This Sunday, March 17, I am planning a message based upon the Old Testament minor prophet Zephaniah, focusing upon Zephaniah 3: 8-12. This passage offers insight into the anger of God, but the anger is clearly followed by an image of people who are “humble and lowly”, who are able to seek refuge in the Lord of all creation. When we get…

This coming Sunday, March 3, is Transfiguration Sunday on the church calendar. We will be taking a close look at Luke 9: 28-36, and the message is entitled “Mountaintop Visions and Valley Realities.” Jesus’ appearance changed on the mountain, and the encounter with Moses and Elijah seems to have brought joy to Peter and John and James. But the joy was short-lived,…

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…

I hope that you are enjoying an unusually cool January here on Merritt Island. This Sunday, January 27, we welcome a special speaker, Mr. Joe Iarocci, of the Cairnway Center for Servant Leadership. Joe previously served as the general counsel and CFO of CARE, the international relief organization based in Atlanta. With his background in law and his organizational leadership experience, Joe…

Jesus taught the disciples by using parables. Parables are more than simple stories, and they are different from allegories. Come to worship this Sunday as we explore the nature of parables. We will focus on the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector from Luke 18: 9-14. In the next couple of months, several of our messages will examine specific parables.…

As we progress into the new year, it is helpful to ask some basic questions about our identity and calling as followers of Jesus. I am encouraging everyone to ask three basic questions as an ongoing prayer in 2019. First, who are we? This is an invitation to verbalize our self-understanding, ranging from “beloved child of God” to “sinner saved by God’s…