Houston Trinity News

July 13, 2026

Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”  

Matthew 14:22-32(NRSV)

Friends,

I drove to Sugarland yesterday afternoon to make a hospital visit. The sun was shining as I began my trip. As I drove, I was thinking about our Worship service: the music, the prayers, the band, the fact that we had new faces and some we had not seen in a while. My mind was subconsciously on my driving but not fully focused there. Maybe my multi-tasking skills are improving.

As I reached the Ft. Bend County line the skies darkened and it began to drizzle. My mind still wandered. I was thinking about how I would find everyone at the hospital. I thought about our other members who are currently ill or in rehabilitation. I was still thinking about the driving part but not fully.

Then it began to rain. Not just a slight rain; it was so hard that I could barely see the front of my truck. It was dark. It was lightning. It was thundering. Suddenly it took all of my mental capabilities to concentrate on driving. I couldn't see the car in front of me. The road was accumulating water. My wipers were going as fast as possible and I could still barely see out the windshield.

As I thought about it later, I realized that my drive yesterday was a little look at life. When things are sunny. When things are going well, we are kind of all over the place. But when things get tough, when we are struggling, we tend to give 100 percent attention to our struggles. We become absorbed in our struggles to the point of setting everything else aside. That is what I did during my storm yesterday: I put everything else aside so I could concentrate on getting through the storm.

God says that life should be different. When things are going great. When everything is sunny and happy. We should concentrate on giving thanks to God that we are doing well. And when we are struggling, we should concentrate on asking God to help us get through the struggle we have. The difference between my drive and our lives is that we should not concentrate on the struggle but rather on God. If we concentrate solely on our struggle, we don't get past the struggle. We let it weigh us down. We let it overpower us. But if we concentrate on God. If we ask God to comfort us, to guide us, to help us through then the struggle becomes secondary to our relationship with God.

I am not encouraging you to think about what you are having for dinner instead of concentrating on your driving. When we are driving, we should be concentrating on that effort regardless of whether it is sunny or stormy. As the Texas Department of Public Safety says, "Drive Safely". I am encouraging you to turn to God not just when times are good, but also when we struggle. Don't let your struggles take your attention away from the road God is calling you to travel.

Keep your eye open for the storms (they are all around us), but don't let them draw you away from God.

God bless you. See you Sunday

This Week's Scriptures


12 So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh-- 13 for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ--if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.


12 So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh-- 13 for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ--if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

Romans 8:12-25 (NRSV)

Calendar Reminders - July


July 1 - Wednesday Night Bible Study - Job- 6:30 - in person and ZOOM

July 3 - Youth Event - Houston Food Bank - 1:00-4:00

July 5 - Sunday Worship - Communion

July 6 - Bible Study - ZOOM - 7:30 - Exodus - led by Pastor Manuel

July 8 - Wednesday Night Bible Study - Job- 6:30 - in person and ZOOM

July 12 - Sunday Worship

  • Confirmation

July 13 - Bible Study - ZOOM - 7:30 - Exodus - led by Pastor Manuel

July 15- Wednesday Night Bible Study - Job - 6:30 - in person and ZOOM

July 19 - Sunday Worship

  • Council Meeting

July 25 - Women of Faith Prayer Meeting

July 26 - Sunday Worship

  • Congregational Visioning Workshop

New Sermon Series Begins July 12th - Core Faith

The eighth chapter of the letter to the Romans is one of the most loved chapters in the Bible. As the crux of this important epistle, this chapter provides insight into some of the core elements of our faith. How does the law function in our faith? What does it mean to set our mind on the Spirit? What is our relationship with all creation? How are we bound together with other disciples in suffering and joy? The Apostle Paul sets out to answer these and many other questions as he weaves a poetic vision of what it means to be a follower of Jesus and a part of the body of Christ.

Join us throughout the month of July as we explore our Core Faith.

Series Titles

July 5 - Freedom - For the Sake of the Gospel

July 12 - Set the Mind

July 19 - Wait with Eager Longing

July 26 - More than Conquerors

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Church Directory

We are looking for a volunteer to organize our Church Directory update! Please contact Pastor Ron if you are interested. Thank You.

