St. Matthew's UMC Podcast

This Week in Worship. We will conclude our Discipleship Sermon Series by discussing what it means for us as disciples to share our time, our talents and our financial resources to build God’s Kingdom. Everything that we have is a gift from God. The St. Matthews congregation shares generously through their tithes and offerings. We will discuss the ways that financial gifts are being utilized to nurture current disciples and to help make new disciples. We will also highlight opportunities for the congregation to share their time by being the hands and feet of Christ inside and outside the walls of our church. The book of James is very clear about the fact that our faith and discipleship should be lived out in a life of “deeds.” He says that faith without action is dead. It is not enough to worship and then go home and live our own lives. We are called to serve in compassion in the lives of others who are struggling for life. As James says, in our deeds and service to others, our faith is “made complete.” This week we will hand out reusable grocery bags with a food list inside so that families can shop for food that will be distributed by our Neighbors Food Pantry. We will bring them back next Sunday for our special Christ the King Service.

This Week in Worship. This week we will discuss the fundamentals of “Why Disciples Worship?” Disciples do not come to worship to be entertained. Worship is not about us. Worship is about God. Disciples worship to bring honor and glory to God. As Christ followers we are called to engage spiritually, physically, and mentally in the acts of worship toward God. This week in worship: Disciples: Worship. Our scripture reading: Romans 12:1-2

This Week in Worship. Luke 4 marks the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry and highlights a feature of Jesus’ life. He was grounded in Scripture. Jesus used his knowledge of scripture to resist Satan’s temptations and define his ministry in the testing in the wilderness. As followers of Jesus, we too are called to develop the discipline of studying the scriptures on a daily basis. We will discuss that as disciples before we can bear fruit for the kingdom we must first have roots. The roots of discipleship are nourished through continuous study of the scriptures. This week in worship: Disciples: Study. Our scripture reading: Luke 4:1-14

This Week in Worship. Too often as disciples we become too concerned with what other humans think of our prayers but when we pray, our prayers are not necessarily for the ears of others but for the ears or rather the heart of God. The scriptures tell us to pray boldly without ceasing. Prayer gives us the power to move the hands that move the world. Yet Jesus reminds us that prayer is not about telling God what we want or what we want to accomplish but actively seeking to discern God’s will not our will and becoming a vessel for God’s purpose. In sermon we will be reminded of the importance of prayer in life of every Christ follower. This week in worship: Disciples: Pray. Our scripture reading: Matthew 6:5-8 (NIV).