Worship at First Presbyterian Church of Marion, Illinois

Worship at First Presbyterian Church of Marion, Illinois

By First Presbyterian Church of Marion, IllinoisReligion & SpiritualityChristianitySpirituality
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Worship at First Presbyterian Church of Marion, Illinois episodes

  • May 19, 2019 – The Fifth Sunday of Easter – In This Together

    Romans 1:1-17

               In this

    letter, in the beginning of this letter, we hear the introduction of Paul as an
    apostle, and powerful Good News of Jesus Christ. From there, the letter
    continues into something we might take for granted. Paul asserts that he prays
    for them, that he thanks God for them and that he hopes to strengthen them, and
    that they may mutually encourage one another in faith.

               That’s a big

    thing. For most of you, imagine that Billy Graham is coming to Marion, to First
    Presbyterian, and in his letter in advance, he writes that he is hoping to be
    encouraged by our faith. Imagine that.

               Is this how

    we think of one another? That we can all be encouraged in faith by one another?
    That we all pray for one another? As Paul writes to Rome ahead of his trip in
    that direction, this is what he wants them to know at the very start. Is this
    what we teach people at the very start of our faith relationships?

    20 min
  • May 12, 2019 – The Fourth Sunday of Easter – Mistaken Identity

    Acts 13:1-3; 14:8-18

               Saul and

    Barnabus get sent out to proclaim the Gospel. The Spirit has work for them to
    do. When they get to Lystra, they speak, and they heal a man. They heal a man
    crippled from birth who cannot walk. People are amazed. People believe that the
    gods have come down to earth.

               That’s

    right. They think Saul and Barabus are gods, specifically Hermes and Zeus. They
    prepare offerings. Even the priest of the temple comes out and is ready to
    offer sacrifice to them. Saul and Barnabus protest and identify themselves as
    mortals, and then describe the God that people should be worshiping.

               They have a

    hard time convincing the crowd. They probably don’t convince all of the crowd.
    So, today, who do we give credit for what God is doing? Who gets the credit for
    healings now? Who do we assume is healing people? Who are our Saul and
    Barnabus, our Zeus and Hermes? Who do we offer sacrifices to when we should be
    offering them to God?

    21 min
  • May 5, 2019 – The Third Sunday of Easter – Do They Know Our Names?

    Acts 10:1-17, 34-48

               In this

    passage the sending goes both ways. Cornelius gets an angel sent to him, that
    tells him to send for Peter in Joppa. Peter, meanwhile, has a vision that sends
    him to see Cornelius. This encounter and passage begins to open the church to
    Gentiles, transforms Peter into the apostle to the Gentiles, and changes the
    arc of the church. It doesn’t happen without controversy, and Peter ends up
    getting called on the carpet by many of the disciples in Jerusalem.

               Take a

    moment and think about this passage. Caesarea and Joppa are about 35 miles
    apart. Marion and Shawneetown are about 35 miles apart or Marion and Golconda. Can
    you name a (famous) person of faith in either of those towns?

               How well are

    we known for our faith? Would God send someone to us? Would our neighbors? This
    is one heck of a story, visions aside. Who has God sent us to? Would God send
    someone to us? Who might God send to us?

    22 min
  • April 28, 2019 – The Second Sunday of Easter – From Resurrection to the World

    Matthew 28:16-20

               This is

    post-Easter, as fast (we assume) as the disciples could get to Galilee and see
    Jesus. Hear the text- they saw him, they worshiped, but some doubted. Doubt is
    not a barrier to being present with Jesus and worshiping in the Resurrection.

               The task,

    however, for disciples post-Easter, is to:

    • acknowledge the authority of Jesus (all
    authority in heaven and on earth), and
  • go forth, make disciples (of all nations, lands,
    • or lives),
  • baptizing them in the name of the Triune God
    • (the first and pretty much only mention of the Trinity in Scripture),
  • and teaching them to obey everything that Jesus
    • commanded us.

    You’ll notice that the marching

    orders don’t stop at baptism, and that baptism comes after making disciples. If
    we were to take a huge leap, we could look at what Jesus commands us to do.
    What are the great commandments Jesus lifts up? How do we teach one another to
    obey the greatest commandments, and do we recognize that discipleship starts/comes
    before baptism?

