First Houston United Methodist Church

One of Lance’s favorite Christmas movies is the Muppet Christmas Carol - and while it’s not an ideal time on the calendar to talk about Christmas movies, it’s an ideal text to illustrate today’s lesson. Look at the effects Jesus had on people like Matthew, or Zaccheus. His love and generosity led to an overflowing generosity from the people whose lives he changed. The goal and the vision is that w...

Lance wants this place to be the kind of church that hears the message that Jesus spoke and lives that message out. A church known for mercy, for grace, for compassion. Jesus is still resurrecting the dead, bringing life to those walking around who need to hear the message of grace and forgiveness. Let’s be the church that brings resurrection to the dead. Luke 7:18-23 fmhouston.com

Jesus told us to love all - and it’s important that, like Jesus, we don’t try to draw demarcations around what “all” means. This is the hallmark and cornerstone of Jesus’ whole ministry. Luke 6:27-38 fmhouston.com

Lance introduces the church to our new core values, and what they’ll mean to our church as we try to put our mission statement into action. Luke 11:33-42; 12:1-3 fmhouston.com

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent, and as we ask "what should we give up for Lent this year," Lance asks a bigger question: "what do we need to bury for our lives to produce fruit?" Ash Wednesday is a time of penitence and repentance - from dust we came, and to dust we will return. But we need to also remember that God brings beautiful things out of the dust. John 12:23-26 fmhouston.com

Lance comes to the end of his series on our new mission statement: “transforming lives and communities by putting God’s love into action.” He notes that this church has always been dedicated to making disciples. And how do we do this? By putting God’s love into action. 1 John 3:11, 16-24 fmhouston.com

As we continue to break down our new mission statement, Lance turns to 1 John to look at God’s love, and the way God calls us to give our lives to one another. The fruit reveals the plant. When we remain in the vine, the fruit of the spirit grows out of u 1 John 4:7-21 fmhouston.com

In high school, Amanda went on her first Emmaus experience, and something stuck with her. “Do not anticipate, just participate,” they told her. The phrase has stuck with her. We have a mission statement. It’s time to take action. The biggest threat to our city not changing is us believing our city can’t change. Matthew 25:31-40 fmhouston.com

What do we need to do to follow God? There are tough questions, and we discover the answers through community. We need community to grow, in order to leave worldly things behind. Colossians 1:3-14 fmhouston.com

Lance introduces the new mission statement for the church, and tells the story of how it was we got here. Transformation in Christ is a lifelong process. We are more like a butterfly than we realize - the change happens to us. It is not something we create ourselves. Romans 12:1-2 fmhouston.com

Lance brought his family out to Brazos Bend State Park to look at the stars. But when he tried again at home, he discovered how difficult it can be to see the light. Maybe, just maybe, it’s our job to shine light into the darkness. So God can be made known to those who are seeking after him. Matthew 2:1-12 fmhouston.com

“There is no better news than a birth announcement.” Lance remembers the joy that surrounded the announcement of his own child, and points out what was so different about the one on this first Christmas: this news wasn’t proclaimed to those in power, it was given to those with the least power. God chose this family to bless the entire world. fmhouston.com

Lance traveled to serve in Louisiana after Katrina with a group of youth. He’ll never forget the devastation, and how wherever they looked, there was no rebuilding taking place, just more tearing down. But God was there, even in the midst of destruction. The only way to rebuild is to rebuild the spirit, first and foremost. This is the mission of the church - rebuilding the spirit, bringing good ne...

Lance’s family has been working on puzzles this Advent, spreading the work out over the whole season to watch the picture come together slowly over Advent - so they can learn how to look for joy. That’s what Advent is. We’ve been given a glimpse of the beauty wants to do in the world by the gift of the Savior. Isaiah 35:1-10 fmhouston.com

Instead of rushing to the nativity this year, we are spending a time with the prophets. Which isn’t exactly everyone’s favorite! They can be a downer. But the joy the prophets speak about is a hope that we can cling to in the darkness, in good times and in bad. A joy that is unshakable. Zephaniah 3:14-20 fmhouston.com

Lance finishes our series on The Goodness Of God - just in time for Thanksgiving - and explains what it means to praise the Lord “from prayer to prayer.” He wants us to ask ourselves, “how are you blessing the name of the Lord?” Praise is the work of God’s people. Psalm 145 fmhouston.com

Sometimes we wonder when we pray - does God hear us, does God see us? What does it mean to “taste and see that the Lord is good?” There’s a quote Lance has been considering: “In prayer we act like people, in praise we act like angels.” As he continues his series on the goodness of God, he dives deeper into the need to praise God’s name. Psalm 34 fmhouston.com

The word “goodness” has been running through Lance’s mind this season, as the news turns grim. As we begin a new series, he walks through Psalm 23 and reminds us of the faithful promises of God. As we walk through the difficulties of daily life, Lance urges us to look closely at the paths we are led down. Where are you going? Who is shepherding you? Psalm 23 fmhouston.com

Giving generously can cause anxiety - after all, we think, if we give away too freely, what if we don’t have enough? But in Corinthians, Paul is trying to tell us that the grace of God is more precious than any possession we can have. And when we give generously, we reflect the very nature of God. God doesn’t sow sparingly, he sows bountifully. That’s the very nature of God, to give abundantly. 2...

Lance looks into the Parable of the Talents, and asks the question - what was it that the third servant actually did wrong? When it comes to the Parable of the Talents, burying your talent isn’t just a failure to invest. It’s hiding your light under a bushel. Matthew 25:14-30 fmhouston.com

In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, the church Lance was serving in decided to open its doors to people needing shelter, despite not being in any way set up to take in people - because they felt that this was what God was leading them towards. In today’s Scripture, the story of the feeding of the five thousand, we find a similar expression of faith. “It is tempting to look at what we have as individu...

At the Wedding in Cana, Lance shows how Mary asked Jesus for help, and that the ask mattered. Throughout the gospels, ordinary gifts were brought to Jesus by ordinary people, and something miraculous happened as a result. John 2:1-11 fmhouston.com

Kathrin Meier joins Lance on NIA Sunday to talk about the ministry Neighbors In Action is doing in Port Houston, the way that the people of Port Houston have made that ministry their own, and how we tend to dehumanize people on the other side of the tracks - in both directions. “We cannot have a relationship with Christ, the head of the body, if we do not have a relationship with the body himself....

Amanda looks at a passage from Romans to consider how we are perhaps not yet living in the fullness of Christ. She remembers a girl hassling her young daughter that made her go into Mama Bear mode - but the story ended up being something other than what she expected. How do we live with hope among all the groaning? It’s not just us. It is all of creation groaning under the weight of this brokennes...