Light of the World

We are called to let Christ enlighten us, and then to let the light of Christ shine through us. Early American Christians saw this as a call for our whole nation, that we are to be a beacon of light to the world – a good message for this Independence Day weekend!
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Unanswered Prayer

Dr. Butcher served at the United Methodist Church of Kent from 1983 to 1992. We welcomed him back as our guest as we continue to celebrate our Bicentennial.
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A Holy Restlesness

King David was ready to settle down and build a temple. But God rejected the idea. God was not ready to settle down and be perceived as being contained in one spot. God wants to stir us up and to avoid becoming content with the way things are.
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Jesus Saves

The “salvation” that Jesus brings is not just a “ticket to heaven.” Jesus saves from all that would threaten to destroy us. We experience the fullness of that salvation as we open our hearts to Christ in faith.
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The Morning Star

Jesus is the “bright morning star” – the one who brings hope for the dawning of a new day in our lives and in our world.
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The Mediator

Where there is a broken relationship, a mediator can bring about new understanding, healing, and a new future. Christ is the Mediator who can bring about healing in our relationship with God, and with others.
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The Vine

In Jesus’ saying, “I am the vine, you are the branches,” he provides a powerful image of how we need to be connected to Christ, and how that connection enables us to “bear fruit” in the world.
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The Gate

Do you struggle to find your way or your place in life? Jesus calls us to “enter the gate” that he provides for us.
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In Jesus’ Name

The Scriptures urge us to pray and to act “in Jesus’ name.” This means not just speaking the name of Jesus, but acting in the style of Jesus — the style of a loving servant. This message connects with the theme of Mother’s Day!
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The Bread of Life

When Jesus says, “I am the bread of life,” he is saying that he is the source of what we truly need. We are called to spiritually receive Christ, to nourish us and to bring us into genuine life.
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The Good Shepherd

Jesus is the “good shepherd” who guides, protects, rescues, and cares for us.
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With

It is important to know that God wants to be with us. Therefore, the logical conclusion is we can be with God. The way we can demonstrate this love from God to others is to be with them.
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Jesus Is Lord

We are invited not only to believe that Jesus is the Savior, but to accept Jesus as Lord – to let Christ “reign” in our lives so that we can share in the fullness of God’s Kingdom.
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Lifegiver

Jesus brings true life now, and life eternal in the glory of God. As he says, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” Let Christ bring you into life today!
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The King & His Kingdom

Jesus is acclaimed on Palm Sunday as “king,” but he is not the kind of king that people expected. He offers a radical answer to the world’s trouble: not more violence, but redeeming and transforming love.
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I Will Sing To The Lord

United Methodist Women’s Sunday. Our UMW shares a humorous short play and a message on the theme of praising God through music.
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Lamb of God

Jesus lays down his life for us, as a once for all sacrifice, so that we can be healed. So John the Baptist would say of Jesus, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”
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Call On The Name Of The Lord

This begins a sermon series entitled, “The Names and Titles of Jesus – and what they mean for us.” The Bible urges us often to “call on the name of the Lord.” To do so is to enter God’s presence and to experience God’s grace and power.
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Walking In Grace

Guest Pastor (and former associate pastor at Kent UMC from 1980-1985), Rev. Bob Machovec, returns to share his message with us to celebrate our bicentennial as well as the introduction to the season of Lent and what that means.
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The Mark of Salvation

Ash Wednesday service and the conclusion of Dr. Dave Palmer’s sermon series on the Exodus.
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God Will Make A Way

The crossing of the Red Sea during the Exodus story has been depicted in fanciful ways. But God works through His creations in order to make a way for us. It’s important for us to follow the path that God lays before us.
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God’s Wake Up Calls

The plagues are wake up calls for Egypt; but they are ignored. People continue to miss God’s miracles and signs today.
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Encounter With God

The burning bush shows how God is encountered in ordinary places. But God cannot be “nailed down” into our categories. We need to be open to mystery.
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Your Divine Calling

Moses was prepared for his mission from his earliest years. But when called, he offered excuses. The story challenges us to recognize God’s hand in life and to respond to God’s call today.
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The Most Durable Power

