First-Plymouth Church's Podcast: Recent Episodes
Dr. Jim Keck
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This week, the Church traditionally celebrates All Saints—a day to remember those who have died. In many cultures, this is a moment of deepreverence and remembrance, a time to recognize the ways our ancestors are still “with us.” This Sunday, Pastor JC invites us to reclaim this ancient feast day as a source of strength—to become the saints that future generations will need.
We rush through our lives, often unaware that a higher state of being is available to us—a state of peace, calm, and deep connection with all life. The radical message of the Apostle Paul is that this way of being becomes possible when we simply accept Christ into our hearts. So, what are we waiting for?
Jacob’s life was a wild rollercoaster filled with many ups and downs, twists, and turns. At a crucial point, he finds himself by the River Jabbok, where he wrestles with an angel all night long. After this struggle, his chaotic life begins to settle into a more peaceful moral clarity. Dr. Keck will interpret Jacob’s wrestling match as an existential encounter with his own ego—an experience through which Jacob learns to transcend himself and engage more fully with others.
There is so much evil in the world, and we often feel powerless against it. This week, Pastor JC invites us into an ancient story where the disciples also felt powerless in the face of evil. Jesus offers a way to approach moments like this—an invitation that still speaks to our lives today.
We often talk about faith in God, but rarely about the faith of God. Our God has faith in us and remains steadfast. Dr. Keck will explore the faith of God, the difference between faith and belief, and the hiddenness of God. Through all the mistakes and missteps of religion—our attempts to grasp God—we ultimately learn to let God grasp us.
This week, Dr. Keck will unpack one of the most famous lines in scripture: “The love of money is the root of all evil.” The word radical comes from a root meaning “to get to the root of something,” so this line is literally radical. Together, we’ll explore how it is not just a warning, but a bold idealism meant to open our minds to new possibilities.
So much disorientation, so much pain, suffering, anguish, and so many questions fill our days. It can feel as if God’s song—the redemptive, life-giving, soul-sustaining rhythm—is muted and hard to hear. How are we to sing this song? We are not the first generation to ask this question. This week Pastor JC invites us into an ancient song: a song of lament, a song of reality, that becomes a song of liberation and healing. It is an invitation to keep singing the song of love, especially in these days.
The central symbol of Christianity is the cross. It is almost unfathomable that a method of execution could become a powerful symbol of love and forgiveness. Yet somehow, the old rugged cross has come to represent a cosmic event that ensures the safe journey of our souls. Join us this weekend for a spiritual exploration of the meaning of the cross.
The ancient stories of the Bible reveal a community searching for both their identity and God’s. This week we meet a God who seems to stir up havoc, yet also brings healing. In our own lives, we may feel that God causes the chaos around us—but those feelings are part of the journey of faith. Pastor JC will lead us into an ancient story that invites us to see God as the one who heals, no matter how dis-eased or broken we may feel.
The ancient stories of the Bible reveal a community searching for both their identity and God’s. This week we meet a God who seems to stir up havoc, yet also brings healing. In our own lives, we may feel that God causes the chaos around us—but those feelings are part of the journey of faith. Pastor JC will lead us into an ancient story that invites us to see God as the one who heals, no matter how dis-eased or broken we may feel.
Luke 14 is the classic text used to describe the high cost of discipleship. It seems to say that if you truly want to follow Jesus, you must give up everything else. Sure, it sounds rousing to shout, “I’m ALL IN!”—but what does that really mean? And isn’t it okay to dip a toe in the water first? Dr. Keck will suggest that Jesus would also welcome those who are just checking him out.
We make choices every day, and the ancients were no different. The choices we make for ourselves impact the lives of those around us. Choosing life for ourselves should not come at the expense of life for our neighbors. This week, Pastor JC invites us to reflect on human flourishing—what it looks like and the practices that could make flourishing possible for all.
Steadfast, humble and joyful: Three key virtues in a disrupted world“Polycrisis” is a term that became popular in the early 2020s as a way to refer to the overlapping effects of such things as: Covid, war, surging debt levels, inflation, climate change, artificial intelligence, synthetic biology, democratic erosion and growing inequality. This weekend we will explore how in a time of polycrisis it is essential to reclaim some basic virtues such as steadfastness, humility and joy.
Remembering is a key theme through the story of faith and yet we know how is easy it is to forget. This week in the midst of our current situation we are called to take a moment and to remember where we have seen God at work in our lives. Along the way we are cautioned about the many ways we numb, make excuses, and have selective memories, about the ways we forget. Unforgetting, reconnects us to each other, to our true selves, and to divine life. It frees us in ways unexpected.
So much around us is in need of repair, so much in our own souls too! Acknowledging this need and embarking on that journey is not easy and yet again and again we are called to it. This week Pastor JC invites us to consider repair, within ourselves, in our families, communities, and even in the world.
"I see you" is an informal idiom used to express several things, including acknowledgement, understanding, admiration, or support. It's a way of recognizing someone's efforts, understanding their situation, or appreciating their qualities. It feels good to be seen and can be very painful when we feel invisible. In our beautiful gospel passage this week, Jesus sees - really sees - a woman who is suffering and he heals her by helping her stand up tall and be seen by others as well. Dr. Jim Keck will describe how it takes a special effort to truly see one another.
This weekend, Pastoral Intern Jacob Mason will preach a sermon entitled, “A Faithful Detour.” Informed by Jacob’s civil rights pilgrimage to Selma, Alabama, the sermon will focus on the tempting of Jesus in Luke 4. Together, we will explore how Christ’s response to temptation informs our faithful walk with both God and neighbor. Along life’s path, we just might find ourselves taking a faithful detour!
Two Pastors and Four BooksIt might be that you have a few books that were very important to you in some way. Maybe it was the certain time in your life that you read them, or the story continues to captivate you in some way. For example, many people will describe how enthralling the Harry Potter books were or how “To Kill a Mockingbird” stayed with them. Pastors Jim and JC will each share two books that have been part of their lives in meaningful ways and helped propel their spiritual journey.
This weekend, Dr. Jim Keck will preach a sermon titled "Faith on Earth," grounded in Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-10—a stirring passage that reminds us that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. From Abraham’s bold journey into the unknown to our own modern quests for meaning and trust, we’ll explore how to live faithfully in a world that often demands certainty.
Greed is prevalent around us. It is easy to point at others, at the billionaire class, at the politicians, or big business, and yet those examples are the fruit of a culture that seems to never be satisfied, always wanting more no matter what the cost. What does it look like to live a more simpler life, so that others have an opportunity to live. There is enough for all, is that enough for us?
In 1972, Rev. Dr. Otis Young preached his first sermon at FP. He was to be our pastor for the next 34 years. And what he had to say then, is still critical today. Dr. Jim Keck will replay that basic message.
From the Gospels to the book of Revelation we have the continuation of one of the great stories about us, about the world, and about God. This narrative journey is rooted in stories that are thousands of years old and now in a few hundred years take on a new imagination. Join us as Pastor Juan Carlos surveys the landscape across genres, theologies, narratives, and invites us into the story, our story, for the life of the world!
It is easy to feel isolated these days, to long for connection, to wonder if there is more in life than this (whatever "this" is to us). Faith calls us to the recognition of a deeper reality but also it calls us to the recognition of our need for one another, the sense of transcendence pushes us not just vertically but horizontally, to a sacredness before us. This week, join Pastor Juan Carlos for worship.
This weekend, Pastor Jim will hone in on BEAUTY as a key aspect of the faith. All beauty in our world harkens to the transcendent beauty of the divine. And to strive for a more just world is at the same time to strive for a more beautiful world. As a great theologian said “we must move people toward truth, goodness, and liberation through beauty. Frenetic and harried and labored activism won’t shift people. We need to appeal to their dreams and hopes and sense of beauty.”
Gospel means good news but what happens when said good news sounds more like bad news? This week we hear one of the most difficult teachings of Jesus. At first it seems impossible but as we engage it in the day to day of life, it opens up a pathway to freedom, belonging, and community.
At a few moments in his life Elijah was overcome with negative thinking. To be sure, it was mostly an appropriate response to brutal hardship. However, many of us are prone to a more chronic, low-grade type of negativity. This weekend Dr. Jim Keck will speak about different personality types and the essential role our faith plays in creating a more joyful approach to life.
In life we often wonder why we are where we are, at times with joy, and at others with regret. This week we hear from an ancient social critic and thorn in the flesh to those in power, he is tired and wondering why, in spite of his faithfulness, he finds himself in a very difficult situation. Where is God? Where are we? And Why? The questions of our lives.
God and Jesus are bigger than religion. That is, human hearts can be in love with God and Jesus even though they might not attend church. Religion is a human construct and is always evolving. On this Pentecost Sunday, Dr. Keck will speak of a new pentecost that is underway that is changing the very concept of religion itself.
It is Pentecost, the day when the Christian tradition remembers the coming of the Spirit and the birth of the church. Long ago our ancestor in faith tried to explain human divisions (and maybe human strife), this week Pastor JC invites us into that ancient story and reminds us why Pentecost is seen as a story of reversal, restoration, and re-start for all of creation. What was once scattered is now gathered again and again towards flourishing.
These days so many of us feel powerless, so much happening, so much suffering, hatred, and struggle. We want to do something, but we know it will probably not make a difference. This week, disciples are left behind, what are they going to do now that Jesus has left them? What are we to do now, in the midst of life, in light of our encounter with Jesus?
There is so much fear these days, so much fear mongering, and so much to be fearful of. This week Pastor JC invites us to pay attention to our fear but not to let it take over our lives. Instead there is an invitation, to embrace community, to lean into uncertainty, and to trust in the love that is all around us. Do not be afraid becoming an invitation to not allow fear to control us, an invitation to be free.
Near the very end of the Bible is a beautiful description of heaven and how we will live in the full light of God. But Heaven is not only something that we experience after we die. There are many chances to experience a slice of heaven in this life and Dr. Keck sees in Revelation 21 some clues to hearing the angles sing in your life right now.
Humans mark time in a variety of ways, holidays originally were days of observance, of remembering something that was important. Now it often turns into time off, or a time to celebrate with friends, disconnected from the Holy or is it? This week Pastor JC invites us into remembering, time keeping, and how the holy is present in our day to day of life.
We often think of God's home as otherworldly, above, heaven, ethereal, maybe even sublime. This week the scriptures gives us a much more common and accessible picture, God's home is among us. Yes, right here, where we live, work, and play. This says something about God, but it also says much about us.
With so much noise and so many things vying for our attention, it's what we truly value that holds our focus—even amid the distractions.This week Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas invites us to consider what we are listening to, why that matters, and how an adjustment might help us live a more flourishing life.
Dr. Jim Keck will share how Dr. Martin Luther King played such a large role in his childhood. He will also explain that they share the same theological perspective that was developed at Boston University in the mid-twentieth century. Pastor Jim believes this theology is most true to scripture and could change our world.
Jesus calls us into a vision, to make the kin-dom of God known. This is a kin-dom of wholeness, healing, community, connection, and new life. It would be easier to talk about it, and yet the call is to follow the Spirit’s leading into rehearsing it, making it known a bit, however imperfect. This week Pastor Juan Carlos takes us into the story of our next neighborhood initiative, the Hope House, its story, its vision, and its potential to make the good news of Jesus evident in our neighborhood, our congregations, and our lives.
This Sunday, Pastor Jim Keck brings a powerful message on Spirit and Truth—come be inspired and uplifted!
Palm Sunday celebrates Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem. According to the synoptic gospels, Jesus then goes to the temple and throws over the tables. What an incredible juxtaposition of gentleness and strong protest. What is Jesus up to? Dr. Jim Keck will explore how our times demand a simple humility mixed with a strong sense of right and wrong.
In one of the great stories in scripture, Jesus enters the city of Jerusalem on a donkey where he is received as a hero by the crowds. This celebration is called Palm Sunday and it initiates the holiest of weeks in the Christian calendar. It turns out that before Jesus can enter the city he needs a little help from those around him. It turns out that 2,000 years later God still needs our help, our coming alongside, in making the kin-dom known in the world? What does that say about God? What does that say about us?
It's amazing what we remember and how we remember it, it is also amazing how much we forget. Memory is a complex function of our being human that allows us to make sense of our current situation. This week the truth-teller and social critic tells us to leave behind nostalgia and make room for the new thing that God is doing. It turns out that the new thing is nothing short of what God is always up to in the world!
It's amazing what we remember and how we remember it, it is also amazing how much we forget. Memory is a complex function of our being human that allows us to make sense of our current situation. This week the truth-teller and social critic tells us to leave behind nostalgia and make room for the new thing that God is doing. It turns out that the new thing is nothing short of what God is always up to in the world!
Saint Augustine taught that human beings are driving by their desires, so we must strive to have the right desires. Using C.S. Lewis, Augustine and a great poem by Coleridge, Dr. Jim Keck will call for us to desire the most noble things in life.
Evil is manifested around us in so many ways. It is the antithesis of love, freedom, and God-self. In the ritual for baptism people are often called to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever form in may present itself. Resistance is a call for all of us who are seeking to follow Jesus. This week Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas invites us to think about resistance, its importance in every season, its importance today, and how we might become the kind of holy resisters that witness to the good news of Jesus Christ for all creation.
Family traits are always interesting. Often we see traits in us that remind us of a parent, grandparent, at other times we see our ways in our children, grandchildren, a niece or a nephew. Sometimes the way one looks goes back to a previous generation. It is in us! This week Pastor Juan Carlos invites us to consider what it would look like to claim the way of Jesus as in us. All of us sealed by the Spirit with the image of God, all of us able to move, act, be like the one who is love made flesh. When we do so it changes everything!
It is easy to find an other, someone that is different than us, who does not represent who we claim to be, who does not behave like we believe a human being should, and whose mere presence around us makes us cringe, fearful, or disgusted. Jesus too encountered these othered ones and taught us a way of love that seeks to break down the barriers of our tendency to othering so that we could be agents of belonging, that is good news to us, and good news to a disaffected world. This weekend join Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas for worship at FP South or online!
So many of us have experienced church as judgmental, shaming, and as a place that curses rather than bless. This week we encounter a difficult passage where Jesus himself speaks words of warning to all who are listening. Why? Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas invites us into a conversation about love, Jesus, and what we should we be paying attention to as an expression of God's kin-dom on earth as it is in heaven.
Willam Butler Yeats wrote a poem about how living by a lake, and the water lapping with low sounds on the shore, brought a deep peace to his heart.In Luke chapter 5 Jesus teaches by the lakeside. Let’s gather with him by the water this weekend and as Yeats put it we “shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow.”
It will be the first time ever in a sermon that the great love poem by Paul in 1st Corinthians, Plato’s notion of the Ladder of Love in the Symposium and the 1980’s British/American Rock band Foreigner are merged together. All in the hope that we will ascend together to a greater understanding of love.
For most of us expectations set our reality. This is no different in our spiritual lives. This week Pastor JC invites us into what happens when Jesus preaches a difficult sermon and the reaction of the crowd turns violent -- their expectations were obviously not met. Though we might not turn violent, we might turn apathetic, disengaged, disconnected, we might go back to our cocoon. Maybe it would be better if we examined our expectations instead, that examination might change everything!
Worship attendance is important, it shapes us in ways that are not obvious at first. In a season where many of us are wondering if church matters at all, Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas shares an ancient story about Jesus attending worship and what it might tell us about the church as place and as people. What is our call? Why do we exist? What does our future look like?
The Gospel takes us into an amazing scene where Jesus gives his first sermon. And at a climactic moment, Jesus sums up his mission and purpose. Join Dr. Jim Keck this weekend for a sermon about a sermon about a mission!
One of our most basic limitations is how we tend to be self-centered and overly trust our own opinions. It seems the human being is just naturally self-involved and a bit egocentric. And maybe this is not ALL bad - the world needs you to look out for yourself, or someone else would have to. Still, few realize that religion is specifically designed to help you transcend egotism. This week Dr. Jim Keck will explore the Christian virtue of humility.
We are all gifted in so many ways. Our way of being in the world in itself a gift. This week Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas invites us into considering our giftedness and its purpose in the world. So many of us are searching for meaning and purpose, it is right within us if we pay attention. Each of us, our gifts, graces, abilities, personalities, bringing our full selves together for the life of the world!
A bright star, a group of strangers, a long pilgrimage, an evil king, and a little child. This week Pastor Jim & Pastor JC share some reflections on what the ancient story of the “Three Kings” might mean for our faith this new year.
Advent Sermon Series The Divinity of JesusAlthough many people like to think primarily of Jesus as a great teacher and a prophet for social justice and compassion, our tradition teaches us that the core fact about him is his divinity. While recognizing that many Christians may consider Jesus’ divinity to be a mystery beyond our grasp, or too unscientific to insist upon, Dr. Jim Keck will describe why it is so important to him to see the fullness of God in our friend Jesus.
Holiday season is a season of going home. The prophets of old often reminded the community of that home, what it looked like, what it should be, and how to get there. This week, Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas, invites us to consider how we might come home to God, to community, to love. What does that look like? How do we get there?
Advent Sermon SeriesThis is a time of increasing fear in our world. A time that will call for moral clarity and resolve. Simply being afraid will do us no good. Thankfully, it’s this time in the church’s story of Christ, that angels begin to appear. The angel Gabriel to Mary, the angels around the manger, and the first words of an angel are always, “Do not be afraid."This Advent we will listen to that angelic voice. We will set fear aside and seek to behold the Christ. To behold the great miracle that God is doing in Christ. Gather with us this Advent, and Behold, the Light.
