United Methodist Church of Kent Sermon PDFs UMC of Kent
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- Religion & Spirituality
This is the companion feed to the United Methodist Church of Kent's Sermon podcast. Here, you will find PDF transcriptions of the sermons by our senior pastor, Dr. David A. Palmer. Subscribe to get the latest sermons as soon as they are available!
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Sacred Space
Human beings have always been drawn to create sanctuaries, which are strikingly different from the space around them, and people have often devoted their greatest effort to those spaces (e.g. Stonehenge, cathedrals, the tabernacle/temple). Sanctuaries remind us that we need to “step aside” from our usual routine to direct our spirits toward God.
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Come Awake to God
The Scripture calls us to “come into God’s presence” (Psalm 100:2). But is not God always present? Yes, but people are often preoccupied with other things. So the Scriptures urge us to “come awake” (Matthew, Romans, Ephesians) to God. Worship is a movement of awakening and lifting our heart to God. People may “believe in God,” but faith is never really alive until it is expressed in worship.
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Thy Will Be Done
In this sermon, Dr. Palmer discusses seeking to bring one’s personal life, and one’s society, into harmony with the will of God.
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Hallowed Be Thy Name
The opening petition of the Lord’s Prayer directs us to focus upon God, recognizing God’s love, power, and goodness, and giving honor and glory to God.
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One Thing Needful
Jesus, in teaching about prayer, draws his hearers from thinking about how they look to directing themselves truly to God. Genuine prayer involves doing what Mary did – sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to what he was saying. This also means avoiding what Martha was doing – getting distracted by well-intentioned busyness!
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Teach Us to Pray
Prayer as the practice of ongoing communion with God; prayer is not an emergency appeal to God but a receptive connection with God. Such prayer involves intentional focus; we need to “do things that draw us closer to God” (one of the Methodist General Rules).