First United Methodist Church

     I have really been enjoying “The Last Dance” on ESPN. This 10-part series focuses on the life and career of Michael Jordan, leading up to his last year with the Chicago Bulls.

    What an amazing career. He played 15 seasons in the NBA, winning six champ...

     When she was thirty years old, she was ready to throw in the towel. She wrote in her diary these words, “My God, what will become of me? I have no desire but to die.” She said that every night she would go to bed wishing to not wake up in the mornin...

     In the early 1600's, Martin Rinkart was a pastor at the Lutheran Church in the city of Eilenburg, Saxony at the beginning of a war in Germany that lasted for thirty years. The war killed eight million people, including 20 percent of Germany’s population.

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     Lorenzo grew up in a working-class neighborhood in St. Louis. His father wanted him to be a brick-yard laborer, in the family tradition. But Lorenzo loved baseball, and he wouldn’t give up. When he was 16 years old, playing on an American Legion team, a teammate o...

     A child told his grandmother how happy he was to see her. He said, “Maybe now daddy is going to do the trick he has been promising.” Curious, she asked, “What trick is that?” “He told mommy that he would climb the walls if you came to visit again.” 

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     Somebody asked me the other day, “What is your favorite book in the Bible?” My answer to that changes quite often. Usually it is the Gospel of John. Sometimes Ecclesiastes. Job makes it to the top spot every now and then. Right now, my favorite book in the Bible i...

      It happened between AD 30 and 33. The city was Jerusalem. The place was an upper room. I cannot begin to imagine what was going on in the minds of Jesus’ disciples as they gathered together for what would be their last meal with him. 

    He tol...

    What do you do when you are really stressed? Where do you turn when fear is knocking at the door?

    For preaching the gospel, the Apostle Paul was in prison in the ancient city of Rome. While there he wrote a letter to the church in Philippi....

     We sure are living in strange days. We are experiencing things that are beyond our control. We don’t know when this will end. Ordinary life is so different. Schools are closed. Sporting events are canceled. Businesses and places of work are closed. To me, it is li...

     There is a little book toward the back of the Old Testament that is called Habakkuk. It was written around the year 605 B.C. by a prophet who was named Habakkuk. He lived at the same time as the prophet Jeremiah. He was a person of deep faith.

    A coup...