First Houston United Methodist Church

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Revelation 7:9-17 *SCRIPTURE After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne and to the Lamb!” And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, singing, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?” I said to him, “Sir, you are the one who knows.” Then he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason they are before the throne of God and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat, for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” The word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. fmhouston.com

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Easter is not just a day—it is a season. For fifty days, we celebrate and contemplate the miracle of Christ’s resurrection. This is a time of renewal, of deep spiritual reflection, and of hope. It’s a season that reminds us of a profound truth: God does not simply delight in bringing new things into our lives—God delights in making all things new. Resurrection is not just a past event; it is a present and ongoing reality. Renewal and transformation are what God is about—and what we can expect from God, not just in Eastertide, but in every season of our lives. Revelation 1:4-8 fmhouston.com

Easter is not just a day to celebrate what happened at some point in the past. It is a day to remember what is happening here now, in the present moment, in us, through us, in this city. Sometimes we live with no expectations of miracles. Gathering the spices, thinking there is nothing beyond the pain or the grief of today. But resurrection hope happens before we even recognize it. God rolls away stones we didn’t even realize could move. Stop seeing the city as a tomb and start seeing it a garden. Luke 24:1-12 fmhouston.com

Lance explores Palm Sunday as a day of contrasts - where Jesus was declared king, but his crucifixion was coming only a few days later. And so we come to the very heart of our faith - that the king of all creation came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom. And that, through his passion and death, Jesus reveals the very heart of God. Are we truly looking at our neighborhoods, our city, through the eyes and the tears of Jesus? This week, watch, and weep, and worship, that we might encourage this city with humility and hope. Luke 22:66-23:49 fmhouston.com

This week, Lance offers a challenge: take a step to offer to someone in need. Because what holds us back from giving? Fear. Faith isn’t about what you have, it’s what you trust in God to provide. And we trust because God is faithful. Let us be a people who give, feel discipleship, and transform the world. Matthew 6:19-21 & 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 fmhouston.com

The Dead Sea only takes in water. There are no outlets. And so the water stagnates, and nothing can live. The Jordan river receives water from the Sea of Galilee, and brings life to everything it touches. Are we, today, more like the Dead Sea, or are we flowing like the Jordan river? Are we bringing life to everywhere we go? Or, are we somewhere in between? Imagine if we saw our neighborhoods the same that Jesus did. If we saw them not as buildings, but as people full of hopes and desires? If we saw them as outposts for the Kingdom of God? God said “GO.” It requires action. It requires intention. We are not called just to GROW in faith. We are called to GO. Main Scripture: Matthew 9:35-38 Supporting Scripture: Matthew 28:18-20 fmhouston.com

How is the gospel taking root in your life? We can’t grow our faith in isolation, and it most flourishes when we grow small. We experience church most personally and completely in smaller groups. You’re learning, but you’re also being transformed as you work out your life together. We discover our purpose, and we help others discover their purpose as well. Who are you discipling? And who is discipling you? Being rooted in Christ means that we’re planted in a church community. Faith is like a garden. It takes intentionality for faith to grow. Colossians 1:3-13; 2:6-7 fmhouston.com

Lance remembers doing puzzles at his grandmother’s dining room table, and it sets him in mind of how the church operates: we are like pieces of the puzzle, but you don’t get the full picture when we are still scattered. Imagine God bringing the pieces together at Main & Clay. As we come together as individual pieces of a puzzle, we begin to see how we fit. We want to build a shared culture, we want to gather together to grow disciples. To worship, to pray, to be discipleship with one another. To build each other up, so that God can use us to build the church. Acts 2:42-47 & Hebrews 10:24-25 fmhouston.com

Lance asks us to consider what we are connected to - and WHO we are connected to. Because we have be connected first and foremost to our God and King to be connected to each other. We cannot be Christian in isolation. We serve alongside each other, and in doing so, we stay connected to each other, and to the divine. The life that we share in Christ is a life of love. And love never fails. It never ends. John 15:1-17 fmhouston.com

We are finishing our series “Thrive,” and Eric finds himself stepping in as the cleanup hitter to talk about joy. Joy is both a state of being and a way of being. You can experience joy, and your life can express joy to others. We are in a season of transition, and sometimes transition can be a little scary. But when we seek all of these things that have shown us how to thrive - clarity, witness, abundance, and kinship - as they come together, we experience joy. We become the people that God has called us to be, and that brings God joy, too. Nehemiah 8:10, 12:27-28a, 30-31, 38a, 40-41a, 42b-43 fmhouston.com

