Indian Run UMC Sermon Archive

In the "I've Been Meaning to Ask..." sermon series we will be inviting you to think deeper about questions you ask people, in order to make a stronger connection. It's so easy to start and end a conversation with simple pleasantries like "How are you?" or "Good to see ya!". "I've been meaning to ask.." is easy way to start asking more sincere questions. It's something you hear when something has been on someone's mind for a while, its warm and maybe a little nervous, and it shows you care about the other person. It helps to remind you to see the face of God in one another and to listen. Today we will be asking "How Can I Be Your Neighbor?". We are surrounded right now by messages telling us who to fear, who to blame, who to distrust; in that sort of environment its hard to remember that there is room in our neighborhood for all kinds of people. When Jesus tells the lawyer, in Luke 10, the parable about The Good Samaritan, he's asking him to stop looking for reasons to exclude others from being his neighbor. Jesus wants to show that our neighbors can, and should, be different from us. They might not share our values, they might not be easy to love, they might not even treat us well, but Christian love refuses to turn disagreements into an excuse to exclude or to have contempt.

In the "I've Been Meaning to Ask..." sermon series we will be inviting you to think deeper about questions you ask people, in order to make a stronger connection. It's so easy to start and end a conversation with simple pleasantries like "How are you?" or "Good to see ya!". "I've been meaning to ask.." is easy way to start asking more sincere questions. It's something you hear when something has been on someone's mind for a while, its warm and maybe a little nervous, and it shows you care about the other person. It helps to remind you to see the face of God in one another and to listen. Today we will be asking "What Do You Need?" It's easy to get caught up in trying to help someone when you know they need it. However, it's so easy to overwhelm someone when you try to solve the problem rather than listen. An example of this happening in the Bible is Job. He had everything, money, property, a large family, standing in his community, his health. He loses everything, and in that moment his three friends find him. They cry out in grief, but then they sit with him, without talking, for seven days and seven nights. This is a beautiful representation of presence. However, Job eventually talks to them, and displays his anger, confusion, and his despair at what has happened to him. His friends, in the spirit of the day, tell him that God is just, and that the disasters that have befallen him are because he deserves it, he must have sinned greatly. It was a mistake, and one that added to Job's suffering, and it is a mistake that we often make today. We should strive to ask "What Do You Need?" so as to give the ability for the one who is hurt the chance to voice their own treatment.

In the "I've Been Meaning to Ask..." sermon series we will be inviting you to think deeper about questions you ask people, in order to make a stronger connection. It's so easy to start and end a conversation with simple pleasantries like "How are you?" or "Good to see ya!". "I've been meaning to ask.." is easy way to start asking more sincere questions. It's something you hear when something has been on someone's mind for a while, its warm and maybe a little nervous, and it shows you care about the other person. It helps to remind you to see the face of God in one another and to listen. Today we will be asking "Where Does it Hurt?". This is good question to ask, not only when someone physically hurts, but when they emotionally or spiritually hurts as well. Everyone of us knows pain, some pain is obvious, but some pain is carried on in secret. Sometimes this pain is easy to describe, but oftentimes its difficult to understand. A healthy way to deal with pain is to talk about it, it's so easy to hide the pain and just continue on with our lives. Plus, we all have the fear that when we do reveal our pain it won't be taken serious. The other person will say to "Look at the bright side" or "At least it's not..." or even "How can I fix this". Sometimes when telling about pain it's not that we are looking for advice or a solution, it's that we are looking for someone to listen, to acknowledge that are pain is real. "I see that you are hurting", "I'm here to be here with you", these words can be the shining light in the darkness that is pain.

In the "I've Been Meaning to Ask..." sermon series we will be inviting you to think deeper about questions you ask people, in order to make a stronger connection. It's so easy to start and end a conversation with simple pleasantries like "How are you?" or "Good to see ya!". "I've been meaning to ask.." is easy way to start asking more sincere questions. It's something you hear when something has been on someone's mind for a while, its warm and maybe a little nervous, and it shows you care about the other person. It helps to remind you to see the face of God in one another and to listen. Today we will be asking "Where are you from?". Now this may sound like the sort of question you really only ask someone when you've just met them, or maybe when you are introducing them to someone else, but that's not the form of the question we really want to be asking here. We want to be asking "What has made you who you are?", "Who shaped you most when you were growing up?", "Tell me about the place you think as home?" or even "What is something about your story you wish people understood?". We want to ask and listen to these questions to help get to the heart of the person we are asking. not make assumptions of who they are.

In the "The Lord's Prayer" sermon series, we will be slowing down and taking a look at a prayer that has become so familiar to us that we've just stopped paying attention to it. The Lord's Prayer is probably the first prayer any Christian learns. We recite it at funerals and weddings, hospital rooms and at church, even at the dinner table or right before going to bed. But this prayer wasn't intended to just be recited from memory, it was thoughtfully made to have a deeper meaning. So we will take things one phrase at a time to discover what Jesus was really trying to teach to his disciples. Today we're concluding the series with "For Thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory, Forever. Amen." These words remind us that our lives are not ultimately about our kingdom, our power, or our glory, but about learning to live in God’s kingdom and participate in God’s work in the world. As we say “Amen,” we are not simply ending a prayer—we are committing ourselves to live the prayer Jesus taught us.