As we begin the countdown to Christmas we come with similar human struggles from those who were waiting for salvation over 2,000 years ago. The call from the gospel is that we increase in love for one another in the midst of our hoping and our fears, our planning and our anxieties, that we continue to lean on love in the midst of our lives. When we do that, salvation begins to emerge in us, for us, and for the world.
In this episode of “Just Conversations” Pastor Juan Carlos asks Becca Rivers Keck, MSW, LCSW, LMHP, about the troubles today’s youth are facing and how spirituality plays a role in providing support.
In this episode of “Just Conversations” Pastor Juan Carlos asks Becca Rivers Keck, MSW, LCSW, LMHP, about the troubles today’s youth are facing and how spirituality plays a role in providing support.
Our scripture text has the disciples arguing about who is the greatest among them. It seems that we are by nature competitive and eager to be considered above others. Jesus does his best to school them and teach them about humility, but down to this day we continue to create pecking orders and a sense of superiority. Dr. Jim Keck will expose our status anxiety as an insecurity that only love can cure.
Can you hear it? In our lives we so often find ourselves moving from one thing to another, not paying attention. When decision times come or when difficult moments come, we might feel lost, wondering what to do or who to go to? What if you trusted that inner voice, what if you allow that deep wisdom that is in you come roaring? This week, Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas, invites us to pay attention, to foster, and to exercise the voice of the divine within all of us!
Some Christians think of spirituality as a key aspect of our life in God and justice as subsidiary work. Other Christians see the work of justice as primary and spirituality as secondary or even unimportant. This week, Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas, invites us to think about our life in God as a life rooted in a just spirituality: What it looks like, What it means, and how it’s practiced.
Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas loves short stories and this week he shares some thoughts from his reading of Stephen King’s “The Answer Man.” We all get anxious about making decisions, about the uncertainties of life, and want to make sure that we take the right next steps. What if we could get some answers? Would it help us live a more fulfilling life?
Pastors Jim and Juan Carlos will each explore a key moment in the life of the archetypal wise king of the Hebrew Scriptures. And how we need to discover our own wise selves. Join us in worship!
Our church has a particular way of walking with God that is marked by moderation, open-mindedness and inclusivity. But don't take that description to mean we lack intensity and a strong mission. Dr. Jim Keck will explore how this mission just got a lot more intense.
Human flourishing requires time, effort, practice, and community. This week, Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas, invites us to consider how each of us practicing our flourishing and our giftedness, can contribute to a flourishing community. What gifts do you bring?
This week, Dr. Jim Keck, explores how the mystical essence of our faith is beyond all the small controversies that always swirl around religion.
In his 1988 publication A Secure Base, British child psychologist John Bowlby wrote "life is best organized as a series of daring ventures from a secure base." One must develop a secure base that gives yourself the ability be original and take daring ventures with your work and life. Using the call of Matthew as a disciple, Dr. Jim Keck will talk about what can function as a secure base that enables our lives to be more adventurous.
Rev. Katie Miller is a Nebraska native, currently serving as the Senior Minister at the UCC Vermillion church in South Dakota. Prior to her call to ministry, Katie performed as a musician and actor in and around New York and Chicago.
We are devoted to so many things in our lives, but are those things leading us to flourishing? This week, Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas, shares with us some insights from one of his recent reads about God, the community called the church, and what it means to live in a way that leads to flourishing, community, connection, in life as the good news of Jesus promises.
There are brief moments where the beauty and the grandeur of life becomes readily apparent. Dr. Jim Keck explores these WHOOSH moments in the digital sermon this week.
Moderate and open-minded religion seems to have lost its sense of urgency and muddled the core message of the Gospel - JESUS SAVES. It is time for inclusive Christians to find some intensity in spreading the Gospel. Dr Jim Keck will try to thread the needle and show that our Christian faith can honor other religions and celebrate diversity in sexual orientation, while at the same time knowing that people must be brought to Jesus.
In the origin myth that we call the book of Genesis, the ancient Israelites were trying to explain who they were and how the world worked. One of the things to explain was why there were multiple languages. This week, Pastor Juan Carlos, takes this ancient story of “the Tower of Babel” to begin a conversation about language, culture, difference and the complexities, opportunities, and good news that are found there.
Each of our lives is filled with biographical details made up of many events, accomplishments, times of joy, sorrow, and the company of loved ones. During a funeral there is often a eulogy when someone speaks about the person and their life. This week, Dr. Jim Keck will reflect upon what the content of typical eulogies might teach us in the living of our own days.
In Matthew’s story of Jesus walking on the water, we find a brazen Peter challenging Jesus’ ability. Then Peter lets the wind erupt and impede on his ability to keep focus. We have so many distractions which can take us off center as we go through life. What’s your wind? This week, Pastor KJ Langlais will share some tunes to etch in your mind to remember how to stay focused.
Some religions seem to have very strange beliefs and yet they create very loving communities. Dr Jim Keck will lead us in an encounter with a very different form of Christianity that is both oddball and endearing. And along the way he will raise questions about how we judge one another and sadly continue to create enmity within our own heart.
Churches often brag about being friendly and nice, but how about hospitable? This week Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas invites us to consider what it looks like to welcome the stranger as we welcome Jesus - its risks, difficulties, and rewards - it is in this encounter that transformation might be found!
There are moments in life when your view suddenly expands and you are swept up into a more majestic and sweeping sense of life. Dr. Jim Keck recently had an encounter with a bald eagle and this weekend his sermon will discuss the moment to consider the grand nature of life.
About 43% of new marriages in the United States will end in divorce. All of us know someone around us that has experienced the end of their marriage and we know the struggle and difficulty that it brings to all involved. Yet there are still a number of Christian traditions that claim divorce as contrary to God’s teaching. This week, Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas ends his series on "When the Bible Gets it Wrong" with a conversation about divorce, relationships, and the good news in the midst of it all.
Rev. Dr. Jenny Shultz-Thomas, is the Senior Pastor of Countryside UCC at the Tri-Faith Campus located in Omaha, NE. She is a fully ordained United Church of Christ (UCC) minister with more than 15 years of dedicated service to progressive faith and LGBTQIA+ communities, and is always working at the intersection of social justice, spirituality, and community building.Rev. Dr. Shultz-Thomas holds a Doctorate of Ministry degree in Biblical Proclamation from Emory University Candler School of Theology. In addition to her ministry, Rev. Dr. Shultz-Thomas has a background in non-profit work, most recently serving as the executive director for The ArtsCenter in Carrobo, NC.
The Bible is an ancient text that reflects and ancient culture. Often we easily take what it says without taking into consideration culture, context, and the nature of scripture. This week, Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas, dives into one of the texts that continues to fuel misogyny, classism, and oppression in many parts of Christianity. There is liberation here, if we pay attention.
It is difficult to acknowledge our shortcomings, mistakes, and weaknesses. It is also difficult to be accountable to a different way of life, to our desire to be agents of peace, reconciliation, and wholeness. This week Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas invites us into a conversation about our human mistakes, the way we fail each other and ourselves, and accountable community as a pathway to a more whole life.
Rules and laws guide, but at times need to be changed as the world changes. Our Christ sees the heart and soul, the reasons and needs. The Sabbath is not about a law, it is about a desire and time for renewal, reflection, reaching out to Christ which comes in many forms and times. What places of renewal and healing might you need in life? Join Pastor KJ Langlais online for worship this weekend!
In high school, Dr. Jim Keck would argue that THE WHO was the greatest band of all-time. He no longer has a dog in that fight, but still loves the existential quality of the question “Who are you?” Psalm 8 joins in that question by asking “What are human beings?” Join us for worship this Sunday as we explore what it is to be human and how our personalities create a stunning variety.
Join us in worship this weekend as we celebrate Pentecost! On Sunday, at both the 9:00am & 10:30am services, our Plymouth Choir and TE DEUM choirs will collaborate with bass, drums and piano in Robert Ray's Gospel Mass and Rollo Dillworth's "I Sing Because I'm Happy!" See you in worship!
Is this all there is? Is this what life is about? Feeling like you are in a hamster wheel? So often we get into patterns of life that seem dull, dry, empty, we can feel them but find it hard to snap out of them. This week Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas reminds us that life can indeed feel that way and yet there is a promise of a more abundant life, a life that is full, present, and joyful. The Spirit makes it possible!
The church celebrates the ascension of Jesus this week (As well as Mother’s Day!). So we turn to Acts Chapter one where the resurrected Jesus ascends upon a cloud into heaven. But there is a lot more going on than just on the literal level. Ascensions are common in religious mythology, but for Christians this symbolically portrays that Jesus is now fully exalted and that everything he taught and did is of eternal importance
Each of us is a unique person, with unique gifts, abilities, and perspectives. Rehearsing the kin-dom of God, a kin-dom of love, acceptance, compassion, justice, and completion, requires all of our gifts to make it known. What would it look like to be of service through our congregation? What does it mean to use our gifts and have those bear fruit?
This week, Dr. Jim Keck and Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas will be sharing two reflections that follow the chosen scripture that has been on their mind this week. Join us for worship!
The great God is Love passage in 1st John Chapter 4 reminds us that the spirit of scripture must also be love. But too often in history the Bible has been used in unloving ways to oppress and disparage. Dr. Jim Keck will explore the massive Bible battle of the mid 1800s that definitively determined that we should interpret it spiritually and not literally.
Jesus' death and resurrection ended a season of life for his disciples and yet it began another, the season called the Church. This week, Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas invites us to consider some wisdom from 2,000 years ago that could help us as we think about the church now and what next church be emerging.
This week Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas takes us to a city called Antioch where the followers of Jesus were first called Christian. What does it mean to be Christian and what does Christianity have to do with the church?
God called out to Samuel repeated times, but Samuel didn’t know it was God until Eli pointed it out. How often do we ignore God’s nudges? How do we know it is God, and not our desires, or other’s agenda? When is it time to say, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.”Join Pastor KJ Langlais online this weekend for worship!
Dr. Jim Keck and Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas share with us some key practices of being church and what that might mean for our growth as a congregation
In Week 2 of our Church series Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas introduces us to five key practices that help us understand what it means to be church. These five emerged as the early communities of Jesus followers began to gather and their recovery is crucial to what it means to be a fruitful church today.
In Acts Chapter 4 we are told the early followers of Jesus were of one heart and mind and shared everything. It is an idyllic image. But what does it mean for a church like First-Plymouth which cherishes a diversity of opinion? In what way can we be of one mind that is not mere groupthink? Join us on Sunday for a unity in diversity!
Sermon Series with Pastor Juan Carlos - April 7-28In the first sermon on our Church series Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas reminds us that the Church was instituted by Jesus. This way of beginning gives us a glimpse of what the intention of said institution is, how easily we can forget, and how we might recover its original intention for the world today.
This Sunday is the gateway to Holy Week and we celebrate Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem with palm branches and hosannas. Pastors Dr. Jim Keck and Juan Carlos Huertas will each share a brief meditation upon the true purpose of Jesus as he nears the cross. Join us for this festive and faithful day!
Lent is a time of deeper spiritual focus. In this sermon series, Dr. Jim Keck will be exploring the foundations of spirituality. There are some basic practices and attitudes that cultivate a depth and spirit. Loosely following the book of the same title by Roger Walsh, these sermons will elaborate upon the ideas of non-attachment, ways to reduce fear and anger, cultivating our virtues and achieving inner peace. Join us for a spiritual Lent.
Awakening Our Spiritual VisionOur spiritual life has the ebb and flow of every other aspect of our life. In those low moments we might wonder what is wrong or we might feel guilty that we are not engaged. This week Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas invites us to see our spiritual life in a more mundane way, it could be here that renewal resides!
Lent is a time of deeper spiritual focus. In this four week sermon series,Dr. Jim Keck will be exploring the foundations of spirituality. There are some basic practices and attitudes that cultivate a depth and spirit. Loosely following the book of the same title by Roger Walsh, these sermons will elaborate upon the ideas of non-attachment, ways to reduce fear and anger, cultivating our virtues and achieving inner peace. Join us for a spiritual Lent.
In parts of Christianity the bible is seen as THE authority for our lives and for knowing what it means to be a Christian. In such a tradition the words that the bible contain can easily be used as weapons to shame, humiliate, divide, and damn people who are unlike us. This week Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas invites us into a way of approaching the text of scripture that opens us to our growth in love.
Lent is a time of deeper spiritual focus. In this four week sermon series,Dr. Jim Keck will be exploring the foundations of spirituality. There are some basic practices and attitudes that cultivate a depth and spirit. Loosely following the book of the same title by Roger Walsh, these sermons will elaborate upon the ideas of non-attachment, ways to reduce fear and anger, cultivating our virtues and achieving inner peace. Join us for a spiritual Lent.
There are Christianities that offer an authoritarian framework with answers to all of life difficult questions, divinely inspired social mores, and single interpretations of scriptures by those in power. Those of us who are attempting to find a more open Christianity want the freedom to think for ourselves but might still wonder where's the authority? This week Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas invites us into a journey of questioning that will pave the way to the authority that matters most.
Judging is easy to do, all of us have our opinions, ways of looking at the world, and belief systems. And yet these days it seems like we are often on the defensive, afraid of speaking our minds, where others easily share their minds. What happens when we disagree? As followers of Jesus, how do we encourage peacemaking in the midst of difference? How do we take a stand on something important to us in a way that does not judge others? Join Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas online for worship!
We have spent January in the very first chapter of the Gospel of Mark. What an incredible beginning to the ministry of Jesus! This week both Jim Keck and Juan Carlos Huertas will explore the moment the ENTIRE TOWN gathers around Jesus for healing. Is there a pervading sickness in our own time as well?
Waiting rooms are often not places that we enjoy. Our lives too busy to wait, waiting is often around anxiety producing moments, hospitals, car repair shops, doctor’s offices, and unemployment lines. This week a community waits with expectation, could what is happening to their neighbor happen to them next?
As we continue to explore the first Chapter of Mark, Dr. Keck will interpret the exorcism performed by Jesus as a setting free of the persons conscience rather than simply banishing a demon. While evil is real, and our Gospel portrays Jesus in a pitched battle with nefarious forces, it is also the case that a person possesses a goodness that can harness far more power. Join us Sunday for an exploration of the amazing concept of the conscience.
What kind of life are you living? What kind of life do you want to live? These days it is easy to wonder if we are living the life we want to live, it is easy to wonder if there is a better life – but what does that life look like? This week Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas invites us into a conversation that has been part of human struggle since the beginning of time. The good news of Jesus Christ gives us a pathway towards an abundant life, do we have ears to hear?
Human beings are meaning makers. Often these meanings emerge as we try to make sense of our lives in the midst of the good, the painful, the intriguing, or the hard to understand. This week Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas shares with us three words that he has been hearing all around him in the last four to six weeks. He has wondered if they have some meaning in his life and in his life in God. What seems to be emerging in your life? What might the Spirit be saying?
This week Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas shares some thoughts about baptism, its meaning, and how it might inspire us in our search for meaning, belonging, and identity.
The Christmas story has a journey motif running through it: the Holy family journeys to Bethlehem; the wise men and shepherds journey to the manger; and even the star makes a journey. The week after Christmas our scriptures tell us that Mary and Joseph and the child journey to Jerusalem for the purification ritual.This week Dr. Jim Keck will offer some thoughts about how to undertake a journey. Primarily, that it is good not to be alone and it is good to have a guide.Join us for the journey of worship at First-Plymouth
The Christmas story has a journey motif running through it: the Holy family journeys to Bethlehem; the wise men and shepherds journey to the manger; and even the star makes a journey. The week after Christmas our scriptures tell us that Mary and Joseph and the child journey to Jerusalem for the purification ritual.This week Dr. Jim Keck will offer some thoughts about how to undertake a journey. Primarily, that it is good not to be alone and it is good to have a guide.
This week, Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas reflects on a recent article that encouraged all of us to think about our lives in seasons. This way opens us to self-compassion, striving, and relationships over the span of our lives, in the midst of the ups and downs that are part of what it means to be human.
At the very beginning of the Gospel, John the Baptist stands at the edge of the wilderness and shouts out ‘Prepare Ye the Way!” Like the very first Christmas, we must prepare the way for the Lord’s arrival. But how do we make ready our hearts in a world filled with chaos, violence and lack of faith? Many people no longer think that the arrival of Christ was decisive or even terribly interesting. In the advent sermon series, Reverends Jim Keck and Juan Carlos Huertas will explore what pathways we must forge to welcome the Christ into our heart and world with a new level of excitement and authenticity. Join us as we prepare the way for our beautiful Christ this Advent at FP.
In the midst of much happening in the world we continue to prepare. What are we preparing for? Where are we heading? This week Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas gathers us and gives us an orientation as we continue this journey. In the midst of waiting, we keep moving, keep striving, keep hope alive, the direction of travel will transform us, wholeness, healing, and new life are near!
At the very beginning of the Gospel, John the Baptist stands at the edge of the wilderness and shouts out ‘Prepare Ye the Way!” Like the very first Christmas, we must prepare the way for the Lord’s arrival. But how do we make ready our hearts in a world filled with chaos, violence and lack of faith? Many people no longer think that the arrival of Christ was decisive or even terribly interesting. In the advent sermon series, Reverends Jim Keck and Juan Carlos Huertas will explore what pathways we must forge to welcome the Christ into our heart and world with a new level of excitement and authenticity. Join us as we prepare the way for our beautiful Christ this Advent at FP.
