Sermon Series

Draw Near to God

During the month of June, we will explore how we can use the Bible not only to learn more about God and how to live our lives, but how to use the Bible to draw nearer to God. Through learning how to pray the scriptures, you will discover that the presence of God is as close as the Bible on your bookshelf.

Our Sacred Space

We have spent a year renovating our Sanctuary and I would like all of us to take some time to consider this gift.
During Lent, the sermon series will explore the Sanctuary’s role in focusing our hearts and minds to worship Almighty God.

* We will examine the Cross, its central role in our worship space and how our entire faith hangs on this centerpiece of our sanctuary.

* We will spend a week talking about the Organ, the Choir Loft, and the Domed Ceiling. We will see how these parts of our Sanctuary both turn our eyes heavenward and root us in the world today.

* We will examine the historical role of the Pulpit in reformed worship, the beautiful crafting of our brand-new pulpit, and the symbolism meant to focus on us on the presence of God in the Word of God.

In successive weeks, we will turn to the sacraments: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

* We learn about the crafting of various baptismal fonts throughout the history of the church and how our glass font focuses on the central element of the sacrament – water.

* Then as we turn to the table - to the time at which the altar of sacrifice became the table of fellowship.

Together, let’s be thankful to God for this amazing Sanctuary that turns our hearts and minds to the presence of the Lord.

Awkward Verses in the Bible

Presbyterians are people of the Book, that is, all we believe and do is based upon the Bible. But, clearly, there are passages we no longer follow and some things we believe even seem contrary to Scripture. This series, we will be exploring those texts which prove problematic or inconvenient for our beliefs today. So, together, let’s discover the enduring power of God’s Word while gaining a clear understanding of how to resolve the problematic nature of these passages for our faith today.

Finding Peace

For this Sermon Series, we will be chasing the ever-elusive goal of peace. We will be looking through a Biblical lens to learn:

… how to have peace with our past, through not holding the mistakes of our youth against us and not harboring resentment for those who have done us wrong, in a word… forgiveness;
… how to have peace with the present, through accepting the blessings we do have while learning not to constantly grasp for more, in a word …contentment;
… how to have peace with the future, through a clear-eyed understanding that history is in the hands of God and that His power is sufficient, in a word… faith.

Striving for peace is a deeply Biblical endeavor. In the King James version of scripture, the word appears 429 times! The more things change the more they stay the same. Peace will always be on the top of humanity’s needs and the Bible tells us how to find it!

Join us in worship and together let us seek that “Peace that passes all understanding,” that we find in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Making Your Day in the Godly Way

We will use the book of Ephesians to guide our daily walk of faith that will enable us to give the morning, afternoon, and night to God.

Through our words, the melodies of our hearts, and the strength of our will, Ephesians will help us be Godly in all our dealings with others, our disposition throughout the day, and a restful sleep at night knowing we have done our faithful best.

Questions You Always Wanted to Ask God

I recently asked some staff and members: “If you could ask God any question what would it be?”

Some of the questions had to do with God’s supreme love. “Why did you do this for us? Were we really worth it?” Other questions focused on the nature of faith. “God, what do you think of doubters?”

Some people focused on the world and where it was headed, along with a sense of God’s apparent inaction. “Why don't you take more decisive action? Why not just end the world and redeem it now? Why do you remain hidden?”

And then there were the personal questions having to do with loss. “Why did you take my husband so soon? Why are some born, live a life of suffering, and then die?”

So … get ready. We are going to do a deep dive into scripture in order to wrestle with these thorny questions. Some of the answers will be welcome. Some will be puzzling and even frustrating. But if we do so with faith, God will reward us.

Christmas Gifts

Have you begun the mad rush yet? Did you wait in line to get just the right toy? Have you scoured dozens of catalogues trying to find a present for that impossible relative? Has your gift list grown to unmanageable proportions? Are you tempted to put only one item on your wish list?

Dear Santa, All I want for Christmas is for it to be over!

