Ministry in Motion

The average Facebook user has 155 friends, but would trust only four of them in a crisis.   The Average Twitter User Now has 707 Followers. 77.6 million  I nstagram users are from the US; Six in ten online adults have Instagram accounts. Friendships Matter Strong friendships are a critical aspect of most people's emotional well-being. They can: bolster against  loneliness ; decrease  anxiety , and improve one's physical  health . When it comes to establishing a friendship, the quality of time spent together is often more important than the quantity. People who study ppl say that it’s not necessary to form a large network of friends. Rather research shows that building, cultivating and sustaining just a few close friends can be huge — providing tremendous benefits. “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant doesn’t know what his lord does. But I have called you friends, for everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you.”   ( Joh

A s a child I had an Advent calendar almost every year. Each day I would open a little cardboard door to reveal a small piece of chocolate candy. One year an opened door netted a plastic charm each day, twenty-five of them in all, not cool. Regardless, the goal was to not open all the doors early, or at once, but to daily wait … unlocking an Advent portal each day while counting down the days to Christmas, and the anticipation of Jesus’ birth. How is it that the creator of the universe would come among us in diapers? The humility of our God is absolutely astonishing. Because of the presence of the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, God with us has personal knowledge of all our hopes and fears in all the years ; They are met in Him each Christmas - love is with us.  Advent is drawing to a close, so I reflect. I appreciate being made for and by someone beyond this world. I, like you, was created by God and for God. St Augustine said it well:  “our hearts cannot rest until th

We often miss Advent's power because these December weeks leading up to Christmas are full of parties and festive holiday preparations. Each year, the busyness of this season serves to distract us from having the joy the Advent season truly possesses.  Look around. For many the holiday season isn't filled with joy but with gifts, anxiety, stress, and sometimes - sadness and despair.   In experiencing the waiting and the quiet contemplation of Advent, and blended with the joyful beauty of this church season, we can reframe our experiences with new expectations, that will likely not disappoint. It's in this expectancy that a new hunger for life will start to grow within us.   🎵   Come thou long expected Jesus Born to set Thy people free;   From our fears and sins release us,   Let us find our rest in Thee... 🎵 Scriptural Text: The Prophet Isaiah wrote: “..With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation! In that wonderful day you will sin

I don’t know if you’ve engaged in Advent in the past, maybe you have, maybe not. This year my hope is that you will journey with us, in our Advent practice as we align with the historic church Calendar, over the next three weeks. Edging closer to Christmas, we have an expectant hope and comfort that fills our hearts as we make room for our Messiah, Jesus Christ. From Isaiah to Malachi, and even in Luke’s Gospel, there is a consistent theme of waiting in lament, in preparation, in anticipation, for God to act. The Hebrew prophets, each in their own way, composed their prophetic poems around this recurring theme: The Lord is coming, God is about to act, but for now…we wait, we hope.   "..See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight - indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts .  [1]   … the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the

The Advent season is a time of anticipating the coming of God, in Christ, a time of turning our imagination toward the revelation of God’s love for us. For more than two decades I lost track of I the Christian calendar! Once a rich part of my youth, the rhymes of Advent: Peace, Hope, Joy and Love gave way to modern fashionable worship. In reality what I needed was not not more contemporary adoration but more contemplative devotion.   So as the Christian calendar turns over today and we begin the pilgrimage towards Christmas, I embrace this holy journey which enables me to anticipate and re-tell and re-live, and enter into the Jesus Story — from the crowded stable to the empty tomb. Observe with me the deeper richer rhythms of Advent , week one, with Scripture and Prayer: Scriptural Text: The day will come, says the Lord, when I will do for Israel and Judah all the good things I have promised them.  In those days and at that time I will raise up a righteous descendant fr

“To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:  ‘I know your works, and where you dwell...  where Satan’s throne is..." Today, all that's left of the ancient city of Pergamum, now in modern-day Turkey, are ruins. But when  John The Revelator wrote his letter to the church there, it was one of the most influential cities in the Roman Empire. At the end of the first century, Pergamum  was a thriving city. So why does the book of  Revelation  call it the  dwelling place of Satan ? The answer lies in the ruins of the city's temples. On one side, the city was incredibly beautiful. But on the flip side, it was one of the darkest, eeriest cities in the whole Roman Empire. But why the darkness? Why the  stern rebuke  from Jesus? Not really sure how things at  Ministry in Motion  work? Don't sweat it.  Come by  and say hi...  We meet each Wednesday @ 7pm.  Click here for directions #pkes    #MetroLifeChurch    #MinistryinMotion

Christ the King -   The Collect : Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords : Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen. Repairing - Tikkun Olam :   The world is aching for restorative hope. Whether we’ve done things that are our own fault, or whether it's the enemy who has stolen from us, God is the Restorer. “… God, will restore everything you lost; he’ll have compassion on you; he’ll come back and pick up the pieces..”     Our Father has a plan, a   goal, for restoring this broken world. N. T. Wright wrote: “The point of Christianity is not… [just] to go to heaven when you die. [Rather it’s] putting the whole creation to rights…” So I take solace, that ultimately, God will repair all things.

