McKendree Methodist Church

10/12/2026

Happy 90th birthday Rochelle!! Celebrating at CARE!🥰🙏❤️🎁🎉

10/02/2026

Join us this Sunday at McKendree!

In September we walked with David from defeating Goliath to building a giant of his own. This October we're following his son Solomon and the kings after him, and seeing what happens when people forget God, stop seeking Him, and walk away. The good news: even when we drift, God never stops pursuing us.

We're halfway through The Story, which makes this a great time to jump in. No experience necessary. Whether you've never opened a Bible or you've read it for years, you belong here.

Come as you are. Suits or jeans, dresses or T-shirts, God doesn't care what you wear. He cares that you're there.

This Sunday:
10:00–10:30 AM: Sunday School
10:35–11:30 AM: Worship Service
Followed by Fellowship Time

Don't forget God. Don't stop seeking God. Don't leave God, because He has never left you.

We'd love to see you there!

https://www.mckendreemethodist.com/

09/30/2026

Thank you for a powerful Sunday together. In Part Two of Facing Goliaths, we looked at the giants we create ourselves. We watched David go from the rooftop to a cover-up, and then heard the six words that changed everything: "I have sinned against the Lord." If you remember one thing from Sunday, let it be this: when you've blown it, don't run from God. Run to Him. He's already running toward you (Luke 15:20).

Near the end of the message, we saw that Bathsheba gave birth to a son named Solomon, and Scripture says simply that the Lord loved him. That's exactly where we pick up this week.

WEEK 13: THE KING WHO HAD IT ALL

Solomon inherited a kingdom at peace. When God told him to ask for anything, he asked for wisdom, and God gave him wisdom, wealth, and honor beyond any king of his day. He built the Temple, wrote proverbs and songs, and drew admiration from rulers like the Queen of Sheba. And yet, by the end of his life, his heart had drifted from the God who gave him everything.

This Week's Reading (mark this spot in your Bible for Sunday):
- Chapter 13 of The Story
- 1 Kings 3 – Solomon asks for wisdom
- 1 Kings 8 – The dedication of the Temple
- 1 Kings 11 – Solomon's heart turns away

Questions to Consider as You Read:
1. If God said to you, "Ask for whatever you want," what would you ask for? Why?
2. Solomon started so well. What small compromises led him away from God?
3. Where in your life can blessings or success quietly pull your heart away from the One who gave them?

Solomon's story reminds us that how we start matters, but how we finish matters too. Having it all is never the same as having a heart fully devoted to God.

09/25/2026

Sunday School at 10:00 AM
Worship Service at 10:35 AM

Rooted in Faith!

We're heading into Week 12 of our journey through The Story, and we're in the middle of a two-part series within it called Facing Goliaths, looking at the life of King David.

Last Sunday, in Part One, we talked about the giants we didn't choose: the diagnosis, the layoff, the loss, the phone call that changes everything. Like Goliath walking into the Valley of Elah, these giants show up uninvited, and they're loud.

If you missed it, here's what we walked through together:

The giant is real, and so is the fear. Even Israel's army was terrified, and Scripture doesn't shame them for it. Fear doesn't mean your faith is broken. It means you're facing a giant.

God sees the heart. When the world labels you a patient, a statistic, or unemployed, God still sees what He saw in David.
David remembered. He faced Goliath with his history with God, the lion and the bear, rather than with Saul's armor.

After the giant came the cave. David did everything right and still ended up running for his life. God wasn't absent. He was building a shepherd for a nation.
God sends someone with skin on. Jonathan helped David find strength in God, and some of us are called to be a Jonathan for someone else.

Three truths carried the whole message, and they carry into this Sunday too:

Don't forget God. Don't stop seeking God. Don't leave God, because He has not left you.

This Sunday, Week 12, Facing Goliaths Part 2: The Giants We Chose

As The Story unfolds, the story of David gets harder, and more honest. Some giants don't walk in uninvited. We build them ourselves, one choice at a time.

David, the giant-slayer and the man after God's own heart, stayed home when kings go to war. What followed was adultery with Bathsheba, a cover-up, and the murder of Uriah, one of his most loyal soldiers (2 Samuel 11). For a while, it looked like David had gotten away with it.

But God sent Nathan with four words that changed everything: "You are the man" (2 Samuel 12). David's response, recorded in Psalm 51, shows us what it looks like to stop running and turn back to God.

If you've ever wondered whether you've gone too far for God to reach you, this Sunday is for you. The God who didn't leave David in the cave did not abandon him in his sin. Don't leave God, because He has not left you.

Come ready to be honest. Come ready to receive grace. And please bring someone with you who needs to hear that it's never too late to turn RUN TO GOD!

09/25/2026

We're heading into Week 12 of our journey through The Story, and we're in the middle of a two-part series within it called Facing Goliaths, looking at the life of King David.

