Andy Stanley’s been known to say, “If you speak from your weaknesses, you’ll never run out of material!” Isn’t that the truth? And, today, that’s what I’m doing … just so you know! Folks, today I want to begin with this question: If you follow Jesus, where does it lead? What’s the end game or the goal of following? And if you get this following thing down perfectly, what difference does it make? What’s the reward? Now, there are some of you here who already know. You’re 70-80 years old,...
As we look today to Jesus’ last words from the cross, we need to remember just how important last words can be. If you’re a United Methodist minister, for instance, you probably know the last words of John Wesley: “The best of all is, God is with us!” The best of all, indeed, is that God is with us. In just a few short words, and because they were his last—so important, John Wesley gave us words of hope, and words to live by, as he did. The reality of...
Jesus absolutely loved the Sea of Galilee! Did you know that? It’s mentioned in the Gospels more than forty times! And Jesus gets in and out of boats nearly as many times… Then again, at other times, we’ll see Jesus walking on the lake shore. It’s not hard to imagine why this is. The Sea of Galilee is absolutely captivating… When I have a day off—in good weather—one of Jane’s and my favorite things to do is to take our lawn chairs, a picnic lunch, and some reading material …...
Do you remember having birthday parties when you were younger? Do you remember how it felt—the time leading up to those celebrations? You were both excited and anxious. You knew that you would receive gifts or other special treats, for sure; but, there would also be some surprises. Birthdays combine both … assurance & anticipation! And, so does our faith… When we live a life of faith, we’re assured of the reality of God’s presence; our experience has taught us that God’ll be there for us… as we put our...
HOPE … is an ingredient we need, as followers of Christ, in order to ‘hang in there’ in this life. The truth is, we live in a world that would just as soon persecute us or put us down, as thank us for the Christ-like lives we lead and the Christ-like love we share. Hope comes from a confidence in our faith in Christ … and is sustained by a God-given diligence to persevere in this world—never allowing our faith to waver… Today, as we continue on in Hebrews, Chapter...
Let me begin, by way of introduction today, with two scriptures… First, John 17:3 (NLT) speaks to the reason why we need the Book of Hebrews. Listen to these words: “And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.” This describes for us why we need the message of Hebrews! Once again, folks, Hebrews is all about discovering who God is … through the gift God sent to us in his son, Jesus. The more...
In a conversation the other day, the topic addressed was this: ‘what is missing in our world today.’ And, all agreed that what may be missing above all else today is this: A healthy ‘Fear [Respect] of God.’ And by that I also mean, we have missed REALLY KNOWING GOD. Because if we really knew God, then we’d have a healthy respect for who God is … automatically! As we were reminded in our ‘Intro to Worship’ today, all too often we complicate who God is. For some reason, we...
On the last mission trip that I was on, I was in charge of certain project that had to do with our worship one evening. I asked a few youth and adults to help me with this particular thing. The majority of those I asked to help were more than willing to pitch in and make this part of our worship service special. One youth, however, had a very different response. When I asked him to be involved, his response was, “So, what are you going to do for me...
Have you ever found yourself in a situation that you absolutely did not want to be in? Perhaps it was some kind of a journey in life that you didn’t want to take—a job change, a move, a relational upset—but life seemed to be pushing you in that direction whether you liked it or not. It was the kind of a journey you were forced to take … against your will! How in the world would life ever seem normal again? I believe that’s what the holy couple must’ve felt...
What is it in your life today that seems absolutely impossible? If you have any thought or any circumstance that seems impossible today, that folks is right up God’s alley… Let me begin today by saying this: As long as we honor God … nothing is impossible! And how do we honor God with our lives? Through obedience to what God calls us to do—by honoring God in all that we do… Let me share with you a story from the Old Testament—an incident in the life of a lesser-known...