    23 min
  • April 21, 2019 – Easter – Earthshaking

    Matthew 28:1-10

               This is the Easter

    story that perhaps we don’t remember quite as well. In as blunt and spectacular
    a way as Jesus enters Jerusalem, he is raised from the dead. It’s not subtle,
    it’s not quiet, it’s not easy to ignore.

               How does the

    resurrection enter into our lives? Does the earth shake? Do we see the angel,
    and hear a word from God about Christ? Or is it a cover up?  Are we convinced or concerned that someone
    else took the body, despite what we’ve seen and heard?

               How has the

    Resurrection entered our lives?

    14 min
  • April 14, 2019 – Palm Sunday – Jesus Comes to Town

    Matthew 21:1-17

               The time for

    parables and subtlety is over. Jesus is coming to town, entering into
    Jerusalem. Now Jesus gives clear directions to the disciples, and rides right
    into town. Jesus enters Jerusalem to a city and a crown in turmoil, a people
    curious about who he is and what he’s doing.

               What he does

    is go straight to the temple. He turns out the money changers and the vendors
    from the temple. And then people come to him, right in the temple, they come to
    him, the blind, the lame, and he cures them.

               And then

    what the crowd says gets the chief priests and scribes in a tizzy. They want to
    know if Jesus is hearing what they are saying. Jesus tells them he has, and
    indeed, it is truth form the mouths of babes. This is as straightforward as
    Jesus gets, as unapologetic, as obvious. Just a week before he dies, Jesus goes
    in, does not turn on the charm offensive, and lays it on the line. Why now? Why
    this way? When do we need Jesus to charge in to our lives?

    15 min
  • April 7, 2019 – The Fifth Sunday in Lent – Step to the Side

    Matthew 25:31-46

    This is perhaps one of the best known parables. Do we treat

    is as a parable, or as an actual description of the situation? It follows
    immediately on the trail of the bridesmaids and the talents, with no break in
    between, as a parable about the end of the age. Sheep, one side, goats, the
    other – what’s the difference?

    There appears to be a clear message

    about conduct, more than about belief, and a consequence. Why tell this to the
    disciples in the last week? Why tell it to us this week?

    25 min
  • March 31, 2019 – The Fourth Sunday in Lent – Are You Prepared?

    Matthew 25:1-30

    Are You Prepared?

               These two

    parables come after chapter 24, in which the disciples ask Jesus how they will
    know when the end of the age is, and when is the end of the age? This is a
    topic that some branches of the church spend a lot of time on to this day. You
    can probably find a program on public access that will spend a LOT of time on how
    we can know what will happen and how wit will happen and how we will know that
    the end is coming. (Cue the crazy guy on the corner with the sandwich board.)

               Paired

    together, these parables try to get at that question. In the first
    (bridesmaids), there is the sense that this is a big event, and sure, the groom
    may be late, but you’re a bridesmaid, and you have a role to play in things. The
    groom is late, and some bridesmaids are at the store, and miss the arrival, and
    so do not make it in to the party.

               The talents

    has a similar thought. The master is gone, and things are entrusted. One
    servant/slave doesn’t do what he knows the master would have done. That servant
    has a hard time.

               Why would

    Jesus tell these to disciples asking about the end times? What do they have to
    say to us?

    28 min
  • March 24, 2019 – The Third Sunday in Lent – RSVP, Formal Dress

    Matthew 22:1-14

               This parable

    is the third in a set that immediately follow on the triumphal entry of Jesus
    to Jerusalem on what we now call Palm Sunday. The first parable is about a man
    with two sons, one who goes out in to the fields after saying he won’t, and the
    other who doesn’t, after saying he will. The second parable is about a man who
    owns a vineyard who sends his son to deal with the tenants, and who has his son
    killed by the tenants. Foreshadowing, much?

               The we get

    to this parable. The king has prepared a wedding banquet, yet those who are
    invited don’t seem to want to come, or mistreat the kings messengers. So the
    king wages war against the murderers, and then sends his slaves out into the
    streets to invite more people to the wedding. Even then, the king finds someone
    not ready for the feast, and has that person thrown out.

               Why does

    Jesus tell this parable right after getting to Jerusalem on the last week of
    his life? What’s the message when tied with the other two? What is the message
    to modern day disciples?

    25 min

About Worship at First Presbyterian Church of Marion, Illinois

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As Christ's body we gather to worship throughout the year. These recordings include our Sunday worship, and worship on holy days. Our worship typically follows the PC(USA) Book of Common worship, and…