Sermon: "130 Years by the Grace of God", Isaiah 43:11-13, 18-21/Matthew 28:16-20 (October 27, 2019)

(A sermon preached on the occasion of Reformation Sunday and the 130th anniversary of Presbyterians establishing a presence in Caldwell, ID)

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130 years of Presbyterians in Caldwell. That’s an awfully long time. That’s almost four times as long as I’ve been alive. Now, that also means that there’ve been 130 years’ worth of Presbyterian sermons in Caldwell, so I’ll do my best not to add too much time to the clock today. Besides, I’m inclined to let the stories speak for themselves.

Sermon: "Of Saints and Seedlings", Jeremiah 31:27-34/2 Timothy 3:14-4:5 (October 20, 2019)

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Okay; don’t tell anyone, but I have a problem with scripture.

Well, that’s not entirely accurate. What I actually have a problem with is a particular scripture-related metaphor. In Luke 8, Jesus tells the parable of the sower (which our kids presented beautifully a couple of weeks ago) and then, in a rare move, he explains what the parable means so that there can be no confusion: the seeds that the farmer sows represent the Word of God, and the different types of soil that they land in represent our potential attitudes when we hear the Gospel. In other words, how we receive the Good News determines whether or not it’s able to take root in our hearts.