In the "The Lord's Prayer" sermon series, we will be slowing down and taking a look at a prayer that has become so familiar to us that we've just stopped paying attention to it. The Lord's Prayer is probably the first prayer any Christian learns. We recite it at funerals and weddings, hospital rooms and at church, even at the dinner table or right before going to bed. But this prayer wasn't intended to just be recited from memory, it was thoughtfully made to have a deeper meaning. So we will take things one phrase at a time to discover what Jesus was really trying to teach to his disciples. Today we're continuing with "And Lead Us Not into Temptation, But Deliver Us from Evil". Temptation is a part of being human, but it looks different for each and every one of us. It could be addiction, holding a grudge, to envy someone. It could even be not speaking up, not caring, not helping when you know God would want you too. We are, in this section of The Lord's Prayer, asking God to Lead Us, To Deliver Us, away from the things that tempt us, like a shepherd and his flock. Again this section of The Lord's Prayer focuses on the word "Us". It's a reminder that not just an individual can be tempted. Communities, Churches, even Nations can be convinced that things that are cruel and dehumanizing are actually necessary and just. So we pray for the Lord to "Lead Us" for the road isn't easy, the temptation is real, but nothing can separate us from God as He is with us all along the way.

In the "The Lord's Prayer" sermon series, we will be slowing down and taking a look at a prayer that has become so familiar to us that we've just stopped paying attention to it. The Lord's Prayer is probably the first prayer any Christian learns. We recite it at funerals and weddings, hospital rooms and at church, even at the dinner table or right before going to bed. But this prayer wasn't intended to just be recited from memory, it was thoughtfully made to have a deeper meaning. So we will take things one phrase at a time to discover what Jesus was really trying to teach to his disciples. Today we're continuing with "And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us". "Jesus didn't give us words to pray, but a way to live" has been the defining saying of this sermon series. But what is the way of forgiveness? It's a hard word to define, and even if we break it down into "a choice to let go" or "a process of healing" it's not that simple. In the Lord's Prayer we are asking God to forgive us of our trespasses, which encompasses our sins, or mistakes, how we failed to reach the target of what God wants for our lives. We are like debtors asking God to cancel our debts, and He does so willingly. However, the prayer is also asking us to cancel the debts we hold towards each other. To remember that we are all human, and we will sin against one another, and to forgive each other. This does not mean that will will condone harmful behaviors or allow for reconciliation, but that we will choose to no longer hold onto the pain that the trespass caused us. It takes time, dedication, and even a little prayer, but it can be done.

In the "The Lord's Prayer" sermon series, we will be slowing down and taking a look at a prayer that has become so familiar to us that we've just stopped paying attention to it. The Lord's Prayer is probably the first prayer any Christian learns. We recite it at funerals and weddings, hospital rooms and at church, even at the dinner table or right before going to bed. But this prayer wasn't intended to just be recited from memory, it was thoughtfully made to have a deeper meaning. So we will take things one phrase at a time to discover what Jesus was really trying to teach to his disciples. Today we're continuing with "Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread". Up until this point the Lord's Prayer is all about big, expansive, spiritual words, but then Jesus tries to bring us down to earth. Christianity is not an escape from normal everyday life. Jesus teaches us not just about spiritual things but also about how to sustain ourselves. Jesus is all about giving us a new way to live. This part of the prayer also hopes to impart that the importance of "us" and "our". To teach us that we should not hoard the things that keep us alive, but that once we have enough, the abundance left over can be used to aid those who do not have enough.

In the "The Lord's Prayer" sermon series, we will be slowing down and taking a look at a prayer that has become so familiar to us that we've just stopped paying attention to it. The Lord's Prayer is probably the first prayer any Christian learns. We recite it at funerals and weddings, hospital rooms and at church, even at the dinner table or right before going to bed. But this prayer wasn't intended to just be recited from memory, it was thoughtfully made to have a deeper meaning. So we will take things one phrase at a time to discover what Jesus was really trying to teach to his disciples. Today we're continuing with "Thy Will Be Done on Earth as it is in Heaven". Prayer is important, it doesn't just change the world around us, it changes us. "Thy Will Be Done" is Jesus asking us to ask God to reshape our desires so that they align with God's desires. Instead of thinking of "What do I want? What makes me happy? How do I make that mine?" God wants us to think in terms of love, peace, hope, goodness and relationship. The questions should eventually more align with "What does love require? What would bring more peace to all? How do I make the world more hopeful?" Jesus wants us to help to bring the light of Heaven to here on Earth, to make life a little better for those that are here and those who are to come.

In the "The Lord's Prayer" sermon series, we will be slowing down and taking a look at a prayer that has become so familiar to us that we've just stopped paying attention to it. The Lord's Prayer is probably the first prayer any Christian learns. We recite it at funerals and weddings, hospital rooms and at church, even at the dinner table or right before going to bed. But this prayer wasn't intended to just be recited from memory, it was thoughtfully made to have a deeper meaning. So we will take things one phrase at a time to discover what Jesus was really trying to teach to his disciples. Today we're continuing with "Thy Kingdom Come". It's easy to think that Jesus is just praying for God's Kingdom to come to Earth in this part of The Lord's Prayer, but in actuality, at the time, Jesus was making a political statement. He was telling the world that the kingdoms of man, like our governments of today, that the way the world is doesn't have to stay the same, God's reign is drawing near and Jesus is here to show us what that could even look like.