Welcome to Holy Week and Easter, Spring Valley! We kicked off our Holy Week activities with an Easter Egg hunt, featuring my favorite Easter Bunny. Linus (18) was at the end of his Spring Break, so he was able to don the bunny costume for the fourth consecutive year. The next day was Palm/Passion Sunday, which began with a procession up Peyton Drive from Valley View Park.

It's Back to School Sunday this weekend! We will bless backpacks, pray for students and teachers, as well as the snacks and clothes we collected for Network Community Ministries. It's a great Sunday to invite a friend!

I have always loved the story of Ezra and Nehemiah. These two Old Testament history books were once one volume. Ezra was a priest; Nehemiah was cupbearer to Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of the mighty Babylonian Empire. The story takes place during the time of the Israelites' captivity, when many were forced to live away from Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar took a liking to Nehemiah.

Last summer we put together a group of people at Grace with varied experiences and backgrounds when it comes to worship. We wanted to vision and explore new possibilities for our worship experiences at Grace UMC. We called this team the Worship Design Team. This team, comprised of long-time members of the Worship Committee and other voices, began first by examining long-term trends for worship at the church.

Matthew 16:21-28 How many times have you used, or heard the cliche, "Well, it's my cross to bear!" Usually the person is describing an inconvenience they are enduring. For example, I drive a very gas-thirsty car. I filled it up on Wednesday, the day before the gas frenzy happened in North Texas, because our son James had a football game in Sulphur Springs Thursday night (90 minutes each way).

Wednesday of this week started as any other: making breakfast and packing lunches for the boys, etc. As I left the house to bring Linus to school, I noticed a missed call and a message on the phone. I checked it. It was from our District Superintendent, Milton Guttierrez. I returned his call and learned that I would become the new Senior Pastor at Oak Lawn United Methodist in Dallas.

The angel marvels at the Child in this snowglobe, which plays, "Jesus Loves Me" (note the cherubs around the base). This is unusual music for a Nativity scene, but coupled with the Isaiah text for the day, everything comes together: the Child, who loves us, is the hope of the world. "A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

Yesterday morning I tweeted this, reflecting on the style of sermon I was offering: Narrative preaching: Don't talk abt Abraham & Sarah (Genesis chaps 12-22); tell the story with comments. Text stands on its own-Experimental — Pastor Frank (@revfrankdrenner) June 18, 2017 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsThis was somewhat confusing to some, so I'll clarify its meaning. And share the experience of trying out a new format for sermons: Narrative preaching.

This Sunday at Oak Lawn we’ll begin a new sermon series, “Holy Conversations: Seeking Unity in a Divided World.” We’ll explore some of the moral issues we’ve been hearing about in the news recently—and how our faith speaks to them.Every Sunday as I stand before you to preach, I am aware of, and thankful for, the great trust you give to me.

last night was an incredible night in the wide world of sports. after a four-hour marathon the cleveland indians beat the vaunted-- and expensive-- yankees. at the same time, in the same state, the cowboys finished the craziest football game i have ever seen. i finished both games slightly before midnight, but was too emotionally wound up to go to sleep.

This snowglobe was given to me in 2000. What I love about it is how the snowman is reaching for the star. Advent is a time of reaching. Christians do not reach for things (hey today is CyberMonday), but we reach for hope. For love. For peace and joy. "The Lord isn't slow to keep his promise, as some think of slowness, but he is patient toward you, not wanting anyone to perish but all to change their hearts and lives" (2 Peter 3:9).

So how's your Lent going?? We're halfway through the annual forty days of spiritual preparation leading up to Easter. Can you believe it? Good Friday is three weeks from today. I still feel like I am recovering from Christmas. Last Sunday we celebrated the Lord's Supper-- first Sunday of March. You may not know this, but our Book of Worship has two communion liturgies for Lent: one for early, and one for late.

This week my former high school band director, Mr Reinke, died. Mr Reinke is a legend in my hometown of Bay City. He was the leader of our Black Cat Band for many years. He was a fiery man, a perfectionist with extremely high standards. He was a gifted musician. He and I both played the trombone; one of us sounded like a goose being strangled.

Last week while Christy and James were gone on a choir tour with our previous church, I had some free time each night after putting Linus and Miles to bed. I started watching Stranger Things, the new original series on Netflix. I had read lots of buzz online about this series and I was interested, mostly because it is set in the 80s.

The Birth of Jesus In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David.

12-13 The Grinch had it all figured out. Steal their stuff, steal their joy. That's how one thinks when one's heart is 2 or 3 sizes too small. But the singing on Christmas morning taught the Grinch about joy. It's not connected to things; it's connected to love. Even the grinchiest of Grinches can experience the transforming power of love. Today is the 3rd Sunday of Advent.

(Yes, I know you will receive tons of invitations to Easter: postcards, shared Facebook posts from friends, radio ads, etc. I'll even receive some of these myself-- and I am sort of tied up Easter morning!) But I wanted to offer a different invitation. You are invited to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus in a quiet, contemplative setting: at Custer Road's 17 acres, the corner of…