It is said that the greatest sermon ever preached is the Sermon on the Mount. Parts of it are found in the Gospels of Mark and Luke as well, but the Gospel of Matthew devotes three full chapters to this sermon. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus had just been baptized, had gone into the
If you look at the preaching records over the past five Transfiguration Sundays, you will find that it is usually the Sunday that we have had a guest preacher. Alex McNeil from More Light Presbyterians preached one year…. and Frank Yamada the President of McCormick Seminary preached another. Danny Preached one year before he was
What I am about to say is really, really, well partially true. It actually has not been that hard, and I have almost actually succeeded, but I think I can say with the exception of one or two people I interact with, I live in a bubble here in Florida. It started before this last
This morning’s scripture passages are parts of the creation stories found in the Book of Genesis. Center to our faith and to all faiths is the belief that God was the author in some way of creation. In trying to understand this core belief and what our place is in God’s creation, the ancient Hebrews
Two weeks ago I attended a seminar given by the Presbyterian Foundation which was meant to help clergy with their financial planning. It might not come as a shock to any of you, but ministers are not financial wizards. We tend to rely on our belief that God is in charge and let it go
Two years ago I had the opportunity to preach at my college during my Reunion Weekend. I had actually been invited to do it a few years before, but it was not my reunion year, so I did not know anyone in the congregation. This time it was a major reunion so I was going
In the Presbyterian Church we only have two sacraments, The Celebration of the Lord’s Supper or Communion and Baptism. Both are usually celebrated, not in private, but with the community called the church. Special circumstances such as a communion with a homebound member are done outside the church, but even then, ministers are encouraged to
One Facebook friend from my high school era has grown to be the wonderfully eccentric adult he had begun to blossom into even in our teen years. I see Peter Van Erp every 5 years at our high school reunions, but cyber technology has allowed me to check in with him through his Facebook posts.
I got a group text from a friend this past Tuesday morning after the tabloids and morning talk shows shared photos of Duchess Meghan Markle in a gorgeous tight black velvet gown showing every inch of her pregnancy, cradling what they call her baby bump. My friend asked in the group text, ‘what is it
Early last September, Rosemary wrapped up our summer sermon series on the women and Minor Prophets of the First Testament and she chose to preach on Malachi, the last minor prophet of our Hebrew scriptures and the one who bridges the two Testaments of the Bible. Daris Bultena, our Executive Presbyter described this week in