First Houston United Methodist Church

The podcast starts off with Ken finally revealing what, exactly, took place at the Coneby Christmas Barn, before the group talks about the ways that 2021 surprised them, changed them, and made them look at the world differently. We are taking your questions! Visit us at fmhouston.com/ama for more episodes and to send us a question or a topic you'd like to hear more about.

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With Christmas upon us, the group talks about what things they do to find the Christmas spirit each year, and what traditions their families have kept to make Christmas Eve feel like an actual celebration of the birth of Christ. What they mostly find is that everybody has some pretty weird traditions in their family. Ask us a question! We're still taking questions at fmhouston.com/ama, and we'll get to your questions in the new year.

Andy discusses a passage where God sends us out to bring peace to the world - something that's important because, as he notes, “We’re not very good at creating our own peace.” And a lesson he learned from a 91-year-old friend about how God gets him out of bed in the morning. Micah 5:3-5a fmhouston.com

The group talks about how to get your family into the correct Christmas spirit, and accidentally spoils the secret that Santa isn't real (beware of listening with your kids around!). As a result, we get some unorthodox Christmas traditions, and the story of the time Ken successfully caught Santa Claus. We're still looking for your questions! Send us a question at fmhouston.com/ama and we'll include it in the show.

We're back! After a long pause and some retooling, the podcast has returned, with a new vision and title that's easier to find on web searches. "Ask Me Anything" is now "You Can Hear Us In The Streets" (for reasons explained in the podcast), and we use our first episode to introduce one of our new cohosts, Jordan Czichos, and talk about how to prepare your heart for Christmas during a difficult Advent. We're still looking for your questions! Send us a question at fmhouston.com/ama and we'll include it in the show.

The words of the prophets are often unpopular. But they help us get back on course. “Wherever we’ve been off course, we can get back on," Andy says. “At the end, you and I have to make a decision to love, to hope.” There’s always a way for us to respond. Luke 1:41-45 fmhouston.com

The light of God is powerful. Who is God calling you to seek out and be the light for? Luke 1:76-79 fmhouston.com

Today’s scripture is a common Advent passage - a passage about a time when God called Israel to follow the path he laid out for them. That path is still before us. Andy asks us to take it. “Put aside the things that divide us, and take a good look at the road Jesus has for us.” Isaiah 40:3-5 fmhouston.com

Luke 14 15-21 fmhouston.com

Amanda grew up with an open table - Thanksgiving was a time for all people, no matter how tangentially connected, to have a place. It reminds her of the covenant God invited us to: to love each other as ourselves, and invite them to the table. 2 Samuel 1:9-10 fmhouston.com

Andy discusses the importance of making an invitation to others by pointing out the way Jesus did just that: he ate with every kind of person. His table was always open. What’s a way that you could do the same? Luke 22:7-20

Does anyone really believe we can have world peace? Kristen sums up our Missions series by exploring the many meanings of the word “shalom” in our world, and showing us what true peace on earth would really look like. Isaiah 9:6

When William Shatner went to space, it left Andy thinking about what it’s like to get a true overview of the world, and what God is doing in it. Those things need action behind them. Andy talks about the ways God is calling us to take His hand and walk forward with Him in faith. John 17:20-23 fmhouston.com

As we kick off this year’s missions series, Amanda emphasizes God’s requirement for us to take action in order to bring justice to the world. We are to invite the world in to experience what we are experiencing, to discover grace and mercy. fmhouston.com

As we spend one more week closely looking at the Lord’s Prayer, Jordan talks about the way the prayer continues to look different to us each time we look at it. Prayer is an act of faith, but it is also work - good, faithful work. God needs us to be Kingdom-bringers. And the holiest work we can do is ask for God to bring His Kingdom down.

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On a recent trip to a prayer labyrinth, Amanda couldn’t find the answers she was looking for. And so she had to surrender and hand everything over to God - and God met her there. When Amanda looks at the Lord’s Prayer, she is reminded of the how we often ask God to sprinkle blessings on top of what we’re doing, instead of seeking God’s kingdom.

