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Sermon – October 26, 2014

October 26, 2014 By Leave a Comment

Transformed Living Sermon Series“All of Me“, by Rev. Mike Holly

Sermon Series: Treasures of the Transformed Life

This morning in worship, we will give you the opportunity to come forward to the altar rail and turn in your 2015 Financial Commitment Cards as well as your Time and Talent Commitment Cards after the sermon. We have been on a six-week journey leading up to this moment. We have discussed how God invited us through church membership to make faithful commitments to Him and to one another. Today, we are inviting you to re-commit yourself to those commitments and to become more involved in the life of this wonderful congregation.

Today’s sermon covers the fifth and newest commitment that we make: our witness. This means the way we act and speak and live. The Christian desires to make Christ the center of our lives — the reason for our living — and the model by which we treat others. Christ at the center transforms how we act, speak and live.

One important way that we witness Christ to others is how we serve others as Tom indicated last Sunday. It is also shown with a life of integrity as we live in community and as we work together in our careers. Finally, it is shown in how we treat one another as Christians, for “they will know we are Christians by our love.” May you continue to make Christ the center of who you are, so that your witness becomes even more clearly a representation of Christ

~Mike Holly

The Word

Micah 6:6-8

“With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?

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Sermon – October 19, 2014

October 19, 2014 By Leave a Comment

Transformed Living Sermon Series“Bobo, Margie and a Good Sister“, by Rev. Tom Duley

Sermon Series: Treasures of the Transformed Life

Service is not an option, an add-on, or a follow-up in the kingdom of God. It is the very heart of who we are as God’s people. If we are not serving, we have not properly understood the gospel.

God has given gifts to everyone in the church to empower them to do something; to serve in some way. Nobody is without gifts for service. The question to ask ourselves is not “what gifts do I have”, but rather “where am I being called to serve?”

~Tom Duley

The Word

Romans 12:1-13

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

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Sermon – October 12, 2014

October 12, 2014 By Leave a Comment

Transformed Living Sermon Series“The Three Treasures“, by Rev. Mike Holly

Sermon Series: Treasures of the Transformed Life

Today in worship, we will talk about sharing our gifts with God and others. Biblically speaking, gifts were often talked about in terms of a harvest. The annual harvest literally fueled the lives of the people. It provided them with food and resources for the year. God asked them to share the first fruits of the annual harvest with Him as a sign of their reliance and devotion to Him.

A lot of time and energy went into planning, planting, nurturing, and eventually reaping the harvest. And so it is for us today. In order to give our gifts and resources to God and to others, we have to have a plan. We have to have a pattern of living and giving so that God reaps a harvest out of our commitments.

When we speak of gifts, we are talking about your time, your energy, your talents, and your finances. By committing to God and others through the church in these ways, you are demonstrating your reliance and devotion to God and you are investing into God’s harvest of our hearts and lives!

This month, we will ask each church member to fill out commitments for your time and talents as well as for your financial gifts in 2015. Be looking in the mail and in your e-mail inbox for more information!

~Mike Holly

The Word

Matthew 6:19-21

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

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Sermon – October 5, 2014

October 5, 2014 By Leave a Comment

Transformed Living Sermon Series“Being There“, by Rev. Mike Holly

Sermon Series: Treasures of the Transformed Life

We turn our attention to the vow of presence in worship today. In the passage from Hebrews 10 below, you see that even in the early church some people had a habit of not meeting together regularly for worship, study and transformation.

We are living at a time when mobility is the norm. We are on the move from here to there. We have busy weekend schedules. By the way, does anyone really have a day off anymore?

From time to time, we find that we have to miss morning worship and study together. And yet, we as church members made a vow to be present with one another. Today we will talk a little bit more as to why presence is essential to our church family and why it matters in our faith development. And hopefully we will find that living out this vow will also bless others as we become an agent of help and grace in their lives!

~Mike Holly

The Word

Hebrews 10:19-25

Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

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Sermon – September 28, 2014

September 28, 2014 By Leave a Comment

Transformed Living Sermon Series“Prayer“, by Mrs. Becky Walker

Sermon Series: Treasures of the Transformed Life

Today is Laity Sunday. In worship today, you will notice that members of our congregation are leading worship instead of the pastors. This is to remind us all that the work of the church is not done solely by the pastors. No, most of the work of mission and ministry in our congregation is done by the people in our congregation…the laity. Pastors are assigned and sent to United Methodist congregations a year at a time by the Bishop. Some of us are lucky to serve many years in wonderful churches like this one. Pastors are provided to organize, teach and administer the Sacraments.

Both clergy and laity are essential for the church to live and act as God has called us to live and act together. Today, we explore this first dimension of our faithful commitments: our prayers. We vow to pray to God, to pray for one another, and to pray for our community and world. In worship today, Lay Leader Becky Walker will help us understand more clearly how we are to live out this vow together.

~Mike Holly

The Word

Luke 11:1-13

He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
And do not bring us to the time of trial.”

And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

“So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

 

 

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Sermon – September 21, 2014

September 21, 2014 By Leave a Comment

Transformed Living Sermon Series“We NEVER Talk About Money in Church“, by Rev. Tom Duley

Sermon Series: Treasures of the Transformed Life

Throughout life we are often asked to be faithful. We are asked to be faithful to our marriage and family; to our country; to our teams; to our schools and too many other things. These faithful commitments are important because when they are made and kept they help to hold the fabric of our lives and society together. Faithful commitments to those institutions and relationships which are important is a necessary and vital part of life. Unfortunately, we have all seen the harmful e and sometimes destructive results that occur when these faithful commitments aren’t kept.

As Christians we are also asked to make and keep faithful commitments related to our faith in God. Each person who is a member of the United Methodist Church was asked to make such a commitment when he or she joined the church. Each of us committed to support God’s Holy Church through “our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service and our witness.” The commitment we made when we became a member of the church is a sacred commitment because that commitment was made to God the Creator and Sustainer of all life.

In the sermon series that begins today we will take the time over the next several weeks to consider this sacred commitment and how it impacts our stewardship. During this series you are invited to look with honest eyes at how faithful you are being to this sacred commitment.

~Tom Duley

The Word

Matthew 14:22-33

Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”

Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

 

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