Category: FPC Rolla

Preached at First Presbyterian Church of Rolla. Based on Acts 2:1-11, Romans 8:14-17, and John 14:8-17, 25-27. In Genesis, we read about God interacting directly with certain individuals. Then in Exodus, God speaks with Moses and, through him, creates the nation of Israel. God must have thought their work was done, that they had set…

Preached at First Presbyterian Church of Rolla. Based on Acts 11:1-18 and John 13:31-35. The Old Testament book of Leviticus lays out a number of laws about cleanness and uncleanness. Certain foods are proscribed, like pork and shellfish. There are rules about how you butcher animals. There are rules about leprosy, which was kind of…

Preached at First Presbyterian Church of Rolla on May 1, 2022. Based on Acts 9:1-20 and John 21:1-19. I’d like to start back in the Old Testament, in the early days of Israel as a nation. They had been slaves in Egypt whom God freed. After Moses died, Joshua led them in their conquest of…

Preached at First Presbyterian Church of Rolla on April 3, 2022, the Fifth Sunday in Lent. Based on Philippians 3:4b-14; John 12:1-8. A month or two ago, I was told a story by a pastor in our presbytery. To make a long story short, the basic point was that each preacher basically has one sermon.…

Preached at First Presbyterian Church of Rolla on the Second Sunday in Lent. Based on Luke 13:31-35. Today, we encounter one of the passages that reveals and celebrates the female nature of the divine. In the beginning, God created all people, male and female, in the image of God. So that must mean that God…

Preached at First Presbyterian Church of Rolla on the First Sunday in Lent. Based on Luke 4:1-13. Here we are on the first Sunday in Lent. I want to start by sharing a little bit about Lent for those who don’t know, or as reminders for the rest of us. Lent is a time of…

Preached at First Presbyterian Church of Rolla. Based on Jeremiah 17:5-10 and Luke 6:17-26. For a little over two years, I have used a planner called a Monk Manual. The motivating principle behind it is that monks are some of the happiest and most productive people. Steven Lawson, the creator of the Monk Manual, studied…