Nicholas Hood III Ministries: Spreading the Lord’s Work My Church Videos Facebook Instagram Spiritual Path To MinistryLast week I reflected upon the 48th anniversary of my ordination and 38th year as pastor of the Plymouth United Church of Christ in Detroit, Michigan. I was not called to preach as a child. My path to ministry began as a professional musician at age 16 which I continued until I was 21. In the photo, I played trombone in an R&B band. At age 19, my father asked me to establish a junior high youth ministry for our church. I enjoyed working with the children so much, it caused me to admit to myself that I could do that type of work for the rest of my life and find meaning, purpose, and find satisfaction. I told the band that if we did not have a recording contract by the time I graduated from Wayne State University in Detroit, I was finished with the music and would go into the ministry.  1st Black College Tour 1972 –At 19 years of age, while still playing in the band, I began with a handful of boys and girls in my church who were in junior high school. That small group of children rapidly grew to over 100 youth, with a Sunday night weekly attendance of 40 or more children. I talked with them about spiritual issues, and encouraged each youth to express their feelings about big issues like life, death, and love. Our weekly meetings would end with a devotional in the sanctuary and then a party on the lower level with records and dancing. The high point of the two years that I worked with this group were the 1st organized black college tours from our church, with the 1st tour attracting 80 youth who made the trip on two greyhound buses. I encouraged the children to raise money as a group to pay for these trips so that every child could travel for free. The itinerary on the 1st black college tour in 1972 included Fisk university in Nashville, Dillard university in New Orleans, Talladega College, in Alabama, Morehouse and Spelman College in Atlanta GA and Lemoyne- Owen College in Memphis. A high point of that trip was meeting and introducing the youth to Coretta Scott King at the new King Memorial Center. these photos show the buses leaving for the Black College Tour from our former church building which was located at 514 Garfield St. at the corner of Beaubien. in Detroit. (Current location of the Kresgee Eye Clinic) Parents and families of the youth gathered to say goodbye as the buses departed.  Yale Divinity School  1973-1976 I had a great spiritual experience at Yale Divinity School. However, my 2 greatest experiences while at Yale was serving as the director of the Yale gospel choir for 2 1/2 years, and serving as the pastor of the Black Church at Yale my last two years on campus. I found that there were a lot of things that attracted me to Denise, but some of the main ones were that she was a founder of the black church at Yale, and had a Christian upbringing in the AME church. 48 years later, we are still married. Meting Denise  Arriving in the fall of 1973, hi the first hour I registered for classes and receive the keys to my dormitory room. The second hour on campus in New Haven CT, I walked downtown to purchase sheets. Who should I meet but Denise Page! When i met her, in the sheet department of Macy’s, I said to myself, look what the lord has brought me! His things turned out, her roommate was Caroline Jackson, the granddaughter of a treasure at our church in Detroit. Caroline provided a formal introduction and the rest is history. Three years later, we married in Detroit. Working at Central Congregational Church Divinity School Graduation 1976 During my time in divinity school, i worked at the Central Congregational Church in New Orleans LA for two summers. This is the church that my dad pastored before we move to Detroit. I worked under the reverend William Green, where he allowed me to visit the sick, build a youth ministry, and occasionally preach. My second summer in New Orleans I served as the licentiate minister because Rev. Green had departed from the church, which gave me an opportunity to preach for 10 weeks each Sunday. This was a tremendous experience and opportunity for me to understand and learn many of the lessons of what it means to be a pastor of a church.  Broadcast Featuring Rev. Lawrence Rodgers Watch Me on The Word Network | Saturdays at 2:30 PM ESTTake a look at last Saturday’s show featuring the reverend Lawrence Rodgers of second Baptist Church talking about Elijah and the Ravens Broadcast Videos Prayers and Meditations Publications    My Church Videos Prayers Facebook Instagram |
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Welcome to Nick Hood Ministries, your home for powerful prayers, meditations, meaningful podcasts, and spiritual videos—all created to share the good new of Jesus Christ! My prayers, meditations and sermon outlines are written and published daily to this site.
I am the pastor and senior minister of the Plymouth United Church of Christ in Detroit MI. In addition to my ministry in Detroit, I also am blessed to be involved with mission work stretching from the interior of Liberia and Cote d’Ivoire with refugees of war, Ghana, Ethiopia, Guatemala, and the Philippines.
My mission and desire is to connect with people across the globe through this ministry, and I look forward to connecting with you as well. Do not hesitate to let me know if there are spiritual topics you would like me to share my thoughts.
