First Houston United Methodist Church

John 15:1-17 fmhouston.com

fmhouston.com

Lance tells the story of Mark 4:35-41 - where the disciples battle a storm while Jesus sleeps in the back of the boat. He reminds us that often we, like the disciples, end up shouting at God, "don't you care?" But Lance has seen God's hand, in each place that his journey has taken him, and he knows that no matter where it is that he travels to, he has Jesus in the boat with him. fmhouston.com

Amanda steps up to the pulpit to return our focus to The Main Thing: living and loving like Jesus did. fmhouston.com

fmhouston.com

“Have y’all ever seen a ghost?” Legacies can be full of joys, but they also can be full of pain and regret. We want to lock away our pain, but in doing so we bury some of ourselves. Matthew 1:1-17 fmhouston.com

There’s one theme that Jim’s been hitting this whole series - and on his last Sunday, he’s going to hammer it home one more time. When we read this beatitude, we are struck by the depth of hope. What does Jesus mean? To be a peacemaker is more than just eliminating warfare - it’s “shalom.” It’s wholeness. It’s a complete and joyous life before God. Matthew 5:9 fmhouston.com

What do you call a fish in a bow tie? "SoFISHticatied" This special Father's Day sermon begins with some awful dad jokes, and turns to what it means to be "pure of heart" - and how any inner purity can only come from Christ himself Matthew 5:8 fmhouston.com

It's Jim Welch's last few days on the job, and before he leaves, he sits down with Ben to talk about what he's seen in his time here, what he's excited about for the church, and the changes that he hopes to see coming. Ask us a question! You can reach us at fmhouston.com/streets.

It's Jordan's last podcast, and so she and Ben continue on to part two of their tournament, debating the best comebacks in the New Testament. Fill out your own bracket! https://www.fmhouston.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Best-Clapbacks-In-The-Bible-NT.jpg Ask us a question! You can reach us at fmhouston.com/streets.

Jim explores what it really means to “hunger and thirst” for righteousness, and why the words used here are so important. The problems of the translation we read is not the accuracy of it, but the scope of it. We need to see righteousness as a much bigger thing. Matthew 5:6 fmhouston.com

For Jordan's last podcasts, she and Ben return to an idea that they've been wanting to do for months - having a tournament of the best clapbacks in the Bible. What's a clapback? Tune in and see. Fill out your own bracket! https://www.fmhouston.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Best-Clapbacks-In-The-Bible-OT-copy.jpg Ask us a question! You can reach us at fmhouston.com/streets.

As much as it’s important to not be angry at the wrong times, it’s just as important to be angry at the right times. Jim talks about watching his nieces play sports and realizing that they are the same ages as the children of Uvalde. Studying “blessed are the meek” means breaking down the word we translate as “meek” and seeing what it is that Jesus really meant. Matthew 5:5 fmhouston.com

Amanda shows us the peace that Jesus talked about - a peace that is different from the one the world offers. fmhouston.com

After the shooting in Uvalde, Ken and Ben ditched their podcast plans and sat down to talk about how to respond to a tragedy like this, and what a Christian's response to events like these should be. Ask us a question anytime. You can reach us at fmhouston.com/streets.

Are you a mourner and not a moaner? Jim preaches on “blessed are those who mourn,” which he points out is not a beatitude that anyone wants to preach on. But, it is Jesus himself who establishes mourning as a holy attribute. There are those who see their tears become hospitals and churches and missions. These things are motivated by deep caring about what God cares about. There is much that is broken in the world. What are you going to do about it? Matthew 5:4 fmhouston.com

Answering a question about evangelism, Jim, Ben, and Jordan end up speaking about matters of physics, the beginnings of the universe, the sheep and the goats, Pascal's wager, Nietche's "God is dead," and a whole lot of other stuff we didn't expect when we hit record on this podcast. Enjoy! Ask us a question! You can reach us at fmhouston.com/streets.

As we dig into what the Bible says about mourning, Ken reminds us: it’s not a curated experience. As he considers “blessed are those who mourn,” Ken tells the story of the Israelites in exile, and how God promised to comfort not just them, but to the ends of the earth. We are called, as a church, to comfort. We have grief. We have broken pieces. But we can invite God to build something new from them. Matthew 5:4

A reader sends in a Twitter link about a possible mistranslation of a Scripture passage, and it leads to some combatitiveness over different Biblical translations, trying to read multiple* Biblical translations, and a surprising argument over whether we should be bothering to read the Old Testament at all. *https://twitter.com/lllogannnnn/status/1520393475790979072, though it looks like the user has moved to private. Ask us a question! You can reach us at fmhouston.com/streets.