The greatest thing we can do to access the divine in our lives is pray. At the start of A Year of Prayer and Discernment, Andy focuses on what an incredible gift prayer is. We have a God who created us who wants to both hear us and speak to us. “Just beyond what we can see and know is a God who wants to move in us.” fmhouston.com

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1 Peter 4:12-17 Jordan looks at 1 Peter 4 and is reminded of "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day." Why? Because, as she point out, "the world is just icky sometimes." But Peter reminds us why we are called by God to form relationships - so that we can struggle through these things together. No matter what the pain you go through, don't go it alone. fmhouston.com

1 Peter 3:8-12 In Chapter 3, Peter echoes the lessons of the Sermon on the Mount to remind us of how Jesus Christ talked about living a life of forgiveness rather than retribution. Andy wants us to find ways to be a peacemaker. “Our days can’t be filled with conflict. We have to move on.” fmhouston.com

This week, Andy dives into chapter 2 of 1st Peter. He points out that our church is a diverse church - in the same way, the book of 1 Peter is the sort of story written to a diverse collection of churches. What Peter is writing about needs to be a model for us. “Each of us needs to be loved, each of us needs to be forgiven, and the church needs to be a place where we celebrate these things.” fmhouston.com

This week, Amanda Davis covers 1 Peter 1:13-16 Where did you see God at work today? fmhouston.com

Micah 6:7-8 Andy remembers a story of a woman who came into a church he worked at in need of food, and how the church responded - and whether their actions were truly just. “The church has to be a safe place to have a dangerous conversation.”

When Andy gives, he realizes that the relationships he’s formed matter. Giving and relationship are intertwined. Whenever we make the decision to give and invest, we see God move in every other area of our lives. fmhouston.com

For Amanda's first sermon, she dives into the importance of service, and what a life lived with that purpose looks like. fmhouston.com

As we talk about loving others as we love ourselves, we have a lot of things to overcome - mostly, ourselves. Paul viewed himself fully as a servant of Jesus Christ - to him, that was his identity. If we did the same, we could avoid falling into all sorts of traps. COVID has separated us from people and from having a mission. Andy talks about finding a way back. fmhouston.com

In Jordan's first sermon at our church, she dives into the parable of the talents, and what happens when you fail to live out the mission that God has given you. fmhouston.com

Keeping the Sabbath holy is a physical and specific act - we have to go out of our way to set it aside in order to worship the Lord. As we enter a new series about the tenets that make up our church, Andy lays out three ways to make the most of your Sabbath. fmhouston.com

Andy points out that Elijah is much harsher to the prophets of Baal than we like to admit - the things Elijah said are so alarming that scholars later dialed it down, thinking surely Elijah could not have said something like this. But Elijah knew that God was with him. Plus, Andy returns to baseball metaphors - twice! - because the Astros won 11 in a row. And, of course, he jinxes them immediately. fmhouston.com

Some of us are uncomfortable with the word “prophet.” But prophets are not people who have power, but people who rely on the message of God. We need to be able to rely on that message the same way. Our call is to be a place of refuge from the brokenness of this world. God has given us gifts to share in community together. Because it is not a place that is the presence of God, it is in a community together in which we see God. fmhouston.com

The pandemic has taken a lot of things from us, and one of those things has been the ability to gather together and worship. The story we listen to today shows how Solomon built a tangible place for God to be worshiped - but though that temple was grand, it was, like everything else, temporary. In the same way, we must use the symbols around us to point us to God - and not to make them too important as they are. Andy shows us how to hold on to what we’ve inherited from the past, but also see the new thing that God is calling us to do. fmhouston.com

For his sermon, Andy needed an example of crossing lines - and on Sunday morning, he got one. As the world begins to open up; Andy finds himself incredibly excited for this moment. We have stepped into a new blessing. It is a time to lead. And Andy wants to help you make it happen. fmhouston.com

As we exit the pandemic, there are many of us who are ready just to forget what happened and move on. But this is a powerful moment we should not let pass by: how do we step forward well and allow God to take the lead? In Joshua, the people of Israel are leaving the wilderness and entering a new land. As God pulled back the waters of the Jordan to allow them to cross, Joshua had the people get stones to build an altar to remember that crossing. Joshua is calling on them, in that moment of transition, to rely on God’s power, on God’s faithfulness. fmhouston.com

Jesus takes a passage in Deuteronomy and flips it in a new way, so that it teaches us how to follow him - that we need to love God, and love our neighbor. But there’s one more step we need to do. —— fmhouston.com

Andy’s determined not to keep telling stories about baseball now that the Astros have started losing, but he’ll tell one more. And that’s of a player whose gifts were considered unworthy. When Paul is writing to the Corinthian church, he’s writing to a church that is allowing spiritual gifts to rip them apart. It was his challenge to teach them that each of these gifts were equally worthy. What are you good at? Where do you see your gifts? And are you putting those gifts into service? If you’d like to take a spiritual gifts assessment to learn more about where God has gifted you, you can find one online at fmhouston.com/sunday this week. fmhouston.com

It is Donyale’s last podcast, and the group talks about the year of ministry that followed George Floyd’s death – the way their approach to ministry changed, and the need to be a church calling for justice. It’s a reconsideration of faith in politics, and call for faith in politics. The Ask Me Anything Podcast will be on a brief hiatus, but will return with new co-hosts later this summer! In the meantime, send us new questions at fmhouston.com/ama.