On this Thanksgiving, I would like express my profound gratitude toward all of you. I am blessed by all who frequent this site to read our posts, p eace be with you...Keith With Gratitude: Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love. We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care which surrounds us on every side. We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy and delight us. We thank you also for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone. Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the  example of his life; for his steadfast obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying, through which he overcame death; and for his risi

Very few people will ever become ‘well known’ or household names. But many folks still want to do all   they can to add some sparkle of celebrity to their own names. The payoff can be real — the more famous someone becomes the more customers, clients or likes they’ll draw; the bigger the draw the more cultural notoriety. The American Success Prototype: - Improve Yourself - Push your " Brand " - Click “Like” — Get others to follow you Christ-followers.  I suspect that since you’re continuing to read this article, you maybe wondering how to balance your social status with your Christian beliefs. Maybe you’re considering, how you can be more successful spiritually and to a lesser degree, socially.  The Jesus Kingdom Exemplar: - Deny yourself   - Take up your cross -   Follow Me The prophet  Daniel  wrote:  Many people who have already died will live again.    Some of them will wake up to have life forever,  b ut some will wake up to find shame a

As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. [1]   Human beings are complex. God designed us with the amazing ability to reason and logic and do what others in creation can not do: speak, laugh and believe in a  Divine Creator ©  Our ability to think rationally is a gift we should be grateful for, but this ability sometimes causes us to take the simplest of principles and complicate them to the point of becoming ineffective. I find it amazing how we tend to over complicate things, especially theological things. It doesn’t have to be that way. ‘A minute to learn, a lifetime to master’ easily describes the the good news of Jesus. There is a simplicity to the gospel, so that even a child can comprehend it. There is also depth and infinite richness to the gospel, which means we can spend the rest of our lives learning, discussing, and applying it’s truths.   [2] St Jerome said it this way: “The Scriptures are s

I r ish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde said:  ‘..To do nothing at all  is the most difficult thing in the world…’ I don’t believe that our lives as a Christian can be well lived in idleness. How often do needs around us go unmet because of our failure to do; to react; to trust God? I continually see an American Christian faith, neutral and shy of radical super-natural belief. It should be crying out: we can make a difference! “…for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” [1] The New Testament knows nothing of a “faith” that ignores needs, closes eyes to injustice, and keeps one’s mouth closed to the truth of the gospel. We are after all, not just Christians, but ‘truth-tellers’. Isn’t that why we're regenerated and restored?   I’m convinced that our Holy Spirit infu

Some Halloween Thoughts "...If you haven’t already guessed, I tend to agree with those who seek to redeem rather than reject Halloween – even though I am understanding of and sympathetic toward those who hold another point of view and would not wish to cause any offense..."  ~  Bruxy Cavey #MinistryinMotion   #MetroLifeChurch  

We aren't pulling the wool over your eyes!  Clean new socks are good for the soul — new socks change lives.  Each year we stuff hundreds of pairs of tube socks, with bunches of personal care items and yummy snacks,  to share with our brothers and sisters who call the streets of Houston, Texas their home. #Soxtoberfest - it’s a movement we’ve done for a couple of years; It’s fun for our grown-ups and teenagers; Just another way to be the church outside the church ; It’s easy & fun and we laugh a lot. Join us Wednesday October 31st @ 6:30pm as we gather to share a meal, stuff a bunch of socks and enjoy each other's company. If you can’t team up in person, feel free to partner with us electronically. For  a gift of $10 you an help us distribute hundreds of pairs of warm, much needed, stuffed socks. Very Cool! #pkes Donate   All gifts are tax-deductible and a year-end giving statement is prepared and sent, the end of each January.   Ministry in M

