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Wednesday 5:30pm - 7pm Thursday 9am - 12pm Sunday 9:45am - 12pm

Sopchoppy United Methodist Church, 10 Faith Avenue, Sopchoppy, FL (2026)

01/26/2026

Monday Morning Reflections From the Pastor's Desk

Button Up Your Coat

As our world braces for winter storms, I can still see myself as a little girl, standing at the edge of the road, waiting for the school bus, tightly buttoned in my overcoat, gloved hands pressed close to keep out the cold.

Why this memory surfaces now, I cannot say—except for the coat. It was a warm shade of brown, trimmed with a soft, furry collar. Inside, a fleece lining held back the chill. Large buttons marched down the front, each one different, as if chosen on purpose. The fabric itself was printed with images of multicolored buttons, and at the sides were extra-large pockets—big enough to carry all the things a child believes are important.

I can still see my mother fastening the buttons of my coat, one by one, making sure I was protected from the cold. I did not know then how much love was being sewn into that small, ordinary moment. With a kiss on the cheek and an “I love you,” I was sent into the day, big pockets filled with a few small necessities—everything a child thought she needed for the day.

It was a child’s simple overcoat, and yet today it is so much more. It is a reminder of the love that once shielded me, and an acknowledgment of the love that shields me still—not so much from the cold of the elements, but from the storms of the spirit.

Paul reminds us to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience (Colossians 3:12–14). He also urges us to clothe ourselves in Christ, letting His character guide us rather than the impulses of the flesh (Romans 13:12–14). Like my coat many years ago, these virtues cover and protect us, preparing us to step into the world —ready to give and receive love, ready to face the day, completely covered and buttoned in His love.

Did you know each button on our spiritual overcoat fastens us to Christ and reflects His image in us? Compassion buttons us to our neighbors, kindness, humility, and gentleness to those who struggle, while patience—a virtue we all need—is tucked in an extra-large pocket, ready for the days when the wind blows harder than we expect. When we fasten each button with the Word of God, we step into the world fully clothed—connected to others and reflecting Christ in all we do.

However, some days the buttons slip, the coat loosens, and the cold wind sneaks in. We become chilly and unprepared—but we are still clothed by mercy, by love, by the One who never lets go. It’s okay to feel the chill, to stumble, or to lose a button or two. As long as we remember the way back and fasten a new button, each day becomes another chance to step bravely into the world, giving and receiving the blessings God has entrusted.

The coat, the buttons, the pockets—they are more than childhood memories. They are a picture of the care and provision that surrounds us every day, often unseen. What buttons will you fasten today? Which virtues will you tuck into your pockets and carry with intention? As we step into the world, may we be clothed not only for protection, but for purpose—to walk in Christ’s love, to receive His grace, and to offer it freely to all we meet. In this simple, spiritual attire, we find strength, warmth, and direction for the journey ahead.

Galatians 3:27 – “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”

07/03/2023

The Gift

I love getting presents, who doesn’t? Brightly colored packages, neatly wrapped with a bow on top, can bring a smile to any face. For a child, the bigger the box, the better the gift. Maybe because the child considers the “big box” part of the gift, inevitably, it will become an imaginary fort, house, or hiding place for a little one. When does “big things come in small packages” become a reality?

Somewhere between the wide-eyed wonder of a child and adult-life experiences, our reach changes from the big box to the little package. We learn that diamond rings, cross pendants, and gold watches are in small packages. Nonetheless, regardless of age, whether the gift is large or small, we can all agree that receiving a gift will always bring a smile to the receiver’s heart.

Another gift reality that spans the time between youth and aging is the position of the gift. Is it in the hands of the giver or the receiver? There comes a time in life when giving the gift becomes greater than getting. This transition begins from within. Searching for the perfect gift becomes an adventure of love. It is exciting to see the joy on the face of a loved one as the unwrapping begins. Then there is that moment when the giving and receiving meets the participants with unspeakable pleasure.

This unspeakable pleasure reaches even further into the progression of gift-giving to find the greatest gift of all. Although this gift has many perspectives, it remains the least expensive and costliest. Yet the giver never weighs the cost, for the reward is beyond comprehension and delivers unbelievable joy to both parties. It is the gift of self, and it is the most rejected.
Jesus felt this rejection just before the Passover Festival when Peter rejected His gift of serving. Jesus was offering the gift of self when He knelt before Peter to wash His feet. Peter declined the act until Jesus responded, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me (v.8).” It was a gift, an act of devotion, from the Lord to Peter. When Peter finally understood this, he humbly received the gift of love from the Lord (John 13:1-17).

