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HECKLED FROM THE PULPIT
2008-01-18 14:12:00
I've heard of comedians being heckled, but never a preacher. It was this past Sunday that I knew immediately during the evening sermon I'd said the wrong word. I made the statement, “If you don’t drink enough water you’ll get hypothermia.” As a preacher and a paramedic I immediately knew it was wrong. I meant to use the word “dehydrated,” but for some reason it came out “hypothermia.” Instead of correcting it (which I should have done immediately) I decided to just continue preaching, because I was in the process of making a point, and I knew if I stopped everyone would lose the point I was trying to make. Besides I didn’t think anyone would really catch what I said anyway. To make a long story short, let me just say, I never expected to be heckled from the pulpit after the closing prayer. Following the “amen” the good brother who lead the prayer said, “I didn't mention it in my prayer, but you know something else I’m thankful for? I’m thankful that wh...
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HIDDEN CAMERA REVEALS WHAT PREACHERS REALLY DO ALL DAY
2008-01-16 15:51:00
If you get this via Email you'll have to click "here" to see the video!
More About: Camera , Preachers , Hidden

THE MOST EVIL PERSON IN HISTORY?
2008-01-15 13:21:00
When you think of who might have been the most evil person in history? These names come to mind... Adolph Hitler Ivan the Terrible Mao Tse-tung Genghis Khan Ted Bundy John Wayne GacyJesus ChristJesus? Yes, how could he not be? Think about it for a second. Amazingly it was at the cross that Jesus absorbed upon himself, like a sponge, all the sins that had ever been committed. At the cross Jesus took on himself all the sins of the past, present and even future sins that were to be committed. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says that on the cross Jesus actually ..."became sin." He became sin on the cross. He became everything that was dark, everything that was ugly and everything that was evil. When Jesus became sin, he became the very thing he despised, and he became what he hated. It was at that point in history that Jesus became (I don't like to say it, and I don't even like to even type it) but Jesus became all that was evil. Why would Jesus be willing to do this? Why would Jesus be willing t...
More About: History , Evil , Person

VOICES IN MY HEAD
2008-01-14 08:37:00
I knew it was going to be a big funeral. That's why I had planned ahead to be early. Since I was just attending this funeral and not actually doing it, I knew seating in the little country church building was going to be at a minimum. I've had to stand for forty-five minutes for funerals before, and I can guarantee you after about five minutes, it's no fun. Even though I arrived forty-five minutes early, I was amazed how close I'd cut it and barley got one of the last seats available. My seat was perfect. It was towards the back and right on the end. I couldn't help but be proud of my planning. Here I was sitting in a premium seat in a packed building where in a few minutes people would be standing up everywhere. As I sat there watching people file in, it wasn't long until people stood lining the isles all the way to the back. It just so happened that God placed a woman standing just 3 feet from my seat. I tried hard to pretend I didn't notice her there, but I really had. I k...
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THE BIBLE ACCORDING TO GOOGLE EARTH
2008-01-11 14:16:00
Here's an interesting art series called "God's Eye View." The art work is scenes from the Bible from how God would see them, or a Google Earth perspective. The Garden of EdenNoah's ArkMoses Parting the Red SeaThe Crucifixion (I found pictures here)
More About: Google Earth , The Bible

SCARY MINISTRY JOBS
2008-01-10 16:08:00
Here is something that is painful, scary and a little funny. But mostly scary.The following are two ACTUAL job postings for ministry positions. The "Preacher Needed" one was found in a brotherhood paper and the other from a website for youth ministers. I’ve only modified a few tiny things to keep it anonymous.FIRST LISTING Title: Youth Minister, Part-Time DESCRIPTION: Responsible for managing three leadership teams for ages 11 years through 22 years old. Will meet with teams on regular basis to pray and plan activities and events.REQUIREMENTS: Must love the Lord God with all your heart, soul and mind and have a passion for young people coming to Jesus. Also, must be a minimum of 25 years old and married with a degree, from seminary or Bible college in biblical studies or currently in seminary or Bible college to obtain a degree. Must have at least one year proven experience as lay person or staff working with youth or must have served as a youth camp counselor or some equal experi...
More About: Jobs , Scary , Ministry

