Audios and videos of sermons and worship available on the FCPC website.
Monday, January 10, 2022
Sermon video: Beloved Children
Sermon: Beloved Children
Luke 3:15-22
Beloved Children
James Sledge January
9, 2022
Baptism of Jesus, Lorenzo Scott, 1987 from Art in the Christian Tradition,
It’s John the Baptist again. We heard from
him before Christmas, yelling for people to repent, to bear fruit worthy of
repentance, to stop thinking that their religious affiliation or heritage would
somehow suffice. And his voice echoes again post-Christmas. He’s still yelling
about how something big is upon us, and we’d better get ready.
a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library
As we catch the last echoes of John’s voice, we hear warnings of impending judgment. One is coming who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Or perhaps John says the one coming would baptize with a holy wind and with fire. It’s not possible to say with absolute certainty because the word Luke writes can mean either wind or spirit. But for Luke, wind and fire both go with the Holy Spirit as he makes clear when he tells the story of the disciples receiving the Spirit at Pentecost.
Wind and fire, the Holy Spirit, the wheat separated from the chaff; the images are more than a little disturbing. The Messiah is coming, a new age is dawning, and new day when the Spirit will be poured out, when a divine wind will turn things upside down. “Get ready!” says John.
Then the echoes die away, and John is gone. His warning still reverberates, but he is no longer there. That’s quite literally the case in Luke’s gospel. Luke pushes John off the stage so that Jesus can stand there. John has prepared the way for the one who is more powerful. Now that one is here and John steps aside. Luke goes so far as to report John’s arrest before he mentions Jesus’ baptism.
And so as the echoes of John’s voice fade away, we move to the baptism of Jesus. Well, not really. Luke tells us nothing of the baptism itself. With John safely offstage, Luke places Jesus there, but it is after he has been baptized. There is no river Jordan; there is no water; there is no John. There is simply Jesus praying. Whether other people are still there, Luke does not say. And then the heaven is opened, a sign of what John had been saying. A new day is indeed dawning. The last days are arriving. Judgment is drawing near. The Holy Spirit physically and tangibly, in a form that looks like a dove, comes down onto Jesus. And God says to Jesus. “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
Wednesday, January 5, 2022
Sermon: Becoming Children
John 1:1-18
Becoming Children
James Sledge January
2, 2022
Birth
of Jesus, Benedictine monks, late
1800s
The Presbyterian Book of Order is the butt of a lot of jokes, and not without some
cause. It the rather cumbersome and unwieldy book of rules that governs our
denomination, and there is almost nothing that happens in churches or the
larger denomination that isn’t addressed somewhere in this book.
Basilica of the Immaculate Conception,
Conception, Mo.
But along with a plethora of rules and regulations, there are some beautiful theological statements about our faith and our understanding of what it means to follow Jesus. In its opening chapter, the Book of Order has a section entitled, “The Great Ends of the Church.” It lists six primary purposes for which the Church exists. The first speaks of proclaiming the gospel for the salvation of humanity, and the second is this: “the shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God.”
I always discuss the Great Ends of the Church whenever I do training for newly elected elders and deacons. And I don’t think there has ever been a time when at least one person didn’t look surprised to hear that “children of God” does not refer to all humanity. It is speaking of those who are part of the Church, not the Presbyterian Church or any other particular church, but members of the Christian faith.
People are startled to hear this more exclusive meaning because we are used to thinking of children of God as a synonym for humans. Somewhere along the way we have developed the idea that we are children of God naturally by birth.
Tuesday, December 28, 2021
Monday, December 20, 2021
Sermon video: Saying "Yes" to the Impossible
Audios and videos of sermons and worship available on the FCPC website.
Sermon: Saying "Yes" to the Impossible
Luke 1:26-55
Saying “Yes” to
the Impossible
James Sledge December
19, 2021 – Advent 4
The Annunciation
12th century Russian icon
There is
a scene in Lewis Carroll’s Through the
Looking Glass where Alice is speaking with the white queen. Alice has just
learned that the queen lives backwards, remembering things before they happen.
In the course of this conversation Alice becomes a bit bewildered and begins to
cry. During the queen’s efforts to cheer her up, she asks Alice how old she is.
“I'm seven and a half, exactly.”
