Church of the Messiah UMC

In this week’s message, Pastor Katy Wheat Borhauer reflects on Galatians 5:1, 13-25 and Paul’s teaching on Christian freedom. Freedom in Christ is not simply the absence of limits or the ability to do whatever we want. It is freedom from sin, shame, self-centered striving, and the need to earn God’s love. But it is also freedom for a new way of life: loving our neighbors, serving one another, and...

In “Good Shepherd,” guest preacher Rev. Hannah VanMeter explores Jesus’ parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15:1–7 and our deep human desire to be known, welcomed, and loved. Through stories from the new United Methodist ministry at The Ohio State University, she shares how God notices every person, searches for those who feel lost or forgotten, carries them home, and rejoices when they are found. T...

What do we do when one season ends and another begins? In his final sermon as Associate Pastor of Church of the Messiah, Pastor Pete Elliott reflects on Isaiah 43 and the many changes that shape our lives. Some transitions are joyful, while others bring grief, uncertainty, and a difficult period of waiting. Through them all, God promises, “Do not fear, for I am with you,” and invites us to perceiv...

What happens when we stop pretending that everything is fine? In “Pay It Forward,” Pastor Katy Wheat Borhauer explores 2 Corinthians 1:3–11 and Paul’s honest testimony about suffering, vulnerability, prayer, and the abundant comfort of God. Following Jesus does not protect us from every hardship, but it assures us that Christ meets us in our suffering and that we do not have to carry it alone. The...

In this week’s message, “Good Company,” Pastor Katy Wheat Borhauer reflects on Hebrews 11–12 and the faith of those who trusted God through uncertain, difficult, and unexpected seasons. When life does not come with a clear map, Scripture reminds us that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses — ordinary, imperfect people who discovered God’s faithfulness along the way. This sermon is part...

What do we do when life does not go the way we expected, planned, or hoped? In this message, Pastor Katy Wheat Borhauer begins a new sermon series by reflecting on 2 Corinthians 4:7–18 and Paul’s image of “treasure in jars of clay.” We are fragile and human, but even in disappointment, grief, pain, and uncertainty, God’s extraordinary power is at work within us. This sermon reminds us that God is...

In this Pentecost Sunday message, Pastor Pete Elliott reflects on Acts 2:1-21 and the surprising, disruptive arrival of the Holy Spirit. Through the image of “new wine,” the sound like a violent wind, tongues like fire, and the miracle of people hearing God’s deeds of power in their own languages, this sermon invites us to imagine what God can do when the church gathers, waits, remembers, and show...

This week at Church of the Messiah, Pastor Katy Wheat Borhauer concludes our From Me to We sermon series with a message called “Same Table,” based on Romans 15:1–9. In this passage, Paul invites the church to live with harmony, hope, and welcome—not because everyone is the same, but because Christ has already welcomed us. The message asks a practical and spiritual question: with the time, energy,...

In this message from the From Me to We sermon series, Pastor Pete Elliott preaches from Jeremiah 29:4–5, 7, where God speaks to the people of Judah living in exile in Babylon. Rather than telling them only to wait for rescue, God tells them to build houses, plant gardens, seek the welfare of the city, and pray for the community around them. “Boots On” reminds us that faithfulness often begins righ...

On Consecration Sunday, May 3, 2026, Church of the Messiah welcomed former lead pastor and special guest preacher Rev. Dr. Jim Wilson, District Superintendent of the Olentangy River District of the West Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church. Preaching from Ephesians 4:1–10, Jim invited the congregation to see the church not as a cruise ship where people sit back and watch, but as a crew b...

In this sermon from Sunday, April 26, 2026, Pastor Katy Wheat Borhauer begins our new series, From Me to We, with a message called “Myths of the Main Character.” Looking at Genesis 2:15–17, 25 and Genesis 3:1–13, 22–24, Pastor Katy explores the garden story as the beginning of a temptation that still shapes us today: the temptation to believe life is about me, my control, my fulfillment, and my st...

In this message, Rev. Katy Wheat Borhauer reflects on John 10:1–10 and the promise of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. In a world filled with noise, pressure, fear, and competing voices, Jesus reminds us that his sheep know his voice. He knows us by name, leads with love, and offers not scarcity or confusion, but safety, peace, and abundant life. This sermon invites us to ask an important question: who...

