Russellville United Methodist Temple Sermons

Although many humans enacted the death of Jesus, it was only because he freely laid his life down that human will was able to momentarily triumph. In what ways are we willing to lay down our lives for the sake of others?

The release of Judas led to the death of Jesus. Because Judas was set free to betray Jesus, we have been set free to live to glorify Jesus. In the end, he became enslaved by his own guilt and took his own life, while Jesus freely gave his life.

During the time of Christ, worship of God had become incredibly distorted from what it once was. Whereas they had become slaves to burdensome systems, Jesus came to set them free, but he would do so by challenging their present ways of worship. How can we listen to the reprimand of Christ and choose the kind of worship that sets us free rather than the kind that holds us back from our true purpose...

Part of understanding the gift of our freedom in Christ is our lives before Christ often try to pull us back into them. Whether it is sin that draws us back or simply the comfort of the things we've outgrow, we are not meant to return to anything that enslaves us.

Discerning between freedom in Christ and worldly privilege often has to do with the impact of our actions on others. Today, we will examine how even actions that seem trivial to us can be damaging to others, and how we can consider the needs of others ahead of our own.

When we refuse to embrace reality, we remain slaves to the narratives we tell ourselves. Thankfully, Jesus is the ultimate truth-teller, and when we put our faith in him, we are free to embrace the totality of life.

Christ frees us in a spiritual sense, but the gospel he gave us was not only to free us from sin but from all oppression. In this message, we will explore what Jesus meant when he gave good news to the poor and freedom for the captive. Better, we will learn how we can use our freedom to impact others in meaningful ways.

Freedom is a central part of what it means to be a Christian. However, it is easy for us to confused worldly freedom for spiritual freedom. In this opening to the series, we will examine the ways Jesus has set us free, and in the coming weeks, we’ll discern how this is different from worldly freedom.

Fire from Ashes: Find Power in Death to Rise Again

Embracing an evolution into a people who more clearly resembles Christ begins with his presence with us and in us. While we can change our behaviors ourselves, only Christ can change our hearts to truly become what he meant us to be.

Evolving into a church that is inclusive and affirming of all people, regardless of our differences, means that we invite them into our holiest moments, including the communion table. Going beyond external inclusion and affirmation, inviting others to the table of the Lord means that we draw near to others as Jesus drew near to us. As the Spirit opens our hearts as the heart of God is open, we beg...

Part of embracing the journey of evolution as the church is examining the behaviors of God such that our evolution makes us more like him. While the world finds innumerable ways to reject people, God is affirming at his core. Therefore, to become like him, we must learn what it truly means to be affirming.

The church is intentionally comprised of people of all kinds. While scripture only names a few different categories of diversity, the theme is clear: no person with a desire to follow Jesus is excluded from being a part of his people.

Part of being a part of the body of Christ is embracing change as a beautiful and essential part of growth. While every person resists change on some level in favor of stability and predictability, the Spirit calls us into a much deeper and broader experience of life.

While baptism is carried out by human hands, its deepest work is done by God. In baptism, we are adopted into God's family, given a new name and a new nature. We often lose sight of the love that invited us into this family, and when we remember our baptism, we can recommit to counting the cost of love so that we can truly live our new lives for his glory.

The world and God who made it offer very different wisdom. The wisdom of the world says to destroy threats to your power, while the wisdom of God calls us to lovingly, humbly surrender power in order to transform enemies into allies.

What ancient prophets foretold, a pair of prophets contemporary to Jesus’ time saw with their own eyes. Their responses of worship teach us the importance of devotion even in waiting for God’s promises to be fulfilled.

Jesus arrived as one of us during one of humanity's darkest times. Though pursued by darkness, he overcame it. As we reflect on Jesus' nature as light, we will consider what it means to truly embrace him and how to experience his power over the darkness in our lives and in the world.

The greatest source of our hope is God's presence. When we sense and believe that he is with us through his Spirit, remembering that he sent his very Son to be walk among us, we will have confidence in the love he has for us.

When hope begins to come to fruition, we experience the overflow of joy. This morning, we'll look for ways we can see God's work in our lives more clearly so that we can experience this joy even amidst seasons of drought.

Hope can only truly be found when we find peace with each other, but our nature is often to choose conflict. This morning, we learn how the presence of Jesus helps lay this warring nature to rest.

Hope is confidence that something good is coming, yet it is one of the most difficult things to internalize, especially in the chaos of our day and age. As we walk through Advent, remembering the anticipation of Jesus' first arrival, we look at how hope is only possible when we lay down our aggression toward each other and listen to the wisdom of God.

The end of the church is to be united with our king. When Christ returns to reign, he will bring to fruition the full purpose of the church. Rather than a disembodied ether or a church service in the sky, we will experience a new creation in the presence of God, always in immediate reach of his love as every wrong is made right.

Our greatest hope is that Christ is returning, and death will see its final defeat. More than this, God's living church will finally experience its fullest unity with him in the resurrection as what scripture calls the bride of Christ. How can we live in anticipation of this final, greatest act of God's love for us?

Living with grief in life, especially the passing of loved ones, leaves us caught in the tension between wanting heaven but being called to live on earth. Today, we'll ask ourselves how to live with that tension in such a way that brings reminds us of our hope and offers it to those around us.