Grow Deeper

Waiting is something that we resist in our everyday life. In fact our culture is driven not by a willingness to wait, but instead a desire for instant gratification. The reality is that waiting is an ancient spiritual practice, and something that, no matter how hard we try to avoid it, will always find us. All we can do is be a people who wait with hope.

Sermon Scripture Text: Romans 8:18-25

"Waiting" – S03E59 of Grow Deeper: A Bluff Park UMC Podcast

Welcome to the Grow Deeper podcast. We’re pastors Kevin Payne and Ross Furio from Bluff Park United Methodist Church in Hoover, Alabama. Each week we share our Sunday sermons, and occasion guest preachers, on the podcast to inspire and encourage you to grow in faith and in life. We're glad you've joined us on this journey.

#waiting #habits #kingdomtide

Scripture tells us that we are created in the image of God, so that every time we look into someone's face we are looking into the face of God. This is true when we are looking at someone we love, and also when we are looking at someone who drives us crazy. Living for God means that every day we choose to look at the people we come in contact with and see the face of God in them. The Kingdom of God has broken through into our world and we are already a part of it. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit we get to live out God's love in this world.

Sermon Scripture Text: Romans 8:1-11

"But You Are in the Spirit" – S03E58 of Grow Deeper: A Bluff Park UMC Podcast

Welcome to the Grow Deeper podcast. We’re pastors Kevin Payne and Ross Furio from Bluff Park United Methodist Church in Hoover, Alabama. Each week we share our Sunday sermons, and occasion guest preachers, on the podcast to inspire and encourage you to grow in faith and in life. We're glad you've joined us on this journey.

#ButYouAreInTheSpirit #kingdomtide

Let's be real, eating leftovers just isn't the most exciting culinary experience. Knowing that we're going to a restaurant or our favorite fast-food joint tends to give us more motivation to get through the mornings and make it to our lunch break. Perhaps leftovers, along with many of the blessings of nourishment that we overlook, have something to teach us about finding the grace of God alive and at work in our day-to-day lives! We tend to overcomplicate the journey of finding God. God invites us to be a people of thanksgiving for blessings of all sizes, including leftovers, so that we may know that we have opportunities to encounter Him in the simplicity of life.

Sermon Scripture Text: John 6:25-35

"Leftovers" – S03E57 of Grow Deeper: A Bluff Park UMC Podcast

Welcome to the Grow Deeper podcast. We’re pastors Kevin Payne and Ross Furio from Bluff Park United Methodist Church in Hoover, Alabama. Each week we share our Sunday sermons, and occasion guest preachers, on the podcast to inspire and encourage you to grow in faith and in life. We're glad you've joined us on this journey.

#Leftovers #habits #kingdomtide

We all know what we should be doing, but sometimes it's hard to make ourselves do it. We love to judge ourselves by our intentions, and other people by their actions. We make excuses for our actions and our inaction. However, when we become Christians and accept Jesus in our lives, we become children of God. Through Christ we receive the power to overcome our own worst instincts. Jesus has conquered sin for us. No matter what we've done to get where we are today, through Jesus we become a new creation.

Sermon Scripture Text: Romans 7:15-25a

"But I'm Trying to Be Good" – S03E56 of Grow Deeper: A Bluff Park UMC Podcast

Welcome to the Grow Deeper podcast. We’re pastors Kevin Payne and Ross Furio from Bluff Park United Methodist Church in Hoover, Alabama. Each week we share our Sunday sermons, and occasion guest preachers, on the podcast to inspire and encourage you to grow in faith and in life. We're glad you've joined us on this journey.

#TryingToBeGood #kingdomtide

We usually have some sort of plan for our day each morning. But, nothing throws that plan into chaos like losing your keys. We often spiral into a panic as we search everywhere, until 15 minutes later when we collapse into a heap and give up - and find our keys wedged in the cushions of the couch. These moments highlight how important a sense of control is in our lives. We are a people who worry and get anxious, and God tells us to trust in him and let go of our worries and trust he is watching out for us.

Sermon Scripture Text: Luke 12:22-31

"Losing Your Keys" – S03E55 of Grow Deeper: A Bluff Park UMC Podcast

Welcome to the Grow Deeper podcast. We’re pastors Kevin Payne and Ross Furio from Bluff Park United Methodist Church in Hoover, Alabama. Each week we share our Sunday sermons, and occasion guest preachers, on the podcast to inspire and encourage you to grow in faith and in life. We're glad you've joined us on this journey.

