First Presbyterian Church of Lumberton, NC

Be Opened! (09/09/2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. J) — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 17:36:00 +0000

In this week's sermon, Dr. Rich looks at the humorous account of Jesus healing the man who lacked hearing and speech. Through seeking to Be Open to Jesus, we are able to hear a word from God and speak a word of peace in a broken world. play now

For a full text of the sermon, click here.

Doorkeeper in the House of the Lord (08/26/2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. J) — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 21:26:00 +0000

In a sermon about doors, Dr. Rich implores the congregation to welcome all persons who come in the door and to courageously go out of the doors of the church proclaiming the love of God for the world. Enjoy! play now

For a complete text of the sermon, click here.

Flesh & Blood (08/19/2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. J) — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 15:45:00 +0000

In this week's sermon, Dr. Rich looks at the ethics of the food that we eat in an effort to show us how the bread of life can be consumed both at the communion table and in what we eat in our everyday life. Dr. Rich calls us all to take a more active role in knowing what's in the food we eat but also that we seek to eat from the body of Christ. Enjoy. play now

For a complete text of the sermon, click here.

Wait for the Lord (08/12/2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. J) — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 23:20:00 +0000

In this sermon, Dr. Rich ponders how we are to remain faithful in the midst of "dark nights of the soul." Even as we cry out to God, we are called to remain faithful and in calling out, we are faithful. play now

A Week From Next Tuesday (08/05/2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. J) — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 23:14:00 +0000

In today's message, Dr. Rich talks about how to remain faithful to the call of Jesus in those times after "mountaintop experiences." Enjoy y'all! play now

For a complete text of the sermon, click here.

A City on a Hill (07/29/2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. J) — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 18:06:00 +0000

In this week's sermon, Rev. McLeod asks the congregation to be the salt and light of the earth and to bravely reach out into the darkness and pull those stuck in the darkness into the light. And to not be afraid to be superheroes. Enjoy.” play now

For the complete text of the sermon, click here.

Amateur Night...and Day (07/22/2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. J) — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 18:03:00 +0000

In this week's sermon, Rev. Ben West, guest preacher, offered a mediation on the role of amateurs in God's kingdom. He calls on all the members of the church to open themselves up to new and exciting possibilities of service in Jesus name. Enjoy. play now

Dinner with Jesus (07/15/22)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. J) — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 16:18:00 +0000

In this week's sermon, Dr. Rich offers a narrative interpretation of the feeding of the 5,000 through the eyes and ears of the young man who offered up his loaves and fishes to be shared by the crowd. Enjoy. ” play now

Faith Is...(07/08/12)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. J) — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 18:03:00 +0000

In this week's sermon, Dr. Rich asks the congregation to ponder what faith is in a world in desperate need of salvation. Enjoy. play now

For a complete text, click here.

The Generous Act (07/01/08)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. J) — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 17:59:00 +0000

Following Paul, Dr. Rich encourages stewardship and community within the Christian tradition. This message comes at the time and in the shadow of the meeting of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Enjoy. play now

For a full text, click here.

No Obstacles (06/24/12)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. J) — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 16:52:00 +0000

In this weeks sermon, Dr. Rich asks the congregation to ponder the ways in which we can be obstacles to the movement of God is other people's lives. Enjoy.

For the full text of the sermon, please click here.

play now

An Open Letter to My Son (06/17/2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. J) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 16:54:00 +0000

In this week's sermon, Rev. McLeod offers a view of the world in which the faithful live into the New Creation offered through the life, death, new life, and resurrection of Christ. This is done through an open letter to his almost 5 year old son about the world, faith, and God. Enjoy. play now

For a complete text of the sermon, click here.

So We Do Not Lose Heart (06/10/2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. J) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 15:29:00 +0000

In a world that insists we must see to believe, Dr. Rich uses this week’s sermon to explore how Christians faith is focuses on what cannot be seen. We do not lost heart even as what we perceive is wasting away because we know there is one at work for good on our behalf whom we cannot see with our eyes. play now

For the complete text, click here.

