Category: Sermon
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“Release” – the 5th Sermon in a Series Called, “The 40-Day Summer Stretch,” Preached at First Church Coral Springs, on Sunday, July 23, 2017
Stupid Monkeys… One technique for catching monkeys is to drill a hole in a coconut, just large enough for the monkey to slip his hand through, and fill it with rice. When the monkey reaches in, to grab a fist-full of rice, he’s trapped, because his full-fist is too big…
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“Look!” The Fourth Sermon in a Series Called “The 2017 Summer Stretch,” Preached at First Church Coral Springs on July 16, 2017
Last Sunday, we watched a video, in which the Kid President advised us, “Before you say something about the BBQ sauce on someone’s else’s shirt, take a look at the BBQ sauce on your own shirt.” I don’t know about you, but that sounded very familiar to me. Like when…
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Bless – The Third Sermon in a Series Called “The 2017 Summer Stretch,” Preached at First Church Coral Springs on July 9, 2017
I’m friends with a Nazarene pastor named Jay. We worked on our doctoral degrees together. On the whole, Nazarenes tend to be pretty conservative about lots of things – especially their behavior. Historically, they don’t go to movies, don’t drink, don’t dance, don’t wear jewelry, don’t gamble, etc., etc. …
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Why Superheroes Wear Masks…
When I was a kid, I loved to watch Florida Federation Wrestling. I know it was fake. I knew, then, it was fake. But, I loved the action. I loved the moves. Mostly, I loved the characters. In particular, I remember the “bad guy” wrestlers, wearing masks. There was…
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Leap: The Second Sermon is a Series Called “The 40-Day Summer Stretch,” Preached at First Church Coral Springs on Sunday, June 25, 2017
Aquaphobia Many of us have one phobia or another. A phobia is an irrational fear, a kind of anxiety disorder in which the individual has a relentless dread of a situation, living creature, place, or thing. According to Phobialist.com, there are at least 350 known, documented, verifiable phobias. According to Medicalnewstoday.com, the 5 most common…
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Stretched! The First Sermon in a Series Called “The 2017 Summer Stretch,” Preached at First Church Coral Springs on Sunday, June 18, 2017
In Michelangelo’s famous painting of God reaching out to Adam, painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, God’s arm is fully extended. Adam, however, is slouched back, barely exerting the effort to lift his arm, only almost reaching out to God. Adam represents us. While God always reaches out…
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Children’s Ministry Sermon – preached at First Church Coral Springs on Sunday, June 12, 2017
I suspect we would all agree that children need Jesus. Adults need Jesus. Everyone needs Jesus. But, the earlier we can introduce a child to Jesus, the earlier we can begin to develop solid spiritual foundations for the opportunities, challenges and responsibilities they will face as adults. There is an…
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“Love Transforms” – the 5th and last sermon of a series called, “We Love First,” preached on May 28th, 2017 at First Church Coral Springs
Do we Really Believe This Stuff? During Lent our theme was “Restoration.” We talked each week about how God can restore what is broken. Throughout Lent, as I prepared for each sermon, I found myself asking, week-by-week, “Do I really believe this stuff?” Do I really believe God can fix…
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“Love Shares” – the 4th message in a 5-week sermon series called, “We Love First,” preached on May 21, 2017, at First Church Coral Springs
In 1999, my family was sent to Port St. Lucie, Florida to start a new United Methodist Church. I had dreamed of starting a new church, and had spent the previous year planning. Though I didn’t know a single person in Port St. Lucie,…
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Love Serves – Part III of a 5-week sermon series called, “We Love First,” preached on May 14, 2017, at First Church Coral Springs
Today, I’m talking about the intersection of love and service. Though this is not, technically, a Mother’s Day message, I can’t think of any better examples of love-motivated service than mothers. No offense intended toward the Dads! But, let’s be honest – Moms, for the most part, put…
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