Sharon United Methodist - Southpark

Join us for Church online on March 29, 2020!

Due to the CoronaVIrus, our Sunday Worship Services in the theater were cancelled for March 15, 2020. But you can still join us online! Pastor Kyle spoke at 10:00am with a powerful message and instructions for SouthPark Church!

The Bible is the word of God. We can hear from God when we read it. This sounds great in theory, but why is the Bible so hard to understand? Pastor Kyle offers practical advice about how we can actually make sense of scripture in order to connect with Jesus. We are with the Word when we are in the word.

We seem to be hard-wired to offer praise to those who deserve it: friends, family, celebrities, our favorite teams, etc. "Way to go! You're awesome! That's what I'm talking about!" Some whom we praise are grateful and look out for our best interest, while others could care less about us or our sentiment. Why continue to give the latter so much time and attention? Pastor Kyle challenges us to think about who is truly worthy of our praise.

In the final message in our Crucial Conversations series, Pastor Lindsay reminded us that sometimes the biggest challenge to having a crucial conversation is staying engaged in the relationship when it would be easier to disconnect. Looking at Paul’s letter to the growing church in Ephesus, we focused on God’s desire to draw together a diverse community of Jesus-followers in that city, to bring reconciliation, and to lead them into a dependent community. Listen in and be challenged to understand love for others as requiring connection, and staying engaged when it would be easier to walk way.

It’s hard not to lose our temper when the stakes are high, opinions vary, and emotions run strong. What’s wrong with letting people know how we really feel? Pastor Kyle cautions us to think it through before we unload. Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.

A conversation moves from casual to crucial when the stakes are high, opinions vary, and emotions run strong. Most of us avoid them at all cost, likely because the more crucial the conversation, the less prepared we feel to have it. Can we afford to let our relationships suffer by pretending all is well? Pastor Kyle prepares us to take the first step toward healthy dialogue. To put us first, start with you.

Bad things happen to good people. People lose jobs, get sick, and ruin relationships. If God is good and can do anything, why do our prayers for help get no apparent response? Pastor Kyle helps us wrestle with the pain of unanswered prayer. Can we trust God when things do not go our way?

This week Pastor Lindsay presented us with a prayer challenge: to take the next step in communicating with God through prayer, whatever that looks like for each of us. She reminded us that it is easy to learn about prayer by reading scriptures or books, but that we only really get to experience a relationship with God in prayer by actually praying. Listen in for some encouragement and practical tips about how to take the next step on your prayer journey.

If God created the universe with specific “laws” such as gravity and electromagnetism, and if God is perfect, then things should run according to plan. God can wind up the cosmos like a clock and step away. And yet we pray, asking God to intervene in our less-than-perfect lives. Can God step in and “break” God’s own perfect physical laws to help us? What exactly does God do when we pray? Pastor Kyle invites us to peek behind the curtain for some answers.

This week Pastor Lindsay taught about how a critical aspect of prayer, which we sometimes overlook, is being quiet and simply listening to God. Using a story described in Acts 10 about how Peter had a vision from God and then practically weighed what God was saying through that vision, she spoke about us making space to hear God's voice and then properly evaluate what we think God might be saying. Then she encouraged us to practice as a church community-including in our gathering that day! Listen in and be challenged to maybe re-think what it means to pray.

There are friends who talk more about themselves than ask about us. There are friends who only reach out when they need something. And there are friends who will do anything for us. What kind of a friend are you? Pastor Kyle takes it up a notch, focusing on how we can be friends with God. Have you ever wanted a personal relationship with God? This message is for you.

Christmas has passed and a new year is here. If Jesus is the Best Gift, what does it mean for Jesus to be our hope? Hope drives us to do many things, but what is hope, really? Biblical hope is VERY different than how we ordinarily use the word hope today. Pastor Lindsay gives us several truths we can apply in 2020 by expounding on Romans 15:13. You're invited to see how hope and faith overlap in Scripture and how this hope is available to you.

Cabbage patch kids, tickle me Elmo, Furby, Nintendo Switch, Oculus Quest…what's the best Christmas gift you ever received? Pastor Kyle, not surprisingly, says Jesus is the best gift. The tricky part is whether or not we are ready to take it.

Almost half of America could not cover an unexpected $500 medical bill. 79 million of us are stuck in a chain of pain, having to decide whether to pay our medical bills this month or eat. Is there any hope? Pastor Kyle says absolutely YES. It is time to break the chain of pain!

Christmas: New Story Church December 8, 2019: Scott Osterburg by SouthPark Church

Retailers have been marketing Christmas since before Halloween. Now we are in full-blown Christmas mode! The pressure is on to find the perfect gifts for family and friends. Can we succeed? At what cost? Pastor Kyle helps us unpack what the BEST gift can be this year.

#religion #purpose #Gratitude #thankful

Purpose: Commitment | November 17, 2019 | Kyle Thompson by SouthPark Church

Passion fades sooner or later. Even the most inspiring parts of life lose their shine eventually. How do we shift from the excitement of "getting" to do something to the dreaded "having" to do it? Pastor Kyle helps us rediscover that which we thought we had lost.