HPUMC - Cornerstone Sermons (Contemporary Worship)

Click/tap here to view the Sermon Reflection Guide. Have you ever experienced a moment when things didn't work out the way you thought they would? You expected the situation to go one way, but it went in a totally different direction— and you were left wondering, “What just happened?” Maybe it was a job you thought for sure you'd get, but didn't. Or a relationship that fizzled out when you believed it would go the distance. Or a business deal that showed every sign of success, but failed unexpectedly. What do you do in these moments when life seemingly veers off course? In this week's sermon, we unpack a story about two brothers— one in particular who faces a moment like this. Things don't go the way he'd hoped, and he's left with a choice to make about how to respond. As we hold up this story, we'll discover wisdom and guidance for what to do when we find ourselves in the same boat, navigating uncharted waters.  

Click/tap here to view the Sermon Reflection Guide All year, we've explored what it looks like to cultivate a life with God, where the Holy Spirit grows good things in us and around us. You know the yield: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Who doesn't need more of these blessings in their lives? While we recognize that only God can grow us in these areas, it does require our participation. As we seek to keep in step with the Spirit, we must tend to our soul by spending time in the garden, cultivating lives that yield the fruit of the Spirit.  

Click/tap here to view the Sermon Reflection Guide. Family can be messy and complicated. In this week's sermon, we look at the story of Sarai, Abram, and Hagar in Genesis 16. Sarai tries to control God's timing, Abram goes along without resistance, and Hagar finds herself exploited and abandoned. Yet, God shows up, reminding us that God does not ignore the suffering of the vulnerable. In fact, the first person in Scripture to name God is Hagar—a pregnant, runaway servant. Being in the middle of a mess—whether it's a family struggle, personal failure, or broken relationship—doesn't mean God does not see us. He meets us there, not after we've cleaned everything up, but right in the middle of the chaos.

Click/tap here to view the Sermon Reflection Guide. What does Jesus mean when he says, “gentle”? Jesus says he has a gentle heart and that the gentle (or “meek,” the same word in Greek) will inherit the earth. So, what is it that Jesus means when he uses the term "gentle”? The gentleness question has taken me from the New Testament to the Old. Through word studies and commentaries and desperate Google searches, to times in prayer and many, many conversations. In this message, we explore what it looks like to live as gentle-men, gentle-women, gentle-teenagers, etc. Spoiler alert, it has a lot to do with this: “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).

Click/tap here to view the Sermon Reflection Guide. “What difference does it make?” We have all asked that question at some point. It's easy for us to think about what we lack rather than what we have. However, this mindset is a kindness killer, causing us to miss out on opportunities for God to work through us and within us. In this week's sermon, we explore the passage leading up to Jesus' miracle of feeding the 5,000 with just five loaves of bread and two fish (Mark 6:30-38). Although the disciples focused on the fact that they didn't have enough, Jesus took what little they did have and used it to meet the needs of the crowd. As followers of Christ, we are called to be “5 + 2” people—giving whatever we have to God and allowing Him to use it to cultivate kindness both in us and around us.  

Click/tap here to view the Sermon Reflection Guide. Winston Churchill was quoted as saying, “You make a living by what you get; you make a life by what you give.” We put a lot of effort in trying to make a living (and rightly so); but how do we go about making a life?  In this week's sermon, we explore this question by studying the words of the Apostle Paul (Acts 20:32-35) and Jesus (Matthew 13:31-32) to learn how to cultivate a life of generosity. As this year draws to a close, we focus on how to End Well in 2024 and Start Strong in 2025.

Click/tap here to view the Sermon Reflection Guide. In today's politically charged culture, it's easy to view everything through a red or blue lens. But this clouds our vision, making it harder to see Jesus as he truly is, beyond the confines of political affiliation. It's crucial to remember that while we cast our votes for candidates, we cast our hope on God and our peace rests in Him alone. Even when storms and chaos swirl around us, staying rooted in the truth of who Jesus is allows us to experience lasting inner peace and empowers us to be peacemakers in a divided world. In times that feel the opposite of peaceful, we draw on the wisdom of the Apostle Peter, who encourages us to humble ourselves and cast all our anxieties on Jesus, trusting him to carry our burdens (1 Peter 5:6-7). Peter also employs us to stay alert and sober-minded, resisting the enemy who seeks to divide and destroy (1 Peter 5:8-9). In these ways, it's possible for us to be at peace, regardless of what's happening around us.

Click here to view the Sermon Reflection Guide. When teaching about the Kingdom of God, Jesus often spoke in parables in order to cause people to reflect and think about his words. In this week's sermon, we focus on Jesus' explanation of the Parable of the Sower in which he uses the imagery of soil to describe the receptivity of the heart. In his desire to yield good things in us and around us (Fruit of the Spirit), God is constantly sowing seed within us. However, there are times when the seed bounces off of us (like the hard path), or our relationship with God lacks depth (the rocky ground), or the growth becomes choked out by the cares of the world (seed sown among thorns). In contrast, we seek to cultivate a life that bears fruit by softening, deepening, and pruning our soil. In turn, making our hearts more receptive to what God wants to grow in us.