In Sermons:

When Love Don't Love You Back

Contributed by Jessie Manuel on Dec 20, 2025

What do you do when you've been sowing love—planting it, watering it, tending it—and it seems like love don't love you back?

The Waiting Place Church, we gather here on this last Sunday of Advent, standing in that holy space between promise and fulfillment. We've been waiting—waiting like our ancestors waited, waiting like Mary waited, waiting for Love to show up and show out. But let me ask you something this ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 126:5-6

Denomination: Methodist

You Are Not Alone

Contributed by Jessie Manuel on Dec 20, 2025

In the midst of our grief, we cling to the promises of God's Word, which remind us that we are never alone.

Introduction: Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, today we gather with heavy hearts but also with faith and hope. We come to celebrate the life of our dear loved one, who has transitioned from this earthly life to eternal rest. In the midst of our grief, we cling to the promises of God's ...read more

Denomination: Methodist

A Whisper From The Cradle

Contributed by Jessie Manuel on Dec 14, 2025

Tonight, we gather in the glow of expectation, and I want to take you back to the most unlikely place God ever spoke—a stable in Bethlehem, where four humble details whisper a message of joy and peace that still echoes across the centuries.

Introduction In the hush of Advent waiting, we strain to hear. We listen for trumpets, for thunder, for the unmistakable voice of God breaking through our chaos. But what if the message we're longing for comes not as a shout, but as a whisper? Not from a throne, but from a cradle? Tonight, ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:8-14

Denomination: Methodist

The Audacious Love Of Emmanuel

Contributed by Jessie Manuel on Dec 12, 2025

Church, we're in the season of Advent, and this week we're talking about love. But we're not talking about the kind of love that shows up when it's convenient. We're not talking about the love that sends a greeting card or leaves a casserole on the porch.

Opening Prayer Gracious and loving God, we come before you in this season of waiting and wonder. Open our hearts to receive your Word today. Quiet the noise around us and within us. Let your Holy Spirit move among us now, that we might hear not just with our ears, but with our souls. Speak, Lord, ...read more

Denomination: Methodist

The Desert Will Rejoice: Finding Joy In God's Promise An Advent Sermon On Isaiah 35:1-10

Contributed by Jessie Manuel on Dec 12, 2025

During Advent, we wait. We prepare. And sometimes, if we're honest, we wonder if the waiting will ever end. Isaiah's audience was familiar with the concept of waiting.

Introduction During Advent, we wait. We prepare. And sometimes, if we're honest, we wonder if the waiting will ever end. Isaiah's audience knew something about waiting. Exiled, discouraged, surrounded by spiritual desert—they needed a word of hope. And God gave them not just hope, but a ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 35:1-10

Denomination: Methodist

"when Understanding Seeks Clarity"

Contributed by Jessie Manuel on Dec 8, 2025

Church, I want to talk to you this morning about doubt. Not the kind of doubt that destroys faith, but the kind of doubt that deepens it. The kind of doubt that sends you searching for answers instead of running away from questions..

Introduction Church, I want to talk to you this morning about doubt. Not the kind of doubt that destroys faith, but the kind of doubt that deepens it. The kind of doubt that sends you searching for answers instead of running away from questions. You see, even John the Baptist—the same John who ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:2-11

Denomination: Methodist

Put Your Rock Down

Contributed by Jessie Manuel on Dec 1, 2025

Picture this scene: a woman is dragged into the temple courts, humiliated, exposed, guilty. A crowd gathers with stones in hand, ready to enforce the law. Religious leaders stand with accusations prepared.

Introduction Picture this scene: a woman is dragged into the temple courts, humiliated, exposed, guilty. A crowd gathers with stones in hand, ready to enforce the law. Religious leaders stand with accusations prepared. But then Jesus does something unexpected—He bends down and writes in the dust, ...read more

Scripture: John 8:1-11

Denomination: Methodist

Peace Has Come Down! Series

Contributed by Jessie Manuel on Dec 1, 2025

We're in week two of Advent, and today we're talking about PEACE! Not that fake peace the world tries to sell you. Not that temporary peace that falls apart when trouble comes. But that SUPERNATURAL, HEAVEN-SENT, CANT-NOBODY-TAKE-IT-AWAY PEACE that only Jesus can give!

