MTP Sermon Resources

Acts 2:29-36 July 23, 2023 • Mount Pleasant UMC I remember it like it was yesterday. It was the last semester of seminary, and all of us who were graduating were also rather impatiently waiting on news of where we would be serving, what church our respective Bishops had appointed us to. A friend of mine thought he would be funny and left a message on the answering machine imitating a District Superintendent from a District I did not want to go to (one that, in God’s sense of humor, I did end up serving in a few years later). But then the real calls started coming in, and friends were receiving their appointments, and there I was, still waiting. And waiting. I was actually at choir practice when the call came in. This was in the days before cell phones, so Cathy called down to the seminary switchboard and asked someone to go down to the music room and tell me that a superintendent had called. I still had to finish choir practice, bike home and then wait on the superintendent to call b

  “We’re All Witnesses” Sermon Study Guide for July 23, 2023 Downloadable Version Scripture: Acts 2:29-36 Exciting news… 1. Pentecost & Peter’s Sermon The arrival of the Holy Spirit… “Pentecost means God is not a ________________.” “Lord and Messiah” 2. Witnesses martures Acts 17 - Athens & contextualization 1 Peter 3:15 “elevator speech” tell your story consistency Questions to Discuss or Ponder: What is the most exciting news you have had to share? How did you share it with others? If you could speak in another language without having to learn it, what language would it be and why? How does Peter tell the story of Jesus in a way the people of Jerusalem will understand it? What does it mean to call Jesus both “Lord” and “Messiah”? What does it mean to be a “witness”? What might it look like in your own personal sphere of influence to “contextualize” the Gospel? What words or images would best communicate the story to those you know? List some words th

John 21:15-25 July 16, 2023 • Mount Pleasant UMC Maybe you’ve had it happen to you, too. That person who hurt you, who you might even say betrayed you, is suddenly standing there in front of you. You didn’t expect it, but there they are, and they ask if the two of you can talk. I had that happen many years ago. I was at a wedding, and one of the guests was a man I hadn’t seen in a couple of years. He had done some things that had been hurtful and honestly I had hoped I wouldn’t ever see him again. But there he was, a guest at the wedding, and though I had hoped to avoid him, he came over to me and asked if we could step into the Fellowship Hall. He wanted to talk to me. Feeling a bit trapped, I did so, and I’ve never forgotten what he said to me because it wasn’t what I expected. “I just want to say that I’m sorry. I know I hurt you, and I shouldn’t have done what I did.” Then he looked me in the eye and said, “Can you forgive me?” Maybe you’ve had it happen to you, too. And all of a

  “Feed the Sheep” Sermon Study Guide for July 16, 2023 Downloadable Version Scripture: John 21:15-25 1. Jesus and Simon time on the shore… Luke 22:61-62 - Jesus “looked” at Peter “these”   (Mark 14:29-31) strength vs. priority 2. The Task Given “Feed my _______________________” Isaiah 53:6 John 10:11, 14-15 New Testament squabbles Philippians 4:2-3 2 Timothy 2:10; 4:11 Acts 15:36-41 “Love them ___________________” Simon needs to love _______________________ Questions to Discuss or Ponder: Share about a time you were confronted with the need to forgive. What happened? What was the result? If you were Peter, just a few days after denying Jesus, what would be going through your heart and mind there on the seashore? Why does Jesus call him “Simon” instead of “Peter”? What new name would you like Jesus to call you by? What does it mean in your own life to make loving Jesus a priority? Why are God’s people often described as “sheep”? In what way are we sh