Middletown United Methodist Church
80 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 3 years ago - ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsMiddletown United Methodist Church Podcast
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Episodes
April 26, 2020 | Supporting Roles - Jonathan | Rev. Gary Gibson
April 27, 2020 00:00 - 14 minutes - 10 MBThis week we focused on the supporting role of Jonathan and the importance and power of relationships. By the end of this sermon you should think about who has refrigerator privileges in your home.
April 19, 2020 | Supporting Roles - Abigail | Rev. Nancy Tinnell
April 21, 2020 00:00 - 13 minutes - 9.44 MBThis week we take a look at the supporting role of Abigail. She was known to be something of a peacemaker. How many Abigail's do you know? Do you think the world needs more?
April 9, 2020 | Maundy Thursday - Love One Another, Lead By Example | Rev. Trent Lloyd
April 14, 2020 00:00 - 14 minutes - 10.2 MBMaundy Thursday is a time when we remember the coming hour, the moment that will begin our journey to the cross. The moment that began the stations that we focused on during the Lenten season. On this day, we remember that Jesus serves, he feeds, he kneels and he washes the feet of his followers. He tells them then to do the same for others. He chooses to wash their feet in a humbling posture, he lays everything aside to serve his disciples. Jesus asks the disciples “do you know what I have ...
April 12, 2020 | Easter - The Resurrection | Rev. Gary Gibson
April 14, 2020 00:00 - 14 minutes - 9.68 MBAfter spending weeks walking through the suffering and death of Christ we celebrate that he has overcome death and has risen! Easter is the promise that throughout history has been an occasion of great doubt but also a source of profound faith. The text in John involves a lot of running, first Mary Magdalene finds the empty tomb and runs to Simon Peter. We have good news to share on Easter, the good news that the grief we hold from Good Friday can be turned into the joy of Easter, are we run...
April 5, 2020 | Palm Sunday - Triumphant Entry | Rev. Gary Gibson
April 06, 2020 00:00 - 15 minutes - 10.6 MBOn this last Sunday of Lent we go back to the entry into Jerusalem before the Stations of the Cross began. This Sunday we are called to reflect on the Stations of the Cross as we celebrate the triumphal entry into Jerusalem as the palm branches wave and the shouts of hosanna. We are reminded of the steps of the journey that Jesus will walk in the coming week. Palm Sunday is a moment of a call to communal faith and courageous proclamation of our faith as we share together as a community of fa...
March 29, 2020 | Walking With Jesus - Casting of Lots | Rev. Gary Gibson
March 31, 2020 00:00 - 14 minutes - 9.68 MBJesus striped of his garments. Clothing gave a person their social position, a place in society. Jesus is public stripped meaning that he no long as anything, he is an outcast. Jesus takes on the position of a fallen man, and at the foot of the cross the soldiers divide his clothing, his possessions. He is mocked, ridiculed, scorned, stripped naked and hangs before the world baring all the blame for each of us, suffering for each of us. Some scholars suggest that casting lots could have been...
March 22, 2020 | Walking With Jesus - The Women Who Supported Jesus | Rev. Trent Lloyd
March 23, 2020 00:00 - 18 minutes - 12.8 MBThe stations of the women along the Via Dolorosa are not explicitly found in the gospels. When Jesus was dedicated in the temple as an infant Simone gave the prophecy to his parents (Luke 2:34) and Mary’s heart would be broken as she watched her son go to death, the death of a criminal. While a story about Veronica is not found in the Gospel there are a couple of interesting traditions associated with her station. One story is that Veronica was the woman who touched Jesus’ robe to be healed ...
March 15, 2020 | Walking With Jesus - The Heavy Burdens | Rev. Gary Gibson
March 16, 2020 00:00 - 17 minutes - 12.4 MBAmong insult and mockery Jesus carries the weight of the cross as he sets forth on the path to Golgotha. Jesus, the strong and mighty savior is overtaken by the weight of the cross on his back and the weight of each of our sins. He falls carrying our weakness and our sufferings and when the load becomes too heavy Jesus is given the assistance needed by Simon of Cyrene passing by. As we explore the physical burden of the cross that weighs down Jesus we are invited to look at the burdens we ea...
