Melbourne Heights - Sermons

Every year about 60% of Americans make New Year's Resolutions. The majority of these resolutions have to do with our health, our finances, or the way we spend our free time. But no matter what you may resolve to do, your resolution becomes your top priority as the New Year begins. But there is only one thing that should be our top priority...and that's our relationship with God. And when we priori...

Throughout this Christmas season, we have reminded you that even though COVID-19 has changed the way we'll celebrate this year that Christmas isn't cancelled. But there is something that can cancel the good news of this season...and that's the way that we keep Christmas throughout the year. So now that December 25th has passed for another year, you have to decide if you'll keep Christmas or try to...

Christmas is a season of love. But we don't often stop to think about who it is that God truly loves. We only think about God loving people like us...but God loves everyone. ​God loves people we wouldn't invite to Christmas dinner or even send a Christmas card to. And God sent his son into this world to die for them. And that is the scandal of Christmas.

Throughout this season, we have reminded you that Christmas isn't about how we celebrate...it's about who we celebrate. So, to help us better understand who we celebrate at Christmas, we have been exploring the story of Jesus's birth. This week, we'll explore the story of the shepherds. And we'll see what the shepherds' involvement in this story tells us about the meaning of Christmas.

When you were a kid you may have dreamed that you would grow up and become a firefighter, an astronaut, or a pilot. But for kids growing up in Israel 2,000 years ago, they would've dreamt of being the Messiah...and that includes Jesus's earthly father, Joseph.  In this week's sermon, we'll see how Joseph's dreams helped him to realize who God is and to discover the purpose of Christmas.

We know that the way we celebrate Christmas is going to be different this year. But Christmas isn't really about how we celebrate...Christmas is about who we celebrate. So we're looking at different parts of the Christmas story to see what they can teach us about who Jesus is. This week, we'll be taking a closer look at Mary's part in the story and through her story, we'll see what it means to be...

Although it would've been nice to only worry about items on our Christmas list that were back-ordered on Amazon or how we could avoid Aunt Agnes's fruit cake...it's becoming clear that this Christmas isn't going to be normal. ​So can we actually celebrate Christmas if we can't get together with our family and friends? Well, we'll see throughout this sermon series that Christmas isn't cancelled.

Thanksgiving is only a few days away. And most years that means that we are making plans to travel to see our family, or heading down to our basements to pull out our card tables and extra chairs...but 2020 is different.  So what do we do when Thanksgiving is only a few days away and we don't feel like we have much to be thankful for?

Every kid has something that they want for Christmas. It might be a toy or a video game, a new pair of shoes or some fancy jewelry...but every kid dreams of finding something under their tree on Christmas morning. But this dream doesn't come true for every kid. In this sermon, we'll talk about what our church is doing to make Christmas dreams come true and how you can help.

After Election Day every four years, members of the winning political party begin to celebrate while members of the losing party tend to freak out. But instead of celebrating a win or grieving a loss, the days following an election are the perfect time to think about the work that still needs to be done to create the more perfect union that our founders envisioned.

If you've ever tuned in to a Presidential Debate or watched a couple of hours of cable news, you've seen the way that our world does politics today. But, as followers of Jesus, we're not part of the kingdoms of this world...we're part of a different kind of kingdom. In this sermon, we'll be talking about what that kingdom is all about.

With the election less than a week away, many of us have had just about enough of politics for a while. That's because politics in America has become so partisan and so divisive. So how do we, as followers of Jesus, live out our faith in the face of the partisan political divide in our country? That's what we'll be talking about this Sunday.

As we read the Bible, we are invited to be a part of God's story...but we don't always want other people to be involved in this story. So we write people off based on their covers. In this episode, we'll see how one of the most important stories in the New Testament would not have happened if God judged us by our covers.

We all know that the Bible is important to us as followers of Jesus. But just because we know the Bible is important, that doesn't mean that we do a great job of actually reading it. So in this episode, we're going to give you three tips to help you read the Bible.

We have all heard the parable of the Prodigal Son...but even though we call this parable "The Prodigal Son" it isn't really about the son. This is a parable about the father and his mercy and love for all of his children. And that's the same way God feels about us.

The parable of the Good Samaritan might just be the most well-known parable that Jesus tells. But just because we've heard this parable before that doesn't mean we understand it. Because this parable isn't really about who your neighbor is...it's about so much more.

In the parable of the sower, Jesus tells the story of a farmer who scatters seed everywhere. So what can this parable teach us about who God is and how we should live? That's what we'll be exploring in worship.

There's no question that we're going through a difficult time right now. When we face difficult times we have the choice to focus only on ourselves or to help others make it through. God created us to be heroes and to help others...but how often do we end up being the villains and only focus on ourselves?

Last week, as we explored the story of the showdown on Mt. Carmel, we were reminded that God is always with us. In this week's life lesson from Elijah, we'll see that God isn't just with us...God is also for us.

With everything that is happening in the world right now, it can be hard to see God at work in our world and in our lives. But in this week's service, we'll be reminded that God never abandons us...we just need to remember to focus on God.

We're starting into a brand new series of sermons where we'll be learning life lessons from the prophet Elijah. And this week, we're going to see what Elijah, a widow, and a boxer can teach us about living through difficult times.

Over the last few weeks, our pastor has shared some of the lessons that he's learned over his 13 years in ministry. But this week, Adam will be talking about what it's been like to be a pastor during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We're continuing on in our "Confessions of a Pastor" sermon series. And for this week's confession, our pastor borrows a line from the old REM song to remind us that "everybody hurts".

It may not make sense mathematically but, after 13 years in ministry, our pastor has learned that one is greater than 99. In this week's sermon, he'll explain what that means.

A lot of us want to put our pastors on a pedestal. But no matter how great our pastors may be...they'll never be perfect. Our pastors will make mistakes and let you down. But in this week's sermon, we'll be reminded that our pastors aren't meant to be perfect, they're meant to point us to the one who is perfect.