If You’re Happy and You Know It (Luke 6: 17-26) Many of you, like me, grew up in church and as a small child learned what I guess we can call Children’s Praise Songs. When Teresa and I went to her home church in Coldspring, Texas, I left my Sunday School Class to help [...]
Let’s Go Fishing! (Luke 5: 1-11) It was many years ago when I was a young police officer when I mentioned to one of my training officers that my in-laws lived on Lake Livingston and liked to fish. I didn’t know that fishing was his passion, and he immediately asked if he could be [...]
Speaking Truth to Power (Luke 4: 21-30) A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that the District Superintendent asked me to consider being the Puget Sound Missional District representative on the Conference Board of Church and Society. He gave me a brief description of what all it entailed, and I agreed to have my [...]
Part-time is Plenty (1 Corinthians 12: 12-31) I recently finished reading a book that the District Superintendent recommended to me entitled: Part-time is Plenty: Thriving Without Full-Time Clergy, written by part-time pastor Jeffrey MacDonald. He says that churches experiencing numerical and financial decline may dread the day when they can no longer afford a [...]
It’s A Gift (1 Corinthians 12: 1-11) I remember that time period in between when I was told I was going to be appointed as the certified Lay Minister for Community United Methodist Church how excited I was to begin a new chapter in my life. And I remembered how nervous I was as [...]
Jesus is for Everybody (Acts 8: 1-17) Back in the Spring of 2008 when I found out I had been offered a position as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for Jefferson County I broke the news to the Sunday School Class at First Baptist, Tyler, that I had been teaching that Teresa and I would [...]
When the Light Comes On (Ephesians: 3: 1-12) I remember this one case I had not long after I started practicing law. I had been appointed to represent an older lady who had been accused of forging the title to a used pickup truck. It had been purchased by a man, now deceased, who [...]
To watch video, please click link below; Thanks to Diane Johnson for filling in for me today. Diane regularly preaches on the fifth Sunday of the month to give me a little breather. It works well in December as there are a lot of moving parts in Advent. If you weren't in church or watched [...]
World Peace (Luke 2: 1-20) The running joke at my house every Christmas for the last forty plus years is my response to what I want for Christmas this year. And every year, when asked, I respond: World Peace. This year my daughter told me that she knew I wanted World Peace, but she [...]
Mary, Did You Know? (Luke 1: 39-55) We’ve all had big dreams growing up. We’ve dreamt of fame and fortune. We’ve dreamt of being a doctor, an astronaut, or maybe President of the United States. Afterall, we’re told that because we live in the United States of America, the greatest country in the world, [...]