As we continue to count down for the celebration of Christmas Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas invites us to consider hope. What are we hopeful for? What are barriers to our hope? How is a gospel hope different from the hope of greeting cards and consumerist culture?
At the very beginning of the Gospel, John the Baptist stands at the edge of the wilderness and shouts out ‘Prepare Ye the Way!” Like the very first Christmas, we must prepare the way for the Lord’s arrival. But how do we make ready our hearts in a world filled with chaos, violence and lack of faith? Many people no longer think that the arrival of Christ was decisive or even terribly interesting. In the advent sermon series, Reverends Jim Keck and Juan Carlos Huertas will explore what pathways we must forge to welcome the Christ into our heart and world with a new level of excitement and authenticity. Join us as we prepare the way for our beautiful Christ this Advent at FP.
Although our modern sensibility is to use the word "hierarchy” as a pejorative and be highly suspect of any inequalities it produces, Dr. Jim Keck and Rev. Juan Carlos Huertas will explore how the notion of the divine as a type of hierarchy is essential to human freedom. Join us in worship this weekend!
Using Romans 12 and the spirit of a Sinatra song, Dr. Jim Keck will explore how we are each an infinitely unique personality and how that affects how we understand our religion. In a sense we all “did it my way” in regards to spiritual beliefs, but Jim shows that authentic community can emerge from the basic diversity of our perspectives.
Gratitude is an important virtue in our day to day life. It paves the way for perspective, presence, and generosity so it is surprising how little it seems to be practiced in our day to day life. This week Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas speaks to us about gratitude, the human tendency to focus on the negative, and the liberating power of being present to the many reasons to be thankful today.
Pastor Jim Keck and Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas invite us into a conversation about how the biblical prophetic tradition might speak to us today.
Many old churches have cemeteries surrounding them and with the rise of crematoriums, churches are reclaiming the church as a place where our loved ones find final rest. What does it mean to be surrounded by the saints? What is saintliness? How might we reclaim the presence and power of our ancestors in our life of faith? Join Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas as he shares how his own understanding of the place of the saints in his life of faith has changed and how that has made a difference.
In the last few weeks we have been overwhelmed by the pictures from the Middle East. We did not need another “hotspot” in the world, another place of suffering, violence, and despair. Add war to the many other ills around us and we can easily be discouraged. At the cornerstone of our faith is a hope that the current condition of creation will not win out, that something new will emerge and in some ways is emerging. This week Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas takes us to a book in the bible that often is controversial, and yet one that has much to reveal to us about hope in the midst of despair, and new life in the midst of death. Not just someday at the end of time, but in this moment.
This week our worship will be filled with presence of children. Jesus reminds us that we must be like them if we are to inherit the kingdom of God. This kingdom is one ruled by love, compassion, peace, and new life. How do we pay attention to the children around us? How do we become like them? How is the kingdom shaped in them? Join Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas this week and hear more!
God loves us too much to leave us marred, scared and broken from life’s challenges. We too, like Jeremiah will discover God has the ability to remold human clay when we yield to the hands of the Potter. Perhaps God has a better or easier plan for your life. Are you listening? Are you willing? Join Pastor KJ Langlais online for worship!
What’s on your mind? What is capturing your imagination? Is it the latest relationship among celebrities, the wars taking place around the world, the state of American civic life, or maybe how to parent your child, getting through the day, or maybe nothing at all! What captures our minds has a significant effect in our day to day life, this week Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas invites us into a kingdom imagination, once we learn it and practice it, it changes our view forever.
I Press OnHear from poet Maya Angelou, Mister Fred Rogers, the apostle Paul, and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and our own Minister of Music Tom Trenney as we dwell in 1 John to abide in love. Join this weekend online for worship!
Dr. Keck will take us into Exodus 20 and the archetypal moment the Ten Commandments are given by God. The sermon will zoom-in on the tenth commandment against covetousness. There are endless ways that envy ruins our happiness and degrades our sense of life. Learning to banish envy is a way to welcome joy!
Life can be difficult, in those moments we can be filled with self-doubt, negativity, and at times despair. In the midst of those low points we can feel disconnected from our true selves, from those around us, and from God. This week Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas invites us to root ourselves in Christ, when we follow in his steps we raise our vision, see the horizon, and imagine a new day in the midst of life.
In this weekends sermon, Dr. Jim Keck will explore the philosophically sublime understanding of God that emerged in the ancient church. Get ready for a metaphysical romp that has real consequences for how we live.
How do we help others know about spiritual things? How do we pass on our values and ways of being to new generations? This week Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas takes us to the Psalms where we find important wisdom about how we pass on faith, values, and ways of being in the world to others and why that matters.
Mountains are a key symbol in our Bible. Mountains connect heaven and earth and represent the most basic spiritual aspiration - the desire to always move higher in life. This weekend Dr. Jim Keck will have us climb the various mountains in scripture and will show that hope lies not in merely stepping forward but in climbing higher.
Jesus often teachers using parables – stories that use the day to day life to offer those who hear it something to think about, consider, and learn. This week Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas will be sharing with us the parable of the workers in the vineyard and invites to consider just labor, work as virtue, and how our generosity could mirror God’s generosity.
In week two of our Year of Hope Series, Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas will use an ancient story to help us think about how a faith community can help erase the stigma and shame about mental illness and substance use disorders and challenge us to come alongside one another no matter what struggles we are facing.
The word “religion” now seems to have mostly negative connotations. And perhaps for good reasons. Religion has hurt people, made them feel guilty and deprived them of dignity. But religion has also lifted up human beings and propelled them to a better future. It’s a mixed bag in regards to religion. Join Dr. Jim Keck for an exploration of what is happening to religion these days.
There seems to be so much despair and hopelessness in our world, and if faith is to provide anything it is a sense of purpose and hope. Dr. Keck and Rev. Huertas will explore ways we must reclaim hope and be a bearer of that hope to our world. The Bible tells us three things will last forever: Faith, Hope, and Love, and together we will strive to be bearers of that light.
Sometimes the church can seem too happy, some call it “toxic positivity,” others call it unrealistic, yet others might just say that we choose to focus on good news. As we begin our Year of Hope, Pastor Huertas invites us into a kinship practice of meeting our neighbor where they are, in the messiness and reality of life. There we put aside the sugary positivity that negates the reality of life and choose the good news of a God who is “with us” and whose presence is the seed-bed of abiding, true, and transformative hope.
One of the great stories of our tradition is Moses and the burning bush. Like Plutonium this passage radiates power and while it is over 3 thousand years old it has massive half-life and will maintain its radioactive brilliance far into the future. Dr. Keck will explore how each and every verse in this story is saturated with intense meaning.
The church often talks about love but what should that love look like? What effects should love have in us and in the world? This week Pastor JC invites us into a conversation about a way in which love takes shape and can make a significant difference in the world: kinship! Romans 12 gives us the basic markers for living in a way of kinship towards all that we encounter and gives us a hint for how such a way generates goodness, grace, and mercy in the world. Join Rev. Huertas for worship this weekend!
On week two of our Gospel Series, Dr. Jim Keck and Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas, reflect on what it means to be transformed. In many Christian traditions words like repentance are used as weapons to shame, marginalize, and judge, this week we’ll hear the real meaning of transformation and what happens when we take said call seriously for our lives and for the life of the world.
Jesus is love in the flesh, our encounter should transform us but, to what end? This week Pastor JC invites us to consider what it would look like for us not just to experience reconciliation in our lives, to experience transformation, but to become bearers of it in the places that we work, live, and play.
If you’ve been around Christian people or have seen portrayals of them you have heard talk about salvation. This week Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas invites us to see salvation in a new way, not as something to be worried about, judged by, or shamed into, instead as something that might open our eyes, change our hearts and minds, and free us into a more loving way of being in the world.
Our walking shapes us in so many ways. Even pastors with similar formation have different experiences that shape the way they understand themselves, their vocation, and the good news of Jesus Christ. This week Dr. Jim Keck and Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas share some reflections on their walking and how it has shaped the way that they receive and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.
Pastor Juan shares with us his early experiences of Christianity where the emphasis was on asking the right prayer, saying the right words, and believing the right things. Do those things and you will find salvation, do not do those things and __________ . What really saves us? Why does it matter? Why should we care?
This summer Pastor Juan Carlos has been reading the bible in 90 Days. This week he shares with us a passage that caught his attention about what it looks like to flourish, make home, and hope in the midst of difficulty. What would it look like for us as individuals and as communities to do the same?
Last week at First-Plymouth Presents we held a “Stump the Pastor” gathering. People could bring any question about religion, church, scripture or life. In this weeks digital sermon, Dr. Jim Keck will explore more deeply some of the deep questions that were asked that night.
The sermon title this weeks sounds a bit dense and foreboding. But Dr. Keck will actually be speaking very simply about how the speed of technological developments present us with the challenge of reclaiming what is it to be human. What are the core values of a human life? And how might AI force us to get clear on that sooner rather than later?
Life happens and often it is difficult to discern that which is life-giving and that which is not. This week Pastor JC will remind us that it is tempting to make a quick decision, to determine what is best, but often with a little patience, community, and discernment we will be better able to discern the wheat from the weeds in life and in faith.
Jesus lived on the lake in Capernaum and much of his ministry is lakeside. In Matthew 13 a whole crowd appears at the shore and he gets into a boat a few feet from the shore and tells his great parable of the Sower.
These days it can feel like we are constantly on egg shells worried that we would say something, do something, be something that another would find objectionable. Leaders also seem to get on the bandwagon demonizing, scapegoating, and fear mongering. So often the church also gets in the fray and yet the good news reminds us again that Jesus did not come to condemn the world, that there is no condemnation, that even at our worst there is forgiveness and reconciliation that is possible, that we are not to walk on eggshells but humbly and confidently in God’s love and joy. What does this look like in our day to day lives?
We often think of ourselves as friendly and nice to new comers and yet what does it mean to be hospitable? What does a Jesus driven radical hospitality look like? This week Pastor JC reminds us that to welcome others is to welcome Jesus and how we do opens the door to a more fulfilling life. Join Pastor Juan Carlos online for worship this weekend! Join Pastor Juan Carlos online for worship this week!
It almost seems like we need to put “Christ” back in Christianity.” Religion can go so sideways and forget the pure compassion and peace upon which it is based. Christianity needs to become more christian - more loving, more wise, more joyful. In this three part sermon series, Dr. Jim Keck will use the Letter to the Colossians to show that Christ is not merely the center of our religion, Christ is the entire content of our faith.
The disciples were getting worried because people were saying bad things about them, trying to ruin their reputation, and threatening Jesus’ life. Their fear was legitimate and yet was distracting them from their continued ministry. Jesus reminds them to stay focused in the midst of fear. We so often are also filled with fear, how could we refocus? What do we need to remember? What’s the role of faith in the midst of fear? Join Pastor Juan Carlos in worship this week!
It almost seems like we need to put “Christ” back in Christianity.” Religion can go so sideways and forget the pure compassion and peace upon which it is based. Christianity needs to become more christian - more loving, more wise, more joyful. In this three part sermon series, Dr. Jim Keck will use the Letter to the Colossians to show that Christ is not merely the center of our religion, Christ is the entire content of our faith.
This week Jesus sees the needs all around him and there were many! He then sends his disciples to extend his healing and reconciling ministry, what happens is nothing but miraculous. Today we too see so many needs and struggles around us, we too often feel like there are so few that can help, what if we focused on the harvest and not worry so much about what we lack? How can we labor for Jesus without becoming overwhelmed? Join Pastor Juan Carlos in worship this week!
As the spiritual leader of a large congregation made up primarily of LBGTQIA+ members, the Rev. Dr. Neil Thomas has been on the forefront of the movement for greater inclusion.
It is our hope that his visit will strengthen Lincoln's gay pride celebrations, as well as help First-Plymouth move into new iterations of being "welcome to all."
In this week’s digital sermon, Dr. Keck explores the spirit of friendship that marks First-Plymouth’s long participation in the struggle for inclusion.
The church was born in a mythic way as the Spirit of Jesus came down upon a people and empowered them to continue the work of shalom-making in the world. In an era when we are wondering about our work as a church in the world, and anxious about the future, what would a new outpouring of the Spirit look like today? This week Dr. Jim Keck and Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas will share with us some of the ways that Pentecost might help us be revived for the work of shalom-making today.
Our shared stories have guided people of all faiths for thousands of years. How might our holy scriptures in the Bible provide a recipe for true, abiding hope in our contemporary times? Rev. Dr. John F. Ross, Executive Director of The Saint John’s Bible Heritage Program will offer a few compelling answers based on the scriptures as experienced within The Saint John’s Bible.
This week is the Feast of the Ascension when the church remembers the resurrected Jesus being lifted up to heaven to much fanfare in the eyes of the disciples. He leaves with clear instructions for all disciples, he leaves and yet the claim is that Jesus is still in charge of the mission, still head of the body called the church, still guiding, directing, and empowering all of us that respond to his call. What are we being led into? What work needs to be done?Join Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas for worship this weekend!
We know rationally that doing good does not always equal experiencing the good life. Yet in our hearts we often make that connection, often it leads us to hopelessness, frustration, and apathy. What does it mean for us to cling to our hope, our commitment to love, and our faith in the midst of the many challenges of life? How can we be effective witnesses to said faith when it often gets such a bad name? Join Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas for worship this weekend!
If you were stranded somewhere without access to all the scriptures, John 14 might be sufficient to keep you connected to the divine for the rest of your life. This weekend, Dr. Jim Keck and Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas will share the key aspects of this passage that speaks to them about God, humanity, and our search for a flourishing life!
Acts chapter two has been pivotal in the formation of Christianity and verses 42-47 have particularly shaped a high vision of church community.This weekend, we will explore the key elements of this passage and discover that it is not merely a vision of church, but of human flourishing itself.
Early reports on the first generation of disciples describe a community living life together in simple ways. Yet this way of being, caught the attention of those around them and allowed them to make the way of Jesus compelling. In a growingly diverse world what might we learn from these early disciples? How might we behave so that our neighbors respond with goodwill?
Two disciples encounter the risen Christ in a most common way, around a meal. It turns out that gathering around table still provides us with an important opportunity to encounter the risen Christ and for our eyes to be opened to what good news looks like.
After preaching a sermon on the doubt last week, Dr. Jim Keck had some DOUBTS about whether he conveyed what was most important. So this week on the digital worship, and at the 8:15am gathering, he will explore a couple more aspects of how faith and doubt are deeply intwined. And Carl Sagan will be deployed!
After the joyfully stout declarations of faith on Easter Sunday, the church always turns to the Doubting Thomas passage in the Bible the very next week. This is psychologically astute because faith, by its very nature, must include doubts. Every presupposition of faith is able to be doubted, that is why we call it FAITH not CERTAINTY. And so we remind ourselves that faith is actually made more authentic by acknowledging the role of doubt in our lives. Join us this weekend for a dose for joyful faith and authentic doubt.
Often we think of Easter as a day but it is a season. Just like spring comes little by little with its momentary turns towards winter early on and a movement towards summer in its later days so does our eastering. If we are patient and attentive our souls too will experience the effects of new life over time, in the everyday of life. How can we remain excited beyond one day? What does this say about how salvation works in our lives?
As we celebrate Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem and the beginning of Holy Week, Dr. Keck will use the controversial remarks of John Lennon right before the release of Eleanor Rigby to catapult us into the first Palm Sunday over two thousand years ago.
Jesus comes into Jerusalem with much fanfare and anticipation. People were expectant, ready, and welcoming. Sometimes we too can approach our spiritual lives from the perspective of the moments of fanfare and awe and yet who is this that we proclaim at those moments and what meaning do we make out of those encounters? Join Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas this weekend online for worship!
Literary critics will tell you that a truly great novel or story will "display not tell." That is, the power of a story is not in moments of explicit explanation but when something is conveyed through the actions of the characters. During Lent we will explore five stories in our Bible that convey profound truths about God without event talking explicitly about the divine. In fact, it's the most surprising characters in our Bible that end up displaying something about the true nature of our mighty God. Let's journey together through Lent and re-discover our God.
Judas Iscariot is the preeminent antagonist in scripture. Unfortunately over time his name and story has been used as fuel for antisemitism, othering, and hatred. This week we'll talk about our penchant for making enemy out of those we do not understand, scapegoating, and what it might look like for us to love enemy.
This week our God Stories takes us to a priest who finds himself pressured to provide answers in the midst of much uncertainty. Often when things are not going well, when anxiety and fear take over, we want certainty, assurances, and a concrete sign that all will be well. What if the real flourishing is found in the midst of the uncertain, the indescribable, and the unknown?
How would we describe our being Christian without using the many well worn words, cliches, and churchy language? This week join Dr. Jim Keck on Digital and at 8:15am to engage in a conversation about being Christian, what it looks like, and how to talk about it in new ways.
A proverbial saying attributed to 19th Century British politician Lord Acton says "Absolute power corrupts absolutely." This week we'll explore the story of Haman to discuss power, its uses, its pitfalls, and its promise towards a more just world where humanity can flourish.
Literary critics will tell you that a truly great novel or story will "display not tell." That is, the power of a story is not in moments of explicit explanation but when something is conveyed through the actions of the characters. During Lent we will explore five stories in our Bible that convey profound truths about God without event talking explicitly about the divine. In fact, it's the most surprising characters in our Bible that end up displaying something about the true nature of our mighty God. Let's journey together through Lent and re-discover our God.
The book of Judges contains some of the most interesting and disturbing stories in all of scripture. Many of them would make for great Soap Opera material. This week we'll hear the story of Delilah, her love affair with Sampson, and her decision to betray him, as a story of a people trying to figure out their identity through their fallen heroes and their complicated relationships.
