Listen to the February 15, 2026 Sunday worship service from Zionsville United Methodist Church in Zionsville, IN.

We all encounter voices of authority every day, but whose voice truly commands our lives? In this week’s message, we examine the authority of Jesus—not as someone who is simply "bossy," but as the one who holds the power and the right to command.

Through the lens of Mark 1, we see Jesus encounter a man in need and demonstrate a forcefulness of truth that leaves the crowd absolutely stunned. We look at how God has entrusted Jesus with dominion over all things and why His authority is fundamentally different from the leaders we see in the world today.

Key Takeaways:

Defining True Authority: Understanding the difference between holding a title and having the right to command.

The Character of the King: Why Jesus’ authority is shown through gentleness and care rather than harshness.

Evaluating the Voices We Follow: Practical questions to help you determine if the authorities in your life are leading toward unity and wholeness or toward fear and division.

A Transformed Life: How the teachings of Jesus—like loving our enemies and seeking justice—are meant to change our daily behavior.

Join us as we ask the question that drove the early church: Who is this man who even the wind and the water obey?

https://www.zumc.org/sermons

Listen to the February 8, 2026 Sunday worship service from Zionsville United Methodist Church in Zionsville, IN.

This week's service will be a little different. Pastor Dave and Children's Director Tracy Vermillion lead some of our 4th and 5th-graders through a conversation about the four friends who brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus. There are some gaps in the audio as the students think about the questions they are being asked or complete tasks that they've been asked to accomplish.

Have you ever felt "unseen"? In this message, we step into the ruins of Capernaum to look at a famous moment from the Gospel of Mark: the healing of a paralyzed man.

When a crowd blocked the way to Jesus, four determined friends didn't give up. They carried their friend to the roof and lowered him right into the middle of Jesus' teaching. We look at how Jesus responded to this interruption—not with annoyance, but with a compassion that addressed the man's heart and his physical needs.

Today we discuss:

The Reality of Obstacles: What it feels like when we can't reach the help we need.

The Power of Friendship: How we can "carry" others when they are struggling.

The Vision of Jesus: Why Jesus sees us even when we feel alone or forgotten.

The Dual Healing: Understanding why Jesus offers both forgiveness and physical restoration.

This service reminds us that we are never unseen by God and challenges us to see the needs of those around us with the same compassion Jesus showed in Peter’s house.

!https://www.zumc.org/sermons

Listen to the February 1, 2026 Sunday worship service from Zionsville United Methodist Church in Zionsville, IN.

This week, we look at the definitive declaration made at the foot of the cross: "Surely this man is the Son of God."

To understand what this means for us today, we look back at the three roles in the Old Testament that required anointing: Priests, Prophets, and Kings. Through the lens of the Gospel of Mark, we see how Jesus fulfills all three.

As Priest: Jesus is the intercessor who bears our burdens and offers himself as the final sacrifice for our sins.

As Prophet: Jesus speaks truth to power, stands in solidarity with the oppressed, and models a life of non-violent resistance against injustice.

As King: Jesus enters the battle against the forces of evil and death, emerging victorious to lead a kingdom of everlasting peace.

Join us as we pull these threads together to see Jesus not just as a historical figure, but as our Savior, our Advocate, and our King.

!https://www.zumc.org/sermons

Listen to the January 25, 2026 Sunday worship service from Zionsville United Methodist Church in Zionsville, IN.

At the center of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus asks a question that changes everything, “Who do you say that I am?” When Peter names him as Messiah, it sounds like the right answer. But almost immediately, it becomes clear how misunderstood that title really is.

The Messiah many hoped for was a king who would restore national power, defeat enemies, and bring peace through strength. Jesus accepts the title, but reshapes its meaning. Instead of armed revolt, he speaks of suffering. Instead of victory through force, he calls for surrender. Instead of taking power, he takes a cross.

Set against the backdrop of Roman rule, false messiahs, and centuries of expectation, this moment reveals the tension between God’s promises and human expectations. Jesus remains faithful to God’s promises, even when that faithfulness leads to rejection, suffering, and death.

The invitation is to examine where we still try to remake Jesus in our own image, anointing leaders as saviors, defending our side, and resisting the way of self-giving love. Following Jesus means laying down our need to win and trusting a King whose reign is marked by sacrifice, mercy, and faithfulness.

!https://www.zumc.org/sermons

Listen to the January 18, 2026 Sunday worship service from Zionsville United Methodist Church in Zionsville, IN.

Who Is This Man, Week 23: The Prophet

Jesus is known as a healer, but Mark’s Gospel also presents him as a prophet. A prophet who speaks truth, exposes false loyalties, and calls people back to God’s kingdom, even when that message is hard to hear.