BAD BIRTHDAY GIFTS FOR MEN
2008-01-09 22:57:00
As some may know, I celebrate my 42nd birthday today. Early this morning I received a really cool electronic card from John Dobbs, a Happy 50th wish from Brian (ha), a birthday prayer from Neva, and a funny video called Achmed the Dead Terrorist from my friend Kara. All this got me to thinking (scary huh?). What are the worst birthday gifts you could ever give a man. Here are a few I came up with. I hope you'll help me complete the list.THE MANGROOMER - There is only one way to remove your back hair without enlisting the help of another person. It is called the Mangroomer, a strange invention and horrible gift idea.SCRAPBOOKING STUFF - Puh-leaseA PINK SWEATER - Or anything pink for that matter.A CELINE DION GREATEST HITS CD - WHAT? You may think that Celine Dion was an angel sent by God to the earth to bless us with her voice, but her music is just not the kind you would find in a man’s iPod play list. (If you do find a Celine Dion song in your man's iPod, then you better start ...
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WORDS THAT KILL - WORDS THAT HEAL
2008-01-08 15:46:00
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." Ephesians 4:29Whoever came up with the phrase "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me," was a fool. Believe me, words can hurt people severely. Words that are carelessly spoken can be devastating and destructive. All too often, our conversations with others are filled with complaints, cut-downs and criticisms. We are quick to judge others by our own faulty standards. We are quick to gripe when we do not have our way. In instances like these, we speak negative words that hurt and tear people down. When you choose to tear down instead of build up you do damage to your relationship with your children, with your spouse, with your friends and with your co-workers. Negative words and phrases include...That's stupid.You're an idiot.Don't be dumb.You never understand.You make no sense. Complai...
More About: Kill , Heal

MONDAY MORNING MADNESS
2008-01-07 14:36:00
My kids went back to school this morning after a two week Christmas break. Getting them out of bed at 7 a.m. was not an easy task. I did go get donuts, a favorite of theirs from our local bakery, to help bribe them to get up. Hopefully it won't be long until they are back into a routine. Good thing the bible doesn't say, "Thou shalt not bribe your children."We've been having so many new families come to church with us over the past few months. I'm pumped about our growth and the growth of our "young families" group. One person that has been coming the past few weeks is a fellow blogger. I think she's a reader of this blog, so I just want to tell her, "We've been honored to have your family with us the past two weeks. Sorry one of your kids was sick yesterday and you weren't able to be there. We missed you. Hope you'll come when you can." :)I haven't posted any sermons on my podcast the past couple of weeks because I haven't preached any. Don't say it, I already know what ...
More About: Morning , Monday , Monday Morning , Madness

MY CANDY BAG RUNNETH OVER
2008-01-04 16:18:00
A few years ago while preaching in Tulia, I was also serving as a volunteer paramedic for the Tulia ambulance services. One Saturday, my buddy Scotty and I, volunteered to go to a little town called Kress about 10 miles away, to drive the ambulance through their parade and throw out candy to the kids. Since we actually provided ambulance service to this little community, the hospital thought it'd be a good idea if we showed up for their big annual parade.After picking up our 3 very large bags of candy that the hospital provided us, we were off. Neither of us had ever been to the parade in this little west Texas town, but when we got there neither Scotty or myself were very impressed. When we lined up for the parade we noticed that there were lots of vehicles like fire trucks and police cars, but there was hardly any people there for the parade. Actually, only a handful of people had shown up. I remember thinking, "You've got to be kidding me. I gave up my Saturday for this sorry p...
More About: Candy

CHRISTMAS 2007
2008-01-03 15:56:00
TEN THINGS I ENJOYED DOING THIS CHRISTMAS (just for Brian)Seeing my mom and dad.Playing card games.Relaxing.Turning off my cell phone.NOT eating fruitcake.Watching my boys open their presents.Playing in the snow.Hanging out in the mountains with 3 families from church.Learning to play Wii golf and Wii bowling.Blowing twenty bucks on a plastic sled and then having my friend Tommy pull me behind the car. Thirty minutes later the sled was torn to pieces. Here's a little slide show of our Christmas fun. Ten may be a little much, so what are three things you enjoyed about your Christmas holiday?

