Luke 13:1-5; Romans 8:35-39; Matthew 7:24-25Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

Matthew 22:34-40 We'll be exploring the greatest commandment through the eyes of the piece that's often forgotten.Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

Revelation 21:1-7 In the end, we find our hope! It is hard fought and we are battle-scarred, but ultimately, as followers of Christ, we know that we will find ourselves in a place of peace and healing. We will affirm this without belittling what we have been through. Suffering is very real, but so is the power of Christ’s redemption and love.…

Revelation 16:12-21 Ever find yourself in an awful situation, something you barely think you have the strength to survive? And then ever have ANOTHER awful thing happen to you? As we look at this stretch of Revelation, we will dive into times when things just seem to keep getting worse and worse. How do we find hope in those times?…

Revelation 5:1-6:8 It is natural when we go through something hard to wonder what is making all of this happen. It is also natural to lay the blame at the feet of God. And it is natural to then question whether that makes sense at all too. As we explore this passage of Revelation, we will make space for that ambiguous reality in the midst of strugg…

Revelation 1:9-20 We open this series with some discussion on the value of seeing the Book of Revelation as a companion in the journey of difficult times in life. We will also address the struggle of interpreting this book, ultimately giving us permission to stop trying to unravel the mystery, and instead, let the story carry us along.…

Matthew 5:13-16 God doesn’t want perfect little followers, and you don’t have to be something you are not to be a good follower of Christ. We should bring all we are in our walk with Christ. Of course, we also must create space for others who find a home in our church. They need to bring their authentic selves as well!…

Genesis 11: 1-9 What is the First Commandment God gives humanity? It's not what you think. Listen and learn how we can better follow.Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

John 15:12-13 Both Jesus and Baymax are not merely human, but may be the most human of all of us. Both came to bring healing. And both give their lives for others – friends and enemies alike. There is no greater hero than these.Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

1 Samuel 16:1-13 These two characters seemed like the least of their families. Turns out, they were incredibly special. There’s a lesson here: look with God’s eyes, not ours.Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

Matthew 27:1-10; Acts 1:15-20 Two stories for each villain - one in which the character is unredeemably evil; one in which the character is misunderstood and sympathetic. With these figures, we will see the lines between hero and villain are often blurred.Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

2 Kings 11:1-20 We hear a story from the Bible that is essentially the story of the Lion King (which is a retelling of Hamlet). What is it about this story of family destruction that is so deep in our human condition?Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

Job 1:6-12; Revelation 20:7-10 We start out looking at those who appear to be friends or at least part of the group, but then become those we must battle against. Does that come from a change in them or a change in our relationship with them?Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

Genesis 1: 1-5 In the last of the sermons in this series, we look at the First Person of the Trinity: God the Creator. But we will also use this sermon to talk about what the Trinity means in the first place.Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

Romans 5:6-11; Hebrews 9:11-15; Philippians 2:5-13 In a small, unofficial poll of adults in our church in which Pastor Michelle asked about topics related to Jesus, unanimously people want to know more about how to understand atonement, which is the saving work Jesus does on our behalf. There is more than one way to approach the atonement, and we w…

Luke 24: 44-49, Acts 2: 1-8 Beginning this series where we look at the three parts of the Trinity, today we explore the jazz of the Holy Spirit.Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

Acts 28:11-16, 30-31 Paul finally makes it to Rome and settles into this place that was meant to be a stop on the road, but that became his destination. In the journeys we take, we often find that the end was not in the place where we stopped, but in the journey itself, much like a life of faith.Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

Acts 16:6-15 Paul and his companions can’t go to Asia, no matter how hard they try. Nonetheless, their detour leads to the baptism of Lydia’s whole household. We often find blessings in the detours we have to take unexpectedly.Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

Acts 15:12-35 Barnabas and Paul are sent out with authorization from the apostles to preach to the Gentiles. The journey is underway!Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

Acts 9:1-30 Sometimes things happen in our lives that cause us to look at things and see them differently. It happened to Saul and this week it has happened to all of us. We will find our faith in that experience.Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

Galatians 5:13-14 We will celebrate confirmation today as a choice that these youth have made of their own free will. But we will also affirm that the choice they have made is to love their neighbor as themselves.Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

1 Corinthians 12:13-22, Mark 2:1-12 As we close out our series on the United Methodist Social Principles we will discuss The Social Community. We will take a close look at the story of the paralytic man in Mark 2:1-12 who is lowered through the roof by his friends to gain access to Jesus and reflect on this as a picture of our United Methodist DNA.…

Micah 6:6-8 (CEB), Luke 6:31 What does the Lord require of the political community and the aspirations of the United Methodist Church? Micah 6:8 is an excellent summary of these detailed and subtle political statements in the Social Principles of the United Methodist Church. We generally try to avoid “being political“ in the religious community; ho…

Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12-15 Sabbath is an economic statement. It lays claim to the need to care for ourselves in order to care for others and God’s world. Yet for far too many of us, Sabbath is a luxury. How do we reclaim this gift God has given us?Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

Genesis 1:28-31 We will look at aspects of our care of creation in our Social Principles in light of the very first set of instructions God gives to humanity – to be stewards of all of the earth.Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

Mark 12:28-34 The words we choose and the words we say form us. That is the purpose of creeds – to form us around a collective identity. We have creeds that help us understand who we are. Our United Methodist Social Creed is one example, reflecting what we affirm in our Social Principles.Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

Joel 2:1-11 Getting ready for the eclipse the next day, and also coming out of the season of Easter, we look at how people have viewed heavenly events like eclipses as apocalyptic signs, but we will also discuss the prophetic call to prepare for the Day of the Lord. It continues the prophetic call to love and care for each other or face the consequ…

1 Corinthians 1:18-25 On this April Fools’ Day eve, we will acknowledge how ridiculous our faith story seems on some level, and yet we cannot imagine living with any other story. This foolish story is the beginning of hope and faith, and the means of true love.Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

Matthew 5:43-48; Matthew 26:14-25, 47-50 This week we confront Jesus’ teaching that we should love our enemies, and we also confront the reality that loving our enemies is not a safe thing to do. It very well may lead to our own profound loss. To what extreme are we called to love? Is this kind of love just for Jesus or for us too? Is it true that …

Luke 15: 11-32; Matthew 5:38-42 The prodigal son story and the turn the other cheek teaching show that foolish love ignores offenses and just seeks to love, and love abundantly. Note: the definition of prodigal is wastefully extravagant. Prodigal is better applied to the father than the son in this story. Because this shares some of the themes of t…

Mark 17:1-17, John 2:1-11 Casting demons into pigs to save one person and saving the best wine for last both prove that foolish love creates a tremendous amount of waste – wasteful grace.Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

Matthew 20:1-16, 18:12-13 The parable of the workers in the vineyard and the story of the 99 sheep left behind for the sake of the 1 show us that foolish love is not an equitable equation. It is not a utilitarian decision, but in fact, sometimes it means making the least fair decision in order to include more in the field of love.…

Mark 7:24-29; Luke 13:10-17 This week we will look at how love inspires us to break the rules. We will center not only in the stories of the Syrophoenician and bent over women, but also in the story of Liam Bruzatori, a beautiful child who continues to challenge us to love.Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

Matthew 5:21-24, 18:21-35 Looking at these 2 teachings about Jesus forgiving someone multiple times and the servant who does not forgive the debt of his fellow servant, we will start to understand how refusing to forgive is to continue to judge others and carry hate in our own hearts. This keeps us from being able to fully love.…

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 To set the scene for this series, we will look at this definition of love given in this letter of Paul’s. As this series is meant to help people understand how better to love like Jesus, we will practice the “Replace the word love with your name” practice of this passage. That will help us know what kind of work we need to do t…

Mark 14:1-9 The act of the woman who anoints Jesus is characterized as wasteful. What if it is instead an act of confidence that the reign will provide? There will always be enough to take care of the poor AND worship and care extravagantly for others.Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

Mark 10:17-31, 12:41-44 Where is our security? For the rich man, it seems like it was in his assurance in how the world was supposed to work, and in his belief that his stuff would keep him safe. The poor widow will come along and flip all of that on its head. How is Jesus inviting us into the freedom of letting go?…

Mark 6:1-13 This sermon looks at the little difference Jesus can make in his hometown, up against the commissioning of the disciples to go cast out demons! What miracles are at our fingertips that we do not even try to make happen because of the assumptions we make about it being impossible?Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

Philippians 1:6-11 I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Indeed, it is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart, and you are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel…

Ephesians 2: 19-22 & Ephesians 4:15-16 Where are we right now as a community of faith and United Methodists in this unique place at this unique time. What are the issues we face today? What ways we can continue to uphold our faith while we are in the formidable details of our lived experience. Can we infuse our daily work and life with the joy of w…

Joshua 4:21-24, Revelation 19:5-8 January is a time when we are looking forward to the excitement of a new year. But before we, as a church, strike out on this new shiny new year, let’s pause and appreciate the path behind us. What has come before us and who are the folks whose faithfulness and the corner of 2nd & A have carried this ministry to to…

1 Corinthians 11:23-26, Revelation 21:1-7Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

Luke 2:1-19Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

Fourth Sunday of Advent Luke 1:26-33Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

Third Sunday of Advent Luke 2:25-35; 8:19-21; John 2:1-12Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

Second Sunday of Advent Luke 1:46-55, 2:41-52Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

First Sunday of Advent John 19:25-27, Acts 1:12-14Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

1 Thessalonians 1:2-9Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville

Luke 12:22-34Af First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville