Matthew 3:1-17 John the Baptist asks a key question that we don’t always ask. We should, but we don’t. Why are you coming to be baptized?Who warned us to flee the wrath that is coming? Are we being baptized just to flee wrath, or do we repent? And what brings Jesus to be baptized? John has it right when he essentially asks…
Matthew 2:1-23 You may know about the Magi. You may know the trivia (were there 3?) or you may know the jokes (it took 2 years and they brought impractical gifts because they were wise men). They come to see the child, they visit the palace, and are warned in a dream to go home by another way. Nevertheless, Herod is…
Granger Odum – Revelation 21
Psalm 96:7-10, Luke 2:1-20
Isaiah 42:1-9,Matthew 1:18-25 Isaiah is perhaps the ancient version of the 5 pounds of ads that show up in the paper on Thanksgiving, or the wave of advertising emails that show up the week of Thanksgiving. They are all there telling us to get ready for what is coming. They hype us up, they build up the anticipation. Imagine, if you will,…
Tis the Christmas season. We call the weeks before Christmas Advent though. Christmas runs for twelve days after Christmas. By the time Christmas gets here we are exhausted. Ready for it all to be over. This year, slow down and look for ways to really celebrate Advent. Advent is the season to anticipate the”coming” of our savior, Jesus. Join us for the…
Esther 4:1-17 The Esther story is one that we sort of know. Often we study it because it has a woman lead, and we think that’s rare (it’s not). We think it’s the exception to the rule, and a one off type of story. If we knew our history, we’d know it isn’t. This isn’t the first time that we hear this…
Why visit Marion First Presbyterian Church? Because we are people just like you. We are Christians but we know we are not perfect. Mark 12:17 tells us “. . . Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”” Yes, we could forget to greet you…
Advent Cantata The choir of the First Presbyterian Church will present its Advent Cantata, Shout the Good News!, during the 10:30 AM morning worship service December 16, 2018. In Shout the Good News!, the composer Lloyd Larson has created a celebration of Jesus’ birth and of those messengers who helped God’s purposes to be fulfilled. New material is blended with beloved carols, creating…
Habakkuk 1:1-7;2:1-4; 3:[3b-6], 17-19 To start with, prophets are generally not sent to places in good times. The times may be bad for the people the prophet is sent to, or the times may be bad from the perspective of the one sending the prophet. In this case, we get the indication that the people are not happy with the situation. It…
