St. Paul's United Methodist Church

Simon had a cross to carry - the cross of Jesus. We also have our own crosses to carry, including the flood in Cherokee and much of Northwest Iowa. The good news is that we don't have to carry our cross alone. Mark 15:16-22.

Micaiah spoke the truth to the king when everyone else was going along with the king's nationalistic script. The temptation for the church to align themselves with the power of the state has always been strong and has always resulted in disaster. This is something that must be resisted in order to protect the integrity of our faith.

In this sermon, we explore female leadership in the first century church, including one whose gender was concealed for many years to keep men in charge.

We begin our series on minor characters in the Bible who had a big impact.

We conclude our look at Ruth. Was Ruth written to challenge assumptions about other people groups? What does Ruth have to do with Pentecost? Listen, and find out.

We continue our look at the book of Ruth with Ruth chapter 2. Even in the midst of tragedy, there are opportunities for redemption.

We begin a new series on Ruth, and this message is based on Ruth 1.

In worship on April 28th, we will have an infant baptism, and twelve students will confirm their faith. As such, we will have a different order of worship. Instead of having one sermon, I will give three short reflections on grace. Romans 5:12-21.

We continue our look at James and why it is that we have a tendency to show favoritism. James 2:1-13; 5:1-6.

We continue our sermon series on James with a reminder that as Christians, we are called to control our temper and our speech. We are not called to tear down and dehumanize others, and Christians don't get a pass on this just because politicians are doing it. James 1:18-27; 2:14-26; 3:1-12.

With this sermon, we begin a new sermon series called "James: Faith in Action." James 1:1-18.

Knowing the end of the story helps place our current struggles in proper perspective. Luke 24:1-12 and Romans 8:18-25; 31-39.

John 19:16-22

Jesus calls us to follow his example by serving others. John 13:1-17.

Why does Jesus weep over Jerusalem when he enters the city? As we see in the story of Jesus, the people had a choice between two kinds of leaders. They needed to choose between a leader who leads through power and violence and one who leads through humility and sacrificial love. Which kind of leader will you choose to follow? Luke 19:28-44.

We conclude our series on the parables of Jesus with the parable of the talents in Mathhew 25:14-29.

We continue our series on the parables of Jesus with Matthew 21:28-46. How is it that religion led people to crucify Jesus? How is it that when we idolize our religious doctrines and our interpretations of scripture, we can actually be blinded to the work God is doing?

We continue our look at the parables of Jesus with Matthew 20:1-16.

We begin our Lenten sermon series, in which we will look at some of the parables of Jesus. This parable, in Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, warns us of the dangers of pulling weeds. In our zeal for pulling weeds, we just may do more harm to the crop than good.

This is our Ash Wednesday sermon.

We finish our sermon series with a look at the goal of our faith. The scripture is Hebrews 5:12-6:3.

We continue our look at some of our basic beliefs and doctrines with a look at what the church is and does. Hebrews 10:19-25.

We continue our look at basic beliefs of The United Methodist Church. Scriptures include Ephesians 2:1-10, James 2:14-19, and Galatians 5:22-23.

Romans 5:6-21

We continue our series on United Methodist doctrine with a look at what the Bible is and what we should do with it. 2 Timothy 3:14-17