Sermon Central

I have been at Brecksville United Methodist Church for 6 years, and together, we have stayed attuned to where God is leading us, allowing the Spirit to direct our every move. Even as the world has continued to change at a surprisingly fast pace, and we’ve had to modify and change to meet people where they are. And I’m proud of the ways we’ve stepped out in faith, trusting God even when we weren’t...

We are in week 4 of our worship series—Curious Church: Wondering Our Way Forward. How do we stay attuned to the leading of God’s Spirit? I’ve found that the best way is to come to God with curiosity. “What does the next season look like for us?” “How is God calling us to be a safe space here and now, at this time in history?” So, in this series, we’re going to get curious together: what is God up...

We are in week 3 of our worship series—Curious Church: Wondering Our Way Forward. I’ve found that the best way to stay attuned to the leading of God’s Spirit is to come to God with curiosity. “What does the next season look like for us?” “How is God calling us to be a safe space here and now, at this time in history?” So, in this series, we’re going to get curious together: what is God up to—in us...

We are in week 2 of our worship series—Curious Church: Wondering Our Way Forward. A lot has happened in the past six years—both within our church, and in the world. Pastor Heidi says, "Through it all, we’ve stayed attuned to where God is leading, allowing the Spirit to direct our every move. And I’m proud of that. And yet, I find myself wondering, what does the next season look like for us? How is...

Our world feels like it’s one of those dryer balls tumbling around in a clothes dryer—tumultuous presidential elections, civil unrest from just about every corner as people have reached the breaking point—sick of being pushed to the margins and ignored for centuries. The relationship between the church and greater culture had drastically changed. Trends that we had been seeing for years have final...

Jesus calls us to make some good trouble, to turn the world upside down.

For the past few weeks, we’ve been taking a look at some occasions in scripture when people of faith had “holy meltdowns”—when pillars of our faith like Moses, Jonah, and Elijah had big emotions. Because right now, there seem to be a lot of big emotions in the world. Something that might have bothered or annoyed us before, now has the potential to really set us off. It’s like we each have less of...

For the past few weeks, we have been taking a look at some occasions in scripture when people of faith had “holy meltdowns”—when pillars of our faith like Moses, Jonah, and Elijah had big emotions. Because right now, there seems to be a lot of big emotions in the world. Many—if not most—of us are struggling with something: grief, sadness or depression, anxiety, anger… because life seems to be part...

What was Jesus so mad about, anyway?

In this series, Holy Meltdowns, we’re taking a look at some occasions in scripture when people of faith had big emotions—like Moses hitting a rock, Jonah getting bitter, Jesus flipping tables, and more. Because right now, there seems to be a lot of big emotions in the world right now. Many people—I would go as far to say “most of us”—are feeling overwhelmed by life and the news cycle, and we’re re...

God asks Jonah "Do you do well to be angry?" It's a question we should all ask ourselves. As the world swirls through a period of division and change, when things don't turn out as we had planned, do we do well to be angry? Guest speaker, Rev. Sharon Seyfarth Garner, delivers an inspiring message that encourages us to stay curious, not judgmental.

Today, we begin a new worship series, “Holy Meltdowns.” Have you noticed that there seem to be a lot of big emotions in the world right now? Many people (most of us?) are feeling overwhelmed by life and the news cycle, and we’re responding in ways that we may not normally—getting angry, impatient, frustrated, sad, or feeling hopeless. Traditionally, the church tells us that "good" or "faithful" Ch...

Today we conclude our worship series, “Road Trip: On the Go with God.” Each year, we spend a few weeks taking a look at the stories our kids will delve into at Vacation Bible School. As Navigator Matt and Scout shared, this past week, our kids went on a figurative road trip, discovering that God’s presence is everywhere. Each day, they explored stories from the Old and New Testament that show this...

Today we continue our worship series, “Road Trip: On the Go with God.” Each year, we spend a few weeks before Vacation Bible School taking a look at the stories our kids will delve into at VBS. Tomorrow, our kids will be going on a figurative road trip, and discover that God’s presence is everywhere. The theme verse for the whole week is Joshua 1:9— “The Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”...

June 29, 2025 The LORD your God is with you wherever you go. - Joshua 1:9 Today we continue our worship series, “Road Trip: On the Go with God.” Each year, we spend a few weeks before Vacation Bible School taking a look at the stories our kids will delve into at VBS. In just one week, our kids will be going on a figurative road trip, and discover that God’s presence is everywhere. The theme verse...

Today we begin a new worship series, “Road Trip: On the Go with God.” Each year, we spend a few weeks before Vacation Bible School, taking a look at the stories our kids will delve into at VBS. In just a few weeks, our kids will be going on a figurative road trip, and discover that God’s presence is everywhere. The theme verse for the whole week is Joshua 1:9— “The Lord your God is with you wherev...

Today, we are in our final week of our series Get Off Your Donkey 2.0. The first iteration of this series was back in January 2023, when we looked at ways people in our congregation were “getting off their donkeys” and putting their faith into action. The concept of “getting off your donkey” comes from Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan—a man is traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho and he finds s...

Today, we are in week 5 of our series Get Off Your Donkey 2.0. In 2023, we spent six weeks looking at Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan—a Samaritan man traveling along the road from Jerusalem to Jericho and finds someone lying on the side of the road—robbed, beaten, and left for dead. Instead of continuing on his way (like those before him), the Samaritan gets off his donkey, cleans up the man’...

Today, we are in week 4 of our series Get Off Your Donkey 2.0. In 2023, we spent six weeks looking at Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan—a Samaritan man traveling along the road from Jerusalem to Jericho and finds someone lying on the side of the road—robbed, beaten, and left for dead. Instead of continuing on his way (like those before him), the Samaritan gets off his donkey, cleans up the man’...

In 2023, we spent six weeks looking at Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan—a Samaritan man traveling along the road from Jerusalem to Jericho and finds someone lying on the side of the road—robbed, beaten, and left for dead. Instead of continuing on his way (like the priest and religious man before him), the Samaritan gets off his donkey, cleans up the battered man’s wounds, and takes him to an i...

Get Off Your Donkey - a Woman's Place by BrecksvilleUMC

Get Off Your Donkey - Healthcare by BrecksvilleUMC

If this is your first time with us, know that today is not a “regular” Sunday. Just one week ago, we celebrated Easter together—singing, praying together, and connecting scripture with our daily lives. And while we will do all those things today, we are also acutely aware of just how much can change in a week. This past Tuesday, Dana Schwendeman, our Youth Director for the past 8 ½ years, passed a...

Everything In Between Grief and Hope by BrecksvilleUMC

PALM / PASSION SUNDAY everything in between shouting & silence Luke 19:29-40 (Jesus enters Jerusalem) Jesus doesn’t instigate his own parade. Instead, just his quiet presence alone inspires the multitude to shout out and praise God. When the religious leaders try to silence the crowd, Jesus tells them that the noise level isn’t the point—even the stones would cry out if they were silent. It takes...