Pride and humility stood in strong contrast in another time of giving. Jesus was invited to the home of a Pharisee, a prideful man. While He was seated at the table, a humble woman entered the room, breaking open an alabaster jar of perfume. As the fragrance filled the air, love healed her spirit. Jesus may have served when washing the feet of the disciples; He also allowed Himself to be served, bringing healing to the server. Jesus told the woman her faith had saved her (Luke 7:36-50). From a “big box-little box” perspective, her serving was the smaller box.

It is so much easier to serve than to be served. By nature, we are to be independent, standing on our own, which becomes a matter of pride. Pride leads to destruction, and a haughty spirit comes before the fall (Proverbs 16:18). Maybe the greatest gift is relinquishing our pride and allowing others to serve us. Or maybe the greatest gift is giving ourselves in service to another. However, neither gift will come wrapped with pretty paper and fancy bows; there will be no boxes to choose from. The gift will be packaged within one’s spirit, and to deny their gift would be to deny their blessing.

Be Blessed in the Name of Our Lord Jesus

Proverbs 11:25 A generous person will be enriched, and the one who provides water for others will himself be satisfied.

01/21/2023

Isn't It Time We Return

It was an ordinary day when Mom loaded all five children into the family car for a shopping trip. Unannounced to her, I slipped from my seat, following her into the house as she retrieved her purse. Returning to the car, she pulled from the driveway without me.

I quickly ran from my room through the front door, trying to catch up with her, but to no avail. I do not remember how long I stood crying on that dirt road. However, I remember the purple sailboat and pink cat stitched to my lavender shirt. I recall the matching shorts and my buster brown shoes with side buckles. I also remember the uncontrollable sobs as Mom disappeared from my sight.

As quickly as Mom disappeared, she began to reappear. She must not have gone far before she realized I was not in the back seat. Soon she was in front of me, swooping me into her arms as I cried on her shoulder. This time she placed me in the front seat next to her, keeping her right arm tight around my shaking little body. I felt her comfort as she allowed me to cry my fear away. I think of my frightened state that day, yet I never thought of her being terrified for me.

It is strange how life and scripture collide into an object lesson. There was a time when Mary and Joseph felt this type of fear. Jesus was 12 years old when they traveled to Jerusalem for Passover. It was a journey they made each year. However, on the return home, they realized Jesus was missing. At first, they searched among the family and friends they traveled with. Then they returned to Jerusalem and searched for three days before finding Jesus in the temple. When Mary saw her son, she wanted to know why He had worried them, causing them to search for Him (Luke 2:41-48).

Scripture teaches that Mary and Joseph nervously looked for Jesus. It occurs to me that through all the bumps and bruises of this world, the hardest has been when I left God out of the equation. The truth is, we cannot leave Jesus behind and remain strong. Faith is a journey of strengths and weaknesses. Strength grows, and vulnerabilities diminish as we stay in God’s presence. Still, without God, the opposite takes place. How long will we stand on the dirt road waiting for Him to chase our fears away?

So often, we set our priorities, forgetting that God has a perfect plan. We burn our energy in the busy work of life, failing to depend on His strength. Yet somewhere in our spirit, we know we can do all things through Him who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). Isn’t it time we go back to the sanctuary, renewing our commitment to Him, finding our strength again?

I do not know where you are in life, your hurts, disappointments, or fears. Sometimes it seems so easy to get out of the car (so to speak) to do our own thing. Just remember, He is the mighty warrior who saves. His greatest desire is to place you on the front seat and soothe you with His love, to rejoice over you with singing. Let Him lift you up today (Zephaniah 3:17) and comfort you. Remember, you have a place in the Kingdom of God, and He is waiting right where you left Him. At the altar of your salvation.

Be Blessed In His Name

Hebrews 10:25 Let us not neglect our church meetings, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.

10/28/2022

Pray With a Humble Heart

It was a time when I was seriously ill. I had just received a chemo treatment and stopped at Wal-Mart on my way home for a couple of items. I was puffed from the steroids, and my hair had long since fallen out. I was pale, and I was weak. On three separate occasions, I was face to face with a man I did not know. Finally, as I neared the checkout, he stood before me. He said, “Three times I felt the need to pray for you, and three times I passed you by.” He continued the conversation by asking permission to pray for me.

Standing in the checkout line, I bowed my head as he placed his hands on my shoulders. It was the only time I heard the silence in Wal-Mart. Tears fell from my eyes, and a warmness filled my being as he prayed. The words of this stranger brought me comfort. My spirit was thirsty for a touch from God. I was still sick when I opened my eyes, but I felt safe and grateful.

If it is true that prayer can move mountains, then there was a noticeable shift in the landscape of my soul the day a stranger prayed for me. Prayer is the greatest gift we can ever give ourselves or someone else. Nonetheless, it is the most overthought and overly complicated act known to man. And yet, prayer should be the most accessible, natural act of human existence. Prayer is a simple conversation between the Father and His child that begins with a humble heart.

