In January, we train and install and ordain the officers we elected at the congregational meeting in December. What does "to ordain" mean? It comes from the same root as the word "order." Presbyterians get teased somewhat justifiably for trying to do everything "decently and in order." The image is an organization full of too much bureaucracy, taking too much time in deliberation, keeping around too many documents and minutes of meetings. This is in contrast to a lighter

Last New Year's Day I challenged you to take up the New Year's resolution to read four chapters of the Bible per day. I did this with you and finished back in October sometime. I will be starting this again on New Year's Day and invite you join me again. But this year, I am not so much inviting you make a resolution to read four chapters of the Bible per day as I am inviting you to make a resolution to read the Bible on an ongoing basis. If you read with me last year, then y

We've made it to Christmas and we celebrate the birth of Jesus. God became incarnate; the unlimited became limited in the form of a baby boy. Matthew says this fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that "the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel." Let's dig a little so that this does not become a cliché. In Isaiah, God tells Ahaz to demand a sign. Ahaz, by the way, is NOT a good king. One way to tell that in this Isaiah passage is that Ahaz do

Hello, friends, The Family Night Dinner was lovely last night. The catered food was tasty, the homemade food was even better, and best of all was the fellowship. We expressed appreciation for people who worked to bring it together, Christmas carols were sung, and photos were taken with the guy in the red suit. Also at the Family Night Dinner, the congregation honored the staff. Speaking on behalf of the staff, we ARE honored to serve this great congregation. We also great

Along with Lent, the liturgical color for Advent is purple. The purple seasons are seasons of preparation. In both seasons, there is a theme of introspection. In my experience, Lent tends to be a time of very personal introspection; we think out our sin and how to live a more righteous life and we prepare for remembering Jesus' death in Holy Week and his resurrection on Easter so that we can be personally more grateful disciples, better disciples, so that we can celebrate

Hello, friends, Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you're with family or friends--people you love and who love you. I hope you're being filled with that love and, yes, with good food, too. I'm thinking today about one of the most important gifts that God has given humanity. Of course, when we think of what God has given us, we tend to think first of things we need: food, shelter, clothing, protection from our enemies. If we went just a little farther in that kind of thinking, I

There's a lot of remembrance at this time of year. October 31 is the date Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the church at Wittenburg, and so we remember the start of the Reformation on Halloween, or the closest Sunday. Of course, "Halloween" means "Hallow's eve," or the day before All Saints' (Hallowed persons') Day. On All Saints' Day we remember those who have died in the Lord before us. We believe that "the work begun in their baptism is complete," that

In late September, scammers pretending to be me asked a bunch of you to buy some gift cards and send them pictures of the numbers on the...

Hello, friends, I'm hearing reports from many of my friends that someone is spoofing my identity and asking people to send Apple gift...

This post serves as an announcement of staff changes at First Presbyterian Church, but also much more. Tina Brumley has been reducing...

Discipleship is about learning from Jesus how we are to live our lives. Last Sunday (July 27), I preached on the part of Luke including...

The Spirit moves among us! This Sunday is a happy alignment of Spirit actions. First, Callie Babcock, daughter of this congregation and...

In the rhythm of the church year, we've covered most of the big events: anticipating the incarnation during Advent in December,...

First of all, I've posted before in this blog that Pentecost is not a Season. Pentecost is the last Sunday of the Season of Easter. The...

I'm sure I've said this before in a sermon or previous blog post, but it bears repeating and points to many other stories that are...

The Community of Taize started from the experience of its founder, Brother Roger in World War II. Their website  says: When the Second...

"What is man, that thou art mindful of him?" (Psalm 8 KJV) Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, our behavior, culture,...

January 6th was Epiphany. Epiphany is always on the 6th of January, so it doesn't move around from year to year. It is the culmination...

What is Confirmation? We Presbyterians believe that baptism represents God's claim on our lives and a promise from the covenant...

I've been noticing that not all hope is the same, and I've been thinking about types of hope. Hope changes through the long arc of the...