Andy Talks

Today, we look at what Paul tells us about the role of deacons.  We take a few minutes to talk about who deacons were, Biblically, and who deacons are today.  We walk through what deacons do in some of our different traditions, and while it may look different in each one, there is one thing that is common across all. Deacons call us as Christians, over and over again, to serve. That’s our job as C...

Paul today lays out for us the qualification for “bishops.”  We talk today about how that word is translated and how that word is where we get a lot of the concepts we use for church leaders, preachers, bishops, and other forms.   What do these words mean for us as we look for spiritual leadership? And for those of us who are preachers, what words can we take from them? We should have high spiritu...

Today, in 1 Timothy 2: 8-15, we see some of Paul’s words that may be the hardest to understand and make sense of, and that’s saying something talking about Paul. Even Peter agrees that Paul can be hard to understand at times ( 2 Peter 3: 15-16 ).  Paul talks to women about the importance of modesty and then goes into concepts of submission and learning. What could he mean by this? And what does th...

Today’s passage gives us some great instruction on prayer.  Pray for all our leaders.  Paul tells us to pray, and to seek to be good citizens. These aren’t just idle words; Paul will soon be put to death by these very leaders. But Paul believes that Jesus died for all the world and that God wants all to be saved. So, Paul tells Timothy and us that we should be praying for all. Those we love and th...

In our Traditional sermon from February 3, we look at John 4: 39-42.  As we continue looking at our theology method as United Methodists, we look today at the role that Experience places, both in our understanding of Scripture and how we understand God.

Paul calls himself the chief of all sinners. Why? Why does he say that?  For Paul , that has a very specific meaning.  Paul had great knowledge of the Law, of the teachings and traditions of his people. There was much that Paul knew. But he tells us that he did not have belief.  He acted out of unbelief.  He blasphemed and was violent. Yet God showed him, the chief of all sinners, mercy. Because h...

We begin 1 Timothy today, looking at 1:1-11. Paul warns against false teaching today, those who are using the Law wrong, not even aware of what the law is or what its purpose is. The Law was given in many ways to show us that we cannot keep it but that we need a savior. The Law shows us our inadequacies. Paul tells us today the purpose of divine instruction - love, coming from a pure heart, a clea...

We end Proverbs with where we started it. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom.  Proverbs 31 is the famous passage of a wise and Godly woman.  What do we see as the foundation of her wisdom?  Why is she to be praised?  Verse 30 says that charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.  Proverbs ends where it begins. The fear of the Lord is the...

Today, as read from Proverbs 30, we see the sayings of Agur. These are interesting and follow some interesting patterns. One of the things we see frequently in this passage is Agur looking to the created order and seeing wisdom there. He sees so much that he learns about God just by looking all around him. This is a good word for us today. There is so much wisdom, so much goodness, so much of God’...

Even though I was out on Sunday, we discussed Tradition in our series about theological reflection called "Balance," I wanted to share this message with you. I look at 2 Thessalonians 2: 13-15, where Paul speaks to us about the Tradition handed down. What does it mean to say to us as United Methodists that we use Tradition to better understand Scripture? If you'd like to see my note...

Today’s Rooted was for me. I needed to hear these words - the fear of others lays a snare. How often have we known what God was calling us to do but were afraid of what others would think?  Today, we are told to be careful of that trap. Don’t worry about them; trust in the Lord. We will be secure.  Courage is being afraid and still doing the right thing.  Today, do not be afraid of anything or any...

Today, we discuss gossip, humor, and jealousy. These things that lurk in the shadows can be destructive. Where do we find humor? We live in a cruel age, and where we find humor says a lot about our character. What about jealousy? It may not look as explosive, but it can rot our souls. We are daily presented with opportunities to engage in arguments, fights, and conflicts. But what does it gain us...

Today, we see practical wisdom for hospitality and for dealing with our enemies. First, in Chapter 25, we learn a little bit about how Proverbs, as well as other parts of the Old Testament, were compiled and given to us. What a gift we receive through Holy Scripture! Second, we see some words on how not only to give hospitality but also to receive it. These are words that many of our southern mama...

