sermons – Eastman First United Methodist Church

Rooted | Sermon from September 23, 2018

Dana says I have a party trick. If we’re ever at a party and she needs an icebreaker or just for fun, she tells people “name any year in American…

More than mere words: The Power of Speech | September 16, 2018

16 Sep 201816 Sep 2018

In the midst of the regular news cycle this past week, we had cause to remember September 11. The fact that it fell on a Tuesday this year made it…

How to Lose an Argument | Sermon from 9/9/18

A family was eating dinner together, just the three of them. For once, even with a four year old, it didn’t involve trying to corral the child into staying at…

Seeing Jesus as Healer | Sermon from Healing Service August 26, 2018

Scripture: Mark 10:46-52 Between Avenue A and B, alongside East seventh and tenth streets, lies a beautiful little park. The park has a dog run and grass for spending time…

I wish you were the one that got away | Sermon from August 19, 2018

Scripture: Jeremiah 31:31-34 The one that got away. It’s a phrase uttered wistfully, wishing for something that didn’t end up being. She’s the one who got away. Or that’s the…

Solomon the fool | Sermon from August 5, 2018

Things didn’t end right. 1 Kings reports that God was angry. Very, very, angry. So much so that God says, “Since this has been your mind and you have not…

Generosity of Spirit | Sermon from 7/29/18

A couple had a dream: found their own restaurant. After laboring for quite a while, they found themselves ready. In their North Carolina town, they had a chance to live…

LGBT Inclusion and Other Divisive Topics | Sermon from July 22, 2018

All you need is love. Love covers over a multitude of sins. Love never fails. Let us love as God loves, for God loved us first. Love will win the…

Within our darkest night | Sermon from July 15, 2018

Stop Talking! Dana and I were having a pleasant conversation over coffee. Into the room ran Carter who, for some reason, had found our conversation offensive while playing with cars…

Be weird | Sermon from 7/8/18

8 Jul 20188 Jul 2018

Rejected. I had dreams of attending the University of Georgia for graduate school. There, I wanted to study higher education leadership. It was my first choice, with James Madison University…

Jesus asleep in the storm | Sermon from July 1, 2018

A storm was brewing, just off the coast. The British were coming; everyone knew that. The question was not one of if but one of when: when would they arrive,…

Appearances matter |Sermon from 6/17/18

Appearances matter. We celebrate the good-looking. Hollywood reinforces that. Personally, we spend time primping and making sure we look our best in public. On local to national stages, we elect…

No Applebees in Eastman and other complaints | Sermon from June 10, 2018

Based on Lamentations as a whole, but specifically 3:37-41 The past few years, I’ve been on and off facebook. I still have a profile. I keep it around so I…

Raise your Ebenezer | Sermon from May 27, 2018

Based on 1 Samuel 7:7-12 What did you want to be when you were a kid? Imagine that with me. What did you want to be more than anything else?…

Don’t put a glass over the flame | Sermon from Senior Sunday, 5/20/18

20 May 201820 May 2018

Based on Jeremiah 1:4-8 Don't put a glass over the flame. I get enthusiastic about an idea, an enthusiasm that sometimes gets me carried away. When I was in my…

The witness of mothers | Sermon from May 13, 2018

Based on Acts 1:1-11 | Ascension Sunday scripture And old monk once told this story about life in the desert with just a few fellow monks. For any of us…

Head and Solimões: The Life of Faith | Sermon from 5/6/18

6 May 20186 May 2018

John 4:7-11 Back one August, I entered chapel services at Emory University for opening convocation: the official beginning of the semester for the Candler School of Theology, where I went…

Neighborhood Eunuchs | Sermon on belonging from April 29, 2018

29 Apr 201829 Apr 2018

Religion makes meaning out of life. We all derive meaning, in part or in whole, from our relationship with God. Our faith offers answers to the big questions of life.…