Community UMC Sermon Devotionals

  Day 1: The Question Behind the Question Read: Matthew 22:34–36 "When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 'Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?'" By this point in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus has already fielded questions about taxes and resurrection, each one designed to trap him rather than teach anything. This question is no different in motive — it's a test. Jewish teachers debated which of the 613 commandments in the Law carried the most weight, and there was no consensus. Any answer Jesus gave could be picked apart by someone who favored a different one. It's worth noticing how often Jesus is approached with questions that aren't really questions — they're traps dressed up as curiosity. And it's worth noticing how he never dodges. He engages the question honestly, even when the asker isn't honest. That'...

  A 6-Day Devotional on Matthew 22:15–22 The Passage: In Matthew 22:15–22, the Pharisees conspire with the Herodians to trap Jesus with a question about paying taxes to Caesar. It's a rigged question — if He says "yes, pay the tax," He alienates a Jewish crowd that resents Roman occupation. If He says "no," He can be reported to Rome for inciting rebellion. Jesus asks for a coin, points to Caesar's image stamped on it, and answers: give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God. His questioners leave amazed, and empty-handed. Day 1: The Trap Behind the Question Read: Matthew 22:15–17 Notice who's asking. Pharisees and Herodians agreed on almost nothing — one group resented Roman rule, the other benefited from it. Their only common ground here is a shared desire to take Jesus down. Even their flattery ("Teacher, we know you are honest...") is a setup, not sincerity. It's worth sitting with this: not every ...

  Based on the sermon Come to the Party , found here:  https://kwssmithereens.blogspot.com/2026/10/come-to-party.html Day 1: An Invitation Refused Read: Matthew 22:1–3 Jesus opens this parable with a king throwing a wedding banquet for his son — a picture of joy, celebration, and abundance. The invitations go out, but when the servants call the guests, they simply refuse to come. It's worth sitting with how strange this is. Who turns down a royal wedding feast? Yet this is exactly the picture Jesus paints of the religious leaders of His day — and of every heart that hears God's invitation and shrugs it off. The banquet represents the kingdom of heaven, the son is Christ, and the invited guests are God's own people, called first to the feast. An invitation, by its nature, can be declined. God does not force His welcome on anyone. But refusal is never a neutral act — it is a choice with weight. Reflect: Is there an area of your life where you've politely decli...

 Based on the sermon, Christ the Cornerstone -  https://kwssmithereens.blogspot.com/2026/10/christ-cornerstone.html Day 1: A Landowner Who Gives Everything Read: Matthew 21:33 "Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place." Before there is any conflict in this parable, there is generosity. The landowner doesn't just hand the tenants bare ground — he plants the vines, builds a protective wall, digs a winepress, and constructs a watchtower. Everything needed for the vineyard to flourish is already in place before the tenants ever lift a hand. This is the shape of grace. Jesus' first listeners would have recognized the imagery instantly — it echoes Isaiah 5, where the vineyard is Israel, planted and cared for by God with tender attention. The point isn't subtle: God is the one who provides, ...