Richmond's First Baptist Church

Josie Carver: "It's only normal to want acceptance, to feel included; but that is often what we don't get..."

Jim Somerville: "Welcome to Bible 101! We're trying to ask the question, 'What is the Bible, and why is it so important...?'"

Jim Somerville: "The truth is we don't know why bad things happen to good people, and the suggestions we offer usually aren't very helpful, but to sit with someone who is suffering—to simply sit and share in that person's pain—is often the best thing any of us can do..."

West African missionaries Paul and Faye Burkwall's sermon to the children from Sunday, October 7, 2018.

Jim Somerville: "Today we come to the Book of Esther. Good and faithful Jews share this story every year during the feast of Purim, and they have a lot of fun with it. Sometimes, it sounds something like this..."

Dr. Jim Somerville's sermon to the children from Sunday, September 30, 2018.

Dorothee Marks: "God has a different perspective. Traditional rules are being transformed for the sake of the Gospel. Where do we see God's perspective in our lives? Do we live in the image of Christ, even when this means to break a traditional rule...?" 

Jim Somerville: "What if there were a movie where we got to see what the world would look like if women had never been born? I'm afraid it would be like that novel, 'Lord of the Flies', where a bunch of boys end up running around a deserted island, with mud smeared on their faces like war paint, carrying wooden spears, and yelling, 'Kill the pig!' Men, we have to admit: women have civilized us a great deal, and it is all to the good..."

Dr. Jim Somerville's sermon to the children from Sunday, September 23, 2018.

Jim Somerville: "Imagine sharing all [this] wisdom with your son and then watching him grow up to be just like you anyway: proud, privileged, and thinking that it's all about him. Solomon wants his son, and all of us who read the Book of Proverbs, to remember who is God and who is not. Because sometimes we forget…"