I'm not a coffee drinker, but if Jesus were to ask me if I'd like to have a cup with him, of course, I'd say, "Sure." You might call that smooching up to the boss. I might say, "So? Look which boss it is."
There's no need to worry, though. I doubt Jesus even likes coffee; he never did anything miraculous with water and coffee. Still, if you have not seen Coffee With Jesus you need to. I love when people can stab the shallow...
The last post showed me how run-of-the-mill my office is. But! At least I do not have to worry about designing, printing and hanging a sign in our church like this one.
Say hello to the fishy chur...
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Well, our church office recently received a new framed copy of our mission statement. Are you suggesting this office is cooler than mi...
I came across this picture recently and wanted to share it. Not because I want you to give me your political opinion. I have my own, right now.
Nothing is a straight-forward as most people would want us to think. Many of the issues we are facing are too complex to suggest so. So, again, this is not about your rant for the day.
The reason why I am sharing this is because it involves something my Disciple II group brought...
Here is what I sent the church this morning: AnotherNote, December 14, 2011
There are a couple of things in there you might appreciate even if you're not associated with our church. Let me know what you thi...
Believe me; I know what Christmas is really about. The most meaningful Christmas hymn is Emmanuel. You're probably thinking of Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel. That's nice, too. But this is the one I'm thinking of:
At Christmas we celebrate that God is indeed with us! That is a Merry Christmas.
We've got that cleared up. Now, I can show you this because it's pretty funny:...
When I was growing up, Christmas was my favorite holiday. Of course, that made me like every other kid. I will confess: It was about the gifts. There were other things that made Christmas time nice: houses covered with lights; school Christmas parties; Dickens on the Strand; and Christmas vacation. If one of those things were to be left out I would always feel like I was missing something, that Christmas just was not Christmas. What I have learned, though,...
I think I may have offended 90% of all Christians yesterday.
Yes, I am exaggerating. I don't even know 90% of all Christians. And 90% of all Christians didn't even hear me yesterday. Still, I am going to stand with the 10% on this one.
Now, any other preacher or blogger would tease you to make you want to listen to the audio. Me? I'll just tell you what I said and hope, pray, wish, dream and imagine what it would be like if...
This is for those of you who do not understand the mind of a procrastinator.
Our--we procrastinators-- idea of time looks similar to this clock.
You might think your favorite procrastinator is not doing anything until the last minute. That is untrue. Chances are you may only know of one thing your procrastinator has due in ten minutes. More than likely they have been working on other things they have been putting off.
There...
It is official. I have submitted my application for graduation in May--May 12th to be exact. So, we are now in countdown mode.
I won't give you the it's-been-a-long-time-coming speech, just yet (But it has been!). Right now I just want to give you an open invitation. I do not know exactly what we will be doing that day, but I do know it will be a celebration. If you think you are going to be in the Dallas area, come and celebrate with us. I will save...
It has been said that Run DMC changed rap music. They told us to walk this way. Now, I know that does not mean a whole lot to some of you, but have some respect! Please do not make me wish that your Christmas fruitcake bowl will runneth over.
If Run DMC changed the rap world and The United Methodist Church says it is called to make disciples for the transformation (change) of the world, it stands to say that the two should come together. ...
As you sit in church this Sunday, I know you will think of me.
Your liturgist or preacher will stand and invite you to turn to your Gospel reading of the day. Some of you will be invited to stand with your reader because of the Gospel reading. Maybe you will follow along in your Bible or close the book and listen.
Either way, this week you will hear these profound, spiritually enlightening and inspiring words:
John 1:6
There was...
I have found the meaning of life. And, now, you can know what it is, too! After searching and contemplating for years, we can finally know what the point of it all is--like when I figured out the lyrics to the intro to Mr. Belvedere.
Now, do not delay. Follow this link to see the meaning of life: The Meaning of Life.
You are welcome. ...
Good News! Good News!
Yesterday I preached on the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; our text was from Mark 1. I was also able to avoid every temptation to include a "Good News! Good News!" impersonation of Roscoe P. Coltrane. God is good.
We all hear bad news. It is everywhere. We are reminded, though, that God has good news for us. Maybe we just need to hear God's good news again. That is what the Christmas...
I had so much fun with this sermon yesterday. And to think I didn't get to write it until dark and early Sunday morning. But do not tell anyone that.
I have been busy smoking hams since Thursday, and the sermon writing seemed to fall behind. It was my intention to put the sermon together Saturday night, after our church's Ham -N- Bean dinner. Yeah, that never happened.