We need to update our directory. It is hard for our visitors to know who you are. We are trying to solve that problem by creating a new directory. We will soon be contacting everyone to update information. If you would like to provide a photo that would be wonderful. If would like to have a new picture, we will take it on Sunday mornings.

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  Youth Night

Stay tuned for information about our July youth night. We are determining when and where, as we reach halfway through our summer break.

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2026 Congregational Focus Corner

Community Outreach/Missions

We are nearing the first actions of our Missional Community program. Stay tuned for exciting information of the first effort we are taking in our community.

If you are interested in helping, please contact Velma Bailey, Mei Mei or any member of our Outreach committee.

Samaritans Purse - Operations Christmas Child

The Missional Community is asking the congregation to prayerfully consider the Shoebox program we heard about this past Sunday. We will be considering how we are going to participate in this program as part of our outreach.

Prayer

July Prayer Focus - Matthew 9:37-38

He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”

Our prayer focus for July is an important reminder that there is a vast potential for the kingdom of God in West Houston. It is also a reminder that we are called to be part of the work. Those that need to hear God's Word are many and those spreading that Word are few. Pray this month that we will find more sharers so that we may reach more people.

During this month pray unceasingly for each other, for the church, and for the world. When the Holy Spirit helps us align our prayers with the works of God, they are powerful. Remember that we are created in God's image, called to continue Jesus' ministry and mission and this world and convicted to that work through the Holy Spirit. Allow the Spirit to guide your prayers and they can create works greater that we can imagine.

As we continue to walk our prayer journey this year pray daily to understand where our faith lies. Pray daily to understand that the power of men is nothing compared to the power of God. pray daily that we, the body, the church are beholden only to Christ, not to men.

If you are interested in being a part of the planning for our monthly prayer focus, please contact Mel Bernardo or any member of the Prayer Team.

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News from the Marvin Rader School

School opens on Monday, June 8. But our regular classes start on June 15th. We will have a three-day orientation and classes will only be from 8am to 11 am.

The Parents Orientation will be held on June 11 at 9 am.

Our Faculty have been busy with each preparation for their classes and room assignment.

We are looking forward to having more than 60 learners. As of now we have 64.

We had a week - long celebration of the 59th Founding anniversary of Marvin A. Rader School on Feb. 22 - 27. with the theme: Educating the Mind, the Heart and the Hands 59 Years Nurturing Faith and Service. The activities included Science Quiz Bee, Mathlympic, Storytelling, Clay modelling, Fun Games, Booth Sales, Cake Raffle or a Cause. The highlight of the celebration was a motorcade to promote our school.

Our school finally closed with the moving -up/ graduation and awarding of certificates on March 31.

The Parents Project of renovating the roof was a huge success. The parents were able to donate 56K and we were able to receive donations from friends abroad and local supporters for the project. The renovation was almost done.

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Prayer Corner

Please let Nini or me know if you would like to have your prayer request added to the newsletter.

Prayer Requests

Requests for Healing

Prayers for the World
The peace of God to reign.
For the Marvin Rader School

Open Hearts and Minds; Eyes that See and Ears that Hear 
Houston Trinity United Methodist Church

Prayers for Safe Travels
Safe travels for all our members and family who are traveling throughout the world.

Our Prayer

Gracious God, as we embark on this new journey to cast our vision, we seek Your wisdom. Help us to put aside our understanding and trust fully in the direction that You will send us.

Open our minds to think beyond what we can imagine. Open our hearts to feel the Spirit working here. Open our eyes and ears to see and hear the direction you wish us to travel.

We hear your call Lord, upon the life of Houston Trinity and we want to answer. Yet we are not sure how. We pray Lord, that You bless us, bless our visioning exercises, bless our decisions so that we may go into your world and bless everyone we meet.

Guide our thoughts and actions so our choices will reflect Your will. May we participate in this effort not swayed by the past but grounded in your divine truth.

Give us peace of spirit and confirmation that we are proceeding on the right path. We surrender our plans to Your and pray that You lead us in Your perfect way.

We pray all this in the name of your son, our Redeemer, our Savior, Jesus Christ,

AMEN