Friends, please hear the good news of the gospel. God does not require you to be brave in order to be saved, and God will not condemn you, even for being afraid.
Every time something has tried to dim this city, the people of Memphis have risen. The culture of Memphis has risen. The stories of Memphis have risen. The faith of this city has risen. I think that God’s vision for us, Memphis, is not just for us to survive, but is meant for Memphis to be a pasture. A
Temptation is not about appetite. It is about autonomy. Secure yourself. Define yourself. Prove yourself. And Jesus refuses. “I live by what God speaks.” “I serve God alone.” He does not grab. He entrusts. I am convinced that sin, at its root, is trying to save yourself. And forgiveness is God refusing to abandon you when you cannot.
Forged from his Memphis gospel roots and shaped by Houston’s vibrant jazz scene, Kirk Whalum is a singular voice in contemporary music. Discovered by jazz legend Bob James, Whalum went on to become an in-demand session musician for artists including Whitney Houston, Luther Vandross, Quincy Jones, and Barbra Streisand—most famously performing the iconic saxophone solo on I Will Always Love
We all carry personal ashes- grief, addiction, regret, exhaustion. The forgiveness we withhold. The people we quietly despise. And we carry collective ashes -the injustices we lament and the systems we quietly benefit from and prefer not to see.
The same Jesus who was transfigured so magnificently that day taught us that the ones God calls beloved and even speaks through are not limited to a few famous prophets on a mountain a long time ago. Jesus says God’s beloved ones are all around us, wherever we are, every day, if only we’re given eyes to see our
We start by imagining ourselves as more than a bunch of broken-hearted, or just plain broken people. Can we imagine that we are salt? That we are capable of shining? And when we do that, can we imagine that we are salt for others or light for others?
When someone has nothing to prove to us and doesn’t need our approval to validate them, our souls rest a little easier, and we really can see the world a little more clearly for what it is.
Repentance is what happens when we dare to ask, what if the world is more generous than I thought. What if power works differently than I assumed? What if love is not scarce? Repentance is a reorientation towards capital T Truth, and this is why repentance changes everything once you know how to see it.
“At least I’m not like that sinner,” was the prayer Jesus put on the lips of a self-righteous character in a parable, whom I wish I did not resemble. But I do. Every single day I do. The good news is that there really is abundant life and liberation in the way of Jesus.