Hilldale UMC's Podcast

Extreme Makeover: Foundation Inspection (Matthew 4:1–11) We live in a culture obsessed with image, improvement, and quick transformation. But Jesus' version of an "extreme makeover" begins not with a spotlight, but with solitude. In this first message of the Lenten series, we follow Jesus into the wilderness, where hunger, silence, and temptation reveal what truly holds a life together. Through th...

In this Ash Wednesday message, Rev. Dr. Jefferson M. Furtado reflects on the early days of the COVID-19 shutdown — a moment when the world unexpectedly paused. In that quiet stillness, we were confronted with our limits, our vulnerabilities, and our shared humanity. Ash Wednesday offers us that same sacred pause. "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return" are not words of shame, bu...

When God rebuilds a community, joy becomes a public witness.

Stories shape who we are—individually and together. In this sermon from Nehemiah 8:1–12, we explore how transformation deepens when people gather to listen, understand, tell the truth, and practice joy in community. After the walls of Jerusalem are rebuilt, the people do not rush forward. Instead, they gather around God's Word, rediscover their shared story, weep honestly, and are invited into ren...

In this sermon on Nehemiah 4:1–14, When Hope Meets Resistance , we reflect on the reality that faithful obedience does not guarantee ease. Drawing on Scripture, prayer, and the wisdom of voices like Langston Hughes and Archbishop Óscar Romero, this message explores how hope is sustained through resistance, how prayer becomes a form of faithful action, and how God calls communities to keep building...

What does renewal really look like when a community is rebuilding—after loss, disruption, or discouragement? In this sermon, we turn to one of the most overlooked chapters in Scripture: Nehemiah 3. At first glance, it reads like a list of names and tasks. But beneath the surface, it tells a powerful story about how God's work unfolds—not through heroes or grand gestures, but through ordinary peopl...

What does it mean to truly serve a community in crisis? In this powerful message, Rev. Mary Kate Myers takes us through the Book of Nehemiah to discover a masterclass in faithful, humble, and patient leadership. When Nehemiah learned that Jerusalem lay in ruins—its walls broken and its people vulnerable—he didn't rush in with quick fixes or grand heroics. Instead, he spent three months in prayer a...

We live in a world carefully designed for comfort—but what happens when comfort begins to dull our attentiveness to suffering, injustice, and need? In this sermon on Nehemiah 1, we explore the sacred tension between comfort and calling, privilege and compassion, safety and solidarity. "A Holy Discontent" invites us to consider the kind of discomfort that does not come from guilt or anxiety, but fr...

Sermon Text: 2 Chronicles 34:29-33 Description: Today, we commit yourselves to Christ and together renew our covenant to follow his way and live according to his ways.

Sermon Text: Isaiah 9:2–7 & John 1:1–14  Description: The Word became flesh—and nothing will ever be the same. 

Sermon Text: Matthew 11:2–11 Description: Even in doubt, joy blossoms when God draws near. 

John the Baptist calls us to repentance, making room for the One who is coming.  Scripture: Matthew 3:1–12

As we light the first candle of Advent, Rev. Linda L. Furtado invites us to pause, listen, and open ourselves to the hope God is planting in us. This sermon invites us into the surprising beginnings of the season—where ancient promises meet our present longing, and where the light of Christ begins to break into our world once more.

In this final week of our  Rooted in Discipleship series, Dr. Jefferson M. Furtado explores what it means not only to be rooted in Christ, but to truly flourish in God's transforming grace. Drawing on the Wesleyan vision of sanctification and the practices that shape a mature life of faith, this sermon invites us to imagine discipleship as more than obligation—it is a life that bears fruit for the...