March 8, 2020 | Walking With Jesus - Jesus Takes Up The Cross | Rev. Trent Lloyd
March 10, 2020 00:00 - 19 minutes - 13.3 MBJesus was condemned as an imposter, mocked and beaten and tied down with the weight of the cross to walk the journey to the place of the skull. Jesus takes up the Cross, a symbol of suffering. We each have a cross, a trial or affliction that is hard for us to bear. Jesus told his disciples to carry their cross and turn their lives over to him. We are asked to do the same in our lives. Jesus does not simply call us to believe, but to commit our lives to him, trust in him and follow him. Our c...
March 8, 2020 | Walking With Jesus - Jesus Takes Up The Cross | Rev. Gary Gibson
March 10, 2020 00:00 - 19 minutes - 13.1 MBJesus was condemned as an imposter, mocked and beaten and tied down with the weight of the cross to walk the journey to the place of the skull. Jesus takes up the Cross, a symbol of suffering. We each have a cross, a trial or affliction that is hard for us to bear. Jesus told his disciples to carry their cross and turn their lives over to him. We are asked to do the same in our lives. Jesus does not simply call us to believe, but to commit our lives to him, trust in him and follow him. Our c...
March 1, 2020 | Walking With Jesus - Jesus Condemned to Death | Rev. Trent Lloyd
March 02, 2020 00:00 - 16 minutes - 11.3 MBPilate washed his hands of the guilt, he didn’t recognize who Jesus was and he chose to listen to the crowd rather than his own heart. He was afraid of what the people would do and was afraid of losing power and his position. What actions or lack of actions have we performed in our own lives condemning others or condemning Jesus? Have we allowed the actions of the crowd to dictate the response of our faith? Have we allowed our fear or desire for popularity of power to stop us from seeing Je...
March 1, 2020 | Walking With Jesus - Jesus Condemned to Death | Rev. Gary Gibson
March 02, 2020 00:00 - 15 minutes - 10.9 MBPilate washed his hands of the guilt, he didn’t recognize who Jesus was and he chose to listen to the crowd rather than his own heart. He was afraid of what the people would do and was afraid of losing power and his position. What actions or lack of actions have we performed in our own lives condemning others or condemning Jesus? Have we allowed the actions of the crowd to dictate the response of our faith? Have we allowed our fear or desire for popularity of power to stop us from seeing Je...
February 23, 2020 | I'd Rather Not Talk About It - Caregivers | Rev. Trent Lloyd
February 26, 2020 00:00 - 21 minutes - 14.9 MBA caregiver sacrifices his or her time, energy, and love every day. The attributes of Christ, His mercy and compassion, are all critical to caregiving. While we can never measure up to His example perfectly, we should always remember that caregivers aren’t just doing good work—they are doing God’s work, exemplified in Christ.But it is often not an easy life change. The interplay of caregiving consequences: poverty, discrimination and stigma, lack of support from others, diminished social rel...
November 24, 2019 | I Believe in the Holy Spirit | Rev. Trent Lloyd | Ignite
November 26, 2019 00:00 - 22 minutes - 15.5 MBThis last section of the Creed summarizes the promises of God, the promises that form the bedrock of our faith. In the Old and New Testaments, God promised to be with us always. We believe in the Holy Spirit that acted in the Bible, coming upon Mary the mother of Jesus, filling Elizabeth and Zechariah, descending upon Jesus in the form of a dove, and leading Jesus through temptation in the wilderness. We have seen the Spirit act in the Bible, and we believe the Spirit has acted and will act...
November 24, 2019 | I Believe in the Holy Spirit | Rev. Emily Allen | Sanctuary
November 26, 2019 00:00 - 18 minutes - 12.9 MBThis last section of the Creed summarizes the promises of God, the promises that form the bedrock of our faith. In the Old and New Testaments, God promised to be with us always. We believe in the Holy Spirit that acted in the Bible, coming upon Mary the mother of Jesus, filling Elizabeth and Zechariah, descending upon Jesus in the form of a dove, and leading Jesus through temptation in the wilderness. We have seen the Spirit act in the Bible, and we believe the Spirit has acted and will act...
