MTP Sermon Resources

John 1:5 December 25, 2022 • Mount Pleasant UMC (online) So every year, I inevitably get asked the question at some point during Advent: do we really know when Jesus was born? I guess that’s important to us; we like to know times and dates and places and such. The first time I went to the Holy Land, Bishop White was leading our group, and on our very first day in Galilee, we went for a boat ride out on the sea. While we floated in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, Bishop White preached and among the things he shared, he said something like this: “There are a lot of places we will go where we’re not quite sure if this is the place or not where Jesus was. But everywhere I’ll be wondering: was it here? Did he walk here? And since we don’t know for sure, every place is holy because he was here.” Maybe the same could be said about the calendar. Since we don’t know exactly when Jesus was born, maybe we could think about how he touches every day on the calendar, how he can transform eve...

Luke 2:8-20 December 24, 2022 (Candlelight) • Mount Pleasant UMC Christmas Eve is always a challenge for any pastor. We tell the same story every year, and we have extra services crammed in with all the normal stuff making it one of the busiest times of the year. One pastor was feeling the pressure, but he managed to rise to the occasion and put together what he thought was a brilliant Christmas Eve sermon. It was all about the mystery of the incarnation and how God became flesh in Jesus to live among us. He had crafted the words just right, and it was powerful, even if he did have to say so himself. As he and his family got in the car to drive to the church, he began rehearsing the sermon in his head, and as he mentally patted himself on the back for putting together such a great sermon, he heard his son call out from the back seat: “Dad, are you going to let us enjoy Christmas this year or are you going to try to explain it?” (Harnish, All I Want for Christmas , pg. 40). There ...

Luke 1:46-55 December 18, 2022 • Mount Pleasant UMC She couldn’t believe she was pregnant, now, after all hope was gone. How many times had they hoped and prayed? How many times had they held their breath, waited, only to learn that it wasn’t happening again? At that point had they given up all hope of ever holding a child of their own in their arms? Now, when she was far past childbearing years, when her husband was older still, she could finally feel the stirrings of life in her womb. She put her hand on her stomach, just as the flutter there became more pronounced. The baby in her womb was—well, the best way she could describe it was leaping. What could have caused that? She was pregnant far sooner than she had expected. In fact, she shouldn’t have been pregnant. There was no way she could be—no natural or normal way, that is. And even though it was really far too early to feel any movement in her womb, she knew. She knew that what God had said was true, and if he had promis...

  “Joy of Every Longing Heart” Sermon Study Guide for December 18, 2022 Downloadable Version Scripture: Luke 1:46-55 Two women… 1. Jesus Comes From a Story “Magnificat” the word that holds it together 2. Mary’s Song a. “My soul glorifies” (1:48-49) Psalm 27:13-14 b. “Mighty deeds” (1:50-53) The Proud - Proverbs 16:18 The Rich “No word from God…” c. “His servant Israel” (1:54-55) Questions to Discuss or Ponder: Try to imagine what both Mary and Elizabeth might have been feeling or thinking during Luke 1. Sum it up in a sentence. What word holds the whole “Magnificat” together? What is the significance and meaning of this word? What does it mean that so much of Mary’s song reflects the Hebrew Scriptures? What might it mean for our own prayer life? What Scripture do you go back to when life is difficult? In what way can you help those who are hungry in the months beyond December? What would it take? Will you let Jesus write you into his story this Christmas? ...

Matthew 2:4-6 December 11, 2022 • Mount Pleasant UMC Phillips Brooks was an Episcopal priest facing the same problem every pastor faces as December looms: how do you tell the old, old story in a way that is fresh, new and relates to people of all ages? As Brooks was thinking and praying about that on this particular year, his mind wandered back to the Holy Land three years before. He got to thinking about how he traveled by horseback from Jerusalem to Bethlehem on Christmas Eve, and how they had ended up in the traditional location of the shepherds. Brooks noted in his writing that there were even shepherds in that field on the night they were there. They went to a church in the cave that is traditionally the place where the shepherds had stayed on that first Christmas, and attended Christmas Eve worship there. The music and the liturgy went from 10 p.m. until 3 a.m. So I don’t want any complaints if our Christmas Eve service runs over a bit! Brooks himself described it this way:...

  “Hopes and Fears of All the Years” Sermon Study Guide for December 11, 2022 Downloadable Version Scripture: Matthew 2:4-6 “O Little Town of Bethlehem” 1. Bethlehem a little town in the shadow of Jerusalem Magi - Numbers 24:17-19 Micah 5:2 Herod 2. The Way God Works a. ________________________ Nazareth - Matthew 2:23 b. ________________________ Shepherds c. ________________________ Bethlehem & Jerusalem Nazareth & Sepphoris Isaiah 43:1 1 Kings 19:11-12 - Elijah Questions to Discuss or Ponder: Why are the Magi more interested in finding the Messiah than the religious leaders are? How would you characterize the world into which Jesus was born? What was it like? Why are we so fascinated culturally by “big” things? When have you seen God working in the midst of the small things of life? Share a story about such an experience from your own life. Who are the “shepherds” today, the ones who are most powerless? When have you most felt like a...