Yesterday's message ... BEGAN "old school": we stood and read the Scripture (or, if I was going super UMC collared and liturgical, "the lection") out loud and together; Repeatedly connected the Mark 5 story of the Gerasene demoniac with the Mark 4 story of the calming...
Bragging Rights, Week 3 — “What We Are Like Now”
Our journey through Bragging Rights has taken us from What We Were Like to What Happened, all in order to prepare us for What We Are Like Now. That's this coming Sunday, April 22, and it's a message I can't wait to give. Part of my excitement stems from the fact that...
Young Adult Insights Into The Wild Bible
On Wednesday evening, the Young Adult (18-28) LifeGroup that meets in our house explored three of the worst stories in Scripture. Using Sandy Richter's Ruth study from the Epic Of Eden, the group learned about these wretched events: The incestuous origins of the...
Why So Many Of Us PREFER Chaos To Calm
Mark 4:35-41 contains this fabulous little story whose meaning is wrapped up in its subtle choice of words: 35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he...
Top Five Tuesday — Top Five Proofs I Am Third Most Innocent
My signature accomplishment in high school was being awarded Third Most Innocent in the senior superlatives edition of our campus newspaper. Here's the proof: Anyway, five moments during a recent Eagles concert showed me just how accurate that "award" was. ...
Dealing With Opposition
(No sermon rewind today as Ron Dozier preached at Good Shepherd yesterday.) I have had seasons where I’ve had somewhere I wanted to go, some things I wanted to do, and at every turn (not that I was seeking it out!) – someone or something stands in opposition. And the...
#TBT — Texas Sectionals, Corpus Christi, TX, 1973
Here I am at 11 losing -- badly -- to Boyd Bryan in the quarterfinals of the 1973 Texas Sectionals for Boys' 12-and-under. I'd estimate the score was 6-1, 6-2, maybe 6-2, 6-3. Boyd never missed and when I was 11 I had already started serve-and-volleying, and I...
When The People In Next Step Know Better Than You Do
At Good Shepherd, we talk all the time about inviting all people into a living relationship with Jesus Christ. But what exactly is a living relationship with Jesus Christ? What does it look like? Early on, we narrowed it down to seven "marks" or "measures." Here's...
Top Five Tuesday — Top Five Stages Of Sermon Preparation
You've heard of the five stages of grief? Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance? Or on a lighter note, the Five Love Languages? Acts Of Service, Words Of Affirmation, Gifts, Quality Time, and physical touch? So those cinco-centric lists got me...
Bragging Rights, Week 1 — The “What We Were Like” Sermon Rewind
Yesterday's message ... Began with an unusual (for me) exploration of how Julie and I met; Continued with an examination of ways in which we are under surveillance; Dug into Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 1, verses 26-31 Borrowed its title from the AA...