We were all a bit drained yesterday morning, but, I think,...
If you have yet to laugh today then this will do the trick.
If you have already laughed today, then good for you. Keep it up.
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I cannot convince anyone to listen to a sermon. All our churches around the world would be full if anyone could. It is the ol' addage that reminds us you can take a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink.
You can, however, as someone was told me, tell him how good the water is!
In my sermon preparation for last Sunday's worship service, I gave myself a challenge: Preach on the parable of the talents and not talk about money and/or spiritual...
Does anyone else think of Richard Pryor's movie Brewster's Millions when they read the parable of the talents?
Think about it:
1. The slaves get an absurd amount of money from the master.
2. If they're able to deal with it appropriately, they get even more.
3. If they don't, they get nothing.
It's a reasonable thought.
Matthew 25:14-30:
14 ‘For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them;
15to...
Our church has decided to incorporate our Thanksgiving worship service with our usual worship time. That is, we will not have an additional service time Thanksgiving week; come to church on Sunday, November 20th and we'll be talking about thankfulness and all that jazz.
We're not being lazy. Actually, next weekend is our big Ham and Bean Dinner. That is an all-hands-on-deck event. It takes everyone's work and effort. Indeed,...
Johnny and Chachi are at it again. This time they offer you some great tips on how to invite someone you know to church. Watch the video, and tell me what you learn.
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...
Yesterday, Gloria's family visited our church. Her older brother is getting married at the end of the week and the family is here to get things ready. It was nice to have them with us. Another part of the blessing was that it was Gloria's dad's 96th birthday. We were able to spend the day with him and celebrate. The church even sang to him.
That is all fitting because yesterday's sermon was about examples, specifically examples...
I have had to put our church newsletter aside. BOOOOOO!
It was a lot of work, and, even though I enjoyed the work, there have been so many other things I must get done--people actually expect me to say stuff on Sunday mornings! Before the first of December, I MUST submit all my paperwork for my, hopefully, commissioning in June. There is no way around that. Of course, sermons are a must, too. I also have reflection papers related to my internship...
The question: Who and what do we love?
The answer is simple:
Who does God love? Everyone. What does God love? Righteousness, mercy, forgiveness, etc. So, love what God lov...
Raise your hand if you have ever been scared on Halloween. It happens. You needn't be ashamed. At least your scary moments don't end up on YouTube like Steve Harvey's. I am amazed at how many funny clips I have seen from The Ellen Degeneres Show.
Enjoy.
video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo pla...
I am choosing hymns for this Sunday's service, and thoroughly appreciated and enjoyed this as I did. Now, it is your turn--just a little music humor. If you get it, you do. If not, don't worry.
...
Music often expresses some of our most deepest emotions. People look to music to say what they feel they cannot. Think about some of your most favorite music. What do those songs say for you?
Well, maybe you thought too much of yourself and never imagined that Weird Al could say for you what you have wanted to for so long. Really, though, what else would you expect from someone who gave us inspirational hits like Eat It, Amish Paradise...
We were a small church, always trying to do the best we could. Anytime we could get a little help, that was appreciated.
Once someone gave us a new piano. Well, it was old to them, but new to us. I'm sure the giver said something like, "I would love to give this to the church." While I would never want to dishonor someone's love for their church, somehow I think we ended up doing them more a favor than anything.
The piano was...
Have you heard of The Prayer Dare? It is a 40-day dare that is designed to encourage people to become more acquainted with prayer. The days' reading are pretty simple and straight forward. What I appreciate about the book is that each day has a specific dare attached to it, something you do after reading. We talk a lot, and think a lot, too. I want to offer ways for people to act upon what, for example, a sermon is about. ...
Someone emailed this video to me. I had never heard of the Late Nite Catechism. It is pretty funny.
I think I received it because of the Methodist reference. The nun knows where the UM room is in heaven! Now, I think it was the Methodist reference, but it might have been another bit of wisdom. The nun has a small piece of advice for ugly people at the very end. You watch and decide. Enjoy.
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You picked them--well, at least some of you did. These were the five posts you viewed the most in September. I hope you are proud of yourself.
5) So many people are mad at Netflix for hiking up their monthly subscription. I suppose Netflix got googled quite a bit this month, and that is partly why this old Netflix Queue came in as our 5th highest viewed post.
4) Brittani really likes one of her teachers who encourages nontraditional learning styles....
Well, today you can tell all your friends that you listened to a Sunday sermon on Friday.
