Long Creek United Methodist Church

09/06/2026

THE WIDOW OF NAÍN
(Sermon Notes)

TEXT: Luke 7:11-14

11 After this, he went to a town called Nain, and many of his disciples and a large crowd went with him.
12 When he came near the city gate, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and there was with her a large crowd from the city.
13 When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”
14 Then he came up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!”

EXPLANATION OF THE TEXT:

◦ It is not a parable.
◦ Jesus was heading to Nain (an ancient name for the city called “Pleasant”)
◦ This event was preceded by the healing of a centurion's servant...perhaps the reason why a large crowd followed him.
◦ And on the other hand, the sad scene… a widow who had lost her only son…

INTRODUCTION:

◦ How many families are like that widow from Nain… loneliness, emptiness, sadness…
◦ This story truly represents all those who have not had an encounter with Jesus (the Bread of Life)... and therefore manifest a spiritual death... lifeless families... lifeless children... empty young people...
◦ Perhaps that widow had forgotten Psalm 78 , which says: “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows. He is God in his holy dwelling.”
◦ Similarly, perhaps many have forgotten that there is a God in heaven, who knows you…

EXPOSE THE TRUTH:

On one side came the “Prince of Life” , with his disciples and a great multitude…

• Sermon on the Mount….
• Heal a leper…
• Heal Peter's mother-in-law…
• Heal the centurion's servant…

Who was this man who seemed to radiate life?!

On the other hand, the crowd that accompanied the dead man to his grave…

• A shofar was sounded, announcing death…
• Jewish ideas about death were meant to frighten, not to offer comfort…
• There were expert orators for funeral services…
• Laments and complaints…there were women who were sometimes paid to dramatize the moment, they were called: “mourners”.
• But in all this painful display, there was nothing for the heart of the widow...devastated and deprived of her only son...
• Among Jews, a funeral was a very reverential and solemn affair…they stopped working and accompanied the deceased's family…the family members walked in front of the coffin…

Between the departure from Nain to the cemetery and the arrival of Jesus in Nain, that encounter took place…LIFE AND DEATH.

Verse 13

13 When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”

• Jesus is interested in you…
• He knows your problems and wants to help you… testimony of the girl healed of deafness in Cancun. Several years ago, a single mother visited us at church with her two-year-old daughter who had been born deaf and, consequently, would never be able to speak. The woman, in great pain, told me: “ How will my daughter study? How can I help her if I have to work? My family lives very far away, and I’ve never had their support … I’m desperate, I don’t know what to do…” There were two other sisters in the pastoral office listening to this poor woman… I felt helpless, a strong feeling of compassion for her, and I remembered the divine commandment to pray for the sick… I asked her: “Do you trust in Jesus?” She said YES. We prayed for the baby, and she began to laugh. One of the sisters spoke to the baby, and she turned around and kept laughing. Then someone spoke to her from another direction, and the baby turned around again… she was already hearing! Don't ask me how it happened, or what it felt like there, or what medical explanation could be given. She was simply and instantly healed. The doctors didn't know what to say when the mother took her back to the hospital. One of them said, "It's impossible. The tests say she had congenital hearing loss." But God has the final word. Glory to God! Let's return to our story. Verse 13 says:
• “He took pity on her” …the greatest expression of love…

Verse 14

14 Then he came up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!”

• Jesus was not afraid of one of the worst forms of defilement according to Jewish ritual…TOUCHING A DEAD PERSON!!

What was the result of this miracle that was not done in secret?

Verses 14-17

14 Then he came up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!”
15 Then the dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother.
16 And they were all filled with awe and glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited his people!”
17 And his fame spread throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.

• Life…
• Fear…
• God has visited his people…

APPLICATION:

• Won't some be like the widow?... empty, alone, without hope, watching their children die, etc.
• Accompanied by the dead, and by religious rituals, but without life!...
• Others will not be like that dead young man…that is, dying without any hope, without being saved, the living dead…

Either way: THE LIFE THAT IS CHRIST COMES TO MEET YOU, AND SAYS TO YOU, GET UP!

Who was Jesus, who commanded John the Baptist to say the following words before he died a martyr… Isaiah 35:1-6

1 The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom like the rose.
2 It will blossom abundantly, and it will rejoice and sing for joy; the glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.
3 Strengthen tired hands, firm weak knees.
4 Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; behold, your God will come with vengeance, with recompense; God himself will come and save you.”
5 Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.
6 Then the lame man will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing; for waters will burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.

09/06/2026

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09/06/2026

Long Creek UMC 9/6/2026

08/30/2026

Cast your bread upon the waters
(Sermon Notes)

TEXT: Ecclesiastes 11:1
1 Cast your bread upon the waters: for after many days you will find it again.

EXPLANATION OF THE TEXT:

• It shows us a spiritual principle that we rarely reflect on.
• It shows us the Divine response to our work… preaching, prayers, works of mercy, ministry… in short, everything that represents work in the extension of the Kingdom of God.
• It's like saying: do something now for a reward you can't see immediately.

