“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

We who have been washed clean and filled to the brim with the love of Jesus are called to invite others to know the same life of hope, joy, love, and salvation that is only found in Jesus.

Each Wednesday, we are grateful to offer a meal to our community. For $2 per person, and $5 per family, you can enjoy a delicious meal, often prepared with local ingredients. Join us each week at 5:30 pm. This Wednesday’s menu: Taco Pasta Bake & Vanilla Cake!!

You are invited to stay and attend one of our Wed. ministry classes (6-7pm) — for all ages from preschool through senior adults.

Soul Cafe Kids (PreK-3rd) meet in the Children’s building.

Preteens (4th-6th) meet in the Youth trailer building.

Youth (7th-12th) meet in the Youth trailer building.

Adults are invited to join Doug Tipps for Bible study around the tables in the sanctuary. This time of study is casual, informal and interactive. Grab a Bible, use one available at the church, or download an app on your phone.

Each Wednesday beginning January 7, 2026, we are grateful to offer a meal to our community. For $2 per person, and $5 per family, you can enjoy a delicious meal, often prepared with local ingredients. Join us each week at 5:30 pm. This Wednesday’s menu: Hamburgers w/all the fixings, chips and cookies.

You are invited to stay and attend one of our Wed. ministry classes (6-7pm) — for all ages from preschool through senior adults.

Soul Cafe Kids (PreK-3rd) meet in the Children’s building.

Preteens (4th-6th) meet in the Youth trailer building.

Youth (7th-12th) meet in the Youth trailer building.

Adults are invited to join Doug Tipps for Bible study around the tables in the sanctuary. This time of study is casual, informal and interactive. Grab a Bible, use one available at the church, or download an app on your phone.

Tomorrow’s worship theme is on our service in the world. When we use

our gifts and talents to serve others, that is service to God and is

an act of worship.  Therefore, worship is not only what we do in

church but how we conduct ourselves in all of life. Worship is a

lifestyle, a way that we do life.

The particular idea for tomorrow is that when we create things as

people of faith, we are doing that out of the character of a God who

is always creating. From the beginning to the present moment he is

creating. And everything he creates is good and it is beautiful.  So

an act of worship is to create something beautiful as “unto the Lord.”

Part of what that means is the way God would create it.

Tomorrow some of our Soul Cafe family will bring some things they

have created. As they are presented you can count on it being an act

of worship. So bring something beautiful that you have made. A

painting. A doily. A cupcake. A pick up. A piece of clothing. And

let’s worship the God who makes beautiful things. And if  you are not

ready tomorrow, come and be inspired to bring something next week.

We’re going to have the biggest show and tell in all of Ledbetter. We

are going to have so much fun tomorrow.

I have so many questions. Way more than I have answers. But quite

often knowing the right questions to ask is an enormous help in

setting the  direction for finding the right answer.

I would like to have a “question” worship this Sunday.  It is a bit of

a risk because it may set us up for expecting me to have all the

answers. That is not the point. The point is that in asking questions

together we establish what are the realities we all face in our

ambition in following Jesus in the everydayness of life.

So come Sunday and let’s ask serious questions  about our faith, our

temptations, our puzzlement as we journey onward together. I think

this will be loads of fun. See  you Sunday for “Questions for the

Journey”.

For the last four Sundays we have looked carefully at the followers

of Jesus in the days following the resurrection of Jesus.  It was a

time of dramatic transition in that Jesus was no longer with them. In

their state of quandary, however, they choose to follow Jesus’

instructions to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the Father to fulfill a

promise to send His Spirit as a comforter, empowerer, and guide. Sure

enough God kept his promise and in spectacular fashion the full

presence of God came fully among them.

Several things evidenced God’s presence among them. One, they found

great courage in retelling the story of Jesus. Two, they became

closely bonded together as a new kind of community. Three, their faith

launched them into unusual care for those outside the community of

faith. Those in the rigid and fearful cultural order were amazed by

their faith and turned to Jesus as the promised Savior.

As the community grew in number from 120 followers to 5,000, there

arose a need for some people of strong faith and full of God’s Spirit

to help the apostles in ministering to those in the community that

needed urgent and consistent care. In this case it was some widows who

needed help with food.

The apostles recognized the need and sent out word for the people to

select a small group of people to help in the work of delivering food

to those who most needed it.  It is very interesting and  prescriptive

that this was a decision made by the people and not by apostles who

could have been viewed as the “higher ups.”  This is one reason why

churches adopt a governance pattern of trusting the people in

ordering the work of the church and reject a top down governance

model. After all, it was  ALL the people who had been filled with

God’s Spirit.

Now to this important step for Soul Cafe. It is time for our community

of faith to select people who can help us more robustly take care of

the needs of the people both in and out of our fellowship. So this

Sunday come prayerfully ready to commend the names of several people

among us who could help us take this critical step.

This Sunday a good portion of worship will be spent in prayer asking

God to lead us in selecting those among us who would be willing to

take this task to heart. What will we call these people? Assistant

coaches, brave hearts, deacons? With God’s we’ll find the answer.

Early this week, Lorri and I risked our lives to drive to Houston to spend the night with some friends. In previous conversation, Claude had mentioned that he had been a member of Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church as a young cadet in the Houston Police Department. That prompted me to retell the story of Dr. Bill Lawson, the church’s founding pastor, coming to Houston Baptist University to speak in Chapel. From those days, Dr. Lawson became a hero to me. Specifically, but not solely, he was the first to teach me that ethics are the inevitable and necessary fruit of theology. It is not Christian theology if there is no ethical implication. To this day that remains a solid conviction guiding me in ways I don’t even fully recognize.

During our visit, Ann explained that we were going to take a car trip to see Wheeler Avenue Church and some of the community where I grew up in the second ward on Houston’s near east side.  It was a ploy. Our destination was the home of Dr. Lawson. Claude and Ann had arranged a meeting for me with Dr. Lawson. Bill is 95 years old now and is as kind and gracious as ever. I refuse to tell you what that visit meant to me. But I can tell you that I believe even more deeply that Jesus reaches to take our hand in his and with his other he takes the hand of another and draws us together in the context of providence. My lesson is to from here on out be more sensitive to the tug of the Spirit that will always move us to the most redemptive encounters of our lives. Thank you Ann and Claude Whitaker, Dr. Lawson, and Lorri for being the sacred agents of God’s connective work.