60 Seconds of Hope with Horace McMillon

Send us Fan Mail Let Our Lives Be Our Offering (Advent 2024) “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me;in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.” - (From Hebrews 10:5-6 itself referencing Psalm 40:6-8) The Hebrew Scriptures suggest that God doesn’t desire our religious rituals and symbolism. God doesn’t desire our token sacrifices an...

Send us Fan Mail Deliverance through Belonging, Purpose, and Hope (Advent 2024) “Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.” - Psalm 80:7 I lived in Mississippi for 18 years. There’s nothing like a summer day there. When you step outside you step into a heat that completely embraces and envelops you. It’s a heat that permeates to the deepest recesses of your inner being...

Send us Fan Mail You Don’t Have to Pretend You’re Ok…(Advent 2024) “You have fed them with the bread of tears and given them tears to drink in full measure. You make us the scorn of our neighbors; our enemies laugh among themselves.” - Psalm 80:5-6 The scriptural tradition is hopeful, optimistic, and determined. It is also honest and raw.  When the writers feel abandoned and forsaken, they say so....

Send us Fan Mail Honesty, Gratitude and Trust Equals Peace (Advent 2024) “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” - Philippians 4:6 Paul had a lot to be anxious about. Even though he had some relative privilege as a Roman citizen, he knew everything could be taken away from him.  He was arrested, beat...

Send us Fan Mail 60 Seconds of Hope: What Now? (Advent 2024) “And the crowds asked him, "What, then, should we do?" In reply he said to them, "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise." Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, "Teacher, what should we do?" He said to them, "Collect no mor...

Send us Fan Mail Putting Away Our Sorrow (Advent 2024) “Take off the garment of your sorrow and affliction, O Jerusalem, and put on forever the beauty of the glory from God.”  - Baruch 5:1 Loss is a part of life. Because loss is a part of life, mourning and grief are a part of life as well. Not only are they part of life, for most of us mourning and grief are a necessary part of life.  Thomas Dors...

Send us Fan Mail It Won’t Be Easy, but Don’t Be Afraid (Advent 2024) “But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like washers' soap;” - Malachi 3:2 I don’t believe we are pawns on a divine chess board. I don’t believe that every thing that happens is in accordance with a master plan. However, I do believe that the pres...

Send us Fan Mail We will become our best selves. (Advent 2024) “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it…” - Philippians 1:6 Some of us are very hard on ourselves. We are discouraged because we keep falling into the same bad patterns and we keep making the same foolish mistakes.  We must never give up on ourselves. We must never give up on each...

Send us Fan Mail 60 Seconds of Hope: Dawn is Coming (Advent 2024) “Because of the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us,” - Luke 1:78 For any of us and all of us going through difficult times, Advent is a reminder that as the old gospel song says “Trouble don’t last always.” For any of us and all of us who are facing problems with no easy solutions, when we can see no w...

Send us Fan Mail “May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all…” - 1 Thessalonians 3:12  We have to learn to love and care for each other. We have to grow our capacity for empathy and understanding. for compassion, to nurture.  We have grow our willingness to do this and be this not only for our friends, and families and communities, we have to learn how to do this...

Send us Fan Mail 60 Seconds of Hope: Freeing Our Neighbors “Jesus said to them, "Unbind him and let him go." - from John 11:44 Our decisions determine our direction. The power of God gives us strength. The support of community makes us free.  Many of us live in hyper individualistic societies that focus on personal responsibility.  Many of us come from highly spiritualized faith traditio...

Send us Fan Mail 60 Seconds of Hope: Come Out Your Grave  “The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth and his face wrapped in a cloth.” - From John 11:44  Change is hard. Transformation is hard. Resurrection is hard. Redemption and restoration are hard. About the only thing that is harder remaining the same.  Even with the community moving the stone, even with Jesus showi...

Send us Fan Mail 60 Seconds of Hope: Delivered from Fear “I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.” - Psalm 34:4  If we are honest with ourselves, we all face fears. Life is perilous, and filled with uncertainty. Sometimes we lack clarity on choosing our best path. Once we choose, there’s no guarantee the outcomes will be what we desire.  Prayer, meditation, and de...

Send us Fan Mail We Have a Role to Play  “Jesus said, "Take away the stone." -John 11:39 The resurrection of Lazarus is my favorite miracle story in all of Scripture. It shows the role of God, the role of the individual, and the role of the community.  It was the power of God that raised Lazarus from the grave. It was Lazarus himself who responded to the call of Jesus to come forth from...

Send us Fan Mail The Second Coming Happens Every Day (Advent 30) “Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place.” - Luke 21:32 Many correctly associate this passage from the Gospel of Luke with the second coming of Christ. What we get wrong is that many of us are thinking of it as a one time future event that’s going to happen at the end of the world. Nearl...

Send us Fan Mail Better Days Are Coming: Job in the Face of Evil “The LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning…” Job 42:12 Job is a hard book. So many bad things happen to Job and his family senselessly, it’s very hard to read. I don’t believe I have ever written a reflection based on Job.  The book raises the question of theodicy. If God is good, why is there so much evil? Why...

Send us Fan Mail Humility Leads to Growth (Advent 29) “He leads the humble in what is right and teaches the humble his way. “ Psalm 25:9 Many of us professing Christian’s think of Jesus primarily or almost exclusively as the risen Christ, but we fail to take note of the process that led to his growth.  The Gospel of Luke explains “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man...

Send us Fan Mail Speak-up for Yourself  “Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" - Mark 10:48 Bartimaeus was calling out to Jesus for help. The text doesn’t give us much insight as to why there were so many people telling Bartimaeus to shut up.  Maybe they were trying to protect Jesus from being over extended. Maybe they...

Send us Fan Mail Live in Faith not Fear (Advent 28) “Now is disclosed… according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith…” -from Romans 16:26 Jesus fundamentally changed our understanding of humanity’s relationship with God.  We trust our footsteps to the pathways of righteousness not because we are afraid of being punished, or because we are looking for reward.  W...

Send us Fan Mail Some Doors Are Closed. Trust God to Open New Ones (Advent 27) "Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the LORD: Are you the one to build me a house to live in?” - 2 Samuel 7:5 David was a spectacular person who lived a spectacular life. He was shepherd, a musician, a poet, a warrior general , and a king. He had resolved that he was going to build a temple for God.  However,...

Send us Fan Mail If we want to help, we must first listen. “Then Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?"- Mark 10:51 It would have been easy to assume that Bartimaeus, the blind beggar that would not be silenced, wanted Jesus to restore his vision.  Rather than assume, Jesus honored his personhood and autonomy by respecting him enough not to assume. If could have been tha...

Send us Fan Mail Remember the Good and Hope for Tomorrow (Advent 26) “When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with shouts of joy; then it was said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them." The LORD has done great things for us, and we rejoiced. Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like...

Send us Fan Mail Advent Means Good News for the Poor (Advent 25) Hear the words of Mary: "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name; indeed, his mercy is for those who fear him...

Send us Fan Mail Do You Believe in Love? (Advent 24) “I declare that your steadfast love is established forever; your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.” - Psalm 89:2 How would our lives be different, if we truly believed that God’s love for us is steadfast? If we believed that God’s love for us is unwavering and loyal?  Would we live differently if we believed that there was no place we coul...

Send us Fan Mail Say Yes to Your Calling (Advent 23) “Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.”- Luke 1:38 I’m certain that there is someone listening to this right now, that has something you know that your supposed to do, something you need to do, something that you’ve been called to do- but you ju...