My Love and Gratitude

To: My church family

From: Pastor Dennis

Subject: My love and gratitude

 Words cannot begin to express what I felt as you honored me Sunday Morning; especially when I realized the amount of planning and coordination that went into it. You are not just my church, you are my family and Ginny and I have never been happier in our ministry than what we have experienced right here at 1st UMC Plant City. Your love and appreciation rang clear as you celebrated with me eighty years of

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"Lead Us Not Into Temptation"

Devotion July 10, 2026

By: Pastor Dennis

Psalm 19:13-14: 

13Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of great transgression.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.

In the Lord’s Prayer we say “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” We are asking God here to steer us away from sinf

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"When Goodness Points to God"

Devotion July 3, 2026

By: Pastor Dennis

Psalm 16: 1-2 “1 Preserve me O God, for in You I put my trust. 2 O my soul, you have said to the Lord. ‘You are my Lord. My goodness is nothing apart from You”.

These appear to be the words of David who, through personal experience, disappointed God through self-centered decisions to achieve power. Then, through the prophet Nathan, his sins became real to him and he repented.

What We Should Know

Like David, sometimes we just need a good “

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The Way of the Ungodly Shall Perish

Devotion June 26, 2026

By: Pastor Dennis

Psalm 1:3 “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.”

This first Psalm refers to our choice of direction in life and the corresponding rewards and punishments based on our tendency toward or away from God’s will. The conclusion of this thought is expressed in vs. 6 “For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, b

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"Unshaken Faith: Living Out Truth Amid Competing Voices"

Devotion 2026 Jun 18

By: Pastor Dennis

Ephesians 4:14-15 “14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—”

Ephesus was the chief city of the west coast of Asia Minor and Paul was starting new churches throughout the area. This letter was probably distrib

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“Letting God Shape What Comes Next”

Devotion June 12, 2026

By: Pastor Dennis

Philippians 4:4-5 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5. Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

In spite of all of his arrests and imprisonments and near-death experiences, Paul is secure in his salvation and he wants  everyone to share in the good news he has to give. He emphasizes the importance of gentleness and appreciation of the saving grace of God through Jesus Christ with  an ever-positi

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"Letting Go Of My Plans To Follow His"

Devotion June 5, 2026

By: Pastor Dennis

Philippians 3:14 “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Paul is excited within his assurance of salvation and he reaches out to all to follow his lead and share in the reward of heaven. 

What We Should Know

He goes on to say that a mature Christian who may have other ideas will, upon understanding the truth of God’s plan for salvation, understand their misunderstandings and h

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"Beware and Believe: Discerning Truth in a World of Lies"

Devotion May 29, 2026

By: Pastor Dennis

Philippians 3:2-3 “2. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! 3. For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.”

Paul’s ministry in Asia began through a vision of a man from Macedonia pleading for help. As he began churches in Ephesus, Phillipi, Laodicea, Colossae, and Crete, he realized formidable conflict from Jews, Judaizers, pagans,

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Faithful Servants In A Time Of Strain

Devotion May 22, 2026  

By: Pastor Dennis 

Phil 2:24 “But I trust in the Lord that I myself shall also come shortly.” 

This verse is “sandwiched” between Paul’s introductions of Timothy (vss.19-20) and Epaphroditus (vs.25). Paul is in a Roman prison and writing this letter to the church at Phillipi. He was arrested shortly after starting the church there and is concerned for their well-being through loving and caring leadership.  

What We Should Know 

Paul, who is in prison, ha

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"Living with the Mind of Christ: Unity, Empathy, and Service"

 Devotion May 15, 2026  

By Pastor Dennis

Phil 2:4-5 “4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interest of others. 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus 

Next Sunday we will observe as the Day of Pentecost, the day when the Holy Spirit came down upon all      believers. That was the one day in our Christian faith when all believers were one in spirit and truly fulfilled the charge which the apostle Paul delivers in today’s

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As Christians We Must Stand Up To False Doctrines

 Devotion May 8, 2026

By: Pastor Dennis

 Phil 1:15 “Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill.”

 Paul goes on in vss. 16-18 to explain that those who preach from envy and strife do so out of self-ambition and to demoralize Paul while those who preach from goodwill preach the grace of Jesus Christ “whether in pretense or in truth.” 

 What We Should Know

 We today are exposed to many ideologies which have been willfully amended (misinterpret

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Living with an Eternal View in a Temporary World

Devotion 2026 May 1, 2026

By: Pastor Dennis

Phil 1:23,24 “For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better, 24. Nevertheless to remain to the flesh is more needful for you.”

In this section of Scripture (vs.12-30), Paul, who is in prison, declares that the he has two options available to him. First, they could execute him, and he would immediately go to be with the Lord, or they could let him go and he would continue pre

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“I Am the Door: The Only Way the Sheep Enter”

Devotion April 24, 2026 

By: Pastor Dennis

John 10:7-8, 9a    7 “Then Jesus said to them again, ‘Most assuredly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9a. I am the door.”

Jesus had healed the blind man at the pool of Siloam. As word got out, the Pharisees who heard the man declare that he was healed by the Son of God interrogated him and then rejected his claim. Jesus heard this interact

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“The Aha Moment: Discovering Truth in Scripture”

Devotion April 17, 2026

By: Pastor Dennis

John 24:31 “Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, and He disappeared from their sight.

Two men who were walking on the road to Emmaus were joined by a third individual who didn’t identify himself. They shared their thoughts on the events of the crucifixion and their disappointment, for they had hoped that he would be the prophet they had hoped for who would redeem Israel. But, as fate would have it, they killed him. The

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“Seeing Is Believing: Lessons from Thomas and the Evidence of Faith”

Devotional  April 10, 2026

By: Pastor Dennis

John 20:25 “…So he said to them, ‘Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.’”

Thomas had just been told that, in his absence, Jesus had appeared to the disciples  after His crucifixion. Thomas was still in shock in the aftermath of the crucifixion and he refused to believe such an outlandish story.   Eight days later, while the

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