Literary critics will tell you that a truly great novel or story will "display not tell." That is, the power of a story is not in moments of explicit explanation but when something is conveyed through the actions of the characters. During Lent we will explore five stories in our Bible that convey profound truths about God without event talking explicitly about the divine. In fact, it's the most surprising characters in our Bible that end up displaying something about the true nature of our mighty God. Let's journey together through Lent and re-discover our God.
In the first week of our series we discuss the realities of family feuds, the difficulties of family relationships, and the good news in the midst of the most troubling family stories.
In the gospels we hear about a supernatural encounter that the disciples had where Jesus meets with Moses and Elijah, two of the great figures in ancient Israel. This encounter has Jesus being "transfigured," changed in appearance in a way that points to a deeper reality about who he is and who we are to be. What if we were transfigured? What would we change into? Who would we look like? Join Rev. Juan Carlos Huertas this weekend in worship!
There is a catch phrase, or maybe it could be called a spiritual mantra, that First-Plymouth has used for decades: Life is Good, Let it Go and Be happy Now. On the digital service and at the 8:15am service, Dr. Keck will explore the possibility that it has been the key to the growth of First-Plymouth because it is a key to growth for each person.
Using the Super Bowl and 1st Timothy 4, Dr. Jim Keck will describe how both religion and football tap into the human need for striving and intensity. While Jim was a remarkably lousy football player, he will explore how the popularity of football and religion lie in their ability to create a “collective effervescence” and make things seem more alive. So even if you have no interest in football, the sermon will be speaking about life itself.
We know that humans grow, mature, develop, over time. We are not born ready, instead we require nurture, teaching, and modeling over time. Our journey of development lasts a lifetime. Though we know this in our physical, intellectual, and emotional lives we tend to take a different approach in our spiritual lives. The reality is that our lives in, with, and through divine life also require development, nurture, a process of maturation over a lifetime. What might this look like? How might we go on the journey and companion other in it? Join Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas in worship at 8:15am or online!
Dr. Jim Keck and Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas this weekend in worship, as each will share two things that they believe our key to their understanding of who Jesus is.
Jesus calls his disciples to be salt and light. All of us called to invest in our world, in our neighborhoods, and in our families. What does it look like for us to be a people who season and preserve, who reveal and make known? Join Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas for worship this weekend online!
Dr. Keck explores the calming tone of the beatitudes in Matthew 5. Although there is always a call to action in Jesus’ words for us to create a more just world, there is also a more pastoral and spiritual nature to his words. That is, he does not merely issuer prophetic challenges but also seeks to calm our inner turmoil and give us peace.
It is natural to get frustrated when we sense that expectations are not clear. Whether in work, relationships with others, in civic life, and in our lives with God it is normal to wonder - what is required of us? This week a prophet answers this ancient question and yet the answer has become so quotable that it might be losing its edge. What does it mean to DO justice, LOVE mercy, and WALK humbly?
The late Pope Benedict was called “God’s Rottweiler” when he headed the office that promoted strict adherence to doctrine. But in fact this man possessed a sweeping intellect that was tempered by a humility and kindness. Early in his ministry he wrote an “Introduction to Christianity” and in this weeks sermon Dr. Keck will detail how Benedict saw believers and doubters as as far more united in common cause than we imagine - we are all seeking to understand the infinite.
We know that each of us has ways of looking at the world, ways of thinking about things, ways of learning, and that those shape our imaginations, perceptions, and opinions. We know that even in our most intimate relationships there will be disagreements and yet why are we having such a struggle remaining united in the midst of our difference? How do we go beyond toleration and move into deep kinship? How can difference in community become a strength?
At the very center of what we call church is a living reality of the Christ - a love that can transform lives. There is so much talk these days about how people are frustrated with organized religion, but church is not supposed to be “organized religion”(whatever that is). Church is supposed to help manifest the peace and love of Christ. Join Dr. Keck to explore the essence of church and how Dr. Martin Luther King knew what it was.
The baptism of Jesus is not just a key moment in his ministry but in Matthew's gospel is a key moment into the liberating power of the gospel. This moment of initiation, incorporation, and inspiration manifests for us who Jesus is and who we are, our liberation tied up to our belovedness, our chosenness, our being, the voice of divine life making it plain, why does it become so complicated? Join Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas in worship this week!
In this weeks digital sermon, Dr. Keck will explore what makes Jesus the most heroic hero of all. This brief message will span the vast time epochs of ancient creation myths, to Homer, to the marvel universe and somehow land right back in the gospel itself.
The Gospel of Matthew account of the birth of Jesus reads like an action movie. An evil mastermind (Herod) is out to kill Jesus, and there is horrible collateral damage as many others are killed. The intrepid power couple - Joseph and Mary - go on the run with their baby. The scenes goes international as they escape to Egypt. And then finally make their way back home and the best super hero franchise ever has begun. Dr. Keck will explore this amazing tale and then shift to the adventure/action movie that will be 2023.
The New Year is often a time of making promises, resolutions, for a better us. This week a very difficult scripture reminds us that a better year is not about a better us but about a different lens for seeing the world, the lens of God's kingdom. In order to see in this way we must first take inventory, make a judgement, then be willing to see in this new way, that's the kind of new us that the Gospel calls us to!
In this final week of Advent, Dr. Keck will speak about two beautiful words in Scripture: Logos and Shalom which he believes should not be translated into the english WORD and PEACE. Once translated they lose their mystery and majesty. And our faith must remain mysterious and majestic.
Mary's encounter with the angel Gabriel gives us an important point of reference to begin the difficult conversations around bodily autonomy, the role of the state in regulating bodies, and the Christian faith. How can people of faith approach these issues with compassion, nuance, and openness? Is there just one "Christian" response? Pastor Huertas in worship this Sunday!
In the book of Isaiah the ancient Hebrews are yearning for a return from exile. But what if they returned to their homeland and were no better as persons? In the New Testament, the people are waiting for a savior to reclaim the Davidic kingship, but what if they win political control but their hearts are left untransformed? This Sunday Dr. Keck will explore what a true “quality of life” looks like.
Economic struggles have been a reality in our world from the beginning of time. Economic models have developed over the years and our own -- mixed economy with a strong capitalist bent -- has become sacro-saint in our culture. What does our faith have to say in the midst of our current economic landscape? How can we be agents of a more just economic life? Join Pastor Huertas in worship this Sunday!
Our New Testament was written in Greek, but we began to translate it into English in the 1500’s. This allowed the bible to be read by each person on their own. As wonderful as that was, serious misunderstandings can take place when an English word is placed over the original text. This week Dr. Keck explores how our ideas of hell, sin and even God were made askew by the act of translation itself.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine our headlines have been filled with the latest on the frontlines. Images of the horrors of war and the human response have filled our notifications and often fill us with despair. And yet we know that though Ukraine is the latest country facing these realities it is not the only one. What is the good news in the midst of this? What do we do as those who believe in one who is the "prince of peace?" Join Pastor Huertas for worship this weekend!
So many things in our lives compete for our ultimate attention, captivate our imaginations, and guide the way we look at the world. In a season where so many of us are rethinking what we invest our lives in and how we live into the future, what would it look like for our lives to be shaped by an ultimate allegiance to the way of Christ? Join Pastor Huertas online this weekend for worship! Join Pastor Huertas online for worship this weekend!
Mixing a bit of the philosophy of Ralph Waldo Emerson and the sheer eccentricity of our wandering sage Jesus, Dr. Keck will make a case that being a little weird is a key to living an intelligent, kind and happy life.
That which we give our life to in light of our encounter with Jesus has an impact. In other words living our faith should have a deep impact in our public life, in the lives of our homes, neighborhoods, and cities. This week we'll allow an ancient prophet, an ancient truth-teller of life together to give us insights in the hopes and dreams of good news in our communal life. Join Pastor Huertas online for worship this weekend!
On the week of All Saints Day, the church universal honors and remembers those who have entered the mystery beyond. In a spiritual sense, they are still very much part of our community and each one of us is still shaped by our loved ones who have died. Dr. Keck will share ruminations about the reality of death and the awesome hope of life eternal.
Often when we think of faith it sounds like something we should "have," something that is innate to our being human. It turns out that we do have a divine spark, a sense of the holy, but that growth in that awareness and in faith becoming active in our daily life requires practice. Though that practice is needed at all times, it is in the difficult seasons of life that we have an opportunity to pay attention, root in our faith, and grow in love of God and neighbor. Join Pastor Juan Carlos in an exploration of practiced faith in the midst of difficulty.
Difficulties are all around us and often it seems impossible to find anything to celebrate, anything to hope for, or anything that is thriving around us. This week the community in Thessalonica gives us a witness of what it might look like to grow, thrive, and celebrate in the midst of a very difficult season. Celebration is sometimes found in the most unlikely circumstances.
After hosting the St. John’s Bible event on Wednesday, our sermon will look at the ways we could turn our everyday Bibles into something more beautiful and fully illuminated. Using the calligraphy of our conscience and the script of love, we can each produce a gorgeous Bible in the realm of our understanding.
Grace is the free gift of God's love, acceptance, forgiveness, reconciliation, restoration, and healing. It is hard to receive it, it is often harder to acknowledge our need for it. This week two people approach the divine in very different ways and provide us an important lesson on how to receive grace in the midst of our life.
In Genesis 32 Jacob wrestles either an angel, or a man or God himself. It is unclear in the text who exactly is his foe and for all history there have been different interpretation. But one ancient line of thought is that he is wrestling with himself, that it is a vivid portrayal of an internal struggle. Indeed Jacob had led an ethically ambiguous life up until that point, but he is a changed man after confronting his own shortcomings. Join Dr. Keck for the epic rumble by the Jabbock.
We live in a culture that encourages the giving of thanks, but is it rooted in gratitude or on performative politeness? What does real gratitude look like? How is gratitude connected to our life of faith? How do we harvest gratitude? Join Jim Keck and Juan Carlos Huertas for worship this weekend!
The theme of exile is pervasive in our Bible: Adam and Eve are cast out of the garden, Abraham is sent away from his home, the Hebrews are exiled in Egypt, the Jewish people go through two major exiles. In fact, exile becomes an existential category in our Bible which represents the feeling of not being at home or alienated in some way. Join Dr. Keck for a sweeping look at this major Biblical theme.
Often we think of forgiveness as reconciliation as renewing of relationship with the one that has harmed, hurt, or caused us loss. Tutu helps us see that there is another way that goes beyond this binary and invites us into a type of liberation that centers forgiveness and also our continued physical, emotional, and spiritual health.
Using Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Dr. Keck will talk about how essential social skills are to the functioning of our society. And yet, there seems to be a widespread erosion of basic interpersonal skills and sensitivities. Paul urged us to be “eager to build up mutual affection” and yet we seem to be satisfied with half-hearted nods while not even looking up from our cellphone.
In Tutu's "fourfold path" the act of forgiveness is the third step towards healing. In order to get there we must allow for the story to be told and for the harm to be named, only then can forgiveness find its footing and yet even that moment is not the end, instead it is the next faithful step in the healing process. Join us as we discuss this element of the path and its implication for our lives and the lives of others. Join Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas this weekend for worship!
This week Dr. Keck joins Pastor Juan Carlos in his sermon series on Forgiveness. Many discussion of forgiveness focus on dramatic examples of harm and how parties can be reconciled. But there is a form of everyday, constant forgiveness that could make our lives so much better. Join us for worship and a big dose of mercy!
The journey of forgiveness begins with our willingness to tell our story and to hear the story of the other that we have hurt or harmed but it does not end there. In order for healing to take place we must be willing to live into the uncomfortableness of hearing how our actions or inactions have harmed the other, at times in heartbreaking detail. It is only when the harm has been spoken, sometimes over and over again, that healing can continue in the other, in ourselves, and in the world.
In some basic way the faith must become our own, That is, each person will have their own way of understanding and experiencing the core truths of Christianity. Any doctrine, once it is filtered through the individuality of your own mind, becomes a unique part of your own creative understanding. Even the most rigorously defined doctrine succumbs to the changes your own consciousness brings to it. And this is a good thing!
Forgiveness is not a point in time but a process that takes intentionality, patience, and community. Using the story of Jacob and Esau and the teachings of Desmond and Mpho Tutu we will learn a pathway to forgive others and to forgive ourselves. That pathway begins with Telling the Story.
Deploying Carl Jungs concept of synchronicity, along with the thought of Loren Eiseley and the great injunction by Moses to “choose life”, Dr. Keck will offer a meditation on the great journey that is each of our lives. And how we must select the wholesome and life-giving opportunities that always lie before us.
It is almost as if the current nature of our culture - fast pace of life, political polarization and endless hours on social media - is perfectly designed to create angry, stressed and judgy people. Dr. Jim Keck will explore how angry and stressed minds are more susceptible to ideology and using prefabricated ideas to simplify the complexities around us. Thankfully, Jesus not only come to save us, but to also mellow us out a little…and to offer a truth that will set us free.
What captures our imagination? What are we constantly thinking about? When no one is looking, what do we prefer to spend out time and resources on? Whatever that is, it is our treasure. Jesus reminds us that where that is, our heart is. Is our heart in the right place? Join Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas for worship this week!
We are constantly trying to “prioritize,” constantly asking what is most important, often we get side-tracked, how do we truly discern what is important? What does Jesus say matters most? Join Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas this weekend in worship!
There are lots of things wrong with religion and churches, but there is an opportunity in these uncertain times for religion to improve and find its true spirit. Dr. Keck will briefly explore the concept of religion itself and then turn quickly to talking about how this is a key time in history for churches to reclaim their authentic mission.
Each of us can read the Gospel ourselves and encounter Jesus directly, rather than relying on what we are told or official doctrine. There is something radically empowering about this fact. Indeed, for much of Christian history people were not ALLOWED to read the Bible for themselves. But now we believe it is good and right that you have your own personal encounter with the Christ through the story of his life and ministry. Join us this Sunday for just such an encounter.
Using Pauls Letter to the Galatians, Dr. Keck will look at what is most essential in religion - the impulse to be better. But this basic aspirational impulse is also imbedded in the purpose of our nation. This is not to conflate religion and government, but it is to honor that our nation has basic principles - opportunity for all and justice for all - that not only need to be celebrated but forever aspired too as well.
Sun 9:00am, 10:30am, 11:59am at 20th & D St Sun 10:30am Livestream
DO NOT GROW WEARY
Sometimes doing what is just can get exhausting! At times there is no quick “reward” the fruit of it is not obvious. If we look around though we will find that we are not alone in our just work, that we can lean on one another, even when life seems to still be against us, weariness is normal, we need each other to not allow it to harden our hearts - the Spirit is at work even when we do not perceive it. Join Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas this weekend in worship!
According to a new Gallup poll there are suddenly less people that believe in God. Faith in a deity dropped 6 percentage points in the last 5 years. What is going on? Is this a catastrophe of faith? Or are there actually some positive elements the fact God is not trending right now? Join Dr. Keck for an exploration these new findings and a call for a higher faith joined with a sense of mystery.
Using the super fun new sports movie “Hustle” Dr. Jim Keck will show that Paul is like a great basketball coach. Paul sees our potential but is aware that we need help harnessing our abilities and growing in Christ. And like Steph Curry hitting a three from downtown, Galatians hits nothing but net in its call to spiritual liberty.
The word “discipline” is about instruction, teaching, and learning. The one who guides us, who helps us become more disciplined, is a tutor, they help us be trained in particular virtues. The promise of living into the way of Jesus is that in following him, we are following a tutor, we are being shaped into the virtues of the Christian life. This journey is rooted in the virtue of Love as we learn and mature together. Doing what Jesus does unites us, what normally divides us no longer takes center stage, a new shared life is learned. Join Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas for worship this weekend!
Psalm 8 looks at the majestic sweep of creation - the stars and the moon - and wonders how it is that God is mindful of human beings. Given the scale of the universe and our tiny solar system residing in a modest galaxy among millions of galaxies, it is natural to imagine we are small and insignificant. But Gods love does not operate on the level of physical scale at all and it is a very common mistake when we equate size with importance. Small things matter. Join Dr. Jim Keck this weekend for a celebration of this great Psalm.al
Often the difficulties around increase our fear, making us suspicious of one another, and isolating us. This fear might make us even question what we know about God, what good news is! Paul reminds us to take a deeper look around us, in the midst of difficulty is often where the good news shines! Join Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas for worship this weekend!
In this Pentecost sermon, Dr. Jim Keck will use John 14 to show that the Holy Spirit is the spirit of truth and that religion is, in some basic way, about dispelling the illusions in which we are trapped. Although Pentecost is thought of as the beginning of the Christian church in history, it is essential that we have a new pentecost today so that the spirit of truth can release us from the illusions that hinder us.
Expectation, fear, and wonder often come together in our lives. We not knowing what might be next while at the same time excited about the possibilities of the new. This week we remember that long ago followers of the man named Jesus waited for Jesus' presence in a new way. That way, changed everything! Join Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas for worship this weekend!
Using a very different notion of the lightness of being than the Milan Kundera novel, Dr. Keck will explore the dialectic of the lightness and heaviness that makes up our lives. Central to this sermon will be the beautiful line in Matthew 11 when Jesus says he will give rest to our souls, and for all those heavy laden his burden will be light.
We began this journey with a God who is “with us,” what does it mean for God to be seen through us, through our life together? It looks like mutual affirmation and support, it looks like true solidarity, and it looks like the practice of God’s kin-dom - many being one!