Pastor Nick Hood
Meditation for this week
Persistence in prayer
Prayer is a mechanism which allows you and me a direct connection with God. There are no special words necessary to obtain the attention of Jesus Christ. Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount that if we “Ask it shall be given to us, when we seek we will find and to those who knock on the door, the door shall be opened.” (Matthew 5)
A great example of the importance of persistence in prayer is found in Matthew chapter 8 verse one, where a leper approaches Jesus, bows down to the ground before him, and ask Jesus to heal him and take away the sores on his body. The man says to Jesus, if you will, or choose, I will be healed. Jesus replies to him, I will, or in some modern versions, i choose. The man is healed immediately.
The apostle Paul gives a similar teaching in his letter to the philippians chapter 4
- 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. [1] (Philippians 4)
A lesson I take away from this text is the importance of persistence in prayer. The man with the disease of the skin approached Jesus, was persistent in making sure he recieved the attention of the Lord. Society forbade him from being around other people, but the man did not care, he approached Jesus and asked for the blessing of healing. Jesus does not back away or shun the man, but rather responds to him immediately.
If you are seeking a blessing from Jesus Christ today, take a page out of the book of the man in Matthew 8, and ask the Lord to choose you. Watch what happens! Thank you for reading, and feel welcome to share with a friend. Blessings, Nick
http://www.nicholashoodiiiministries.com
[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Php 4:4–7). (1989). Thomas Nelson Publishers.
An Angel sitting on a stone After an earthquake
Matthew 28 The Resurrection of Jesus
(Mk 16:1–8; Lk 24:1–12; Jn 20:1–10)
Matthew 28 After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” 8 So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” [1]
- Today I want to talk about the first Easter
- Tell the story…
- let us take a closer look at the story:
- Women go to the tomb early in the morning
- while they are walking, they experience an earthquake.
- in spite of the earthquake, the women keep walking
- how many of us would press on to a grave with an earthquake? At the grave, the women see an Angel descending from heaven and sitting on a stone
- Guards saw the same thing, but they ran away.
- Lesson: the women were tougher than the guards.
- Likewise, in many respects today, women are tougher than men.
- again, how many of us would stand there and listen to an Angel sitting on a stone at a grave?
- After all this, the women go into the tomb.
- the women entering the tomb of Jesus is central to the story of Easter.
- Again, picture the scene, and ask yourself after all of this, would you enter the grave of Jesus?
- In the Luke version, the angel says to the women, “why do you seek the living among the dead?
–5 The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. 6 Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” [2] (Luke 24)
- Some of us seek the living in the dead.
- Sometimes, the things we do defy common sense.
- We have to wonder, “why I do something that I know cannot enhance my life “?
- What you and I are doing today, is something that can only enhance life!
- While still in the graveyard, the Angel tells Mary and the women to tell the disciples to meet Jesus in Galilee
- in other words, getaway from the scene of the crime.
- Go to where the air is fresh and clear so you can get yourself together
- in like manner, sometimes the best thing we can do when someone dies and we are full of sadness, is simply to get away where we can collect our thoughts
- today, we celebrate the resurrection of our crucified Lord and savior…
[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Mt 28:1–10). (1989). Thomas Nelson Publishers.
[2] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Lk 24:5–7). (1989). Thomas Nelson Publishers.
Focus Bible Verse:
Matthew 5: The Law and the Prophets
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. [1]
Meditation –
Today, I would like to share with you another dimension of enhancing ones spiritual life. Again, our lesson is taken from Jesus Sermon on the Mount. Jesus taught that we should love, embrace, and embody, the word of God. Also, the Lord commands us to teach others to do the same. Let me put this lesson on a basic level for you and me.
Jesus taught that he did not come to the destroy the law, but to fulfill the law. He thought it was important to make this point, because on one hand his teaching seemed so radical, but on the other he wanted to make it perfectly plain that his goal was to make the ancient Jewish law which dated back to the time of Moses, more relevant and understanding then what it had become in his time.
For example, the Pharisees took the ancient laws of Moses in a direction God never intended. When God commanded 6 days shalt thou labor, but the 7th shall be a Sabbath with no work, the Pharisees interpreted that to to believe that the faithful person should not cook, clean, or heal on the Sabbath. At one point in his ministry, Jesus is criticized because he and the disciples were plucking grain on the Sabbath and eating in the fields. Jesus reminded his critics that the Sabbath was made for man and not man made for the Sabbath.
