Author Archives: Steve LaMotte

About Steve LaMotte

Husband of Andrea and father of four amazing children. Pastor at Avenue United Methodist Church in Milford, Delaware.

Does God Answer Prayer?

Our family went to Hershey Park for a weekend getaway a few years ago. If you’ve gone before, you know that they have Hershey characters that also act as tools to determine a child’s height so they know what kind … Continue reading

Posted in Lent | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Keeping Christ in Christmas? Start Here.

Do you remember “The War on Christmas?” I think that author and radio personality Bill O’Reilly was one of the first to discuss this. He (and plenty of others) would cite the use of “Happy Holidays” and Starbucks red coffee … Continue reading

Posted in Christmas | Tagged | Leave a comment

Thinking to be Alive

Chloe and I spend a lot of time in the car going to and from practice and tournaments. She uses the time to commandeer my Spotify account and play DJ while we drive. At this point in 2022, I know … Continue reading

Posted in Faith, Music, Spiritual Formation, technology, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

He Is Our Hope

This is the sermon I preached on 10/2/22 as part of our series, The Deeply Formed Life. I’m grateful for Rich Villodas’ book of the same name (of the series). You can listen to the sermon here. On November 9, … Continue reading

Posted in Sermons | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Moving From Contempt to Peace

Famed psychologist John Gottman has been writing and teaching about marriage and relationships for years. His research over four decades has led him to predict whether a couple will get divorced with a high degree of accuracy. Gottman has written … Continue reading

Posted in Bible | Tagged , | Leave a comment

What Roe v. Wade and Jonah Teach Us About Loving Others

The divide in our nation was highlighted this past month as the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. For some, this decision has brought celebration in the protection of an unborn baby. For others, it is cause for lament at … Continue reading

Posted in In The News | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

What Pain Teaches Us

I was listening to The Holy Post Podcast last week when one of the hosts, Skye Jethani, told of a book, The Gift of Pain, written by Phillip Yancy and Paul Brand. Dr. Brand is a world-renowned surgeon who grew … Continue reading

Posted in Bible, In The News | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Power Source

There are two types of people in the world when your gas gauge is just above “E.” The first is the person who will immediately go to the nearest gas station to fill up. The other is the person who … Continue reading

Posted in Bible | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Seek Jesus, Not Experiences

There is a scene in the Gospel of John that has me reeling this week. In John 11, Jesus raises his friend Lazarus from the dead. John tells us that many people put their faith in Jesus because of this … Continue reading

Posted in Discipleship | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Stop Being a Friendly Church*

I hear stories pretty frequently about people who try to go to a church for the first time. It can be an intimidating experience to walk into a space where you do not know the people, the culture of the … Continue reading

Posted in Church | Tagged , , | 1 Comment