Many stories about hidden treasure focus not on the difficulty of finding the treasure but on our failure to recognize the treasure in front of us. Jesus’ parables about the value of the kingdom of heaven involve ordinary objects, like mustard seeds, yeast, and pearls. People experience miraculous life changes upon seeing ordinary things with new eyes. The kingdom of heaven is…

Have you ever had a story that you know by heart suddenly offer a new meaning that you never considered before? This often happens with the parables of Jesus. The power of the parables is that they cause us to question our assumptions as they give us new glimpses of God’s kingdom. This Sunday, February 17, I will be exploring Luke 10:…

How would you feel if your thoughts were broadcast to the world? Most of us are grateful that we get to “think before we speak” because not all of our immediate thoughts are appropriate for publication!  This Sunday, February 10, the message is entitled “Thinking Out Loud.” I will be focusing on Luke 7: 36-47. There is a meaningful parable in this…

I get impatient with measuring the effectiveness of ministry with data related to worship attendance and membership. However, the mission of the United Methodist Church is “to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” If we are staying true to this mission, then we need to be aware of worship attendance trends and the number of new members…