the good news is... so good it catches us by surprise READ Matthew 13:31-32 We Are Small, We Are Numerous, We Are Deep | Carmelle Beaugelin Caldwell 11"x14" Acrylic, mustard seed on paper ARTIST STATEMENT Loose mustard seeds are nearly impossible to contain. They...

the good news is... so good it catches us by surprise READ John 2:1-11 Messianic Secret | T. Denise Anderson 14"x18" Acrylic on canvas ARTIST STATEMENT The Wedding at Cana is my favorite text because there is a lot of humor in it. There’s humor in a mother approaching...

the good news is... so good it catches us by surprise READ John 2:1-11, Matthew 13:31-32 COMMENTARY  “Ooh, Heaven Is a Place on Earth” People didn’t think Jesus could boogie like that. It took them by surprise—his dance moves, undoubtedly, but also how much Jesus,...

the good news is... so good it catches us by surprise READ John 2:1-11 The Wedding at Cana On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out,...

the good news is... so good it catches us by surprise They're Out of Wine They kicked off their sandals when the dancing began. Everyone flooded the floor. He was there, head thrown back, laughing at the stars. Everyone could see it was joy and hope in the air, the...

the good news is... so good it catches us by surprise READ John 2:1-11; Matthew 13:31-32 WATCH In today’s video devotional, Rev. Lewis Galloway reflects on the Parable of the Mustard Seed as a reminder that God’s kingdom often begins in small ways—like seeds planted...

the good news is... all are invited READ Luke 14:15-24   There is Still Room | Lauren Wright Pittman Digital drawing with collage ARTIST STATEMENT This image is meant to be viewed from the center, moving outward. The host sets a table,¹ with arms stretched wide...

the good news is... all are invited READ Luke 14:15-24 COMMENTARY Let Go of the Ordinary "Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the reign of God" (Luke 14:15). For the man who makes this proclamation, "anyone" is more expansive than he knows. He is thinking about...

the good news is... all are invited The Gospel According to Mrs. Farnell’s Pre-K Class In Pre-K the whole class gets an invite to Tommy’s birthday. He places the paper invites in our cubbies. There’s a helter-skelter sticker sealing each one, proof that tiny hands did...

INTRODUCTION If I’m honest, I sometimes think of Lent as the closest thing to a bad news season that we have in the Christian liturgical year. Forty days of fasting, repentance, and reflection on our own mortality aren’t exactly a party. I mean, the whole thing starts...

A Christmas Prayer Rev. Mary Bowman leads us in a Christmas prayer, marveling that the King of the universe became small and came to our neighborhood as Emmanuel, God-with-us. Whether you’re surrounded by loved ones or spending this day alone, you are not alone—God is...

Candlelit Christmas Eve Week 4: Silent Night It’s Christmas Eve. Tomorrow we will celebrate the birth of the Messiah, our savior Jesus Christ.  Here at First Presbyterian Church, today is filled with a variety of worship opportunities. At 11:00 AM we have the Children...

Musical Rendition & Lyrics Week 4: O Little Town of Bethlehem (Hymn #121) LISTEN Click Here to Listen to "O Little Town of Bethlehem" Music provided by members of the First Presbyterian Church Sanctuary Choir   LYRICS O little town of Bethlehem, How still we...

Video on This Week's Carol In today's video devotional, Rev. Chuck Williamson shares the surprising story behind "O Little Town of Bethlehem"—born out of Civil War grief, a Christmas Eve in Bethlehem, and a simple children’s musical no one expected to last. The...

The Fourth Sunday of Advent In today's video devotional, Rev. Chuck Williamson invites you into the wonder of a Service of Lessons and Carols—where Scripture and song trace the story of Christ’s birth from ancient promise to joyful fulfillment. As we hear how this...

Prayer Week 3: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear God who ruptures our darkness with your angelic melody of hope, we give you thanks for the light that hovers over our weary world, calling us, if only by a floating whisper, to stillness and peace.  We praise you for the...

Participating in Peace Week 3: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear In the final stanza of “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear”, writer Edmund Sears rouses from his restless midnight ruminations to look to the future. “The days are hastening on,” he says, when we will come to...

Hope in the Tension of Opposites As we read in Luke 2:8-14, the angel message came at night to shepherds who were guarding their sheep on the hillsides. They surely knew the skies well and perhaps found comfort in the familiar patterns of stars. Nightly doses of...

Angels Week 3: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear Have you ever noticed that “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” never mentions a Messiah, a manger, or a mother with child?  Surprisingly, we still sing it every year despite the absence of Advent’s central character, Jesus...

Musical Rendition & Lyrics Week 3: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear LISTEN Click Here to Listen to "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" Music provided by members of the First Presbyterian Church Youth Group and Youth Choir   LYRICS It came upon the midnight clear,...

A Weary World Week 3: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear Our devotional focus on carols turns to “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” this week. The writer, Rev. Edmund Sears had suffered a breakdown after several years at a large church and returned to a former congregation in...

Prayer Week 2: People Look East Holy and gracious God, you come to us in so many ways; as kindness that makes the difference between life and death; as hope when no hope is possible; as love that is already with us and still reaching out to us; make us ready to...

Love, the Lord Week 2: People Look East JOHN 1: 1-5, 14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has...

Love, the Rose Week 2: People Look East ISAIAH 11:1-5 A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,     and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,     the spirit of wisdom and understanding,     the spirit of counsel and...

Love, the Guest Week 2: People Look East GENESIS 18:1-10 The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance...

Musical Rendition & Lyrics Week 2: People Look East LISTEN Click Here to Listen to "People Look East" Music provided by members of the First Presbyterian Church Sanctuary Choir   LYRICS People, look east. The time is near Of the crowning of the year. Make...

Video On This Week's Carol Lucy Baum introduces this week's hymn, "People, Look East," and its joyful vision of all creation—fields, birds, stars, and angels—preparing for Love’s arrival. We’re invited to look east with hope, trusting that Love the Lord is already on...

The Second Sunday of Advent Rev. Lucy Crain reflects on Isaiah’s servant and Mary’s “Here am I” to remind us that God’s covenant of justice and hope now continues through us. As we hear God’s promise, “I have taken you by the hand and kept you,” we’re invited to...

Prayer Week 1: The Huron Carol Great Wonder, tiny child, Emmanuel, We thank you that your love knows no boundaries. As you came to shepherds in the region of Judea long ago, As you guided magi from the Middle East to kneel in reverence, So we know that you came to...