Worship at First Presbyterian Church of Marion, Illinois

John 2:1-11 Wedding at Cana, water into wine.

There are other things that get drawn out of the water set aside for rituals of washing and purification that turn out to be surprising as well. You and I, for instance. Drawn out of the waters of baptism, should we not be of surprising quality? Are we not miraculous? As those who have been washed, and who are watered by Christ, how do we grow? Children of God, having been drawn out of the water at a time of scarcity, may we see our drawing out as wondrous, miraculous, and exceptional.

John 1:35-51 Behold the Lamb of God, Call of disciples, “Come and see.”

At the same time, the other studies have shown the truth of this very passage. People go to church – people meet Jesus – because of people they know and interactions with them. There are no  gimmicks to get people to Jesus in this passage. What we actually see happen is the exact

What about us? Are we serious enough about pointing to Jesus that we will let our own disciples go to Jesus? Are we excited enough about Jesus that we will yell, “Behold the Lamb of God?” Are we excited enough about Jesus that we would meet him and run to tell others about him? Do we believe in a Jesus whose message is powerful enough, impressive enough, real enough, that showing someone Jesus is enough? Or do we need a new program, a new gimmick, a new something?

Our Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion service. Merry Christmas!

John 1:1-18 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth. 

That thought brings us to the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ. As John writes, the Word became flesh and lived among us. Immanuel, God with us, moves into the neighborhood. And stays. God moves right in, buys a home, builds relationship, and sticks around. God sticks around in Jesus

As we await company that comes and goes at the holiday, as travel to be with family and friends, think about what it means that Immanuel comes here to stay, to live, to teach, to heal, to challenge, to die, and to rise. God moves in, because God’s not going anywhere. Can you feel the sense of change that happens when Christ comes to town?

Ezekiel 37:1-14 Ezekiel prophesies to the dry bones and they are raised to new life. 

Like last week, we may hear other stories in this story. We may hear the story of a Friday to a Sunday. We may hear the story of our stories. We may hear the story of being dried up, of having no life, of being broken. And depending on where we are in that story, we may also hear the story  of bones put back together, of sinew and flesh recovering bones, and of  breath that moves us. A breath from God that moves us and gives us life.

So, how far gone is too far gone? How dry are we? And do we believe that even if we were all dried out, God could make something of us?

Daniel 3:1, 8-30 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; God present in the fiery furnace.

I remember this story. I learned it as a child, along with Daniel and the lions’ den. I remember that the story was about Jesus – who else could the fourth person in the fiery furnace be? It had to be Jesus – this was a Bible story.

This is not good news. Well, not to the people who thought God should take them home, who thought God should restore Israel to Israel, and make the kingdom real again. This is not good news to those in exile. Why not? Well, it’s going to take longer. It’s going to take long enough that you can plant and harvest. You can marry your children off. You can have grandchildren. It’s going to take a while, says the Lord. 

And so, God says, do your work there. Don’t wait to come home, live there. Be the people of God there. Not in the ideal land of milk and honey, but there, in exile, be the people of God. Seek the welfare of the place you are, seek the best for where you are now, and don’t listen to pipedreams. 

There is something coming, but it’s going to take a while, says the Lord. So while you’re waiting…So while we’re waiting, how do we seek the welfare of the city in which we reside? How do we seek God when we’re in exile? How are we the people of God here?

Isaiah does his best to get us looking forward. Isaiah gets us moving forward as well. To admit we are the people who lived in darkness, and upon us light has shone. To us a child is born, a son is given. What is our darkness? What is the light that is breaking over us? To what are we looking forward? What children have been given for us and to us?

A celebration of 110 years of ministry at First Presbyterian Church.

We’ll be celebrating All Saints’ Sunday, and looking back at more than the saints we have lost since our previous All Saints’ We’ll be looking at the family of faith that has gathered in this community and as this community. We’ll ask each other to tell stories about the names that we may know, even as we read other names that may not be familiar.