Minister's Message

So Much Devotion, So Little a Prize (A Message from the 2010 Winter Games)        As you know, the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver are in full swing. I have only watched snippets of the events so far, but I have been trying to keep up through the news reports and media summaries. I have to say that I personally enjoy the Summer Games more than the Winter Games, but there are several Winter events and athletes I follow with some ...

From Confetti to Ashes (What’s wrong with this picture?)      This past Wednesday is the day certain denominations call “Ash Wednesday.” It marks the end of Mardi Gras (aka. Carnival) and the beginning of the so-called “Lenten” season. It’s when the wild celebrations, dances, parties, costumes and loud parades (like those in New Orleans) suddenly give way to a season of sacrifice and self-denial. They go from confetti to ashes – on ...

Something Worth Celebrating!      As you know, today is Valentine’s Day. A holiday celebrating love sounds like a good idea, doesn’t it? Love, true love, is definitely something worth celebrating! After all, love is the greatest virtue, the greatest command and our deepest need. But this so-called holiday of love is such a strange potpourri of elements, including Christian martyrdom, Greek and Roman mythology, pagan traditions, modern romantic notions and ...

“Lamentations” for Haiti       We’ve all heard the news. We’ve all seen the pictures. We are all saddened and sobered by the catastrophe in Haiti. It’s humbling to think that in less than a minute a capital city was turned into rubble. Misery upon poverty! Let’s be praying for the Haitian people – for the bereaved, for the wounded, for the children, for the destitute. They need help, healing, hope, love, support and continued ...

A Spiritual “Work Out” for 2010  I promised last Sunday to give you a completed copy of the “plan” I briefly outlined for you in my sermon, so here it is. Remember what Paul said in Philippians 2:12-13 – that God “WORKS IN us” to accomplish His purposes. Our part is to “WORK OUT our own salvation with fear and trembling.” That is, we need to have an “action plan” to specifically live out the Christian life. A DAILY ...

A Psalm for the New Year       As we begin a new year, Psalm 116 is a good scripture for our contemplation. Verses 7-9 encourage us to look back at what God has done for us: “Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living.” (NIV) Hasn’t God been good to us in 2009? He has taken ...

GETTING ON THE SAME PAGE IN 2010  When people get on the same page, amazing things can happen. In Genesis 11 we see what “same page” unity can accomplish. People came together in a common cause and common objective. They made such remarkable progress that God Himself, though not pleased with their purpose, was impressed with the power of their unified efforts. God commented in Genesis 11:6, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the ...

The “Purpose-Driven” Holiday        ’Tis the season! But with the holiday clutter of shopping, traveling, decorating, card-writing, eating, and gift-giving (and getting), one can easily forget what it’s all about. Don’t let this happen to you! Let’s rekindle the spirit and purpose of Jesus’ “coming”. Let’s remember the “why” and the “what for” of His Coming, and enjoy a more ...

“Priceless” Gifts for This or Any Season!   “Some things money can’t buy – for everything else there’s MasterCard.” Good tagline, and true. There are some “priceless” gifts that can’t be bought with money or plastic. Maybe we should give our plastic a rest and turn our attention to these “priceless” gifts. What gifts are we talking about? Here are a few ideas for starters:   í  The Gift of ...

Don’t Be Caught Off-Guard (A Lesson from Pearl Harbor)       Tomorrow will mark the 68th anniversary of the Japanese attack of the American fleet at Pearl Harbor. We should always remember the day that would “live in infamy” – and learn from it.       What happened on December 7, 1941? Simply put, we were caught off guard. In the decades since the attack, there has been a great deal of investigation, speculation and ...

Learning to Speak “Thanksgiving”        To Christians, Thanksgiving is more than a big meal, more than a glorified Thursday, more than a time-honored American tradition. It is a way of life – an integral part of the Christian “essence” -- it is the very language we speak! Whether we  pray, sing, converse or write, our words should come out in the language of thanksgiving – expressing our heart-felt gratitude to ...

Whatever Happened to Sacrifice?       Wednesday was Veterans’ Day – a day when we remember and appreciate those who have faithfully and bravely served our country in the military, both past and present. It is a day to remember their sacrifices, small and great. Without such sacrifices, America, as we know it, would not exist.       Sacrifice is one of the things that has made America great. Not just the sacrifices of our founding ...

“BEWARE OF MAN”       We’ve all seen warning signs like, “BEWARE OF DOG”, or, for us Floridians, “BEWARE OF ALLIGATORS” is always appropriate! The word “beware” simply means to be wary, watch out, be careful. It’s a way to forewarn us that in this place you may encounter danger. And to be sure, there are many creatures that can endanger us. However, none of them is as dangerous to man as man himself! Maybe we ...

How We Get What We Need; How God Gets What He Wants             I’d like to pose two questions about our relationship with God: First, are you getting what you need from God? Second, is He getting what He wants from you? There is a Psalm that addresses these key questions. Speaking through the Psalmist, Asaph, God reveals His simple “recipe” for us to get what we need and for Him to get what He wants. Let’s have a ...

A Warm Welcome on Homecoming Sunday 2009! Homecoming is always a special time of year in a university town like Gainesville. It is also special to the University City Church of Christ. Since 1897 this family of God’s people has been worshiping and serving the Lord here in Gainesville. By God’s grace UCCC has become a spiritual “home” and refuge to many over the decades, an inviting and welcoming community of believers; where Jesus is honored; and where His people are ...

