A House Divided (Ephesians 2: 11-22) On June 16, 1858, senatorial candidate Abraham Lincoln gave his famous House Divided Speech. He had just accepted the nomination of his party to become their candidate for the United States Senate. His address closed the convention and he said, in part: A house divided against itself, cannot [...]
The Altogether Christian (Ephesians 1: 3-14) During our lifetimes we’ve all known people who seemed unflappable, self-assured, confident, and fearless in the face of a disaster, crisis, or hard times. They may not have been a leader, or wealthy by society’s standards, or a pillar of the community, but they were somebody you could [...]
(Mark 6: 1-13) It was a little over eight years ago as I was finishing up my last Certified Lay Ministry class when our District Superintendent Daniel Foster approached me and said: “I think you’re ready.” Ready for what I asked? “Ready for your own church” he replied. I recovered quickly and asked where, [...]
The Work of Grace 2 Corinthians 8:7-15 Our God is a generous God, and generosity is one of the marks of God’s People. What do I mean by generosity? The dictionary defines “generosity” as “liberality in giving or willingness to give” (American Heritage Dictionary) Now you might be thinking that this is starting out sounding a lot like a stewardship [...]
The New Creation (2 Corinthians 6: 1-13) In last week’s sermon I quoted John Wesley who said: If anyone be in Christ, there is a new creation. Only the power that makes a world can make a Christian. And that’s what the Apostle Paul meant in last week’s scripture reading when he said: So [...]
Whose People? (2 Corinthians 5: 6-17) Back when I was in private practice in rural East Texas, I took cases outside of San Jacinto County to expand my practice and make ends meet. I didn’t mind traveling to other counties as it gave me an opportunity to see how other courts and jurisdictions operated. [...]
It’s What Gets Us Out of Bed (2 Corinthians 4: 13-5: 1) You hear a lot of people say they don’t “do” Facebook or that they’ve unfriended some of their friends who have posted things they don’t believe in or have greatly offended them on some level. I get that and there are a [...]
Nobody Said it Would be Easy (2 Corinthians 4: 5-12) Some people would say I’m stubborn, hardheaded, and uncompromising, but I like to think I’m determined, committed, and focused. Some would say I’m a leader while others would describe me as a lightning rod. Some who care about me would say that whatever it [...]
All In the Family (Romans 8: 12-17) I was blessed to have been born in 1952, making me a Baby Boomer, one of those kids born after the Second World War up to around 1964. What that meant for most of us is that we were born into large extended families with many aunts [...]
Speaking My Language (Acts 2: 1-21) Houston in the late 1970s was a rapidly growing city with people coming from not only all parts of the country looking for work, but also people from all around the world looking to create a new life in the land of opportunity. Many of these folks came [...]