November 17, 2019 | Son of God, Son of Man | Rev. Gary Gibson | Sanctuary
November 18, 2019 00:00 - 17 minutes - 11.7 MBThe name Immanuel appears twice in Hebrew scriptures (Isaiah 7:14, 8:8) and one in the New Testament (Matthew 1:23). One of the most comforting of all the names and titles of Jesus, it is literally translated “with us is God” or, as Matthew’s Gospel puts it, “God with us.”When our sins made it impossible for us to come to him, God took the outrageous step of coming to us, of making himself susceptible to sorrow, familiar with temptation, and vulnerable to sin’s disruptive power, in order to ...
November 10, 2019 | I Believe in God | Rev. Gary Gibson | Sanctuary
November 11, 2019 00:00 - 17 minutes - 11.9 MBWe usually use the word “God” as a single, all-encompassing name, but God has many different names and titles that we find in the Bible, each describing different parts of God’s nature and character. As we grow in our faith and knowledge (intimacy) of God and God’s nature and love for us, we will experience the truth of many of those names for ourselves as we come to know God the Father, the Lord our Rock or our Shepherd, God our Provider, etc. Many of the names of God can be sorted along t...
November 10, 2019 | I Believe in God | Rev. Trent Lloyd | Ignite
November 11, 2019 00:00 - 18 minutes - 12.9 MBWe usually use the word “God” as a single, all-encompassing name, but God has many different names and titles that we find in the Bible, each describing different parts of God’s nature and character. As we grow in our faith and knowledge (intimacy) of God and God’s nature and love for us, we will experience the truth of many of those names for ourselves as we come to know God the Father, the Lord our Rock or our Shepherd, God our Provider, etc. Many of the names of God can be sorted along t...
November 3, 2019 | River Deep, Mountain High - Where Do You Get That Water? | Rev. Trent Lloyd | Ignite
November 04, 2019 00:00 - 14 minutes - 9.86 MBThose we honor and remember on All Saints Sunday tasted the living water. It has become in them a “spring gushing up to eternal life.” At some point they asked for a drink of this water, and there was someone there who could offer it to them. They received a Christian witness, just as we did when we asked for the same drink. It is essential to the kingdom that we be willing to offer other people a taste of the living water. We offer it both as individuals and as a church. It is offered verba...
November 3, 2019 | River Deep, Mountain High - Where Do You Get That Water? | Rev. Gary Gibson | Sanctuary
November 04, 2019 00:00 - 12 minutes - 8.92 MBThose we honor and remember on All Saints Sunday tasted the living water. It has become in them a “spring gushing up to eternal life.” At some point they asked for a drink of this water, and there was someone there who could offer it to them. They received a Christian witness, just as we did when we asked for the same drink. It is essential to the kingdom that we be willing to offer other people a taste of the living water. We offer it both as individuals and as a church. It is offered verba...
October 27, 2019 | River Deep, Mountain High - Make a List | Rev. Emily Allen | Ignite
October 28, 2019 00:00 - 21 minutes - 14.7 MBThe Transfiguration of Jesus as recorded in Mark 9:2-8 parallels that of Elijah. This time it is a mountain rather than a river that separates. The mountain carries the same high symbolic weight as the river. Jesus takes Peter, James and John up on a high mountain. There he is transfigured before them; his garments glow intensely white, and Elijah and Moses appear with him. Peter is beside himself at this revelation and calls out, “Let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and ...
October 27, 2019 | River Deep, Mountain High - Make a List | Rev. Doug Stillwell | Sanctuary
October 28, 2019 00:00 - 21 minutes - 14.6 MBThe Transfiguration of Jesus as recorded in Mark 9:2-8 parallels that of Elijah. This time it is a mountain rather than a river that separates. The mountain carries the same high symbolic weight as the river. Jesus takes Peter, James and John up on a high mountain. There he is transfigured before them; his garments glow intensely white, and Elijah and Moses appear with him. Peter is beside himself at this revelation and calls out, “Let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and ...
