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Unexpected Hope

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1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 May 31, 2026 • Mount Pleasant UMC How would you describe the color blue to someone who is blind (cf. Wright, Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians , pg. 123)? Think about that for a moment. Those of us with sight don’t even think about what blue is. It just is. But if someone has never seen blue, never experienced the color of the sky or the ocean, how would you describe it to them? Or not just blue, but any color? How do you help someone understand what they have never seen or experienced? This morning, in our continuing journey through these New Testament “Words of Life,” we come to a word that is a little like that: hope. It’s one of the hallmarks of Christian faith, but when you try to describe what it is, it’s a bit like describing the color blue to a blind person. We think we know what “hope” is, but we really use the word to describe all sorts of different things. I hope he will be okay. I hope my flight won’t be delayed. I hope it doesn’t st...
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Unexpected Hope (Study Guide)

 “Unexpected Hope” Sermon Study Guide for May 31, 2026 Downloadable Version Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 1. Thessaloniki questions about those who have died questions about the return of Christ Matthew 24:36-44 the basis of our faith: “Jesus died and rose again” 2. Christian Hope getting in line parousia - Matthew 25:1-6 Revelation 11:15 a. holy ____________________________ b. live _____________________________ Philippians 1:4-6 Romans 5:3-5 Questions to Discuss or Ponder: How would you describe the color blue to someone who is blind? In the last week, what have you said that you “hoped” for? Why were the Thessalonians concerned about friends who had died? When has grief threatened to consume your life? How does Paul compare sleep to death? How does that communicate hope? How does the promised return of Christ make you feel? How does it give you hope? Why does Paul tell the Thessalonians to “encourage one another” with the promised return of Christ? ...
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One

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Philippians 1:27-30 May 24, 2026 ( Pentecost / Aldersgate Day ) • Mount Pleasant UMC Fifty days ago, the tomb had been found empty and the savior had been found alive. Ten days ago, that same savior, after teaching them for forty days, had gone back to heaven. And while he had promised to return one day, he also promised a comforter, an advocate, someone called the Holy Spirit, to come and be with them, to teach them and remind them what he had said (cf. John 14:25-26). That promise of the Holy Spirit was also tied to a prayer he had prayed on the last night before the crucifixion: “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you” (John 17:20-21). So now, on the fiftieth day after the resurrection, on the agricultural festival called Pentecost, they were all gathered in a room in Jerusalem, waiting just as Jesus had told them to do, hoping and praying for the arrival of this “promise of...
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One (Study Guide)

“One” Sermon Study Guide for May 24, 2026 Downloadable Version Scripture: Philippians 1:27-30 Acts 2:1-4 - Pentecost 1. Fellowship in Philippi Acts 16 a “letter of friendship” horizontal vertical conflict in Philippi 2. How the Spirit Brings Fellowship a. Bring Us _________________________ Ephesians 4:4-6 b. Bring Us _________________________ May 24, 1738 - Aldersgate Philippians 2:1-4 Questions to Discuss or Ponder: What did Jesus promise about the Holy Spirit in John 14 and 17? How have you experienced the truth of those promises? What do you imagine the scene in Acts 2 was like? How did the arrival of the Holy Spirit change these disciples of Jesus? When you think of “fellowship,” what does that look like? How is that different from or similar to the Biblical idea of “fellowship”? Where does conflict most often show up in the Church today? What witness does this give to the world? Why does Jesus’ prayer in John 17 remain unanswered today? What are the main ...
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Undeserved (Study Guide)

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“Undeserved” Sermon Study Guide for May 17, 2026 Downloadable Version Scripture: Ephesians 1:1-2 1. A Word That Gives Life definitions of grace 2. Examples of Grace thief on the cross Paul - 1 Timothy 1:14-16 John Newton - “Amazing Grace” 3. John Wesley’s Understanding of Grace prevenient - Romans 5:8 justifying - Ephesians 2:8-9 Psalm 32:1-2 sanctifying - Philippians 2:13 Ephesians 2:10 Grace is a _________________________________ Romans 12:1 Questions to Discuss or Ponder: How many ways can you think of that we use the word “grace”? Do those uses enhance or diminish its meaning? Which of the definitions of “grace” mean the most to you? Who do you know who lives out grace in meaningful ways? How is Jesus’ offer of salvation the primary example of what grace means and is? Which aspect of grace as Wesley understood it means the most to you? Why? Why can we not boast about any experience of grace? What does it mean to experience sanctifying grace? How does that as...
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