Welcome to the FUMC | Downtown Bentonville podcast! Each week, listen to sermons and stay up to date with what‘s going on in the life of our community. To let us know you were here, please click or copy & paste in your internet browser: https://www.shelbygiving.com/App/Form/a323e932-fb2c-4b10-bad4-a5ad64d462a6
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August 4th, 2024 - "Heroes and Villains: Maleficent and Judas" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
20:20
20:20
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Matthew 27:1-10; Acts 1:15-20 Two stories for each villain - one in which the character is unredeemably evil; one in which the character is misunderstood and sympathetic. With these figures, we will see the lines between hero and villain are often blurred.By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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July 28th, 2024 - "Heroes and Villains: Scar and Athaliah (The Lion King)" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
20:18
20:18
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2 Kings 11:1-20 We hear a story from the Bible that is essentially the story of the Lion King (which is a retelling of Hamlet). What is it about this story of family destruction that is so deep in our human condition?By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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July 21st, 2024 - "Heroes and Villains: Lotso and Satan (Toy Story 3)" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
17:18
17:18
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Job 1:6-12; Revelation 20:7-10 We start out looking at those who appear to be friends or at least part of the group, but then become those we must battle against. Does that come from a change in them or a change in our relationship with them?By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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July 14th, 2024 - "Way of the Triune God: God the Creator" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
15:26
15:26
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Genesis 1: 1-5 In the last of the sermons in this series, we look at the First Person of the Trinity: God the Creator. But we will also use this sermon to talk about what the Trinity means in the first place.By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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July 7th, 2024 - "Way of the Triune God: Jesus Christ" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
21:02
21:02
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Romans 5:6-11; Hebrews 9:11-15; Philippians 2:5-13 In a small, unofficial poll of adults in our church in which Pastor Michelle asked about topics related to Jesus, unanimously people want to know more about how to understand atonement, which is the saving work Jesus does on our behalf. There is more than one way to approach the atonement, and we w…
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June 30th, 2024 - "Way of the Triune God: The Holy Spirit" - Rev. Dr. T. Ray Wheeler
17:26
17:26
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Luke 24: 44-49, Acts 2: 1-8 Beginning this series where we look at the three parts of the Trinity, today we explore the jazz of the Holy Spirit.By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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June 23rd, 2024 - "Holiday Road: Destination" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
16:05
16:05
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Acts 28:11-16, 30-31 Paul finally makes it to Rome and settles into this place that was meant to be a stop on the road, but that became his destination. In the journeys we take, we often find that the end was not in the place where we stopped, but in the journey itself, much like a life of faith.By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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June 16th, 2024 - "Holiday Road: Detour Sign" - Michelle Amos
12:29
12:29
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Acts 16:6-15 Paul and his companions can’t go to Asia, no matter how hard they try. Nonetheless, their detour leads to the baptism of Lydia’s whole household. We often find blessings in the detours we have to take unexpectedly.By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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June 9th, 2024 - "Holiday Road: On Our Way" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
18:38
18:38
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Acts 15:12-35 Barnabas and Paul are sent out with authorization from the apostles to preach to the Gentiles. The journey is underway!By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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June 2nd, 2024 - "Look and See (After Bentonville Tornado)" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
19:45
19:45
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Acts 9:1-30 Sometimes things happen in our lives that cause us to look at things and see them differently. It happened to Saul and this week it has happened to all of us. We will find our faith in that experience.By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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May 19th, 2024 - "Freely in the Faith" (Pentecost and Confirmation Sunday) - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
16:38
16:38
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Galatians 5:13-14 We will celebrate confirmation today as a choice that these youth have made of their own free will. But we will also affirm that the choice they have made is to love their neighbor as themselves.By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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May 12th, 2024 - "A Principled People: The Social Community" - Kristin Wells
20:22
20:22
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1 Corinthians 12:13-22, Mark 2:1-12 As we close out our series on the United Methodist Social Principles we will discuss The Social Community. We will take a close look at the story of the paralytic man in Mark 2:1-12 who is lowered through the roof by his friends to gain access to Jesus and reflect on this as a picture of our United Methodist DNA.…
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May 5th, 2024 - "A Principled People: The Political Community" - Rev. Dr. T. Ray Wheeler
16:55
16:55
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Micah 6:6-8 (CEB), Luke 6:31 What does the Lord require of the political community and the aspirations of the United Methodist Church? Micah 6:8 is an excellent summary of these detailed and subtle political statements in the Social Principles of the United Methodist Church. We generally try to avoid “being political“ in the religious community; ho…
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April 28th, 2024 - "A Principled People: The Economic Community" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
20:06
20:06
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Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12-15 Sabbath is an economic statement. It lays claim to the need to care for ourselves in order to care for others and God’s world. Yet for far too many of us, Sabbath is a luxury. How do we reclaim this gift God has given us?By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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April 21st, 2024 - "A Principled People: The Community of All Creation" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
