MTP Sermon Resources

  “Still” Sermon Study Guide for September 8, 2024 Downloadable Version Scripture: Psalm 46 1. Anxiety Around Us fortress 2. The Psalmist’s Response a. Come and see __________________________ (46:8) “city of God” b. _____________ and know that I am _______ (46:10) c. God is our _____________________ (46:11) Questions to Discuss or Ponder: What most causes anxiety for you these days? How do you generally respond at first to those things? Is anxiety a minor inconvenience for you or a major hurdle? How do you experience it? How do you remember/recall what God has done in your life? What things distract you when you try to get quiet? What are your hindrances to praying or sitting in God’s presence? What practices help you to stop doing and start being? When you think of a fortress, what image comes to mind? How is God a “fortress” in your life? What area of anxiety do you most want to tackle this week? What one thing will you do this week to practice stillness? Scripture fo...

Galatians 2:11-14 September 1, 2024 • Mount Pleasant UMC Have you ever sat down at a table with someone you disagreed with? At that table, have you ever had a discussion, maybe even a heated one, about some political topic or maybe even a religious one? Have you ever left the table upset or even angry? Of course you have. Most of us have. Those times are called “family holiday gatherings.” Or maybe you’ve engaged someone on social media about a particular topic and before you know it you’re down the rabbit hole and mad at someone who was a friend. If you’ve ever engaged in discussions like these, if you’ve ever disagreed with someone, if you’ve ever been in the middle of a conflict that left you upset or frustrated, I have a word for you. I have a name for you: human. You are perfectly normal, because as much as we’d like to avoid it, conflict is normal and it can even be healthy. It shows up everywhere, even in the church, dividing people who are all committed to the same Lord a...

  “Leaving the Table” Sermon Study Guide for September 1, 2024 Downloadable Version Scripture: Galatians 2:11-14 1. “Clash of the Titans” Simon/Peter/Cephas Saul/Paul Antioch “hypoctite” 2. Healthy Conflict a. ________________________________ Matthew 18:15-17 b. ________________________________ Galatians 2:15-21 c. ________________________________ d. ________________________________ Questions to Discuss or Ponder: What was the last conflict you found yourself in? How did you handle it? How did it resolve (if it did)? What was at the heart of the divide between Jews and Gentiles? What similar divides exist today? Why, do you think, Peter reacted the way he did when the group from Jerusalem arrived? Have you ever been in a similar situation? What happened? What comes to mind when you hear the word “hypocrite”? If conflict is “normal and healthy,” why do we work so hard to avoid it? Which element of healthy conflict is easiest for you to overlook? Why? How can ...

Matthew 5:3 August 25, 2024 • Mount Pleasant UMC One of the most sobering experiences in all my travels has been the times we’ve gone from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. The two towns are not that far apart geographically, only about 5 1/2 miles. And I still remember when it was easy to go from one to the other. But in the last decade or so, that journey has become very difficult, certainly for tourists but even moreso for those who live there. That’s because, in order to protect themselves from terrorist attacks, Israel has built a protective wall around much of the area that is controlled by the Palestinian Authority. So now when we go from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, we have to stop at a checkpoint, prove we are tourists, and slowly make our way through an opening in the wall. But those who live in Bethlehem and either have family in Jerusalem or work in Jerusalem have a much longer and more difficult trip, often being detained for a long time. And there are other places, all throughout ...