On August 31 I concluded a 14 month role as the Interim Senior Pastor of Advent Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Arlington, Texas (see Keep Living and Loving Like Jesus). In the three weeks since, I've enjoyed three very different worship experiences in nearby congregations affiliated with three denominations. Week 1: Cathedral of Hope On September 7, I worshipped at the 10:00am service at my home church: Cathedral of Hope United Church of Christ in Dallas. Week 2: Nor'kirk Read More …
Advent Lutheran Church
Keep Living and Loving Like Jesus (#2255)
Today I preached my final sermon as Interim Senior Pastor of Advent Lutheran Church (ELCA). It was the concluding message in the Discovering Joy series. Sermon My message, “Do You Know?” is based on Philippians 4:4-9 & John 21:15-17. You can watch below or read the manuscript. Excerpt As someone who was born in Arlington, grew up in Arlington, and now lives in Arlington I’ve traveled down South Cooper Street thousands of times. Despite passing by Advent on nearly all Read More …
Top 10 Sermons Preached at Advent Lutheran Church (#2254)
This Sunday will be my final day as the Interim Senior Pastor of Advent Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Arlington, Texas. Over the last fourteen months I have preached more than 50 sermons in this congregation. The top ten, based on YouTube views are (sermon titles link to videos) Top Series Organizing the top sermons by the sermon series they were a part of reveals that five different series appeared in the top ten list. The top series, as reflected by most sermons in the top ten, Read More …
Partners in Christ’s Service (#2250)
This morning at Advent Lutheran Church (ELCA) we started a new sermon series: Discovering Joy. Additionally, we celebrated the Blessing of the Backpacks in preparation for a new school year. Sermon My message, “Partners in Faith,” is based on Philippians 1:1-18a and John 15:12-17. You can watch below (note this recording is missing the first 45 seconds or so of the message due to technical issues) or read the manuscript. Excerpt Everywhere we turn everyone Read More …
Jesus in Disguise (#2244)
This morning at Advent Lutheran Church (ELCA) we continued a summer sermon series: Stories That Shape Us: How Jesus’ Parables Transform the Way We See God, Ourselves, and the World. Sermon My message, “Jesus in Disguise,” is based on Matthew 25:31-46. You can watch below or read the manuscript. Excerpt Y’all know I’m a Texan through and through. I was born and raised here. I lived here my whole life until I moved to Florida in 2007. After spending so Read More …
God Doesn’t Play It Safe (#2242)
This morning at Advent Lutheran Church (ELCA) we continued a summer sermon series: Stories That Shape Us: How Jesus’ Parables Transform the Way We See God, Ourselves, and the World. Sermon My message, “God Doesn't Play It Safe” is based on Matthew 13:1-23. You can watch below or read the manuscript. Excerpt Newsflash #1: Christianity is declining. Over the past sixty years, we've seen a steady and significant decline in Christianity across this country. Read More …
Courageous Stewardship (#2240)
This morning at Advent Lutheran Church (ELCA) we continued a summer sermon series: Stories That Shape Us: How Jesus’ Parables Transform the Way We See God, Ourselves, and the World. Sermon My message, “Courageous Stewardship" is based on Matthew 25:14-30 You can watch below or read the manuscript. Excerpt Happy New Year! Since we last gathered for worship, Advent Lutheran Church has started a new year of mission and ministry. It is a joy to begin again Read More …
Build Wisely (#2238)
This morning at Advent Lutheran Church (ELCA) we continued a summer sermon series: Stories That Shape Us: How Jesus’ Parables Transform the Way We See God, Ourselves, and the World. Sermon My message, ““Build Wisely is based on Matthew 7:24-27. You can watch below or read the manuscript. Excerpt Let me introduce you to someone I learned a great deal about this week: Claudette. At age 59, she’s finding her way in life and doing so in a denomination in full communion Read More …
Celebrating Personal and Professional Milestones (#2237)
During the final two weeks of June, I am celebrating three significant milestones: Birthday The only time I previously blogged about my birthday was when I turned 40 (see My Milestone Birthday Experience). Year after year, I continue to celebrate my birthday each year with friends and family. This year my celebrations stretched across an entire week and included special events in multiple states. I'm truly grateful to everyone who reached out to offer birthday wishes and also for Read More …
Start Small (#2236)
This morning at Advent Lutheran Church (ELCA) we kicked off a summer sermon series: Stories That Shape Us: How Jesus’ Parables Transform the Way We See God, Ourselves, and the World. Sermon My message, "“Start Small” is based on Matthew 13:31-35. You can read the manuscript. (Video isn't available for this service due to technical difficulties.) Excerpt To begin this series, I figured we should start small. And according to today’s Gospel lesson you can’t get any smaller Read More …