In Nazareth, Jesus is rejected not because of what he says, but because of who he is. Familiarity turns into offense, and offense shuts down transformation. Through stories of Elijah, Elisha, and those seen as outsiders, Jesus reveals how God’s grace refuses to stay contained within comfort, control, or insider status.

This passage raises hard questions about hearing truth in a divided world. About how truth and love must remain connected. About how to tell the difference between a prophetic voice and harmful noise. And about why Jesus himself becomes the standard by which every prophet must be measured.

Rather than rushing to defend or dismiss, the invitation is to pause, listen, repent where needed, and allow God to reshape what we love, what we trust, and how we live.

!https://www.zumc.org/sermons

Listen to the January 11, 2026 Sunday worship service from Zionsville United Methodist Church in Zionsville, IN.

Who Is This Man, Week 2: The Healer In the beginning of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus draws crowds for one clear reason: people believe he can heal. Bodies, minds, souls, whole lives. Yet the healing Jesus offers goes deeper than quick fixes or public displays. He meets people where they are, names what is broken, and restores them toward wholeness. This message reflects on Jesus as healer by looking at real lives in Mark’s Gospel and the real wounds we carry today. Trauma that still grips us. Exhaustion that drains our souls. Shame that keeps us hidden. Aimlessness that leaves us off course. Jesus does not rush past these places. He brings compassion, authority, and grace, inviting honest hearts to receive healing that reaches every part of who we are.

!https://www.zumc.org/sermons

Listen to the January 4, 2026 Sunday worship service from Zionsville United Methodist Church in Zionsville, IN.

What if faith is not about having all the answers, but about learning to follow?

The Gospel of Mark tells the story of Jesus in a very different way than the other Gospels. Jesus heals, teaches, and changes lives, yet his identity remains unclear for much of the story. People encounter him, respond to him, and follow him without fully understanding who he is or what he has come to do.

In this message, we begin a new sermon series in Mark by paying attention to that mystery. Mark invites us into a faith that starts with questions, leads to searching, and slowly opens us to deeper truth. We explore what it means to prepare the way for the Lord, how God’s promises shift meaning across time, and how Jesus is both the Way we follow and the face of God revealed to us.

This sermon also reflects on baptism as an outward sign of an inward mystery. Baptism marks the beginning of a lifelong walk with God, shaped by grace, guided by the Holy Spirit, and sustained even when understanding feels incomplete.

Faith in Mark is not about certainty. It is about trust, movement, and staying open to where God leads next.

!https://www.zumc.org/sermons

Listen to the December 28, 2025 Sunday worship service from Zionsville United Methodist Church in Zionsville, IN.

Listen to the December 28, 2025 Sunday worship service from Zionsville United Methodist Church in Zionsville, IN.

As Advent comes to an end, we return to Mary, whose quiet faith bookends the Christmas story. After the shepherds leave and the celebration settles, Mary treasures and ponders all these things in her heart.

This sermon invites us to slow down in the space between Christmas and the new year. It explores what it means to treasure the gifts God has given us and to ponder the questions we carry forward. Through shared reflections on family, friendship, joy, grief, and hope, we are reminded that faith grows when we make room to notice where God has been at work.

Treasuring and pondering are not one time acts. They are habits we return to in every season of life. As we reflect on the past year and look ahead, this message encourages us to hold our gratitude and our questions together, trusting that God is still present and still faithful.

!https://www.zumc.org/sermons

Listen to the December 21, 2025 Sunday worship service from Zionsville United Methodist Church in Zionsville, IN.

Joseph thought he knew the right thing to do. According to the law, his path was clear. But when an angel appeared in a dream, Joseph discovered that God was doing something far bigger than he could see.

This sermon traces Joseph’s story alongside an ancient story from the book of Numbers, where a prophet is stopped by an angel and shown a truth he could not see on his own. In both stories, God interrupts a well planned path and invites a deeper obedience.

We explore what the angel revealed to Joseph, why naming Jesus mattered, and how Joseph’s quiet decision shaped the story of salvation. Along the way, we reflect on righteousness, love, responsibility, and the kind of wonder that comes when we realize God is at work beyond our understanding.

This message invites us to leave room for wonder, especially in moments when God’s way challenges what we thought was right.

!https://www.zumc.org/sermons

Listen to the December 14, 2025 Sunday worship service from Zionsville United Methodist Church in Zionsville, IN.

Shoot for the stars with this fantastically fun, faith-filled Christmas Musical. Our children will sparkle and shine as heavenly stars in Star Stomp, getting front row seats to the excitement ensuing on Earth…the coming of the Savior! The stars have aligned on this silent night…and all of our sparkly friends can feel it! It’s time for a very important baby to be born…It’s time for the stomp we’ve all been practicing for!

!https://www.zumc.org/sermons