Freedom from Paralysis

SERMON SERIES/TITLE: “Gospel of Freedom:  Freedom from Paralysis”
SERMON TEXT:                  Matthew 9:2-8
PREACHER:                         Rev. Kim James
OCCASION:                         July 2, 2017, at First UMC
 
 
INTRODUCTION
 
                This week, the church received a piece of mail from The Morton Cure Paralysis Fund.  They were advertising their 22nd annual golf tournament.  If you’re going to be in Minnesota in September, you might want to participate.  J  We received the invitation because our church has included The Morton Cure Paralysis Fund as one of our month-long Mission Emphases.  The Morton Cure Paralysis Fund is close to our hearts because it’s close to the hearts of the Faz family.  Peter Morton, for whom the Fund was named, is Jenny Faz’s brother.  Peter was paralyzed in a bicycle accident in 1997.  That was the same year that Christopher Reeves suffered his paralyzing spinal cord injury.  In 1997, “the accepted prognosis was that nothing could be done.”  But, thanks to funding for research, “laboratories around the world are discovering potential treatments, and human clinical trials are underway.”  In the past 30 years, progress has been made that gives hope that, one day, those who suffer spinal cord injuries will be able to gain freedom from paralysis.
                During this month of July, in which we celebrate our nation’s declaration of independence, I’m going to preach a series of sermons called “The Gospel of Freedom.”  All five of these sermons will come from the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 9 and 10.  As we delve deeply into these stories about Jesus in the weeks ahead, we’ll explore freedom for mercy, freedom for life, freedom from limitations, and freedom for service.  Beginning today with Matthew 9:2-8, I invite you to consider some ways we can gain “freedom from paralysis.”

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