On Confirmation Sunday, Andy wonders what the church will look like in 60, 70 years. Does it invest in mercy and love and kindness? Because that’s what the church should be. Andy has learned a lot about baseball during the Pandemic, and he’s found a metaphor in some of the changes the game has made. fmhouston.com

Ken gets glasses to deal with eye strain and, as glasses do, they give him a little clarity. When Paul writes the Book of Romans, he's writing about the clarity he’s found. Paul is all about the Spirit. He believed that the central pursuit of the Christian life was living from the Spirit of God. Just knowing the law is not enough, we must commune with God. fmhouston.com

On a very loose podcast, the group tries to answer what to do when you feel you need your faith back, and how you're doing better than you think you are. This podcast sounds undedited, but trust me, it is very edited. Ask us a question! fmhouston.com/ama

The Gospel of John, from its opening chapter, challenges us. Rather than begin with the story of the Nativity, it first rewrites Genesis from a Jesus-centric point of view. John tells us to listen, to hear, that God is speaking to us. This should not strike us as unusual, since God has been in the speaking business for a long time. And if we just want to hear ourselves speak, we miss out our chance to hear God speak. Plus, a trick for making sure you always hear what others have to say. fmhouston.com

A follow-up question about the New Jim Crow podcast series asks if the conversation about black imprisonment is perhaps too one-sided. The group… does not agree! Ask us a question! Fmhouston.com/ama.

Chapter Five brings us to a fitting bookend for our series, as the whole book has called us to a life of action. The verses remind Donyale of a Twitter hashtag: #nomorethoughtsandprayers - a call to people to bring about concrete action, not vague feelings. James was also bringing a similar mindset against those who said “go in peace,” yet did nothing to stop the problems of the day. But James also calls on those same people to pray - in fact, call the community together to pray, underscoring it is our collective responsibility to care and alleviate suffering. When we pray, we are responding to God’s urging. We are responding to God’s invitation to get a glimpse of God’s understanding of others and the world. We can understand the hashtag, but let us not give up our prayers. fmhouston.com

As we wrap up our discussion on Michelle Alexander’s “The New Jim Crow” with Trinity United Methodist Church, Kenneth Jackson returns to the conversation to address the problems of trying to address a system built to consistently, repetitively keep people down. It leads to a discussion about what the church – and what we, as individuals – are required to do by our love of Jesus and willingness to follow his direction. The discussion will continue in the coming weeks, depending on what you ask us about! Reach out to us with a question: fmhouston.com/ama.

A strange experience on Houston light rail reminded Andy how we need to show grace and love in this time of recovery. “This is a great time for the church to be a pastor to one another." We are mist, James says. So why do our actions matter? Because time IS short. We need to make the most of these moments. “Yes you are mist. But you’re here now. And that MATTERS.” fmhouston.com

In the middle chapters of “The New Jim Crow,” Michelle Alexander breaks down racism baked into the justice system, and the group talks about being raised with different expectations, and passing those lessons along to their children. Plus, the exhaustion that comes with constantly being teachers, but the responsibilities we have to educate the people that we talk to. Got a question or a response? Reach us at fmhouston.com/ama!

Andy’s mom warned him early that his tongue could get him into a lot of trouble - and boy, has it. The third chapter has a very profound idea about how small things can take us drastic directions. A person who proclaims the gospel is someone who must have their words under control. The way we can bring heaven upon this earth can be just as simple as paying attention to the words that we are saying. fmhouston.com

On our first podcast discussing “The New Jim Crow,” Andy and Donyale are joined by Trinity United Methodist’s Deirdre Barrett. The group discusses what stands out in the early chapters of Michelle Alexander’s book, including her statement that “colorblindness is not the answer, it’s the problem.” The discussion fans out into the call each member felt like the book put on them, including learning to find beauty in diversity without being threatened by it, and trying to find an equal amount of justice and forgiveness. The discussion will continue for two more weeks! Got a question? Visit us at fmhouston.com/ama.

While studying the life of Ernest Hemingway via the new Ken Burns documentary, Andy is inspired about the importance of action, and urges the congregation to concentrate on positive, God-honoring actions and see where that leads them. "In our actions, in what we’re doing... let’s see what God can do." fmhouston.com