INTRODUCTION:

• What a beautiful example we have, with one of the two demon-possessed men from the region of Gadara. This story is in Mark 5 … Jesus sowed the seed (cast the bread upon the waters), and shortly after he returned, “a great multitude was waiting for him” (after many days you will find him). The Gadarene became an evangelist!
• Four years ago (2022), I went to the Sierra de Oaxaca, to visit the Mazatec and Nahuatl peoples. Besides visiting them, we gave the first house to a family in need. The story began 31 years ago when we went to preach there … 23 people were saved in a glorious evangelistic campaign… Today, 18 of those 23 remain steadfast in the gospel, and some of them are preaching the gospel in nearby communities. There are two churches with more than 200 members each, and several other towns that are visited by brothers and sisters where the Word of God is preached in their dialect. The bread was cast upon the waters, and after many days you will find it again.

EXPOSE THE TRUTH:

Cast your bread upon the waters

• A commandment. An ordinance to work in the work of God.
• Preaching the Gospel is like casting your bread upon the waters; showing mercy is like casting your bread upon the waters…
• In Longcreek, when I see Judi working diligently with the directory, Jeff and Dale bringing food and aid to the homeless, Sandy pruning the plants and fumigating the church, the toy box filling up, and so on, it's like "casting your bread upon the waters"... In Dalton City, when I hear the sisters organizing for the children's event, the brothers taking care of the church's upkeep, it's like casting your bread upon the waters... Can you imagine the faces of the children who are going to receive a gift? The poor family who will eat today because you brought food to the ministry? Let's never tire of doing good!
• It is the living reflection of Jesus' own work on earth… “he will finally see the fruit of his suffering,” Isaiah 53:11, that fruit is us!
• Bread > represents the word of God…. Water > represents people.
• The text also teaches us that the answer isn't immediate… you'll find it after many days. When we plant a bean, a plant with beans doesn't appear the next day… it takes a few days. The principle is the same.

Verses 2-3

2 Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.
3 If the clouds are full of water, they will pour it out on the earth; and if the tree falls to the south, or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will remain.

• The actions of sowing are: doing good, praying, sharing, helping… the reflection in verse 2 is beautiful, since by helping, when difficult days come you will reap what you have done.
• Often, testimonies and examples illustrate a truth better than words. Before casting bread upon the waters (whether simple or difficult, it doesn't matter), we must pray, ask for God's blessing, and understand the need or situation we are about to face.

◦ A while ago, I used to visit the prison in Mexico City to preach the Gospel. Two brothers accompanied me, and we would pray before visiting the inmates. We did it with faith, with love, and believing that God would work. After several years, someone contacted me on Facebook one day to ask to speak with me. His name is Benito, and when we spoke, he told me that he had been in prison and, although he hadn't met me in person, he had listened to sermons on CDs that were played in the prison. He was saved and converted, and went to live in Los Angeles, California. Now he is the pastor of two churches and an excellent preacher. We both rejoiced, and now we are very good friends and brothers in Christ.

• The reflection in verse 3 is interesting…. A cloud laden with water will pour down upon the earth, like a tree in the place it falls, there it will remain… that is to say, there are things that will happen, like bad times.

Verses 4-5

4 He who observes the wind will not sow; and he who looks at the clouds will not reap.
5 Just as you do not know the path of the wind, or how the bones grow in the womb of a pregnant woman, so you do not know the work of God, who makes all things.

• The idea is that we can't act only when things might be favorable, or when we think it's the right time. The Bible says, "Preach the word in season and out of season, " 2 Timothy 4:2 (we looked at this last week).
• Many people just stand around watching the wind... that is, waiting to see if things will work in their favor.
• We too, my brothers, let us not wait for the winds to favor us, let us do the work of God, for He is the one who does the work in us.

Let us sow and water the good seed with our prayers.

Verse 6

6 Sow your seed in the morning , and at evening do not let your hand rest ; for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both will do equally well.

APPLICATION:

• How are we doing with the work?
• Do you know that harvest time is coming? We mustn't be complacent, "don't let your hand rest in the evening"...
• Paul puts it this way: Galatians 6:9-10 “And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

CONCLUSION:

• Let us cast our bread upon the waters…
• Remember the miraculous feeding, the few loaves and fishes, and Jesus' instruction to his disciples: "You give them something to eat"....

08/30/2026

Long Creek UMC 8/30/26

08/27/2026

08/23/2026

HOW TO PREACH
(Sermon Notes)

INTRODUCTION:

• Does the Bible teach us how to preach? That is, how a preacher (pastor, apostle, evangelist) should preach. The answer is: YES.
• Last week, we talked about the Gospel (Repentance, Faith, and the Power of the Holy Spirit)...
• Are there biblical guidelines on how to preach? Once again: YES

TEXT: 2 Timothy 4:6

6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near.