THE THEOLOGY OF REST
2008-01-02 16:16:00
(Our Hideout)Glad to be back after about an eight day break. The Morgan family spent Christmas in the snowy mountains away from phones, responsibility and the fast paced life I'm used too. We spent an entire week doing nothing but drinking cocoa, playing games and eating (and I feel no guilt). It was great to just relax. I'll tell you more about it tomorrow, but here are a couple of things I learned on my break. It's important for me to slow down for the purpose of reflection. Busyness is often my arch enemy. The older I get the more I realize that busyness often stunts my spiritual growth. As I've said before, if Satan can't make you sin, I think he'll be content with keeping you really busy. This past week I spent some time doing what others would call "wasting some time." It has been a great reminder that I don't always have to run, go, buy, help, serve, sign up ... sometimes I just need to rest. I also needed to slow down for the purpose of enjoyment. I believe there is r...
More About: Theology , Rest

BLOG BREAK
2007-12-26 15:11:00
I'm going to be taking a blog break for a few days. I just didn't want you to think I had died or something! Have a great week. ~ Trey (PS- Wasn't sure whether or not to include the picture of the tombstone. So, I showed it to Lea and asked her what she thought. She said it was a little gross and morbid. There was my answer ... that meant it must be pretty cool.)
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WHAT CHRISTMAS IS ALL ABOUT
2007-12-24 15:38:00
I really wanted to share with you what I thought Christmas was all about. But I couldn't explain it any better than a kid named Linus Van Pelt. So I'll let him tell you in less than two minutes... Wishing all my blogging friends a very Merry Christmas!!!

CHRISTMAS CARTOON
2007-12-23 00:20:00
Okay, so I thought they were funny!
More About: Christmas , Cartoon

IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME
2007-12-21 15:08:00
I'm sure Max Lucado is an avid reader of my blog :) so I must apologize to him up front ... I have a confession to make. I absolutely loved your first two books, "God Came Near" and "No Wonder They Call Him the Savior," but after those two all your other books paled in comparison. Sorry.Actually in Max's book "God Came Near" there is a chapter called "Christmas Night" that has always pulled at my heart strings at this time of year. Every year this special chapter is unpacked with our Christmas stuff and placed on the refrigerator or somewhere close in our home. I'm then reminded by this story just how special this time of year is. Here's how the chapter goes ...IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME. A time for Christmas cards, stockings, tinsel, and that smell of fresh cut Christmas trees. Spiced tea. Cranberry sauce. A time when you will eat until you’re sick, and then some way, work in dessert. A time when old, dusty Christmas records are gotten out for one more year's use. A time when you ...
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CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS
2007-12-20 02:48:00
Growing up, my family had a lot of Christmas traditions. There was the annual reading of "Twas the Night Before Christmas," lots of games and every year my dad would say, "Let's wait until after Christmas to open these presents" just to get a scream out of us kids. Christmas Eve night was when we'd open our presents that had been under the tree for weeks. The mystery of what was in those boxes drove me crazy every year. Trying to get a little hint of what might be in those beautifully wrapped little treasures, I would shake them, sniff them, lick them and touch them at least 82 times before we finally got to open them. One of the biggest Christmas traditions my family had growing up involved opening presents. We never really just opened the presents, we made a production out of each one of them. They were never opened all at once. I guess to make it last longer, we'd pass out all the packages, and then one person at a time (from youngest to oldest) would open one. We weren't all...
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BETTING ON THE LORD'S PRAYER
2007-12-18 15:48:00
John Cassis is one of our nation's finest motivational speakers. He told a story recently about a time when he was serving as one of the chaplin's for the Chicago Bears during their glory years of the 80's.As John tells it, Mike Ditka was about to deliver a locker room pep talk one day. He looked up and saw defensive tackle William "Refrigerator" Perry. How could he not see him? At 338 pounds the Fridge stood out even in a crowd of pro football players. Ditka gestured to the Fridge. "When I get finished," he said, "I’d like you to close with the Lord’s Prayer ." Then the coach began his talk.Meanwhile, Jim McMahon, the brash and outspoken quarterback, punched John Cassis. "Look at Perry," McMahon whispered, "he doesn’t know the Lord’s Prayer."Sure enough, Perry sat with a look of panic on his face, his head in his hands. He was sweating profusely. "Everybody knows the Lord’s Prayer," said Cassis to McMahon in disbelief. After a few minutes of watching the Refrigerator le...