Martin Luther King, Jr. believed love was the greatest power in the world. The Bible gives us great examples of what the nature of love is and how to put it into practice.
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The Big Story That Gets No Mention

The story of the Exodus gets no mention in the annals of Egypt, because the Pharaohs construed their records to glorify themselves; an embarrassing set of incidents involving slaves would have received no mention in the annals of Egypt. God has a different set of values – the...
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God’s Plan and the World’s Evil

God provides an extraordinary answer to evil by sending Jesus into the world.
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A Call To Commitment

Enter the New Year afresh by hearing God’s call for your life.
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How To Find Peace

Peace is sadly lacking in the world at large and in people’s hearts. The Christmas story invites us to discover that “Christ is our peace.” (Ephesians 2:14)
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No Room

What did Mary and Joseph really encounter in Bethlehem? The key spiritual issue is whether there is room in our lives today for Christ to enter in.
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Sanctuary Choir Presents Handel’s “Messiah”

The Sanctuary Choir presents the Christmas section of Handel’s Messiah.
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The Real World and The Real Christ

The real Christ helps us deal with the real world. Now is the time to wake up. God is lighting the way now. Now is the time for us to “put on” Christ.
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The Thanksgiving Altar

The stories in Genesis give us much to think about in the Thanksgiving season, as the central characters build altars of thanksgiving to God.
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God Works For Good

The second part of the Joseph story demonstrates how even in the midst of apparently bad events God is at work for good.
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How To Have Faith When You’re In A Serious Jam

In the first part of the story of Joseph, Joseph gets put in one serious jam after another, but persists in faith, because he knows that God is real and will be at work.
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Run The Race

Several figures in the Genesis stories illustrate the Biblical admonition to “run with perseverance the race that is set before us”.
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Living In God’s Blessing

The fascinating story of Abraham and Melchizedek provides a model for Christian living.
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Sweet Dreams On A Rock Pillow

In the story of Jacob’s ladder, Jacob finds himself in a difficult place, but is met by a glorious vision of the Lord. The story says much about God’s faithfulness, even in the face of our weakness.
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God’s Method For Resolving Conflict

One of the greatest reconciliation stories in the Bible is the story of Esau and Jacob, which serves as a model for reconciliation today.
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Voyage From Vengeance

The human desire for endless vengeance continues to be quite visible in the world today. The Scripture story calls us away from vengeance to the forgiveness of Jesus.
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God Is Steadfast

The main characters in the Genesis story are all very imperfect and make major blunders; but God is steadfast and continues to be gracious — a pattern that comes finally to its climax in Jesus, who “gave his life for us while we were yet sinners.”
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Giving Away the Farm

The story of Esau and his bowl of soup illustrates how people easily squander their spiritual inheritance in the interests of instant self-gratification. The Scripture urges us to take hold of what is of true value and lay claim to our inheritance as “heirs of God”.
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Trust In The Promise

The stories of Abraham and Isaac give us a powerful picture of the promises of God, how they unfold, and how we are called to trust.
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Stairway To Heaven

The tower of Babel is an image of the continual human effort to make ourselves “like God.” God does the reverse in coming to us in Jesus.
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When It’s Pouring, Look For A Rainbow

Noah’s family on the ark provides us with an inspiring image of what it means to have faith in God in the midst of life’s trials.
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Saved Through The Waters

The story of Noah is a paradigm of the whole salvation story to come. This sermon begins a series entitled, “Foundations for Faith: from Noah to the Nile.”
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The Wind Blows Where It Will

The Holy Spirit works in all sorts of different ways. We need to acknowledge the manifold workings of the Spirit and be receptive to how the Spirit would move in our own lives. This is the final sermon in the “Catch the Wind” series.
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Properly Perturbed

We can get aggravated by all sorts of things in life. The Holy Spirit moves us to be “properly perturbed” – to be concerned about the right things – so that our primary concerns are about our spiritual condition and the condition of the world around us.
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One Spirit

The Holy Spirit works in communities of believers, and draws us into harmony and fellowship with one another.
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Justice For All

This sermon, preached by our Minister of Pastoral Care, Rev. Douglas Denton, is not a part of the Catch the Wind series. This sermon explores the Biblical idea of justice, which involves a right relationship with God and others.
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