Using a very different notion of the lightness of being than the Milan Kundera novel, Dr. Keck will explore the dialectic of the lightness and heaviness that makes up our lives. Central to this sermon will be the beautiful line in Matthew 11 when Jesus says he will give rest to our souls, and for all those heavy laden his burden will be light.
What happens when things go wrong? Kinship means that we companion one another in our hopelessness, and in this companioning the other experiences belonging, as we do this we model community. What does it look like to come alongside?
In our day of groupthink and surly social media conformity where everyone trumpets slogans and takes sides on every issue, it is time to lift up the responsibility for each person to think for themselves. You should have idiosyncratic and unique takes on every issue because you are a consciousness with its own special perceptions. Join Dr. Keck this weekend in worship!
Being kin to another, being human to another, being interconnected means letting go, knowing that none of us have final answers, and humbly recognizing our shared need for one another. When we do this we make love visible, affirm dignity, and begin to truly accept the other.
In his sermon , Dr. Keck will use the great Damascus road experience of Saul to highlight that the church needs a new encounter with Christ in our own time. The role and place of religion in our culture is under major disruption and it is time for a new journey to the heart of our faith.
It is easy to not be awestruck, to find easy answers, and to forget about reverence. Yet our story of faith is about having the childlike encounter with all things, the simplest things approached with curiosity, amazement, and a sense of humble awe. What would this look like?
Near the end of John’s gospel there is a verse that sums up its purpose: “But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”
Dr. Keck will explore how the English word “believe” originally meant “that which you commit your heart to “rather than intellectual assent to an idea or proposition” We imagine religion is primarily about intellectually agreeing with propositions about reality when in fact it is more about being inspired to love. The heart of the matter is whether one loves Jesus, not believing things about Jesus. And love will demand much of us. Join us for love and spirit-filled worship this weekend!
Why kinship because the God we claim is a god who showed up in our flesh, who became “kin” to us. How do we begin to claim the reality of that kind of God us who is indeed WITH US - IS US? Join Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas in worship this weekend!
Dr. Jim Keck continues his sermon series using the life of Lutheran pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer who was killed for opposing Hitler as our Lenten exemplar of moral courage. This week the sermon will also explore the incredible scene in John 8 where Jesus steps into harms way to save a person.
Even Jesus changes his mind. Our view of the world is limited by our experiences, personalities, and shaping over time. None of us have a monopoly on the right way, we need each other, and we need a shared understanding that we are all evolving towards a more loving way. Are we willing to risk being transformed? Join Pastor Juan Carlos in Worship!
This week Dr. Jim Keck begins a three part sermon series about moral courage. Using the life and thought of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and the moral perfection of Jesus, these sermons will seek to help us all muster more courage to strive for the ethical in a chaotic world.
We Are Open-Minded
Our categories (and humans have evolved to categorize) are not god, god is not limited even by our own so called theism, we are called to be open to possibility, to be curious, and to know that in the end the transcendent is more fully experienced in the many ways that humanity and creation express goodness, compassion, and love. Do we have ears to hear?
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth . . .” The Spirit is wild, relational, in the world, in humanity, and always pushing, prodding, and convicting us into a deeper life, a more abundant life, a more humanizing life, a more real life, in place, time, history, and context. Are we willing to go on this wild journey? Join Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas this weekend in worship!
For the first Sunday in Lent, Dr. Jim Keck will show how truth meanders through different religious traditions by using Native American spirituality, Buddhist thought and ancient Greek religion to illuminate the Biblical texts that begin this holy season. However, as Christians the truth in our own tradition is only fully expressed in the Christ himself, not by a given doctrine or teaching. Join us this Sunday for a spiritual adventure through the texts.
As we prepare to continue to expand ways of being church we must be reminded of what it means to be church and what it means to be a spiritual community. What we do, and the ways in which we do those things are an extension of our desire to be a beloved community, providing saltiness and light in our world.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus declares the disciples are now his friends. And when friendship emerges it is a truly beautiful thing. The ancient Greeks considered friendship to be the very key to a good life and Jesus perfectly echos Aristotle in his commendation to the disciples. Join us this weekend at FP for a celebration of friendship.
Our commitment to love is rooted in the teaching of Jesus who showed us what love looked like not just in his encounters with people around him but in the structures of society. Jesus had much to say about what loving kinship looked like in the midst of so much oppression , violence, and abuse of power. Jesus' words of warning can make us deaf to the plights around us or make us awakened participants in the re-orientation that God's kin-dom demands. Which response will we choose?
Christians have a central prayer that is recited by millions upon millions of people every Sunday in an amazing unison across time and space. But too rarely do we pause to consider the deep spirituality and powerful theology that is embedded in the well worn phrases of our Lord’s Prayer. Join us this weekend at church as we slow down and savor the meaning of our cherished words.
Jesus called a group of people in the midst of their life to follow. Their identity now redefined, their primary task shifted, their work given new meaning. Jesus is still calling, are we listening? What does that mean for those of us today in the midst of our own lives, work, and identities?
Dr. Jim Keck and Rev. Juan Carlos Huertas will go back and forth on the Bible verses that received the most internet searches in 2021. In an 18 minute flurry they will cover texts from John, Romans, Isaiah, Psalms, and Philippians.
No one loves taking a test, and most people are not keen on the idea of dying. This week we will look at a passage from Hebrews which confronts this life test we take; along with why we should not be afraid of dying. Join Pastor KJ Langlais this weekend for worship online!
The Tree of Life is a symbolic/mystical concept that is found in many religions. In Christianity our Bible mentions the Tree of Life right at the very beginning in Genesis and returns to it at the end in Revelation. The Tree of Life symbolizes our interconnectedness with all things, and the fullness of life itself.
30 churches in Lincoln have joined in an effort this month called “Faith to Forest.” Every major faith tradition includes a call to care about, and for, creation and our fellow humans, and trees play an important role in creation and in the lives of people. Faith to Forest is an initiative to celebrate trees and act on our responsibility to care for them, particularly in a changing climate.
Join us this weekend as we worship as we celebrate creation and our role as caretakers.
The word love is common. We hear it all around us, we watch movies and shows about it, and maybe we have had the occasion to experience it. In the church we too hear it all the time, has it lost its edge? This week we'll dive into the word love and how recapturing it as a key concept of faith might renew us and our relationships with others and all of creation.
Starting with the odd premise that Leonard Nimoy might have been at the wedding in Cana, Dr. Jim Keck will explore how John Chapter 2 strengthens and informs our faith, as well as guiding us in the living of our days.
Starting with the odd premise that Leonard Nimoy might have been at the wedding in Cana, Dr. Jim Keck will explore how John Chapter 2 strengthens and informs our faith, as well as guiding us in the living of our days.
In the midst of life our human nature tends to focus on the struggles, hardships, and the many things that we lack. The first miracle of Jesus reminds us to lighten up, to feast, to be attentive to the joy around us, abundance is near! The good wine is a reminder of a God of abundance and joy of each of us and for all of creation. Join Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas online this weekend for worship!
What does it mean to please the divine? Why does that matter? It turns out that it has more to do with how we engage the divine in the other than how we engage an abstraction that we might call God. It turns out that baptism tells us much about who this God is and who we are to be in the world. Join Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas this weekend for worship!
Although we just welcomed a little baby in a manger, the lectionary (the scriptures assigned each week for the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches) immediately leaps to Ephesians and the idea that the Christ is the universal essence of reality. We make a sudden shift from shepherds in the field to vast metaphysical propositions. Join Dr. Jim Keck this weekend for a leap of faith.
Epiphany means manifestation. In this new year how might we pay attention to the ways that God is manifesting God-self all around us? How might we be wise ones to one another and to our neighbors? Join Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas for worship online this week!
Advent is a season of reflection, waiting, and preparation. We gather in the midst of the busyness of the season to slow down and remember that the gift of Jesus continues to come into the world as love in the flesh. What does this love look like? How are we to respond to that love? Join us in this journey as we together prepare our hearts and lives for the many ways that Jesus is still entering the world!
Advent is a season of reflection, waiting, and preparation. We gather in the midst of the busyness of the season to slow down and remember that the gift of Jesus continues to come into the world as love in the flesh. What does this love look like? How are we to respond to that love? Join us in this journey as we together prepare our hearts and lives for the many ways that Jesus is still entering the world!
Advent is a season of reflection, waiting, and preparation. We gather in the midst of the busyness of the season to slow down and remember that the gift of Jesus continues to come into the world as love in the flesh. What does this love look like? How are we to respond tot hat love? Join us in this journey as we together prepare our hearts and lives for the many ways that Jesus is still entering the world!
Advent is a season of reflection, waiting, and preparation. We gather in the midst of the busyness of the season to slow down and remember that the gift of Jesus continues to come into the world as love in the flesh. What does this love look like? How are we to respond tot hat love? Join us in this journey as we together prepare our hearts and lives for the many ways that Jesus is still entering the world!
Advent is a season of reflection, waiting, and preparation. We gather in the midst of the busyness of the season to slow down and remember that the gift of Jesus continues to come into the world as love in the flesh. What does this love look like? How are we to respond tot hat love? Join us in this journey as we together prepare our hearts and lives for the many ways that Jesus is still entering the world!
Advent is a season of reflection, waiting, and preparation. We gather in the midst of the busyness of the season to slow down and remember that the gift of Jesus continues to come into the world as love in the flesh. What does this love look like? How are we to respond tot hat love? Join us in this journey as we together prepare our hearts and lives for the many ways that Jesus is still entering the world!
This festival was established in 1925 by decree of Pope Pius XI. Many Protestant denominations also follow this liturgical practice. One of the traditional readings on this day is from Daniel chapter 7 which describes a throne scene in heaven. What does the liturgical calendar and an esoteric vision in the Book of Daniel have to do with us in 2021? Join Dr. Jim Keck for an exploration of the spiritual kingship of Christ.
Jesus gives us an opportunity to see a new way for what it means to be faithful to God's kin-dom. It turns out that Jesus himself is encountered among those that we rather ignore, push aside, and forget. When we begin recognizing Jesus in the faces of those others, we become participants in God's promise of love for the world.
Buddhist philosophy sees desire as the cause of our suffering and seeks to eliminate this unsatisfactory aspect of life at its root. Christian philosophy tends to see desire as an essential aspect of the human but something that must be carefully shaped lest it lead us astray. What do you most desire, or wish for, in life? Could we learn to desire what is best for us?
Who is the greatest? Who is the most famous, the most influential, the most powerful? Who is the most important? Am I? How can I get there? The disciples had these questions and if we are honest there are times that we do also. Jesus once again surprises us, he challenges all of us to transform our values so that we can be freed! Join Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas this weekend for worship!
Although it is common for people to say they are “spiritual but not religious” we might remember that the Christian religion speaks of the Holy Spirit. This is the aspect of the Divine that is up close and personal. The concept of the Holy Spirit ensures that whatever else religion is, it is fundamentally “spiritual.” Join Dr. Jim Keck this weekend as he speaks about our ability to experience God for ourselves.
This week Jesus speaks to us about seed and soil. What is our response-ability as workers in God's kingdom? It turns out that most of us hyper focus on that which we have no control over, instead of focusing on that which we do. Seed, soil, sowing all elements in kingdom work only one matters most. Join Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas this weekend for worship!
When human beings began writing somewhere in Mesopotamia around five millennia ago it starts the long story of how the Bible came about. Join Dr. Jim Keck for a time-traveling adventure that ends with the single most downloaded Bible verse on the planet earth.
In this week's sermon Jesus reminds us that the nature of discipleship is being a sent people, who go trusting that God will provide what they will need for the journey as they encounter neighbor, bringing healing, restoration, and liberation. Join Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas this weekend for worship!
Guest Preacher, Rev. Tracey Perry, Countryside UCC, Omaha, NE
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, Here am I. Send me!” -- Isaiah 6:8
Pastor Tracey Perry is an Ordained Disciples of Christ Minister (DOC). She received a Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree, from Wesley Theological Seminary. Pastor Tracey is currently serving at Countryside UCC, in Omaha, as the Interim Minister of Worship and Congregational Care. Pastor Tracey has sat on panels for racial justice, and spoke on a research study panel on “Race, Religion and Policing” for Yale University. She has worked with a Maryland police department, in collaboration with other Pastors, to assist and bring about healing and faith-based guidance, to the police officers, for interaction with minorities.
God is both a metaphysical mystery that is completely inscrutable, as well as a love we can each know in our own hearts. Join Dr. Jim Keck this week for a theological and spiritual romp regarding the English word “God” and the biblical word “Theos.”
Jesus healed, taught, and did many miracles but did you know he also preached? This week hear about Jesus first sermon in the gospel according to Matthew, a sermon that introduces us to the upside down nature of the kingdom of God. Join Pastor Juan Carlos Huertas this weekend for worship as he kicks off this new series!
Using John 15 and Aristotle, Dr. Jim Keck will describe how the spirit of friendship is the essence of Christianity. Join us this weekend for a biblical celebration of friendship!
Pastor KJ Langlais explores Upside Down thinking! You know that song, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” perhaps Jesus inspired the lyrics in his message from Luke 12:22-26. Oh yeah . . ., and there is a Mystery to solve that has been happening at First Plymouth! What’s Upside Down in your life?
These days we are often wanting to "go back to normal." The story of faith reminds us that from the very beginning God has been creating and re-creating in the midst of chaos. Providing a new normal as we find ourselves constantly beginning again.
These days we are often wanting to "go back to normal." The story of faith reminds us that from the very beginning God has been creating and re-creating in the midst of chaos. Providing a new normal as we find ourselves constantly beginning again.
John 14 is a deeply spiritual chapter that has a richly trinitarian structure as Jesus talks about God, his own role and the Holy Spirit. Join Dr. Jim Keck as we explore this chapter for how it forms us as a people of the Way.
These days we are often wanting to "go back to normal." The story of faith reminds us that from the very beginning God has been creating and re-creating in the midst of chaos. Providing a new normal as we find ourselves constantly beginning again.
John 14 is a deeply spiritual chapter that has a richly trinitarian structure as Jesus talks about God, his own role and the Holy Spirit. Join Dr. Jim Keck as we explore this chapter for how it forms us as a people of the Way.
These days we are often wanting to "go back to normal." The story of faith reminds us that from the very beginning God has been creating and re-creating in the midst of chaos. Providing a new normal as we find ourselves constantly beginning again.
John 14 is a deeply spiritual chapter that has a richly trinitarian structure as Jesus talks about God, his own role and the Holy Spirit. Join Dr. Jim Keck as we explore this chapter for how it forms us as a people of the Way.
New Normal? Beginning Again in the Chaos Sermon series with Rev. Juan Carlos Huertas Digital Worship Sunday 9:00am & 10:30am Sunday 9:00am @ FP SouthPointe (7010 Helen Witt Drive) Sunday 11:59am 20th & D
These days we are often wanting to "go back to normal." The story of faith reminds us that from the very beginning God has been creating and re-creating in the midst of chaos. Providing a new normal as we find ourselves constantly beginning again.
Alexander Pope, a poet and essayist of the eighteenth century, gave us the line “To err is human; to forgive, divine. Following that advice, Dr. Jim Keck will preach this weekend about how we should forgive Aaron for his epic mistake in Exodus 32 when he fashions a golden calf and helps lead the Hebrews astray. Aaron is human, and part of our common plight is when we lose faith and create false idols. Join us this weekend at the foot of MT. Sinai!
In a culture that naturally shows preference towards the rich, powerful, and influential James reminds that this has been a problem from the beginning but that our faith in Jesus demands that we live differently, if we don't our faith is dead. Who are we to be? Join Rev. Juan Carlos Huertas for worship this weekend!
There are blindingly obvious forms of bad religion such as violent fundamentalism, doomsday cults, money grubbing televangelism and plain charlatanry. But in this three part series Dr. Jim Keck will explore far more subtle ways that religion can devolve into the silly and banal. The human being must be able to discern between what is good and bad. Indeed, this is a basic aspect of being a PERSON. Let’s discern together what makes for a religion of deep goodness.
The Gospel is good news to a man named Bartimaeus who though born blind was persistently hopeful that Jesus would make him see again. What type of good news are we hoping for? What good news is most needed around us? How persistent are we willing to be? Join Rev. Juan Carlos Huertas for worship this weekend!
Pastor Juan Carlos sat with Pastor Jim Keck to discuss the upcoming Gospel worship services.
There are blindingly obvious forms of bad religion such as violent fundamentalism, doomsday cults, money grubbing televangelism and plain charlatanry. But in this three part series Dr. Jim Keck will explore far more subtle ways that religion can devolve into the silly and banal. The human being must be able to discern between what is good and bad. Indeed, this is a basic aspect of being a PERSON. Let’s discern together what makes for a religion of deep goodness.
The Gospel is good news to a man named Bartimaeus who though born blind was persistently hopeful that Jesus would make him see again. What type of good news are we hoping for? What good news is most needed around us? How persistent are we willing to be? Join Rev. Juan Carlos Huertas for worship this weekend!
Pastor Juan Carlos sat with Ariel Merivil and Laurelin Moeller to discuss the upcoming Gospel worship services on Aug 22nd and 29th.
There are blindingly obvious forms of bad religion such as violent fundamentalism, doomsday cults, money grubbing televangelism and plain charlatanry. But in this three part series Dr. Jim Keck will explore far more subtle ways that religion can devolve into the silly and banal. The human being must be able to discern between what is good and bad. Indeed, this is a basic aspect of being a PERSON. Let’s discern together what makes for a religion of deep goodness.
