First Presbyterian Church, Evansville Sermons: Recent Episodes
First Presbyterian Church, Evansville
“Well, it’s been a quiet week in Evansville, Indiana, my hometown.” We made the national news this week when a racist customer at the Olive Garden on Green River Road requested a white server in place of the server assigned to her table. The former...
Here, at First Pres, we do our best to give you a little more than you might expect at other churches on a Sunday morning. It’s not because we’re trying to proclaim ourselves better than others. It’s just that you’ve come to expect a little more...
If you don’t know this about me by now, then you probably have not been paying attention. I have a thing for mountains and for mountaintops. I am crazy for the mountains and when I see the Rockies, or the Alleghenies, or the Smokeys, or Ben Moor on...
The religious landscape in the United States is in the midst of a dramatic change. While many of us can remember a time when Sunday meant getting up and going to church without fail, with no excuse being tolerated and no explanation of why a Sunday...
The story that Mark offers us on this Sunday morning is troublesome. We’re dealing with an exorcism and that is troubling territory for proper Presbyterians. We have far less trouble with healing stories. After all, we have known those who were ill...
Telling a story is not as easy as it may appear, but we all like a good story told well. Sometimes it has nothing to do with the subject of the story. Uninteresting stories can become interesting simply by the way they are shared. Apparently...
One of the truths I’ve uncovered in this business of preaching is that everything that should be said, has been said, and it has been said in a better way than I could ever hope to say it. Tremendously complex ideas are compacted into a brief, pithy...
Four weeks ago, Jesus was born. Three weeks ago, Jesus was,perhaps, two years old and the wise men visited. Last week, Jesus was an adult and went to the river to be baptized by John. And this week, Jesus is beginning his public ministry. I told you...
It does not take us long, as children, to learn that life is full of rules. This discovery is usually made when we inadvertently and unintentionally break one of the rules we know nothing about. These can be rules about being at the table (“don’t...
We have come to that moment in advent - at which we arrive every year - when the focus for the morning centers on John the Baptist. For generations, John the Baptist has been viewed as a “warm-up act” for the arrival of Jesus. Yes, John is important...
If you’ve spent any amount of time around Evansville in the last twenty years or so, you have seen more than enough of your share of these. It used to be that the orange cones only blossomed in the spring. But now, the orange cones seem to be...
Even though many of us are still eating Thanksgiving leftovers and have yet to reach their fill of football, time is moving on. When I was in seminary, a group of us went to a wonderful Roman Catholic congregation for the First Sunday in Advent. ...
I have been watching Ken Burns’ history of country music. (Most of you have finished with that, but I am working through the recorded series.) I’m not that much of a country fan, though if you give me some Waylon and Willie, a bit of Loretta and...
One of the simple truths about life is that the older you get the more you learn. At least we hope that is one of the benefits of aging. There is little that is worse than a person who refuses to learn anything new, considering the remarkable gifts...
There are stories in the Bible that were just meant for film. The story of the parting of the Reed Sea and the passage of the Hebrews from the ensuing Egyptian chariots and armies is one, memorably re-created (though historically inaccurate) by Cecil...
One of the many benefits I have received from our interfaith partnership - especially with our Jewish sisters and brothers - is a new appreciation and understanding of the calendar. By knowing a little of when and what the Jewish holy days are about...
It is that time in the Tri-State region when the sale of Kleenex and antihistamines sky-rockets each year. The combines are in the fields. The corn is being cut. The beans are being harvested. The dust clouds are rising from the fields. The deer...
There were certain expectations of those of us who grew up in small towns. If you are of a certain age, you will remember that, long before the internet and social media, if you got into some mischief of one kind or another, when you arrived home...
The old man was on his deathbed and he knew it. He was no longer in his home. He had been taken to another country by his sons who had relocated there to escape famine. His life was ending and he called his sons to his bedside. One by one he tells...
This is not the sermon I was planning to preach today. The story I was supposed to preach was the story of Moses at the burning bush and his receiving of God’s divine name. It’s a great story and I promise we’ll come back to it someday. But...
A little review is in order. We’ve met Abraham and Sarah. They were told that they would become the parents of a great nation, even though both of them were approaching their expiration date. When three strangers showed up at their tent and told...
Let’s make sure we’re all on the same page. We’re in the book of Genesis - which means “beginnings” - and it’s not just the story of the beginning of all that is, seen and unseen. It is also the beginning of the people of Israel. It begins with a...