For God So Loved (06/03/2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. J) — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 15:26:00 +0000

In this weeks sermon, Dr. Rich offers final words of encouragement and guidance to the graduating High School seniors participating in Baccalaureate Sunday by telling them to make sure their faith bumper stickers match their actual faith. Enjoy.

For a complete text of the sermon, click here. play now

Deep in Our Bones (05/27/2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. J) — Tue, 29 May 2012 13:43:00 +0000

In this Pentecost sermon, Dr. Rich looks at the story of the Valley of Dry Bones in the book of Ezekiel and asks can we still feel life deep in our bones. play now

For the full text of the sermon, click here

This is the Testimony (05/20/2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. J) — Sat, 26 May 2012 14:00:00 +0000

In a sermon celebrating the newest class of confirmands and their profession of faith before the church, Dr. Rich looks to the First letter of John to offer another example of testimony of faith in Jesus. The full text of the sermon can be found after the jump. Enjoy. play now

This is the Testimony

A Sermon by Matthew A. Rich

First Presbyterian Church, Lumberton, NC Seventh Sunday of Easter – Confirmation May 20, 2012

1 John 5:6-12

Our scripture lesson for today comes from the First Letter of John, chapter 5, verses 6-12. Now, First John seems to have been written as a defense of the faith against those who tended to spiritualize Jesus and maybe even deny that he had been truly human. We see in the very beginning of this letter that the author sets out themes, familiar to us from the Gospel of John, that will be explored throughout the letter. So as context, listen to the first few verses of this letter:
1 We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us— 3 we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
Yes, this letter is written to the church to testify to the eternal life that has been revealed to us so that there might be fellowship among the believers. Certainly appropriate words for Confirmation Sunday. Our text for this morning, gathers up these same themes as the author begins to close the letter. So, let us hear this Word of God.
6 This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth. 7 There are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three agree. 9 If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son. 10 Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts. Those who do not believe in God have made him a liar by not believing in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
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This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, for you are our rock and our redeemer. Amen.

My friend Tom Currie, who served as a pastor in Texas for 25 years before becoming Dean of the Faculty at Union Presbyterian Seminary’s Charlotte campus, tells the story of many years ago serving on a Presbytery Committee which examined candidates for ministry.1 The chair of the committee was a faithful pastor, approaching retirement, who always began an examination with the same question, “Who is God?” If the candidate recited the Westminster Shorter Catechism’s answer: “God is a Spirit, infinite, unchangeable in his being, wisdom, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth,” that was at least place to start. If instead the candidate wanted to talk about the doctrine of the Trinity or God’s self-revelation in Jesus Christ, that would be even better. Sometimes the candidates would share a personal story, testimony, or experience of God and that was ok too.
However, at one particular meeting, a young woman, Tom calls her Miss Smith, came to be examined. She had grown up in one of the Presbytery’s churches, attended and graduated from seminary, and hoped to engage in a ministry of pastoral counseling. Her examination began as it always did with the committee chair asking, “Miss Smith, tell me, who is God?” After a pause, Miss Smith looked at the old pastor, and calling him by his first name, said, “David, God is a rainbow.”
Her answer baffled the committee chair, who thought he had heard it all, and for a moment he didn’t know how to proceed. “What do mean, God is a rainbow?” he finally asked. “Well, she replied, “God is a prism of light into ourselves. Some of us see green or red or purple; others see yellow or blue. But God is a rainbow and can be pretty much what we want to see.”
Tom writes, “And so began a long and unhappy examination”
My friends, I was reminded of that story this week as we prepared to hear the Statements of Faith written by the members of First Presbyterian Church’s confirmation class. Since February 19th we have been meeting on Sunday mornings during Sunday school, plus two Wednesday night on-line conversations with Dr. Brian Blount, the President of Union Presbyterian Seminary. The youth also met at least five times with an adult mentor from this church. Together we have explored the Trinity – God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We read the entire Gospel of Mark to learn who Jesus is and what it means to be Jesus’ disciple.
1 Thomas W. Currie, III, Searching for Truth: Confessing Christ in an Uncertain World (Louisville: Geneva Press, 2001) 78-79.

