Tag Archives: Hope
Live As Those Prepared to Die
I was up at 5:00 a.m. this past Saturday to prepare for the day, including Abbie’s graduation, a softball tournament, and a soccer match. What really woke me up was a message from a congregant alerting me to the tragic … Continue reading
The First Sunrise Service
[Sermon from sunrise service at Avenue United Methodist Church on April 20, 2025] This morning, you intentionally decided to get up, get dressed, and come to church. We don’t usually hold 6:15 a.m. worship services. Why did you come this … Continue reading
Finding Hope In Struggles
“I will repay you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent against you.” Joel 2:25 “Even when I don’t see it, you’re working.Even when I don’t … Continue reading
ADVENT DEVOTIONAL (Day 2) | God Is There
“Where can I go from your Spirit?Where can I flee your presence?If I go up to the heavens, you are there;If I make my bed in the depths, you are there.”Psalm 139:7-8 Read | Psalm 139:7-12, Jonah 1-4 Can I … Continue reading
Hope Gives Us Purpose
[This sermon was given at Avenue United Methodist Church on December 20, 2020. You can listen to the sermon here and watch on our Youtube Channel.] In 2004, I led a mission trip to Paraguay, where we had the opportunity … Continue reading
COVID, Advent, and Hope
As I sit down to type out this post, the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are said to be made available in Delaware (where I live) and throughout The United States. Over the last nine months, the COVID-19 pandemic … Continue reading
Hope in the Darkness
When I was the youth pastor here at Avenue in the early 2000’s I had the privilege of leading a mission trip to Jellico, Tennessee for a week of home repair. We worked hard during the week and ended the … Continue reading
Hope Keeps Us Awake
[Sermon preached on November 29th, 2020 at Avenue United Methodist Church. First sermon in our series, “A Thrill of Hope.”] Our family stayed home on Thanksgiving and while we missed seeing our extended family, we had a lot fun together … Continue reading
Vintage Christmas: Lessons from a Cubs Fan
The Chicago Cubs last won the World Series in 1908 and did not win again until 2016- a period of 108 years. As a baseball fan there is the attitude of “wait until next year” with the hope that next … Continue reading
Awkward Family Christmas: Pt. 1
Yesterday, at Hope and Magnolia churches, we began a new series called “Awkward Family Christmas.” On the Sunday’s leading up to Christmas, we’ll be looking at some of the people in Jesus’ genealogy found in Matthew 1 and consider the … Continue reading
Exiled Community 