It's Australian Open time of year, which means tennis is on my mind even more than usual. And if you know anything about what I like in tennis, you know that I appreciate aesthetics more than almost anything else. It's why I admire the one handed backhands hit by...
#PracticingThePresence, Week 3 — The “THROUGHs and TOs” Sermon Rewind
Yesterday's message ... Was actually written in India, on my (relatively new) laptop, in November; Started at a landing point and then meandered through the rest of Psalm 55 to see how it arrived at that landing point; Pointed out that it's not only the verses of...
#PracticingThePresence, Week 3 — “TOs and THROUGHs”
To get TO something, you have to go THROUGH something else. In the Carolinas, for example, to get TO thaw this week, we've had to go THROUGH storm. For this third week of Practicing The Presence, we are taking one of my favorite bible journeys ever. We'll see how...
Praise The Lord Who … “Satisfies Your Desires With Good Things”
Psalm 103:1-5 says this: Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 2 Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— 3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit...
How We Are Practicing The Presence This Week
Practicing The Presence, our current sermon series at Good Shepherd, is all about providing practical, hands-on tools for helping people take their next step in their living relationship with Jesus Christ. Here's what it looks like this week: And...
Top Five Tuesday — Top Five Reflections From “School Of Rock THE MUSICAL”
For Christmas this past year, Julie got us two tickets to School Of Rock The Musical, a Broadway-caliber production based on the 2003 movie starring Jack Black. The performance was last Saturday, and so Julie and headed up to Ovens Auditorium to enjoy the show. Since...
Practicing The Presence, Week 2 — The “Nothing Compares 2 U” Sermon Rewind
Yesterday's message ... Used a "prop" of a ladder; Hinged on Psalm 63:0. Yes, verse 0; Did a sort of grammar test by inviting people to circle all the verbs in Psalm 63:1-8; Actually had three "write them down" suggestions near the end; Landed at this bottom line: ...
A Week Of Presence Practicing
The heart of the new Practicing The Presence series include hands-on, practical tools for people to take their next step in the living relationship with Jesus Christ. If I preach a message letting people know that WHERE you start the day determines HOW you finish it,...
What Happens At A “Sermons That Pop & Series That Stick” Workshop?
I spent Tuesday at the Pine Valley United Methodist Church in Wilmington, NC, leading a workshop I have designed called Sermons That Pop & Series That Stick. About 60 pastors and lay speakers attended. The group was engaged, complimentary, and, happily for...
Top Five Tuesday — Top Five First Reflections On A Wilmington Trip
That's the Wilmington in North Carolina, not the one in Delaware. I have lived in this state for almost 28 years and yet I have never been to its coast. Most of our beach trips in years gone by have been to the ones in South Carolina -- which, paradoxically, are...