Sermons Archive - Manchester United Methodist Church

Season of Creation: The Sky

September 20, 2021
Just like being able to look at the sky and know something about the weather, the signs of God’s presence are all around us. Instead of demanding a sign from…

Season of Creation: Humanity

September 13, 2021
We claim that human beings are created in the image of God, which should humble us and bring a sense of awe. There are so many and various ways that…

Season of Creation: The Earth

September 7, 2021
Until we find something else, this planet is all we have. For our own sake and the sake of future generations, it is our obligation to care for it. In…

God Doesn’t Give US More Than We Can Handle

August 30, 2021
The idea comes from a misreading of 1 Corinthians 10:13 regarding how we face temptation. When Jesus encounters a person suffering, his response is to heal them, not to offer…

God Helps Those Who Help Themselves

August 23, 2021
This idea is not biblical at all; it arises from a distinctly American context. The idea of individual freedom is important in U.S. culture, but not in the Bible. Throughout…

Love the Sinner; Hate the Sin

August 15, 2021
There is wide recognition that this very common phrase is not biblical, but some will say that the concept is, citing Jude 1:22-23 for example. However, Jesus cautions against this…

I Accepted Jesus as My Personal Lord & Savior

August 9, 2021
Salvation is not dependent upon us accepting Jesus; grace is prevenient for everyone. Nor is following Jesus only a personal matter; it is lived out in community as the Body…

Look, Here is the Water!

August 2, 2021
The Ethiopian Eunuch is both a foreigner and someone whose sexuality is non-normative. It is scandalous that God’s grace is available to one who is on the margins of the…

Remember Me

July 26, 2021
A convicted thief, sentenced to death, as he was being executed for his crime … appealed to Jesus for grace. And he got it. The scandalous grace of God is…

Who Touched Me?

The woman who touched the hem of Jesus’s robe was audacious in her faith. Jairus was audacious in his privilege. The juxtaposition of these two stories illuminates the scandal of…

Give Me This Water

July 13, 2021
It was audacious for the “woman at the well” to ask Jesus for living water because she was a woman and she was not Jewish. And yet Jesus revealed himself…

Passing the Torch

July 6, 2021
Watch Rev. Paul Lathum discuss what it means to be passing the torch.

The Divine Gift of Life

June 28, 2021
Watch Rev. Phil Estes discuss the Divine Gift of Life.

Wisdom’s Call

June 21, 2021
The Wisdom of God (Sophia) calls the world into being, offers divine instruction, and following her ways leads to happiness.

The Role of Redemption

June 7, 2021
The Spirit’s role/function is redemptive. The Spirit redeems the suffering of the world, both personal and corporate.

Spiritual Sensation

June 1, 2021
The Holy Spirit is the experience of God’s present activity - for the individual, the church, and the world. God’s activity is experienced like we experience wind - we only…

Continual Creation

May 24, 2021
The Spirit gives birth to the church and continues to inspire the church’s very existence. The Spirit is continually creating the church.

This Is The Way

May 17, 2021
Jesus is “The Way” and calls us to follow, even when there is uncertainty about what God is doing and when. The assurance of the Ascension comes from Jesus assuring…

Love or Money or…?

May 10, 2021
Here’s an idea, let’s consider love and money. And then…let’s wrap up with love! Be not afraid.

Love Is Perfected In Us

May 3, 2021
Loving one another is the way to ensure that God is living in us, that we are becoming who we are supposed to be. Loving one another is how we…

God’s Love Abides

April 26, 2021
We are becoming what we will be, which is being revealed as we become more and more like Christ. Salvation is a process, a constant movement from where (who) you…

What We Will Be

April 19, 2021
We are becoming what we will be, which is being revealed as we become more and more like Christ. Salvation is a process, a constant movement from where (who) you…

Walk Just as He Walked

April 12, 2021
Jesus shows us how to be fully human, and when we strive to “walk just as he walked” we are on our way toward perfection.

Mary Turned Twice

April 6, 2021
Mary did not recognize Jesus not as the resurrected Lord, but as her teacher, her Rabbi. First recognizing Jesus in his humanity allows us to see him in his divinity.