We are told today, "Do not envy the wicked." But we have to ask ourselves the question, why would we do that in the first place? Why would we be tempted by that? Well, we look at the world today, and it can seem like the wicked prosper, like they are the ones who get ahead. But we know when we consider the work of God that, in the end, that will not be the case; God sees and God judges....

We see three things that mingle together in our reading of Proverbs 23. First, we hear, do not chase wealth. Yes, work hard and be faithful. But do not just your chief resource, your time, your energy on that which doesn’t last. Second, respect the wisdom of your elders. There is much that they can teach us. Primary among that is this: there is always a future. There is always hope. Today is not t...

Today as we read Proverbs 22, it made me think about one of John Wesley’s sermons, “On the Use of Money.”  If you’d like to, you can read this sermon here - https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/wesleys-sermon-use-of-money .  Wesley has much to say that is based on the teachings of Proverbs.  Money can be used for great good, but we must be careful with it, or else it may grab hol...

In our Traditional message from January 21, 2024, Andy preaches from 2 Timothy 3: 16-17.  This is part of our series "Balance" on how we United Methodists do theological reflection; we talk about our primary means of knowledge and truth - Scripture. Scripture is the foundation of everything we do, know, and believe.  It is our source of all truth.  In this message, we talk about the esse...

Today, we look at chapters 19-21. These chapters are full of so much good wisdom for the living of our lives. We see the importance of helping the poor in a foreshadowing of Matthew 25. We are told to deal fairly with each other. Tell the truth. Don’t gossip. And understand that we must do our part and be faithful; it is God who wins the battle, it is God who is the one who brings victory. Let’s d...

Two verses today work well to teach us a lot. First, we are told that a fool loves their own opinion but doesn’t care for wisdom. Then we are told that in life, there are those we thought were friends, but they were just playing a friend. It’s easy for us to hear the later verse and feel vindicated at the folks we thought were friends but were just playing a friend. The greater part of wisdom is n...

Forgiveness may be one of the hardest things for any of us to do. But it is also one of the most essential. Without it, relationships cannot endure. The folks we love the most, we’ve probably had to forgive the most.  Forgive if we can. If we can’t, work on it. And if we can’t work on it. Stay silent. If we can preserve peace, we can preserve relationships.  Join us for our daily reflections with...

Today, in chapter 16, we see these wise words: pride goes before destruction.  One of the greatest tools the devil has to attack us is pride. If we begin to think too much of ourselves, we begin to believe that we can’t fall or fail; it is then that the devil will have us, and it is then that we will get ourselves in real trouble. Stay humble. Understand who we are and whose we are. Stay rooted in...

A story is told about an old boy who tried to have all his gold put in his coffin when he died.  But here’s the thing: the gold we value so much here on earth is simply what they used to fill the potholes in heaven.  Proverbs 15 tells us that a dinner of vegetables with love is better than the house with the fatted ox with hatred. Today, what are spending our time, our energy, and our lives on? Th...

In our Traditional sermon from January 14, 2024, Andy shares with us from Matthew 22: 34-40.  We begin talking about the beauty that is the way we do theological reflection in the United Methodist Church.  Join us over the next few weeks as we talk about Scripture, Tradition, Experience, and Reason.   Today, we talk about our method of reflection and how it helps to create balance in our lives and...

In our Friday and weekend readings, we see Solomon warn us about the dangers of reacting.  We so often, out of anger, out of hurt, out of a million different things, want to act and react out of what we are feeling. Today, we are told of the importance of a peaceful mind. Reacting out of anger never helps anything. When we stay rooted in Christ, we can feel even our anger. But we can act of our pe...

Today, in chapter 11, we see several verses that point to the importance of being generous.  When we give, when we are generous, we find ourselves blessed. It isn’t because it comes back to us, but when we give our wealth, our possessions, they lose their hold on us.  They begin to lose their power over us. We also understand that in our giving, our will and character are bent closer to God’s will...