Month: April 2017
-
We Love First – Part 1 of a 5-week Sermon Series called “We Love First” – preached at First Church Coral Springs on April 30, 2017.
What’s the Vision? Almost as soon as I arrived last summer, as your new pastor, some of you were asking, “What’s your vision for First Church?” What’s my vision? Are you kidding? At that point I was still trying to find the grocery store, the movie theater, a new dentist! …
-
Cogs, Machines, People and Pastors
I’m a United Methodist Pastor. At ordination, I submitted to the authority of a bishop, to go where I am sent to serve. In some denominations, pastors decide for themselves whether or not to accept a “call” to serve a particular church or to live in a particular locale. Not so…
-
Reflections on Forty Days of Blogging
For Lent, I committed to write a blog, everyday, for forty days, plus Sundays. I did it! But, now Lent is over… What now? I don’t plan to continue blogging daily – I think we would all get a little sick of that. Instead, I’m thinking that I will continue…
-
Restored – A message preached on Easter Sunday, 2017, at First Church of Coral Springs, to conclude a Lent series called “Restoration.”
During the season of Lent, our theme has been “Restoration,” as in when someone takes something that is old and broken-down – an old house, an old car, an old piece of furniture – and takes the time to restore it into something new. Similarly, we have said that is…
-
A Strange Saturday…
I woke up this morning, feeling relieved. It has been a busy, hectic Holy Week. My church had three different services – one on Maundy Thursday, and two on Good Friday – each requiring a different sermon. Beyond the sermons, there were also numerous other details of the worship services…
-
“Mountains of Books” – a Second Good Friday Sermon, Preached on April 14th, 2017, in the Evening at First Church of Coral Springs
Revelation 20 says that there are books in heaven that contain the records of everything that every human has ever said or done. Imagine that. A book that contains every sin you have ever committed. Every evil thought. Every unkind word. Every selfishness. Every disobedience. Every unfaithfulness. Every missed opportunity…
-
“Into your hands I commit my spirit” – A Good Friday Sermon Preached on April 14, 2017 at First Church of Coral Springs
Undeniably, the ordeal Jesus endured was horrific. Starting with an arrest; then a long night without sleep – full of hate, ugliness, condemnation and abuse; dragged from the Temple to Pilate, to Herod, and then back to Pilate; abuse and mockery at the hands of cruel Roman soldiers; rejection from…
-
Do this…
Today is Maundy Thursday – the day we annually remember Jesus’ last meal with his disciples. The word “maundy” simply means command. We “do this in remembrance” of Jesus – sharing bread and juice/wine with each other, representing his body and blood – because he commanded us to. Today is…
-
I am Judas
I have to confess, I’ve always felt sorry for Judas. Early in my relationship with Jesus, I recall watching a movie depicting monologues of each of Jesus’ disciples, of what they were thinking and feeling the night of his arrest. The monologues were fictional, of course, based on what the Disciples…
-
Pre-Easter Pondering
I know it’s not Easter yet. Easter is still a few days away. Before Easter, we still have Maundy Thursday and Good Friday and Holy Saturday. We can’t just skip to Easter, bypassing all that led to Easter. But, Easter is on my mind – probably because it’s the biggest…
vancerains.com 