Midway Christian Church Sermon Podcast

Good Grief (Part 2) October 15, 2023 As as we begin to process our grief, we are in the unique position to connect the pain and suffering in others’ lives to Jesus’ pain and suffering. Because what we discovered and experienced in our own grief is the healing power of the Gospel message, that our God, who cares for us, sits with us, and surrounds us, continues to fill us with light and love. &quot...

Good Grief (Part 1) October 8, 2023 Whether a loss is from a physical death, divorce, declining health, bankruptcy, life transitions, finding gray hair and more wrinkles on our faces when we look in the mirrors, grief from our children growing up and becoming more independent and needing us less and less to some other wound or hurt we have experienced in our lives or in our world, every loss deser...

Sacred Earth, Sacred Worth (Part 6) September 24, 2023 It simply not enough to say we will love one another. We are called to practice what we preach, practice the example given to us by Our Creator which is one of surrender, of humility, of grace, and of connection. "Healing Relationships" 1 John 4: 7-21 Rev. Dr. Heather W. McColl, Midway Christian Church, Midway KY www.midwaychristian....

Sacred Earth, Sacred Worth (Part 5) September 10, 2023 There is so much hate in this world especially against people who look differently from us, think differently from us, or have different life styles than us. Too often we assume that if we all look alike, think alike, dress alike, live alike, then we will achieve peace while in reality when the Spirit calls to be one, it is calling us to unity...

Sacred Earth, Sacred Worth (Part 4) September 3, 2023 As people of faith, we are called not to look around for someone else to deal with the brokenness and hurt that fills our world but Rather as co-partners in working to bring about God’s beloved community here on Earth. We are that someone. "Sacred Creative Vocation" Isaiah 6: 1-8 Rev. Dr. Heather W. McColl, Midway Christian Church, Mi...

Sacred Earth, Sacred Worth (Part 3) August 27, 2023 Short description of sermon – use header from sermon blog. "The Paths of Life" Psalm 30 Rev. Dr. Heather W. McColl, Midway Christian Church, Midway KY www.midwaychristian.org

Sacred Earth, Sacred Worth (Part 2) August 20, 2023 When we begin the work of reconciliation and healing in compassion, literally meaning “with passion”, with the energy of love, we are drawn into relationship with those around us. We begin to embrace our connections to each other, to the world around us. We begin to see others, see Creation as good, as ones which reflect the light and love of God...

Sacred Earth, Sacred Worth (Part 1), August 13, 2023 The Creation story shows us a model of shared power, shared capacity, shared obligation for tending. It reminds us that “genuine interaction and interdependence are characteristics of God’s creative activity. "Creation as Blessing" Genesis 1-2: 4 Rev. Dr. Heather W. McColl, Midway Christian Church, Midway KY www.midwaychristian.org

July 30, 2023 “Then you shall know that I the Lord have spoken and will act.” We speak about unconditional love, but do we act it? We can count on God for unconditional love for us, but we can also count of God to do the same through us. "Dem Bones" Ezekiel 37: 1-14 Rev. Bill Mcdonald, guest preacher, Midway Christian Church, Midway KY www.midwaychristian.org

Lessons from Paul's Letter to the Romans (Part 3) July 23, 2023 Because of God’s grace and love, because we have been transformed, because we know that this world does not have the last word, as disciples of Christ, we are invited, not just to have a passive faith in a deity some light years away, but to be encouraged to embody a life grounded in the promises of the resurrection, in the hope o...

Lessons from Paul's Letter to the Romans (Part 2) July 16, 2023 Paul says that those who have been justified by faith have been set in right relationship with God, not because of anything we did do deserve it. But rather we are in right relationship because of who God is…a God who is slow to anger, a God who is faithful from generation to generation, a God who in steadfast in love. Lessons fro...

Lessons from Paul's Letter to the Romans (Part 1) July 9, 2023 As people of faith, we struggle to name what the Gospel actually means. We struggle to name how it transforms our faith. And we struggle with words like salvation, especially in relation to the good news. "Gospel as Salvation" Romans 1: 1-17 Rev. Dr. Heather W. McColl, Midway Christian Church, Midway KY www.midwaychristia...

The Awakened Traveler (Part 4) June 25, 2023 Whether we have traveled the world or not, learning about the world and its peoples, expanding our connections to those in our own community that have diverse backgrounds and experiences, is part of the Journey of Love to which we are called. "Returning Home" John 15: 1-17 Rev. Dr. Heather W. McColl, Midway Christian Church, Midway KY www.midw...

