Unraveled: Seeking God When Our Plans Fall Apart

First Church has been exploring the series “Unraveled: Seeking God When Our Plans Fall Apart” since Sunday June 16th. This worship series comes from Sanctified Art. Every Sunday we will explore a Bible passage, art image, and our experiences of unraveling and weaving. Accompanying devotional books and bookmarks (outlining the order of topics) are available… Continue reading Unraveled: Seeking God When Our Plans Fall Apart

Gratitude: Giving Thanks Activites

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” – 1 Thessalonians 5: 17-18 Last week we talked about how hard praying without ceasing might seem… especially when we are tied to a particular form of prayer. This week, we are looking at gratitude…… Continue reading Gratitude: Giving Thanks Activites

For such a time as this…

Over the next five weeks, we will take a look at the book of Esther.  If you haven’t read Esther, I’d encourage you to read it! It reads like a thriller or even a romance novel. And yet, we can learn much about what it means to live a life committed to God and to one… Continue reading For such a time as this…

It’s. All. About. Love.

Who doesn’t love to hear the parable of the prodigal son? Or the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin? We love hearing these stories about God’s immense love for us and being reminded of our value as children of God. But there’s the rub. These stories are not necessarily about us. They… Continue reading It’s. All. About. Love.

A Quest for Jesus – Journeying toward a deeper relationship with Jesus

Dear Friends, Over the past year, I have found myself wondering about our country’s current expression of Christianity. I have often felt overwhelmed with Christian mud slinging in the name of Jesus, words of judgment and hate paraded across the Internet, and sometimes-downright heresy. I confess that at times I found myself feeling ashamed to call… Continue reading A Quest for Jesus – Journeying toward a deeper relationship with Jesus

New Sermon Series Beginning July 19th, 2015

Be the Gospel There is no doubt that the most famous teachings of Jesus are found in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. One of the reasons for this is because we all care about authenticity. In a world that is inundated with information and technology, it has never been more important for the church to… Continue reading New Sermon Series Beginning July 19th, 2015

worshiping a God who engages all of our senses…

As I read in Exodus this morning, I was struck with the details that God gave Moses on Mount Sinai for constructing the Tent of Meeting. He included a variety of woods, jewels, gold, purple yarns and colored fabrics … worship was to be a sensory feast. There were to be spices and oils to engage… Continue reading worshiping a God who engages all of our senses…

Some thoughts on the gift of time

It is always intriguing to me when the various streams from which I am reading all come together in one congruent message. For the past several weeks, I have been reading about the gift of time… each new day… how we receive it… how we perceive it. It began as I was reading Eat, Pray and Love… the author reminisces about… Continue reading Some thoughts on the gift of time

sync your heart with God’s heart

Dwelling in the presence of God just makes us more open to the God surprises in each day. It moves us from an analytical, theological and intellectual approach  to a more experiential place where we can encounter God’s activity around us. In Genesis 18, Abraham receives his guests in a traditional yet authentic way. He bows low to… Continue reading sync your heart with God’s heart