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
2007-12-17 14:03:00
I saw "It's A Wonderful Life " for the first time Saturday afternoon. Yea, I'm a little slow, but what a fantastic movie! George Bailey directly or indirectly touched a lot of lives. My friend Billy Wilson has written a favorite book of mine called, Zuzu's Petals (Our Wonderful Life with God). I've read the book twice and remembered after watching the movie that there was a chapter in the book about George Bailey. I went back and read the chapter again last night and now it makes much more sense to me. Here is what Billy says about Fathers... Fathers are fixers. They fix things. That's what they do. Everything from broken toys to broken hearts are placed into the hands of our fathers in full expectation that given enough time, everything will be all right. It's winter and children should be wrapping themselves up nice and warm. Zuzu, however, has a different agenda. She has a flower she doesn't want damaged. So, at the expense of her health she makes sure the flower gets home ...
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A CORNUCOPIA OF THOUGHTS
2007-12-15 17:24:00
What? We have to pay consultants to name our babies now (read story here)? You need help coming up with a name? Come on people, just name your babies. But then I read a few minutes ago about the latest in a bizarre trend to make your baby's name so unique that they'll standout. Some recent real names include the following: ESPN, Armani, Timberland, Del Monte and Chevy. It will only be a matter of time before we'll see Motorola, Diet Coke and Survivor. Incidentally, let me apologize in advance if any of my readers are actually blighted by one of these names. I take pity on you, especially if you're called ESPN. After looking at some of these names, maybe we do need to pay a consultant to help some folks name their kids.For those still doing some Christmas shopping, here's a list of the Top 10 Worst Christmas Gifts ever. You'll never believe which one was number one (shuddering).My good friend TA has been sick and in the hospital lately. In the past he has served as one of my el...
More About: Thoughts

5 GREAT CHRISTMAS GIFTS TO GIVE YOUR KIDS
2007-12-14 15:17:00
Still wondering what to get your kids this Christmas ? Here are 5 perfect gifts that will really last a life time.THE GIFT OF A GOOD MARRIAGE: I wish as parents we’d realize that a vital marriage between you and your spouse is the best gift you could ever give your kids. It's better than a Wii or an X-Box, and it's the gift that would really last their lifetime.THE GIFT OF TIME: I wish as parents we’d stop believing the lie that quality time is enough for your children. The only way to give quality time is to invest quantity time in your children's lives.THE GIFT OF DISCIPLINE: I wish as parents we’d see that discipline is a debt that we owe our children. I thought it was interesting that a recent survey showed that eighty-seven percent of college students said their parents weren't strict enough on them. Make rules and set boundaries and stick to them.THE GIFT OF SPIRITUAL TRAINING: I wish as parents we’d see that spiritual training is not optional but essential. Familie...
More About: Kids , Gifts , Great , Give

I WENT BACK TO SCHOOL
2007-12-13 14:21:00
My sons, Taylor (Senior) and Parker (Sophomore), are both blessed to attend school at Childress High School . Yesterday they had "Bring Your Parents to School" day, and I got to hang out in the boys' classes with them.I went first to Parker's speech class with Mrs. Lathem, and I felt right at home. Wow, that was fun because I like speech. They were doing demonstration speeches. They had a demonstration speech on how to shoot a basketball, how to shave your legs (didn't help me much), how to text your friends on your cell phone (still learning that one), and Parker did one on how to putt a golf ball. I was so caught up in the "speech" moment that had Mrs. Lathem asked, "Who's next!" I would have said, "Me, pick me."Next I went to Parker's math class with Mr. Bowman. Mr. Bowman is a great guy, a great friend and a great teacher, but going from speech class to a math class was like going from heaven to hell. I was like a fish out of water in that class. They were doing triangle mat...
More About: Back , Back to School

TWO REASONS I LIKE MIKE HUCKABEE
2007-11-29 17:53:00
I'm still trying to sort out who I like and who I don't like when it comes to possible Presidential Candidates. I'm beginning to like Mike Huckabee more and more. Here are two reasons ... VIDEO #1 - Chuck Norris (This made me laugh.)VIDEO #2 - Evolution (A perfect response to a really stupid question.)
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DRESSING UP FOR CHURCH
2007-11-28 17:14:00
A friend asked me recently what my opinion was about "how to dress for church." I've been giving it a lot of thought on how to answer her, but I haven't really come up with any solid answers. So I thought I might ask for your help and opinion today on this subject.I grew up with three sets of clothes: the play clothes, school clothes and church clothes. And you better not have been playing around in the yard with your church clothes on or you were in big trouble. I was raised believing that when we went to church on Sunday mornings, we wore our Sunday best. My "church clothes" were by far the nicest clothes I owned. I also still vividly remember my hand-me-down, avocado green leisure suit I wore for years as a pre-teen. And I can still recall a time when women only wore dresses and men always wore a suit and a tie to church.These days things have changed in dress, some for the good and some for the not-so-good. Gone are the days of everyone wearing their Sunday best to church ever...
More About: Church , Dressing