THE SHEPHERDS' STORY (Luke 2:8-14) Now let me take you back to that night—that HOLY NIGHT—when everything changed. There were shepherds out in the fields, doing what they always did—watching over their sheep through the long, dark night. These weren't fancy people. These weren't ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:8-14, Ephesians 2:14-18

Denomination: Methodist

Get Right Or Get Left: A Modern Take On John The Baptist's Message Series

Contributed by Jessie Manuel on Dec 1, 2025

You ever notice how God doesn't always send what we expect? When Israel was looking for deliverance, God didn't send a politician in a suit. He didn't send a smooth-talking preacher with a megachurch

INTRODUCTION You ever notice how God doesn't always send what we expect? When Israel was looking for deliverance, God didn't send a politician in a suit. He didn't send a smooth-talking preacher with a megachurch. He sent a wild man from the wilderness wearing camel hair and eating ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 3:1-12

Denomination: Methodist

"stay Awake"

Contributed by Jessie Manuel on Nov 24, 2025

Church, can I tell you something this morning? Jesus is coming back! And when He comes, He's not coming as a baby in a manger—He's coming as the King of Glory! He's coming to set everything right! He's coming to judge the living and the dead!

"But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:36-44

Denomination: Methodist

The Same Jesus Who Got Him Can Get You Too

Contributed by Jessie Manuel on Nov 3, 2025

We gather here today with heavy hearts, but not without hope. We come together as family, as friends, as a community that has been touched by the life of a man who knew something that death cannot take away—he knew Jesus.

The Same Jesus Who Got Him Can Get You Too Text: John 3:16-17 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16-17

Denomination: Methodist

The Shrewd Manager: Wisdom For Kingdom Living

Contributed by Jessie Manuel on Sep 18, 2025

A manager's word was his bond, and his reputation determined his future. But what happens when that reputation crumbles? What do you do when you've been caught with your hand in the cookie jar, and the pink slip is already being written?

Introduction In the dusty marketplace of ancient Palestine, business was conducted with handshakes and honor. A manager's word was his bond, and his reputation determined his future. But what happens when that reputation crumbles? What do you do when you've been caught with your hand in the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 16:1-13

Denomination: Methodist

"embracing The Priorities Of Jesus"

Contributed by Jessie Manuel on Sep 18, 2025

Embracing the Priorities of Jesus" is an exposition of Mark 2:1-12 that teaches that Jesus always prioritizes the eternal over the temporary. EMBRACING THE PRIORITIES OF JESUS

Jesus was born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth. But Capernaum was his home and headquarters during his Galilean ministry. Simon Peter, one of the initial disciples, also lived in Capernaum. In Mark 1, Jesus healed the sick – including Simon Peter’s mother-in-law – and cast out demons. But these ...read more

Scripture: Mark 2:1-12

Denomination: Methodist

"In The Hands Of The Potter."

Contributed by Jessie Manuel on Sep 6, 2025

We’re going to reflect on a powerful image found in Jeremiah 18:1-11—the image of the Potter and the clay. This picture beautifully illustrates how God, our Creator, lovingly shapes and molds us into His vessels for His purpose.

Introduction Good morning, brothers and sisters in Christ. Today, we’re going to reflect on a powerful image found in Jeremiah 18:1-11—the image of the Potter and the clay. This picture beautifully illustrates how God, our Creator, lovingly shapes and molds us into His vessels for His ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 18:1-11

Denomination: Methodist

Two Mountains: A Choice Between Fear And Grace

Contributed by Jessie Manuel on Aug 18, 2025

Gracious God, as we open Your Word today, let it speak to our hearts and transform our minds. Help us to see the difference between the old way and the new way, between fear and grace, between bondage and freedom.

Church family, I want you to imagine standing at the foot of two mountains. One mountain is shrouded in darkness, smoking with fire, echoing with the sound of thunder. The other mountain is bathed in light, filled with celebration, where angels sing and the righteous have gathered. Today, the ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:18-29

Denomination: Methodist