Community UMC Sermon Devotionals

Based on the sermon The Be-Attitudes, found here:  https://kwssmithereens.blogspot.com/2026/11/the-be-attitudes.html   Day 1: The Mountain and the Invitation Read: Matthew 5:1-2 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying... Reflection: Before Jesus says a single blessing, notice the setting.  He sees the crowds, with their needs and weariness, and he draws his disciples close.  The Beatitudes are not a ladder to climb to earn God's favor.  They are a portrait of life in the kingdom, spoken to people already gathered around him. Ponder: What does it mean that Jesus "sat down" to teach, as rabbis did, and invited you to come close?   Where do you tend to hear God's words as a performance review rather than an invitation? Prayer: Lord Jesus, I come near. Quiet my striving and open my ears to hear you as a disciple who is loved, not a servant trying ...

  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, ...

Based on the sermon Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? , found here: https://kwssmithereens.blogspot.com/2026/09/guess-whos-coming-to-dinner.html    1: A Question Behind the Question Read: Matthew 21:23 "By what authority are you doing these things?" — Matthew 21:23 Jesus has just entered Jerusalem to shouts of praise, driven the money changers from the temple, and healed the blind and lame in that same courtyard. Now the chief priests and elders — the religious establishment — approach Him with a question that sounds fair on the surface: who gave you the right to do this? But the question isn't really curiosity. It's a challenge from men who already know their answer and are looking to trap Jesus into either claiming divine authority (which they could call blasphemy) or admitting He had none (which would undercut everything He'd just done). It's worth noticing how often our own questions work this way. We ask, but we've already decided what we wa...

 Based on the sermon Forgiveness , found here:    https://kwssmithereens.blogspot.com/2026/09/forgiveness.html     A Six-Day Devotional on Matthew 18:21–35 — The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant Before you begin: read Matthew 18:21–35 in full from your own Bible. Each day below focuses on a slice of the passage — have it open beside you. Day 1: The Question Behind the Question Read: Matthew 18:21–22 Peter asks Jesus how many times he must forgive someone who sins against him, and offers seven as a generous number — more than double what the rabbis of his day typically taught. He expects to be praised for his generosity. Jesus answers with a number that isn't really a number: seventy times seven. He isn't handing Peter a new ceiling to count toward. He's removing the ceiling entirely. Peter's question reveals something we all do instinctively: we look for the edge of the obligation. How much is enough? When can I stop? It's a reasonable question t...

Based on the sermon Loving Correction found here:  https://kwssmithereens.blogspot.com/2026/09/loving-correction.html Introduction Matthew 18:15–20 sits at the heart of one of the most practical passages in the New Testament — Jesus' teaching on what to do when someone sins against you. It's not a passage about avoiding conflict. It's a passage about how to love someone enough to walk toward them. Over these six days, we'll move slowly through five verses, letting each phrase teach us something about honesty, humility, community, and the astonishing promise that closes the passage: that Christ himself is present when His people gather in His name. Read the full passage before you begin: Matthew 18:15–20 . Day 1: The Courage to Go Directly Focus: Matthew 18:15 Jesus begins with a scenario nobody enjoys: someone has wronged you. His instruction is startlingly simple — go to that person, privately, and tell them. Not to a mutual friend. Not to a group chat. ...