Let me share with you how I interpret the teaching of Jesus on this point in the Sermon on the Mount. Like the ancient Jews, Jesus believed that you and I should love the word of God. Not just know the Word of God, but love the Word of God. The Pharisees loved the word of God. Their problem was that in loving the word of God, they made the word of God difficult to apply to their lives. There are several dimensions you and I can take when loving the word of God.
We can make our faith stronger and deeper by trying to learn and memorize the word of God. One of the most beautiful examples I have ever seen of a person who memorized the word of God, was the late Rev. Cornell Tally, former pastor of the New Light Baptist Church in Detroit MI. One day 25 or 30 years ago, I attended a funeral for the associate minister of Rev. Tally. During the family hour, as mourners walked past the casket, Rev. Tally recited Psalm after Psalm from the Old Testament from memory. He spoke with such passion and feeling, as only a person who has memorized scripture can employ, I said to myself, this is beautiful and so passionate, and one day I want to learn to know scripture as well as Rev. Tally. From that day on, I began to memorize not only several scriptures, but also major liturgical writing such as the wedding service, the funeral committal service, and other orders of service commonly used in parish ministry. One of the things that I learned in this process, is that not only did the memorization of scripture sound nice during a funeral, but it helped me to focus more on what these scriptures actually mean and on a deeper level how do we apply these scriptures to our daily living?
In our focus scripture today from Matthew chapter 5, Jesus teaches that those who are the least of the Kingdom of heaven will be those who diminish the teachings of the ancient law. By the same token, Jesus taught that those who will be greatest in the Kingdom of heaven are those who know and love and teach others the law of Moses.
My encouragement to you, is that you take more time to memorize the word of God. As you seek to etch the word of God into your spiritual memory bank, encourage you to be unashamed to share with others and encourage others to deepen their faith with their intention turn incorporate the Word of God into their daily decision making and style of living.
I thank you for taking the time to read this meditation, and if you find it meaningful, please share with someone you care about. Blessings and peace. Nick
Questions For Reflection:
- Where are you in the process of learning to memorize verses from the Bible?
- What are your favorite Bible verses?
- Why are these your favorite Bible verses?
- Have you come across situations where you have found that you can apply verses that you have learned in the Bible to help you make your decision?
- Other thoughts for reflection?
Prayer –
My Lord and my God, help me to be a better Christian. Help me to be more loving, more kind, more forgiving, and a more compelling witness for your grace, mercy, and truth. In jesus name I pray. Amen.
Written bt Pastor Nick Hood
[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Mt 5:17–20). (1989). Thomas Nelson Publishers.
How Difficult Days Can Lead To Greater Spirituality
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3)
Today is the second in a series of meditations which focus on the question of how do you know if your life is built upon a firm spiritual foundation? Last week, i began with the example Jesus gives in chapter seven of the book of Matthew, where he spoke about two persons, one, who built his house sand, and the other who built his house upon strong rock. When the strong winds and rain fell down the person whose house was built on the strong rock saw that his house was still standing. The home built on shaky sand was blown away. Today I want to work backwards towards the conclusion which was the house built on strong and shaky sand. If we begin at the start of the sermon on the mount, we see several illustrations that Jesus gives which let us know the right path we must take if we will be on a strong spiritual foundation. I want to begin today With Matthew chapter 5 verse 3 which is the first verse of the beatitudes.
The beatitudes is a series of teachings which are a series of blessings. Verse three says “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Modern translators have noted that a more correct translation of the word that we refer to as blessed is happy. Happy are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. I believe this verse is pointing out one of the realities in life, which is that it is entirely possible to live a life which is poor in spirit.
What does it mean to be poor in spirit? To be depressed is to be poor in spirit. A life filled with sadness, is a life that is poor in spirit. The envious and jealous person, the hateful person the grieving person who cannot rebound after the death of a loved one, is living a life which is poor in spirit.
I have chosen this as a starting point to help us understand that if we are to build a life on a strong spiritual foundation, the reality is that life often has difficult days. If you lose your job, that is a difficult day. When what you thought to be the love of your life tells you they no longer want to be around you, they want to divorce, they want to break up, that probably will register as a difficult day. The first point I want to make is that in life it is normal to have difficult days. It is normal to be upset if your son or daughter gets into trouble or cannot seem to find a good path forward. If you feel obligated to serve as the caregiver for a parent or spouse, or anyone who is important to you in life, you may feel a special burden in your life.
