Category: Sermons

Genesis 18:1-15; 21:1-7

It is a great turn-around story.  Mt. Paran was a Presbyterian church shriveling up after almost 290 years of Christian witness in the same community.  Fewer people in worship on Sundays than the number of disciples around the table with Jesus.  An 11 acre tract of land to care for and two aging buildings needing major attention.  In 2004, Ruling Elder Ed Terry, previously a member of Hunting Ridge, was commissioned by the Presbytery to minister to this withering church.  The Presbytery was recommending that the doors be closed due to an inability to keep up with the costs to operate a church.  God had a different plan.  God, who specializes in the impossible, has transformed this church.  Continue reading “Sermon: “The Promise of Laughter”” →

Matthew 6:5-8; 7:7-11    Aug. 23, 2015

Have you ever unpacked a suitcase when you came home from a trip and realized you had not worn some of the items you packed?  Sometimes we take more than we need and all we have done is carry around extra weight.  Unfortunately, we all carry around weight that we do not need.  I don’t mean any extra pounds on our body, but the weight of a troubled past or conflicts that we can’t seem to let go of, sadness or grief that doesn’t go away, fears of the future, even the argument from yesterday.  Indeed, we carry things that are not necessary, things that only weigh us down, slow us down, keep us from being and doing what God intends for us.  What would our lives be like if we only packed what we are going to use?  Continue reading “Sermon: What’s In Your Backpack?: Prayer” →