The Spirit July 3,2024
THOUGHTS FROM OUR SENIOR MINISTER This week our country will pause to celebrate the Fourth of July. I pray we are each able to find ourselves immersed in a season of joy and gratitude—connected to o…
THOUGHTS FROM OUR SENIOR MINISTER This week our country will pause to celebrate the Fourth of July. I pray we are each able to find ourselves immersed in a season of joy and gratitude—connected to o…
THOUGHTS FROM OUR SENIOR MINISTER As the warmth of summer approaches, we are reminded of the beauty and inevitability of change. This season, First Christian Church in Henderson is experiencing several exciting changes that promise to bring us cl…
THOUGHTS FROM OUR SENIOR MINISTER In our journey of faith, we often find ourselves immersed in the timeless wisdom of the Scriptures. These sacred texts are not mere words on a page; they are living, breathing narratives that speak to the …
THOUGHTS FROM OUR SENIOR MINISTER We are about a quarter of the way through our year of gratitude. I pray you have not lost the enthusiasm for continuing to reflect upon your gratitude. I have heard that 3 months is a good mark for turning …
THOUGHTS FROM OUR SENIOR MINISTER Next week, the church universal will celebrate Holy Week. I am reminded of the profound significance these days hold within the Christian calendar. Holy Week invites us to journey alongside Jesus Christ a…
We are a little more than half way through our Lenten journey this year. I thought it would be a good time to evaluate our gratitude work. I hope you are each keeping up with some sort of gratitude practice as we seek to be “grateful to …
THOUGHTS FROM OUR SENIOR MINISTER We began the solemn and reflective season of Lent yesterday with our Ash Wednesday service in collaboration with Community Baptist Church. (If you were unable to attend the service, a recording can be found onlin…
THOUGHTS FROM OUR SENIOR MINISTER Our church is currently facing a number of transitions that I would like to highlight. We are still in the very early stages of our board and governance restructure. We have a number of staffing transitions w…
THOUGHTS FROM OUR SENIOR MINISTER We find ourselves moving through another Advent season—a time of anticipation and preparation. My heart is filled with both gratitude and excitement for this year’s Advent and Christmas sermon series.…
THOUGHTS FROM OUR SENIOR MINISTER We have fully entered the season of Thanksgiving, having already celebrated our annual Thanksgiving Dinner and anticipating the Ministerial Association’s Community Service this Sunday. I hope you each have …
As the autumn leaves begin to change colors and fall from the trees, we find ourselves entering the season of remembrance and reflection. Yesterday, the universal church officially celebrated All Saints’ Day. It is a time for us to pause and h…
THOUGHTS FROM OUR SENIOR MINISTER As we prepare for Fall Break next week, I find myself filled with the gratitude and blessings of Sabbath—a divine gift that offers us rest, renewal, and deeper connection with God. The scriptures are full o…
THOUGHTS FROM OUR SENIOR MINISTER Throughout church history there are any number of disciples who courageously shared the message of Christ throughout the world. There are probably a number of these disciples through the history of your o…
THOUGHTS FROM OUR SENIOR MINISTER Hadrian, my oldest, is turning 13 next week. Besides not feeling like I’m old enough to have a teenager, my wife and I…
THOUGHTS FROM OUR SENIOR MINISTER This week I am recuperating from my time at Kum-Ba-Ya Junior Camp. I spent the entirety of last week at Camp Kum-Ba-Ya with 35 3rd-5th graders (which is the maximum number of campers we could fit into the di…
THOUGHTS FROM OUR SENIOR MINISTER “What’s your favorite song? When did you first hear it?” I overheard these questions asked to someone in a group setting that I was in. I found myself wondering how I might answer such quest…
THOUGHTS FROM OUR SENIOR MINISTER A few weeks ago, I was having a conversation with Jason Beasley, the new CEO of Henderson County’s YMCA. We were discussing the changes that occur at the Y as we transition from Spring to Summer—especia…
THOUGHTS FROM OUR SENIOR MINISTER One of the things us ministers do in preparation for the work of ministry is spend a lot of time discerning and “figuring out” our call stories. You might think this should be relatively straight forwar…
The year I graduated high school someone had bought me a book titled “Christian Wisdom of the Jedi Masters.” It was a book by Dick Staub that used the imagery of the Star Wars universe to explore the spiritual quest of Christians searchi…
THOUGHTS FROM OUR SENIOR MINISTER For the past four years, shortly after Easter, I would take a week to meet up with the Bethany Fellowship group. I’ve mentioned my experience within Bethany before. The Bethany Fellowship is a group dedicated…
THOUGHTS FROM OUR SENIOR MINISTER As this edition of The Spirit goes out, the universal church will be celebrating Maundy Thursday—remembering the Last Supper and Jesus’ final moments with his disciples. For church leaders and volunteer…
THOUGHTS FROM OUR SENIOR MINISTER This past Monday Jada and I had our latest Monday Morning Preacher Livestream discussion. For those that might not be aware, we have turned our Monday Morning Preacher podcast into a livestream discussion covering …