#LosingYourKeys #habits #kingdomtide

Sometimes it is difficult to stand in the gap between being a follower of Jesus and a citizen in the world. The founding fathers of the United States were mostly Deists - they believed God was like a divine clock-maker who crafted the world, set it to run, and leaves it alone. In the scripture reading, the Pharisees are trying to trip Jesus up by making him declare allegiance to either God or country. But Jesus tell them to give to Caesar those things that belong to him and to give to Gog those things that belong to God. When we clearly understand what belongs to God, we are free to live out our faith in the world.

Sermon Scripture Text: Matthew 22:15-22

"Of God and Country" – S03E54 of Grow Deeper: A Bluff Park UMC Podcast

Welcome to the Grow Deeper podcast. We’re pastors Kevin Payne and Ross Furio from Bluff Park United Methodist Church in Hoover, Alabama. Each week we share our Sunday sermons, and occasion guest preachers, on the podcast to inspire and encourage you to grow in faith and in life. We're glad you've joined us on this journey.

#GodAndCountry #kingdomtide

What gives us the ability to do something big eventually, is the discipline to do something small consistently. Habits are powerful, and for good or for bad they usually lead to some pretty big stuff. Join us as we reflect on the power of habits intersecting with our faith.

Sermon Scripture Text: Mark 1:35

"Brushing Your Teeth" – S03E53 of Grow Deeper: A Bluff Park UMC Podcast

Welcome to the Grow Deeper podcast. We’re pastors Kevin Payne and Ross Furio from Bluff Park United Methodist Church in Hoover, Alabama. Each week we share our Sunday sermons, and occasion guest preachers, on the podcast to inspire and encourage you to grow in faith and in life. We're glad you've joined us on this journey.

#BrushingYourTeeth #habits #kingdomtide

God calls all of us into a relationship with him, but if the faith we profess in church doesn't change the way we live outside of church, we might be doing it wrong. The way we live in the world is the true witness of our faith. Even when it is difficult, we need to live out our Sunday morning faith in the world and open the door for others to learn about God through us.

Sermon Scripture Text: Matthew 10:24-39

"What If We're Wrong?" – S03E52 of Grow Deeper: A Bluff Park UMC Podcast

Welcome to the Grow Deeper podcast. We’re pastors Kevin Payne and Ross Furio from Bluff Park United Methodist Church in Hoover, Alabama. Each week we share our Sunday sermons, and occasion guest preachers, on the podcast to inspire and encourage you to grow in faith and in life. We're glad you've joined us on this journey.

#WhatIfWeAreWrong #kingdomtide

There is no moment too small, routine, or ordinary for God to be a work, including the moment that we wake up. Join us this week as we begin the journey of looking at the most ordinary moments of our day, and discern where God is at work.

Sermon Scripture Text: Matthew 3:13-17

"Waking Up" – S03E51 of Grow Deeper: A Bluff Park UMC Podcast

Welcome to the Grow Deeper podcast. We’re pastors Kevin Payne and Ross Furio from Bluff Park United Methodist Church in Hoover, Alabama. Each week we share our Sunday sermons, and occasion guest preachers, on the podcast to inspire and encourage you to grow in faith and in life. We're glad you've joined us on this journey.

#WakingUp #pentecost

Father's Day can be a mixed bag of emotions. Family can be a messy business. Most parents want to do a good job raising their children, but it's not always an easy thing to do. Our children often become a reflection of us - what we pour into them as parent's forms who they become as people. When people meet our children, they learn something about the people who raised them. The same goes for God. We can know the Father because he sent his son Jesus to live with us and show us his love. Jesus taught us how to talk with the Father and he told us to call him 'Daddy!'

Sermon Scripture Text: John 1:1-5, 10-18

"A Father's Only Son" – S03E50 of Grow Deeper: A Bluff Park UMC Podcast

Welcome to the Grow Deeper podcast. We’re pastors Kevin Payne and Ross Furio from Bluff Park United Methodist Church in Hoover, Alabama. Each week we share our Sunday sermons, and occasion guest preachers, on the podcast to inspire and encourage you to grow in faith and in life. We're glad you've joined us on this journey.

#AFathersOnlySon #FathersDay #pentecost