Glorified

March 29, 2021
As the crowd shouted to glorify Jesus on his way into Jerusalem, he was on his way to crucifixion. We do what we do “so that God may be glorified,”…

Witness

March 22, 2021
To witness is to use your voice for someone else’s sake, to intentionally describe/embody what you have experienced God doing in the world so that others will also be able…

Service

March 15, 2021
Truly serving means having the heart of a servant, being aware of the needs of the community and doing all you can to meet those needs. It means “doing what…

Gifts

March 8, 2021
To participate in the community with our gifts means to make sure the resources we have been given by God are being used for purposes that build up the community…

Presence

March 2, 2021
Intentionality of presence means adjusting your personal priorities in order to show up in and for and with the community. Showing up as the intentional community is the minimum of…

Prayers

February 22, 2021
We think of prayer as a personal moment, like in Psalm 25. But when we participate in the community “by our prayers,” it is deeply relational; we become more aware…

February 16, 2021
Mountaintop moments orient our relationship with God. Mystical encounters with the fullness of God's truth orient us toward the next step in our calling, a calling that is lived out…

Believe In Thy Butter

February 8, 2021
At best, the Bible presents a mixed message when it comes to war, affirming it in some stories and condemning it in others. People of faith embrace a complicated and…

Caught In The Snide

February 1, 2021
Many times it is fear of “the other” that creates conflict, the unfamiliarity of another person or group of people. Overcoming that fear and entering into authentic relationship can ease…

Stars Upon Thars

January 25, 2021
The impartiality of God’s grace is radical, shared with all equally, no matter what one’s outward appearance is (Sneetches) or how long you have “worked in the vineyard.”

Unbudged in Their Tracks

January 19, 2021
God calls people to humility, to not think so highly of ourselves. The Zax (like the scribes and Pharisees) are unwilling to humble themselves and change their ways.

Re-Alignment

January 11, 2021
When Jesus comes to be baptized, he is aligning himself fully with God's will, God's desire for his life and ministry. When we renew our baptism promises, we are re-aligning…

Take Time…Now

We only have so much time in this life, COVID or no COVID, and for many, time has clearly become the most precious asset of all.

Are We Helping or Hurting?

December 27, 2020
How do we disagree without being disagreeable? How do we disagree without it being about proving you wrong and me right? How do we disagree from a posture, from a…

Pregnant woman siloutted by light coming through a window.

My Soul Magnifies

December 21, 2020
Mary’s pregnancy is a liminal space, in between conception and birth. She enters into the liminal space willingly and embraces the uncertainty of her situation with faith and hope. The…

Person raising their hands up toward a dawning sun.

Loving & Living

Advent is like one of our dearest friends, showing up, right on time, come hell or high water…or even a pandemic. No doubt, we are loved!

Testify To The Light

December 14, 2020
John’s task, and ours as well, is to “testify” to what Messiah will be doing. John points out that in fact Messiah is already among us, and we have yet…

Woman prayerfully looking up out a window.

Listening & Loving

“We don’t pine for a second coming that will bring the world to an end. We pray for the indwelling of Christ that will enable the world to continue.” -Dr.…

Woman sitting on desert sand overlooking the expanse.

Prepare The Way

December 7, 2020
This year the Advent season is not as full as in the past because of the pandemic. Ironically, this makes it easier for us to enter into the wilderness and…

Longing and Listening

We will praise the One who hears our words and our silence.

When the Stars Begin to Fall

December 1, 2020
Advent is a season of waiting in the liminal space of anticipation and wonder. Emmanuel is not yet here, and we long for his arrival. So we watch for him,…

Photo of woman focused only on her computer, no one else.

From Lost And Longing

'From Lost and Longing' is part of a four-part Advent series titled 'From Lost to Living.'

There’s No Time Like Forever

November 23, 2020
'There's No Time Like Forever' explores the idea that the Kingdom of God is a past, present, and future event; it is both here already and not yet here.

Field of mustard against a backdrop of mountains.

I Just Forgot the Yeast

November 16, 2020
The parable of the yeast demonstrates that the kingdom is about the small things; even small acts of faith make a big difference. And it doesn’t have to be incredibly…

Photo of hands of many people placed on top of each other.

Among You

November 9, 2020
The Kingdom is not a personal possession, but rather among/within the life of the community is where the Kingdom of God exists.

Photo of bricks being layed, one at a time.

God At Work

November 2, 2020
The kingdom is being built by God, not by us. At the same time, this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do the work of the kingdom. We allow God to build…

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Manchester United Methodist Church