Updates and Stuff

Hello people!

Been away a long time, School, Work, and Church seem to keep me a lot busier than I thought it would. I have been keeping it together (barely) but nonetheless keeping it together. Making a final push for finishing my degree, I have been at St. Paul UMC 7 months now, and plan to do my internship there. Registrar says I have 3 classes until Graduation after the Summer, plus my internship!

I am working on a website for my new appointment to go with the Facebook page. I have also started video recording my sermons the YouTube playlist is here. 

Well, gotta run, will talk later I promise!

Hello World! (Again)

So, I have been away for a while,  almost a year, a lot has changed. I am not at Haven Chapel in East Columbia anymore. I am now the pastor of St. Paul UMC in Galveston Texas, beautiful church on the beautiful Island. I have been appointed there since July 1. Great church, I love that I get to preach every Sunday now too.  Check their Facebook page out and give it a like if you have not already done so.

Galveston St. Paul UMC

Here is a clip of me preaching there too:

Christ the Conqueror

I have a new day job as well, same function (Audio Visual Engineering) same customer/contractor (Exxon Mobil) just new company paying me (Mechdyne Corporation).  I have enjoyed the company a lot of opportunity for growth, the previous company was good, but I could only be an AV Technician if I wanted to be promoted I would have leave AV and manage a mailroom, file room, or furniture moving department.

I joined another Fraternity over the summer, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated. I have also started taking classes for Perkins in Dallas, well one class. So I drive up after work, go to the class in the evening, and drive back the same night. Just doing what I have to do to finish this degree...

I will have more ramblings to come just need to get my head around all the changes. In the meantime though, my podcast is up weekly for sermons Pastor Johnnie's Podcast

God Bless!!!

Dealing With the Contradictions (Romans 7:14-25)

Human behavior is something we all strive to understand, we offer degrees in psychology and sociology, those who work well with others or are likable seem to go further in life, we spend time trying to be with and to better understand our mates. We spend a great deal of our time trying to figure out why and how somebody did something. We spend so much time trying to figure these things out because the stuff that we want to do, we sometimes don’t, and the things that we don’t want to do, we sometimes find ourselves doing. We become this walking talking mass of contradictions. I know I should work out a whole lot more than I do, but I’m still working on it, I know I need to drink less sugary drinks, but I am working on it.

Michel de Montaigne (Renaissance Author) said:

‘I write to keep from going mad from the contradictions I find among mankind - and to work some of those contradictions out for myself.”

Thomas Merton(Catholic Monk) said:

“The very contradictions in my life are in some ways signs of God's mercy to me.”

During the time of this writing you had Pious Jews in the area that believed in strict observance of the law, the lived every day scared that they were going to break it. You also had pious early Christians out there struggling to observe the rules as well. This life becomes a struggle of the flesh and the spirit.

Paul doesn’t minimize his struggle and neither should we; yes we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, and the apple of God’s eye but we still have our struggles. The Apostle Paul exercises some self-examination if you will, he takes a “selfie” without the camera. As I was researching for this sermon, one of the commentaries I read said that some scholars don’t want to believe that the Apostle Paul was speaking on his own struggles, that he didn’t have any. They go so far as to say even though he is writing IN FIRST PERSON, using terms like ‘I’ and ‘me’ he did that just to relate to the readers of the epistle, but didn’t really have any struggles to talk about.

That is why a lot of the secular world doesn’t want anything to do with Christians because some of us walk around like we are perfect, and the higher “rank” you think you have in the Body of Christ, the worse off it seems to be. Don’t be on the Trustee board, or a Baptist Deacon, elder, or mother of the church. Then you are really big stuff, but the men and women of the cloth seem to be just as bad. I am in a few Facebook groups and there are people in there who will get mad if you don’t address them by their titles when responding to their posts in the groups. You want me to call you Chief Apostle, Archbishop Primate, Presiding Prelate or whatever and have the nerve to say something about it every time someone doesn’t do so. Why? I am not one to despise small beginnings but if I had 10 names in my title, and only 2 members in your congregation, maybe I would be a little short on honorifics, pomp, and circumstance and little longer on some ministry. We all struggle, there is no use trying to pretend that we don’t, the bible says

Romans 3:23New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

23 since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;

We cannot think of ourselves as perfect, if we did, I think it would be hard for us to see the God in others.

