The Source Houston

This Sunday, we landed on one of Amanda’s favorite preschool stories to teach: the Battle of Jericho. And she wants us to know: there’s a lesson on both sides of these walls. Joshua 5 & 6 fmhouston.com

Ken grew up in a "meat and potatoes" family, and he loves exploring new food cultures, and introducing others to new things. But the experience is not for everyone. "There is something about newness that challenges us.” A lot of the Israelites didn’t trust the newness of the Promised Land when they arrived. And that lack of trust ended up having tremendous consequences. Joshua 3 & 4 fmhouston....

We join the Israelites at the end of the wilderness, ready to step across into the Promised Land. As they stand there, God asks them to be faithful. So we need to ask ourselves today: what does it mean to be faithful? Deuteronomy 31:1-3a, 6-8 fmhouston.com

Before that first Easter, there was an infinite gap between us and God. But through his Son Jesus, God bridged that gap to reach us. But even in conquering death, Jesus came not as a conquerer, but as a comic, poking fun at the ideas we have of what power looks like. Instead, Jesus spoke a word of forgiveness and love. fmhouston.com

The Israelites make a golden idol, and Moses responds on behalf of God - but he’s clearly acting on his own. Ken talks about the difficulty with history and finding the work of God within the story. Plus, an apology. Exodus 32:1-35; 33:1-6 fmhouston.com

As the Israelites wait at the foot of the mountain to hear from God, Ken sees The Source in the same place - in the wilderness, but waiting in a place of purpose, listening for a calling. fmhouston.com

Ken has learned that he is, medically speaking, hypervigilant. And now he is wrestling with a reality: vigilance is good, but it can get in the way of being present and trusting God. The world calls us to hypervigilance, but God calls us to rest. It’s funny that rest is the hardest thing we have to do, yet rest was was instilled in us from the very beginning. Exodus 17:1-7 fmhouston.com

As a result of a complete breakdown of technology, today’s sermon comes to you from the chapel and not from the worship center, and likewise today’s podcast was recorded on a phone propped up on some hymnals near one of the speakers. We hope you will forgive the quality. In this message, Ken throws away his notes and starts from the beginning when it comes to taking on what God says about provisio...

Today’s message started with a baptism. Ken would rather just have that be church, but they’re making him preach anyway.
 This is a season of transition, and so we must go to the wilderness. It is the message of Jesus. He not only delivered us… he showed us the way. Exodus 13 & 14 (Selected Verses) fmhouston.com

Amanda asks us to wonder who God is calling us to be in relationship with today. Finding God in other people can be difficult, but when you get to know their story, it’s easier to find God in them. Matthew 25:31-40 fmhouston.com

We don’t believe in a Utopian society. Because we don’t see a perfect world. On MLK Sunday, Ken reminds us that Dr. King broke away from a society that would not treat everyone with dignity. In the book of Acts, we are called to do the same in our own eyes. Acts 2:41-47 fmhouston.com

Of all the details in Joseph’s story, remember this: Joseph had the compassion necessary to do the hard things. The king we were given was more than was promised to us, because he was more than a king - he was God with us. Description: Ken dives into the book of Matthew, which starts with what Ken describes as a “bad genealogy.” But it’s there for a very specific purpose. The genealogy takes us to...

This week, Ken dives into "A Christmas Carol" Luke 1: 39-56 First Methodist Houston is the oldest Methodist church in Houston, Texas. We continue to evolve through the years and have been serving the communities of Downtown Houston, Texas and Westchase District. Please join us any Sunday for our worship services at one of our campuses. To learn more about our worship services, please visit our web...

Luke 1: 26-38 The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[a] the Son of God. First Methodist Houston is the oldest Methodist church in Houston, Texas. We continue to evolve through the years and have been serving the communities of Downtown Houston, Texas and Westchase District. Please join us any Sunday for our wo...

Zechariah was a man who was well-acquainted with waiting. Maybe the experience of waiting is something that God wants for us. Luke 1:67-80 fmhouston.com

It’s almost Advent - a great time to pick up a new spiritual habit. Amanda shares some tricks from her seminary days about how to remember some of the more difficult terms, including why she now thinks about pajamas when she thinks about prevenient grace. It’s almost Advent, which is a great time to pick up a new spiritual habit. As Amanda helps us figure out what that could be, she shares some tr...

Sin separates us from God’s will, and from each other. So how are freed from sin? Where does hope begin? “Grace is the marrow of Scripture” Description: Ken looks at grace within the Scriptures, and how sin can wound and separate. How are we to be freed from sin? Where does hope begin? Ephesians 2:1-10 fmhousotn.com

A town that turned off the lights to see the stars reminded Ken how to have your eyes trained on God. If we are a people who come before God, wanting to understand why we’re here, what happens is transformation - not just in our lives, but in the lives of the world around us. How are we one? How is the church one as part of that? That’s the question for today. Ken reminds us of the biggest piece o...

It’s a wonder what we can do when we operate together. Amanda has an usual metaphor to describe what it is that makes up our faith, but she focuses the most on the middle part that holds things together: unity. There is one God and we are one faith. And it is a wonder what we can do when we operate together. Ephesians 4:1-7 & 4:11-13 fmhouston.com

There is an unquestionable desire to consume in our society, it's everywhere. What is the position we are to take if we really want to encounter God? We often fall victim to "this is what you give, so this is what you get." And the church is not immune. But God does not desire our preferences. He desires our presence. John 6:1-14 fmhouston.com

The story of Zaccheus is not just the story of a man, it’s the story of an invitation and a table. Ken looks back through the stories we’ve already told throughout the series before bringing us to a story that encapsulates everything we’ve already talked about: the story of Zaccheus. It’s a story of justice, of Roman power, of mercy, and of an invitation to the table. Luke 19:1-10 fmhouston.com

If we believe Jesus is the light of the world ,and we want to be transformed by him, it means sacrificing every thing we have. God came to give us light and life - a life of abundance… and a life of justice. Ken talks about Nicodemus’ late night visit to see Jesus, and the abundant life that Jesus offered him in that encounter. Jesus invites us to be defined fully and completely by God. It is an o...

What Christ invites us to is an unfolding experience of the grace of God. Jesus invitation to the Samaritan woman meant something in those days that isn’t clear now: it meant that she was valued. When we think about encountering Christ, we might feel guilt But what Christ invites us to us an unfolding experience of the grace of God. John 4:1-30 fmhouston.com fmhouston.com

In the two stories found in today’s Scripture here, we see Jesus lift up the downtrodden, whether they are rich and powerful or poor and downtrodden. Doing the same remains the call Jesus places on all of us. Luke 8:40-56 fmhouston.com

Sometimes it’s not just what the Scripture leaves in, but what the Scripture leaves out. And in this passage from Luke, where Jesus predicts his death, you see the life of the church begin to appear. We need to hunt down the peaceful interruptions that allow us to take in the word of God. Luke 9:21-27 fmhouston.com