19:37
19:37
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Genesis 1:28-31 We will look at aspects of our care of creation in our Social Principles in light of the very first set of instructions God gives to humanity – to be stewards of all of the earth.By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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April 14th, 2024 - "A Principled People: The Social Creed" - Johnna Kosnoff
19:27
19:27
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Mark 12:28-34 The words we choose and the words we say form us. That is the purpose of creeds – to form us around a collective identity. We have creeds that help us understand who we are. Our United Methodist Social Creed is one example, reflecting what we affirm in our Social Principles.By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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April 7th, 2024 - "Total Eclipse of the Heart" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
17:26
17:26
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Joel 2:1-11 Getting ready for the eclipse the next day, and also coming out of the season of Easter, we look at how people have viewed heavenly events like eclipses as apocalyptic signs, but we will also discuss the prophetic call to prepare for the Day of the Lord. It continues the prophetic call to love and care for each other or face the consequ…
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March 31st, 2024 - "Foolish Love Is the Hope of Easter" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
18:38
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1 Corinthians 1:18-25 On this April Fools’ Day eve, we will acknowledge how ridiculous our faith story seems on some level, and yet we cannot imagine living with any other story. This foolish story is the beginning of hope and faith, and the means of true love.By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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March 24th, 2024 - "Foolish Love Is Risky" - Rev. Dr. T. Ray Wheeler
16:37
16:37
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Matthew 5:43-48; Matthew 26:14-25, 47-50 This week we confront Jesus’ teaching that we should love our enemies, and we also confront the reality that loving our enemies is not a safe thing to do. It very well may lead to our own profound loss. To what extreme are we called to love? Is this kind of love just for Jesus or for us too? Is it true that …
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March 17th, 2024 - "Foolish Love Is Prodigal" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
18:01
18:01
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Luke 15: 11-32; Matthew 5:38-42 The prodigal son story and the turn the other cheek teaching show that foolish love ignores offenses and just seeks to love, and love abundantly. Note: the definition of prodigal is wastefully extravagant. Prodigal is better applied to the father than the son in this story. Because this shares some of the themes of t…
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March 10th, 2024 - "Foolish Love Is Wasteful" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
20:54
20:54
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Mark 17:1-17, John 2:1-11 Casting demons into pigs to save one person and saving the best wine for last both prove that foolish love creates a tremendous amount of waste – wasteful grace.By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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March 3rd, 2024 - "Foolish Love Is Unfair" - Rev. Dr. T. Ray Wheeler
15:39
15:39
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Matthew 20:1-16, 18:12-13 The parable of the workers in the vineyard and the story of the 99 sheep left behind for the sake of the 1 show us that foolish love is not an equitable equation. It is not a utilitarian decision, but in fact, sometimes it means making the least fair decision in order to include more in the field of love.…
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February 25th, 2024 - "Foolish Love Breaks the Rules" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
18:11
18:11
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Mark 7:24-29; Luke 13:10-17 This week we will look at how love inspires us to break the rules. We will center not only in the stories of the Syrophoenician and bent over women, but also in the story of Liam Bruzatori, a beautiful child who continues to challenge us to love.By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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February 18th, 2024: "Foolish Love Forgives" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
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Matthew 5:21-24, 18:21-35 Looking at these 2 teachings about Jesus forgiving someone multiple times and the servant who does not forgive the debt of his fellow servant, we will start to understand how refusing to forgive is to continue to judge others and carry hate in our own hearts. This keeps us from being able to fully love.…
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February 14th - Ash Wednesday: "Foolish Love: What Is Love?" - Michelle Amos
10:53
10:53
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1 Corinthians 13:4-8 To set the scene for this series, we will look at this definition of love given in this letter of Paul’s. As this series is meant to help people understand how better to love like Jesus, we will practice the “Replace the word love with your name” practice of this passage. That will help us know what kind of work we need to do t…
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February 11th, 2024 - "Positive Sum Reign: Expecting Abundance" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
19:29
19:29
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Mark 14:1-9 The act of the woman who anoints Jesus is characterized as wasteful. What if it is instead an act of confidence that the reign will provide? There will always be enough to take care of the poor AND worship and care extravagantly for others.By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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February 4th, 2024 - "Positive Sum Reign: Rich Man, Poor Widow" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
21:07
21:07
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Mark 10:17-31, 12:41-44 Where is our security? For the rich man, it seems like it was in his assurance in how the world was supposed to work, and in his belief that his stuff would keep him safe. The poor widow will come along and flip all of that on its head. How is Jesus inviting us into the freedom of letting go?…
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January 28th, 2024 -"Positive Sum Reign: Doubt and Doing" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
15:29
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Mark 6:1-13 This sermon looks at the little difference Jesus can make in his hometown, up against the commissioning of the disciples to go cast out demons! What miracles are at our fingertips that we do not even try to make happen because of the assumptions we make about it being impossible?By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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January 21st, 2024 - "Living the Dream: Project a Conversation on Future Vision" - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris and Rev. Dr. T. Ray Wheeler
