Richmond's First Baptist Church

Jim Somerville's "Talkback" from Sunday, September 18, 2016.

Jim Somerville: "In biblical times [the] concept of God worked pretty well. People who lived back then didn't know what we know now. They believed the world was mostly flat..."

Jim Somerville: "When I talk to some people about this broken world they wonder why God let it get broken in the first place. Why would he hand his creation over to people who would do such damage to it?"

Jim Somerville: "Have you ever sat next to a stranger who was talking on a cell phone? You only hear half of the conversation, and yet, if you eavesdrop carefully, you can begin to put the pieces together..."

From Philemon 1:1-21

Jim Somerville: "If you have ever felt like you belonged here, if this family of faith we call First Baptist Church has ever felt like your family ... this announcement is for you."

Jim Somerville: "The preacher of Hebrews ... wants us to recover what the Psalmist calls 'the fear of the Lord'. That doesn’t mean that he wants us to be afraid of God, but he does want us to have a profound reverence and respect for God, and he may have a point. Because, let's admit it: we have become a little too familiar with the Holy..."

Jim Somerville: "Can you hear what the preacher is doing? He's trying to move us from potential to actual action. He's like a football coach, giving his team a pep talk at halftime..."

Jim Somerville: "I know someone who is praying hard right now to be healed from cancer. Suppose she keeps on praying day after day, week after week, month after month, and suppose that instead of getting better she gets worse? Does she give up on God?"

Nick Deere: "In [today's] text, Paul wants to throw back the curtain, let the light in, and tell the Church, 'Live into the new life Christ has offered!'"

Jim Somerville: "...What if that preacher in the pulpit up there is not trying to make your life miserable, but trying to make your life beautiful, trying to set your feet on the path that will lead to life abundant, overflowing, and everlasting?"