EXPLANATION OF THE TEXT:

◦ The declaration of the Apostle Paul, before his ex*****on in the empire of Nero.
◦ This epistle was written during Paul's second imprisonment in Rome.
◦ During his first imprisonment in Rome, Paul had, so to speak, certain concessions (something like house arrest).
◦ According to theologian Hendriksen: Paul was perhaps in the Mamertine Prison, in an underground cell with only a hole in the roof for air and light. He was chained (inferred from Paul's own words in 2:9, "even to chains like a criminal")...with no companions with him, only Luke, and another betrayed him by returning to the world... 2 Timothy 4:10

10 For Demas, because he loved this present world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.
11 Only Lucas is with me........

• On the other hand, the epistle was addressed to a young minister: Timothy
• Who was Timothy?...a young missionary who enlisted as an associate missionary with the Apostle Paul. He was perhaps between 18 and 21 years old when he was recruited...a young man prone to illness, with a shy nature and great responsibilities to face...
• It is important to highlight the type of relationship that both Paul and the disciple had: 1 Corinthians 4:17 “My beloved and faithful child in the Lord” … Philippians 2:22 “But you know his merits, that as a son with his father he has served with me in the gospel.”

• We conclude, then, that Paul, shortly before his death in the harshest of prisons, sent his second message to Timothy. His ex*****on was imminent, and he wrote under the very shadow of his sentence. While it was a personal communication to his young friend Timothy, it was also—and consciously so—his last will and testament to the Church.

EXPOSE THE TRUTH: APPLICATION:

◦ Paul's concern in writing this letter lay in the gospel, the deposit of truth that had been revealed and entrusted to him by God. The apostle's career in the work of the gospel was virtually over. For approximately 30 years he had faithfully preached the good news, planted churches, defended the truth, consolidated the work, and raised up pastors and other apostles. He had certainly “fought the good fight…finished the race…kept the faith,” and only the crown of righteousness awaited him.

But what would happen to the gospel when he died and was no longer around?

Emperor Nero was determined to eradicate all Christianity. Heretics seemed to be everywhere. Shortly before these words of the apostle, there had been an almost total apostasy in Asia regarding the teachings of Paul!
Who then would take up the fight for truth when Paul had given his life?

Let's look at the request of a dying man

2 Timothy 4:1-2

1 I solemnly charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom,
2 Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with all patience and teaching.

Thayer's Greek Definitions:

• To proclaim, to preach: (Gr. kerusso) to announce, to be a herald, that is, how the Gospel should be preached!!
• Reprove: (Gr. Elegho) to shame, to bring to conviction, to prove of sin.…

1) To convince, refute, or disprove 1a) generally with a connotation of shame for the person convinced 1b) to bring to light or expose through conviction 2) To point out a fault, to correct 2a) verbally 2a1) to reprimand severely, to admonish, to condemn, to disapprove 2a2) to demand an explanation, to show someone their fault, to require an explanation 2b) through actions 2b1) to punish, to discipline

• Rebuke: (Gr. epetimao) to adjudicate, to impose (in the sense of a deserved punishment) 4) to accuse of a fault, to censure, to reprove, to admonish, to reproach, to criticize harshly 4a) to admonish or accuse severely

• Exhort: (Gr. parakaleo) to invite to the cause. To urge a decision regarding God.

1) to call someone to his side, to ask for someone's presence, to summon 2) to address someone, to speak to him (to call him, to appeal to him); this can be done through exhortation, supplication, comfort, instruction, etc. 2a) to admonish, exhort, console, encourage and strengthen through consolation, to comfort 2c1) to receive consolation, to be consoled 2d) to encourage, to strengthen 2e) to exhort, to console and to encourage 2f) to instruct, to teach

• With all patience and teaching: with proven character and giving no other message than that of the Scriptures.

CONCLUSION:

◦ Let's look at an example of all this:

Peter's First Speech Acts 2:14-42 (read at home)

Reprove, verses 23-24

23 You have taken Him, who was handed over to you by the ordained counsel and foreknowledge of God, and by lawless hands have crucified and killed Him, 24 whom God raised up by loosening the pull of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.

• Point out the fault
• He reprimands them severely
• He punishes them with words

Rebuke, verses 36-37

36 “Therefore, let all the house of Israel assuredly know that God has made this Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
37 When they heard this, they were stung in their hearts and said to Peter and to the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

• He accuses them of their sin.
• He disapproves of them and admonishes them
• It makes them feel bad, they were heartbroken.

Exhort, verses 37-40

38 Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call."
40 With many other words I testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” 41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized, and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
Life Among the Believers
42 They continued steadfastly in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in the prayers.

• He comforts them and calls them to join the Church
• He instructs them to lead a pleasant life guided by the Holy Spirit.
• Surrender to God.

Finally—and perhaps the most important point of this message:

Never—absolutely never—dare to preach in this manner without first having shed tears and prayed for the people to whom you are going to preach.
Exhorting and rebuking is easy, but it is when it is done in the Spirit and out of love for your listeners that God backs you up.

If you are a parent, when you scold your child, do you do it out of love, or because you hate them? It is out of love! Let us do the same.

Pastor Eduardo Manuel E. Morales

08/23/2026

LC UMC 8\23\26