Sellersburg United Methodist Church Sermon Podcast

SERMON  |  Matthew 22:36-40  -  "LOVE GOD, LOVE NEIGHBOR" Annual Conference Report by Janet Werle, Elizabeth Hardy, and Connie Schlieker at Sellersburg United Methodist Church in Sellersburg, Indiana

SERMON  |  Hosea 1:2-10  -  PROPHET MARGINS 3. "Risky Love" by Rev. Joseph Sanford at Sellersburg United Methodist Church in Sellersburg, Indiana

We are called to be faithful in our love and commitment to God.  This commitment is most purely expressed in the way we take care of the most vulnerable.  The calling of Hosea is tricky and difficult to accept, but his life is a living metaphor for the people Israel...and us.

There is always hope with God, but we have to be ready to risk it all for love of God and neighbor.

SERMON  |  Amos 8:1-12  -  PROPHET MARGINS  3. "Living In a Bitter Day" by Rev. Joseph Sanford at Sellersburg United Methodist Church in Sellersburg, Indiana.

Are we rehabilitating from our self-serving ways of sin?

We must confront ourselves honestly if we hope to truly be connected to The Kingdom of God.  If we want truth, life, and to be healed/saved, then we must be open to reality as it is versus how we think it is.

We have hope in Jesus Christ!

This means we can look back to our past and learn (mostly from mistakes) while also keeping our eyes fixed on where we are headed so that, being grounded, we can be guided in the right way TODAY.

Let today be a bitter day so that we can live in fullness of truth.

SERMON  |  Amos 7:7-17 -  PROPHET MARGINS 2. "What Do You See?" by Rev. Joseph Sanford at Sellersburg United Methodist Church in Sellersburg, Indiana.

Israel is in trouble, in Amos' day.

They have become corrupt from the very top of the structure of leadership--both the king and priest.

The system of Israel is crushing the vulnerable to build up those in charge.

This kind of system is always destined for complete failure and collapse.

Amos confronts this reality with little hope for the people.

But here we are, able to learn from these troubling days, considering our own system and corruption.  Justice is often ignored due to inconvenience.  Things must change if we want the structures and systems of our society to survive and thrive.

So...let's open our eyes and consider... What do you see?

SERMON  |  2 Kings 5:1-14  -  PROPHET MARGINS 1. "Wash & Be Cleaned" by Rev. Joseph Sanford at Sellersburg United Methodist Church in Sellersburg, Indiana

We begin a 9-week journey through the prophets to wrestle with with the uncomfortable, hard, and necessary truths which lead us to the joy, hope, of faith to which we are called.

We begin with Elisha's healing of Naaman and the political nightmare that it was.  We learn that the voice of guidance and faith often comes through the unexpected voice.  Our preconceived notions and expectations can hinder us on a journey of a life of faith.

Nevertheless, God continues to call us to cleansing through the waters of faith in Jesus Christ.

Will we follow the Spirit's leading?

Will we enter the waters?

SERMON  |  1 Kings 19:1-18  -  "From Madness to Stillness" by Rev. Joseph Sanford at Sellersburg United Methodist Church in Sellersburg, Indiana

We turn to the story of Elijah running for his life and encountering the presence of God in the most unexpected way.

Examining what happened and how it happened gives us insight into our own realities we face today.  There is a great deal of madness in our world and in our lives (and good things too).  Learning to trust God can calm the madness and keep us focused on where we are headed.  More than that, we can experience peace in the stillness of knowledge that God is at work in and through us...even when we don't see it.

SERMON  |  Ephesians 5:1-2, 15-20  -  "The Mercury 13" by Mark Ritter at Sellersburg United Methodist Church in Sellersburg, Indiana

SERMON  |  Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31  -  "Does Not Wisdom Call"  by Rev. Joseph Sanford at Sellersburg United Methodist Church in Sellersburg, Indiana

Lady Wisdom comes to us on this Trinity Sunday to woo us away from another kind of lady (from Proverbs 7).  These ladies are 100% rhetorical and metaphorical, but we should not lose the overwhelming femininity of The Holy Spirit from the opening page of the Bible through its end.  The Spirit is a feminine word.  So...we'll claim Lady Wisdom for how she is presented to us.

Our goal, however, is to examine ourselves in a life of either REACTING or RESPONDING.

In a world of REACTION...we are called to RESPOND.

Will you heed the call of Lady Wisdom?

SERMON  |  Acts 2:1-21 & Genesis 11:1-9  -  "Overcoming Babel" by Rev. Joseph Sanford at Sellersburg United Methodist Church in Sellersburg, IN

We celebrate Pentecost by honoring the work of God to bring humanity back together through the work of the Holy Spirit.  Our diversity is stamped with approval; we are to be united, not uniform.

Are we open to our own release from the confusion of Babel?

SERMON  |  "Part-Time Missionary; Full-Time Follower"  -  Coach Perry Hunter from Cornerstone Hoops at Sellersburg United Methodist Church in Sellersburg, IN