07 Mar

Posted at 11:38h in Reverend Reflections by

Hello First Presbyterian Church, One of the cherished characteristics of Presbyterianism is something called “connectionalism.” Attend a meeting of Presbytery or General Assembly and you are almost guaranteed to hear someone mention their love for the fact that we are a “connectional” church. It is one...

08 Feb

Posted at 08:00h in Reverend Reflections by

Hello First Presbyterian Church, Since I informed you one month ago of my coming resignation at the end of May, this is my first formal opportunity to write to you. Typically my Reverend Reflections are a reflection upon Scripture, but this month I have been reflecting...

11 Jan

Posted at 06:00h in Reverend Reflections by

Hello First Presbyterian Church, Recently I was re-reading the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4 and it struck me that in Cain’s famous rhetorical question he reveals the loss of obligation and responsibility for others that comes with humanity’s fall from a state of...

07 Dec

Posted at 06:00h in Reverend Reflections by

Hello First Presbyterian Church, In the gospel story John the Baptist plays the role of the “forerunner” for Jesus. In ancient times a forerunner was a person who accompanied a royal figure on a journey and ran ahead of them whenever they were approaching a city...

01 Nov

Posted at 12:41h in Reverend Reflections by

Hello First Presbyterian Church, After the confession of sin, assurance of pardon and passing of the peace every Sunday we sing what is called the Gloria Patri, which simply means “Glory to the Father” in Latin. It is called that because that is the first line...

12 Oct

Posted at 00:00h in Reverend Reflections by

Hello First Presbyterian Church, In our vision statement we have specified that over the next five years we will cultivate an awareness of God’s presence in our lives through a renewed engagement in the spiritual discipline of prayer. I have been thinking about this recently and...

06 Sep

Posted at 10:58h in Reverend Reflections by

Hello First Presbyterian Church, I recently was invited to preach at one of Sager Classical Academy’s first chapel services in the sanctuary at First Presbyterian Church. Christine Norvell, the Dean of the Upper School, asked me to weave some of the historical background of the church...

10 Aug

Posted at 10:54h in Reverend Reflections by

Hello First Presbyterian Church,On Sunday, August 14, we will be holding a congregational meeting to discuss a variety of topics. I do hope that you will plan to stay. Childcare will be provided in the nursery, for the littlest ones, and in the gym, for...

05 Jul

Posted at 23:00h in Reverend Reflections by

Hello First Presbyterian Church, From June 21-24, the 42nd meeting of the General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) met at Ward Church located outside of Detroit, MI. The General Assembly is our national denominational meeting held every year. Churches across the country send elders...

01 Jun

Posted at 01:00h in Reverend Reflections by

Hello First Presbyterian Church, We say the Lord’s Prayer together every Sunday and hopefully you are saying it daily on your own during the week. It is the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples to pray when they asked for help in that department. It is,...