We’re back together again! The summer season has “officially” come to an end. Labor Day is past and we are now into the opening days of “pumpkin spice” season - not a liturgical season of the year, but one that seems to infect everything. The heat...
We were sitting on the patio at a local restaurant on evening, when I spotted a woman in a t-shirt that read, “Live Generously.” I thought it strange that anyone would be wearing a shirt with those words emblazoned across it. I was delighted -...
The more I spend time with the Bible, the more I am amazed by it. There are great, over-arching themes in the Scriptures that reveal themselves. There’s a lot going on today in worship, so I’ll not spell out all of the details, but let me show you...
Some of the things that continue to amaze and amuse me are the reports of young parents about the fears their children possess. Even more amusing are the reports of the fears of adults. Small children are often afraid of the vacuum cleaner...
I was taught to never preach something about which you had no interest or concern. With that in mind, and in keeping with our series of sermons on “The Secret of Life,” I offer you this sermon about which I know something and about which I have...
There are a lot of things I like about being a Presbyterian Christian, but one of the most cherished parts of being a Presbyterian is our Book of Confessions. For those of you who aren’t aware of the Book of Confessions, from time to time, throughout...
I have been asked where sermons come from. Usually, I am givenguidance by the lectionary - that systematic set of readings that takes us through the major stories and themes of the Bible. Sometimes, a sermon grows out of a particular event that calls...
“Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.” That’s how the story begins. But, not really. You have to go back one verse to get the set-up. “These are the families of Noah’s sons, according to their genealogies, in their nations, and...
“Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.” That’s how the story begins. But, not really. You have to go back one verse to get the set-up. “These are the families of Noah’s sons, according to their genealogies, in their nations, and...
Today we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord. It is really the final Sunday in the Season of Easter. Next week, we celebrate Pentecost and the gift of the Spirit to empower the church. Today, we remember Jesus saying an earthly good-bye to his...
Today we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord. It is really the final Sunday in the Season of Easter. Next week, we celebrate Pentecost and the gift of the Spirit to empower the church. Today, we remember Jesus saying an earthly good-bye to his...
One of the things I have discovered over my 33 years of ordained ministry is that when someone finds out that I am a Presbyterian minister, I am too often called upon to defend John Calvin. Now, if you’re new to the Presbyterian tradition, John...
One of the things I have discovered over my 33 years of ordained ministry is that when someone finds out that I am a Presbyterian minister, I am too often called upon to defend John Calvin. Now, if you’re new to the Presbyterian tradition, John...
There is nothing original about the title of this morning’s sermon. It is the same title as an episode of “The West Wing” from the first season, episode five, for those who need some Netflix this afternoon. The entire title of that episode was “The...
There is nothing original about the title of this morning’s sermon. It is the same title as an episode of “The West Wing” from the first season, episode five, for those who need some Netflix this afternoon. The entire title of that episode was “The...
I will confess to you, my brothers and sisters, that I do not often look forward to writing the annual Easter sermon. I don’t really know why. My hunch is that Easter is better sung than spoken. Give me a rousing rendition of the “Hallelujah” from...
I will confess to you, my brothers and sisters, that I do not often look forward to writing the annual Easter sermon. I don’t really know why. My hunch is that Easter is better sung than spoken. Give me a rousing rendition of the “Hallelujah” from...
One of the hardest things about growing up is growing past some of the stories you were taught and accepted at face value. When I was a little boy, growing up in Sunday School as many children did in those days, we were quick to believe everything...
One of the hardest things about growing up is growing past some of the stories you were taught and accepted at face value. When I was a little boy, growing up in Sunday School as many children did in those days, we were quick to believe everything...
There are certain questions that are labeled as “loaded.” These questions, by their very nature, are sure to cause trouble, stir the pot, enable things to get a little loud. “Why did you vote for so-and-so?” “Why can’t that team ever show up in the...
I am well aware that this is Saint Patrick’s Day and that those of Irish descent will be luxuriating in the day. But, the Scots also have a few things to say about the day. The Celtic-Gaelic peoples covered a great deal of ground back in the day...
Here we are, on the First Sunday in Lent, and we are moving into some difficult lessons. That seems more than appropriate, considering that there really isn’t anything particularly easy about Lent. During Lent, we are challenged to be more aware of...