http://www.firstpres-fw.org/ en First Presbyterian Church of Fort Wayne no Latest Sermons | First Presbyterian Church of Fort Wayne ℗ & © 2012 First Presbyterian Church of Fort Wayne Let’s be candid right from the get-go: Don’t we all cringe a bit when we hear exorcism stories like this? To our modern ears, they seem arcane and implausible. We may even blush—our Lord and Savior, the one whom we trust and follow, conversing with the demonic world in the middle of a worship... http://www.firstpres-fw.org/media/post/by_whose_authority/ 2012-01-29T16:00:22+00:00 Our gospel lesson this morning is a real “fish” story. Just having brought in the morning catch, while cleaning and repairing their nets, an apparently unknown man walks by the fishing boat and says to the two brothers, “follow me and I will teach you how to fish for people.” And Immediately – or... http://www.firstpres-fw.org/media/post/fish_stories/ 2012-01-22T23:43:38+00:00 In the Baptist church of my upbringing, we had an imposing Bible memory program. It spanned three years and assigned particular verses to be memorized every given Sunday. It included the Ten Commandments, a slew of Psalms, a raft of Jesus’ teachings and selected excerpts of Paul’s letters. Each... http://www.firstpres-fw.org/media/post/searched_and_known/ 2012-01-15T23:27:04+00:00 In Mark’s gospel, there is no birth narrative. For Mark, Jesus was born the same as one of us, an infant needing all the care and guidance of his parents. In going forward for baptism, Jesus enters into solidarity with humanity - with sinners and outcasts of this world. For the writer of Mark, it... http://www.firstpres-fw.org/media/post/the_journey_begins/ 2012-01-08T20:43:21+00:00 First a word of explanation. I’ve decided to veer from the Lectionary this morning because New Year’s Day falling on a Sunday presents a good opportunity for us to tackle this incisive parable from Matthew 13. It’s one of those head-scratcher parables, one of those... http://www.firstpres-fw.org/media/post/reckless_farmer_fickle_soil/ 2012-01-01T23:57:33+00:00 I have to confess that my fondest childhood memories of Christmas morning are blatantly materialistic. This was the routine in the Lehn household: To level the playing field, my three siblings and I would often have a sleepover on Christmas Eve, cramming—all four of us—into my older sister’s... http://www.firstpres-fw.org/media/post/why_this_jubilee/ 2011-12-26T00:08:10+00:00 A pastor friend of mine tells a story about a church trip he led through Turkey a few years ago. The group was there to follow in the footsteps of the Apostle Paul, retracing his evangelistic journeys through the area. One sunny afternoon, their group ascended a hilltop near the ruins of Ephesus.... http://www.firstpres-fw.org/media/post/fear_not_800am_service/ 2011-12-18T18:31:41+00:00 Our reading today from the prophet Isaiah invites us to consider God’s hopes and dreams for the world. It is a dialogue in three parts between Isaiah and God. It is a word of clarity and assurance to a people eeking along in exile. It is a work of poetry that spells out the reason for our... http://www.firstpres-fw.org/media/post/a_garland_instead_of_ashes/ 2011-12-11T19:24:30+00:00 During the season of Advent a couple of years ago, I taught an adult education class at a church I was serving. “Finding Christmas in the New Testament” I called it. Together we scoured the early chapters of Matthew and Luke, where we find most of our Christmas material, along with lifting out... http://www.firstpres-fw.org/media/post/prepare_the_way/ 2011-12-05T02:26:44+00:00 Isaiah 64:1-9 First Presbyterian Church 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 Fort Wayne, IN, Nov. 27, 2011 Mark 13:24-37 First Sunday of Advent – Year B1 “Watch, Wait, Keep Awake!” As I went through this past two weeks, I found myself caught in the tension of the almost here, but the not yet. Ed left on... http://www.firstpres-fw.org/media/post/watch_wait_keep_awake/ 2011-11-27T15:56:19+00:00