The point I am trying to make in this message, at the start of a series on knowing how to build your life on a strong spiritual foundation, is to recognize that in every life there will be difficult days and difficult moments. In the beatitudes, Jesus gives us a series of verses which all speak to difficult times in life.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. “ (Matthew 5:3-6)
The sixth verse gives us a clue as to how to handle verses 3-4 and five which is, if we hunger and thirst for righteousness then we find that we will be filled. Part of the reason why our lives may seem to be spiritually empty is because we sometimes hunger and thirst for anything but righteousness. We hunger and thirst out of jealousy in the striving for things that we think will give us a leg up on the next person. If they drive a certain kind of car, we want an even more expensive car. If they move to a more expensive house, we want to find a way to exceed what they have purchased. If a person dresses one way, sometimes we want to outdo them with the kind of clothes we will wear. What Jesus is saying is that when you set your sights on righteousness, which is simply to do the will of God, you will always be on a spiritually strong foundation. I thank you for taking the time to read this meditation and I hope it is helpful to you in your spiritual quest. To hunger and thirst for righteousness, is to make prayer a central part of your daily routine. There are other elements which fall under the umbrella of hunger and thirsting for righteousness such as, help another get out of their poverty. To hunger and thirst for righteousness is to make church a part of your routine every week. To hunger and thirst for righteousness is to be sensitive to children and to assist them and teaching them about God Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The more we hunger and thirst for righteousness, incorporating the teachings of God into our daily lives, what we will find is that even though you might have a bad day, with difficult challenges, if you hunger and thirst for righteousness, you will obtain the Kingdom of heaven, not just in death, but in this life, you will experience heaven on earth which will provide you with the peace that transcends earthly peace, and a joy that transcends earthly joy.
Next week I will journey through the sermon on the mount where Jesus gives us a clear message on how to develop self-esteem, which originates with the self-esteem that God has given to each of us. Next week I will focus on the section in the sermon on the mount where Jesus says you are the salt of the earth and let your light shine so others may see your good works and give glory to your father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:13-16) Thank you again for reading, and if you find this message meaningful, please share with a friend.
Blessings, nick
Prayer:
Lord grant me strength to survive the difficult days and moments of life. When people forsake me, friends turned their back on me, help me to draw upon the power you have placed within me. Grant me your strength, grant me your power grant me the courage and self-esteem to hope and strive for the best, even when it seems as if I have so little to cling to. Lord, I want to inherit the Kingdom of heaven, not just when I die, but right now, while i am still alive on this earth. Grant me the blessing of quality life and joy in this world and the world to come. In Jesus name I pray Amen.
An Angel sitting on a stone After an earthquake
Matthew 28 The Resurrection of Jesus
(Mk 16:1–8; Lk 24:1–12; Jn 20:1–10)
Matthew 28 After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” 8 So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” [1]
- Today I want to talk about the first Easter
- Tell the story…
- let us take a closer look at the story:
- Women go to the tomb early in the morning
- while they are walking, they experience an earthquake.
- in spite of the earthquake, the women keep walking
- how many of us would press on to a grave with an earthquake? At the grave, the women see an Angel descending from heaven and sitting on a stone
- Guards saw the same thing, but they ran away.
- Lesson: the women were tougher than the guards.
- Likewise, in many respects today, women are tougher than men.
- again, how many of us would stand there and listen to an Angel sitting on a stone at a grave?
- After all this, the women go into the tomb.
- the women entering the tomb of Jesus is central to the story of Easter.
- Again, picture the scene, and ask yourself after all of this, would you enter the grave of Jesus?
- In the Luke version, the angel says to the women, “why do you seek the living among the dead?
–5 The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. 6 Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” [2] (Luke 24)
- Some of us seek the living in the dead.
- Sometimes, the things we do defy common sense.
- We have to wonder, “why I do something that I know cannot enhance my life “?
- What you and I are doing today, is something that can only enhance life!
- While still in the graveyard, the Angel tells Mary and the women to tell the disciples to meet Jesus in Galilee
- in other words, getaway from the scene of the crime.
- Go to where the air is fresh and clear so you can get yourself together
- in like manner, sometimes the best thing we can do when someone dies and we are full of sadness, is simply to get away where we can collect our thoughts
- today, we celebrate the resurrection of our crucified Lord and savior…
[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Mt 28:1–10). (1989). Thomas Nelson Publishers.
[2] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Lk 24:5–7). (1989). Thomas Nelson Publishers.
If you are in Detroit, Michigan this Sunday morning,I i invite you to atop by the Plymouth United Church of Christ. I would love to see you!
Nick
Nicholas Hood III Ministries 