The Awakened Traveler (Part 3) June 18, 2023 When we encounter the world with all its beauty and its suffering, we get to see the larger picture and realize that our views and our ways of living, that our ways of understanding things, that even our way of worship. are one among many. "The Reflection" Revelation 21: 22-26 Rev. Dr. Heather W. McColl, Midway Christian Church, Midway KY www.midwaychri...

The Awakened Traveler (Part 2) June 11, 2023 As travelers, we are challenged “to consider the impact of [our] travel on the people [we] meet, to delve deeply into the wonder of God’s created world – and God’s people – and to think carefully about how [our] travel helps (or hinders) matters of peace and justice.” (from “Faithful Travel” by Rick Steves) "The Encounter" John 4: 7-40 Rev. Dr. Heather...

The Awakened Traveler (Part 1) June 4, 2023 God intentionally led the people of Israel out of Egypt by a roundabout way, reminding us that sometimes the best part of the journey is not arriving at the destination but what we learn along the way, the people we meet, the experiences we have, the opportunities to try something new because as the people of Israel soon learn “beginning a journey involv...

May 28, 2023 This is Pentecost...where the old is made new, where the celebration which honors the first fruits of the harvest takes on new meaning, where all the people of God are reminded of our connection to and for each other. "The Day of Pentecost" Acts 2: 1-21 Scripture Reading: Pastor Rick Smith, Historic Second Christian Church, Midway KY Sermon: Rev. Heather McColl, Midway Chris...

May 21, 2023 Jesus leaves his disciples with, leaves us with, this. . . a reminder that “it is in living out God’s love for the world that we have oneness with God, that we have oneness with each other.” This oneness is not uniformity. It is unity.  "Made Your Name Known" John 17: 1-11 Rev. Dr. Heather W. McColl, Midway Christian Church, Midway KY www.midwaychristian.org  

May 14, 2023 We were given the Spirit of Truth to guide us, to ground us in God’s Wisdom, and to help us find our way as we become the embodiment of God’s love as we live out the vision of God’s Beloved Community coming to fruition here on Earth. "Spirit of Truth" John 14: 15-21 Rev. Dr. Heather W. McColl, Midway Christian Church, Midway KY www.midwaychristian.org  

May 7, 2023 As people of faith, we know that we are not alone, that we are surrounded by a community of brothers and sisters who walk with us, that we have the promise that there is nothing that can ever separate us from God's love. "This is true hope, even when our hearts are troubled." "Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled" John 14: 1-14, Rev. Dr. Heather W. McColl, Midway...

April 30, 2023 At the Table, the disciples catch a glimpse of the Kingdom of God, which invites them to hear again that death does not have the last word. That in the Kingdom of God, all are seen as Beloved Children of God, that at the Table, there are no seats of power or honor, there are only opportunities for all to be embraced as equals . "How Did We Not Know?" Luke 24: 13-35 Rev. Dr...

April 23, 2023 "Jesus is not following a formula or an etiquette book. Jesus in acting in love, performing what we might today call, team building. Jesus is taking care of his disciples before he leaves them." -Ginger Barfield "The Dash" John 13: 10-17 Guest Preacher Ambrose Wilson, IV, Midway Christian Church, Midway KY

April 16, 2023 - Earth Sunday Our scripture this morning is not a typical Earth Sunday passage. Rather it is a confrontation and a conversation about the ways of world, specifically in how we care for the land and care for others in crisis. "The Church Needs to be A Joseph" Genesis 41: 14-36 Rev. Dr. Heather W. McColl, Midway Christian Church, Midway KY www.midwaychristian.org

Measure Your Life in Love (Part 7) April 9, 2023 For Mark, what matters is that we have the promise that transformation, that the new life of the empty tomb, meets us in every single minute of every single day. For Mark and for us…the story is still being written. "How Do You Measure Transformation" Mark 16: 1-8 Rev. Dr. Heather W. McColl, Midway Christian Church, Midway KY www.midwaychr...

Measure Your Life in Love (Part 6) April 2, 2023 We need to hear again, that this world does not have the last word; that to know that God is still at work in our world; that for times such as these, as people of faith, we are called to preach the good news always, using words when necessary; that just when it seems hopeless, like the darkness has won, like it is all too much, the Kingdom of God w...