The Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago

Although the time period after the exile did not unfold in the way that was initially expected, a new expectation began to build around a coming Messiah, one from David’s lineage, who would help usher in this new age. 

In this episode, Matt Helms invites us to reflect on Daniel’s vision of a time when the empires of the world lose their dominion, lose their power — a power that is instead given to this mysterious figure known as the Son of Man. This returns us to the idea of covenant that has been a throughline throughout this series.  

Crucially, we see a new aspect of the covenant drawn in. This is not just a promise for a particular people in a particular place. Instead, we have moved from the particular to the universal — and it is those broadened hopes for all creation that lie behind Jesus’ arrival. 

The worship service recording includes both pre-service and post-service music.

View PDF of worship bulletin | 

A sermon by Camille Cook Howe.

View PDF of worship bulletin | 

In this episode we are exploring the return from exile and the era of the Second Temple.

What seems to have emerged in the century following the return from exile was a tension between a sort of isolationist wing and a more universalist wing. There were those who wanted to remove all foreigners and double and triple down on following the Law, while others advocated for understanding God as being the God of all people and all nations, not just Israel alone.

Here Matt Helms invites us to reflect on some thoughtful and incisive questions that the book of Jonah has to ask of us, primarily around our own sense of self-righteousness, and times when that conflicts with an expansive understanding of God’s love and mercy.

Ultimately, this view that God is the God of all people wins out. And even though things aren’t perfect, hopes begin to rise around a Savior, a Messiah, who will help to truly usher in an age where God is in control — not just in the present time, but forever.

The worship service recording includes both pre-service and post-service music.

View PDF of worship bulletin | 

A sermon by Camille Cook Howe.

View PDF of worship bulletin | 

In this episode we are focusing on hope in exile.

Today we specifically focus on the prophet Jeremiah and the boldness of promising those who are in exile that they will return home and the encouragement to continue living life to the fullest, even in a land and place they did not choose or want.  

Matt Helms invites us to reflect on how God’s grace pushes and challenges us to expand our hearts and minds — not dividing this world into “friends” and “enemies,” but seeking to broaden our definition of neighbor. 

That’s no small feat, and it won’t easily be done, but it is the base on which our collective hopes might begin to flourish — trying to build a world that cares for all people, one in which there is a future defined by hope over fear, and abundance over scarcity.  

The worship service recording includes both pre-service and post-service music.

View PDF of worship bulletin | 

A sermon by Camille Cook Howe.

View PDF of worship bulletin | 

On this Thanksgiving Day, we invite you to join Matt Helms for a time of centering, reflecting, and giving thanks as we stand on the cusp of an entirely new season in our church calendar known as Advent. 

As we continue along our Bible in 100 Passages journey, our scripture passages this time are perhaps discordant with the celebrations of Thanksgiving. However, one of the remarkable things about the prophets, even in the early days of the Exile, was that they refused to lose their faith in God’s future. 

The dichotomy between mourning and expectation, loss and new vision is a perfect way to enter into the season of Advent this upcoming Sunday, beginning a new liturgical year with an acknowledgement that our world is not yet the way we know God would have it be, and yet remaining ever hopeful for the day when God’s promises are known in full.