Saint Matthew United Methodist Church

Category: Video

  • Love Boldly: Who Will Help Us?

    Jason Hardy
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    Watch the full service online here.

    As Jesus traveled from town to town, teaching, healing, and proclaiming the good news, he looked upon the crowds with compassion. He saw people who were weary, searching, and in need of care. In response, Jesus told his disciples that the harvest was plentiful, but the workers were few. His words remind us that God’s work in the world continues, and that Christ calls ordinary people to participate in sharing hope, love, and grace with others.

    Rev. Mary Teague reflected on how often we assume ministry is for someone else, someone more experienced, more gifted, or more qualified. Yet throughout Scripture, God repeatedly calls ordinary people to serve. The disciples were not chosen because they had all the answers. They were chosen because they were willing to follow. God continues to work through people who offer their gifts, their time, their prayers, and their presence in service to others.

    As a church family, we are invited to consider how God may be calling us to love boldly beyond these walls. Whether through prayer, hospitality, service, encouragement, generosity, or simply showing up for someone in need, each of us has a role to play in God’s mission. When we trust that God will equip us for what lies ahead, we can respond with faith and confidence, saying, “Here I am, Lord. Send me.”

    Matthew 9:35-38 NIV

    The Workers Are Few

    35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

  • Love Boldly

    Jason Hardy
    Categories:
    YouTube player

    Watch the full service online by clicking here.

    God’s love changes us. It roots us in grace, frees us from fear, and calls us into deeper relationships with one another. Love is more than something we believe or talk about. Love becomes visible when we show compassion, extend hospitality, serve our neighbors, and choose to care for one another in meaningful ways.

    The love of Christ gives us the courage to move beyond what is comfortable and familiar. When we trust that we are fully known and fully loved by God, we can open our hearts to new relationships, new opportunities to serve, and new ways of growing together as disciples. Perfect love casts out fear because God’s love is already at work within us.

    As a church family, we are called to live that love boldly. We do this when we welcome others, strengthen our community, share our gifts, and participate in God’s work around us. Christ’s love is not something we keep for ourselves. It is something we receive, embody, and share with the world.

    Take Time to Reflect

    • Where do you see God’s love already at work in your life and relationships?
    • How is Christ inviting you to move beyond fear and love more boldly?
    • What opportunities do you have this week to share God’s love through hospitality, service, or encouragement?

    Scripture References:
    1 John 3:17-18, 1 John 4:17-18, Ephesians 3:17-19

  • Worship through Song Sunday

    Jason Hardy
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  • Can You Believe This?

    Jason Hardy
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    Click here to watch the full service online.

    Scripture: Acts 2:1-12
    On Pentecost, the followers of Jesus gathered together, waiting and wondering what would come next. In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit arrives like wind and fire, filling ordinary people with courage, clarity, and a message meant for the whole world. Pastor Mary reminded us that the church was born not through human power or perfect understanding, but through God’s Spirit moving among people willing to listen and respond.

    This moment in Scripture reminds us that faith is not something we carry alone. The disciples came from uncertainty and fear, yet God met them right where they were and gave them what they needed for the journey ahead. The miracle of Pentecost was not simply that many languages were spoken, but that people from different places and backgrounds could finally hear and understand one another. God’s Spirit created connection where division once existed.

    As we continue living into God’s call together, we are reminded that the church is still shaped by the Holy Spirit today. We may not always fully understand where God is leading us, but we trust that God continues to open minds, stir hearts, and guide communities forward in love. Pentecost invites us to believe that God still works through ordinary people, still brings hope into uncertain places, and still calls us to share Christ’s love with the world.

    Take Time to Reflect

    • Where have you experienced God giving you courage when you felt uncertain?
    • How might the Holy Spirit be calling us to listen more deeply to one another?
    • What would it look like for us to trust God’s movement in our daily lives?

    Acts 2:1-12 New International Version
    The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost
    2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.

    5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,[b] 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

  • He Opened Their Minds

    Jason Hardy
    Categories:
    YouTube player

    Watch the full service on our YouTube channel.

    He Opened Their Minds
    Scripture: Luke 24:44-53

    In this week’s message, Rev. Mary Teague reflected on the moment after the resurrection when Jesus gathered with the disciples and “opened their minds” to understand the Scriptures. Even after walking with Jesus, the disciples still struggled to fully understand what God was doing through Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. Mary reminded us that faith is often a journey of growing understanding. God continues to open our hearts and minds, helping us see His presence in new ways through Scripture, worship, prayer, and community.

    Drawing from Luke’s account of the Ascension, the sermon emphasized that Jesus did not leave the disciples abandoned or directionless. Instead, He blessed them and prepared them for what was coming next. The disciples returned to Jerusalem not with fear, but with joy and renewed purpose. Mary reflected on how Christ continues to call ordinary people into lives of witness, trust, and hope. We are reminded that understanding does not come all at once. God patiently continues shaping us and guiding us forward together.

    The message also invited us to consider how God may still be opening our minds today. In a world filled with uncertainty, distraction, and division, Christ calls us to remain grounded in love, grace, and community. As followers of Jesus, we are invited to keep learning, keep listening, and keep responding to God’s movement among us. The same Christ who walked with the disciples continues to walk beside us now, leading us into deeper faith and greater understanding.

    Take Time to Reflect

    • Where is God helping you see something in a new way?
    • How have others helped open your understanding of faith?
    • What would it look like to walk forward with joy and trust this week?

    Luke 24:44-53 (New International Version)
    44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

    45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

    The Ascension of Jesus
    50 When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. 52 Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.