“…O Eternal God of vengeance, O God who sets things right, shine upon us. Rise, O Judge who presides over the earth, and pronounce Your sentence upon the proud. Give them what they deserve! How long, O Eternal One, how long will the guilty revel in their prosperity? …” PS 94:1-3 In the Hebrew Scriptures we read, no less than thirty-two times from Genesis to Nahum, about vengeance and revenge. Yet in the Gospels, in the teachings of Christ, we read time and again about forgiveness. What gives? Did God have a change of heart in the 400 years between Malachi and Matthew? Life offers us plenty of opportunities to feel unforgiving, our stories each hold room to prove this point. The trouble is that a lack of forgiveness does more damage to us than we maybe realize. Forgiveness is not forgetting or walking away from accountability or condoning a hurtful act; it's the process of taking back and healing our lives so we can truly live ~ B Brown When we don't forgiv

Revelation. Lamb Power. Revelation gives us one of the most beautiful and stunning portrayals of Jesus Christ and his Kingdom here and still to come.   The Book, and it’s critique and challenges of the seven churches, reminds us who is really sovereign and who is not.   Let’s draw closer to Jesus & His teachings;  To spiritual practices like scripture study and prayer.   Be part of our interactive study .. #Pkes   #MinistryinMotion    #MetroLifeChurch     #MinMChurch   Map and  Directions

In your own words,  can you describe  what the kingdom of God might look like: A new heaven and new earth? A sea that is no more? A Holy City coming down from heaven?   [1] The kingdom of God looks like Jesus!   Jesus healing the sick;   Feeding the poor;   Forgiving the sinner; Giving hope to the hopeless; Raising the spiritually dead. Selah “...behold, the kingdom of God   is in the midst of you…” [ 2] #pkes     #MetroLifeChurch   #MinistyinMotion

Giving online is simple and secure. Click on the Donate  button below to make a one-time or recurring donation by credit card or electronic check. Ministry in Motion.Church   All gifts are tax-deductible and a year-end giving statement is prepared and sent, the end of each January.  Ministry in Motion is a Texas Nonprofit Tax Exempt 501(c)(3) corporation under the  US Internal Revenue Service Code. #MetroLifeChurch #MinMChurch

Revelation . Come on. A story about a guy who claims to receive a message from God about the end of the world? A message that includes visions of angels of destruction, seven headed beasts, and rivers of blood? You're not the only one who suspects there's something a little trippy about the last book of the Bible. Some of the early church bishops didn't like Revelation, they thought it was too hard to understand:   Martin Luther said that it was "neither apostolic or prophetic," Thomas Jefferson thought Revelation was, well...too weird, and George Bernard Shaw called it "a peculiar record of the visions..” Let's figure out what’s the deal with Revelation  …#pkes   #MinistryinMotion     #MetroLifeChurch Directions

There are some Christian leaders that I look at and think,  "Are they following the same Jesus I am ?" But then I read stories about ancient Christian martyrs, and I wonder,   "Am I following the same Jesus as THEM?"  #pkes @SHoddeMiller @Bruxy @minm_church #MinMChurch #MetroLifeChurch

Are you holding a close secret? Are you mum on something you're not supposed to tell anyone? If you’re like many folks I’ve met, you’re holding ‘something or other’ pretty close to your vest. And in doing so, as SNL’s Mike Myers would say: “Oh, I'm getting a little verklempt ( farklempt ).   Most stuff is worth sharing, especially with the right person. While sharing personal “stuff” might seem like an invasion of privacy, it’s so worth the “vulnerability hangover”   It’s worth being misunderstood and misrepresented. There’s desirability in discomfort. It's worth the death of your self-image and maybe even your brand. There’s benefit to owning up to what’s inside, no matter how difficult, because as the Psalmist wrote: Hidden things will always come out into the open. Secret things will come to light and be exposed. [1] Secrets bring bondage, sharing brings freedom. Freedom. Here’s what happens when you finally drop the act, when you finally admit that

Let’s have a great conversation,  Wednesday October 3rd @ 7pm,   listening to and learning from each other.  Here’s what’s in store:  One big thing to note from  1 John 4 ,  is: "do not believe in every spirit." Okay? Just because a speaker waxes eloquently about godly things doesn’t mean their from God - you've got to put these folks to the test. The test involves making sure these people and ideas center on the fact that Jesus came in the flesh, ( he was not a android ). He was crucified, died and was buried; that He rose on the third day & ascended into heaven + He will come again. The Apostle John says that lots of false prophets and ‘antichrists’ are peddling some nonsense about Jesus, this is…bad. Very bad. John finishes off the chapter four by saying that if you go around saying that you love God but you're hating on other Christians, then you're just a liar...#pkes Directions #MinMChurch  #MetroLifeChurch