Sermon: “Knowing God” Preached by RE Hunter Boggs

This coming June, it will have been 5 years since my wife and I made the move from Louisiana to Baltimore, Maryland. In these 5 years, our family has grown from 2 to 5 (counting the cat) and we, like everyone, have experienced our share of joy and tragedy, of highs and lows, of loving our home and also of dreaming of someplace perhaps a bit more roomier, of loving this city and dreaming of a place maybe a little warmer in the winter. My wife followed me here to live many hours away from all family and friends to make a life in a new place while her husband was too busy working on the medical wards, and to raise two small children while her husband was often away on business trips or working late hours in the clinic. In June, as you may know, our time in Baltimore will have come to an end. We will be leaving to take a position in Birmingham, Alabama which will fortunately bring us closer to our biological family, but will unfortunately take us away from our “family” we have come to be a part of up here.

When you come to the end of a thing or a time period in life, it allows you the opportunity to be excited about the future…to look forward to the unknown, the possibilities, to what lies ahead. But just as importantly, it gives you the opportunity to look back and to reflect on what has happened during the time that is drawing to a close, to examine how those experiences have changed or shaped you (for better or worse), and to see how (and why) you have changed from the man or woman you were at the start of your life chapter, and compare it to the person you are today. Continue reading “Sermon: “Knowing God” Preached by RE Hunter Boggs”

Sermon: All in a Name

Acts 3:1-16

Once upon a time, a Methodist pastor tried something outside of the regular and normal and expected.  This is Rev. Willie Lyle.  Since June of 2013, he has served the Songo United Methodist Church in Clarksville, TN.  Before his first sermon at Songo, he tried an experiment.  He lived on the streets for 5 nights.  He got a small taste of the experiences of people without permanent housing and people who can simply not make ends meet on a regular basis.  And he got a taste of how folks in those situations in life are treated by those who are more fortunate.  It was not pretty. Continue reading “Sermon: All in a Name”