Weekly sermons from Central United Methodist Church in historic Fourth & Gill Neighborhood of Knoxville, TN. Current pastor is Rev. Jimmy Sherrod.Worshipping Joyfully, Growing Spiritually, Serving with Compassion and Welcoming All...
Central United Methodist Church
Matthew 17:1-9Drawing upon the story of Jesus' transfiguration, Pastor Jimmy invites us to live and be both the transcendent and immanent community of Christ.
Pastor Jimmy continues the series of sermons called #trending exploring burning questions of faith that have been presented to him by his congregation. This week, he asks about our call to environmental justice and caring for the earth. We are not only in relationship with God, but also with others, which includes the earth. Scriptures used; Psaml 8:3-8; Psalm 24:1-2; Genesis 1:1-5; 21-30
Continuing in our series called #trending: Burning Questions of Faith, Rev. Stephanie Parrott addresses suffering. Folks question God's goodness because of all the suffering, and that makes sense. What does our Judeo/Christian call us to believe about suffering? How can we alleviate suffering? How does God deal with suffering? These are great questions that we won't always have answers to, but we can explore, using the texts given us, God's word about the matter. Scriptures: Psalm 73; John 11:32-35; Matthew 27: 45-50
In this fourth sermon in a series called #trending: burning questions of faith, Pastor Jimmy addresses questions raised by several church members: is God even listening? Why is God not answering my prayers? We unpack the idea of prayer and what it means for God to answer prayer. Scriptures for the day: Isaiah 40:27-31 and Luke 11:1-13
In the third of our series of sermons on burning questions of faith, Pastor Jimmy addresses the tough topic of suicide, In particular, how it affects people, signs to look for in people who are suicidal, and what our faith says about suicide and people who complete suicide. Rev. Diana Brown Taylor, a deacon in the United Methodist Church, who is also a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and works with people who suffer from a variety of mental illnesses, joins Pastor Jimmy for a Q&A following the sermon. Scriptures for the day: Psalm 13; Psalm 40:1-3; Romans 8: 31-32; 35-39
Continuing in the series of sermons called #trending (Burning Questions of Life and Faith), Pastor Jimmy addressed the hard topic of politics and how they intersect with our faith. Where is our allegiance? Whom do we follow? Politicians and presidents? Drawing upon Acts 19:1-6 and Matthew 22:15-22, Pastor Jimmy challenges our allegiances to political parties and powers that be.
Pastor Jimmy starts a new year with a series of sermons drawn from questions from the congregation (burning questions of faith). Particularly, our youth submitted several questions that have shaped this series. The first one begins with God's will. What is God's will for my life? How do we define God's will? Is there such a thing? Drawing upon Isaiah 55:8-9; Romans 12:1-2; 9-18 and Mark 3:31-35, Pastor Jimmy explores this question in Part 1 of this series.
John Lennon wrote "So this is Christmas (War is Over) in response to the what he thought as the fluff of White Christmas. He wanted something lasting. Pastor Jimmy quotes the song at the beginning that is cut off. So this is Christmas and what have you doneAnother year over, a new one just begunUsing this as an illustration and drawing upon the Christmas story in Luke 2:1-21, Pastor Jimmy gives his annual Christmas Eve sermon
For the Second Sunday of Advent, we draw upon both the angel's visit to Mary to tell her she will have a child and her song of praise (Magnificat). Mary sings of a reversal of business as usual. Looking at life through the Kingdom of God. Through the lens of the lowly. This sermon challenges our obsession with power and privilege and reminds us that God came, not to Herod the Great, but a young, unwed, teenage girl.
Our series of sermons during Advent focuses on Joy -- and rediscover the joy that is the Christmas story. We begin, as we traditionally do in Advent, with darnkess. Habakkuk 3:1-7; 17-19
Reign of Christ Sunday. On the last Sunday of the Christian year (Reign of Christ), we explore the greatness of Jesus using Paul's hymn to the Colossians (1:11-20). Pastor Jimmy begins to lay down the foundation of a theology of joy that will be expounded on during the season of Advent.
Drawing upon passages from John 14, Mr. Don Loy calls us to trust.