As he continues through the Beatitudes, Jim defines what it means to be “poor in spirit” - and the things we need to guard against. “Poor In Spirit” is often a misunderstood phrase. Jim warns us against allowing our ego to fill up the room without our noticing. Humility is a rare thing. Our instincts are to create our own divinity and push God out of our lives. True humility is lifting others up. Each and every day. Matthew 5:3

Jim is glad to be out of prison, and to be starting a new series on the Beatitudes. He asks, “are you happy with your life?” Then he breaks it down further, teaching us about “the happiness quotient,” and the ways we find meaning in our life. “Life is made up of wobbling and hobbling along the way.” fmhouston.com

On Confirmation Sunday, Amanda tells a story about a man who tried to make a pond ready for the fish - and what happens when you aren’t intentional. It also reminds Amanda of what Timothy wrote, trying to help a church that had gone all “cattywampus,” despite being a young man whose advice they might not yet respect. 1 Timothy 4:11-17 fmhouston.com

When Jesus came out of the tomb, he said the most important thing that could have said to Mary: he called her by name. He showed her that he knew her. But Mary had a lesson to learn, even as she had finally found him: she had to learn how to not lose Jesus, even when he went away. “When hope fades, we lose the ability to see what’s right in front of our face.” John 20:1-18 fmhouston.com

The phrase "He descended into hell" was removed from the Apostles' Creed a long time ago, and a listener wants to know the reason why. Of course, that leads to a lot of much bigger questions about the nature of hell, the humanity of Jesus, and what answers preachers are supposed to give to tough questions. Ask us a question! You can reach us at fmhouston.com/streets.

Jim is struggling with Murphy’s law, as everything goes wrong for him before he steps up to preach today. Sometimes life is more than just a bit of bad luck, though. Sometimes, storms do come into our lives. At the moment that Jesus came into the city, Jesus brought with him the perfect storm. Luke 19:28-40 fmhouston.com

With Palm Sunday approaching, a question comes in of whether we're celebrating the day completely wrong. Why is it a joyous celebration if we're remembering the crowds that turned on Jesus only 5 days later? Ask us a question! fmhouston.com/streets

The waves that rock the boat are going to come for us. But as Jesus said to his disciples, “let us not be afraid.” After all, if God is for us, who can be against us? As Holy Week approaches, Jim focuses on a steady faith. He tells the story of Jesus asleep on the boat, and how we can learn to have faith that God’s protection is with us, even in the most difficult storms. Luke 8:22-25 fmhouston.com

Part two of our conversation, and it turns out there's almost nothing that Jim can't talk about for hours on end, and it's a fascinating ride. We start with "what's going to be happening at the church?" and end up at "is there a true limit on the universe?" in very short order. Ask us a question! fmhouston.com/streets

Our new interim pastor, Jim Welch, introduces himself to the church and dives right into the story of Elijah fleeing into the wilderness in fear. There, God shows Elijah His awesome power - and shows him that he does not have to be afraid of what the world brings. Likewise, Jim sees the same for our church - the need to have a chance for God to come and show us his limitless power, and to learn to trust a loving God who is watching out for us. 1 Kings 19:3-18 fmhouston.com “Look to the light.”

If you've been aware of what's been happening at First Methodist, you'll know: it's been a very topsy-turvy week. Here to hopefully settle some things down is interim pastor Jim Welch, who answers some questions and allows us to start getting to know him a little bit. Ask us a question! fmhouston.com/streets

Waiting On God: “Waiting On Hope and Confidence” - Bishop Scott J. Jones As he looks at the story of Elijah teaching the King to pray and wait on God, Bishop Jones considers the properties of hope. “Hope is not optimism.” And evil is powerful in the world. Bad things happen. Sometimes the world all around us seems dark. But God is at work in our world. I Kings 18:41-48 fmhouston.com

Amanda, Ken, Jordan, and Ben talk about some positive sides to how their ministry has changed over the course of Covid, while admitting that they've seen the church atrophy in some ways over the past two years. Ask us a question! We'll address it on the show. You can reach us at fmhouston.com/streets.