TREY AND LEA
2007-11-27 15:39:00
I was playing with Microsoft's Movie Maker and didn't realize how simple it was to make a video. So I made this for Lea. There are about 19 years that go by in this two minute video. You can probably tell which pictures are the old ones. I'll warn you upfront, it'll be a little sappy for some. But I'll also admit that I'm one whipped man over my girl!(If you get Trey Morgan.net through a blog-reader like Bloglines, FeedBlitz or email you'll have to click on this link to see the video.) Oh, and yes, the Christmas tree is up. You can click here for pictures of decorating the tree. Now if I could just get one of my nice neighbors (Zach) to help me get up the outside lights. ;)

AN OLD COWBOY'S FIRST CHURCH SERVICE
2007-11-26 17:40:00
I saw John while I was preaching. He was packed in church with three hundred other people, and I can't begin to imagine how uncomfortable he must have been. Not because he was crowded that Sunday morning, but because it was his first time in his adult life to ever attend a church service, ever. He'd told me he was coming, and I should have believed him. Deep down I really didn't believe he'd show, but this past Sunday, there sat an old cowboy who'd lived life hard. He was in his best "Sunday" clothes, and even his best clothes were what most folks would call their everyday work clothes.I met John a couple of years ago at a mutual friend's funeral. It was John, who following the funeral told me in his most sincere attempt to pay me a compliment, "Hell of a funeral, preacher."The last couple of years John has been doing lots of thinking about his life and how he might get it straightened out. Then two months ago John came down with cancer and knew he had to do something soon. He...
More About: Church , Service

SATURDAY MORNING THINKING
2007-11-24 15:46:00
I don't know if you're a regular listener to my sermon podcasts, but I think this past Sunday's was one of my most challenging lessons..."Real Forgiveness." If you get time swing by and tell me what you think. Did you see where a 102 year old British woman is going to bear all for the Miss November Nude Charity Calendar. Yea it's true. While it kind of makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about it, I did come up with 3 words that'd probably fit well with her picture: "She Needs Ironing!"If you need something to read today, here are three posts on the church you really need to read if you haven't already... here, here and here.This is probably one of reasons there are so many unchurched in our country.I think the thing I like best about Thanksgiving dinner is the cranberry sauce. When else can you put a big glob of sugary jelly on your plate, eat it with a fork and no one give you flack about it? Another reason to give thanks.The Christmas tree goes up today. Yea!!!
More About: Saturday , Morning , Thinking

NOT EVERYONE IS THANKFUL THIS YEAR
2007-11-21 16:56:00
Poor Big BirdHappy Thanksgiving
More About: Year , Hank

GROWING KIDS NOT GRASS
2007-11-20 15:04:00
Famous child psychiatrist Fritz Redl used to say to groups of parents: "Get out your paper and pencils. I am going to tell you the three most important things you will ever need to know about raising children." The parents would wait breathlessly for his words of wisdom. Then he would say, "Example, example, example."In case you doubt the importance of teaching by example, think about your own childhood. How were you most influenced to become the person you are now? Chances are that the person you have become was influenced mostly by the example set by your parents.One of my biggest fears as a preacher is preaching the "how to live" on Sundays and not actually living that at home with my family. Making my walk match my talk is so important to me. I try to ask my kids periodically, "Am I doing at home what I'm preaching on Sundays?"I was reminded recently about my walk matching my talk when my sarcastic son Taylor, who's just like his father, reminded me of something I said in a se...
More About: Kids , Growing , Grass

A FEW THINGS ON MY MIND
2007-11-19 13:50:00
CHRISTMAS TREES: I asked Lea if we could put up the Christmas tree before Thanksgiving and she said "No! Wait till after Thanksgiving." We even had a poll on TreyMorgan.net to see if I should get to. The final tally came out to "59 for and 52 against." May I just say you 52 "against" people are party-poopers. Lea actually relented and told me I could put up the tree if I wanted, but believe it or not, we just haven't had time. We're hoping to get it done this weekend. I can't wait.THANKSGIVING: We're headed to Amarillo this weekend for Thanksgiving with Lea's family. We swap out having Thanksgiving and Christmas with each family every year. I'm looking forward to a plate full of turkey, dressing (my favorite) and cranberry sauce. Thankfully we'll plan the meal around the Dallas Cowboy football game.COWBOYS: We had about 15 high school kids over at our house last night watching the Dallas Cowboys game. Wow, can they ever get loud when something good happens. Who would have eve...
More About: Mind , Things , On My Mind