Sermons from Trinity Presbyterian Church of Charlotte

The post Created Anew: As One With Authority appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

The post Created Anew: As One With Authority appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Rebecca Heilman (Jonah 3: 1-10) It was a summer day, I was probably around seven or eight years old, and I had had enough of my older siblings bickering and picking on me. They were driving me nuts and apparently my mom too. While they were sent to their rooms as punishment, I hid in […] The post Reluctantly Created Anew appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Rebecca Heilman (Jonah 3: 1-10) It was a summer day, I was probably around seven or eight years old, and I had had enough of my older siblings bickering and picking on me. They were driving me nuts and apparently my mom too. While they were sent to their rooms as punishment, I hid in […] The post Reluctantly Created Anew appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Steve Lindsley (1 Samuel 3: 1-20) I find myself drawn this morning to the very last verse of our passage today: And all Israel knew that Samuel was a prophet of the Lord. I think there are a couple of reasons why I’m drawn to this.  For one, this isn’t a passage I read all […] The post Created Anew: Finding Your Samuel Voice appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Steve Lindsley (1 Samuel 3: 1-20) I find myself drawn this morning to the very last verse of our passage today: And all Israel knew that Samuel was a prophet of the Lord. I think there are a couple of reasons why I'm drawn to this.  For one, this isn't a passage I read all […] The post Created Anew: Finding Your Samuel Voice appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Steve Lindsley (Genesis 1:1-2:4a – selected verses) One of my minister colleagues this past week shared that the first line of his sermon today was going to be, “I suspect I might make some of you mad today.”  And when someone replied how that was an ominous way to begin a sermon, he assured them […] The post Created Anew: Reckoning With Un-Creation appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Steve Lindsley (Genesis 1:1-2:4a – selected verses) One of my minister colleagues this past week shared that the first line of his sermon today was going to be, “I suspect I might make some of you mad today.”  And when someone replied how that was an ominous way to begin a sermon, he assured them […] The post Created Anew: Reckoning With Un-Creation appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Steve Lindsley (Matthew 2: 1-12) I am fascinated by the idea of the belated birthday card.  It's rare I have to use them anymore, should circumstances require one.  Much easier to send a quick text or short video: oops, forgot your big day, hope it was a good one!  But in those instances when an […] The post Gold, Circumstance, And Mud appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Steve Lindsley (Matthew 2: 1-12) I am fascinated by the idea of the belated birthday card.  It’s rare I have to use them anymore, should circumstances require one.  Much easier to send a quick text or short video: oops, forgot your big day, hope it was a good one!  But in those instances when an […] The post Gold, Circumstance, And Mud appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Steve Lindsley (Luke 2: 1-14) Have you ever noticed the mess of a story our Christmas story is?  I mean, in some far-off parallel universe where everything goes as expected, where everything happens as it should, the story of the birth of Jesus might’ve gone something more like this: In those days a decree went […] The post A Weary World Rejoices appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Steve Lindsley (Luke 1: 5-20, 26-38) There was a knock at the door.  Not a “tap-tap” but a “boom-boom!” – the kind you can hear down in the basement or up on the second floor.  I was actually in the living room watching TV.  It was my senior year in college; I was renting a […] The post Waiting And Watching – The Second Advent appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Rebecca Heilman (John 1:6-8, 19-28) When I was in college, I traveled to Malawi, Africa every summer to spend a few weeks or months in a mission mountain town named Nkhoma. One week, I heard that a few other women were planning to hike Nkhoma Mountain, the peak that is seen at almost every angle […] The post Waiting And Watching – In the Thick of the Thicket appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Steve Lindsley (Mark 13: 24-37) Roger Gench, the interim co-editor for The Presbyterian Outlook, talks about how when he was raised as a child in the Midwest, he was brought up to always be courteous, always be well-behaved and always be agreeable.  In other words – to be nice.  And nice served him well as […] The post Waiting And Watching – An Agitating Advent appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Steve Lindsley (Ephesians 1: 15-23) Thirty years ago on this Sunday, I was standing before a congregation of eleven people in Hiroshima Japan, telling them where I had met Jesus. Some context is probably in order.  A few months before, I had graduated from college.  I had a job lined up and waiting for me […] The post CHRIST Is King – With The Eyes Of Your Heart Enlightened appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Rebecca Heilman (Philippians 2: 1-11) My brother has more recently learned the power of imitation with his 5-year-old son. My brother is the kindest, most lovable person you’ll meet and he also has a strong sense of humor. He is dry and witty and often tells jokes with curse words interspersed. It’s just who he […] The post CHRIST Is King – Imitating Christ appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Steve Lindsley (Ezekiel 34: 1-6, 10-16) It was September 1963. A young man was sitting in the apartment of his friend, who happened to be an up-and-coming singer/songwriter.  He noticed a number of song manuscripts and poems lying on the coffee table. He reached down and picked one up and started reading: Come gather ’round, […] The post CHRIST Is King – God Is Our Shepherd Now appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Steve Lindsley (Romans 8: 26-27, 31-35, 37-39) Before I begin, I want to share a bit about the sermon series Rebecca and I are beginning this Sunday, a series that runs through the next four weeks.  The theme of our series is Christ is King; and if it sounds like I added emphasis on the […] The post CHRIST Is King – Nothing Can Separate appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Steve Lindsley (Matthew 5: 14-16; 1 Corinthians 12: 12-27) Even if you’re not there for the youth conference – even if you’ve just stopped by for the evening and happen to find yourself in the middle of it all – it’s still a pretty amazing sight.  A thousand-plus teenagers, leaving the comforts of Anderson Auditorium […] The post Let Your Light Shine! appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Steve Lindsley (Mark 6: 30-44) First, before anything else, the disciples were called.  The way Mark tells it, there were two of them fishing when Jesus happened by.  Follow me, he said, and I will make you fish for people.  And that was all it took for Simon and Andrew, and they dropped their nets […] The post Called. Connected. Committed. appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Rebecca Heilman (John 4: 4-30; 39-42) In her book, Breathing Space, Heidi Neumark writes about her friend, Miss Ellie. Miss Ellie lives on John’s Island near Charleston, South Carolina on a small dirt road in a one-room wooden home. Neumark often visited Miss Ellie sharing stories as they drank a tall glass of sweet tea.[1] […] The post Connecting With Our Neighbor – You Have To Go Through Samaria appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Steve Lindsley (Luke 14: 1-24) We continue this morning in our ConnectTPC sermon series, Connecting with our Neighbor, asking who our neighbor is and how we connect with them as we connect with God and with our church family. Today’s passage comes from the 14th chapter of Luke, verses 1-24. It is a story about […] The post Connecting With Our Neighbor – Gathered At The Table appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Steve Lindsley Jonah 3:1-7a, 8-10, 4:1-4 Stories matter.  They define meaning for us.  More than relaying facts and figures, they tell us what is true.  But more importantly, the full story matters.  Without the full story, we only get half the picture.  Truth is only partial, if a partial truth can be considered truth at […] The post Connecting With Our Neighbor – The Irritation Of Grace appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

