1 Pres Pod

Each year, FPC gives away 100% of its Christmas Eve offering to a local nonprofit. This year that nonprofit is the Fort Smith Boys Home! Pastor Tasha sits down with the Boys Home executive director Eddie Donovan to discuss the foster care needs in Arkansas, the role the Boys Home plays in meeting some of those needs, and how each of us can support and advocate for the foster children in our community.

Pastor Tasha Blackburn and Emotional Wellness Coordinator Maria Martinez discuss mental health trends Maria is seeing in Fort Smith as well as tools for dealing with grief and anxiety during the holidays.

The 1Pres Pod returns with a conversation between Tasha and Phil about being the church in times of upheaval.

The 1PresPod has had a longer break than expected! The season kicks off next week with an episode of "Between Two Pastors" but, until then, get your juices flowing with this conversation between Pastor Tasha and member Jarred Rego as they talk politics--no, not THOSE politics--and how we can all live out our citizenship on the local level.

This week, Phil and Stephen discuss souls. Does everyone have one? What happens to them? Where do we go from here? Join us.

This week, Phil and Tasha talk about preaching hard texts and topics. Wha t should be covered in a sermon? How should we approach challenging issues? What's it like for a pastor to approach hard subjects with their congregation? We discuss this and more this week. Join us!

Ok, this episode is dated. Phil forgot to upload it way back in March, so forgive us that, and don't blame Stephen, as we discuss another challenging topic in Christianity.

As Rham nears his 4th year of sobriety, Tasha asks him what he's learned about himself and about his faith.

Tasha has a conversation with Michael Mings, the mobility coordinator of Fort Smith. Michael shares details of a new children's bike program here in town.

This week Phil is joined by his good friend Kate Davis of the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. Together they will talk about the unique challenges facing clergy in modern America, as well as how congregations can best support pastors in this challenging time.

This week Phil and Tasha talk about marriage and pre-marital counseling. What have they learned over the years? How does one apply their faith to their marriage? What happens in a pre-marital counseling session? These questions and more, this week!

Tasha and Rham discuss hell: What is it? Where is it? How do I stay out of it?

Tasha gets a good news story from the head of the Fort Smith United Way Shae Foldvary. His story focuses on the work of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. Get ready to be surprised by its reach in our area!

Tasha asks Phil to share an update on his work with rural congregations: what he's learned, what has surprised him, and what exciting opportunities are up next.

Tasha and Rham talk about the journey of faith. Are you ever “finished” or an expert? When are you strong enough in your faith to, say…teach children's Sunday School?

We are ending each month with some good news from our region. This month the good news comes from our own Maria Martinez, the emotional wellness coordinator at the church. Maria shares updates of what she's been doing, what she's learned, and a story of good news.

When someone says, "Let me tell you what the Bible says," what do they actually mean? This week, Stephen and Phil talk Bible translations and translation in general. Why are there so many translations of the Bible? Is there one that is "more right" than the others? How can we even begin to choose which one to read? Can we even know what the "Bible says?"

Lent has arrived once more. This week, Phil and Tasha talk about the significance of the season of Lent, what it means, and how it can shape us as followers of Jesus.

Why don't women seem more upset at Eve? Or are they? Should they be? Rham and Tasha discuss the first woman and all the flack she gets.

In this episode, Phil and Tasha take a look ahead to 2024 and what is in store for the 1 Pres Pod. Then they discuss Christmas and the Christmas season.

Wait, what?!?!?! Yes, that's right, God is not religious, so if you are someone who is saying, "I am not religious," congratulations, God is with you on this one.

Did you think God was a capitalist? Probably not. So, why do we need to talk about it? Well, it's more insidious than you might imagine. Check it out.

This week Phil and Tasha continue their look at things God is not, with a conversation about God NOT having a nationality. What does that mean? How does it affect our discipleship? What hard choices does it mean for us?

Wait, what? God isn't nice? What are we even doing here? IDK

This week Phil and Tasha talk about the risks we take when we imagine ourselves to be too similar to God. Building off the lyrics from the famous Joan Osborne song, they will talk about the perils of domestication, and the importance of awe and wonder.

Let's spend some time doing something differently. Instead of talking about who and what God is, let's talk about who and what God is NOT. This is actually an ancient theological practice that is largely forgotten in modern theology. Talking about what God is not can help expand our understanding of God as well as cultivate a sense of awe or wonder in our faith. Join Phil and Tasha as they explore and discuss this important part of our theological heritage.

Better late than never! Phil and Tasha wrap up their series on the Church's job description with this conversation about the Kingdom of Heaven. What exactly is the Kingdom of Heaven? How do we show it to the world? What does it mean for our lives? They will discuss these things + Taylor Swift. Check it out.