If so, then I invite you to First Presbyterian church this December to discover a different way to think of the task of Christmas shopping.

In our times a gift is a trinket or bauble we purchase for someone else. But gifts, true gifts are not purchased at the store. In Romans Paul explains that, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights …” (Romans 11:29) Biblically, gifts are a blessing from God, not Home Depot or Walmart.

They are not toys to entertain or candles to decorate. They are not simply for delight or pleasure but rather objects endowed with profound meaning like that of the Wisemen. These gifts offer blessings to another that encourages them to be who God made them to be or offers them grace when life weighs them down.

As we all know the true purpose of this time of year is to prepare us to receive the most beautiful and sublime gift of all. The Apostle Paul in a moment of ecstatic joy writes,

“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”

This Advent we will explore God’s gifts of the Divine Mailbox and the Divine Alarm Clock, that lead to the most indescribable glorious gift of the Divine Child.

One last thing,

This year in the midst of your Holiday shopping be sure to give at least one Christmas gift. A gift that will bless another and let them know of the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Have a Blessed Advent!

Tom

Wisdom for Life: Proverbs

You may have come across these modern updates of familiar sayings:
Close but no Wi-Fi,
Never judge an app by its icon,
and the tweet is mightier than the sword

Clever sayings however are nothing new and the ancient world had their share like: Liars when they speak the truth are not believed, from Aristotle and
He who will not economize will have to agonize, from Confucius.

The Bible also has its share of sayings and some of them are curious like Ecclesiastes 9
Better a living dog than a dead lion
and others outright surprising like Proverbs 31
Let beer be for those who are perishing, wine for those who are in anguish!

But the ancient world went one better than our modern one. Whereas we have self-help books that offer something more than a sentence or two of advice they had Wisdom literature. Unlike our modern works, manufactured by the publishing industry to do more help to the author’s and publisher’s bottom line, these wisdom works generally had no official author and were collections gathered over the course of centuries that offered true lasting insight into the human condition.

The Bible has several books within the Wisdom literature tradition of the ancient world, Job, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes and for the month of November we are going to explore the insights of Proverbs’ wisdom for life. Specifically, its call to cultivate
a cheerful heart,
a listening ear,
and a committed will.

I invite you to read through the whole book so that, together, all of us can “make our ways straight through the way of wisdom.” Peace, Tom Evans

500 Years of Reformation

500 years ago, the reformation created titanic shifts in our faith, culture and world. Its impact on us today is still very strong and, as we continue to struggle with community, dignity, and justice for all people, key learnings from that time are more critical now than ever.
Much of the heart of the reformation is captured through a collection of sayings known as “Sola’s” – Latin for “only”.
A sinner is justified by grace alone (sola gratia) through faith alone (sola fide) for the sake of Christ alone (solus Christus), a truth revealed to us in Scripture alone (sola Scriptura)
To God’s glory alone (soli deo Gloria)
The scripture and theology behind these Sola’s completely transformed the church, social structures, and governments.
For the month of October, in honor of the 500^th anniversary of the Reformation, we will be exploring the scriptural basis for these sola’s, their role in the Reformation, and their critical importance for the work of the church today.
Come join us that we might work together Soli Deo Gloria! (and learn a little Latin along the way!)

Be Like Christ

For the month of September, we will explore how, through imitating Christ, we can live a richer, more centered, and faithful life filled with purpose and meaning.

One of the greatest devotional works in the history of Christendom, “The Imitation of Christ”, written by Thomas a Kempis (c. 1418) challenges us to live out Paul’s admonition in 1 Corinthians 11:1. He paints a beautiful, if challenging, portrait of a heart filled with love, obedience, and simplicity.

Thomas largely focuses on an interior spiritual pattern, but Jesus was fully human and so we should imitate Christ with the fullness of ourselves. We will explore how to do so in successive weeks in
mind,
body,
spirit,
so that we experience a fully new life.

Come to worship this September and we can learn together how through humility, service, and love we can grow closer to our Lord.