31-47 June 14, 2020 • Mount Pleasant UMC I’m not sure I remember how to do this! The last time I stood behind this pulpit was March 15—amazingly, almost three months to the day. The last twelve weeks has been challenging, to say the least. The staff will tell you that, in the days leading up to March 15, we were being told that this coronavirus pandemic might last eight weeks, and I scoffed at that. No way we would be out of the worship center for eight weeks! And I was right—we weren’t out for eight weeks, we were out for twelve weeks! So you’ll forgive me if I’m a little rusty up here this morning. In these last twelve weeks, where we’re rarely if ever seen each other, if we’ve connected at all it’s probably been on a little computer application called Zoom that very few of us had heard of three months ago. In these last twelve weeks, many things have changed. Many summer events have been cancelled. Many activities have been postponed. Some busin

“How Can You Believe?” Sermon Study Guide for June 14, 2020 Scripture: John 5:31-47 1. Jesus in Jerusalem Bethesda ( beit hesed ) Blasphemy 2. Witnesses for Jesus a. _______________________ b. _______________________ John 1:29 c. _______________________ d. _______________________ 3. How Can You Believe? glory/approval… Questions to Discuss or Ponder: Do you tend to ask more questions or give more answers? “Bethesda” means “House of Mercy.” Where have you experienced a “house of mercy”? Have you ever missed what God was doing because it wasn’t happening the way you thought it should? What happened? Which of the four witnesses speaks most powerfully to you? Why? What is the difference between believing and being a follower of Jesus? Where do you seek praise and approval most often? Is it enough for you to be found faithful? Why or why not? In what area of life do you need to follow Jesus more closely? Scripture for the Week:

Do You See Her? Luke 7:36-50 June 7, 2020 • Mount Pleasant UMC What a strange and at times frightening new world we find ourselves in. There are a lot of things we used to do that we can’t do anymore—at least right now. People talk about a “getting back to normal” and we wonder if this just might be the normal we have to get used to. There are a whole lot of things that we used to do that we have to do differently now. And there are some things we never did before that we find ourselves doing all the time now—like wearing masks when we go places. Another pastor, a friend of mine, posted on Facebook that he never thought he would tell his kids, “Put on your masks, we’re going into the bank.” And yet, here we are. I don’t know about you, but I find it’s very different looking at people from behind a mask, and it’s very different looking at people who are in masks. I tend to acknowledge people, even people I don’t know, by smiling at them, and it was a while before I realized,