First Houston United Methodist Church

In today’s message, Lance talks about the woman who touched the hem of Jesus’ garment so that she could be healed. But even though her physical ailment was cured, Jesus knew that there was more that needed healing. The woman was suffering from a “poverty of being.” And that was something that needed more than a physical change in order to cure. Mark 5:25-34 fmhouston.com

This month’s series comes from a book called When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor… and Yourself. It’s a book about changing our whole mentality on missions, as we recognize the hurt we can do when we try to help in the wrong ways. We need to develop a new paradigm for missions - recognize that when we go into communities, we do not bring God with us. God is already...

Acts 17 is one of Lance’s favorite chapters in Acts, and that’s because there’s a lot going on beneath the text. Paul’s heart is grieved for the world around him. 

What is breaking your heart in the world around us? The world is open to the Word of God, but who is going to teach them the resurrection if not us? Acts 17:16-34 fmhouston.com

Lance dives into Acts 16, where Paul and Silas are punished for having the faith to save a girl tormented by demon, and find themselves flogged and sent to prison, not that they let it get them down. “Sometimes the only way through it is a hallelujah.” To praise even in the face of punishment and torment - that’s difficult to do. But their faith had an impact. Can ours have the same? Acts 16:16-40...

As we look at the story of a Gentile church in crisis in Acts, Lance talks about the way political differences have divided the church in the wake of Covid. Lance is reminded of a church he served at, and how one fateful decision sealed the direction of the church. The choices we make drive us towards or away from relationship with our neighbors. Living in community requires choice. What is going...

Lance talks about a time he ended up in Vegas and made a tentative attempt at gambling at a slot machine, which ended poorly. But prayer, he reminds us, is not gambling. You aren’t just putting coins in a slot machine and hoping something good comes out. And the story today, of Peter being rescued from prison in the Book of Acts, is a clear example of the power of prayer. Acts 12:1-24 fmhouston.co...

Lance takes a look at a church in Acts that where people were coming from everywhere and all walks of life - and asks what we can do to create the same movement. We are a missionary movement. There is still good to be done. Are you looking at the gifts that are all around us? There are so many people here we can lift up. God is weaving together a tapestry made out of all of us to make a beautiful...

In the book of Acts, Peter is given a vision from heaven of every type of food, letting the Jewish people that he has declared everything clean. But the picture is much bigger - Jesus was letting Peter know that everyone was invited, and everyone was invited just as they are. Jesus asks us to invite everyone into his church. Lance challenges us to extend that invitation with an open hand. Why do w...

When Paul first began preaching in the streets, it was clear immediately that something incredible was happening. People’s lives were being transformed. When the Holy Spirit is doing something, he calls for us to jump in and become a part of it. We can’t ask people to join something unless we’re already in it ourselves. Are we willing to go? Are we willing to go deeper? Are we willing to go all in...

Amanda tells the story of Saul being blinded, healed, and transformed to become Paul, a faithful disciple of Christ. She compares it to the Choose Your Own Adventure books she grew up with - except that in the Book of Acts, we learn that anything is possible. In the same way that God called Paul on the road to Damascus, He calls us to lift our eyes and see the world the way He sees it. Where is Go...

This week’s scripture, the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch, is one that Lance struggles with. But like the Ethiopian in the story, he doesn’t give up - he keeps wrestling with it. The Ethiopian eunuch in this week’s scripture was excluded from Jewish life, but Philip recognized that God had called him to witness to him, because God calls us to liminal spaces. Wouldn’t we all do well to go...

On Father’s Day, Brant reminds something his father once told him: “conflict exists everywhere - the choice we have is how we deal with it.” Today’s Scripture is about the early church’s decision to meet conflict head-on. To unwrap what’s happening in today’s Scripture, Brant explains the concept of “gongysmos” - which is a real Greek word and not just a growl, he insists. Acts 6:1-7 fmhouston.com

It’s Father’s Day, which gives Lance a chance to start off the sermon with a few dad jokes, to great appreciation from the congregation. Lance explores a conflict within the early church, and casts that same conflict forward to today’s church. We each have a calling from God, and it’s important for each of us to live that calling. That’s the only way the church will grow. Acts 6:1-7 fmhouston.com

Lance tells the story of the apostles being dragged before the Sanhedrin, and how they rejoiced to be suffering on behalf of the Lord. “Wherever the word of the Lord is, it brings freedom with it.” Acts 5:12-42 fmhouston.com

Lance launches into a new series, “World Upside Down,” exploring the events of the book of Acts. And we begin with an act of faith and boldness: the healing of the crippled man by the disciples. Acts is not really the acts of the apostles, it’s the acts of the Holy Spirit. The power to do miracles, the power to do ANYTHING doesn’t come from us - it comes from the Holy Spirit. Acts 3 & 4 fmhous...

On Pentecost Sunday, Lance reminds us that when the church began, Jesus told them to wait on the Spirit. He didn’t send it until the church was ready. Even as the world gets trapped more and more in their echo chambers, the Holy Spirit doesn’t work like that. What it brings always has an external impact. Acts 2 fmhouston.com

As we wrap up the series, Lance tells the story of Gideon, and how often live our lives afraid to trust in God’s promises. But if we remember all the God has done, we will know that the God Who Was… Is. God sees us according to our potential. He sees in us the image of God, not in our human frailties. Judges 6 fmhouston.com

Joshua 24 fmhouston.com

When the Israelites entered the Promised Land, Joshua asked them if they were really going to be devoted to God - and he wanted a real answer. You might have seen today's Scripture on a plaque at Hobby Lobby. But you might not understand what it was Joshua was really asking. Joshua 24 fmhouston.com

Lance tells the story of the Battle of Jericho - and shows us not just what the story is, but what the story is not. God doesn’t need to work through human means, God will work how God wants to work. Geat ready. Because the walls are about to start tumbling down. Joshua 5 & 6 fmhouston.com

Today’s message is about remembering the promises of God, and so Lance looks back to his own history to recall the way his grandmother first taught him to be faithful. Why did God repeat miracles? Because he wanted His people to remember. When you’re struggling - look back. Remember all the ways God has been with us in our past and be certain that he is with us going forward. Joshua 3 & 4 fmho...

Living a life that’s dedicated to God’s path requires is to create a rhythm of giving our whole self. Description: On Senior Sunday, Amanda tells the story of the Israelites stepping forward into the Promised Land through Dr. Seuss’ “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” As we travel on God’s path, we can count on being pulled up from our slumps - because God goes with us. Deuteronomy 31:1-3a, 6-8 fmhouston....

Amanda takes us to where the Israelites stand, just short of the Promised Land, after a long period of wandering in the desert. It’s a lesson in how God pulls us back to him, back into relationship. He shows up in our lives, and in our church. Like the Israelites, sometimes we find yourself out of sync with God. Those moments are opportunities. Deuteronomy 6:1-12, 20-25, 7:6 fmhouston.com

On Easter Sunday, Lance reminds us that we get a chance to tell the world the good news. “God is up to something. Do you feel it?” Revival is happening. Let us be a part of what God is up to. John 20:1-18 fmhouston.com

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, didn’t ride in on a war horse - in fact, this was a caricature of the way Roman emperors would ride in on a white horse when they arrived. His entrance showed that God’s power is not coming in judgment; but it is coming in humility to those who will receive it. Exodus 33:7-23, 34:1-10, 27-32 fmhouston.com