To say that the Corinthians have a “problem” is a gross understatement. This motley crew of haphazard diners is a dysfunctional family of faith drowning in a swirling cesspool of sin and brokenness. For starters, whenever they get together for the Lord’s Supper – the centerpiece of this morning’s Scripture lesson, these Christians-in-name-only gorge themselvesContinue reading “Coming Together for the Better”
Author Archives: First Presbyterian Church
Doers of the Word
Let’s just jump right into the story of God with us: James, Faith, Action! Listen for the Word of the Lord, as I read to you from the New Testament book of James. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts together be holy, acceptable, and pleasing to the Lord GodContinue reading “Doers of the Word”
All the Lonely People
Way back in 1966, The Beatles released a hit song titled “Eleanor Rigby.” The classic tune paints a sad picture of lonely people who live on the remote edges of the wider world. As the lyrics go, Eleanor Rigby is the caretaker of a ramshackle country church – the one who sweeps up the riceContinue reading “All the Lonely People”
Jesus Felt and Feels
Three earthy, relatable characters – a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer – played important roles in last Sunday’s Scripture lesson. Writing ancient-but-ever-true words to his young protégé Timothy, the apostle Paul lifts up a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer as images of what it means to become a devoted follower of Jesus andContinue reading “Jesus Felt and Feels”
A Soldier, an Athlete, and a Farmer
The apostle Paul, for more than a month of Sundays, has been serving as our explainer-in-chief of any and all matters related to becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ. Here’s where we’ve been: First to the Romans and now to us, Paul weaves a stunning daisy chain of faith and belief: We can rejoice inContinue reading “A Soldier, an Athlete, and a Farmer”
Freed from, Freed to
Freedom isn’t free. The history of this country proves the point. Thus, we Americans treasure being free from all manner of oppression and injustice. Perhaps that’s where your heart and mind go – we are “free from” – when choruses of national song and anthem wave over the land of the free and the homeContinue reading “Freed from, Freed to”
Love Is
Some of the most elegant prose in all of literature provides our Scripture lesson this morning: 1 Corinthians 13, the apostle Paul’s gripping testimony to the power of love. The passage places love and all its nuance at the center of life for a faith community of ever-maturing disciples. Love is the absolutely indispensable qualityContinue reading “Love Is”
More Than I Can Bear
The apostle Peter last Sunday provided the latest installment in the biblical story of God with us. Peter’s fellow Jewish Christians, like him new to faith in Christ, were upset, because Peter was breaking bread with non-Jews, a social and religious taboo of Peter’s day. But Peter calmly shares with his disgruntled contemporaries an amazingContinue reading “More Than I Can Bear”
Relationship Assessment
Some of the most dramatic chapters in the discipleship story of God with us come in the Acts of the Apostles. It begins, as we heard a couple weeks ago, with the jaw-dropping account of Jesus returning to heaven, which catches the apostles flat-footed and leaves them gazing up into the sky. Spectacular moments likeContinue reading “Relationship Assessment”
Pastoral Meditation: Times and Seasons
Pastor Grant M. VanderVelden shared this message at the funeral for Jerry W. Ewing on Wednesday, August 3, 2022. The message arises from Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 – For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, andContinue reading “Pastoral Meditation: Times and Seasons”