The joy of gospel music contains a deep call for justice and liberation. The Reverend Juan Carlos Huertas, new to First-Plymouth’ clergy team and to Lincoln, will lead the series sessions designed to leverage uplifting gospel worship to joyfully strive for a better world. This series is about liberating and empowering individuals in a new and joyful way. The Plymouth Choir, under the direction of Minister of Music Tom Trenney and Associate Minister of Music Ariel Merivil, will perform inspiring gospel songs at our 10:30am worship
This week Dr. Jim Keck, in a rather elaborate (read “tenuous”) string of metaphors, compares a passage in Ephesians four to the old-time monster figures of the werewolf, zombie and vampire. Ephesians four asks us to moderate our anger (Don’t be a werewolf) don’t drain those around you (Don’t be a vampire) and seek to fully engage with life (Don’t be a zombie) Join us for a monster mash this weekend!
Living life together requires a certain set of practices rooted in love. What happens when we disappoint one another? When we fail to model God's love? What happens when our actions or in-actions damage our life together? The beauty of the good news is that no matter our individual or collective failure, we are able to begin again! Join Rev. Juan Carlos Huertas this Sunday for worship!
In the Middle Ages the church only spoke about vocation as being called to specific religious roles. But during the reformation, the idea that any line of work could be a ministry and that we are all called to live the Christian ideals in our work place began to take hold. This weekend Dr. Jim Keck will explore how any occupation holds the opportunity for essential ministry in our world and that each person is being called by God.
Life together is filled with the daily rhythms of our life. In the midst of our busyness and our being overwhelmed we might wonder - Is this what this should be like? Paul, one of the key leaders and writers of the early church, often reminds the church about what it means to be a community, to live life together, in ways that express God's love. These ways of being are challenging, yes, possible, absolutely! Join Rev. Juan Carlos Huertas in worship online this Sunday!
In the third chapter to the Letter to the Ephesians Paul offers a most amazing prayer. Essentially he prays that everyone might fully know the reality of the Divine Within. Too often we think of God as some type of external object or thing. But the infinite love that is God is interfused with our soul. God is in whom we live move and have our being. Join us this weekend as we pray with Paul for a deep oneness of spirit.
The sermon title is the punchline to the silly joke that the only thing flat earthers fear is sphere itself. But joking aside, human beings are beset with a myriad of fears. Perhaps one of the most unusual aspects of Jesus is his complete lack of fear. The gospels are honest about other very human qualities he possessed like sadness, uncertainty and fatigue. But there is no sense he was ever afraid. It is love and faith that are capable of banishing our fears. Let’s follow the fearless one into a greater love.
In the thirteenth chapter of Mathew Jesus offers seven parables. It is worth noting that Jesus taught by telling stories. Stories and images can animate our imagination and arouse our curiosity. A story invites the listener to participate more deeply than when a teacher merely TELLS you something. For the next seven weeks we will sit with Jesus by the lake and explore these stories about the spiritual dimension. This weekend Dr. Jim Keck will give a sermon on the Parable of the net.
In the thirteenth chapter of Mathew Jesus offers seven parables. It is worth noting that Jesus taught by telling stories. Stories and images can animate our imagination and arouse our curiosity. A story invites the listener to participate more deeply than when a teacher merely TELLS you something. For the next seven weeks we will sit with Jesus by the lake and explore these stories about the spiritual dimension. This weekend Dr. Jim Keck will give a sermon on the Parable of the pearl.
In the thirteenth chapter of Mathew Jesus offers seven parables. It is worth noting that Jesus taught by telling stories. Stories and images can animate our imagination and arouse our curiosity. A story invites the listener to participate more deeply than when a teacher merely TELLS you something. For the next seven weeks we will sit with Jesus by the lake and explore these stories about the spiritual dimension. This weekend Dr. Jim Keck will give a sermon on the Parable of the hidden treasure.
In the thirteenth chapter of Mathew Jesus offers seven parables. It is worth noting that Jesus taught by telling stories. Stories and images can animate our imagination and arouse our curiosity. A story invites the listener to participate more deeply than when a teacher merely TELLS you something. For the next seven weeks we will sit with Jesus by the lake and explore these stories about the spiritual dimension. This weekend Dr. Jim Keck will give a sermon on the Parable of yeast.
In the thirteenth chapter of Mathew Jesus offers seven parables. It is worth noting that Jesus taught by telling stories. Stories and images can animate our imagination and arouse our curiosity. A story invites the listener to participate more deeply than when a teacher merely TELLS you something. For the next seven weeks we will sit with Jesus by the lake and explore these stories about the spiritual dimension. This weekend Dr. Jim Keck will give a sermon on the Parable of the Mustard Seed.
Sunday Digital Service In the thirteenth chapter of Mathew Jesus offers seven parables. It is worth noting that Jesus taught by telling stories. Stories and images can animate our imagination and arouse our curiosity. A story invites the listener to participate more deeply than when a teacher merely TELLS you something. For the next seven weeks we will sit with Jesus by the lake and explore these stories about the spiritual dimension. This weekend Dr. Jim Keck will give a sermon on the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares.
In the thirteenth chapter of Mathew Jesus offers seven parables. It is worth noting that Jesus taught by telling stories. Stories and images can animate our imagination and arouse our curiosity. A story invites the listener to participate more deeply than when a teacher merely TELLS you something. For the next seven weeks we will sit with Jesus by the lake and explore these stories about the spiritual dimension. This weekend in our physical services, Dr. Jim Keck will offer a sermon on the great Parable of the Sower.
Surprisingly, UFOs are now very much back in the conversation and next month there will even be a congressional report. Mainstream outlets like Scientific American are calling for greater study of some unexplained sightings. This week, Dr. Jim Keck will explore some of the similarities between reports about extraordinary spiritual experiences - like Acts 2 - and the flurry of recent unidentified flying objects. How are we to approach such mysterious phenomenon? Come to church this week for a spiritual adventure!
People refer to their “spiritual journey.” In fact, “journey” may be the most common metaphor used to talk about our spiritual lives. This weekend Dr. Jim Keck will explore the power and shortcomings of this metaphor. Religious language is necessarily metaphorical - there is no escaping metaphor - but the key is choosing fruitful metaphors. But I am only speaking metaphorically :)
In this sermon on John 8 Dr. Jim Keck will propose that the word “sin” is central to the Christian faith but has become problematic by endless misusage. The church has called some things “sin” that are not sin - like playing cards, dancing or being gay. And so it has lost credibility. But it is essential that the church be able to speak to the existential reality of an imperfect humanity. This sermon will suggest that it would clarify our understanding if every time we see the word “sin” in our tradition we transpose it in our minds to “self-centeredness” and that our Christ desires to move us from selfishness to being other centered.
Frisbee is not just a toy, it is a state of mind. It represents creativity, playfulness, individuality, non-authoritarianism and joy. Dr. Jim Keck will take a frisbee approach to Matthew 28 this week. Let’s toss the disc this weekend at FP!
One of the most heartfelt moments in ministry is when a person is nearing death and they ask me "Will I see my loved ones again?" I consider this question to be at the very height and majesty of what it is to be human and it is full of such soulful poignancy. In this sermon I will share how I answer that question and it is based on John 21 where the Apostle Peter had the the very chance to do what we all long for - to encounter again a dearly departed friend and speak of our love for them.
What if our faith didn't depend on proof and we could weather the storms of life with a stay-in-the-boat kind of faith? A new look at the story of Peter, a storm, a boat and Jesus walking on water can help us deepen our faith that goes beyond doubt, looking for proof and instead allows us to embrace a faith of calmness and trust.
In Acts 17, Paul gives a masterful sermon in Athens. The home of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, Athens is filled with smart, spiritually inquisitive people and Paul deftly shows that the Christian faith does not require that you leave your brain at the door but that it believes reason and science can help guide our understanding of Christ. Join Dr. Jim Keck, Paul and the Athenians this weekend.
A Life Well Lived and Well Loved
Jesus rides on a donkey into Jerusalem and Holy Week begins for the church. Dr. Jim Keck’ s sermon imagines that as Jesus is riding that donkey he is aware that he is moving towards his death at the hand of the Romans and so his mind starts to think back over the of his life. And after all the great teachings and acts of compassion, he now knows that only a radical display of sacrificial love will change hearts and minds. And he rides on towards the cross.
Roger Daltry meets Elijah
Dr. Jim Keck was at the WHO concert in Boulder Colorado in 1982 and happened to look over at the Flatirons during “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and it changed his spiritual trajectory. Join us this Sunday for a sermon that explores the mystical “Still, small voice” of the Divine and also celebrates Pete Townshend arm-waving.
In this fourth installment of our Emerging from the Wilderness Worship Series, we will join Elijah as he runs for his life from the evil queen Jezebel. Dr. Keck will explore how many of us are "running for our lives" rather than confidently holding our ground. Elijah finally encountered a stillness and calm that eased his fears and he began to live into his destiny. Let's join the arc of this story together this weekend in worship. Join Dr. Jim Keck this weekend for either in-person worship or a digital service.
The Bible gives an almost novelesque account of Paul's shipwreck and being stranded on the Island of Malta. It is sorta Robinson Crusoe, Swiss Family Robinson and Cast Away all combined. Dr. Jim Keck will explore this story as part of the long tradition of imagining the church as a ship and the journey of faith as a sea adventure. The life of faith is not always smooth sailing, but there are some safe harbors. Join Dr. Keck this weekend for either in-person worship or a digital service.
An exile rises in power, the local leaders get jealous and set him up to die. In the end a lion's den is a wilderness that cannot defeat God's faithfulness and provides us an opportunity to ask: How is the wilderness we are living through helping us awaken to how God's presence and God's call for us to help the exiles around us see better days?
Our Lenten worship series called Emerging from the Wilderness begins this weekend. We will be looking at moments in the Bible where people faced hardship - Paul being shipwrecked, Daniel in the Lions Den, Jeremiah stuck in a hole, Elijah on the run for his life, Israel in exile and Jesus in the Wilderness. Again and again, we are shown to be capable of a greater resilience than we imagined and hardship becomes part of the journey towards joy. Join us this Sunday in worship.
There is a major shift underway in America. Almost 20 percent of Americans now define themselves as being "spiritual but not religious." Dr. Jim Keck will explore the dynamics behind this amazing move away from organized religion to the realm of the Spirit. Ironically, it might be that this grouping is so large that "not being religious" becomes its own form of religion! Join us this week for the last installment of the Encounter series.
In the third installment of the sermon series, Dr. Jim Keck will highlight a mythical aspect of Islam called Sufism. Not content to rely on mere declarations of faith, the Sufi seeks to experience for herself the infinite love and compassion of our God. Sufism is not a denomination or sect within Islam but rather a dimension of this historic faith. Let's worship together this weekend and encounter the beauty of this world religion.
Buddhism is one of the great repositories of wisdom in our world. Filled with compassion for those who suffer, the Buddha found a way out of our misery and sought to offer it to others. Dr. Keck continues his sermon series Encounter: Being Christian in a Multi-faith World with a look at the core principle within Buddhist philosophy of non-attachment. A basic premise of this series is that one can be a fully devoted disciple of Christ - accepting him as our Lord and Savior - while at the same time giving honor and deep respect to other religions.
Encounter: Being Christian in a Multi-Faith World
There are many different religious perspectives in our world. Gosh, there are many different religious perspectives in our church! Dr. Jim Keck will begin a sermon series exploring four different religions: Judaism, Buddhism, Islam and “spiritual but not religious.” But rather than a mere introduction to these faiths, we will look for an “ethic of encounter” or how we are to relate to others as Christians in a diverse world. And as often is the case, the key is joy and love.
In April of 1963, Martin Luther King sat in a prison cell in Birmingham Alabama having been arrested during a peaceful, non-violent protest against the brutal racism and segregation in that city. Scribbling notes on the margin of a newspaper with a pencil a friend had smuggled to him he wrote a 7000 word essay that quoted Socrates, St. Augustine, Thomas Jefferson and Justice Earl Warren. He was writing in response to a group of Birmingham clergy who complained about how MLK just needed to be patient and that outsiders like him should leave the city alone. This Letter from the Birmingham Jail has become a timeless witness to the struggle for justice. This Sunday we will let his voice speak into our own time.
Using a classic sermonic move, Dr. Jim Keck will use a Liam Neeson action movie to highlight the power and beauty of baptism. Of course, many people mine Liam Neeson action movies for theological ramifications. But hopefully something novel will come of it.
After the twelve days of Christmas, the Christian church celebrates Epiphany. This ancient feast day celebrates the visit of the Magi to the Christ child. Even more specifically it represents the first moment the Christian faith is manifested in the gentile world. Join Dr. Jim Keck this Sunday for an exploration of how our inclusive faith resists the notions of insiders and outsiders altogether.
On February 6th, 1972 Otis Young preached a sermon at First-Plymouth about how too often we react to outside influences rather than following our own internal compass. Both snubs and compliments affect us too much and we see ourselves through the eyes of others. Dr. Jim Keck will convey again the wisdom of this old sermon in a new day.
The sermon this week is a little romp through theology, authority of scripture and a dash of metaphysics. But mostly it tries to convey a magnanimous spirit that acknowledges that there are MANY different ways to be a faithful Christian.
Fully 1/3 of our Bible is written in poetry. Apparently, God wanted to inspire rather than indoctrinate, elevate rather than simply convey information. But oddly, ministers are not trained to interpret poetry. This is a serious oversight! Let's get poetic this Sunday.
Isaiah 11 is a key chapter in our faith. It describes the messianic king that spiritual souls hope will arrive and it poetically describes the "peaceable kingdom" for which we yearn. Dr. Jim Keck will explore what we mean when we await a savior. But an added bonus will be that he will share the joke that has been determined to be the funniest joke in the world. So tune in to find out!
The early church fathers (there were surely mothers too :) called the Old Testament book of Isaiah the "fifth gospel" because it became so central in how the church understood the 'Christ-event. This Advent at First-Plymouth we will be giving special spiritual focus to the poetry and prophecy of the book of Isaiah.
As N.T Wright put it: When you think of scriptural passages which point to a coming king, Isaiah chapters 9 and 11 come to mind. When you imagine the inclusion of gentiles in God's promise Isaiah chapter 2 is highlighted. When you think of a royal figure who will suffer to bring about God’s long-planned redemption, the ‘servant songs’ in Isaiah 40–55, climaxing in chapter 53, are the obvious places to go. And when you reflect that the New Testament celebrates the strange victory of God, through his anointed one, over all the dark forces in the world, all with the aim of bringing about the new heavens and new earth, then Isaiah 56–66 are the natural place to look." This year, let's celebrate the majesty and poetry of the arrival of Jesus with this ancient book of poems. It is the Book of Isaiah that helps us know "Love looks like this."
We come to the last "essential" scripture of our Fall sermon series. And it is fitting we end with the great commandment of Jesus to love God with all our heart, soul and mind and to love your neighbor as yourself. This has always been seen as the very center of the Christian faith. But what does it mean exactly to "love God?" Is that saying we should be very religious? Or does it mean something more foundational? Join Dr. Jim Keck for the quest to love God with all our strength.
At the very beginning of the Bible is the great "imago dei." It is announced that human beings are made in the image of God. In the first chapter of scripture this principle is offered as a guide to all future moral progress - every human being possesses a God-given dignity and worth. The imago dei also is the pathway to a more mystical spirituality that emphasizes the divine within each one of us. Join Dr. Keck for an exploration of the ancient Imago dei.
Jesus walked up a mountain, looked upon the people and began to teach us to love thine enemies, turn the other cheek and refuse no one help. It's as if by taking us up that mountain he is trying to take us to the very pinnacle of morality. It becomes a peak experience of the ethical imagination and we have entered the rarified air of complete non-violence and compassion. But when we come back down from the mountain can we actually live that way and in that ethical fullness? Join Dr. Jim Keck this week for a beautiful climb.
Psalm 23 may be the most famous poem of all time (Sure, it's actually lyrics to an ancient Hebrew song but now functions as poetry). For almost three thousand years it has been read millions upon millions of times and has touched human hearts with its calming vision of ultimate safety and security. Perhaps, the weekend before a presidential election a few calming words could do us all some good. Let's gather around this poem of the heart this Sunday.
Our timeless text this week is the parable of the prodigal son. Fully 1/3 of all the teachings of Jesus are in the form of stories and this is perhaps the most well-known story he told (maybe the Good Samaritan edges it out). Everybody likes a good redemption story where someone with a flawed character experiences some sort of moral regeneration. Almost every single Hollywood movie, novel or sitcom function by telling versions of someone who loses their way and then finds their way. We constantly tell redemption stories because it is the very shape of our lives. Join Dr. Jim Keck this weekend for the great story of the prodigal son.
This week our service is exploring the fruits of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Through many voices and ages participating in the worship, we will remember the deep values that animate our faith. Dr. Jim Keck will also offer a meditation upon joy and generosity.
This week we reside in the passage of John that describes the crucifixion. Buddhism has as its first noble truth the fact that life is suffering. Christianity, with the cross, also acknowledges the full reality of suffering. Reducing the suffering of others then becomes the core part of the Christian walk. Join Dr. Jim Keck as he takes us to the cross and reminds us that true despair comes from feeling alone in one's suffering, but that our loving Christ is alongside ALL who suffer. We are not alone...ever.
