Richmond's First Baptist Church

Dr. Jim Somerville's sermon to the children from Sunday, August 12, 2018.

Lynn Turner: "Have we [the Church] lost touch with our true calling? Have we lost touch with the world? Have we lost touch with each other...?"

Jim Somerville: "Have you ever felt like an outsider? When my brothers and I were growing up in West Virginia we often felt that way. And we got reminded of that every time we went to school. So, you can imagine my surprise when a girl came up to me one day in high school and asked if I would like to be in the Christmas pageant at her church..."

Dr. Jim Somerville's sermon to the children from Sunday, July 29, 2018.

Jim Somerville: "In the middle of the last century, in this country, most Christians in the South had decided that black people should stay out of white churches. But a Baptist preacher from Georgia named Clarence Jordan, in those days, in the American South, began to talk about desegregating the church..."

Jim Somerville: "I'm not preaching any differently now than I was thirty years ago, but the context in which I'm preaching has changed. The atmosphere is politically charged. The sensitivity has been dialed up to ten. When I step up to the pulpit to preach these days I feel like I'm stepping onto a tightrope and praying that I don't fall off on either side. Our fellowship is being divided along political lines..."

Kathy Thompson: "God destined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ because of his love. Adoption takes on a very special meaning for me because I am adopted..."

Steve Booth: "It was just a few months after 9/11 that I arrived as your new Minister of Adults. The Christian community was abuzz with a new book by Rick Warren, the central question in [which] was this: 'What on earth am I here for?' We long to know that we have a purpose, and that our purpose is a worthy one. Maybe even a holy one..."

Jim Somerville: "This week we will celebrate our independence as a nation. It was bold of us to think we could stand up against the considerable power of England. Now we have the power. The question is, 'How will we use it?' Is it too late to learn the compassion of Christ? Can we transform our national power into acts of help and healing...?"

Melody and Mark Roane: "'Twenty years.' That's what doctors told my parents in 1977 when I became totally blind. They would have a cure for my blindness in twenty years. It all started in the summer of 1975 when I was six years old..."