Phil and Tasha are back but they are taking a break from the Great Ends of the Church to discuss the war in Israel. There will be no hot takes here, nor taking of sides. There will be no conversations about policies or tactics. Instead they talk about how we, as people of faith, can manage ourselves during this frightening and saddening time, and how we can remain true to our faith in Jesus.

This week Phil and Tasha talk about what it means to engage our neighbors as the Church. We would probably title this "social justice" rather than "social righteousness" in today's world. This notion of engaging the world and coming alongside the powerless is complicated and fraught with difficulties. How do we do it? Where do we start? What does it look like? Join us to discuss this and more.

This week Phil and Tasha talk about truth. What is truth, in the Christian sense? The appropriate question for us, however, is WHO is truth? That would be Jesus. So listen in while they discuss what this means, how religion can get in the way, and what it means to carry this truth into the world.

This week Phil and Tasha talk about the importance of worship in the life of the church. In particular they discuss maintaining our worship's focus on God. They also talk about some of the things we get wrong when we think about worship, as well as how best to bring young children into worship.

Join Phil and Tasha this week as they explore what it means to be "church" to one another. As they continue to discuss the Church's "job description" their focus this week is on shelter, nurture and spiritual fellowship. But what do those terms mean? How do we live them out? And what's at stake for the Church here?

Phil and Tasha will be co-hosting this six week series on the Great Ends of the Church. Codified in 1910, the Great Ends are functionally the Church's job description. This week we look at the first End, the Proclamation of the Gospel for the Salvation of Humankind. How do we go about proclaiming the Gospel? What are we actually proclaiming? How does that last work, humankind, influence our lives of faith? We will tackle these questions and more this week.

Rham wonders about selections and compilations of Scripture. If we just get parts of the Bible, is that enough? Also, how does creativity and art influence our faith, and should it?

The `1 Pres Pod is back!!! In August Phil will be joined by Jarred Rego and Rham Cunningham to kick around matters of faith. This week, Jarred wonders, "what is with the messianic secret in the Gospels? Why doesn't Jesus want people to know who he is? We will talk about this and more this week.

This week Phil sits down with new Communications Director Sarah Mings. They discuss Sarah's story, her role at First Presbyterian and her first impressions.

This week Phil talks with Maria Martinez, the new Emotional Wellness Coordinator at First Presbyterian Church. Phil and Maria talk about mental health, coping mechanisms and how to help children with their mental health. They talk about de-stigmatizing mental health as well as how to recognize our own mental health needs.

What does it mean to have faith like a mustard seed? Will perfect faith get us a perfect life? And, how do other people help our faith? In this episode Phil and Stephen wrap up their May conversations by discussing all this and more. Check it out!

"Built to Last" 1st Corinthians: Week 6 Rev. Tasha Blackburn Sanctuary Worship 5-21-23 www.1pres.org/giving

This week, Phil and Stephen talk about gender roles in the home and church. How does Scripture inform these roles? Why does our interpretation of Scripture matter as we consider them? In fact, in the Christian worldview, is gender even important?

"We're One, But We're Not the Same" 1st Corinthians: Week 5 Rev. Phillip Blackburn Sanctuary Worship 5-14-23 www.1pres.org/giving

This week Phil and Stephen talk salvation. They define and discuss predestination.; talk about the very human desire to control other people's salvation, and finally how we should approach our own salvation.

"Family Style" 1st Corinthians: Week 4 Rev. Phillip Blackburn Sanctuary Worship 5-7-23 www.1pres.org/giving

Stephen Martin returns and joins Phil for this series which explores Christianity in popular culture. This week, we talk about Tupac Shakur's famous statement, "Only God Can Judge Me." Was he using it right? Wrong? Tune in to hear a conversation about judgment in and out of the Church.

"...But Have Not Love" 1st Corinthians: Week 3 Rev. Tasha Blackburn www.1pres.org/giving

Tasha and Phil discuss what resurrected life looks like in the Christian faith and how that affects our hope even now. This is the fourth and final podcast around the themes of this month's book club, N.T. Wright's Surprised by Hope.

"At Play in the Fields of God" 1st Corinthians: Week 2 Rev. Phillip Blackburn Sanctuary Worship 4-23-23 www.1pres.org/giving

Tasha talks with church member and avid reader of theology Charlie Wohlford about death, resurrection, and one of the Church's earliest statements of faith: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. All of April's episodes center around the church book club for the month, N.T. Wright's Surprised by Hope.

"We Are Weak, but He Is Strong" 1st Corinthians: Week 1 Rev. Tasha Blackburn Sanctuary Worship 4-16-23 www.1pres.org/giving

Tasha has a conversation with the Reverend DeeDee Autry on the hope of Easter and, in particular, how our hope is changed by the promise that even our bodies are resurrected.

"On Fidelity" Rev. Phillip Blackburn Easter Sunday Sanctuary Worship 4-9-23 www.1pres.org/giving