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Sermons and Special Music

This page provides audio recordings of sermons and special music from services at Bethel during the pastorate of Ralph L. Wrightstone.
From Bethel UMC Services of
January 1, 2017 thru December 10, 2017
Click on the symbol to begin playing an audio recording.

December 2017
31 - Sermon: Happy New Year!; Scripture: Isaiah 61:1-11 (Recording not saved)
24 - Christmas Program
17 - Sermon: A Small Town is Blessed; Scripture: Micah 5:1-4 (Not Recorded)
10 - (01:12) Scripture: Philippians 4:4-7
.... - (22:51) Sermon: Peace Calls
.... - (00:47) Closing Prayer and Invitation
03 - (23:56) Sermon: A Voice Calls; Scripture: Luke 3:1-20
November 2017
26 - Chrismon Service (Not Recorded)
19 - (24:02) Sermon: Prevenient Grace; Scripture: Psalm 130:1-15
.... - (03:26) An Invitation and a Prayer
12 - Sermon: Spiritual Gifts; Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-16 (Not Recorded)
05 - (23:35) Sermon: Means of Grace; Scripture: 1 Cor 11:23-26
October 2017
29 - (04:25) Scripture Readings: from Acts 2 and Joel 2
.....- (31:41) Sermon: Why Join a Church?
.....- (01:53) Closing Prayer
22 - Methodists - This is the first of a series of sermons "Teaching" a little about Methodists in general and United Methodists in particular.
.....- (02:40) Scripture Reading: 1 Timothy 1:1-2,12-17
.....- (03:35) Sermon: Part 1 - Some Methodist History
.....- (28:04) Sermon: Part 2 - Why a United Methodist?
.....- (00:41) Hymn: Introduction to "Blessed Assurance"
15 - (04:23) Scripture Reading: Matthew 22:1-14
.....- (20:49) Sermon: You Are Invited to the Wedding
.....- (02:20) Closing Prayer & Invitation
08 - Homecoming
.....- (03:11) Special Music: Bring it All to the Table, Travis Oaks
.....- (04:16) Scripture Reading: Matthew 21:33-46, The Parable of the Tenants
.....- (20:31) Sermon: God's Bag of Cookies
.....- (02:20) Closing Prayer
01 - (00:43) Opening: Remarks about "O Holy Night"
.....- (02:02) Scripture Reading: Philippians 2:1-11
.....- (23:11) Sermon: O Holy Night
September 2017
24 - (27:07) Sermon: How Soon We Forget; Scripture: Exodus 16:1-35
.....- (00:47) Closing Prayer
17 - (03:43) Scripture: Matthew 18:21-35
.....- (23:49) Sermon: The Power to Forgive
.....- (02:18) Closing Prayer
10 - (03:20) Scripture: Matthew 18:15-20
.....- (02:58) Commentary on Reading
.....- (16:42) Sermon: Radical Love is Reconciling
.....- (02:08) Closing Prayer & Invitation
August 2017
20 - (02:17) Scripture: Matthew 15:21-28
.....- (17:50) Sermon: Great is Thy Faith
.....- (02:30) Closing Prayer
13 - (18:21) Sermon: Overcoming Life's Obstacles, Scripture: Matthew 14:22-36
06 - (19:18) Sermon: A Happy Meal!!, Scripture: Matthew 14:13-21
July 2017
30 - (21:55) Sermon: For the Bible Tells Me So, Scripture: Romans 8:26-39
23 - (01:43) Introductory Comments
.....- (02:57) Scripture: Romans 8:18-27
.....- (23:20) Sermon: Taking Sides
.....- (01:22) Closing Prayer
16 - (03:36) Scripture: Romans 8:1-17
.....- (19:30) Sermon: A Good Virus
.....- (02:29) Closing Prayer
02 - (02:41) Scripture: Matthew 10:34-42
.....- (20:20) Sermon: The Power of Cold Water
June 2017
25 - (03:16) Scripture and Commentary: Matthew 10:28-31
.....- (22:20) Sermon: Don't Be Afraid
.....- (02:15) Closing Prayer
18 - Father's Day and more
