Sermon Central

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...

Today we continue the worship series, Our Money Story. Money and possessions are one of the most common topics in scripture—Jesus talked about money more than both faith and prayer. Because how we use our money—the way we choose to steward or spend it—is a deeply spiritual practice—and connected to what we think about God. Do we think God will provide? Do we think money is power or freedom or secu...

Today we continue the worship series, Our Money Story. Money and possessions are one of the most common topics in scripture—Jesus talked about money more than both faith and prayer. Because how we use our money—the way we choose to steward or spend it—is a deeply spiritual practice—it’s connected to what we think about God. Do we think God will provide? Do we think money is power or freedom or sec...

Today we begin a new series titled, Our Money Story. How we use our money—the way we choose to steward or spend it—is a deeply spiritual practice—it’s connected to what we think about God. Do we think God will provide? Do we think money is power or freedom or security or opportunity or control? Do we think that the money is ours because we worked hard for it, or do we think it’s God’s because ever...

The Good News is Alive in the World! “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers and sisters to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” - Matthew 28:1-10 Death cannot stop the good news. It is alive, unbound, and wild in the world. Like the mustard seed, it grows without limit. Like water turned into wine, it surprises us with joy. Like loaves of bread, it multiplies to feed each hungry soul. And n...

​​Today is Palm Sunday—the last Sunday of Lent, and the beginning of Holy Week. Throughout Lent, we’ve been asking the simple yet powerful question: Where do we see good news? In a world in which we’re inundated with bad news, this question helps us return to the heart of Jesus’ teachings, and reminds us that the Gospel is good news! It’s the story of a God who loves humanity so deeply that God to...

The Good News is Rooted in Justice, Mercy and Faithfulness by BrecksvilleUMC

Today is the third Sunday of our Lenten series, “Tell Me Something Good.” Traditionally, Lent is a solemn time, focusing on repentance and fasting—preparing new believers for baptism on Easter. This year, though, we’re preparing ourselves for Easter in a different way—each week, we’re asking ourselves the simple yet powerful question: Where do we see good news? This question helps us to return to...

Are you weary of the "bad news" cycle? This Sunday, guest speaker Rev. Ed Fasbaugh brings us a beautiful reminder that the Good News isn't about being perfect—it's about being loved. Whether you feel like you have it all together or you’re carrying a story that feels a bit messy, there is a place for you here. We’ll be celebrating Holy Communion, remembering that at Christ’s table, mercy is always...

This first miracle of Jesus turning water into wine reminds us that God doesn’t just show up in mountaintop moments or dramatic miracles. But in kitchens, at tables, in conversations between friends, and in small acts of care. In the ordinary rhythms of life. So the invitation for us this Lent is simply this: pay attention.

Over the past several weeks, we’ve been using Zach Lambert’s book, Better Ways to Read the Bible, to take a look at different lenses through which we read scripture—by lenses, we mean sets of assumptions that we filter the scripture through, as we attempt to make meaning out of an ancient text. For the first three weeks of this series, we looked at unconstructive lenses that Christians have used—l...

A word of care: Our scripture reading today has been difficult for many, especially when it’s been read without attention to context or used to limit rather than heal. Today, we’re reading it with attention towards the particular situation it was written for, and the culture it was shaped by. Reading with the Context Lens invites us to ask: Who was this for? What was happening? And what does faith...

Believe it or not, Christianity isn’t a text-centered faith. It’s a Jesus-centered faith. As Zach Lambert says in his book, Better Ways to Read the Bible, “Christians are not primarily people of the bible; rather they are people of the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.” As important as the bible is for understanding who Jesus is, our faith isn’t ultimately in a text but i...

When Winter Storm Fern marched across most of the United States, with dangerously cold temperatures and plenty of snow making travel dangerous, we made the unprecedented decision to cancel worship services on Sunday morning. But Pastor Heidi shared a special message using Facebook Live. Join us for sanctuary on a winter day!

We like to think that we can just pick up the bible and read it, and we’re going to understand what it means—God will show us The Truth of that scripture and it will give us wisdom for the day. But the reality is, the bible wasn’t written for us, in the 21st century—we read scripture over the shoulders of those who originally received it. We don’t instinctively understand the contexts and cultures...

Today, we come to the end of our series, “What Do You Fear?” that has led us through Advent and beyond. And we come to the end of the story of Jesus’ birth. It’s the end of the story, and yet Herod is still in power. Christ is born, yet it feels as if the world has not changed. The Gospel of Matthew doesn’t give us a tidy ending—the magi leave quietly, warned by God to go home by another way. And...

Graham Ball, Executive Director of Nehemiah Mission, visits with an inspiring message about caring for those on the margins. As we enter a new year, what action can you take to make the world more safe and just for everyone?

Today is a special Sunday—we will hear our scripture and message in the form of a Cantata our choir will share with us.