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30 03, 2018

A Blessed Weekend

2018-03-30T11:10:20-05:00March 30th, 2018|All blogs, Inside-Out with Dr. Tom Pace|0 Comments

A PERSONAL PRAYER God of both Fridays and Sundays, “See from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down! Did e'er such love and sorrow meet…?” - Isaac Watts, early Methodist hymnodist. I stand amazed by your love, for me, God. When I stand in the court of the pavements of my imagination, watching the whip, the thorns, the humiliation…, my heart breaks. When I trail behind your son to the cross, watch him fall and struggle to rise, I bow my head in shame and sadness. But then I consider you, God… seeing what we do to [...]

23 03, 2018

Invictus: A Passion, by Sid Davis

2018-03-23T09:10:16-05:00March 23rd, 2018|All blogs, We Tell Our Stories|0 Comments

I am not a believer in the notion of God “showing up.” Sometimes, when things go extraordinarily well, one can be tempted to attribute success to the attendance of the Almighty. Annie Dillard says, “Beauty and grace are performed whether or not we will or sense them. The least we can do is try to be there.” I believe not only that beauty and grace are OF God, but that God is ever-present and it is our responsibility to show up. I don’t consider myself to be gifted in that regard, and the details of life, no matter how [...]

23 03, 2018

I can do it myself!

2018-03-23T11:15:23-05:00March 23rd, 2018|All blogs, Inside-Out with Dr. Tom Pace|0 Comments

Our inside-out habits: We pray. We study the Bible. We make friends. We tell our stories. We give ourselves away in generosity and service. A PERSONAL PRAYER God, From the time I was little, I said “I can do it myself!” I don’t take any telling, because I know the answers all by myself. I am the helper, not the helpee. If I work a little harder or think a little more or behave a little better, I can make it right. But God, it seems that the more I try to do it myself, the further I wander away [...]

16 03, 2018

What comes from hard times?

2018-03-15T15:31:47-05:00March 16th, 2018|All blogs, Inside-Out with Dr. Tom Pace|0 Comments

Our inside-out habits: We pray. We study the Bible. We make friends. We tell our stories. We give ourselves away in generosity and service. A PERSONAL PRAYER God, Times are good, now, in my life. Thank you for that, for the many blessings that come my way, the good circumstances in which I find myself. I confess that these good times lead to a certain complacency on my part. There isn’t so much to learn from good times. I don’t grow. I don’t change. I see little reason to do anything any differently. I know things could be still better [...]

15 03, 2018

Harvey and St. Luke’s, by Amanda Sorena

2018-03-15T15:12:59-05:00March 15th, 2018|All blogs, We Tell Our Stories|0 Comments

This year’s first sermon series was about weathering the storms in our lives. One of the elements that resonated deeply with me is how we are not meant to handle these storms alone. God wants us to lean on him and each other in order to draw strength and persevere. We know this intellectually, but it is hard to completely understand its application in our lives until you are in the midst of your own storm. For us, the storm was literal when our single-story ranch style home in Meyerland flooded with Hurricane Harvey. St. Luke’s and The [...]

9 03, 2018

Adam Hamilton answers questions about his new book, “Unafraid”

2018-03-09T10:03:38-06:00March 9th, 2018|All blogs, We Tell Our Stories|0 Comments

What personally inspired you to pen Unafraid? As I began exploring scripture, I found that over 140 times the Bible addresses fear — it is a major theme in scripture. Again and again, God tells his people, “Don’t be afraid!” This became the impetus for the book. I ended up surveying the congregation to see what their fears were, and I read everything I could get my hands on about fear. The book was the result of this study. What is the first step in not allowing our fears to paralyze us? In the book, I speak of [...]

9 03, 2018

What else do you worship?

2018-03-09T09:53:06-06:00March 9th, 2018|All blogs, Inside-Out with Dr. Tom Pace|0 Comments

A PERSONAL PRAYER God, I love you so much. I want you to be at the very center of my life, and for everything else to revolve around you. But God, I also love so many other things.  I love my family. I don’t know what I would do without them. They are the very center of my life. God, have I made my family more important than you in my life? Forgive me if I have made an idol of my family. I love approval. I want people to like me, and for them to believe that I care about [...]

2 03, 2018

Distinguished Life 2018

2018-03-02T09:46:17-06:00March 2nd, 2018|All blogs, We Tell Our Stories|0 Comments

Val Dean and Jack Read joined St. Luke’s in 1954 and have been faithful supporters of every minister who has served at St. Luke’s. For 64 years they have “given themselves away in generosity and service!” Jack, who is a native Houstonian, has served St. Luke’s as a Boy Scout leader, usher, member of the Board of Stewards and Houston Project committees, Habitat for Humanity volunteer, and UMCOR hurricane relief volunteer. For years he has been part of the woodshop team where members craft as many as 10,000 toys for non-profits each year. Jack also serves in the prayer [...]

2 03, 2018

Beware a useless faith

2018-03-02T09:28:31-06:00March 2nd, 2018|All blogs, Inside-Out with Dr. Tom Pace|0 Comments

A PERSONAL PRAYER God, You know how I love to walk through old churches. When I walk these beautiful edifices, built to honor and glorify you, I am stunned by their beauty, the amazing architecture, the awe inspiring windows and sculpture. Except for the tourists, however, they would be rather empty. Few lives changed in the midst of them. Lots of going through the motions. Lots of familiar rituals that make people more comfortable. They seem to have, in the words of 2 Timothy, “the form of godliness, lacking its power.” But who am I to judge those [...]

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