Forty Days to Ponder This Truth…

It was a joy to be back at Cathedral Church of the Advent to be a part of their Lenten Preaching Series. This was the first of two sermons I preached last week in Birmingham. The text is 1 Timothy 1:13-16.

“The Church–in its wisdom–gives us forty days to ponder the trust about ourselves, to tell the truth, that maybe the rest of the world finds difficult to tell…the truth that God loves to save sinners.”

The Future of the UMC: Fact or Fiction?

In Don’t Look Back I urged United Methodists not to become distracted by the machinations of General Conference votes, the Council of Bishops, and other factors that have little to do with the mission of the local church. However, many ask, “How did we get to this point as a church?” Rev. Susan Leonard–a friend, a pastoral leader of the South Carolina United Methodist Church, and senior pastor of Bethel UMC in Charleston, SC–offers a full, detailed chronology of general church developments, one of the most thorough and fair that I have heard. 

Preaching this week & beyond

Thanks to the folks at A Sermon for Every Sunday for including the sermon below on this week’s Old Testament text from the lectionary, Isaiah 58:1-9a(9b-12).

In addition to sermons posted with A Sermon for Every Sunday, I’ve got a weekly preaching toolkit titled “Pulpit Resource” from Ministry Matters. I walk through an encounter with a given text and look towards relating and proclaiming that text each week. If you’re looking for a lectionary-based preaching resource, check it out. You can subscribe here: https://www.ministrymatters.com/pr_subscribe.

Why are they staying?

“It’s easy to come up with reasons for displeasure with the state of the church. Low hanging fruit. Only Christ gives us the inspiration and chutzpa to stick with the beleaguered body of Christ.”

Take a minute to read and see why folks are staying in the UMC.I trust you’ll be encouraged for your own work in ministry to which God has called you.

https://www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/11484/why-are-they-staying

A Service of Death and Resurrection for Patrick White

Just before Christmas, Patrick White was murdered in his law office by a client. Molly Brock White, my student, teaching assistant, Methodist preacher and Patrick’s spouse asked me to preach at Patrick’s Service of Death and Resurrection that was held at Hays Barton UMC in Raleigh on The Epiphany. Molly offered a wonderful prayer and I preached. A number of you have asked to see the service.

Will