Richmond's First Baptist Church

Dr. Jim Somerville's "Talkback" from Sunday, November 5, 2017. In this visit with the Builders class, discussions include the nature of the Holy Trinity, why Baptists usually don't talk about speaking in tongues, and the power of faith at the time of death.

Jim Somerville: "Even though [Christians] are not always being persecuted, we are always dealing with something. In every time and in every place we cling to the hope that we have not been forgotten in our suffering, and that someday God himself will wipe every tear from our eyes..."

Jim Somerville: "This may be the logical outcome of the Protestant Reformation: after 500 years of preaching that God loves us and wants to save us, we may have lost our fear of hell. And that may be a good thing..."

Josie Carver: "How easy it [is] to become prideful over beautiful clothes, jewels, and other visible trappings. Not that God denies us these physical things, but how we order them in our lives, what significance they take in our lives compared to God and to others, is important. Because it's difficult to fully love God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind if physical things take precedence..."

Dr. Jim Somerville's sermon to the children from Sunday, October 29, 2017.

Jim Somerville: "It seems to me the authority of Scripture has been waning recently, that the preacher holds up the Bible and says, 'This is the word of the Lord' and more and more people say, 'So what? Why do you preach from that old, dusty book? Why don't you preach from something more contemporary, like this morning’s newspaper?'"

Dr. Jim Somerville's "Talkback" from Sunday, October 22, 2017. In this visit with the Journey class, discussions include what it means to be a "big tent" church; the inspiration of scripture and the apocrypha; if Jesus is the only way to God.

Dr. Jim Somerville's sermon to the children from Sunday, October 22, 2017.

Jim Somerville: "Let's imagine for a moment, as some people do, that Jesus is talking [in this parable] about who gets into heaven. Getting into heaven is not a matter of being good enough or working hard enough or having perfect Sunday school attendance. It's a matter of accepting God's invitation..."

Dr. Jim Somerville's "Talkback" from October 15, 2017. In this visit with the Agape class, discussions include the Spirit's role in the church today; listening for God and looking for signs; the Hubble Space Telescope and its likeness to spiritual retreat; the 2020 Vision process's traction in the church.