So what do we do about it?

1. It won’t be effortless

Verse 17 – Paul can speak on the flesh and “nothing good, that dwells within me” because God gave him an understanding of Donald Lawrence’s song before he wrote it, we are not natural beings having a spiritual experience, but we are spiritual beings living a natural experience. And in this natural experience we will always have a way out.

1 Corinthians 10:13New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

13 No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.

2. Expect to encounter enemies

Verse 21 – When I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand.

A man with no enemies is a man with no character.

Quoted in Paul Newman: A Life in Pictures, ed. Yann-Brice Dherbier and Pierre-Henri Verlhac (2006), p. 120

Variant: If you don't have enemies, you don't have character.

As quoted in Words of Wisdom : From the Greatest Minds of All Time (2004) by Mick Farren

Simply put, all the greats are hated on.

If you are in a position where everybody likes you all the time, you might want to take a look at some of your values. Does that mean you need to get into a fight everyday, no, but you cannot please all the people all the time without lying to somebody.

Furthermore it will not be easy, success takes a lot of hard work, they say you need 10,000 hours of practice at any given skill before you become proficient at it. I was watching the movie Rocky II at home on Friday and Rocky’s trainer a character named Mickey was talking Rocky and he said to be able to last in the ring 45 minutes you need to train for 45,000 minutes, now that is a 1,000 of practice for every minute he needed to last in the ring.

We have become this culture with a microwave mentality to the point that we expect success to come without much time and without much effort. I have seen it in the way we treat our athletes. Now I am not the biggest Lebron James fan, I will be the first to admit it, but the man has a tremendous amount of pressure on him, everybody is expecting him to be the next Michael Jordan to the point that if he does not lead his team, and I say lead as in start, and contribute the most not like some of the others who just happen to be in the right place at the right time on winning teams; but I digress, if he does not lead his team, whatever team it is, to 6 or more championships, he will be viewed as a failure. There is video out, someone edited it together Michael Jordan’s “Maybe” video with Lebron James’ “Rise.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEVCjUG1Mww

The video shows Lebron and Jordan talking in voice over’s and Jordan says, “maybe its my fault, maybe I led you to believe it was easy when it wasn’t, maybe I made you think my highlights started at the free-throw line and not in the gym.” Repetition is the mother of skill, we need to find time to fill our time with the things of God.

3. Expect to call upon your extraction

Full Definition of EXTRACTION

1:  the act or process of extracting something

2:  ancestry, origin  - This is the definition I am focusing on

3:  something extracted

Verses 24-25 – the way we deal with it is practice, by ourselves we are wretched, but with the help of the lord we are the righteousness of God. Our daughter Elle Bea has a toy she likes to play with, a doll by the name of Caillou, nice looking toy, but the head comes off, often. The first time the doll’s head came off; Elle Bea could not be consoled, even after I put the head back on, she was still crying for a little bit, now the head comes off and she calmly walks over to me, hands be the doll and just says ‘Daddy’ she has had practice turning her problems over to her father because she knows that he can fix it. 

The bible says

Matthew 18:3-5New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

3 and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

We ought to spend more time handing over our broken things to our Heavenly Father, he has the know-how to put things back together. That is why I appreciate some of the traditional  Gospel songs, they tell us we can’t make it on our own.

Jesus, keep me near the cross,
There a precious fountain—
Free to all, a healing stream—
Flows from Calv’ry’s mountain.

Refrain:
In the cross, in the cross,
Be my glory ever;
Till my raptured soul shall find
Rest beyond the river.