22:59
22:59
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Philippians 1:6-11 I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Indeed, it is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart, and you are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel…
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January 14th, 2024 - "Living the Dream: Assess" - Rev. Dr. T. Ray Wheeler
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Ephesians 2: 19-22 & Ephesians 4:15-16 Where are we right now as a community of faith and United Methodists in this unique place at this unique time. What are the issues we face today? What ways we can continue to uphold our faith while we are in the formidable details of our lived experience. Can we infuse our daily work and life with the joy of w…
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January 7th, 2024 - ”Living the Dream: Reflect” - Rev. Dr. T. Ray Wheeler
16:17
16:17
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Joshua 4:21-24, Revelation 19:5-8 January is a time when we are looking forward to the excitement of a new year. But before we, as a church, strike out on this new shiny new year, let’s pause and appreciate the path behind us. What has come before us and who are the folks whose faithfulness and the corner of 2nd & A have carried this ministry to to…
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December 31st, 2023 - ”A New Covenant” - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
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1 Corinthians 11:23-26, Revelation 21:1-7By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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December 24th, 2023 - Christmas Eve Service - ”Mary Had a Little Lamb” - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
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14:54
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Luke 2:1-19By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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December 24th, 2023 - ”There’s Something About Mary: Will You, Mary?” - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
12:03
12:03
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Fourth Sunday of Advent Luke 1:26-33By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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December 17th, 2023 - ”There’s Something About Mary: Mary, Did You Know?” - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
20:28
20:28
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Third Sunday of Advent Luke 2:25-35; 8:19-21; John 2:1-12By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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December 10th, 2023 -”There’s Something About Mary: Lady Madonna” - Rev. Dr. T. Ray Wheeler
19:40
19:40
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Second Sunday of Advent Luke 1:46-55, 2:41-52By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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December 3rd, 2023 - ”There’s Something About Mary: Hail Mary” - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
16:23
16:23
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First Sunday of Advent John 19:25-27, Acts 1:12-14By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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November 26th, 2023 - ”Thankful for Christ; Thankful for You” - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
21:31
21:31
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1 Thessalonians 1:2-9By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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November 19th, 2023 - ”Giving Thanks in the Hard Times” - Rev. Dr. T. Ray Wheeler
15:19
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Luke 12:22-34By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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November 12th, 2023 - ”Humble Before History: A Divided and Reunited History” - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
17:30
17:30
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Acts 15:36-16:5, 2 Timothy 4:9-11By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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November 5th, 2023 - ”Humble Before History: A Parallel History” - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
21:37
21:37
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Genesis 33:1-12, Ezra 10:1-5By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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October 29th, 2023 - ”Humble Before History: Where it All (Kind Of) Started” - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
18:46
18:46
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Ezra 10:1-5By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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October 22nd, 2023 - ”Love Your Neighbor: Love Your Dangerous Neighbor” - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
21:31
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Luke 10:25-37By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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October 15th, 2023 - ”Love Your Neighbor: Love Your Disagreeable Neighbor” - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
19:47
19:47
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Luke 18:1-8By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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October 8th, 2023 - ”Love Your Neighbor: Love Your Next Door Neighbor” - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
21:00
21:00
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Luke 15:8-10By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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October 1st, 2023 - ”Love Your Neighbor: Love Your World Neighbor” - Rev. Dr. T. Ray Wheeler
16:35
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Luke 4:14-30By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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September 24th 2023 - ”Freedom of Religion: Freedom From Want and Fear” - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
22:33
22:33
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Mark 5:21-43, James 1:27 Note: When Rev. Michelle mentions two boys, she is referring to two children who were baptized at FUMC Bentonville that morning.By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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September 17th, 2023 - ”Freedom of Religion: Freedom of Speech” - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
21:26
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James 3:1-10, Acts 2:1-11By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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September 10th, 2023 - ”Freedom of Religion: Freedom of Worship” - Rev. Dr. Michelle Morris
20:26
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Genesis 2:15-17, Revelation 15:1-4By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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September 3rd, 2023 - ”Be Just, Be Kind, Be Humble: Be Humble” - Rev. Dr. T. Ray Wheeler
19:11
19:11
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Micah 6:8, Philippians 2:1-11By First United Methodist Church | Downtown Bentonville
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