The post Connecting With Our Neighbor – Who Is It? appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Steve Lindsley (Matthew 11: 28-30) This morning, I want to share with you two stories about yokes. Not egg yokes – no, I’m talking about the wooden beam yokes, the kind used between a pair of animals that pull a load together. That’s the literal yoke, from which we get the metaphorical yoke – a […] The post Trading Yokes appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Rebecca Heilman (Exodus 13: 3-10) I grew up in Valdese, NC, which is about an hour from Charlotte. It’s a small town built by French Italians known as Waldensians. The Waldensians are a religious group of people who were reformers long before the reformation – they valued reading, education, justice, and even women pastors all […] The post Preparing For The Wilderness appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Steve Lindsley (Romans 12: 9-21) Endings can often make the best of beginnings.  Growing up at White Memorial Presbyterian in Raleigh, I heard my pastor give the same benediction every Sunday.  That pastor, Dr. Pickard, was at White Memorial for 29 years.  He was the one who baptized me; he was there throughout my college […] The post Love From The Center Of Who You Are appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Steve Lindsley (Matthew 16:13-20) The question Jesus asks his disciples in our passage today kind of comes out of nowhere, to be honest.  There’s nothing preceding it that would give us any heads-up that Jesus is thinking about what the people are saying.  It’s the normal Jesus stuff – parables are told, sermons are preached.  […] The post What Are People Saying? appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Veronica Cannon (Matthew 15:21-28) Maya Angelou, author, poet and civil rights activist, once said “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. […] The post Crumb Faith appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Alice Ridgill (Philippians 4: 6-9) Months have passed since Covid-19 disrupted our lives, and many of us long for normalcy again. We long for the familiar again. We long for the way it used to be again. Yet, if we are honest, we realize the way it used to be may never be again. And, […] The post Peace In A Pandemic appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