We need Jesus to keep us near the cross

I serve a risen Savior
  He’s in the world today.
I know that He is living,
  Whatever men may say.
I see His hand of mercy;
  I hear His voice of cheer;
And just the time I need Him
  He’s always near. He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way.
He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
    He lives within my heart.

Verse 1
I've had many tears and sorrows,
I've had questions for tomorrow,
there's been times I didn't know right from wrong.
But in every situation,
God gave me blessed consolation,
that my trials come to only make me strong.

Chorus
Through it all,
through it all,
I've learned to trust in Jesus,
I've learned to trust in God.

Through it all,
through it all,
I've learned to depend upon His Word.

I’m a testimony
Look at me, I'm a testimony,
I didn't make it on my own,
I'm not standing here all alone.
It is Jesus who gave me this opportunity,
look at me, I'm a testimony.

Verse:
(It's Jesus) who made me a possibility,
(nobody but Jesus), who never gave up on me.
(Jesus), who put all His trust in me,
(Jesus), found me, fixed me, and decided to use me;
look at me, I'm a testimony.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

7 even considering the exceptional character of the revelations. Therefore, to keep[a] me from being too elated, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated.[b] 8 Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, 9 but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power[c] is made perfect in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

Isaiah 40:28-31King James Version (KJV)

28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

That is how we deal with the contradictions, we call for help, we cannot make it on our own, in out weakness God makes us strong. God keeps us putting one foot in front of the other, keeps giving us grace and mercy which are new every morning. God gives us the ability to carry on.

Do Not Feed the Trolls

I have been running into a specific kind of troll lately on Facebook. I imagine the troll playbook is posted on 9gag or 4chan, or whatever the hipsters are using today for internet jokes. This particular troll is an attacker of religion and is attacking because they are ignorant and have no life they feel our people need to be "liberated" from the "white man's religion." I say they are coming from the same playbook because they all say the same thing: They say that Jesus did not exist, that the story of Jesus is a verbatim copy of the story of Isis, Osiris, and Horus, and that Christians, and Pastors in particular, are unlearned and preaching lies to the people. The trolls then post youtube clips of Ray Haggins and the like and tell the Pastor to "research." The final play in the troll handbook is then tell the Pastor that they will give said Pastor $5000 if they can "prove" Jesus existed.

Now a troll is defined as:

"Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as a forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion. The noun troll may refer to the provocative message itself, as in: "That was an excellent troll you posted

source: wikipedia.org

Feeding the trolls is what I have been doing by responding to these idiots people. First of all even though they claim to have researched a topic, they provide no sources for their claims even though the Pastor may list book after book, furthermore if they do provide sources, said source is immediately more credible than the peer-reviewed books and published papers you will present on the subject. When did watching youtube videos become a credible research source? I digress, yes there are many historical problems that need to be worked out with the Christian faith, yes there are few extra-biblical sources regarding Jesus, and yes there are some similarities with some of the pagan religions. But no we are NOT peddling lies to the people!

There are few primary sources about ANYTHING regarding those times but Christianity seems to be the only thing called into question, called superstition and trolled by someone who just discovered a video and doesn't have the research capacity or presence of mind to research the claims. A person accepts Christianity, then sees a video that says Christianity is fake, they accept that without question, and then tells others to research even though they have done no research themselves. I personally would not want that kind of person in my church to begin with. I can't respect wishy washy people.

A little background on the post, I am a Mason, I was in a Masonic Facebook group and the troll began trolling members of the group as soon as he got in. He broke protocol, was cussing, misspelling words, using poor grammar, and was embarrassing himself and his organization. I commented in embarrassment that this man, had graduated from the same High School as I did. This got some laughs from the other members of the group and then he began to engage me. He made an offhand comment and I asked the troll was the comment addressed to me, if so he needed to "speak up" when talking to me. If I have a question, I tag the person I am referencing, so there is no confusion, he did not. Below is a transcript of my latest encounter with a troll. I changed his name to troll for the purpose not giving them anymore publicity than I already have. I also removed the profanity.