Today is a graduation of sorts. We celebrate what has led to this point, and we stand on a threshold, where God is preparing us for something yet unknown. Because we know: the God who led me to where I was is going before me. Thriving leads to joy! Are we living in God's joy or weighed down by worry conflict, or grief? The antidote is laughter and joy. Nehemiah 8:10, 12:27-28a, 30-31, 38a, 40-41a, 42b-43 fmhouston.com

Lance talks about when he first learned “I can do difficult things if I really try. But I can’t do it apart from community.” The walls of Jerusalem were built in 58 days because they focused on their community, on each other. We have a whole community outside the walls of the church that needs that kind of encouragement, that knows “you can do it! But you don’t have to do it alone.” Are we committed to supporting one another and building one another up? How can we create deeper kinship in the church? Nehemiah 6:15-16, 8:1-12 fmhouston.com

A scarcity mindset leads to inequity, it leads to not sharing freely out of what we have been given. To live a life of abundance, we need to open up our hands to freely share what has been given to us to everyone around us. Abundance flows from our relationships. We need each other, especially in a time like this. It will take all of us working together to make this next step happen. Nehemiah 5:1-18 fmhouston.com

Nehemiah wanted to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, and God made provision because of Nehemiah’s faith. Likewise, we may be smaller in resource, but we are not smaller in faith. God has something more for us. But we just need to have faith as we rebuild. Witness precedes the work. Let us then begin the work of rebuilding the church. Nehemiah 2:9-12a, 15a, 16-20; 4:1-9, 13-15 fmhouston.com

The hard thing about change, the hard part about grief, is that we so want clarity, but we want to skip over the hard part to get it. We’re in a season where change is here, and there’s pain. It’s okay to name that. It’s okay to be there. Part of what it means to be who we are is to be there for a minute. If we don’t take the time to weep, we don’t take the time to prepare for the long journey ahead. Nehemiah 1:1-11, fmhouston.com

Have you ever heard of someone trying to build a building without blueprints? To enter a period where we feel God is calling us to thrive, clarity is essential. We are in a difficult position. We have to acknowledge it. We have to sit with the burden. But we also sit with the burden of hope. Nehemiah 1:1-11, 2:1-8 fmhouston.com

When Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the city, he started not with plans and construction, but with penitence and grief. Before the Israelites could build a new wall, they first needed a new spirit. As this church enters into a new moment, we’re going to continue to follow the Nehemiah story, and we’re going to continue to move forward as one body in one direction. Let’s take action together to rebuild this church that God dearly loves. We need to seek God’s presence before seeking the promise of the future. Nehemiah 1:1-11, 2:1-8 fmhouston.com

As the church prepares for a massive vote on the future of the church, Lance returns to the Book of Acts and the story of Pentecost. “When we talk about membership in the church, it comes from this passage,” he reminds us. “We are part of one body.” God is calling us to a Pentecost moment, to be all together, one body, one movement, a light shining brightly on a hill. “Movements begin with faith, not certainty.” On the day of Pentecost, the disciples got busy praying. We need a Pentecost moment, too. But it can only happen when the church comes together in prayer. Acts 2:1-12 fmhouston.com

As Stephen explains, with so many of the pastors out on the West Campus this morning, “today you get me.” But what a lovely thing that ends up being! Sometimes, no matter how many times God moves us, we keep ending up back in the same place. That’s not the plan God has for us! Look around at where God has placed you. You are here. You are a piece of this community. Be part of it. “It is our job not to be the generation that keeps God’s plans from moving forward.” Jeremiah 29:1, 4-14 fmhouston.com

Lance often is asked for things by his children that aren’t the best for them, and after turning them down for a long time, he’ll allow them to discover the downsides for themselves. Free will comes with choices. But it doesn’t shield you from consequences. When God tells that He knows the plans He has for us, sometimes it doesn’t feel like good news. Sometimes it’s not exactly what we were hoping for. But God has a bigger purpose in mind than anything we could ever imagine. Jeremiah 29:1, 4-14 fmhouston.com

Lance remembers looking at his sons for the first time and thinking “who are you gonna be?” Expectations can overwhelm us. Come to the waters and remember that you belong to God. God is going to do a new thing. Can’t you perceive it? Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 fmhouston.com

