Latexo United Methodist Church

06/17/2024

On this Father’s Day, I remember the encouragement I always received from my father whenever I faced a difficult task: “It builds character!”
As we continue our look at 2 Timothy, we see the character building, fatherly advice and encouragement Paul had the for the man he would refer to as “my son”.

Message from Liberty Hill UMC, June 16th, 2024

06/10/2024

If you knew your time on this earth was short, what would you want to say before you go. For the Apostle Paul, we find that out in 2 Timothy.

We look at the first chapter of this letter in “To My Beloved”

Message from Liberty Hill UMC, June 9th, 2024

06/03/2024

We are humble vessels, containing a great treasure.

Message from Liberty Hill UMC, Sunday, June 2, 2024

03/31/2024

Getting the girls in bed this evening, they were naturally super excited about Easter. Especially to see what was in their Easter baskets.

As happy as I am as a father to see them look forward to the day, I felt I should remind them that, as great as whatever they receive is sure to be, it’s nowhere near as exciting as what we are celebrating.

It’s hard for them to try and grasp the resurrection. At their age, the foreverness of death is difficult enough. Much less victory over death.

This is why I feel so strongly about Good Friday, and it’s often overlooked importance. We are a resurrected people because of His death.

Throughout the week I have been posting about Holy Week, with depictions from art, on the Liberty Hill United Methodist Church page. For Good Friday, I tried to capture a visual timeline of the day, from Christ’s arrest, to His final breath.

We looked through these images, talking about the story behind each moment, and they seemed to better understand, as much as they could, Jesus’ sacrifice for us. Not just a quick moment, but a prolonged and voluntary suffering.

They felt the sadness at seeing the final picture. But then, looked forward with hope to tomorrow. Not for the silly, fun parts of Easter. But to His death being over. To celebrating His victory. Like anticipating the part of a movie where the hero comes back from certain defeat and you get a happy ending.

As you go about your busy Easter, I invite you to revisit Good Friday. Look over the images from Holy Week, and remind your children, and yourselves, of how we got to the empty tomb. It may seem like a downer, but I think you’ll find it gives your family all the more reason to celebrate.

Without the cross, the tomb is simply an empty hole in the earth. With it, it is the greatest story of the victory of God’s love.

11/07/2023

Me: I deserve…
God:

09/04/2023

A Double Meaning in John 3:16?

Most of us memorized John 3:16 in the King James Version: “For God so loved the world….” That little word “so” in Greek is οὕτως (houtōs). But that word can be understood in two ways.

The KJV and most English translations that render houtōs as “so,” understand it to refer to degree or extent. This is *how much* God loved the world, namely, that he gave his Son.

However, the word houtōs can also refer to the way or manner in which something happened. In that case, we would render it as the NET has done, “For this is the way God loved the world…” This is the way, this is the manner, by which God loved the world, namely, he gave his Son.

The evangelist John is known for using double entendre, double meanings, such as in John 1:5, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not katelaben it.” The root of that Greek verb, καταλαμβάνω, can mean both “comprehend” and/or “overcome.” So which is it? Probably both. John is saying that the darkness has not comprehended or overcome the light. And he says it by using only one word.

The same double-meaning of a word is probably happening in John 3:16. To give a fuller translation, we might say, “For God loved the world so much, that he showed his love in this way: he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

08/30/2023

Message from Liberty Hill UMC, Sunday, August 27, 2023

08/25/2023

08/21/2023

Message from Liberty Hill UMC, August 20, 2023

07/05/2023

One of the Ways Modern Authors Are Completely Unlike Biblical Authors

In novels today, when authors introduce a character, we read something like, “When Frank walked through the front door, his head involuntarily ducked, a byproduct of boasting a 6’6” frame.” Or, “When Cynthia strolled along the beach, her blonde hair dancing in the breeze, her blue eyes seemed to mirror the ocean.”

So, right away, we know Frank is a big guy and Cynthia is blonde and blue-eyed. And as the story progresses, there’s a high likelihood we will be told about various other bodily features that distinguish these two characters. Whether these physical features figure prominently—or at all—in the narrative is beside the point. Authors just want us to “see” these characters, to get a mental image of them.

In this way, modern authors are completely unlike biblical authors.

We have no idea what Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Solomon, Naomi, and others looked like. Were they short, ugly, bald, gorgeous, tall? Did they have scars or birthmarks? Did they have big ears or long legs? About 99% of the time, we are not told. The biblical authors thought those details unnecessary.

Therefore, when we *are* told, when some physical description is given of a biblical character, sit up and take notice. Pay attention. That detail will feature in the future narrative in some way. It’s not just “filler.”

For example:
1. When Esau is born, we’re told he is hairy. That detail reemerges as important when Jacob must wear hairy goat skins to impersonate his brother and trick his blind father.

2. Speaking of hair, the narrator describes Absalom’s long and full head of hair. We’re given the impression that he’s quite proud of it since he weighs it every year (who does that?). Absalom’s hair will be his prideful undoing when he gets it hung in a tree while fleeing from David’s men (2 Sam. 18:19 says his “head” was caught in the tree, but presumably the hair of his head was caught).

3. Sarah’s good looks are mentioned, but only as the reason for Pharaoh’s subsequent seizure of her and her placement in his harem. Likewise, Joseph’s handsome appearance parallels this, for his master’s wife found him attractive and tried repeatedly to seduce him.

4. Saul’s height is included in his description to reinforce that he had the “look” of a leader and king.

5. Ehud’s left-handedness (or ambidextrousness) plays no small role in his ability to cross-grasp the sword hidden on his right thigh (see image).

One of the ways we learn how to read and interpret the Bible is to learn what was important to the authors. What did they accent and why? How did they emphasize certain salient features? What literary techniques did they use? One of these is the physical features of characters.

So, the next time you read some seemingly minor physical detail about a biblical character, note it well. The authors waste no ink. It's highly likely that detail will be important.