MTP Sermon Resources

  “Distracted” Sermon Study Guide for October 15, 2023 Downloadable Version Scripture: Numbers 12:1-15 1. Moses’ Family Issues grumbling & complaining… “most humble” (12:3) “leprosy” “remember who you are” 2. Who We Are created by a ___________________ God to be a   __________________ people fear… Matthew 26:1-16 “Do not ____________________” Questions to Discuss or Ponder: What sorts of things distract you the most? Do you get most distracted at work? at home? at church? Where? How do you respond when you hear grumbling and complaining (especially if it’s about you)? How did Moses respond? Why do you think Miriam is the only one afflicted with the skin disease? In what way(s) has God gotten your attention in the past? Why is it so easy to forget who we are? In what way(s) have you experienced the generosity of God? How does that shape your life? What “competition” does being generous face in your life? What are the fears you face? What calling have you...

Genesis 13:1-18 October 8, 2023 • Mount Pleasant UMC When I was a kid, I hated going to family reunions. My mom’s mom’s family had a get together every December with all the brothers and sisters and cousins and in-laws and outlaws at a shelter house in Fairmount, Indiana—home of James Dean and Jim Davis (who created “Garfield”). We would leave after church to go to Fairmount, and as a kid that seemed like the longest trip ever. Now I know it was just about an hour from home, but back then the trip seemed to go on forever. And I didn’t know anyone who was there. These cousins I only saw at this time of year. And there was nothing to do. All these relatives seemed to want to do was sit around the tables, look at pictures and tell stories. A lot of the stories they had told the year before, too. Why did they want to tell the same old stories over and over and over again? As I kid, I hated those times. Now, looking back as an adult, there isn’t much I wouldn’t give to be able to do i...

  “The Stories We Tell” Sermon Study Guide for October 8, 2023 Downloadable Version Scripture: Genesis 13:1-18 1. Abram & Lot “Go to the land…” Quarreling arose… To the left or the right… 2. Two Stories The ___________________ story (Lot) The ___________________ story (Abram) Questions to Discuss or Ponder: In what settings are you or your family most likely to tell stories? What kind(s) of stories do you tell? In what ways do we make sense of our world by the stories we tell? Share an example. What do our culture’s stories tell about us? How is Abram being a peacemaker in Genesis 13? When have you found yourself put in the role of peacemaker? Had you been in Abram’s shoes, would you have given Lot the same choice? Why or why not? What are the differences between the two stories we tell ourselves? Which story is most familiar to you? Who is at the center of your story? What story do you want to tell yourself? How will you do that? Scripture for the Week: Monday - Ge...

Acts 17:22-28 September 17, 2023 • Mount Pleasant UMC She asked us, “Do you want to go to the top?” I looked over at Rachel and nodded. Of course I wanted to go to the top. I had literally traveled around the world to be in Athens, and “the top” is one of the places I definitely wanted to go because at the top of the acropolis was the Parthenon, one of the most well-known sites of the ancient world. The reason the guide was asking the question, though, is because we were in Athens in the midst of a downpour. It was raining hard, and we were huddled under a building’s overhang trying to keep dry. But I still was determined to go to the top of the acropolis because I didn’t and don’t know when or if I’ll ever be back. My biggest regret from that day, however, is that I didn’t go to the top of the other site there, which is Mars Hill. When the guide pointed it out to us, I noticed it wasn’t so much a hill as it is a large rock outcropping, reachable today by a metal staircase. Yea...