sermons – Eastman First United Methodist Church

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.…

Eat, Drink, and Be Merry | Sermon from April 22, 2018

On a beautiful, sunny, afternoon on a beach vacation a few years ago, I noticed some kids, about twelve, skim boarding. That’s where you throw a small surf board looking…

Who are you? | Sermon from 4/15/18

Who are you? Seems like a simple enough question. Until you get asked it. Consider the last time you interviewed. Almost certainly, the opening question was, “tell us a little…

Mary and the quiet Sunday morning | Easter sermon | 4/1/18

Scripture: John 20:1-18 Mary Magdalene was something of a celebrity among Christians in the first years after the resurrection. As the first person to have encountered the risen Christ, everyone…

Beginning Holy Week | Reflection from the Cross

As we begin Holy Week, I offer this reflection, based on John 19:25-27. May we all be "dear women" to Christ. Dear woman, I have chosen the weak to shame…

Join the Revolution | Sermon from 3/25/17

25 Mar 20183 Apr 2018

Based on Mark 11:1-11 Quite often, I can tell what time it is by visiting Wal-Mart. Currently, the time is Easter. You can tell by all the bunnies and eggs…

Come Home | Sermon from March 18, 2018

Have you ever had the experience that you think the preacher, somehow, wrote his or her sermon that week just for you? That the preacher, somehow, is preaching to you…

Dealing with our complaints

Based on Numbers 21:4-9 On twitter not too long ago, a customer wrote to Dominos complaining. His complaint: “Yoooo I ordered a pizza and came with no toppings on it…

The rainbow, Noah, and relationships

18 Feb 201818 Feb 2018

My old neighborhood in Cartersville was one of those covenant neighborhoods. We owed $400 per year to the neighborhood association. For those dues, we received access to three pools, a…