MTP Sermon Resources

John 14:11-14 March 27, 2022 • Mount Pleasant UMC Have you ever settled for less? You know, you go looking for a car with specific features, but the ones on the lot don’t have everything you want. So you settle for something with less than what you wanted. Or maybe the house that has everything you wanted is out of your price range, so you find yourself deciding what the bare minimum is you have to have so as to stay in your budget. In these days, maybe you go to the store to shop for a certain product and of course it isn’t in stock, so you settle for something else, maybe a generic version of the item you originally wanted or something similar. Or maybe you settled for less in some bigger area of your life. I love this Peanuts cartoon from Charles Shultz. Snoopy says of his friend Woodstock, “Someday, Woodstock is going to be a great eagle. He is going to soar thousands of feet above the ground.” Then, after watching Woodstock, Snoopy reconsiders. “Well, maybe hundreds of feet...

  “Becoming Great” Sermon Study Guide for March 27, 2022 Downloadable Version Scripture: John 14:11-14 Settling for less… 1. Believe Do you believe in God? “in” John 11:35 2. Greater Things Galatians 5:6 3. The Power “in Jesus’ name” 2 Corinthians 5:20 Colossians 3:17 Psalm 137 (“imprecatory”) Romans 8:28 for ___________________ glory Questions to Discuss or Ponder: Have you ever settled for less? What happened? What does it mean to “believe” in something or someone in today’s world? How does the Bible define that word? Respond to this statement: “Our problem is that we trust in Jesus with some things, some of the time, when we need to trust Him with all things all of the time.” Is this true? Why do you think so? What does trust look like when life gets hard, when life gets impossibly difficult? When have you found tears to be healing? What does it mean to you that Jesus weeps with you? What does it mean to really pray “in Jesus’ name”? When was the last time yo...

  “A Prepared Place for a Prepared People” Sermon Study Guide for March 20, 2022 Downloadable Version Scripture: John 14:1-7 “Live like…” 1. The Answer John 14:3 agape love “Lord, if you had been here…” Isaiah 55:8-9 - “my thoughts, my ways…” 2 Corinthians 5:7 - faith, not sight 2. The Way, The Truth, The Life - 14:6 “many ‘mansions’” Revelation 21:1-4 “I will return…” “believe” - John 20:31 “To believe is to live the way he calls us to live: to love others, to love the world.” Colossians 3:15 Questions to Discuss or Ponder: What do you want others to say about you when you’re gone? Who has been an inspiration to you in your life? Whose life do you find yourself modeling yours after? What does it mean that God’s thoughts are “higher” than ours? What questions come to your mind about Jesus being “the way”? How does that statement also encourage you? Jesus promised he was preparing a place for his people. What does that mean for you? In what way does that give y...

John 13:2-17 March 13, 2022 • Mount Pleasant UMC When I was reappointed from Brushwood Church to Portage First, we had about six weeks to make the transition. So, as you might imagine, we made several trips from Rensselaer to Portage (about an hour trip) and every time we went, I took a different route. The two churches, at the time, were in the same District, so I had been to Portage for various meetings and knew a lot of different ways to get there. After three or four times of this, Cathy, who was going to continue to work in Rensselaer after the move and so was going to be making the trip every day, finally said to me, “If you don’t stop taking different ways, I’m never going to learn how to get from here to there!” She was right. If you’re going to successfully make it from point A to point B, you need to learn the way. Unlike the roads between Rensselaer and Portage, where there are actually many routes that will get you there successfully, when it comes to other aspects ...

“God’s Way” Sermon Study Guide for March 13, 2022 Downloadable Version Scripture: John 13:2-17 Knowing the Way… 1. Upper Room washing feet… who is greatest? Luke 22:24 what a slave would do 2. Three Questions a. Will you __________________________________? b. Will you __________________________________? Romans 12:3 c. Will you __________________________________? Questions to Discuss or Ponder: Describe a time you found yourself lost. What did you have to do to find your way? Why do you think the disciples didn’t offer to wash feet? What do you think went through their minds as they walked by the water basin? The disciples often argued about who would be “the greatest.” Discuss a similar situation you’ve encountered either in your work life or your family life. What is the difference between doing “what” Jesus did and doing “as” Jesus does? Which of the three questions do you struggle with the most to answer “yes” to? Is it easier to pray for God’s will to be done or for...