October 20, 2019 | River Deep, Mountain High - Guided by The Spirit | Rev. Gary Gibson | Sanctuary
October 21, 2019 00:00 - 19 minutes - 13.3 MBAcross Northern Africa stretches the largest desert in the world, the Sahara, almost as large as the United States. From east to west, it measures thirty two hundred miles, farther than the distance from New York to San Francisco. Mile after mile of scorching, shifting, sand dunes make up the Sahara, where temperatures reach 130 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer –so hot that breathing is nearly impossible. Yet at the eastern edge of this mammoth oven lies one of the richest, most fertile...
October 13, 2019 | River Deep, Mountain High - Let the River Flow | Rev. Emily Allen | Ignite
October 15, 2019 00:00 - 16 minutes - 11.7 MBJesus has already begun to create controversy with his ministry. He slips into the festival of the tabernacles quietly but eventually ends up in the temple courts, where he begins to teach. His teaching authority is immediately questioned, prompting the response that begins in verse 16. Those who follow wholeheartedly, as we saw in Caleb’s story last week, will be able to discern the difference between teaching that comes from God and teaching that is self-promoting. This relates to our memb...
October 13, 2019 | River Deep, Mountain High - Let the River Flow | Rev. Gary Gibson | Sanctuary
October 15, 2019 00:00 - 16 minutes - 11.2 MBJesus has already begun to create controversy with his ministry. He slips into the festival of the tabernacles quietly but eventually ends up in the temple courts, where he begins to teach. His teaching authority is immediately questioned, prompting the response that begins in verse 16. Those who follow wholeheartedly, as we saw in Caleb’s story last week, will be able to discern the difference between teaching that comes from God and teaching that is self-promoting. This relates to our memb...
October 6, 2019 | River Deep, Mountain High - With All My Heart | Rev. Gary Gibson | Sanctuary
October 07, 2019 00:00 - 13 minutes - 9.1 MBCaleb is a good example of perseverance and not losing sight of goals and purpose. He received God’s promise; wholly followed God; didn’t fear the giants; didn’t allow delays or circumstances to make him bitter or cause him to give up. If we are wholeheartedly committed to our membership vows and to making God’s kingdom a reality through our efforts as a church, there will be no mountain we can’t climb; no giant that will stop us. The discipline of prayer enables the believer to practice who...
September 29, 2019 | Children's Sabbath | Rev. Mona Walker | Sanctuary
September 30, 2019 00:00 - 19 minutes - 13.1 MBChildren’s Sabbath is a set time each year when places of worship across the country are engaged in focusing prayers, worship, education, and action on learning more about the urgent challenges facing our nation’s children. In addition, we will incorporate the needs of/what we can help with for our neighborhood and MUMC children.
September 22, 2019 | The Work of the People - The Rhythm of Work and Rest | Leslie Robinette | Ignite
September 23, 2019 00:00 - 15 minutes - 10.7 MBWe are called to work, but what happens when we live in a culture of “go, go, go” and “more, more, more”? What happens when work starts to feel oppressive? It is easy for Christians to also fall into the “protestant work ethic” that so permeates our culture. This is not to say that working hard is bad, but overwork and oppressive work is. We are commanded over and over again by God to have a rhythm of work and rest. When we properly understand that work is a gift from God, we can also freely...
September 22, 2019 | The Work of the People - The Rhythm of Work and Rest | Rev. Gary Gibson | Sanctuary
September 23, 2019 00:00 - 16 minutes - 11.7 MBWe are called to work, but what happens when we live in a culture of “go, go, go” and “more, more, more”? What happens when work starts to feel oppressive? It is easy for Christians to also fall into the “protestant work ethic” that so permeates our culture. This is not to say that working hard is bad, but overwork and oppressive work is. We are commanded over and over again by God to have a rhythm of work and rest. When we properly understand that work is a gift from God, we can also freely...
September 15, 2019 | The Work of the People - Called to Work | Rev. Trent Lloyd | Ignite
September 17, 2019 00:00 - 17 minutes - 11.9 MBHow do we decide where God is calling us in our current life situation? We are all called, but how do we decide our vocation amidst our calling? God may be calling us to serve within our church or in the community, but God also calls us to particular work.Sometimes our jobs connect to how we serve and build up the kingdom while other times we find ways to serve tangibly outside of our jobs. We are not all called to be full time ministers, but we are all gifted for ministry wherever we are.