MTP Sermon Resources

  “Send Me” Sermon Study Guide for June 26, 2022 Downloadable Version Scripture: Isaiah 6:1-8 “An event ______________; a process __________________.” 1. Isaiah’s Experience at the Temple Revelation of _______________________ of God Realization of Isaiah’s _________________________ Romans 3:23 Cleansing - a coal on the lips Call - whom shall I send? 2. Prayer Communication between _____________________ Response: “Here am I, send me!” Galatians 5:13 - freedom Colossians 3:15 - peace The remedy… 2 Chronicles 7:14 Romans 5:20 - grace abounds Matthew 25:34-40 - least of these James 1:27 - pure religion Questions to Discuss or Ponder: What is your usual pattern of Bible reading and study? Why is “a bored Christian” an oxymoron? How does worship help you encounter God’s majesty? What helps you encounter that during the week? Have you experienced a cleansing of your sin? How has God brought that into your life? Why does the “cleansing” come before the call?

Mark 14:3-9 June 19, 2022 • Mount Pleasant UMC Nighttime was her time. At least we think so. Variations of this story appear in every Gospel account, and people debate as to whether it’s the same story and the same woman in each Gospel or if something like this happened multiple times. But what we do know is that Jesus, in the week before his death, was at a formal meal at the house of a man named Simon, who might have been a Pharisee who contracted leprosy at some point or a leper who became a Pharisee. Obviously, he had been healed of his leprosy or else he wouldn’t have been able to be around all these people. Maybe it was Jesus who healed him, and so it’s a good possibility that this meal was his “thank you” to Jesus. Meals like this were often held in an outdoor courtyard, which makes sense to me because of the heat in that part of the world. It was also customary for religious people to allow poor people to come into banquets such as this, where they could gather scraps (Keener

  “Break Me” Sermon Study Guide for June 19, 2022 Downloadable Version Scripture: Mark 14:3-9 1. A Woman at Night the “next-to-last” supper “a beautiful thing” 2. Break Me a. Brokenness Acts 9 - Paul Zechariah 4:6 - not by might… b. Being Broken Questions to Discuss or Ponder: What is important enough you would spend (or “waste”) a year’s wages for? What did the perfume represent for this woman? Why do you think the woman, who knew nothing about Jesus’ immediate future, came to the house? When something breaks, what do you typically do with it? Does it depend on what it is, or its usefulness? Why is our “default position” to do everything in our own strength? Share about a time when that did not work out so well for you. Why is this “basic Christianity” position so difficult for us to live into? As you picture Jesus weeping over Jerusalem, ponder where he might be weeping today. Is there any part of your life he is weeping over? Scripture for the Week: Monday - Acts 9

Psalm 139 June 12, 2022 • Mount Pleasant UMC A lot of you know I go to Starbucks—let’s just call it “regularly.” And I order online a lot anymore because, if I’m going to be honest, I get aggravated when I end up in line behind someone who obviously doesn’t know what they’re doing. I know my order—grande chai tea latte, non-fat, no water. Hot. And when I get behind the person who is asking a lot of questions, I find my frustration level rising. And about that time, as I’m pulling out my phone to order through the app, I remember, “There was a time when you didn’t know what you were doing, either.” A lot of people are like that with prayer. You come to church, and you hear people talk about prayer, you hear invitations to prayer meetings, you even hear me or Pastor Rick lead in a prayer, but the whole thing is just—well, it’s strange. It’s not natural. It’s hard—talking to someone you can’t see, who you’re told is all-powerful and can do anything but sometimes doesn’t. The whole thi

  “Search Me” Sermon Study Guide for June 12, 2022 Downloadable Version Scripture: Psalm 139 Prayer is a challenge… 1. Search Me “google” me what God knows the lie of our own goodness Jeremiah 17:9 Romans 3:10, 23 2. Dangerous Prayer a. __________________________ “anxious thoughts” 2 Timothy 1:7 b. _________________________ “offensive way” 1 Samuel 11 - David c. _________________________ “the way everlasting” Questions to Discuss or Ponder: What is the biggest challenge for you when it comes to prayer? How would you describe your prayer life currently? Is it where you would like it to be? What are the things the psalmist says God “knows” about him? In what ways do we “buy the lie of our own goodness” in the current culture? Why is that a lie? If God were to reveal your primary anxious thought, what would it be? Why is it so hard to trust God with that “anxious thought”? Which of the three parts of the psalmist’s prayer is the hardest for you to a