Sermon map? What about a sermon rewind? Well, yesterday's message was as departure in a few notable ways. First, it was mapped out but never manuscripted. Second, it drew a distinction between the view of time in Eastern religions -- it is endlessly cyclical -- and...
“God With Us,” Week 5 — “A Bigger Bang”
A little known fact about Advent and Christmas: in Christian thinking, Jesus first appearance is designed to heighten our anticipation for his second. What does that mean? What will it look like? What about all the books, charts, and graphs that we can buy that tell...
Christmas Eve, 2019 — The “Get A Grip” Sermon Rewind
My message from Tuesday night's Christmas Eve services ... Began with our congregation standing and reading Luke 2:1-7 out loud and together;Pivoted on Paul's affirmation in Philippians 3:12 that Christ Jesus had first grabbed on to him;Was about 2/3 the length of a...
“God With Us,” Week 4 — The “Stuck On You” Sermon Rewind
Yesterday's sermon ... Came from a not-very-Christmasy section of Scripture, Romans 8:35-39;Taught that in Paul's life, Paul's "hypothetical" list of separators in Romans 8:35 was actually anything BUT hypothetical;Talked about the relentlessness of our son when it...
“God With Us,” Week 4 — “Stuck On You”
Lionel Richie may have sung it, but Paul wrote about it and I'm going to preach it. God's "with-ness" can't be separated from his "love-ness" which, as you'll see, is stuck on you. What does all this have to do with Christmas? Only everything. Check it out. Sunday....
Who Shook Who?
In the aftermath of Sunday's sermon in which the bottom line was God shakes you up to send you out a Good Shepherd stalwart approached me. "Thank you for that sermon," she said. "I always thought that it was Satan who gave me cancer but after the message I think maybe...
They Kinda Just Wana Hold My Hand
My Good Shepherd friend Susan Salzman brought her daughter Brooke Cantrell (right) and granddaughter Makaylah Cantrell (left), and they got a kick out of a certain photo collage that's part of our lobby gallery:
Top Five Tuesday — Top Five Things I Can’t Do As A Pastor
Disclaimer: I am having a good week. I am content in ministry and think Good Shepherd is in a good place. Please don't read this post as a sign of impending crisis in ministry. Having said that, I've been thinking about posting on things I can't do as a pastor for...
“God With Us,” Week 3 — The “All Shook Up” Sermon Rewind
Yesterday's message ... Featured an altered title and a changed bottom line from the original. The changes happened on Thursday of the week, which almost never happens;Reminded the people of the church that Luke is an investigative journalist (as Luke 1:1-4 makes...
#TBT — May, 1978, Austin, Texas
Here I am serving in the final round of the Texas State High School Doubles Championship. I was a sophomore, my partner was senior Chris Doane, and we were in the process of beating Sammy Giammalva & Mickey Branisa from Houston. In the way high school tennis...