Kuna United Methodist Church Sermons

Jesus entered Jerusalem and spent every day teaching in the temple, raising the ire of the Sadducees. They asked him an absurd question — trying to get the people to turn on him. Well, Jesus put them in their place!! Pastor Mia talks about the significance of questions in our spiritual lives. See why it's important to ask God questions and what discover what our questions reveal about our faith.

When Jesus invited himself into the home of a tax collector, there was quite a stir among the people—Jesus was going to be the guest of a sinner! But that sinner, Zaccheus, experienced a conversion to following Jesus. From then on, he pledged to help the poor and repay the people he cheated. This week, Pastor Mia examines the salvation that put Zaccheus on the path to discipleship and how we can w...

God made a covenant with the people. And then there were problems. In Joel 2:23-32, the prophet attempts to call wayward followers back to God by clarifying the difference between life with and without God. Joel explains that there is protection with God, and God will pour his spirt out onto everyone—the young, the old, sons, daughters, and even slaves. This week, Pastor Mia examines Joel's vision...

How do you keep at it when life is hard? Luke 17 gives us a parable of a widow and a judge with no compassion. After being wronged, the widow took her case to the judge and pleased for help. He turned her away. But that didn't stop the widow. She returned day after day, until the judge finally changed his mind. Pastor Mia examines how she kept at it, and how we can keep at it.

As Jesus traveled to Jerusalem, he encountered ten lepers, sent them to the priest, and healed them. Along the way, only one, a Samaritan, realized Jesus was responsible for the healing. Today we are no different than the ten healed lepers, but when we make the connection to Jesus something happens.

Jesus showed us how to increase our faith: time with God (prayer), time with the crowds (outreach & service), and time with other disciples (Sunday worship & small groups). This time spent increases our faith and transforms our lives.

Jesus turned everything upside down. The rich end up in torment while the poor end up in paradise. Jesus even turned death into resurrection! God's command to care for the poor lays on us and marks us as Christ's followers.

The Pharisees wanted Jesus to be respectable. And so do we. During his time with the disciples, Jesus told them a story about a manager who was about to be fired for wasting his master's possessions. Before the termination was final, the manager tried to find favor with the master's debtors by reducing their debts. Then the master praised the manager for his shrewedness. So, what's going on? Where...

When the Pharasees and scholars criticized Jesus for spending time with the wrong people, Jesus told stories about normal life to explain the kingdom of heaven. These parables had a common theme of losing, finding, and celebrating. This week, Pastor Mia reveals how those stories apply to the relationships you and I have with God.

Context matters. When we read and hear the Gospel, we sometmes miss the communal nature of Christ. Look and listen closely. It's there. Jesus spoke to both individuals and groups and called them all to join a new family—the family of God. In the final sermon of Copying Christ, Pastor Mia hones in on how we can imitate the communal faith of Jesus.

Christ was on a mission that we carry on. Pastor Mia helps us move from being Christ admirers to being Christ followers, each taking on our own piece of God's great mission.

Idolatry has got to go! Being faithful is challenging when there are other "higher powers" competing for your attention. Jesus demonstrated faith by a cultivating loyalty and trust in God. We are called to imitate that faith as well. But how? In this week's sermon on Copying Christ, Pastor Mia describes two pathways that can lead to the development of faith.

I see your hurt, I feel your hurt, and I'll ease your hurt. In this week's sermon on copying Christ, we learn how Jesus showed compassion. Listen as Pastor Mia explains that when we copy Christ's compassion, God always shows up.

We are created with the capacity to imitate Christ, and Jesus demonstrated several quantities we can emulate. This week, Pastor Mia shares the stories of people who followed Christ's example. We can too. Over next four weeks, we'll learn about charactaristics of Jesus that we can integrate into our own lives. Find out which ones as we begin the sermon series Copying Christ.

As wealth grows, giving grows. Or does it? For some, greed is an expression of fear. This week, Pastor Mia describes the mindset that needs to change to be safe.

Prayer is asking. Prayer is conversation with God. Prayer is connection with others. Prayer is noticing.

Today, many see Christians as a hate group, more interested in being right than in being compassionate. But that's not us. So what makes a person Christian, a faithful follower of God? Jesus was asked the same question.

Words matter. Are we saved by our faith in Jesus, or are we saved by the faith of Jesus? What if both are equally good translations? Pastor Mia explains about these and other translation issues that effect us today.

No Exodus. No Psalms. No Revelation. One version of the Bible excludes all of these passages and more to promote the message that oppression is holy. In this episode, Pastor Mia shares the story of the Slave Bible.

When Jesus taught the people, what Scripture was he referring to? The Old Testament of his time isn't the same as today's. And depending on which Bible you read, some books are missing. Pastor Mia explains the face of what's known as the Apocrypha or the deuterocanonical books.

Banning books is not new, and the Bible is no exception. There are many times books from the Bible have been banned — unsuccessfully and successfully. This Sunday we look at the Letter of James, which Martin Luther thought should go.

Signs from God are not straightforward and they are not simple, but they do lead us to Christ.