Today we remember the gifts that the Magi brought to Jesus. What’s the precious gift that you could give this king? Jesus has given us quite a mission. Let’s see where he takes us in the year ahead. My prayer for all of us that God would guide us to that perfect light. Matthew 2:1-12 fmhouston.com

Lance tells the story of a very odd thing: a king, born in a room for animals, lying in a feeding trough. As lowly an entrance as you could imagine. But the story of this humble entrance is also the story of hope. Whatever mess you find in your life, that’s where Christ is born to you. Right where you need him the most, that’s where this gift will be. Luke 2:1-20 fmhouston.com

It’s easy for things to pile up, and if we aren’t careful, for anxiety to come and stop us in our tracks. So what is the antidote? It is the state of our heart, the state of our mind. A sense of gentleness and graciousness should mark the people of the Lord. “Sometimes God calms the storm, but sometimes God calms His child.” Philippians 4:4-7 fmhouston.com

God is not just a starter, God is a finisher. Look around at this church. It is easy to look at it and think that all the great things have happened. But God is not finished with us, and he is not finished with this church. We bring the light out to those living in the darkness. That’s the power of the church. Philippians 1:3-11 fmhouston.com

We don’t like to wait, do we? We trust that God keeps his promises, but it is difficult to be patient. But that’s how faith works. We are given just enough light to illuminate our next step. We want to push away all of the darkness ourselves. But if we could, we wouldn’t have to rely on God. We push back the darkness until Christ returns. Let us be people who push back the darkness together. By the way, pretty good Tigger impression in the sermon today! 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 fmhouston.com

Lance wraps up the sermon series by remembering an old SNL sketch, “A Thanksgiving Miracle,” of a bickering holiday family brought together by the power of song. “Sometimes we need to sing the same song.” There are so many things that separate us into “us and them,” but what divides us pales in comparison to what unites us. We have been clothed in Christ - when people see us, they should see Jesus. Galatians 3:23-29 fmhouston.com

To show the ways that faith and works are intertwined, Lance tells the stories of churches that stepped out in faith, preparing for a future that was not yet fulfilled - doing the work to bring about the promises of God. Faith without works is like a beautiful sailboat without wind, and we cannot just wait for the wind to come upon us. We have work to do. Let’s go forth. James 2:14-26 fmhouston.com

On social media this week, it has been tough to see how Christians have been treating friends and neighbors. It’s the antithesis of what Jesus desired when he took the sins of the world upon him on the cross. God seeks to be the savior of all people, despite their worst behavior, and we are to show God’s will and God’s way in a divided society. And together, we work towards healing a world that is divided with God’s love. We cannot do this hard work on our own. Matthew 5:43-48 fmhouston.com

Tuesday is Election Day. Some things may change, but our mission as Christians will not. We will still be called to “a more perfect union.” No matter what happens, we are going to get up the next day and feed the hungry, clothe the naked, bring comfort to those who need it. We’re going to wake up and keep loving God with everything we’ve got. Mark 12:28-34 fmhouston.com

As we reach the summation of our stewardship series, Lance takes the story of salvation and turns it around and asks us to pray first and foremost that we can be found in Christ… so that Christ can be found in us. Together, we are the Jesus that an unbelieving world can see. And we have the opportunity to experience abundantly more. We’re gonna experience the power of love, and we’re gonna do it together. Poured into, and poured out. Ephesians 3:14-21 fmhouston.com

What does it mean for us to be grounded in God through Christ? The writer of today’s scripture highlights this three different times, to let us know that being grounded is not just important, it is intrinsic to our being, it is the foundation of all things. 1 Corinthians 3:5-23 fmhouston.com

God has called us to be about the work. He gives us the seeds and sends us to go sow them. Our instincts are to look for the trees that are already grown and rest underneath them. But God calls us out of that rest, to take the seeds from those trees and spread them further out. We may not be ever see the fully grown tree, but that is okay. We are called to sow. We disagree sometimes. We find ourselves divided. But God has called us all to be about the work. So we must remember: we’re on the same team. So our call is to get together to do the work - and do it together. 1 Corinthians 3:5-23 fmhouston.com

God has blessed us all to be a blessing for the world, and we are ready for God to accomplish far more than we could ever ask or imagine. But we only truly become ready by being rooted in love Where are you rooted today? In the love of Christ? In generosity? Or are you withering? It’s hard to look past what has been into what will be. But we can move into the future unafraid… as long as we remain rooted together in Christ’s love. Jeremiah 17:7-8 fmhouston.com