------------------------------------------------------------------

Troll

Im back ja preacher im talking to u what it do?

October 21 at 10:50pm via mobile · Like

Troll

@johney

October 21 at 10:50pm via mobile · Like

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

????

October 21 at 10:51pm · Like

Troll

What school u go to wit me?

October 21 at 10:52pm via mobile · Like

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

Your profile says you graduated from Indianapolis North Central High School in 1999. I was class of 1998.

October 21 at 10:53pm · Like

Troll

Ok great I dont no u I c u preaching getin rich how many homeless shelters u give to.?

October 21 at 10:55pm via mobile · Like

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

-_____- I'm not getting rich preaching at all. I actually pay more in tithes to the church I pastor than they pay me in salary. As far as homeless shelters community service etc. I do my share, I work shelters, drive for meals on wheels, give clothes to homeless on the streets downtown, pass out turkeys on Thanksgiving and toys for Christmas.

October 21 at 10:58pm · Like · 2

Troll

May God bless u

October 21 at 10:59pm via mobile · Like

Troll

What do u preach on

October 21 at 11:00pm via mobile · Like

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

I follow a three year calendar called the lectionary. Whatever scripture is selected for that Sunday is what I preach on.

October 21 at 11:03pm · Like

Troll

Oh ok who is jesus?

October 21 at 11:04pm via mobile · Like

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

English name for Yeshua ben Yosef

October 21 at 11:05pm · Like

Troll

Thanks I just belive in God.no JESUS

October 21 at 11:09pm via mobile · Like

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

To each their own....

October 21 at 11:10pm · Like

Troll

I always wondered u sure they wasn't talking about the S.U.N OF GOD?

October 21 at 11:12pm via mobile · Like

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

Nope. I have an analytical concordance and a Greek Bible, all of those English transliterations and acronyms don't work when you start looking at the actual words used in the original languages.

October 21 at 11:14pm · Edited · Like

Troll

U tode me to speak up when talking to u? JESUS WAS AND NEVER DID EXIST.TGE MAN YOU ARE WORSHIPING IS THE FIRST EUROPEAN TO SET ON THE THROWN OF EGYPT.YOUR BOOKS DIDNT TELL U THAT.

October 21 at 11:17pm via mobile · Like

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

Sure if that's how you feel fine, I've done the Jesus didn't exist dance before.

October 21 at 11:20pm · Like

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

You not even a full quarter in and running around like you have obtained all this knowledge....

October 21 at 11:22pm · Like

Troll

The bible schools didnt teach u THAT? Ill teech u sence u said speak up when talking to u.I got 5000 say I can prove JESUS NEVER WALKED THIS EARTH.if he did it would be a statue of the n---- all over the planet.but u cant live without the S.U.N for 15 min or the whole earth will freeze.fairytails are for kids the temptations got a song STEALING IN THE NAME OF THE LORD

October 21 at 11:22pm via mobile · Like

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

Sir you have no idea what the "bible schools" taught me or didn't teach me.

October 21 at 11:24pm · Like

Troll

Better yet who wrote the bible?

October 21 at 11:24pm via mobile · Like

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

No one person wrote the Bible, it is a collection of texts from multiple sources. Prior to the "Bible" there were the Masoretic Texts, the Septuagint, and collections of letters read in various churches.

October 21 at 11:26pm · Like

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

All that is missing from you is some Ray Hagins videos

October 21 at 11:26pm · Like

Troll

Bs.william Shakespeare wrote along with 46 other scholars malachi 4 1-3 ant no jesus if jesus the sun of righteousness the forgot about that

October 21 at 11:30pm via mobile · Like

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

Do you even know what the Masoretic Texts are? Or the Septuagint?

October 21 at 11:31pm · Like

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

Let me start a little slower, do you know what a primary source is?

October 21 at 11:32pm · Like

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

Also did you know there were other versions of the Bible prior to the KJV that you want attribute to Shakespeare?

