First Presbyterian Church Hammond Podcast

When the Angel Gabriel comes to Mary to tell her that she will give birth to the Messiah (Luke 1:26-55) it disrupts here life--and all of ours. This week we look at how disruptions can be a good thing (or maybe a God-thing) which is good news in this year of many disruptions!

Isaiah tells us that as God restores the people of Isreal, they will be called "Oaks of Righteouness" but what does that mean? What does it mean to be rigteousness?

This week's worship service was held outside so enjoy some of the sounds of nature. We recommend listening to this one outside so you can look around at the trees while you listen like we did in the outdoor service.

This week we look at why Daniel stayed in Persia after the exiles went home and even after he was thrown into the lion's den (Daniel 6:1-27) and what it means for us as we seek to be faithful wherever we are.

The call of the Prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-8) happens in chapter six of the book of Isaiah--five chapters into him doing the job! This is a powerful reminder to us that God has been working us to prepare us for service long before we ever knew.

This week we hear as the prophet Jeremiah assures a demoralized people that the cycles of death and sin can be broken and that God is doing a new thing (Jeremiah 31:27-34). What cycles are you hoping will be broken? What new thing are you hoping God will do in your life?

When Elijah asks a widow to give him water and food during a drought (1 Kings 17:1-16) she had a difficult decision to make. Would she show hospitality and starve? Would she perserve her own life and let him go hungry? Through faith God presented a third way. How can faith help you find a new way to make room for others this week?

The book of Judges ends with "In those days there was no king in Israel and men did what was right in their own eyes" (Judges 21:25). What was "right in their own eyes" was far from right. Fortunately God had a plan for a more peaceable kingdom and worked through Hannah to show it to us (1 Samuel 1:1-20 & 2:1-10).

On this World Communion Sunday we consider the roots of this practice in the observance of Passover (Exodus 12:1-17) and how ritual has the power to connect and transform us.

This week we turn to the story of Joseph and his brothers (Genesis 37-50!) and ask the question, "How can God's promised be fulfilled when the children of the covenant act like this?" If you're wondering the same thing about the Church today there is a bit of good news...

The scripture reading got cut off from the start of this recording so we recommend reading Genesis 37 before listening. Genesis 50:15-21 is read as part of the recorded sermon.

So often we tell the simple, streamlined versions of events. The problem is, live is complicated. Today we look at how Abraham and Sarah's story (Genesis 15-17) is more complicated than we usually acknowledge and why that is actually good news.