Russellville United Methodist Temple Sermons

Everything that has a beginning has an end. Especially on days like All Saints Day, when we remember the brevity and fragility of life, we examine the value of using every breath, including our last one, for the love of God and neighbor.

If the church is an organism that has been made alive with Christ, then it needs Christ to sustain it, too. As we've learned that grace is what keeps us alive, we must remember that the word of God is the source for our understanding of that grace, meaning that being in the word regularly will not only teach us about God but empower us to live well.

While we acknowledge that it is because of the death of Christ that we find life in him, it can often be difficult to accept the grace necessary for us to receive that life. It is only in letting go of our ability to save ourselves that we can truly experience the fullness of the salvation and life of Jesus.

Everything that lives also grows. When we are born again, alive in Christ both as individuals and as gathered believers, we also begin to grow, but into what? Scripture says that we are growing into Christ and into maturity that makes us more unified as people of faith.

In our modern form of the church, we often place emphasis on church "membership" as our relationship to the church. However, in scripture, we are described as members not of a lifeless organization but of the living body of Christ. When we are a part of something living, that's what makes "membership" meaningful.

Part of remembering that the church is a living, breathing organism is remembering the reason why we gather. Instead of getting lost in the programming, we need to remember that everything we do needs to be rooted in active love, and only living things can love.

For centuries, the church has been understood as an institution like many others in our society. While this is true, the church is more than that. The routines and practices we maintain, noble though they may be, can distract us from the reality that we are the living, breathing body of Christ.

The story of our faith ends with us overcoming the opposition and oppression of the world and Christ himself reigning in justice over all. The final book of scripture says that we overcome by the blood of Jesus and the word of our testimony. We'll conclude our series by taking a hard look at what it means to embrace the two most powerful forces in our lives to overcome every trial and declare...

When the gospel was spreading in the early days of Christianity, people were invited into faith and fellowship with one another. Yet in our time, it is far more common to invite people to attend church or an event. This difference, which may appear subtle, makes all the difference in how we share our stories in the world.

Much of the emphasis of ministry is on opening the doors for those in the lowest positions to enter the kingdom and experience the greatness of God's love. However, much of how we attempt to do this, especially regarding young people, actually pushes them further way. Today, we'll explore the intentional and unintentional ways the church alienates youth, and how we can treat them with the...

One of the most emphasized aspects of sharing our faith is to be able to give a defense for what we believe. However, too often, we become so defensive about our faith that we become offensive by failing to do so in a loving way. Today, we'll examine what it means to be unashamed of the gospel without losing sight of the life of love we're called to live.

Christians have long anticipated the return of Jesus to make all things new in one final victory over sin and death. What's more is we anticipate that he's coming soon. While that can bring great hope for our renewal and resurrection, it can make us anxious as we share the gospel because none of us have unlimited time on earth. Today, we'll deal with the tension of urgency to share the...

When sharing our faith, we often make the mistake of talking just to talk. Rather than sharing our story in a way that makes sense to others, we veil it in religious language that non-Christian people may not relate to. How can we be more considerate as we share the gospel, and how can we avoid using religious language to push people toward a disingenuous decision?

Modern culture, especially in American Evangelical spaces, places high value on being loud, outgoing, extroverted, and exuberant when we declare the gospel. However, the same scripture that tells us to unashamedly declare the gospel also tells us to lead a quiet life and mind our business. This is great because introverted people exist, too. How can we both be bold in sharing our stories and conte...

Paul describes himself as becoming "all things to all people," but how can one person make themselves so popular or even palatable? We may not relate to everyone on every level, but we can explore common human experiences shared by everyone as we seek to understand and love one another as we share the gospel.

The Pharisees focused so much on outward appearances that Jesus said that it would be their reward. However, Jesus calls us to not flaunt our religiosity, which is very different from the way even modern church culture tells us to do ministry. How can we keep ourselves from obsessing over public image while remaining present in the world we're called to love like Jesus does?

While we each have a story to tell, wherever we go, our actions tell their own story. When we act in love as we are called, it makes what we believe actually believable. When we don't, we give people reasons to run away. Today, we'll discuss what it means when we struggle to act in accordance with our faith and how we can make sure a good reputation precedes us.

We often reminisce about eras in which the gospel spread more quickly and people were more passionate about it. While we may be tempted to think that our predecessors were better or more spiritual than us, we are no less human than they were, and God will use us just as powerfully as we trust him to go before us.

As Jesus prepares for the events of the crucifixion and resurrection, he tells his disciple a lot of unbelievable things. He talks about making mansions in heaven, but he also tells his disciples that they will do greater things than He (Jesus) has. We will unravel how any human being could possibly do greater things than the sage, healer, and resurrected Christ.

Jonah ran from his calling to tell the Ninevites the good news of God's mercy because he didn't want his enemies to experience it. Is part of our fear of telling our stories rooted in fear, maybe even hatred of our real and perceived enemies?

We cannot follow the calling of God, to love the world the way he does, until we acknowledge the parts of our story we're ashamed of.

While the scale of the story of Pentecost may not be common, we have access to the same principles and Spirit to drive us to spread the gospel on any scale.

Too often, we assume we have to force ourselves to spread the gospel when it is just a matter of paying attention to the Spirit of God moving both within and around us.

Progress and growth in ministry can be slow, but it is a promise for all who are led by the Spirit, even if it takes time or looks different than we expect.

Jesus left us with a mission: to testify of what Jesus has done for us all. However, we often misunderstand the nature of the mission. By examining what Jesus said and did when he ascended, we can see that he gave us everything we need to succeed at fulfilling his mission.