Behind the Series: Passing the Flame
Faith received. Faith lived. Faith passed on. A look at the planning, scripture, and music behind our July series at McPherson First UMC.
This is a planning preview shared before the series begins. Sermon focus, scripture, music selections, and worship elements may be adapted or revised as the series develops. Pastors and worship planners are welcome to use and adapt this approach for your own context.
Dates: July 19 through August 9, 2026 · Texts: 1 and 2 Timothy
Paul’s letters to Timothy are among the most personal in scripture, a seasoned pastor writing to a younger leader he loves like a son. Over four weeks we follow the heart of these letters: from true contentment, to receiving a faith carefully handed down, to standing firm when it costs something, to accepting the charge to carry it forward. Whether you are just discovering faith or have walked with God for decades, you have a place in this chain.
The Look and Feel
The visual theme is warm: amber, deep gold, and soft flame orange against a dark background. Candlelight, hands cupping a flame, a flame passed from candle to candle. Firelight, not wildfire. The altar carries one design across all four weeks, a cluster of pillar candles of varying heights, lit for every service and set against warm amber and gold. The visual says “chain of faith” from the first Sunday on, without a weekly reset.
Beginning in Week 2, flame cards come as a bulletin insert. The prompt for Weeks 2 and 3 is “Who lit the flame of faith for you?” In Week 4 it shifts to “Who needs what you carry?” The cards can be placed at the altar during worship or taken home as a prayer reminder, and they double as something to hand to someone you want to invite.
Week 1: July 19 — The Life That Really Is Life
Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:6-19 · Type: Generosity · Promise: Gifts · Series launch
Paul warns against chasing wealth and status. This is not financial advice but an invitation to discover where true life is found. “Take hold of the life that really is life” sets the tone for the whole series: before we pass the flame, we have to know what we are carrying. Verses 17 through 19 turn toward generosity, being rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, connecting contentment to the practice of giving.
Hymns / Organ
Be Thou My Vision (UMH 451)
Take My Life, and Let It Be (UMH 399)
God of Grace and God of Glory (UMH 577)
Contemporary / Praise Team
Build My Life by Housefires
Good Good Father by Chris Tomlin
Great Are You Lord by All Sons & Daughters
Week 2: July 26 — A Faith Worth Receiving
Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:1-14 · Type: General · Promise: Presence
Paul reminds Timothy of the sincere faith that lived first in his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice, the emotional heart of the series. Faith is not abstract doctrine. It was lived out by real people before Timothy ever claimed it as his own. Paul urges him to rekindle the gift of God and guard the good treasure. The question: what have you received that you did not earn, and who lit the flame for you?
Hymns / Organ
Faith of Our Fathers (UMH 710)
I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry (UMH 2051)
How Can We Name a Love (UMH 111)
Contemporary / Praise Team
Gratitude by Brandon Lake
Who You Say I Am by Hillsong
Graves Into Gardens by Elevation Worship
Week 3: August 2 — Flame Under Pressure
Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:8-15 · Type: Decision · Promise: Service · Communion Sunday
Paul writes from prison, yet his faith burns brighter than ever. Even when the messenger is chained, the word of God is not. What happens to faith under pressure, when the easy path would be to let the flame go out? At the communion table we receive strength to keep going. The question shifts from “what have I received?” to “will I keep carrying it when it is hard?”
Hymns / Organ
Standing on the Promises (UMH 374)
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (UMH 110)
Here I Am, Lord (UMH 593)
Contemporary / Praise Team
Do It Again by Elevation Worship
Way Maker by Sinach
Even So Come by Passion
Week 4: August 9 — Passing the Flame
Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:14–4:8, 16-18 · Type: Invitation · Promise: Witness · Go and Grow Sunday, series conclusion
Paul’s final charge: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” The most personal and most urgent passage in the series. Paul is not just teaching Timothy. He is handing him the torch. The flame must pass or it dies. On Go and Grow Sunday the congregation sees the flame alive in the next generation, as youth and children share what they experienced this summer. The series comes full circle: we discover what is worth living for, remember who passed it to us, commit to carrying it through difficulty, and accept the charge to pass it on.
Hymns / Organ
Go, Make of All Disciples (UMH 571)
Lord, You Give the Great Commission (UMH 584)
O God, Our Help in Ages Past (UMH 117)
Contemporary / Praise Team
Send Me Out by Steve Fee
Living Hope by Phil Wickham
The Blessing by Kari Jobe & Cody Carnes
How the Series Builds
Four sermon types across four weeks, with no repeats: Generosity, a broad look at faith received, Decision, and Invitation. The membership promises move alongside them, Gifts to Presence to Service to Witness. Prayers is the one promise held back, a natural lead into the Five Promises series this fall.
A Few Planning Notes
The candle altar builds visually across the four weeks. The series bridges “The Gospel on Stage and Screen” and the back-to-school season, and it lays groundwork for the Five Promises series in September. The Lois to Eunice to Timothy chain naturally raises the question of what exactly they passed along, and that is the question Five Promises will answer. We may also invite a few brief stories during worship from people naming who passed faith to them.