Scriptures:Deuteronomy 6:1-9Luke 18:15-17 Despite the morning scramble it inevitably produced, “Show and Tell” was a favorite day when the kids were little. Finding just the right thing to fit the designated theme, whether it was by color, season, or letter, was a good game. Although, I’m surprised that our preschool didn’t ban Show and Tell […]
Scriptures: Luke 10:1-11; 2 Kings 5:1-14 Back after the exodus from Egypt, able to anticipate how the power would corrupt the nation, rule by king was not the model God desired for God’s people, Israel. But when the people begged again and again for a sovereign like their neighbors had, God reluctantly obliged and gave […]
Join us for a special sermon from the Installation Service of Pastor Stephanie Anthony as the Lead Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Allentown. This sermon was preached on Saturday, June 28, 2025 by the Rev. Eliana Maxim, Co-Executive Presbyter of the Seattle Presbytery. The scripture reading (Acts 9:36-43) and Prayer for Illumination were lead […]
A social media post from contemporary English author and theologian, Dr. Joy Marie Clarkson, circulates all the major platforms every once in a while. It reminds us: This is your gentle reminder that one time in the Bible Elijah was like “God, I’m so mad! I want to die!” so God said “Here’s some food. […]
We don’t often spend a whole lot of time in the book of Proverbs. There are probably a couple of different reasons for that. For one, the short couplets of advice and counsel that make up a significant portion of the book don’t really lend themselves to sermons and preaching. One scholar said they should […]
Today is Pentecost: a day when we remember how God’s Spirit moves in the world, breaking through our expectations, lighting hearts on fire, and creating a new kind of community. On that first Pentecost, the Spirit empowered ordinary people; people of every age, background, and language; to speak God’s love and promise in their own […]
A few years ago, one of my best friends and her spouse bought a local small business in the Wisconsin town where we used to live. I met Erin, a Lutheran pastor, when the Lutheran colleagues in my town adopted me into their weekly Bible study and sermon preparation group. She lived and served in […]
In the early days of the spiritual movement that we now think of as the early church, the followers of Jesus were pretty much all people who share Jesus’ Jewish faith. The followers of Jesus, those who believe he had been resurrected from the dead for the salvation of the world, didn’t see themselves as […]
What does resurrection look like in the here and now of our daily lives? How is God calling you to embody that resurrection for others? It was winter in Jerusalem. The people had gathered at the temple to celebrate the Festival of the Dedication. On this Sunday in Eastertide, the lectionary sends us back to […]
As a young child I participated in a few plays in our local young children’s theater. Saturday mornings my mom would take me to the Indian Harbor Beach Civic Center across from the library and, with other children, I would take on characters, learn lines, practice blocking and vocalization, and usually run around annoyingly when […]
The women had every good reason to go to the garden tomb early that morning on the first day of the week. They had a job to do; They couldn’t have gone any sooner, since it was inappropriate to go on the Sabbath to the place where a dead body was placed. They went as […]
Eight years ago, I stood in front of the community of faith that raised me and was ordained into ministry. It was on a Palm Sunday. And this passage – Luke’s telling of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem – was the Scripture we read together at that ordination service. Ever since then, I’ve had the blessing, […]
