Here I am at the party in celebration of my 6th birthday: November 14, 1967.I still remember that the party had a dinosaur theme. I think we even used paper plates and crayons to create our own dinosauric masterpieces.To my left is Michael Simpson and then...
To all those who complain that the lyrics in modern worship are overly repetitive -- and here's my favorite from that genre, Counting On God-- may I present to you Psalm 136. From the bible.1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.His love endures...
A lot of you know that because my father taught in the Law School at Southern Methodist University for 31 years AND because I grew up going to every home football game every year, I still have a quasi-irrational attachment to the SMU team. I didn't go there for...
Sermons prepared for and delivered on Holiday Weekends (and the Thanksgiving Weekend is one) are tricky things.You suspect attendance will be down (it was, slightly, but much higher than last year's Thanksgiving), you wonder if the energy level will be off, and...
I love this upcoming Christmas Series.I love the title: Baby Invasion.I love the premise: people act in strange ways when a baby invades their lives. Especially the baby whose name was Jesus.And I love the talk that I get to give this coming...
How often do you get to attend, much less host, a 99th birthday party?The answer is embedded into the question, isn't it?Here I am with my siblings surrounding my mother, Betty Davis, who turned 99 on Tuesday. We had a gathering with about 50 of her Austin-area...
Over the last several weeks, a young man has begun attending church with some friends and family.That's not all that unusual or extraordinary, with one difference: he grew up in this church, drifted away when he graduated college, and so is returning to worship...
For the final message of the Hidden Heroes series, I left Colossians 4 and went to Romans 16.Why?Some complicated but (I think) ultimately sound reasoning.1. I knew we needed a "shero" -- after six weeks of male heroes, I felt the church needed to hear about an...
Yes! They exist!Not just Sugar Daddies, but Sugar Mamas as well.I've never eaten them (how could I, with all those Nutrageouses?)But Sugar Daddies and Sugar Mamas are more than just candy. They are providers, patrons, benefactors.And there's one hidden in...
The authors of the bible use incredible restraint.In contrast to our modern culture's tendency towards too much information, the scriptural writers were masters of understatement.Perhaps that's because the process of writing was both expensive and painful in ancient...