This week Dr. Jim Keck looks at one verse in our Bible that could potentially heal the major divisions of the world. In fact, if we really believed Galatians 3:28 (look it up:) the major sources of acrimony among human beings would melt away and we would leap forward with a sense of common purpose.
This week Dr. Jim Keck looks at the Beatitudes (the opening verses to the Sermon on the Mount). What can Jesus mean when he says that the poor, mournful and meek are the blessed ones? He seems to be flipping the script on our whole sense of reality. Yeah, maybe that is exactly what he is trying to do! Join us Sunday.
This week we gather around the Damascus road experience. Saul was simply a horrible person leaving pain and wreckage in his wake. But suddenly he was changed and turned his whole life around. Do you believe a person can really change? Join Dr. Jim Keck this Sunday for an exploration of the possibility for transformation.
A Prophet from the Farm
Many of us will recognize those simple yet profound words of Micah 6:8 - "Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God." Such beautiful instructions can stir up respect and admiration for this prophet who lived 2800 years ago. But, do you know much about him? For instance, did you know he is one of the earliest agrarian poets known to history? Did you know he helped give voice to a growing cry from the small farmers of Judah? This Sunday, join Pastor Patrick Messer as we get to know this rural radical and how his words speak vividly to the kind of justice we need in our time
On this first week of our three month journey through our key Bible texts, Dr. Jim Keck will explore the most elevated scripture of all - "God is Love." This text equates the very essence of reality - God - with the moment we truly value a person. Sadly, not every person is being valued (loved) in our society. The Godly society would honor the intrinsic value of each person regardless of race, sexual orientation, personality and income. Beloved, let us love one another!
A Mighty Fortress is Our God
In this last part of our sermon series on three great hymns, Dr. Jim Keck explores the reformation classic "A Mighty Fortress is our God." Written by Martin Luther just ten years after he nailed his protestations on the Wittenberg door, it has been called the Battle Hymn of the Reformation. Yet so powerful is this hymn, even Catholic churches now sing it in mass. Although Jim prefers the tune to Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles and finds "A Mighty Fortress" to be overly bombastic there is much theological ore to mine in this great hymn of our tradition. Join us at 10:30am this Sunday!
Precious Lord, Take My Hand
When we sing to God, we offer back our very breath to the One who first gave us life. The scriptures show us that people of faith are called to sing their joy and praise - yes, but also their longing and prayer... and even their frustration and anger. Let's explore why we sing what we sing, and let's marvel at the soundtrack that God composes in our lives. Join us at 10:30am this Sunday!
We are unable to be singing our great hymns together right now. So Dr. Jim Keck and Tom Trenney selected three hymns that have a timeless power and can speak to a hurting world. This week, Dr. Keck will preach on the awesome song "Great is Thy Faithfulness." It was written as a poem in 1923 and then set to music. This great hymn has much to still say. Join us at 10:30am this Sunday!
I put a picture of the Caribbean Island of St.Thomas next to this just to get your attention. I am actually preaching on St.Thomas the Apostle - not the gorgeous getaway - this weekend. You might remember him as the "Doubting Thomas" in John 20 but there are two other amazing scenes with Thomas in the Gospel. And in one scene he displays courage and resolve far beyond the other disciples. Why don't we remember him for that? Let's getaway together this weekend on a trip into the Gospel and rediscover St.Thomas. Join Dr. Jim Keck at 10:30am.
Humanity has a long tradition of persecuting prophets while they live and singing their praises after they die. At least, this was Jesus' contention. In the gospels of Matthew and Luke, Jesus becomes incensed at the religious and civic leaders' habitually dismissing and silencing the prophetic voice while embracing and decorating the prophets' tombs. As we listen to the effusive praise of John Lewis from today's leaders, we know Jesus' words still ring true. This Sunday, join Pastor Patrick Messer as we attempt to develop ears to hear God's voice so clearly that we suddenly find ourselves vessels of a prophetic message of love and justice.
King Solomon is one of the most fascinating figures in history. He was a great King, Poet, Lover, Philosopher and Prophet. In 1st Kings Chapter 3 we read about God coming to him in a dream and offering to fulfill his greatest wish. Rather than wishing for riches or a long life, Solomon desires wisdom. This weekend, Dr. Jim Keck will delve into the story of Solomon for wisdom we can use in these trying times.
The great dream of Jacob where angels are ascending and descending upon a ladder has often been interpreted as the better angels of our own nature as we strive to manifest our most noble traits. Join Dr. Jim Keck this weekend as we share this aspirational and inspirational dream.
One of the events that most shaped the story of our faith is the Babylonian captivity. In the sixth century Jerusalem and the temple fell to invasion and thousands of people were exiled to a foreign land. In this time of pandemic, perhaps many of us feel exiled. What was Gods message to the exiled Jews? This week we will read Isaiah together and listen for a word of hope.
Using the passage about the healing of the blind man at Bethsaida, Dr. Keck will explore how we each lack a perfect clarity of vision and our brain tends to over compensate and make us more confident of our perceptions than is sensible. Fun optical illusions, Immanuel Kant and Buddhist non-duality will all make it into this sermon about spiritual understanding.
So often it's easy for us to see someone in need and pass right by, thinking "That's not my neighborhood. That's not my responsibility. That's not my Child." Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan teaches us that we are all neighbors and that when we truly follow Jesus we cannot ignore our brothers and sisters who are suffering; we must not turn away and look to the other side of the road. It's time for us to be more like Jesus and courageously love one another.
Much of Jesus ministry was lakeside. The lake of Galilee is so prominent in our Gospels its virtually a character in the story. (It's called the "Sea of Galilee" simply because their language did not differentiate between oceans and lakes). Let's spend this Sunday on the lake and recall again the miraculous catch of fish in Luke 5. In these difficult times, a simple story about abundance, joy and some time at the lake might do us all some good.
We live in a time where worship at churches has been mostly suspended due to the pandemic. Quickly, the faith communities reacted and moved into the realm of digital worship. At some point, we will return to in-person worship, but now there will always be a digital opportunity for worship and the nature of Christian worship is changing before our very eyes. Join Dr. Jim Keck at 10:30am online to consider the spiritual effects of the massive changes underway.
Using a remarkable passage where Jesus himself seems to display a culturally conditioned prejudice but reacts quickly to right the wrong, Dr. Jim Keck will highlight that one of the major impulses behind the creation of our New Testament was an effort to bridge the divide between Jew and Gentile which could be a model for healing our current divisions.
It is Pentecost Sunday and Dr. Jim Keck will use Acts Chapter two to envision a new Pentecost underway in our time of the pandemic. Like the first Pentecost, the Christian movement is being transformed in our own time. Come Holy Spirit, Come!
Jesus begins his great sermon by announcing blessings on the very people that felt cursed by their circumstances. In these difficult days of a pandemic, it is a good time to gather together as a church around these amazing words of Jesus and discover together that God's blessings never cease. Join Dr. Jim Keck this Sunday for church online!
Receiving Blessings While Feeling Cursed: A Two Part Series on the Beatitudes
Jesus begins his great sermon by announcing blessings on the very people that felt cursed by their circumstances. In these difficult days of a pandemic, it is a good time to gather together as a church around these amazing words of Jesus and discover together that God's blessings never cease. Join Dr. Jim Keck this Sunday for church online!
This week Dr. Jim Keck begins a three part series on mysticism. Although the church usually talks about "believing in God," or "having faith," there is also the possibility of a direct and personal experience of the divine. Mystics for all ages have described a form of knowing God that is subjective, individual and transformative. Explore the mystical heart of religion with us for the next three Sundays.
Join Dr. Jim Keck for line by line exploration of an ancient song that has comforted and focused human beings for over two thousand years - Psalm 23.
Our Gospels portray Jesus' temptation in the wilderness in a way that is very similar to how the Homeric epics depict a hero facing a test of character and battling supernatural forces. These type of stories invite us to imagine that we all undergo a test of character and are engaged in a battle between good and evil. Join Dr. Keck in an exploration of the heroic challenges we all surmount in life.
In management theory, the Peter Principle refers to the tendency of an organization to promote a person to the "level of their incompetence." Although that idea is not actually named after Peter the Apostle, it appears that he was the first historical example of it when he was taken up the mountain of Transfiguration with Jesus and makes a few "mistakes." But Peter's mistakes are at least interesting ones and we can learn from them.
Although most often use the word "decadent" is used to refer to either a super-rich chocolate desert or some form of immorality, Jacques Barzun, the great cultural critic used it as a technical description of a society that fallen into economic stagnation, institutional decay and cultural and intellectual exhaustion even while it is at a high level of material prosperity and technological development." A society becomes "decadent" when things begin to seem futile and we ind ourselves willing to put up with the absurd. Using Moses great sermon to the people of Israel on the plain of Moab, Dr. Keck will encourage us to choose something better in our cultural, religious and personal lives than the decadence that seems to surround us.
Imagine if the only surviving stories about Jesus were the ones that told tales of him sharing a meal. What sort of person would come into view if all we had were Jesus' dinner conversations, guest lists, and public opinion about these meals? Let's find out. Join Pastor Patrick as we journey through the gospel of Luke by visiting each and every dinner table that Jesus visits. It may just be the case that the very heart of Jesus' convictions and mission will come into focus in a breathtaking way. For these next few weeks, let's dine with Jesus.
In some basic way we must all say "Yes" to life itself. Our fullness and flourishing can only flow from this essential affirmation. While many of us do not say "no" exactly, we never quite seize the power of YES to life's possibilities. This weekend Dr. Keck will explore the great miracle Jesus performed of turning water into wine. Jesus lived in a time and place that already had a very specific God of wine - Dionysius. Clearly, in this miracle Jesus is purposely portraying himself as even greater than Dionysius. It was Dionysius that represented to the Greeks an emotionally intense and full-throated YES to the joy of living. Jesus' miracle is trying to teach us the power of that ultimate affirmation.
Krister Stendahl, the Lutheran Bishop of Stockholm and Harvard Professor, taught that Christians should cultivate a "holy envy" for what you admire in other religions and wish you could make part of your own tradition. In this weeks sermon Dr. Keck will follow Stendahl's advice and look at what elements of Buddhism, Judaism, Islam and Hinduism could enhance our own Christian tradition.
The very first words Jesus speaks to his disciples are "What are you looking for?" But they seem unable to answer that question. Every human being is on their own quest and yet we may not be able to define exactly our goal. Christianity is less a set of answers than it is an encouragement to keep searching. And if there were not fellow travelers upon the journey life would be unbearably difficult. Let's join together this weekend for the infinite quest .
A revival breaks out in the wilderness as John declares that someone filled with heaven's power is coming. All of the sudden, that someone shows up: Jesus of Nazareth. As he wades out to John in the Jordan River, Jesus says to him, "I need you to baptize me." John is shocked. It seems God has a habit of showing up in our midst and saying to us, "I need your help." This Sunday, let's consider just how God might be calling us to baptize Jesus and his mission in our own region.
One of the most exalted titles for Jesus is "Son of God" But amazingly the Gospel pulls a spiritual switcheroo and tells us that we all become Sons and Daughters of God. Join Dr. Keck as he explains that when we exalt Jesus we are actually lifting up the worth and dignity of every human being.
Christmas continues at First-Plymouth! Dr. Keck gives a sermon on the flight of the Holy Family entitled "Up out of Egypt".
Advent is the four weeks of preparation in the church to ready our hearts for the miracle of the incarnation. The sun sets so quickly in winter and the darkness increases, but a new light bursts forth upon our world when the beautiful Christ child is born. This Advent our theme at First-Plymouth is Guide us to Thy Perfect Light . Like the three wise men, we are on a journey together as a church to see the Christ child.
This week Dr. Keck continues his advent sermon series that will help prepare us for the great miracle God will do in Christ. As the church lights each candle of the advent wreath, the sermon will explore Hope, Peace, Love and Joy. This week is the light of Love. Join us these four weeks for the journey to Bethlehem to see the Christ child.
Advent is the four weeks of preparation in the church to ready our hearts for the miracle of the incarnation. The sun sets so quickly in winter and the darkness increases, but a new light bursts forth upon our world when the beautiful Christ child is born.
This Advent our theme at First-Plymouth is Guide us to Thy Perfect Light . Like the three wise men, we are on a journey together as a church to see the Christ child.
This week Dr. Keck continues his advent sermon series that will help prepare us for the great miracle God will do in Christ. As the church lights each candle of the advent wreath, the sermon will explore Hope, Peace, Love and Joy. This week is the light of Peace. Join us these four weeks for the journey to Bethlehem to see the Christ child.
Advent is the four weeks of preparation in the church to ready our hearts for the miracle of the incarnation. The sun sets so quickly in winter and the darkness increases, but a new light bursts forth upon our world when the beautiful Christ child is born. This Advent our theme at First-Plymouth is Guide us to Thy Perfect Light . Like the three wise men, we are on a journey together as a church to see the Christ child.
This week Dr. Keck begins an advent sermon series that will help prepare us for the great miracle God will do in Christ. As the church lights each candle of the advent wreath, the sermon will explore Hope, Peace, Love and Joy. This week is the light of Hope. Join us these four weeks for the journey to Bethlehem to see the Christ child.
Jesus was a charismatic rabbi who taught and gathered followers in first century Palestine. But the word 'Christ" soars beyond that historical context and becomes the wildly metaphysical idea of a universal love that orders all existence. This week Dr Keck will explore he concept of the Cosmic Christ that is found in the first chapter of Colossians
The prodigal son is the parable of modern life. We all head out searching for something - our life's journey - but then realize its not what we expected or what was promised. Perhaps, we discover that the acheivements or endless striving really has a certain emptiness to it, At some point we feel need to return home, but where is our true home? How do we come to our senses like the prodigal son and head back to the goodness that was always there? Join Dr. Keck this weekend for the journey of our lives.
I like to think about the Bible as if it were a stereo. It is the device that plays the wildly mysterious and beautiful song of God. But, this song has a vast array of pitches and sounds that requires the listener to wisely adjust the levels on that stereo. If we always turn down the bass of deep struggle while cranking the treble of victory, the song is distorted. In this sermon series, join Pastor Patrick Messer as he raises the bass tones of the Bible by opening up Lamentations. The result isn't despair, but an encounter with the full-bodied music of heaven that still has the power to create and resurrect life.
Even setting aside all theological and metaphysical claims, Jesus is extraordinary. His life as a person of history is endlessly inspirational. Too often, Christianity and all its trappings obscures the simple and everlastingly fascinating figure of Jesus of Nazareth. For one sermon only, Dr. Jim Keck promises to make no theological claims or religious declarations, but rather simply speak of the amazing personhood of the Galilean.
The French existentialist John Paul Sarte famously wrote that "Hell is other people" He was not a pure misanthrope who thought other people were not worthy of any respect. Rather, he was pointing out that we can feel judged and belittled by other people. Jesus tells a parable about a Pharisee who acts superior to a man praying right next to him which perfectly displays this dynamic. This weekend, Dr. Jim Keck will try to disrupt our endless comparisons and judgements which can make life hell.
Beside the river Jabbok Jacob wrestled with an unidentified opponent till dawn and prevailed over him, and though Jacob sustained a crippling blow, he held on to receive a blessing once he perceived that his assailant was no other than God himself. This weekend Dr. Jim Keck will look at the ways we need to continue to wrestle with God, or at least wrangle with some notions about God.
Every generation since the scientific revolution of the 1600s have wondered if religion is just a vestige of a primitive past and full of nonsensical claims. But religion is something far larger and sweeping than merely a set of truth claims. Religion seems to be an expression of something deep within the human spirit - a longing for that which transcends our mundane reality. Join Dr. Jim Keck for a three part sermon series on Why Religion Matters
In this sermon series about striving for unity in fractured times, Dr. Jim Keck has looked at the political divisiveness of our times, the erosion of our sense of community and now will explore the spiritual experience of oneness. Perhaps the core religious experience is an awareness of being at one with all things. The mystic has a "unitive experience" where she feels connected with the ultimate reality. Join us this weekend as we worship the God in 'whom we live, move and have our being."
This weekend Dr. Jim Keck will examine the enigmatic line by Jesus "Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it." We all have a conception of our lives - who we are and why we are doing what we are doing - and maybe Jesus is suggesting that we become less attached to our conceptions and simply live life with a greater spontaneity and simplicity. See you in church!
This weekend Dr. Jim Keck will examine the enigmatic line by Jesus "Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it." We all have a conception of our lives - who we are and why we are doing what we are doing - and maybe Jesus is suggesting that we become less attached to our conceptions and simply live life with a greater spontaneity and simplicity. See you in church!
Psalm 50 speaks of a mighty, stupendous and judgmental God. This psalm conveys the old school version of God that has been primary in the religious imagination of Humankind. It's a BIG GOD - a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious God that is both awesome and fearful. But our complex and beautiful Christian faith also speaks of far more subtle and sublime God that comes to us in the still, small voice of weakness, suffering and sadness. Dr. Jim Keck will explore the smaller God this weekend at First-Plymouth.
Psalm 50 speaks of a mighty, stupendous and judgmental God. This psalm conveys the old school version of God that has been primary in the religious imagination of Humankind. It's a BIG GOD - a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious God that is both awesome and fearful. But our complex and beautiful Christian faith also speaks of far more subtle and sublime God that comes to us in the still, small voice of weakness, suffering and sadness. Dr. Jim Keck will explore the smaller God this weekend at First-Plymouth.
Deep into the Nebraska summer - Dr. Jim Keck will turn to three scriptures that, if taken seriously, would completely revolutionize how we view religion, reality and politics. Notice I just snuck the word reality in between religion and politics :) These passages would change EVERYTHING. Come find out which three verses are the game-changers!
