Life Lessons: Jonah

Life Lessons: Jonah

“Beware Whales and Bushes”

Jonah 3:1-10; 4:1-11

Our series, Life Lessons, continues this morning with the story of Jonah. Last week we looked at the life of Daniel and discovered his story much deeper and richer than his encounter with lions in the lions’ den. We looked at the lions...

Life Lessons: Daniel

Life Lessons: Daniel

“Facing Lions”

Daniel 1:1-7; 6:1-9

Our series, Life Lessons, continues this morning with the story of Daniel. Two weeks ago, we looked at Esther’s life and learned how, although seemingly absent, God worked behind the scenes to use her life in such a way that impacted others. Then ...

Life Lessons: Nehemiah

Life Lessons: Nehemiah

“For Love of Country”

In our look last week at the book of Esther, we were surprised to find God seemingly absent. There are no prayers, no prophets, no apparent presence of God in the lives of Esther or Mordecai; and yet, in the absence we see a pattern of God’s continual movement in the lives of God’s people. In contrast,...

Life Lessons: Esther

Life Lessons: The Story of Esther

“Between a Rock and a Hard Place”

Esther 2:5-11; 9:26-28 (4:14)

 Have you ever faced a time in your life when things just didn’t seem to be going your way? A time when it seemed that things couldn’t get worse until they got worse. I suspect ...

Be a Methodist: Why?

Be a Methodist: Why?

Romans 10:5-14; Acts 1:8

For the past four weeks we’ve been in a sermon series called Be a Methodist, and we’ve looked at several aspects of traditional Methodism as envisioned by our founder, John Wesley. A Methodist has caught the fire of the Holy Spirit, loves God, loves others, and follows Wesley’s three simple rules: do no har...

Be a Methodist: Do No Harm, Do Good, Stay in Love with God

Be a Methodist: Do No Harm, Do Good, Stay in Love with God

Galatians 5:13-15, 6:7-10; Colossians 2:6-7 

From shortly after birth, we learn that there are rules to life. Rules taught to us by our parents, most of us by our mother. If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. That one, if followed, can lead to a lot of silence. Eat y...

Be a Methodist: Love Others

Be a Methodist: Love Others

1 Cor. 13:1-13; 1 John 3:11-18

What is it in Jesus that draws us away from our own natural desires, that makes us even entertain the notion of leaving all for his sake, to follow him in difficult times and even, for many throughout history, to death? It is his teaching? Those who heard him, according to John 7:46, said, “No man ever spo...

Be a Methodist: Love God

Be a Methodist: Love God

Matthew 22:23-40; Romans 8:31-39

We know of John Wesley as an Anglican priest and the founder of Methodism, but did you know that except for a short two-year period in which he pastored his father’s church at Epworth when his father was ill, Wesley never pastored a local congregation? He was an itinerant preacher in the truest sense of the...

Be a Methodist: Catch on Fire

Be a Methodist: Catch on Fire

Acts 1:6-14; John 16:5-15

If you’re a modern-day Methodist (or Catholic or Presbyterian or Baptist for that matter), you’re probably a little uncomfortable with Pentecost and the Holy Spirit. I wouldn’t say that we’re exactly comfortable with God or Jesus, but when it comes to the Spirit, we’re not sure what to...

Games We Play with God

Games We Play: With Ourselves and With God

James 4:1-10; Rev. 3:14-17

We’ve been looking at popular games we play and what they have to teach us about our faith, but this morning we’re going to turn the question around and look at games we play with God. Most of us like to play games: sports, TV game shows, board games, card games, computer games, party game...

Games We Play: Connect Four

Games We Play: Connect Four

Phil. 4:6-13; 2 Pet. 1:3-11

 We continue our sermon series this morning on Games We Play, looking at what popular games have to teach us about our faith. Today, our game is Connect Four, which was first introduced in 1974. In case you’re not familiar with it, Connect Four is a two-player game. It consists of a simp...

Games We Play: Sorry!

Games We Play: Sorry

Matthew 18:21-25; Jer. 31:31-34

Our sermon series, Games We Play, continues this week with the board game “Sorry!”, which was released in the UK in 1929. Something I never knew, but learned from Wikipedia, so it must be true, is that Sorry! and the U.S. game Parcheesi (released five years later in 1934), are both based on an ancient Indi...

Games We Play: Jenga

Games We Play: Jenga

Luke 6:47-49; Eph. 2:13-22

We are in a sermon series looking at games we play and how they relate to our faith. We began with Monopoly, the bestselling board game of all time, and then last week talked about the popular card – and computer – game, Solitaire. Today, we are focusing on Jenga. According to its official website, Jenga was cr...

Games We Play: Solitaire

Games We Play: Solitaire

Heb, 10:23-24; Rom. 12:1-8; Acts 1:1-5, 12-14, 2:44-47

This Sunday, we continue exploring our faith, looking at games we play. Last week we looked at Monopoly; today’s game is Solitaire. It can be played with a deck of cards, on a computer, or even on most of our phones. The game of Solitaire first appeared in 1765 in Great Britain, where ...

Games We Play: Monopoly

Games We Play: Monopoly

Luke 12:13-21; Micah 6:6-8

Today we begin a new series on the games people play. We begin with the popular board game, Monopoly. Monopoly was introduced in 1934 during the height of the Great Depression, and was a wild success. In its history, over 275 million copies have been sold worldwide, making it the best-selling game in the world - sold in...