We talked about characteristic actions of those who follow Jesus: worship, prayer, reading scripture, evangelism, stewardship, and service. We learned about the history, the government, the missions, of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and what it means to be an active member of the church.
All of that leads to each young person writing or creating his or her own Statement of Faith. Essentially, when the Session gathered with these young people we asked them each to respond to the same question that the old minister asked candidates for ministry, “Who is God?” While we did not expect them to provide an answer that reflects either a seminary education or a lifetime of reflection, I can tell you that I for one was looking for a little more than “God is a rainbow.”
I can tell you that you would be proud and touched by the depth of faith, beauty of Spirit, and creativity of expression in this year’s confirmation class. Definitely more than “God is a rainbow.”
Because as the young candidate for ministry explained, “God is a rainbow” means that everyone can see God pretty much as he or she wants to see God. Whatever you think about God is fine because it is your opinion. You are entitled to your opinion. You certainly would not want to offend anyone by saying that his or her opinion was wrong. It is just different, right? God can be anything, any color, you choose. It is up to you or perhaps it would be better to say, “god is you.”
Yes, God is a rainbow. That argument is very present in our culture. Important biblical and theological themes like diversity and tolerance have become idols to the point that any particular claim for truth is dismissed as intolerant and unreasonable. My Alma Matter Davidson College is once again examining its covenantal relationship with the Presbyterian Church (USA) in general and a particular bylaw which states that the College President must be:
a loyal and active church member, whose life provides evidence of strong Christian faith and commitment. Such faith and commitment will be appropriately expressed by affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and active participation in the life of Davidson College Presbyterian Church.2
2 Davidson College Bylaws, Article IV, 1. http://www3.davidson.edu/cms/x45416.xml#article-IV

Some claim that this requirement is unjust and unfair because not every graduate of Davidson is eligible to one day become the college’s President. They say that office should be open to everyone, regardless of what he or she believes. Faith is a private matter, not a public matter for college Presidents, or so the argument goes.
But what I wrote in a letter this week to the Trustees of Davidson College, and what I shared with the young confirmation class members of this church, is that one should never apologize for telling the truth. Certainly we speak the truth in love, we choose the appropriate times and places in which to share the truth, but as Christians we are called to tell the truth, to provide a testimony, to claim what it is that we believe.
As the first letter of John concludes his words to the believers he writes, “This is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” Earlier in this passage we hear that the water, blood, and Spirit all testify to the truth. It is a bit confusing us to as modern readers, but it appears that John claims that the water or Jesus’ baptism, his life, and his public ministry testify to the gift of eternal life that God gives to us; the blood or Jesus’ death as he shed his blood for the sins of the world testifies to the gift of eternal life that God gives to us; the Holy Spirit, Christ’s own breath given to the disciples on the evening of Christ’s resurrection testifies to the gift of eternal life that God gives to us. All three testify to the gift of eternal life in the Son.
So the truth, the testimony, is not that God is whatever we want God to be, so that we might create God in our own image. No, the truth, the testimony is that God is the actor, the giver of an amazing gift – the gift of eternal life, both here and now and in the world to come. And this life of fullness and beauty and joy is in God’s Son, Emmanuel, God with us “in life, in death, and in life beyond death.”3 That is who God is.
Now some may hear that claim as arrogant and intolerant. It is scandalous to claim that the truth of the whole universe is bound up in this particular God who has revealed God’s self to us in Jesus of Nazareth. As Tom Currie writes, “The world may be as embarrassed to learn of this good news as the church is to tell it.”4
And yet, if we share this testimony with integrity instead of throwing it like a rock at those with whom we disagree, we will find ourselves humbled by it. Yes,
3A New Creed, The United Church of Canada, http://www.united-church.ca/beliefs/creed 4 Currie, 110.