“You needn't say "exactly",” the Queen remarked. “I can believe it without that. Now I'll give you something to believe. I'm just one hundred and one, five months and a day.”
“I can't believe that!” said Alice.
“Can't you?” the Queen said in a pitying tone. “Try again: draw a long breath, and shut your eyes.”
Alice laughed. “There's no use trying,” she said. “One can't believe impossible things.”
“I daresay you haven't had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”
Christians should surely know about believing impossible things. After all we speak casually of Jesus turning water into wine, and we say that he died and rose again on the third day. And of course there is that line in “The Apostles’ Creed” that says Jesus “was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary.”
Monday, December 13, 2021
Sermon: Getting Ready
Luke 3:7-18
Getting Ready
James Sledge December
12, 2021, Advent 3
JESUS MAFA. John the Baptist Preaching in the Desert,
We’re nearly to the middle of December, so
I suspect that most of you are well into your preparations for Christmas.
Perhaps you’re completely done by now. So what does getting ready for Christmas
look like at your house?
a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library
We’ve had our tree up for a couple of weeks now, and it even has a few presents under it. We also put lights on the shrubbery in front of our house. That’s a lot of work, and so they’ve only been up for a week or so. At our house, Shawn has to do a certain amount of baking in preparation for Christmas. It just isn’t the holidays without fudge and other goodies.
There are lots of different ways to get ready for Christmas. For some, a daily Advent devotional helps mark the time on the way to Christmas. For others, it just isn’t the season if there isn’t Christmas music playing. And then there are those for whom the season doesn’t truly begin until they see the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life or watch Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
I know there are people for whom Christmas is just another day, but for many, Christmas is one of the most special times of the year, and that requires a certain amount of preparation. Without it, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas. I know that many of us felt like something was missing last year when we couldn’t gather for our traditional Christmas Eve services.
Our scripture reading this morning is about getting ready, about preparing. John is the one who has come to prepare the way of the Lord, and this preparation is connected to repentance. John offers a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, and lots of people come out into the wilderness to see him.
Tuesday, December 7, 2021
Sermon video for Advent 2: Cynicism and Hope
Audios and videos of sermons and worship available on the FCPC website.
Sermon video for Advent 1: Rhythms and Patterns
Audios and videos of sermons and worship available on the FCPC website.
Sermon for Advent 2: Cynicism and Hope
Luke 1:5-25
Cynicism and Hope
James Sledge December
5, 2021, Advent 2
Annunciation
to Zechariah
The problem of racism may well be the most
persistent and intractable one in American history. It has proved to be
remarkably resilient and adaptive. Many hoped that the Civil Rights movement of
the 1950s and 60s would deal a death blow to racism. But while many forms of
discrimination were outlawed, racism remained woven into our culture. The
killings of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Breonna Taylor, George
Floyd, and more have revealed over and over again how Black lives have less
value in our society than do white lives.
Ethiopic Bible Illumination,
British Library, ca. 1700
Black Lives Matter began as a hashtag in response to George Zimmerman’s acquittal for killing Trayvon Martin, took shape as a movement following Michael Brown and Eric Garner’s killings, and emerged as a powerful force in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.
Estimates are that somewhere between 15 and 26 million Americans took part in Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, making it one of the largest movements in American history. There seemed to be tremendous momentum for addressing systemic racism in our criminal justice system and society at large. Our own congregation repeatedly held Saturday, Silent Witness demonstrations supporting reforms. Elders offering the prayers of the people during Sunday worship repeatedly appealed to God to assist us in this work.
But more recently, fears over crime have blunted calls for police reform. Parents have objected loudly to diversity efforts in local school systems. Critical Race Theory has become a rallying cry for those who fear a hard look at the impact of racism in this country. And even though confession and repentance are bedrock parts of Christian faith, there is a large contingent of conservative Christians whose objections to racial diversity efforts are seen as articles of their faith. And while the recent Ahmaud Arbery verdict might seem to be a ray of hope, the sad fact is that without that video, there would never have even been a trial.
It is all more than a little disheartening. And if it is disheartening to me, I can only imagine how it must feel for Black leaders who have been on the forefront of racial justice efforts for decades. They must be beyond tired. Will the day ever come?
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