.....- (05:45) Children's Moment: Honor Your Father and Mother
.....- (04:25) Reports from Youth returning from Camp
.....- (00:23) Prayer with Children and Youth
.....- (05:56) Some Words for Father's Day
.....- (22:06) Sermon: Opportunities for Mission, Scripture: Matthew 9:35-10:1
.....- (01:42) Closing Prayer and Invitation
11 - Trinity Sunday
.....- (01:37) Remarks on the Cross and Flame emblem of the UMC
.....- (01:25) Scripture: Matthew 18:16-20
.....- (26:00) Sermon: The Trinity
04 - Pentecost
.....- (29:31) Sermon:A Lightning Rod or a Cross, Scripture: Acts 1:6-14
May 2017
28 - (02:58) Scripture: Acts 1:6-14
.....- (24:54) Sermon: How Did We Ever Get This Far?
.....- (00:52) Closing Prayer & Invitation
14 - Mother's Day
.....- (01:58) Scripture: Matthew 6:5-15
.....- (16:57) Sermon: "A Home Under God", Scripture: Matthew 6:5-15
.....- (01:15) A Note from "Mom"
.....- (05:26) IOU's to Mom
.....- (01:13) Closing Prayer & Invitation
07 - (03:34) Children's Moment: "We Are Like Sheep"
.....- (20:19) Sermon: The Gift of Free Will; Scripture John 10:1-21
April 2017
30 - (03:32) Scripture: Luke 24:13-35
.....- (20:19) Sermon: The Walk to Emaius
.....- (01:33) Closing Prayer
23 - Laity Sunday with Tina Oaks speaking
.....- (00:29) Scripture: Matthew 7:7-8
.....- (19:33) Message: "Are You: Asking, Seeking, Knocking?"
.....- (22:33) Special Music: Tenesa & Travis
.....- (00:40) Closing Prayer
16 - Easter Sunday
.....- (03:06) Scripture: John 20:1-18
.....- (15:08) Sermon: Have Your Key Ready
09 - Palm Sunday
.....- (01:45) Scripture: Mark 1:1-11
.....- (22:33) Sermon: When the Cheering Stopped
02 - (02:23) Preliminary Remarks on Hope
.....- (21:20) Sermon: We are Set Free for Life; Scripture: Mark 11:1-45
.....- (01:06) Closing Prayer and Invitation
March 2017
26 - The "theme" for today's service was "Storytelling" and featured a visiting speaker for Wesley Foundation's "Blitz Sunday"
.....- (02:25) Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 3:1-13
.....- (05:34) Pastor's remarks on Storytelling yesterday and today
.....- (13:05) Sharing the Story of FSU Wesley Foundation by Christina Parcelle, Director of Development at FSU & TCC Wesley Foundation
.....- (02:23) Sharing some Personal Faith Stories
.....- (03:08) Some concluding Remarks, including a few more "stories"
.....- (02:22) "Closing thoughts" about the stories of Christmas, Easter and personal Faith
19 - (02:35) Scripture: Psalm 95
.....- (25:57) Sermon: Can We Get Right?
12 - (This service was the occasion for the baptism of young Jackson Amos Bell)
.....- (15:23) Sermon: What Did We Just Do to You, Jackson?
.....- (02:19) A Prayer and Invitation
05 - (2:19) Scripture: Matthew 4:1-11
.....- (20:47) Sermon: Temptations of Jesus' Life

Jan 8-Feb 26, 2017
Beginning with the Jan 8, 2017 service and continuing for 8 weeks through Feb 26, pastor Ralph Wrightstone presented a series of sermons on recovering from "Hurts, Hangups and Habits". There is a "handout" to accompany each service, provided here as PDF documents.

Click here for a brief audio description of the series.
Click here to access the documents and recordings from this series.

January 2017
01 - (3:01) Scripture: 2 Chronicles 7:14-22, Hebrews 11:1
.....- (15:18) Sermon: Hope

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