Sermon Central

Today we are celebrating All Saints Sunday. United Methodists are not a denomination that typically celebrates the canonized saints of the church and their various saints’ days. Rather, we recognize that we have saints in our own lives who have formed our faith and showed us God’s love, and who have passed on from this life. On All Saints Sunday, we celebrate, honor, and remember these forebearers...

There comes a moment in almost every worthwhile endeavor when imagining something isn't enough anymore. I had been imagining what it would be like to have a few raised beds on the side of my house for… years. To be able to grow vegetables where the sun was just right, in soil that wasn’t clay and contaminated with thistle. To go out and gather beans and zucchini and broccoli and tomatoes for dinne...

Typically, we organize our lives in ways that keep generations separated—we have our own activities, our own groups of people who are in the same stage of life. And those spaces are important—children need places where they can learn and play. Teenagers need somewhere where they can ask honest questions and be understood. Parents need support from people who know what it is to raise kids in this t...

Last week, we began our Imagine vision campaign series by asking a pretty big question: What if the next chapter of BUMC is bigger than anything we have imagined yet? We talked about what it means to imagine—not fantasy, or wishful thinking, or simply making a list of things we'd like to have—but allowing God to expand our vision of what’s possible. Focusing on allowing God’s desires to lead us ra...

That's the thing about imagining with God: we don't have to know exactly what will happen. We simply have to be willing to believe that what we can see is not all that God can do. So as we begin this journey together, I want to leave you with one question: What if the next chapter of BUMC is bigger than anything we have imagined yet? We don't know what that chapter will look like, but we know the...

Don’t Forget What You’ve Seen - Esther 9:20–22 How do we stay hopeful when the future feels uncertain? In the book of Esther, the story concludes not with a grand theological speech, but with a feast of remembrance—a tradition designed to ensure future generations wouldn't forget how God carried them through. This Sunday, we wrap up our Hidden in Plain Sight series by exploring the powerful habit...

Have you ever bought a new car and suddenly started seeing that same car everywhere? You see one in the parking lot, and then another on the highway. And you think, Were there always this many of these cars? Of course there were—the world didn't suddenly fill up with that particular car. Your attention changed. Once you started looking for it, you began to notice what had been there all along. The...

Have you ever driven down the same road almost every day and then one day, suddenly see a building you've never noticed before? Or maybe you look at someone and say, “Hey—your hair looks nice! Did you get a haircut?” And they respond, “Yeah, a week and a half ago.” It’s not like the building suddenly appeared, or you hadn’t looked at that colleague or friend or spouse in a week and a half. In both...

For the past several weeks, we’ve been exploring people in scripture who don’t get top billing. The people whose names don't make it into the children's Sunday school songs like Zacchaeus, or have stained glass depictions in churches. The people who are supporting characters in other people’s story. And one of the things we’ve learned throughout this series is that while these people might not be...

We notice and remember the people who stand on the stage or have their names attached to buildings. We tell stories about the people who changed history. But Paul reminds us of another kind of greatness—the greatness of the person who simply does what needs to be done. Who carries someone else's burden because they see that it needs carrying, and who understands that making another person's life a...

There are some people in the Bible whose names are so familiar that you barely have to say anything else—Moses. Noah. Mary. Peter. Paul. Jesus. You hear the name, and immediately a story comes to mind. Then… there are Priscilla and Aquila. If I said those names and you thought, “Who?” You’re not alone. Because Priscilla and Aquila are not exactly biblical celebrities—they don’t have a book of the...

By saying “yes” to Spirit’s nudging, Lydia was able to play an important part in the building of the early Christian community. Lydia's home had become a gathering place where the early Christian community could come together, find safety, and be encouraged. Lydia didn't know any of that was going to happen when she first said: "Come and stay at my home." She was just opening her door. But sometim...

There are some stories that are so familiar that we almost don't have to hear them anymore… The Wizard of Oz, Forest Gump, The Lion King, Harry Potter, Star Wars. We know the words… the plot twists and all the things that happen to the main character… For some, John 20 might be one of those passages. Because we gather together on Easter morning, and read the story of the empty tomb, celebrating th...

August 2, 2026 Sunday's Scripture: Jeremiah 38:7-13 Also Starring...Every great story has an ensemble cast. We often focus on the heroes of the Bible, but no one accomplishes God's work alone. Behind every famous name is someone who encouraged, challenged, protected, equipped, or simply showed up at the right moment. Our current worship series Also Starring... celebrates the people who remind us t...

July 26, 2026 Scripture: 1 Samuel 25:23-33 (NLT) Also Starring...Every great story has an ensemble cast. We often focus on the heroes of the Bible, but no one accomplishes God's work alone. Behind every famous name is someone who encouraged, challenged, protected, equipped, or simply showed up at the right moment. Our current worship series Also Starring... celebrates the people who remind us that...

There is a phrase that’s often used when talking about movies or television shows. After naming the star, they say, "Also starring..." and then there’s a list of supporting actors. Because you can have a great hero, but every hero needs companions, mentors, friends, and people standing beside them. Sometimes those supporting actors are the ones who make the whole story work. So for the next severa...

Today we are in the final week of our series—Strength for the Climb. This series is based on scriptures our children explored at this year’s Vacation Bible School. Each day of VBS, the kids looked at a story from scripture that amplified the theme verse for the week: Philippians 4:13: "For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." Often it seems we think of that verse as a kind o...

Today we are in the fourth week of our series—Strength for the Climb. This series is based on scriptures our children will explore at this year’s Vacation Bible School. Each day of VBS, the kids will look at a story from scripture that amplifies the theme verse for the week: Philippians 4:13: "For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." Now, many of us learned that verse as a k...

Today we continue our series—Strength for the Climb. This series is based on scriptures our children will explore at this year’s Vacation Bible School. Each day of VBS, the kids will look at a story from scripture that amplifies the theme verse for the week: Philippians 4:13: "For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." Now, many of us learned that verse as a kind of spiritual...

Today we continue our series—Strength for the Climb. This series is based on scriptures our children will explore at this year’s Vacation Bible School. Each day of VBS, the kids will look at a story from scripture that amplifies the theme verse for the week: Philippians 4:13: "For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." Now, many of us learned that verse as a kind of spiritual...

Today we begin a new series—Strength for the Climb. It’s based on the scriptures our children will explore at this year’s Vacation Bible School in just a few weeks. Each day of VBS, the kids will explore stories from scripture that illustrate how God is with us through every season of life, and we don’t have to do hard things on our own. The theme verse for both VBS is Philippians 4:13: "For I can...

Free Will In the Wild: You Don't Have To Do Everything by BrecksvilleUMC

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." The word conform means to take on an outward pattern or shape— often unconsciously allowing yourself to be pressed into a mold or adapting yourself to fit others’ expectations—the systems and assumptions and dominant values of the culture squeezing and shaping you into something that works for its benef...

God of morning light and flickering stars, you breathed your Spirit into dust and called humanity good. You placed within us the sacred freedom to choose what we will carry, what we will release, what we will nurture, and who we will become. And yet, there are days when the world feels heavy— when fear grows louder than hope; when we forget that even small acts of love can illuminate the darkness....

We began our series by remembering—by recognizing our spoken and unspoken money stories and how those stories have impacted our relationship to money. Then, we acknowledged those parts of our story that keep us from freedom and wholeness, and practiced release. Last week, we began to reimagine our money story, recognizing that God refuses to let brokenness become destiny. Today, we conclude our se...