Richmond's First Baptist Church

Dr. Bobby-Hulme Lippert's sermon from the Gathering @five, Sunday, February 10, 2019.

Jim Somerville: "I've been preaching for nearly a third of a century now, and I work hard at it. I spend an average of twenty hours a week getting ready to step into this pulpit. I have preached thousands of sermons. And yet, what good has it done...?"

Dr. F. Scott Spencer's sermon from the Gathering @five, Sunday, February 3, 2019.

Jim Somerville: "When Jeremiah opened his mouth to speak, the words that came out were God's words. What we would post on Facebook if God did the same for us? What would we tweet if our words were his? If every Christian and every church were posting and tweeting those words, where would be as a nation...?"

Josie Carver's homily from the Service for Prayer and Healing, Sunday, January 27, 2019.

Jim Somerville: "I wonder if that's what we are truly hungry for in this country: the truth. Have we been hearing fake news for so long now, from both sides, that we simply don't know what to believe anymore? Are we straining our ears to hear words that ring true...?"

Phillip W. Martin, Senior Pastor of Epiphany Lutheran Church, speaks at the Gathering at Five on Sunday, January 20, 2019.

Jim Somerville: "I may be way off base here, but I wonder if the division in our nation could be traced back to something as simple as the 'Like' button on Facebook..."

Jim Somerville: "When I was dreaming up this series, I was thinking about the deep division between Republicans and Democrats in this country and what that division has done to us. We are not 'one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.' We are two armies, engaged in fierce battle. We will not rest until the other side has been eliminated. In a time like this, we need Jesus..."

Jim Somerville: "Today I want to begin a new series called 'Hopes and Fears'. I want to look at where the nation of Israel was when it began to fear for its future and hope for a savior and then compare it with where we are as a nation. I think there are some parallels there -- some striking parallels..."