MTP Sermon Resources

1 Kings 1:1-4 September 18, 2022 • Mount Pleasant UMC All good things must come to an end, they say. Movies come to an end, gatherings and parties come to an end, and we’re all praying that someday the talk about COVID comes to an end. Even sermon series eventually come to an end! (Why do my notes say, “Wait for applause here”?) So this morning, we come to the end of our study of the life of David, but there is one more stop we need to make on this journey, because at the end, David dies. David’s life comes to an end, but even then, there are things we can learn about what it means to live out faith in a God who enables us to “leap over a wall.” So, yes, we’re going to talk about the end of life today, and that may make you uncomfortable. You may already be wondering how long this is going to take. Our culture, our world is pretty uncomfortable with death. We don’t even like to say the word. We have come up with euphemisms, like “passing on” or “passed over” or “passed away.” R...

  “And At The End…” Sermon Study Guide for September 18, 2022 Downloadable Version Scripture: 1 Kings 1:1-4 1. Three Witnesses… The Servants “a _____________ to be _______________” Adonijah (1:5-10) “an ______________ to be _______________” Bathsheba (1:11-27) “a ________________ to be ______________” 2. Abishag on holy ground… Luke 7:11-17 - Widow of Nain John 11 - Lazarus 1 Thessalonians 4:13 - not without hope a. Death _________________________________ b. Treat the other as a ___________________________ c. Do what you ________________ with ___________ d. Help your family ____________________________ 1 Corinthians 15:53-57 Questions for Discussion and Reflection What do you remember learning about death and dying when you were a child? How does that affect your attitude toward it now? Of the three “witnesses,” which have you seen played out in your own family’s experience or in the experience of others? When have you been most like Abishag?...

2 Samuel 22 September 11, 2022 • Mount Pleasant UMC It is hard to believe that it has been 21 years since the twin towers came down and our country found itself under attack. For my generation, it is our “where were you when” moment, the moment when we experienced what many others in the world already knew: the power of terrorism to shape a culture. There are many things I remember vividly from that day, but two of them always stand out when I remember that day: hugging my kids like never before when I picked them up that day, and gathering on the courthouse lawn that evening for community prayer. Suddenly, almost everyone felt the need to pray, to call out to someone bigger than us. Now, here we are, twenty-one years later, about as far from feeling that need, from experiencing that unity and connectedness as we have ever been. Could it be because we have forgotten what should be most important? For the last few weeks we’ve been studying the life of David, the man who is remem...

  “The Biggest Part of Life” Sermon Study Guide for September 11, 2022 Downloadable Version Scripture: 2 Samuel 22:1-50 (Psalm 18) 1. God My Rock (22:1-7) Luke 6:46-48 2. Trusting the Good God (2:8-20) “tight spots” 3. God Rewrote the Text (22:21-28) Micah 7:18-19 Romans 4-5 4. God Crushed My Enemies (22:29-46) John 1:5 5. God Gives Us “Big Life” (22:47-50) John 10:10   Scripture for the Week: Monday - 2 Samuel 23:1-7 Tuesday - 2 Samuel 24:1-17 Wednesday - 2 Samuel 24:18-25 Thursday - 1 Kings 1:1-27 Friday - 1 Kings 1:28-53 Saturday - 1 Kings 2:1-12

2 Samuel 18:6-15 September 4, 2022 •  Mount Pleasant UMC It has become commonplace for politicians of all stripes to say things they shouldn’t have said, and then to apologize or retract the statement once the public outcry reaches a certain level. It’s one tactic people use to get their message out there and then appear to be apologetic. Such a thing happened several years ago in Israel when the then-foreign minister said something that many thought slandered another man. It was so bad that there were motions of “no confidence” votes against the government based on this statement. This minister, however, would not apologize, though he did say he did not intend the comments the way they were taken. The man he supposedly slandered? King David, Israel’s ancient monarch, dead for centuries. Here’s what the foreign minister said: “Not everything that King David did, on the ground, on the rooftops, is acceptable to a Jew or is something I like” (Goldingay, 1 & 2 Samuel for Everyon...