MTP Sermon Resources

Acts 9:1-9 September 18, 2016 • Mount Pleasant UMC I grew up with a certain image of the Apostle Paul; it was largely formed by the “picture Bible,” those cartoons that came every week in our Sunday School papers, published by David C. Cook. If you’re my age, you might remember those, how over a period of time they told the Bible story through comics. I collected every single one of them and wish I still had them! What I remember of Paul was that he was usually pictured as balding, somewhat short in stature and always wearing a blue robe. But we have no idea what Paul really looked like. There are a wide variety of images you can find on the internet, various icons and paintings from various points in history. He’s almost always bearded, and usually has some sort of halo effect around his head. Then there’s this statue, which is in Rome, in the courtyard of the church St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, a statue of a fierce-looking Paul holding a sword. It’s not meant to be a ...

Revelation 21:9-14, 22-27 August 28, 2016 • Mount Pleasant UMC Sermon Study Guide If this church were not here, would it make any difference? If suddenly, we decided to close the doors, stop having worship services, close the preschool and stop all programming, would anyone in Terre Haute or Vigo County notice? That can be a sobering question, and it was one asked by a group of pastors several years ago in and around St. Louis. In their situation, they realized they were making so little of an impact on the neighborhoods and community around them that it was likely no one would even notice if they were gone. It was like the situation I mentioned last week, where in some communities, local businesses don’t even know where the church is located, even if it’s just around the corner from them. Those pastors asked that question honestly and when they realized the answer was “no one would miss us,” they began to do something about it. Not just for the sake of being notice...

Isaiah 58:6-10 August 21, 2016 • Mount Pleasant UMC What is Mount Pleasant known for? If you were to ask someone out in the community, someone who is not connected with this church directly, to describe this congregation in one word, what word do you think they would use? Go ahead and tell someone near you what word you chose and why. [SHARING] I’ve been privileged to work with our Conference’s Church Development Team in doing some consultations with churches, and one of the things I learned in that work is this: how churches perceive themselves is often not the same as the way the community perceives them. Sometimes, amazingly, people right down the road don’t even know the church exists. So what is Mount Pleasant known for in Terre Haute and Vigo County? Or maybe the better question is this: what do we want to be known for? If we think of the church as living organism, what legacy do we want this church to leave in this community? Last Sunday, Pastor Rick reminde...