FUMC Bentonville Sermon Podcast

June 2nd, 2024 - "Look and See (After Bentonville Tornado)" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris

Acts 9:1-30

Sometimes things happen in our lives that cause us to look at things and see them differently. It happened to Saul and this week it has happened to all of us. We will find our faith in that experience.

May 19th, 2024 - "Freely in the Faith" (Pentecost and Confirmation Sunday) - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris

Galatians 5:13-14

We will celebrate confirmation today as a choice that these youth have made of their own free will. But we will also affirm that the choice they have made is to love their neighbor as themselves.

May 12th, 2024 - "A Principled People: The Social Community" - Kristin Wells

1 Corinthians 12:13-22, Mark 2:1-12

As we close out our series on the United Methodist Social Principles we will discuss The Social Community. We will take a close look at the story of the paralytic man in Mark 2:1-12 who is lowered through the roof by his friends to gain access to Jesus and reflect on this as a picture of our United Methodist DNA.

 

May 5th, 2024 - "A Principled People: The Political Community" - Rev. Dr. T. Ray Wheeler

Micah 6:6-8 (CEB), Luke 6:31

What does the Lord require of the political community and the aspirations of the United Methodist Church? Micah 6:8 is an excellent summary of these detailed and subtle political statements in the Social Principles of the United Methodist Church. We generally try to avoid “being political“ in the religious community; however, these statements are concerned with addressing public justice and not partisan politics. Our heritage calls us to both private and social holiness.

April 28th, 2024 - "A Principled People: The Economic Community" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris

Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12-15

Sabbath is an economic statement. It lays claim to the need to care for ourselves in order to care for others and God’s world. Yet for far too many of us, Sabbath is a luxury. How do we reclaim this gift God has given us?

April 21st, 2024 - "A Principled People: The Community of All Creation" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris

Genesis 1:28-31

We will look at aspects of our care of creation in our Social Principles in light of the very first set of instructions God gives to humanity – to be stewards of all of the earth.

April 14th, 2024 - "A Principled People: The Social Creed" - Johnna Kosnoff

Mark 12:28-34

The words we choose and the words we say form us. That is the purpose of creeds – to form us around a collective identity. We have creeds that help us understand who we are. Our United Methodist Social Creed is one example, reflecting what we affirm in our Social Principles.

April 7th, 2024 - "Total Eclipse of the Heart" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris

Joel 2:1-11

Getting ready for the eclipse the next day, and also coming out of the season of Easter, we look at how people have viewed heavenly events like eclipses as apocalyptic signs, but we will also discuss the prophetic call to prepare for the Day of the Lord. It continues the prophetic call to love and care for each other or face the consequences of a world turned upside down.

March 31st, 2024 - "Foolish Love Is the Hope of Easter" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris

1 Corinthians 1:18-25

On this April Fools’ Day eve, we will acknowledge how ridiculous our faith story seems on some level, and yet we cannot imagine living with any other story. This foolish story is the beginning of hope and faith, and the means of true love.

March 24th, 2024 - "Foolish Love Is Risky" - Rev. Dr. T. Ray Wheeler

Matthew 5:43-48; Matthew 26:14-25, 47-50

This week we confront Jesus’ teaching that we should love our enemies, and we also confront the reality that loving our enemies is not a safe thing to do. It very well may lead to our own profound loss. To what extreme are we called to love? Is this kind of love just for Jesus or for us too? Is it true that the test of our faith is not if we love Jesus but if we love Judas?

March 17th, 2024 - "Foolish Love Is Prodigal" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris

Luke 15: 11-32; Matthew 5:38-42

The prodigal son story and the turn the other cheek teaching show that foolish love ignores offenses and just seeks to love, and love abundantly. Note: the definition of prodigal is wastefully extravagant. Prodigal is better applied to the father than the son in this story. Because this shares some of the themes of the previous week, this is a good time to reflect on the response of the older brother, which is too often our own response.

March 10th, 2024 - "Foolish Love Is Wasteful" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris

Mark 17:1-17, John 2:1-11

Casting demons into pigs to save one person and saving the best wine for last both prove that foolish love creates a tremendous amount of waste – wasteful grace.

March 3rd, 2024 - "Foolish Love Is Unfair" - Rev. Dr. T. Ray Wheeler

Matthew 20:1-16, 18:12-13

The parable of the workers in the vineyard and the story of the 99 sheep left behind for the sake of the 1 show us that foolish love is not an equitable equation. It is not a utilitarian decision, but in fact, sometimes it means making the least fair decision in order to include more in the field of love.

February 25th, 2024 - "Foolish Love Breaks the Rules" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris

Mark 7:24-29; Luke 13:10-17

This week we will look at how love inspires us to break the rules. We will center not only in the stories of the Syrophoenician and bent over women, but also in the story of Liam Bruzatori, a beautiful child who continues to challenge us to love.

February 18th, 2024: "Foolish Love Forgives" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris

Matthew 5:21-24, 18:21-35

Looking at these 2 teachings about Jesus forgiving someone multiple times and the servant who does not forgive the debt of his fellow servant, we will start to understand how refusing to forgive is to continue to judge others and carry hate in our own hearts. This keeps us from being able to fully love.

February 14th - Ash Wednesday: "Foolish Love: What Is Love?" - Michelle Amos

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

To set the scene for this series, we will look at this definition of love given in this letter of Paul’s. As this series is meant to help people understand how better to love like Jesus, we will practice the “Replace the word love with your name” practice of this passage. That will help us know what kind of work we need to do to love better.

February 11th, 2024 - "Positive Sum Reign: Expecting Abundance" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris

Mark 14:1-9

The act of the woman who anoints Jesus is characterized as wasteful. What if it is instead an act of confidence that the reign will provide? There will always be enough to take care of the poor AND worship and care extravagantly for others.

February 4th, 2024 - "Positive Sum Reign: Rich Man, Poor Widow" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris

Mark 10:17-31, 12:41-44

Where is our security? For the rich man, it seems like it was in his assurance in how the world was supposed to work, and in his belief that his stuff would keep him safe. The poor widow will come along and flip all of that on its head. How is Jesus inviting us into the freedom of letting go?

January 28th, 2024 -"Positive Sum Reign: Doubt and Doing" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris

Mark 6:1-13

This sermon looks at the little difference Jesus can make in his hometown, up against the commissioning of the disciples to go cast out demons! What miracles are at our fingertips that we do not even try to make happen because of the assumptions we make about it being impossible?

January 21st, 2024 - "Living the Dream: Project a Conversation on Future Vision" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris and Rev. Dr. T. Ray Wheeler

Philippians 1:6-11

I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Indeed, it is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart, and you are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel.  For God is my witness, how deeply I miss all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, so that you may approve the things that are superior and may be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.