St. Paul's United Methodist Church

In this sermon, we tackle the most disturbingly violent passages of scripture. Did God really command the Hebrews to kill every man, woman, and child in Canaan so they could take their land? How you answer this question can reveal a lot about who you believe God is and what kinds of behavior are permissable for individuals and nations. Scriptures include Deuteronomy 20:16-18; Joshua 6:15-21; 13:1;...

In this sermon, we look at the law in Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy and come to discover that the law is not something we should use today to convict someone of sin or to win a culture war.

In this sermon, we go through the book of Exodus. As we do, we take time to wrestle with the ethical problem of God killing children to get his way, and we find comfort knowing that God remenbers us in our own time of exile.

In this sermon, we look at Genesus 12-50, highlighting stories from Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Through it all, we see God working with some imperfect, morally questionable people. Just as he worked through them, he can work through us.

Genesis 1-11 conains some of the best known and beloved stories of the Bible, in spite of some of the ethical problems they may contain. When read wrong, they can lead to culture wars and justified action for many ungodly acts. How should we read these stories in a responsible way?

To begin our survey of the Bible at the beginning, we must actually start in the middle, because much of what is written in the Bible in its final form was written to explain the exile. Why did they end up defeated? Their belief was that their calamity was actually caused by their own unfaithfulness. Is that really how God works? 2 Kings 25:1-12 and Jeremiah 4:19-21.

We begin a new sermon series, in which we will go through the Bible, looking at the grand story and major themes. But first, we must look at what the Bible is and is not. 2 Timothy 3:14-17 and John 5:39-40.

We finish our look at the disciples with Thomas, who doubted the resurrection. We will examine the role of doubt and questions in a life of faith. John 20:19-29.

We continue our sermon series with a look at Peter, an apostle deeply connected to the events of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. Matthew 16:13-19; 26:31-35, 69-75.

Our Maundy Thursfay service will be held at 7 p.m. on April 17th. In this message, we look at Judas. Why did he betray Jesus, and how did his story really end? Matthew 26:14-16; 27:1-5.

We take a break from our look at the Apostles to focus in the events of Palm Sunday. Matthew 21:1-11.

We continue our look at the disciples with a look at two of the most obscure of the group. Scriptures include Mark 15:35-41 and Acts 1:15-26.

John 1:35-42; 14:18-24

John and James remind us that we are all works in progress. Mark 9:33-41; 10:35-45.

John 1:43-51

We begin our Lenten sermon series with a look at Matthew and Simon. Why would Jesus intentionally choose two polar opposites to be in the same group? Matthew 9:9-13 and Luke 6:12-25.

We conclude our look at the sacraments with communion. what is , what does it mean, and why do churches do it so differently? Luke 22:14-20.

In this two part series, we look at the sacraments of the church. Matthew 3:13-17 and Acts 2:38-41; 16:15, 33.

In this message, we look at why Jesus may have kept his identity and resurrection a secret from so many. Mark 8:27-30. www.cherokeemethodist.com

We continue our series by examining the perplexing fact that Jesus did not defend his own integrity during his arrest and trial.

Jesus did not spend his energy trying to persuade, manipulate, or force people to join his movement. He gave the invitation, made the commitment clear, and then let them decide. If Jesus did not feel the need to force the faith onto people, why do we? Mark 10:17-23 and John 6:60-69.

Jesus caused tension and conflict for himself by provoking and then condemning many of the religious leaders. Why did he do this? How can we as religious people take heed of the warnings he gave them? Matthew 23.

Jesus spent too much time with the wrong people. In this sermon, we will explore why he did so and how it should inform our own spiritual walk. Matthew 21:28-32 and Mark 2:13-17.

When the Jewish people would start to respond favorably to Jesus, he would oftentimes ruin the situation by including too many outsiders in his grace. In this sermon, we explore why being too inclusive led many to reject Jesus.

Jesus made a good amount of "mistakes," meaning he didn't follow the world's rules of what you need to do to be successful in life. In this message, we look at the dangers of using politics to gain religious adherence and why Jesus refused to do so. Luke 4:5-8 and John 18:33-37.