This week, Rev. Pete Elliott preached from 1 Peter 1:3-9 and reminded us that because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have been given a living hope. This hope is not shallow optimism or pretending life is easy. It is the deep assurance that Christ is present with us in suffering, questions, uncertainty, and joy. Even when hope feels far away, God continues to meet us where we are and remin...

On Easter Sunday, Pastor Katy Wheat Borhauer preached on Matthew 28:1-10 and Colossians 3:1-4, bringing a message about fear, joy, and the only voice with true authority to say "do not be afraid." Drawing from the story of the two Marys at the empty tomb, Pastor Katy reminded us that Easter doesn't promise the hard things go away. It promises that the risen Christ walks the road with us. Because h...

On Palm Sunday, we join the crowd in asking one of the most important questions in all of Holy Week: Who is this? In Matthew 21:1–11, Jesus enters Jerusalem not as the kind of king people expected, but as the humble King they truly needed. This sermon explores how often we want Jesus to act on our terms, on our timeline, and in ways that make sense to us, while Jesus continues to reveal a deeper k...

In this week’s message, “Becoming Ready,” Pastor Pete Elliott reflects on Ephesians 4:21-24 and 5:1-2 and reminds us that the life of faith is not a one-time finish line. It is an ongoing process of renewal. Using the image of house cleaning rather than model building, Pastor Pete shows how discipleship is often repetitive, honest, and unfinished. We are invited to put away the old self, put on th...

In this message, Into the Light, Pastor Katy Wheat Borhauer reflects on Romans 12:9–12, 18 and explores what it means for love to be sincere. Drawing from Steps 8 and 9 of recovery, this sermon invites us to move beyond performative apologies and into true repentance—naming the harm we have caused, embracing healthy contrition, and trusting God to transform us from the inside out. This sermon offe...

In this message from Sunday, March 8, 2026, Pastor Katy Wheat Borhauer continues Church of the Messiah’s Lenten sermon series, Steps, with a sermon titled Defects of Character. Preaching from Philippians 3:7-14, Pastor Katy reflects on Paul’s willingness to let go of everything that once defined him so that he could know Christ more deeply. This sermon explores what it means to release not only ob...

Pastor Katy Wheat Borhauer preaches “A Fearless Inventory” at Church of the Messiah UMC in Westerville, Ohio, on Sunday, March 1, 2026. Grounded in Psalm 139:1–7, 23–24, this sermon explores Steps 4 and 5 of the recovery journey and invites all of us into honest self-examination before a God who already knows us fully and loves us completely. This message is for anyone carrying pain, resentment, s...

Pastor Pete Elliott kicks off our Lent series Steps with “The Beginning of a Whole New Life”, rooted in Romans 7:14–25. If you’ve ever felt the tension between who you want to be and what you keep doing, you’re not alone. This message names the struggle honestly, and points to the hope of grace that meets us right where we are.

On Transfiguration Sunday, we hear Matthew 17:1–9 and witness Jesus revealed in glory—shining on the mountain as God declares, “This is my Son… Listen to him.” In this message, Pastor Katy Wheat Borhauer explores why the mountaintop moment isn’t meant to become our hiding place. It’s a gift that strengthens trust when life gets complicated, painful, or uncertain. If you’ve ever wanted to stay in a...

We close our Time of Your Life sermon series with “Under the Sun,” rooted in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. Pastor Katy reminds us that life comes in seasons, and most of the time we cannot see the whole story from beginning to end. Still, we know a good God who holds every season inside God’s everlasting story, and who is at work even when life feels chaotic, unclear, or heavy. The invitation is simple and...

Pastor Katy Wheat Borhauer continues our Time of Your Life series with “When Less is More,” rooted in Ephesians 5:15–17. We all receive the same 1,440 minutes each day, and Scripture calls us to live wisely, make the most of our time, and seek the will of the Lord. This message explores how time is a finite resource from God, and how small deposits of time, made consistently, can shape our lives a...

When life feels at capacity, it’s easy to believe the answer is “more time.” In week two of our Time of Your Life series, Pastor Pete Elliott explores Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:25–33, where we’re invited to release worry and seek first the Kingdom of God. Through the “big rocks” illustration, we discover how putting what matters most first creates space for the rest—and how God wants to transform...

We kicked off our new sermon series, Time of Your Life, with Psalm 90 and a prayer that can reshape the way we live: “Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). Pastor Katy Wheat Borhauer invites us to move beyond “What time is it?” and ask the deeper discipleship question: What am I doing with my time? Psalm 90 places our brief lives inside God’s eternal story....