We move into a new series as we enter stewardship - “Abundantly More” - and Lance wants us to see the great vision that God has cast before us. Sometimes it’s hard for us in times of scarcity to look back on times before, and think that everything that was going to happen has already been accomplished. But even though everything is not what we want them to be, God is not finished with us yet! We sit here today because of those who have come before in faith.But there is so much that is crying out for us to do. God is bringing the city TO us! Fan into flames the Word that God has for us in our hearts. There are embers there, and God wants to make them into a roaring blaze. 2 Timothy 1:3-10 fmhouston.com

On a Sunday of student-led worship, three of our youth come forward to tell the congregation what they’ve learned about the nature of Jesus, and how the mission of the church has helped them see Him more clearly - the ways that they’ve come to know God, and the various moments and missions that have opened their eyes to see His nature and His love. Matthew 16:13-16 fmhouston.com

Lance jokes about discovering on social media that the Rapture supposedly happened this week - “I guess we all missed it.” But he talks about living in awareness of a future we know is approaching - how to live today as if tomorrow has already come. We hold the hope of heaven, the hope of eternity, inside of us. And because of that, we can know that we are never alone. Nothing can rob you of the hope of heaven or the joy that God has put in all of our hearts. Revelation 21:1-7 fmhouston.com

One of Lance’s favorite things to do with his grandmother was to sit down with her photo albums, and have her tell him his story, even the parts he was too young to remember. Likewise, Paul is opening up the photo album for the Corinthians, and showing them their story - even the parts they haven’t seen, weren’t there for, to help them make sense of their faith. Because they, like us, danced on the edge of mystery - we know we are to be raised from the dead, but we have to accept this on faith alone. Yet if we believe Jesus was resurrected from the dead, we can also believe what we have been promised in Scripture. If Christ wasn’t raised from the dead, our belief is in vain. And if we don’t believe that we will be raised with him, we believe in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:12-14, 20-23, 35-50 fmhouston.com

There’s a lot of on-the-job training with the Holy Spirit. God equips those who he calls to him. So when God calls you, say “yes.” We have footsteps to follow in. We are to forgive the sins of others, that is our work. Take up and follow Christ. Matthew 6:12, 14-15 fmhouston.com

When we gather for worship, we are gathering for worship with all the world, all the worship that spans distance and time and in fact all of eternity. We don’t have to be perfect - but we are saints! And we should strive for perfection. For we have been set apart to be holy. 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 fmhouston.com

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To help us understand what the Holy Spirit is, Lance takes us to the root of the word, and shows us the ways the Spirit interacts with our lives. The Spirit is there with us - as a comfort, as a coach, as a wind that blows us towards where God wants us to be. But it’s on us to let it move us. Lance wants us to be a people moved by the Holy Spirit - who actually pray for each other, who don’t play it safe, but follow in the direction that the Spirit is leading. John 14:15-20, 25-26; 15:26-27; 16:7-15 fmhouston.com

Judgment isn’t something we talk about all that often. But if there is a new heaven and a new earth coming, what we do in this life matters. We are called to social holiness, and that means not standing in judgment over one another, but raising one another up. 2 Peter 3: 8-15a fmhouston.com

Lance looks at the Ascension of Jesus, and the mission Christ left us on earth. We are the body of Christ. We have to live that! We’ve been given the power to fill every thing in every way with the heart of Jesus. And we’ve got work to do. “We cannot lament the way of the world if we are not doing anything about it!” Ephesians 1:17-23, 2:4-7 fmhouston.com

Today, Amanda asks us “how do we let the Creed change us?” Today’s section talks about the risen Christ, and how having a risen Messiah changed everything for a people who had waited hundreds of years. Have you ever tried to change a tradition? It can be harder than you think. 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 fmhouston.com

In the wake of hurricane damage, power outages, and a Presidential shooting, Lance talks about the reality of living in a broken world, and what to do as storms in our life come with greater frequency and greater intensity. We may be living in a broken world, but no one can stand between us and God. No one can separate. Romans 8:31-39 fmhouston.com

Today we get to the fulcrum on which all our faith pivots - the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. His cross opens up the way to eternal life. And we must pick up our crosses daily to follow him. Hebrews 2:10-18 fmhouston.com