worship

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May 2019

“Growing in Faith”/Hebrews 5: 11-6:1Acts 16: 1-5/Rev. Rodger Allen/5-26-19

By |May 30th, 2019|Sermons|

Bible passages from the book of Acts are recommended for our consideration each year at this time. After Jesus’ resurrection on Easter and his ascension into heaven forty days later, his disciples started telling his story and sharing his teachings, to people in and beyond Jerusalem, eventually resulting in the formation of Christian churches. So on the Sundays following Easter, we often review the stories of their doing that – and those stories are found in the book of Acts. One thing the book of Acts emphasizes is that the early church grew, as the story of Jesus was told. It grew in numbers, and it grew in faith. “Growing in numbers” is a concept we pretty easily understand, though it’s not quite as easy a thing to actually do as we would like. “Growing in faith” is a little more ambiguous phrase: what all does it mean, to “grow in faith”? […]

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“Some Good Old Reformed Theology”/I John 3:1-7 (John 21: 1-14)/Rev. Rodger Allen/5-5-19

By |May 8th, 2019|Sermons|

A common theme  for worship services on the Sundays after Easter is . . . well, now what? Where do we go from here? We’ve told our best story; we’ve celebrated our biggest event; we’ve talked about what it means. Now we turn around and look ahead and think about proceeding with everyday life as Christians and as churches, now that the big events are over. Where do we go from here, in light of the Easter message? Who are we, as a post-resurrection community? What do these events lead us to believe, and what do we do about it, now that we’ve seen again what God has done? […]

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March 2019

“Come and Worship”/Isaiah 6: 1-8; Psalm 95: 1-7a/Rev. Rodger Allen/2-24-19

By |March 5th, 2019|Sermons|

            On most Sundays, we come to church and we pick up our bulletins and we get into our places and at a little before 10:30 we begin our worship with our Organ Prelude – Choral Introit – Call to Worship; and then we continue on down through the usual schedule of activities printed on [...]

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July 2018

“Bringing All We Are to The Table”/Rev. Rodger Allen/Psalm 100; Psalm 88: 1-5, 8-9, 14/7.29.18

By |July 31st, 2018|Sermons|

When we invite someone we don’t know very well over to our homes for dinner for the first time, we expect that their behavior will be fairly formal or proper, don’t we? Imagine having your child’s fiancé’s parents over, for example, as the first time you ever meet. If they had been quarreling in the car on the way over, we wouldn’t expect them to continue the argument in front of us relative strangers over dinner. If they were worried about something we wouldn’t expect them to cry in front of us. If they felt high-spirited and mischievous, we wouldn’t expect them to start playfully tossing dinner rolls at each other – not with new acquaintances, not at a first meeting. There’s a certain standard of restrained, proper behavior. […]

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“Why Are We Here?” Rev. Rodger Allen 7-1-18 Mark 6: 1-2, Psalm 100

By |July 5th, 2018|Sermons|

  It’s important for you to know, as we begin today, that much of the material in today’s sermon comes from a sermon written by the Rev. William Willimon, and printed in the magazine “Pulpit Resources.” I tell you that first because I feel strongly that preachers should always give proper credit when they use the words or ideas of someone else, so I always tell you if I’m doing that. But it’s especially important to understand that today because there are parts of the message today that people could conclude I wrote to refer to a particular issue or group of people at Paris Presbyterian Church; that I was trying to influence our direction somehow. This introduction lets you know I didn’t do that; this is not directed at anyone or anything in particular, here. As far as I know, Rev. Willimon’s never even been to Paris Presbyterian Church, so he couldn’t possibly have been writing about us. No, his remarks reflect a situation found in many, many churches, of many different denominations, all over the country. This isn’t personal.  […]

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