humbled because the truth, this life, is a gift not earned or deserved. It is not something we created, defined, or even fully understand. No we belong to God. Not because we say we belong to God, but because God has claimed us as His own.
And even more, we are humbled as the gift is given by God, as we are ultimately claimed by God, on the cross. It is the love, the very life of God poured out for us. It is our sin, our refusal to accept the gift of grace that Christ carries upon himself on that cross. And yet, through that cross we are forgiven and transformed so that we might know the eternal life that is in God’s Son.
We are humbled by this gift. On Friday morning I had the blessing of accompanying the four year old class from the Weekday School on their visit to Wesley Pines. This is probably the fifth time these children have gone to Wesley Pines this school year so they have become quite comfortable visiting the residents there.
The children had made Spring cards to give to the residents in the nursing section of Wesley Pines. They go from room to room, sing a song, give the resident a card, and share a hug or two. Almost at the end of their visit, as they were going down the hall, they saw two women walking. The children greeted them and the women stopped. I have seen these women before and both suffer from dementia and do not remember as much as they once did. And yet, when the children began to sing “Jesus loves me, this I know” both women broke into huge smiles and began to sing along, remembering every word. Yes, we humbled by this gift.
My friends, this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Let us not apologize for the truth. Let us sing it. Let us proclaim it. Let us join the young men and women of our church on this Confirmation Sunday and claim it. Because we know who God is. God is the one who loves us, who gave his life for us on a cross, and who intends for us to share not a long and unhappy examination, but the joy of life, eternal life.
Thanks be to God.

Is this the time? (05/06/12)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. J) — Sun, 20 May 2012 11:49:00 +0000

In this sermon, guest preacher Rev. Jeremy Wilhelmi brings us a word from God and asks "Is this the time?" Enjoy, y'all! play now

Conversations that Convert (03/18/2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. J) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 15:01:00 +0000

In this sermon, as part of our "Unbinding Your Heart" series, Dr. Rich talks about the ways that simple conversations can have profound impacts on individuals and the world and asks the congregation to be braver in speaking about their faith. Enjoy y'all! play now

Los Pueblos Unidos (04/15/12)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. J) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:42:00 +0000

In this week's sermon, Rev. McLeod reflects on his recent mission trip to Reynosa, Mexico with a team from the church and asks that we not forget the abject poor in other countries. He asks that we remember that we are people of the resurrection who believe that Christ changes the old order of the world. Enjoy, y'all!” play now

Faith Focus (04/01/12)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. J) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:38:00 +0000

In this week's sermon, Dr. Rich challenges us to once again focus on our faith in Jesus and God. Enjoy, y'all!!” play now

The Converted Community (03/11/2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. J) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 12:05:00 +0000

In this weeks sermon, Dr. Rich explores the explicitly trinitarian nature of the ideal converted community in which all three persons of God are known and experienced in equal measure. Enjoy y'all! play now

The Prayer Plunge (03/04/2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. J) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 11:57:00 +0000

In today's sermon, Dr. Rich talks about the power of prayer to impact meaningful change in the life of the believer. He also reveals the web of prayer that has been covering this congregation since the beginning of the Unbinding your heart series from places around the world. Enjoy, y'all!” play now

How Full Is Your Pitcher (02/26/2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. J) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 11:55:00 +0000

In his continuing series of sermons on "Unbinding Your Heart" Dr. Rich looks at stories of persons whose love of God has overflowed from their spiritual pitcher and they could not help but spread God's love throughout their worlds. Enjoy y'all! play now

Transfiguration (02/19/2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. J) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 01:17:00 +0000

play now

Make Us Clean (02/12/2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. J) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:12:00 +0000

In this weeks message, Rev. McLeod looks at the story of the healing of Naaman from the second book of the history of the kings of Israel and asks from what do we need to be made clean? Enjoy y'all! play now