Sermons – FUMCWP

Merry Christmas! We hope your day is filled with love and joy as we celebrate the birth of our King. Enjoy this song created by Matt Kuzma, our Chief Operations Officer.

Show Notes: “Concerning the perfection of the virtuous life … [I have outlined the] pattern of beauty the life of the great Moses, so that each of us might copy the image of the beauty which has been shown to us by imitating his way of life.” – Gregory of Nyssa. That we might also […]

Show Notes: Here is a picture of the mural of John Lewis in Atlanta, as well as the video of CT Vivian being assaulted in Selma.  “It is our shame and disgrace today that so many Christians—I will be more specific: so many of the soundest and most orthodox Christians—go through this world in the spirit of the priest and […]

Show Notes: As always, here is the sermon in its entirety as well as a bulleted summary. Here is the leadership book that I mentioned in the podcast and believe that I have mentioned before, but hey, it is so good here is another plug, A Failure of Nerve. “[A well-differentiated person] is someone who has clarity about his […]

Show Notes: As always, if you would like to read the sermon in its entirety, here is the text, as well as a shorter summary. If you would like a brief summary of the “middle way,” here is a good brief summary from the Episcopal church. “He (the devil) always sends errors into the world in pairs–pairs of opposites…He […]

Show Notes: Wesley’s sermon for the devotion today in its full form and a summary.  One of my favorite paintings is Rembrandt’s Return of the Prodigal Son, the wikipedia article is well worth a skim. A great visual example of the ‘spirit of adoption’ from the devotional.  “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but […]

Show Notes: If you would like to read “The Way of the Kingdom,” in its entirety, here it is. Or, if you prefer a bulleted summary, here is one provided by a seminary professor of mine.  A post I have been pondering: “Can Your Soul Survive Facebook and Twitter?” By Russell Moore. Especially in this season […]

Show Notes: Here is Wesley’s sermon “The Righteousness of Faith” in its entirety, and outlined summary if you want to skim. *the podcast interview I referenced in the devotional and sermon Sunday* with Dr Sadler, General Secretary of the AMEZ church. Another podcast worth a good listen. It is a Christianity Today podcast hosted by Dr. Esau McCaulley as he […]

Show Notes: Wesley’s sermon, Justification by Faith, in its entirety, and the abridged outlined version. What I am watching (shorter): This beautiful video from the Bible Project on the biblical theme of ‘justice’. “[Justice] is about a lifetime commitment fueled by the words of the ancient prophet Micah … to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly […]

Show Notes: Here are the General Rules to read for your self. Here is a recent conversation that has been personally helpful for me as I have been wrestling with what does church look like in this cover season, and to begin to look at what might be different once we are (eventually) able to gather together again. In […]

Show Notes: Here are the General Rules, if you wanted to read through them your self. As a bit of context; the ‘United Societies’ were essentially worship services, ‘class meetings’ were small groups and attendance for membership as a Methodist was required, lastly there were optional ‘band meetings’ which served as intensive accountability groups.  If […]

Show Notes: Here is the sermon ’Scriptural Christianity’ in its entirety if you would like to read it.  One of my professors in Seminary has actually been going through Wesley’s standard sermons and offering an outline of each. Because we took a detour last week we are on track with him if you want an abridged version. […]

Show Notes: If you would like to read Wesley’s letter to Wilberforce you can read it here on Asbury Seminary’s website. As pastor David encouraged us to do yesterday, here is an article from Christianity Today this week, that allows us to learn from the experience of another. It is written by a former Clemson football player sharing his […]

Show Notes: Here are the words to “Awake, Thou that Sleepest,” and below are a few quotes from the sermon:  And first, as to the sleepers here spoken to. By sleep is signified the natural state of man; that deep sleep of the soul “Thou are but ‘a stranger, a sojourner upon earth” “Dost thou know what […]

Show Notes: If you wanted to read the sermon, here is the link. I have added a few of the quotes I read below: “I did go thus far for many years… using diligence to eschew all evil … a conscience void of offense … [yet] all this I was but ‘almost a Christian’” For context. […]

Show Notes: If you would like to read Salvation by Faith, Northwest Nazarene University has published all of Wesley’s standard sermons for free on their site. If you are really interested you can read the sermon for next Monday The Almost Christian.  Michael Frost, the author of the book that we used church-wide for Lent, has shared 35 ways we […]

Show Notes: Here is the link to the Veritas Forum conversation I mentioned. They have a number of thoughtful conversations recorded from college campuses across the country. From their website, “The Veritas Forum is committed to courageous conversations. We place the historic Christian faith in dialogue with other beliefs and invite participants from all backgrounds to […]

Show Notes: The Hebrews 6:19 sign from the Blocher household TassleAndTrim is who made the sign if you were looking to support a local business in this season! Music I have been listening to: ‘Page CXVI’ covers classic hymns and has helped point me to the ‘anchor’ of faith in this season. Tonya Tolson has […]

Finding Hope Together – Jesus Wept “Jesus Wept.” As a kid I remembered these words as an emergency for when someone wanted me to quote a scripture passage and I wanted to seem like I knew at least something in the Bible. But recently, It has been hard for me to escape these words. “Jesus […]

Show Notes: St. Patrick’s Breastplate. The prayer in its entirety, rather than the shortened version in read is worth reading albeit the language is humorously dated in a couple spots.  If you are looking for a book in this season of social distance, Failure of Nerve is unquestionably the best book I have read on leadership. Pastor […]