Deep into the Nebraska summer - Dr. Jim Keck will turn to three scriptures that, if taken seriously, would completely revolutionize how we view religion, reality and politics. Notice I just snuck the word reality in between religion and politics :) These passages would change EVERYTHING. Come find out which three verses are the game-changers!
Have you ever binge-watched a tv show or devoured a book series because the story was so good? You get lost in the plot as the suspense builds to see how it will all come to an end. The book of Acts is a binge-worthy book. It builds and builds with an action-packed journey to Rome as Paul appeals for justice directly to Caesar! Finally, in the last chapter, the apostle arrives in Rome AND... the book ends with Paul's indefinite imprisonment.
Is it the worst ending of all time? Or, is it a powerful portrayal of a kind wisdom we need? Let's talk about it.
Have you ever binge-watched a tv show or devoured a book series because the story was so good? You get lost in the plot as the suspense builds to see how it will all come to an end. The book of Acts is a binge-worthy book. It builds and builds with an action-packed journey to Rome as Paul appeals for justice directly to Caesar! Finally, in the last chapter, the apostle arrives in Rome AND... the book ends with Paul's indefinite imprisonment.
Is it the worst ending of all time? Or, is it a powerful portrayal of a kind wisdom we need? Let's talk about it.
Now, here's a story! A threatened king kills off a rebel who has been stirring up trouble. To the king's surprise, that execution sparks a rise in his approval ratings. Emboldened, the king arrests the the top dog of this rebellion and throws him in chains. His power seems unstoppable. Until it's thwarted by an angelic jailbreak. This Sunday, join Pastor Patrick in taking watching what happens when violent tyranny and heaven collide right in the middle of our lives.
Now, here's a story! A threatened king kills off a rebel who has been stirring up trouble. To the king's surprise, that execution sparks a rise in his approval ratings. Emboldened, the king arrests the the top dog of this rebellion and throws him in chains. His power seems unstoppable. Until it's thwarted by an angelic jailbreak. This Sunday, join Pastor Patrick in taking watching what happens when violent tyranny and heaven collide right in the middle of our lives.
This great song was originally in Swedish, then moved into the German and Russian languages and somehow kept its power and greatness as it was translated into English. We will let our souls sing in awesome wonder at this special worship service. Dr. Keck will preach a sermon on this splendid hymn and musicians Erin-Ann Scott and Ariel Merivil will deliver a deeply affecting rendition of "How Great Thou Art."
Buddhism is one of the great religions of the world, but many Christians know very little about it. With only about 1 percent of Americans being Buddhist many of us never rub elbows with this fascinating view of life. Dr. Keck will explore the idea that understanding the depth and power of another religion can strengthen ones own Christian faith.
It has been 50 years since the uprising at the Stonewall Inn. On June 28, 1969, a brutal police raid of this gay bar sparked a spontaneous act of resistance that birthed a new movement of pride and human rights. Celebrate the spirit of this movement while tracing that same Spirit back to a watershed movement in the Bible - the movement the Spirit anoints the queering of gender and sexual norms.
We live in contentious times. Everyone seems to have a strong opinion, a soapbox, and skin too thin to hear anything different. With such combativeness in the air, it might seem like the most Christian thing to do is to hold our tongues, smile wide, and keep the peace.
But, the Jesus movement was much more than a commitment to be neutral and nice. It was a movement compelled by love that was bold, vocal, and visible. This Sunday, let's take a closer look at the early shockwaves of that movement so we can see how those same shockwaves of love are coursing our world.
There is a remarkable passage in Proverbs where cosmic wisdom is personified in the form of a woman. Although Christianity has been very lopsided in imagining the divine as primarily male, this part of our Bible gives a creative opportunity to bring the feminine into our concept of the divine.
At the end of this scripture it says that wisdom knows to take "delight in the human race." Dr. Jim Keck's sermon this week will lift up some of the delightful aspects of our humanity.
Pentecost - the day the Holy Spirit came upon the believers in Jerusalem - is often called the "birthday of the Christian Church." But some scholars believe the church did not really begin until much later, and that is was unclear that Christianity was not simply another form of Judaism for almost three centuries! Dr. Jim Keck will be our tour guide through the early history of the church and the incredible movement of the Holy Spirit through the ages.
The Bible is filled with profound moments. But, there are a select few that are complete game changers. This Sunday, let's courageously step into one of those game changing moments. It is a moment in which an ancient and robust way of conceiving the profane/unclean/unholy/sinful...CHANGES. God was the change agent in that moment. God still is in our moment.
Dorcas (or Tabitha) was a disciple in Joppa renown for her acts of caring and charity for widows and others in need. This loving woman has died and is surrounded by those remembering her acts of love and grieving the loss of such a wonderful person. Peter walks in and then unfolds a basic Gospel truth: Love never ends.
The Letter to the Hebrews uses the metaphor of running to describe the life of faith. This weekend is the Lincoln Marathon and Dr. Jim Keck will explore the delightful nature of "non-competitive competition" in a local marathon where only the elite runners try to "win" everyone else is competing to bring out the best in themselves and support others.
On Easter we celebrate that Christ was risen. But it also begins the rise of the Christian faith itself, and there are many surprising factors involved in how Christianity became the worlds largest religion. Join Dr. Jim Keck for an adventurous description of this amazing process.
Beginning with a solemn procession, the promise of the Easter story is shared in a hope-filled scripture and an inspiring sermon, accompanied by the holy strains of the Plymouth Choir and orchestra.
This ancient and sacred service leads us from the darkness of death to the light of the empty tomb. Come experience the drama of the resurrection unfold.
On Palm Sunday the church celebrates the moment Jesus enters Jerusalem riding upon a donkey. This has rightly been understood as the perfect display of the deep humility of the Christ. Kings and mighty warriors would ride in on a tall stallion. But our humble Lord comes to us in gentle and peaceable ways that seek the good of the other. Join Dr. Jim Keck this week for an exploration of the power of humility.
When we open the Bible to a book like 1 Corinthians, we often read it as Scripture addressed to the global church. But, in actuality we are reading someone else's mail. This Sunday, let's get nosy and find out just what sort of drama has seized First Church of Corinth. As we snoop around this letter, don't be surprised if Paul's imagination of what they can be transforms our imagination of what we can be.
Dylan Kitchen shares how walking with God is always full of new possibilities and beginnings. Dylan Kitchen serves as First-Plymouth's Youth Director for our High School Ministry.
Kelly Tyrrell shares how walking with God is always full of new possibilities and beginnings. Kelly Tyrrell is a seminarian in residence at First-Plymouth.
Tom Trenney shares his heartfelt personal calling to music ministry and invites us all to consider how we can offer our very selves to become instruments of God's love, both as worshipers in the church and as servants in the world.
During this Lenten series based on the great song, Dr. Jim Keck will be looking at the ways we can come alongside Jesus more closely during the great walk that is our lives. This week we will walk alongside Jesus as he overcomes the diabolos in the desert and faithfully keeps to his own path. Join us this Lent at First-Plymouth for a closer walk.
The human face has a quality beyond easy description. It seems to display the soul to the world. "The face is an instrument of meaning and mediates between self and other" as one philosopher put it. It appears that no other animal relates face to face in the same manner of human beings Using the stories of how the faces of both Moses and Jesus shone after a divine encounter, Dr. Jim Keck explores how every persons face can light up when joy meets purpose.
Although Joseph's reputation has been at least slightly besmirched by the fact he has been played by Donny Osmond in a semi-bad rendition of the Technicolor Coat, he is actually one of the most psychologically complex figures in the Bible. And he shows a remarkable ability to grow and mature. Maybe we can learn from his journey in regards to our own hopes for full actualization.
Trust is an essential aspect of our human lives. Without a basic level of trust, our personal relationships, economy and society would fall apart. But it seems that trust in our institutions and leaders is eroding. Scripture calls for us to trust in God, but is even that much harder today?
One of the most delightful miracles in the Gospel takes place when after a long night of fishing and catching nothing, Peter is told by Jesus to lower his nets one more time and he brings in a massive haul of fish. Is this just another fish story? Or are there also some important spiritual insights that can be caught as well?
Our lives are mostly lived on the level of daily responsibilities and tasks, mixed with a measure of fun and entertainment. But our soul longs for something beyond the day-to-day utilitarian nature of our existence. Our soul needs to know there is SOMETHING MORE to life. The Psalms speak to this eternal yearning for connection with a higher purpose.
In the fourth chapter of Luke Jesus sums up his whole mission in two sentences. This is the best "elevator speech" of all time. Then he goes on to preach the shortest sermon ever by adding one more sentence. You can fit a lot in a nutshell. Dr. Jim Keck will offer his own one sentence sermon on Sunday (If you believe that, we have some swampland in Florida for purchase.)
In one of the last sermons he ever preached, Martin Luther King Jr. claimed that the basic impulse of all humanity is the desire to be important and surpass others. Dr. King praised our desire for distinction so long as it fit Jesus' paradigm of greatness: humble, non-violent, and unrelenting love. Honor the legacy of MLK by hearing anew Jesus' call to dethrone our desire for significance so we might enthrone our desire to serve one another no matter what the cost.
Jesus was baptized in the river Jordan but we can forget there were a lot of other people in the river being baptized at the same time. It was a communal movement that was underway. "Church" is a communal movement and the moment of Jesus' baptism gives us some wonderful clues about the nature of that movement today.
Along with Easter and Christmas, Epiphany is one of the three oldest, and principal festivals of the Christian church. This day commemorates the first manifestation of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles represented by the Magi. Each of us must personally recapitulate this great festival by experiencing a light of recognition or an insight into the meaning of Christ. Come, let us seek the light together.
The second chapter of Luke is our one biblical view into the childhood of Jesus. He is in the temple seeking to learn from his elders and grow in wisdom. Are you actively seeking to grow in wisdom? Or are you only accumulating information? Join Dr. Keck and lean into 2019 with a desire for greater wisdom.
Is this a Success Story? (If it is, I think I would prefer failure)
We live in a "success o holic" culture and the thought of failure terrifies us. Dr. Jim Keck will explore the surprising aspects of the birth of Jesus that might push us to see 'failures" in new and spiritual ways.
The angels in the Bible often begin their communication by saying "Fear not." It's as if the first duty on the job description of an angel is to calm us down a bit. We will try to listen for the whispers of angels this week at First-Plymouth as we explore how how fears and anxieties prevent us from a more angelic way of life.
Advent begins as the sun sets with a sudden haste and the bleak night's darkness loiters into the next day. In these short, cold days we are asked to hold on with an expectation that God will do a new thing and our true Light will emerge. In the first Advent sermon Dr. Jim Keck will ask us to look at life itself with a vivid anticipation of emerging newness.
In 1922, Pope Pious became alarmed at the rising class division and rampant nationalism sweeping the world. Although World War One had ended, there were already storm clouds brewing for future violence. He declared it was time for a "Kingship of Christ" which would make love the ruler of our hearts. This week is Christ the King Sunday and we will imagine together what the world would look like if love reigns.
onah is told by God to go to Ninevah, but he hops on a boat to Tarshish which is the exact opposite direction. Abraham Maslow, the great psychologist, believed that people have a tendency to run away from their own greatness and he labeled this the "Jonah Complex." People, nations and institutions can turn away from their true destiny and fail to live up to their true calling. Join Dr. Keck for an exploration of the Jonah Complex.
Jonah is told by God to go to Ninevah, but he hops on a boat to Tarshish which is the exact opposite direction. Abraham Maslow, the great psychologist, believed that people have a tendency to run away from their own greatness and he labeled this the "Jonah Complex." People, nations and institutions can turn away from their true destiny and fail to live up to their true calling. Join Dr. Keck for an exploration of the Jonah Complex.
Prayer is tough. The whole idea is that we can converse with God. WITH GOD! But, if I am really talking to the creator of the universe, what am I supposed to say? The temptation is to say churchy thing with stained glass voices. But, deep inside that doesn't feel right. So, just how do I learn the language of prayer? Meet the Psalms.
Using the miraculous and poignant scene of Elijah and the widow in 1st Kings 17, Dr. Keck's sermon will play with the different resonances of the word 'Enough." We have enough, we are enough and we have had enough!...nuff said.
Using the miraculous and poignant scene of Elijah and the widow in 1st Kings 17, Dr. Keck's sermon will play with the different resonances of the word 'Enough." We have enough, we are enough and we have had enough!...nuff said.
Fear...is a dark and powerful force that has possessed hearts and minds for millennia. Good and loving people can be manipulated by fear and exploited by those who weaponize it. You see it in our elections, foreign policies, economic, theologies and relationships. But, here is the good news! Jesus set out on a mission to exorcise the demon of fear from our world. And get this! Jesus has called and empowered us to do the same in our day. Are you ready to be an exorcist?
Another Halloween is over and very few people dressed up as old school monsters like Frankenstein or vampires. There is a new crop of ghouls and silly costumes. But these classic monsters remain the best symbols of some of our deepest fears. This weekend we will explore how the anxieties that haunt us can be unmasked and turned into opportunities for growth.
Get swept up in an ancient form of worship. For more than 1300 years the church has dedicated a specific day to remembering martyrs and loved ones who have dies. It is a chance to be together in community and name those we've lost. It is also a chance to be reminded of the deep mystery that in God's creation, death gets swallowed up by Life.
Preachers usually preach about what they believe, but this week Dr. Jim Keck will flip it and share what he does NOT believe. Fact is, not every belief expounded by Christians is Godly and salutary and religion can become weighed down with dubious elements.. Time to get real.
In order to describe what love is Paul tell the Corinthians what live is not. If we are rude, resentful, insistent on our own way, hold grudges from long ago, the ancient preacher says our capacity for love diminishes. Let's have some real talk about the forces that weaken the love in our heart AND how to deepen our well of love so that they never run out. In order to describe what love is Paul tells the Corinthians what love is not.
Like a fencer that announces "En Guarde" we often imagine we must be ready to defend ourselves and act as if life is a competitive match we must "win." But what if we had the courage to simply and calmly display our true selves and live life with a greater simplicity and authenticity? Using the beloved story of Zacchaeus in the Gospel of Luke, Dr. Jim Keck will urge us all to "go out on a limb" and live an unguarded life.
Let me tell you a story about a women who was sexually assaulted by a man with great political power. As a victim forced to live with her abuser, she is threatened, yet again, by a different man in power. Now, she faces an impossible decision. Do I protect what little security I have left and remain silent? Or, do I risk everything and come forward to name the man who has become my living nightmare?
This fall First-Plymouth will begin a special spiritual focus on COURAGE. The ancients considered it the virtue that undergirded all virtues because it takes courage to act upon ones convictions. Without courage no virtue would ever be manifested. Dr. Jim Keck will launch the years theme with a two-part sermon series on the theological classic "The Courage to Be" by Paul Tillich.
Courage. What is it? What has it looked like? What can it look like? How can it show up in me? The time is ripe to explore these questions. This Sunday, join Pastor Patrick Messer as he kicks off a 3 part sermon series about cultivating the courage needed for our time. In Part 1, we'll look at courageous resistance in the stories of the prophet Daniel and Colin Kaepernick. Yeah, we're going there.
Let me introduce you to a refugee. This beautiful human being is a brilliant visionary and courageous preacher. He is a prophet in exile. Meet Ezekiel. Join me as we look at the human heart through this prophet's eyes. Can the "hearts of Stone" that inflict such damaged soften into hearts of flesh?
How do you imagine the temptation of Jesus? Is it the story of a triumphal stand against the villain's pitiful attempts to derail our hero? Or is it the story of a vulnerable Messiah being so afflicted with kryptonite of the heart he nearly capitulates? This Sunday, join Pastor Patrick Messer as we take a fresh look at the forces that can push faith to the very edge... and how we can draw from the deep wells of strength that sustained Jesus in the wilderness.
Jay Wilkinson is the founder and CEO of Firespring - Nebraska's first Certified B Corporation. In 2016, Firespring was featured in Inc. Magazine as one of the topic 50 Places to Work in America. A graduate of MIT's Entrepreneurial Masters Program, Jay is zealous supporter and advocate of the Nebraska startup ecosystem and spends half of his time helping nonprofit organizations leverage their mission and deepen their impact.
How are women viewed in the Bible? What stories does the Bible contain about women? Explore the books of Ruth & Esther; discuss how Paul and Jesus interacted with women; and encounter an early Christian woman named Thecla, who became a famous apostle.
Part 3 of "The Real Jesus: The Radical Truth of the Historical Figure" sermon series presented by Pastor Jim Keck.
Part 2 of "The Real Jesus: The Radical Truth of the Historical Figure" sermon series presented by Pastor Jim Keck.
Part 1 of "The Real Jesus: The Radical Truth of the Historical Figure" sermon series presented by Pastor Jim Keck.
Pastor Jacob reprised last year's sermon series "15 Minutes with the World's Greatest Minds."
Pastor Jacob reprised last year's sermon series "15 Minutes with the World's Greatest Minds."
Pastor Jacob reprised last year's sermon series "15 Minutes with the World's Greatest Minds."
Pastor Jacob reprised last year's sermon series "15 Minutes with the World's Greatest Minds."
Pastor Jacob reprised last year's sermon series "15 Minutes with the World's Greatest Minds."
Week 3 of Pastor Jacob's Sermon Series, "What If"
"What If..." So much of what we believe and do is shaped by pivotal moments in Biblical and Christian history. But what if they had never happened?