Strong Man, Stronger Man  Samson was a strong man. Set apart from birth as a Nazirite, God endowed him with superhuman brute strength. Samson had it and he was not afraid to use it! He spent his life fighting Israel’s arch enemies, the Philistines. But, while Samson was physically strong, and had faith in God, he was morally weak and became a prisoner to his own passion. Samson lived by the “not-so-golden” rule: “As they did to me, so I have done to them” ...

 It’s back to school time! It’s back to desks, notebooks, binders and backpacks. It’s back to the “old grind” – of pencils being sharpened! After a long summer, it’s time for our kids to “hit the books” again. But don’t we all need to “hit the books”? The 66 books of the Bible, that is! Believers are never too young or too old to continue their “higher education” in Jesus’ school of discipleship (Luke ...

Recently, there has been a flood of debates over the president's health care proposal. What kind of health plans do we need? Is the president's plan a good plan? Are our current plans adequate? Well, don't ask me, I'm just a preacher! But I would like to address God's plans for us. He has a great plan to meet all our health needs - physical, emotional, spiritual and eternal!For the past several weeks, our Sunday morning messages have been emphasizing God's plan for our lives. He had a plan for ...

Forty years have passed since July 20, 1969 and the historic moon-landing of Apollo 11. When Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon’s surface, he spoke the unforgettable words, “One small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.” It was a surreal moment and I remember it as if it were yesterday. My parents, brother, sister and I, and a neighbor friend or two, sat in front of our black and white TV. We were transfixed by the live images from the ...

You often hear these words from a song leader or worship leader. You know the drill: We are prompted to stand up for a particular song and to remain standing for the prayer that follows. It’s not hard to stand – almost any one-year old can do it. It’s no big deal, right? I mean, when we think of amazing feats, we’re impressed with how fast or how far someone can run, or high or how far they can jump, or how much weight they can lift, press or pull, or how fast they can ...

It’s June – it’s summer! Can’t you just hear the “voices” of summertime calling you? Ah yes, the beaches, the theme parks, the barbecues, the mountains of North Carolina, your favorite fishing, boating and swimming spots – they call us and remind us that there is so much recreation out there and so little time! Now, it is not my intention to throw cold water on your hot summer plans, but there’s another “voice” we need to hear before ...

In these times of political correctness and conformity, I consider Romans 12:2 to be one of the most important and relevant verses for believers today: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind …”” Paul’s point is clear: The world calls us to conform while the Lord calls us to be transformed. And those of the world don’t just want us to conform, they pressure us to do so. John the Baptist and Jesus experienced the ...

It’s baaaaaack ... April 15th, the deadline for paying our dues to Uncle Sam. It’s never a popular date for Americans, and with the economic downturn, this is an especially rough tax season. May God help us meet our tax burden and may He continue to meet all our needs! Speaking of taxes, I want to pose a tax-time question: Are you paying what you owe? Now before you tell me that your taxes are none of my business, allow me to bring Jesus into the question ... The Jewish religious ...

“What I pray for is your improvement”, Paul told the Corinthian believers in 2 Corinthians 13:9 (RSV). That has been our goal in this recent series of Sunday morning messages called “Home Improvement”. We are taking aim at your improvement, my improvement, our improvement. Being better Christians, better students, better teachers, better spouses, better parents, better kids, better friends, better citizens, better servants, better teachers, better encouragers, better ...

It’s that time of year again – when we tweak our clocks to add an hour of daylight to our spring and summer afternoons. (I hope nobody forgot ...) And while I don’t enjoy losing the hour of sleep, (as we did last night), I do enjoy the extended daylight. To help us remember which way we change our clocks and watches, a catchy phrase was invented: We “fall back” in the fall and “spring forward” in the spring. As believers in Jesus we should always be in ...

Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin were two very influential men, who shared little in common except their birthdays. They were both born on February 12, 1809 – 200 years ago this past Thursday. That’s right. Lincoln, the American president, and Darwin, the English naturalist, came into the world on the same day! Lincoln and Darwin came from opposite sides of the Atlantic, and they shared an opposite world view. One of them believed that “all men are created equal”, ...

 A week ago I spoke on the topic “Time to Build”. Reading from the prophet Haggai, we found that the Jews had put the work of rebuilding God’s House on the back burner – for 15 years! Meanwhile, they busied themselves with their own houses and interests. Haggai was sent to light a fire under them to get them to set their priorities right and put God’s House first. He told them to “go”, “bring materials” and “build” – ...

Without a doubt, the Bible is a book that really makes you THINK. But God also designed the Bible to make us FEEL. This is particularly true of the Psalms, the Bible’s most emotionally charged book. This collection of inspired poems, prayers and praises speaks to our hearts, not just our minds. As you read and study the Psalms, you can’t help but identify with the emotions and moods of David and the others Psalmists. The Psalms teach us to embrace positive emotions (“right ...

The two most common New Year’s resolutions are about DIET and EXERCISE. Here is a doable plan for a healthy diet of spiritual nourishment and a balanced spiritual “work out” to get us in shape for the New Year. It’s a regimen designed to specifically “live the life.” See what you think… A Simple DAILY Plan: Every day ... Say your prayers (Eph 6:18; 1 Th 5:17) Get into the Word (Ac 17:11; Mat 4:4) Encourage someone (Heb 3:12-14) Do a good deed (Gal ...