MTP Sermon Resources

  “When God Feels…Jealousy” Sermon Study Guide for August 17, 2025 Downloadable Version Scripture: Exodus 20:1-6 The green-eyed monster… 1. The Ten Words Mark 12:30-31 “no other gods” (Exodus 18:11) “no idols” golden calf - “These are your gods” 2. The Jealousy of God Isaiah 9:7 - zeal 3. How We Respond a. God wants to be _________________________ 1 John 4:19 b. Share _________________________________ c. Keep an eye ____________________________ Questions to Discuss or Ponder: What is your earliest memory of being jealous? What is the difference between unhealthy and healthy jealousy? Which one have you experienced the most? How are the Ten Commandments more about relationship than become law-abiding citizens? Where do you find other “gods” in our world today? What things or people do other worship? What does the Bible mean when it says God is jealous? How is that similar or different to our experience of jealousy? How did the “jealousy” or zeal of God bring abou...

Exodus 22:21-24 August 10, 2025 • Mount Pleasant UMC It was evening and Walter, 71 years old, was driving home when he noticed a truck tailgating him. He had his wife and granddaughter in the vehicle with him, so he decided to pull over and let the truck pass him, but when he did that, the truck also pulled off the road. The man in the truck, 25-year-old Ryan, got out and came to Walter’s truck. He proceeded to pull Walter out of the truck, began to punch him and left him bloodied by the side of the road. When the police finally caught up to Ryan and tried to determine why he did what he did, he said that he had been following his brother on the road and Walter had gotten between them then driven slowly on purpose. There were discrepancies as to exactly what happened, but the bottom line is that Ryan was filled with a common malady: road rage ( https://listverse.com/2015/11/19/10-crazy-and-horrific-road-rage-incidents/ ). You’ve felt it; I have too, and while we may not (hopefu...

  “When God Feels…Anger” Sermon Study Guide for August 10, 2025 Downloadable Version Scripture: Exodus 22:21-24 1. The Anger of God Exodus 3-4 - The Burning Bush Exodus 13-14 - The Red Sea Exodus 21 - Social Responsibility …two worldviews… Exodus 34 - Broken Commandments God is “long of _______________” Old Testament vs. New Testament? 2. Jesus Cleansing of the Temple “Harassed and Helpless” 3. Handling Anger a. Clarify ____________________________ b. Clarify ____________________________ c. Respond ___________________________ d. Determine _________________________ Questions to Discuss or Ponder: What makes you angry? What causes anger to rise up quickly in you? What are the things that make God angry, according to Exodus? Why do they make him angry? What is the difference between the “pagan” worldview and the Biblical worldview? Which one do you see most on display in our world today? Why would God’s grace, love and compassion have been a surprise to p...

Malachi 1:1-5 August 3, 2025 • Mount Pleasant UMC The song you just heard a few moments ago in the video is a classic, released all the way back in 1995. It is maybe most remembered for the controversy it created when it first came out, especially among Christians. “What if God were one of us?” A lot of people didn’t (and still don’t) like that idea, although every Christmas we celebrate the fact that God did become one of us; that’s the message of the incarnation (John 1:14), when God came to live among us in the person of Jesus. And I find it ironic that people get upset thinking about God being “one of us” because we routinely picture and talk about God as if he were just a big human being. It’s been said that God created us in his image (cf. Genesis 1:27) and we’ve happily returned the favor. But the Bible says that even though God became “one of us,” he is not like us; he is absolutely other than us. Yet he is close to us. The fancy theological words are that he is “immanent...