Today, I spoke at our local ministerium’s weekly Lenten Lunch service (services last from 12:05 to 12:30, followed by lunch in a different church each week during Lent). Today, we were at West Side UMC, where my wife is the pastor. It was a rare opportunity for the two of us to serve together. This… Continue Reading »
John 3.16-17 sums up the purpose of Christmas … God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him won’t perish but will have eternal life. God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him.… Continue Reading »
Last night, at the combined Holy Thursday service of the Centre Grove and Curwensville UMCs, my sermon was on the example of Jesus in washing the feet of his disciples, hours before his betrayal. The story in John 13 is loaded with topics and lessons but I chose to focus on Jesus’ example. Jesus’ example… Continue Reading »
At the beginning of my sermon this past Sunday, I said that we limit God (that is, we, the hands and feet of Jesus, limit God’s work in the world). That’s a sobering reality. I’m sure there are many ways we limit God’s work in the world. I talked about four ways in my introduction… Continue Reading »
I am currently doing a sermon series on “Life in the Wilderness.” The wilderness represents those times when life doesn’t go according to plan, when something happens that we aren’t expecting. Everyone goes through the wilderness; no one is exempt. And the wilderness changes us — no one comes out on the other side unchanged… Continue Reading »
One of the biggest problems that I’ve tried to confront throughout my ministry is complacency. From the beginning of my journey as a Christ-follower, I have said that complacency is one of the biggest problems we face! Complacency is a temptation for all of us and perhaps the temptation only gets stronger as we grow… Continue Reading »
Ipreached at the final service in the Clearfield Community Lenten Lunch series today. Here’s the gist of my message … Joleen, who hosted today’s service at West Side, read the Scripture. I hope people caught the contrasting points of the two writers. Romans 4.1-5 (NLT) Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation.… Continue Reading »
My sermon last Sunday focused on Jesus’ time in the Garden of Gethsemane (“olive press”) found in Mark 14.32-42. In the midst of the agony Jesus was feeling, he was also greatly concerned for Peter, James, and John, who were supposed to “keep watch” with Jesus. I love the question Jesus asked his friends when… Continue Reading »
On Super Bowl Sunday at Centre Grove, I focused on the theme, “Finish Strong,” wearing the Saints’ Finish Strong t-shirt from Finish Strong. “Finish Strong” was the motivating theme for the New Orleans Saints this season. But it’s also an important theme for followers of Jesus! Here’s a sampling of sports references from Scripture …… Continue Reading »
I used the title of the 2006 movie, The Nativity Story, as the title of my Advent/Christmas sermon series (it’s a good movie, by the way). This series focused on the responses of some of the major characters in the biblical story of Jesus’ birth, namely, Zechariah, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and Simeon and Anna.… Continue Reading »