First Cary UMC

First Cary UMC’s First Sanctuary Sermon – Rev. Kristyl Kepley – June 21, 2026 Jesus says something in Matthew 16 that feels almost impossible to hear: “Take up your cross and follow me.” In a world that tells us to protect ourselves, build our brand, and chase comfort, Jesus offers a very different path - the way of surrender, sacrifice, and true life. But what if losing your life for Christ isn’t actually loss? What if it’s the way we finally discover who we were created to be? This Sunday we’ll wrestle with one of Jesus’ most challenging teachings and explore why the way of the cross is still the way to life. Scripture: Matthew 16:21-28

First Cary UMC’s First Sanctuary Sermon – Rev. Ben Alexander – June 14, 2026 When James’ and John’s Mother challenges Jesus about promoting her sons, and when the disciples erupt in a feud of jealousy, Jesus challenges them to see how he offers a different way than worldly greatness. How can we model our lives after the one who came to serve? Scripture: Matthew 20:20-28

First Cary UMC’s First Sanctuary Sermon – Rev. Ben Alexander– May 3, 2026 The Risk of Friendship: Choosing Vulnerability: There’s a popular joke that Jesus’s greatest miracle was keeping twelve close friends in his 30s. In the digital age, analog friendships are becoming increasingly rare. True friendship requires risk - the risk of vulnerability, loyalty, and love that mirror the enfleshed heart of God in Christ, who walked with close friends. Cue Jonathan, the son of Israel’s first King, Saul. Jonathan could have easily sided with his father’s plot to kill David, but instead risked status, power and safety to befriend David, becoming his closest ally. Their covenant friendship mirrors God’s faithful love toward us. Faith grows when we risk being known and loved - and when we choose to love others without guarantee. Scripture: 1 Samuel 18:1–5

First Cary UMC’s First Sanctuary Sermon – Rev. Ben Alexander– April 26, 2026In Elisha’s final moments, we see a prophet who has spent his life pointing people back to God, even as the nation around him falters. He speaks a word of promise to King Joash about God’s victory, and then, even in his death, God’s Spirit brings resurrection life when a man is raised from the grave by touching Elisha’s bones. God’s power is not limited by human frailty or even by the grave. Where kings and nations fail, God’s Spirit continues to move, bringing life in the most unexpected places. For us today, it means no situation, no season, and no part of our story is beyond God’s ability to bring new life./ Scripture: 2 Kings 13:20-21

First Cary UMC’s First Sanctuary Sermon – Rev. Ben Alexander– April 19, 2026Faith in God doesn’t exempt us from hardship, heartbreak, or seasons of emptiness. Like the Shunammite woman who clung to God’s promises even when her son died, we are called to trust that God’s Spirit is still at work. This story teaches us that resurrection hope doesn’t ignore pain—it transforms it. God takes what feels barren or broken and brings about new possibilities we could never have imagined on our own.Scripture: 2 Kings 4:18–37

First Cary UMC’s First Sanctuary Sermon – Rev. Martha McLean – April 12, 2026In the face of deep grief and losses that feel like they take the very breath out of us, God is not absent. Just as God heard the cries of the widow and worked through Elijah to restore life to her son, God meets us in our despair. This story reminds us that even in our lowest valleys, God’s Spirit is already present, listening, and bringing hope where we thought there was only silence.Scripture: 1 Kings 17:17–24

First Cary UMC’s First Sanctuary Sermon – Rev. Ben Alexander – April 5, 2026 Scripture: Psalm 150 and Matthew 28:1-10