Last Sunday, in Part One, we talked about the giants we didn't choose: the diagnosis, the layoff, the loss, the phone call that changes everything. Like Goliath walking into the Valley of Elah, these giants show up uninvited, and they're loud.

If you missed it, here's what we walked through together:

The giant is real, and so is the fear. Even Israel's army was terrified, and Scripture doesn't shame them for it. Fear doesn't mean your faith is broken. It means you're facing a giant.

God sees the heart. When the world labels you a patient, a statistic, or unemployed, God still sees what He saw in David.
David remembered. He faced Goliath with his history with God, the lion and the bear, rather than with Saul's armor.

After the giant came the cave. David did everything right and still ended up running for his life. God wasn't absent. He was building a shepherd for a nation.
God sends someone with skin on. Jonathan helped David find strength in God, and some of us are called to be a Jonathan for someone else.

Three truths carried the whole message, and they carry into this Sunday too:

Don't forget God. Don't stop seeking God. Don't leave God, because He has not left you.

This Sunday, Week 12, Facing Goliaths Part 2: The Giants We Chose

As The Story unfolds, the story of David gets harder, and more honest. Some giants don't walk in uninvited. We build them ourselves, one choice at a time.

David, the giant-slayer and the man after God's own heart, stayed home when kings go to war. What followed was adultery with Bathsheba, a cover-up, and the murder of Uriah, one of his most loyal soldiers (2 Samuel 11). For a while, it looked like David had gotten away with it.

But God sent Nathan with four words that changed everything: "You are the man" (2 Samuel 12). David's response, recorded in Psalm 51, shows us what it looks like to stop running and turn back to God.

If you've ever wondered whether you've gone too far for God to reach you, this Sunday is for you. The God who didn't leave David in the cave did not abandon him in his sin. Don't leave God, because He has not left you.

Come ready to be honest. Come ready to receive grace. And please bring someone with you who needs to hear that it's never too late to turn RUN TO GOD!

09/16/2026

Here's our September Newsletter — Rooted in Faith!

Join us as we continue our sermon series based on the book The Story. No experience necessary — whether you've read the Bible a hundred times or have never opened it, this is the perfect series for you!

Reach out with any questions!

Rooted in Faith! September 2026

09/14/2026

Another fun CARE day in the books. We learned about the great Mechanics of Faith program, made recycled jewelry pendants, played Swiffer Shuttleboard, chair exercises & enjoyed Waldorf chicken salad, homemade rolls (Thanks Drew!) & pound cake with ice cream.

09/02/2026

We're headed into Week 9 of our sermon series based on The Story — the greatest story! Come Sunday to hear about the faith of Ruth.
RECAP: "What It's All For"
This week we followed Moses from the mountaintop back down into crisis. While he was receiving the Ten Commandments, written by the very finger of God, the people at the bottom got tired of waiting and melted their gold into a calf. Our own golden calves rarely look like statues — they look like a career, a relationship, a bank account, or a body image quietly promoted to the place only God should hold.
But the heart of the message was this: God doesn't walk away from a people who fail Him. Moses stood in the gap, pleading for the nation, and God answered by revealing His own character as merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Failure wasn't the end of the story — it was the middle of it.
We traced that same pattern all the way to the cross. Jesus' forty days in the wilderness mirror Moses' forty days on Sinai — except where Israel reached for gold, Jesus reached for nothing but the Father's will. And at Calvary, one thief mocked Jesus, using Him for rescue without surrender. The other leaned in with nothing but faith and heard: "Today you will be with me in paradise."
The invitation is the same one given to that thief: you don't have to clean yourself up first. Come as you are. Lean in, not away. And when you fall, remember the mountain is still there, and God is still willing to write the covenant again.
As Exodus 33:11 puts it, God spoke to Moses "as a man speaks to his friend." That's what it was all pointing to — not religious performance, but friendship with God.
SPECIAL NOTE: McKendree History
A special thank you to Ms. Townsend for her presentation on the history of our church's name this past Sunday — what a gift to be reminded of the story behind McKendree and the legacy we carry forward. Next week, Gene continues sharing more of that history. Looking forward to it!
LOOKING AHEAD: The Story, Chapter 6 — Wandering in the Wilderness
Next week we turn to Israel's wilderness years. A few questions to sit with before we gather:
- What was the root cause of most of the Israelites' problems in the wilderness?
- How did God respond to their lack of faith and longing for Egypt?
- Why is daily dependence, like manna from heaven, so hard to maintain over time?
- What do you learn from Moses' leadership through hard seasons?
- Have you ever felt spiritually or emotionally wandering? How did you handle it?
- How can remembering God's past provision build trust for today's challenges?
Can't wait to see you Sunday! Crosby is watching too.

08/15/2026

Youth on a Mission 2026