October 21 at 11:34pm · Like

Troll

Look I dont care prove he was real ill donate 5000 to your church ig u can but go to my page check out ray haggins council of niceia who created jesus and just say thanks and stay out of it.lies on the lips of a priests

October 21 at 11:36pm via mobile · Like

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

LOL! And there is the Ray Hagin drop I knew it

October 21 at 11:37pm · Like · 2

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

I'll do without your 5Gs sir.

October 21 at 11:39pm · Like · 1

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

Didn't answer any questions, gave no primary sources just said a bunch of stuff you picked up on the street.

October 21 at 11:39pm · Like · 1

Troll

White man got u preaching his gospel cant tell me about the nubians the land of cush ancient kemet thay jesus story was wtitten 7800 years bc.noah arch epic of Gilgamesh 2500 bc fairytails goodnite

October 21 at 11:39pm via mobile · Like

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

Again, you have no idea who is teaching me or what I teach. I know very well about the epic of Gilgamesh, Kushites, Hyksos, Haribu, the Armana Letters and then some, because that is what they teach at "Bible School"

October 21 at 11:41pm · Like · 1

Troll

U talking bs about jesus on the net n---- if u ant a mason stay the f#&*$ out the conversation cowan ease dropping on convo then got the nerve to be a preacher bacc in the day u couldnt preach if u wasn't a mason or eastern star.European thinking never again

October 21 at 11:46pm via mobile · Like

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

I actually haven't said anything about Jesus other than that is the English name of Yeshua Ben Yosef

October 21 at 11:48pm · Like

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

Reading is fundemental

October 21 at 11:48pm · Like

Troll

Jesus cant save u n----- Deuteronomy telk u that everybody accountable for his own sin.n---- please

October 21 at 11:48pm via mobile · Like

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

I think you just wait until you see my name come up on the thread and start typing again, without actually reading what I type.

October 21 at 11:50pm · Like

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

You just think what they told you Christians would say in response and you have the next response locked and loaded.

October 21 at 11:50pm · Like

Troll

ISAIAH 8 1-4 PROPHET WAS BORN WHERE JESUS COME FROM? GOODNITE COWAN

October 21 at 11:50pm via mobile · Like

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

All this talk of enlightenment but all this n-word talk at the same time

October 21 at 11:51pm · Like

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

Why quote scripture if it was written by a playwright?

October 21 at 11:52pm · Like

Troll

Im grown and its america stop me.he that has no sin N----(in all caps so I know he means it) cast the first stone!

October 21 at 11:53pm via mobile · Like

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

I have no desire to stop you, I'm just saying you are contradicting yourself. Also why do you have to tell me you are grown, your actions should tell that for you? And who said anything about sin?

October 21 at 11:55pm · Like · 1

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

Look man I understand. You just got into Masonry, its new, its fresh, you are learning new things. I was like that my first year in the Lodge too, there is no need to run around with your chest all out, being FB gangsta challenging people on the net, you will only get laughed at.

October 21 at 11:56pm · Edited · Like · 3

Troll

Thats what im tellin u.I was brain washed but when getting off them slave ship we as blacks weren't christians im traveling to find who I am.u should travel also.head east where the gospels started

October 21 at 11:57pm via mobile · Like

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

Been there, done that, found my home back in Christianity.

October 21 at 11:58pm · Like · 1

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

That may not be your path.

October 21 at 11:58pm · Like

Johnnie Simpson Jr.

I'm not pushing it on you, nor do I have a desire to.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

He claimed he was going to sleep after that, I was surprised to come back to the group the next morning  and see all the other brothers piling on him for his behavior and calling for his deletion from the group. I  fault myself for even engaging the troll. These Ray Hagins "scholars" have been popping up recently and they seem to find me and my little clerical collar looking for an argument. I cannot allow them to live rent free in my head, and I cannot at ANY cost feed anymore trolls.

Johnnie Simpson Jr.