Sermons on Matthew (Page 6)
Baptism
We gathered in worship this morning to celebrate the baptism of 19 children & adults at The Table, to renew our baptismal vows, and to share our Deep Commitments. Worship was rooted in Matthew 22.34-40 and Linda’s message invites reflection on Jesus’ call to love God and neighbor.
Legacy
Matt’s message is rooted in Matthew 22.15-22. Celebrating seven years at The Table, Matt brings us to wonder what legacies we will leave for next generations to come?
Planting Seeds
The Table at Central UMC is turning 7 this month! How has God led us over these seven years? Where do we find ourselves today? What might God’s invitation be for our future? Matt’s message is rooted in Matthew 21.23-32 and invites reflection on the seeds God is planting in our own lives and in the lives of our neighbors.
Let It Go
Pastor Chris has created this worship series called Baggage as part of his Path 1 Residency in Church Planting at The Table. This three-week worship series will weave reflection on Scripture with the baggage we carry in our day-to-day lives. . Chris’s message for September 10 is rooted in Matthew 11.25-30. Jesus promises to lighten our load as we let go of our burdens. What baggage might you be called to release today?
Found, Take 3
Jesus asks his followers, “Who do you say I am?” Matt’s message weaves this question from Matthew 16.13-20 with an unexpected experience of being found by grace at a nation-wide vigil called Standing in Solidarity with Charlottesville. This is the third week of our worship series, Found, focused on noticing & celebrating grace in our everyday lives.
Found, Take 2
Pastor Chris reflects on his experience with being found by grace amidst struggle and draws upon the story of Jesus & the Canaanite woman (Matthew 15.21-28) to challenge listeners to join with God in flipping the script of evil by coming out of lethargy, out of apathy, out of inactivity. This is the second week of our worship series, Found, focused on noticing & celebrating grace in our everyday lives.
Found
Our worship series, Found, invites reflection on noticing grace in our everyday lives. Linda’s message is rooted in the story of Peter walking on water and then calling out to be saved as he begins to sink (Matthew 14.22-31). Traditional readings of this story focus on Peter’s doubt and invite us to simply trust Jesus more deeply. Linda’s message revisits this story and wonders if it might actually be read in a very different way, a way that might help…
Detroit/Beatriz at Dinner
On the last Sunday of the worship series, Faith & Films, Matt relates Detroit and Beatriz at Dinner to the scripture Matthew 14.13-21. Both of these films convey very raw and powerful messages which can easily leave us feeling overwhelmed. Can you look to those around you and consider them your brothers and sisters? May we be the change to break down the walls and build up bridges and to create beloved community together.
Cars 3
Matt’s message is rooted in Matthew 13.31-33, 44-52. Matt connects the story of the disciples and Jesus in Matthew with the new Disney Pixar film, Cars 3. Lightning McQueen faces the struggles of trying to learn the new technology while he is still stuck in the old days. Just like in Cars 3, these parables in the reading are demonstrating the old and the new coming together and bringing out the treasures of what our tradition and Scripture teach us…
42
This new worship series, Faith & Films, will take us through different films each week and relate them to our Christian story. In preparation for the Fourth of July, Matt walks us through the story of Jackie Robinson in “42”, the first African American to play Major League Baseball. Rooted in Matthew 10.40-42, Matt uses this film to challenge us to reflect on faith and social change through the lens of baseball and the story of one player. Scene from…
All-Vulnerable God
Matt’s message is rooted in Matthew 9.35-10.8 and Richard Rohr’s The Divine Dance: Trinity and Your Transformation. On this Father’s Day, we’re invited to rethink the power of God as powerlessness & love. How might the vulnerability of God restore us to community and call us to invite others into the Divine Dance?
Baptism in the Trinitarian Flow of Love
Linda’s message is rooted in Matthew 28.16-20 and writings of Father Richard Rohr. Linda invites us to wonder about our baptism into the trinitarian flow of love. What might it mean for us to be baptized & sent in this way?