A listener talks about how a betrayal from a long time ago has left them unable to forgive the person who wronged them. The group talks about the difficulty of forgiveness, how to work towards reconciliation, and the things inside ourselves that keep us from moving forward. Ask us a question! fmhouston.com/streets

Some of the Scripture is about finding a way to humility. Ash Wednesday we got a taste of that. “What God may be waiting for is a faith response on our part.” Sometimes we need to have these conversations on God’s timetable than our own. Exodus 2:23-25; 32:1-6

A member comes from a faith tradition that doesn't allow for female clergy, so they're asking whether there should be pastors who are women or not. Jordan and Amanda talk about female preaching and leadership in the Bible, their journeys to get to where they are now, and some of the road bumps they've run into. Oh, and if you're looking for the Instagram picture we're talking about, it's here. Ask us a question! fmhouston.com/streets

Kathrin is the Executive Director of Neighbors in Action. On this special Sunday Kathrin describes how NIA strives to be like the body of Christ. www.fmhouston.com www.neighborsinaction.com/

Andy, Ken, and Ben are divided on the nature of bad churches and whether they can still do good, which leads to Andy coming out against the Bible (not really. Or does he?), and Ken announcing that First Methodist is going to war. There are some stirring pronouncements about the spiritual character of Houston, and at the end of it all, we try and buy Andy a yacht. Leave us a response or ask us a question! You can reach us at fmhouston.com/streets.

We need to learn to see then things inside ourselves that we need to take action about. In Corinthians, Paul shows us how. These verses are about a church struggling and doing everything wrong. Paul writes back to help show them a way through: The Holy Spirit is there to help us see things inside ourselves that we need to take action on, ways we need to change. If we keep coming and praying and listening and don’t change? That’s wrong. 1 Corinthians 2:6-11 fmhouston.com

A question about finding peace and rest gives us stories about various intentional practices, romantic dinners at Waffle House, and the time Amanda thought she was going to die at Disney World. Ask us a question! Hit us at fmhouston.com/streets to leave a question or a comment about the show.

Amanda Sermon Hard problems that don’t have easy answers require that we work together. Amanda talks about a scripture she loves - Acts 2, “the church in a snow globe.” People come in and they grow and they grow, and other people see what’s happening and want to come and be a part of it. Life inside the church can be more complicated today. We want clear, concise answers, but we live inside a life that’s a little gray. Hard problems that don’t have easy answers require that we work together, but they lead us to great places. When we have to work together we learn to love one another. Acts 2:38-47 fmhouston.com

The group takes a question about why the church has embraced the Sinner's Prayer when it never appears in the Bible, leading to a brief history of revivals and the Sinner's Prayer, plus the questionable theology we keep running into, and figuring out just what our role is in bringing people to Christ. Got a comment or a question? Visit us at fmhouston.com/streets

Andy is working on his evangelism - trying to be a person who is always on the lookout to make connections. It’s a hard time to meet people. But people are more hungry than they’ve ever been. God is trying to wake us up, to recreate us. We are called to love people just as He loves us. “Ask yourself a question: Do I love my friends, my spouse, my neighbor the way that God loves me? And if not, I need to close that gap.” 2 Corinthians 3:12-18 ——— fmhouston.com

The gang fields a question about how John Wesley treated confession, and how the church treats it today. It turns out to be a fertile topic, featuring some wide-ranging stories from everyone's experience, and a very specific callout of a certain church nearby. Send us a question or a comment, and help shape what the next episode of the show could be. You can reach us at fmhouston.com/streets.

Look at the flowers of the field - God will take care of them, God will take care of you. If we trust Him with everything that we’ve got, we’re invited to another life altogether. Jesus invited Peter to get out the boat and join him. How do we get out of the boat, too? Matthew 6:28-34 fmhouston.com

This week, the group has a question to wrestle with, as they explain what Jesus was doing when he changed the use of the word "blessed" in the Sermon on the Mount. Along the way, the group debates whether Jordan's opinions are going to ruin her chances of being ordained. Ask us a question! fmhouston.com/streets

As Amanda looks back at the early days of the pandemic, she thinks of an example of something she learned from the a visit to the San Jacinto Monument: Look out not just for the big moments, but the smaller ones. John 14:15-20 fmhouston.com

As we get back to basics, Andy focuses on what he finds most crucial: love of God and love of neighbor. It helps us to do the right thing, which is not always easy to know. On the eve of MLK Jr. Day, Andy reads from Charles Allen’s autobiography, as he came to terms with the racism he encountered in every day life, and the ways he needed to grow to be able to fight it. We are still a church that fights. And we have many battles left in front of us. John 3:13-17 fmhouston.com

With cases on the rise, the group heads back to recording remotely. It's the first time for our newest hosts, and it takes some getting used to. Meanwhile, Andy locks himself out of his apartment. Ask us a question! Since the season began, we have yet to get a single new question. Help us fix that. fmhouston.com/streets

The spark for Andy’s sermon today came from a book by Charles Allen, one of First Methodist’s most famous voices. And in the opening pages of the text, Andy finds himself brought back to the basics of our faith. Genesis 1:1-5 fmhouston.com

Andy finishes the Christmas season. fmhouston.com