This was a busy week for our family. After church on Sunday morning we packed up our things and hit the road, on a quick trip to the Galveston area. When I got back to the office on Wednesday, I found out our annual charge conference is this Saturday. No, you don't usually "find out" about charge conference, at least not three days before it is scheduled;...
The call told me that Papa was "actively dying." "Who isn't," I thought.
But I knew what they meant. Papa had been ill for a while and becoming weaker, and there are clear indications when that sacred time is near. Last summer it almost seemed like it was time. I guess we can miscalculate. Then I hurried to go see him. This time, however, was different. Of course, I wanted to go; I could not get there fast enough. ...
If you know what to do with this, then do it! If not, have a nice day. Well, even if you do know what to do you can still have a nice day.
...
I told you I was working on a new sermon series entitled Keys to LIFE. It is based on passages from the letter to the Philippians. The first sermon in the series is "Mean It!" Of course, I would like you to listen to the sermon. As I told the congregation, however, I think you will find it helpful to read Philippians all the way through in one or two sittings. So, you might want to do that first--Yes, you can do it!
The...
No, this is not the naked pastor.
I have appreciated this man's work for a while now. He is the naked pastor. Have I told you about him before? Like many people, probably, the title of his website caught my attention. No worries; he knows the benefit of fully clothing himself and finds other means to express himself other than going nude--at least on his blog.
No, that is not the kind of naked he is talking about. You can...
Does your church have a prayer list? What am I saying? Of course your church does. Your church prays, and prays together.
Is your prayer list helpful? Do people from your church take time to read the names of the people on the list, or just pray for the list? Have you ever prayed, "Lord, here's my list" and trusted that God "knows their names and situations"? Oh, me neither.
But I have heard of others that do that. ...
What part of this short story is more compelling to you: The plot or the message(s), or something else?
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“Be a winner at the game of life” we have often heard people say. Often, winning simply means outdoing
someone else, having the most money and nicest cars and being comfortable. Life, however, is not played, it is lived. How do we live a life full of meaning and find real purpose? God's answers might surprise you--there's nothing hidden or secret about them!
So, if you have ever lost your keys, or just know that God wants...
Maybe it is because of the sheep, but I keep wanting this video to have some kind of faith application. It is about extraterrestrials and a ferocious spouse. So, yea, it is not that clear cut. Maybe you can do better. Watch and share.
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Sheeped Away from Junaid Chundrigar on Vim...
Our church added a new element to its worship service: a Ministry Celebration. I mentioned this to you on the Groupon post. The ministry celebration is a way to highlight various ministries within The United Methodist Church. So far, with only two weeks worth of sharing, people have responded with some of the same positive comments we have heard before. ~Whew.
Then I got to thinking. Just because you are reading this does not...
I like this next video. It helps us realize that all our churches have worship traditions, whether we call ourselves traditional or not. Now, to be clear, I am not poking at one particular worship style. There are elements of all worship services that bother me.
For example, I detest the "Stand up if you are visiting from out of town church greeting, coupled with increasing applause volume depending on how far away you traveled to get here." Oh, and right...
Some call it the Methodist Mingle. Of course, it is not a UM phenomenon; all denominations must be aware! In many communities there are several UM congregations. For example, I could drive from our church and be at another UM church within five minutes; if I went the other direction I could be at another church as well. Give me eight minutes and I am at another UM place of worship. That is a blessing in many ways. It certainly opens up great possibilities...
I love lame puns. Sue me.
For our newsletter this month, while using the illustration of a doctor's office to talk about waiting on God, I, yes I, said something about having patients. And for our weekly Bible study, concentrating on Ephesians' prayer for the Gentiles to be "rooted and grounded" in love, I mentioned that everything we do should "stem" from our love of God.
It does not matter how corny they are. The only thing...
Honestly, I am all "wrote" out. I just finished our church newsletter, and I began some paperwork that I need for internship, and hopefully commissioning. So, I have no idea what I want to write for this post. It is the end of the month, which means a recap of the top posts of August. Maybe I will just leave it at that for now, and expect your forgiveness.
Top 5 posts of the month:
The Lord's What?
Pastors Says F you
Sermon...
You have seen the commercials, and, I hope, have laughed along. The Dos Equis market genius The Most Interesting Man in the World is loved by many people. And what is not to love?
He’s won trophies for his game face alone.
He is the life of parties he has never attended
If he were to punch you in the face, you’d have to fight off the urge to thank him.
This man's claims to fame are so outrageous, they are too funny not to appreciate. How in the world...