We read about a humble heart of prayer in scripture. John the Baptist had been the one crying in the wilderness, preparing a way for Christ the Lord. As Jesus stepped into His ministry, John’s ministry began to lessen. John’s prayer would be that Jesus increased as he decreased (John 3:30). John humbly recognized the need for Jesus in the people’s lives.

Mother Theresa walked this same path of humbleness, for she prayed, “Lord, help us to spread Your fragrance everywhere we go. May our lives only be a radiance of Yours.” I had an opportunity to witness this exact reflection of humble prayer as I hosted a men’s prayer breakfast. During prayer time, I heard an elderly gentleman pray, “Lord, let me walk so others see you coming.” They were simple words, but they carried the strength of a humble heart that served the Lord. I often use these words when I pray.

We may never change the world completely, but through prayer, we can change our hearts. And we can become the pebble in the pond that causes the ripple effect of peace and healing. I have never seen the stranger from Wal-Mart again. However, I have never forgotten his gift of prayer to me. The gentleman from the prayer group has journeyed to Heaven; his prayer remained as a gift, and now I have given it to you.

Take this simple gift of prayer and walk so others see Jesus coming. Become the fragrance of the Father and the calming of the storm. Pray for our children, our schools, and each other. Pray for our country and government. Pray for the soldiers, law enforcement, and first responders. Pray for the drug addict, the lost, the broken: the lonely, and the scared. Pray for forgiveness. Pray for grace. And pray with a humble heart.

James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

09/28/2022

For His Glory

Kick the Can! How many memories did that statement evoke? How many have no thought one way or the other? We have all seen Opie Taylor kicking a can down the dusty dirt road on the Andy Griffith show. I have spent a few days in a simpler time where dirt roads and worn-out sneakers were the more significant part of my day. I have kicked a few cans and rocks down life’s dirt road.

Last evening, I decided to step out for a relaxing stroll. Like a scene from my past, a black rock lay in the roadway ahead of me. I gave it one good kick and watched it tumble end over end before coming to a stop right side up. What I believed to be a black rock was nothing more than a busted reflector from the center of the road. I picked it up and placed it in the pocket of my backpack to examine later. It sits on my desk today.

Looking at it, I see the black asphalt from the roadway still clinging to its underside. On top are two reflectors, one amber, and one red. They are marred and broken, with pieces missing from the lens. Why would this bit of road debris become my focus today? Flipping the collectible in my hand, I began considering a few things. Teach me, Lord!

First lesson, the reflector is displaced, for it is no longer where it initially belonged. Much like this displaced object, we are also distanced from our original purpose. Genesis 3 teaches that our beginning was in our relationship with God. The Lord would come in the cool of the day to be with man. However, we were removed from our original purpose when man fell for Satan’s temptation in the Garden of Eden. Still, God provided a new way. It is through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus that we are brought back into a relationship with God. We may not be centered in Eden. Nonetheless, we are centered in God’s grace.

My second thought is how the reflector clings to a part of the roadway. Just as I cannot eradicate the tar and asphalt from the reflector, we cannot remove the darkness from our spirit that pulls us away from the presence of God. That, again, is the work of Calvary. God wants to do something new within us, but we must first let go of the old. If we are in Christ, we are a new creation, the old is gone, and we are becoming new in Him. The hardest thing a person can do is to allow themselves to be pliable in the hands of God. God can heal what is broken if we give Him the shattered pieces. In surrendering our past, the darkness flees, and we receive a future filled with His light.

Contemplating the future brings my final thoughts to the reflective lens that guides the person on the darkened road. Turning the shattered object toward the light, the busted lens begins to flicker like a beacon in the night. Our lives are much like that. We may believe we have lost our center, but we have not. Our shortcomings and flaws do not matter because He makes us brand new.

Therefore, today let us turn our lives toward His light and become mirrored reflections of His grace. And as we leave the old behind, allowing the new to come, we will continue to shine for His glory.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come, The old has gone, the new is here!

09/27/2022

Welcome to the Back Porch

Encounter at Jacob's Well
John 4:4-14
Jesus had to go through Samaria. 5 He came to a town in Samaria called Sychar. It was near the piece of land Jacob had given his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there. Jesus was tired from the journey. So he sat down by the well. It was about noon. 7 A woman from Samaria came to get some water. Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”
8 His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew. I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” She said this because Jews don’t have anything to do with Samaritans. 10 Jesus answered her, “You do not know what God’s gift is. And you do not know who is asking you for a drink. If you did, you would have asked him. He would have given you living water.
11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you don’t have anything to get water with. The well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Our father Jacob gave us the well. He drank from it himself. So did his sons and his livestock. Are you more important than he is?” 13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. 14 But anyone who drinks the water I give them will never be thirsty.

Be Blessed

Sopchoppy United Methodist Church

01/26/2026

07/03/2023

01/21/2023

10/28/2022

09/28/2022

09/27/2022

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