Try to forget, if you will, everything you think you know about the apostle Thomas. And please start with the dreadful nickname “Doubting Thomas” that hangs over the apostle like a dark cloud of shame and guilt. Please forget that somewhere along the way you were taught or otherwise came to believe that the mainContinue reading “Fidgety Faith”
Author Archives: First Presbyterian Church
Dear Diary
Suffice it to say that preachers over the years have not been kind to the woman who takes centerstage in this morning’s lesson. All we know from the Gospel of John is that she’s had five husbands, and in the setting of this story, the man with whom she’s now living is not her husband.Continue reading “Dear Diary”
Labor Day 2020: Do You Want My Job?
May you lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. ~ Colossians 1:10 COVID-19 mostly has brought bane, but for those with eyes to see, the pandemic has not been without blessing. Early on in ourContinue reading “Labor Day 2020: Do You Want My Job?”
Broken Dreams
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down;Yeah, we wept, when we remembered Zion.There the wicked carried us away in captivity,Required from us a song.Now how shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?– Boney M, Rivers of Babylon Indeed, how do we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land? TheContinue reading “Broken Dreams”
A Bedtime Story
Everyone loves a good conversion story. That’s why you always end up perched on the edge of your seat whenever someone tells an inspiring tale of living a smoldering train wreck of a life, but then one day “finding Jesus” and rising from the ashes in triumphant victory over the mortal sins of a sordidContinue reading “A Bedtime Story”
What’s It Going to Take?
Up until now, over the past few weeks, in our sharing of Bible stories that speak to God’s presence when human plans fall apart, God has been the One doing the unraveling. For always-good divine purposes, God has been the One tugging at loose threads in the fabric our lives and reweaving those stands intoContinue reading “What’s It Going to Take?”
Unraveled Salvation
When you mention the biblical name Zacchaeus, three descriptors of the character in Luke’s Gospel usually spring to mind: First, Zacchaeus is short – “a wee little man was he.” Second, he’s good at climbing trees – sycamores in particular. And third, nobody likes him. Most people neither welcome Zacchaeus nor want anything to doContinue reading “Unraveled Salvation”
Can You See Her?
God speaks to us this morning through an obscure Old Testament story of revenge and retribution. As the curtain rises on chapter 21 of 2 Samuel, the hunger pains of a three-year famine stir King David to ask God why there’s no food on the table. According to the Lord, the grain bins are empty,Continue reading “Can You See Her?”
Step Into the Swell
When I was picking out Bible stories for this sermon series on the unraveling of our lives, I was torn over whether to include this morning’s lesson. It’s the story of Jesus successfully walking on water and Peter’s failed attempt to follow in Jesus’s watery footsteps. On one hand, the story works well. Getting caughtContinue reading “Step Into the Swell”
Sarah Laughs
What happens when it feels like your world has come unglued and is falling apart? How do you press onward when your tightly knit plans unravel into a tangle of loose threads? What do you become when your identity feels threatened with undoing or the path you’re walking comes dangerously undone? Those questions weigh heavyContinue reading “Sarah Laughs”