Closing out our series called The Way (Essential Practices for Christian Discipleship), we focus on the generosity of God and how we are also called to live generously. Matthew 6:21 an 2 Corinthians 9:6-8
Continuing our series called The Way (Essential Practices for Christian Discipleship) we focus on serving and our call to serve our neighbors. I Peter 4:7-11Matthew 25:37-46
Continuing in our series called The Way (Essential Practices for Christian Discipleship) we focus on studying, searching and learning the scriptures and how they inform our faith and shape our lives. Psalm 119:97-105Luke 10:38-42
A new worship series begins today focusing on five essential practices of Christian discipleship. We begin by hearing the good news about worship, and how it is essential to our spiritual growth and growth as disciples of Jesus Christ. Psalm 95; Psalm 100; Acts 2:43-47; Revelation 4:1-4
We wrap up our series on Mark by being reminding of the command to love God and love neighbor, upon these hang all of the laws. Mark 12:28-34
Continuing in our series on Mark, Pastor Jimmy proclaims the difficult task of giving up first so that we can follow Jesus. Mark 10:32-45
Continuing our series in Mark, we look at the story of the possessed man of Gerasene. Mostly, though, we focus on the response of the people and ask ourselves, "When is Jesus just too much?" Mark 5:1-21
Church communities have the power to become healing communities. What would happen if we worked towards that goal, by the power of the Holy Spirit? Mark 5:21-43
Continuing in our series using the Gospel of Mark, Pastor Jimmy discusses the nature of parables and how Jesus used them to teach. Drawing upon the wisdom of Amy-Jill Levine, University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School, we underscore both the importance of context and the necessity of interpretation for us today. Mark 4: 1-20
Jesus has gone and done it now. He's forgiving sins. Mark 2:1-12
For those in the Judeo-Christian traditional, the Bible is a critical and sacred text. It reveals the God we worship, and for Christians, it tells the story of Jesus. But what about when the Bible becomes an idol? What about when we use the Bible to do more harm? What about when THE Word (Jesus) is usurped by words on a page?
Mark 1:14-20The beginning of a series working through the book of Mark begins with the Good News and the call to follow.....immediately.
Matthew 28:16-20Matthew 5:13-15Matthew 4:18-22On the occasion of his fifth anniversary as an appointed pastor at Central, Rev. Jimmy Sherrod looks back on the past fives in celebrating the ministries and growth while keeping an eye towards the future. He invites us to remember the call to leave our comfortable nets and follow Jesus - by extending hospitality, serving the community, and embracing all.
Continuing our series "When Life is Wild, God is Good" riffing off our Vacation Bible School theme, When Life is Wild. Selected verses from Exodus 14.
The second in a series called When Life is Wild...God is Good. We are riffing off our summer VBS theme with the same name. This week, Pastor Jimmy shares a word about when life is scary, what does it mean for God to be good? Acts 16:16-34
The first in series called Life is Wild...God is Good. Pastor Jimmy explores the idea of fairness, not only as it relates to systemic injustice, but also in our own personal lives. How do we approach fairness and justice? Matthew 20:1-16
Rev. Stephanie Parrott reminds us of our calling to move outside the walls of our church to be the heart of the community - -through acts of compassion and mercy. Acts 9:36-43
Confirmation Sunday. Acts 1:6-14 Luke 4:14-22
In claiming the resurrection, what do we say with our lives? What is Jesus is risen from the dead are the most important words?
We continue our series called Gifts of the Dark Wood reflecting on the power that is in getting lost in the Dark Wood because of how it draws us to realize our need to be found. Luke 15:11-32
Continuing the series Gifts of the Dark Wood, Pastor Jimmy explores the idea of hearing God's voice -- or being thunderstruck in a way that reveals something we never knew before. Scripture Job 37:1-5John 12:27-26
Pastor Jimmy opens up our Lenten sermon series called Gifts of the Dark Wood, using the Bible as our guide and Rev. Eric Elnes' book The Gifts of the Dark Wood as our resource. Scripture John 5:1-18
I Corinthians 12John 17:20-26In today's sermon, Pastor Jimmy addresses the upcoming special called General Conference in St. Louis. This conference will bring the proposals from the Commission on the Way Forward regarding human sexuality to the floor for debate and possible vote. We invited you to be in prayer about this conference, which will be held February 23-26, 2019.
To close out the series called the Good Life, Pastor Jimmy recalls the story where Jesus reminds us that where our treasure is, there our hearts will also be.
Partly inspired by Rev. Amy Butler (Riverside Church, NYC) sermon called A Good Name, Pastor Jimmy continues a series called The Good Life. This week's scripture is Proverbs 22:1-16.
John 10:1-10We open up a new series exploring the idea of "the good life?" Most people want a good life, right? What is the good life? What are the parts and pieces that give us an opportunity to have a good life? Over the next six weeks, we will explore this through the lens of Jesus' words in John 10:10 and we'll look at topics such as peace with God, peace with ourselves, simplicity, anger and relationships. This is the first in the series.
John 1:1-18On this final Sunday Advent, we bring to a close our series on God's presence as it is revealed through Emmanuel, the light of the word.
Second Sunday of Advent Daniel 3:1; 8-19; 26-28John 18:36-37
On this first Sunday of Advent, once again we turn to HOPE. Jesus said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." Live hope. Be hope. Rest in hope. Ezekiel 37:1-14 and Luke 21:25-36
Hebrews 12:1-2; Revelation 21:1-6 and John 11:32-44
Continuing the series called Let's Play (and Pray), Pastor Jimmy draws upon popular children's games to illustrate the teachings of Jesus. Psalm 25 and Luke 6.
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