First Presbyterian Church of Evanston Sermon of the Week

Our faces are different but we each carry the redemptive mark of Jesus. 
The church in Jerusalem started with a multiracial, multilingual identity. They were not bound together by race, language or gender. The message of Jesus and the power of his Spirit transcended their racial or ethnic origins. In keeping with MLK’s birthday and his vision of a Beloved Community, we will celebrate Christ as the center of our fellowship.

Before any healthy relation is possible, one needs to have a healthy relationship with creator God. The 16th century reformer, John Calvin was correct when he said, “ it is evident that man never attains to a true self-knowledge until he has previously contemplated the face of God, and come down after such contemplation to look into himself.”

John reminds the church that failure to see one’s own sin is the height of self-deception. This failure is often called a blind spot--the inability to see oneself, while at the same time having perfect line of sight on the weaknesses and flaws of others. A healthy sense of self involves looking into the mirror.

On this Sunday where the Lord’s Supper is celebrated, we have the opportunity to reflect on the tangible love Christ demonstrated for all--even his enemies. How might his love teach us how to love one another?

The word fellowship has been debased to coffee and cookies. Paul helps the church understand that Christian fellowship is really partnership in the gospel. In other words, the church was encouraged to commit themselves to do everything in their power to advance the gospel. They did this through their prayers, their money, and their witness.

Paul tells believers that their attitude should be the same as that of Christ, who made himself nothing and adopted the role of a humble, suffering, servant. What implications might this have for us? What does the cross achieve? Why does it occupy so central a place in the minds of the New Testament writers?

In our relationships with those outside the church and inside the church, believers are urged to live a life worthy/ or to conduct one’s life in such a way that emulates Christ and his death. Such conduct is marked by unity (1:27); suffering (1:29); charity (2:1).

Even before words are spoken, praying for people is the medium that allows us to stand next to those we love. It is very difficult to care for people and their spiritual welfare and not pray for them.

One of the ways Jesus showed love to people was by listening not just to their words, but also to their hurts. He illustrates this most effectively in his conversation with Nicodemus.

All Christians have an important decision to make: do they wait for people to come to them and their churches, or do they go and engage with people where they are, and as they are? Jesus took the latter approach by spending time with those whom the religious leaders considered outcasts.