Appalachia

hill, wooden fence, sunset

One Foot in the Kingdom

I have a passion for the Kingdom of God. Some might say it’s an obsession. It doesn’t take much to get me talking about it. So what is the Kingdom? “In the beginning God created…” What did he create? Everything! God’s sovereign will was in all he created. And what do we call the place…
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Kingdom Alignment: My Plans And Desires

Reading Time 3.5 Minutes “God bless my plan.” For a very long time I have said this mockingly as an example of exactly the type of prayer we should not pray. Living a Christian life requires us to surrender our lives to Christ, which means we live according to his plan and not ours. I…
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Getting the Message

The grocery seems to be a place where I find the Kingdom more easily. My most recent experience occurred a few days ago. As I entered the checkout line I saw that the young woman bagging the groceries had an almost rigid mask for her face. That was when I could see her face at…
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Former Things Forgotten a Novel by Thomas Trezise

New Release Contributes to the Popular Appalachian Literature Genre

“Over the past couple of decades, Appalachian literature has developed a strong and close relationship with independent publishing, showing the latter to be an important medium for the expression for Appalachian voice,” writes Kristopher Clifford in a master’s thesis in 2007. A new release, Former Things Forgotten, by Thomas Trezise, published by the hybrid Redemption…
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Country side landscape photo

The Uttermost End

I prefer to think of myself as not averse to change. I have to confess though that there are times when I just prefer things with which I was raised. The King James Version of the Bible is one of those things. I was raised with the King James Version and even though I recognize…
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wooden mannequin, wooden, mannequin

Puppets or Pinocchios?

[ I started this sermon by walking a marionette down the church aisle.] I always feel a little silly with these things, because I’m not very good with them, but they are fun. It’s a bit of a challenge to tug the string the right way at the right time to get the puppet to…
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book near eyeglasses and cappuccino

Wounded Healers

[I preached this sermon in June, 2009 at Timonium UMC for the commissioning of  our first class of Stephen Ministers. I am also a Stephen Leader and Minister at TUMC. This is a great ministry. To learn more visit Stephen Ministries.] In his book, “When Bad Things Happen to Good People”, Rabbi Harold Kushner tells the…
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Person Holding a Cross

Godly Examples

[I having been posting some fairly old sermons recently, so I thought I post one that is fresh. I preached this one today at Timonium UMC in Timonium, MD.] Children have a way of pointedly putting the ball in our court to show them Christ. Noted theologian, Rodney Atkins, tells a story around the same theme…
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Welcome, I'm Tom

I'm Tom Trezise a retired lawyer and corporate executive with over twenty years of experience as a Methodist lay preacher. Raised in Appalachia, I proudly call myself a hillbilly at heart. I'm the executive director of The Everyday Kingdom, a non-profit devoted to fostering a community that helps people find and experience the peace, purpose, and joy available from living every day in Christ’s kingdom.

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