The post The Kingdom Of God Is….. appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Steve Lindsley (Deuteronomy 24: 17-22; Luke 6:20-26) You know what you start to notice the more you read the Bible, especially the Old Testament; something you may not have paid much attention to before?  Widows and orphans.  It’s true.  Everywhere, like the passage Rebekah just read, we find widows and orphans, mentioned over and over […] The post Living Biblically – A “Power Under” appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Steve Lindsley (Leviticus 23: 39-43) There’s a movie called Memento – a post-modern mystery thriller that centers on a man named Leonard who has anterograde amnesia.  If you don’t know what that is, don’t feel bad, I had to look it up myself.   Anterograde amnesia is the inability to form and hold on to new […] The post Living Biblically – Who Tells Your Story appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Steve Lindsley (1 Thessalonians 5: 12-24) On this Sunday after the Fourth of July, there is another national holiday I have on my mind.  Thanksgiving, of all things.  A particular Thanksgiving. The family is all gathered around the table; four generations strong.  It is a big table with chairs scrunched together. And on that table, […] The post Living Biblically – Live Thankfully appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Rebekah Hutto (John 6: 30-42) Although I haven’t spent much time in there lately, if I walked you into my office right now, you would see one whole bookcase overflowing with children’s religious picture books. Because my mom is an early-childhood educator, my love for children’s books has always existed but not until seminary did […] The post A God We Can Know appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

June 21, 2020 LOUISA BYNUM Good morning, I’m Louisa Bynum.  I’m gonna be honest, when I was approached by Steve and Rebecca about doing a senior homily, my initial thought was no. My entire family including grandparents, aunts, and uncles have been members here forever; however, because of my club soccer schedule, I wasn’t able to […] The post Senior Homilies appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Rebekah McLeod Hutto (Genesis 18:1-15, 21:1-7; Romans 5:1-8) Soon after it was published, I read a book of stories by one of my clergy friends from Duke Divinity School, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove. Jonathan and his wife Leah live together with their neighbors in an intentional, Christian community called The Rutba House in Durham, NC. They live […] The post Laughter And Hope Under The Oaks appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

The post Sleeping On Stones appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

The post Connecting With Our Church Family – All Together appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

(If you would like to watch our online worship service in its entirety, click HERE.) Steve Lindsley (James 5: 19-20) As you know, our focus this month, as part of our 2020 #ConnectTPC theme, has been connecting with our church family.  In our sermons, we’ve talked about the depth and breadth of this connection – […] The post Connecting With Our Church Family – Live Accountably appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Deuteronomy 15: 7-11 Rebecca McLeod Hutto When we think of generosity and giving to others, we often put it in the context of “that’s just what good people do.” Teaching our children to share is how we teach kindness and help them learn how to be grateful. But today’s passage reminds us that giving to […] The post Connecting With Our Church Family – Open Your Hand appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

(If you would like to watch our online worship service in its entirety, click HERE.) Steve Lindsley (Luke 5: 17-21) Here’s the thing I most want to know about this story today.  If I could somehow go back in time and watch this scene unfold; if I could do like Harry Potter and look in […] The post Connecting With Our Church Family – Carry Me appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

The post Connecting With Our Church Family – As He Loves Us appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

The post Now We See Jesus appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

The post Resurrection Peace appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

(If you would like to watch our Online Easter Worship service in its entirety, click HERE). Steve Lindsley (Matthew 28: 1-10) My friends, in the nearly seventy-year history of our Church, this marks the first time ever that our congregation will not gather in our sanctuary to worship and celebrate the Risen Lord on Easter […] The post Connecting With God: With Fear And Great Joy appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

The post Connecting With God: Untie Your Colt appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Rebekah Hutto (Acts 17: 16-34) (Note: Today’s service was a virtual service online, as our church has suspended all church activities due to the coronavirus until further notice.  If you’d like to see the service in its entirety, click HERE). If I were with you in person, I’d love to know who among you has […] The post Connecting With God: In A New Way appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

The post Connecting With God: Eyes Wide Open appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Steve Lindsley John 1: 1-5, 14 The “For Sale” sign appeared rather unceremoniously in the front yard one day.  It has been awhile since anyone lived there.  Those in the neighborhood had grown accustomed to its empty state, the lack of a car parked in the driveway or children running on the front lawn.  Everyone […] The post The Light Is Here! appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.

Grace Lindvall (Matthew 1: 18-25) Will you pray with me? God of advent waiting, of hope, and expectation. Sit with us in this time of waiting and preparing, open our hearts to hear your word and open our hearts to receive your presence with us. Move your spirit through our hearts that we would be […] The post A Light Is Dawning – Expecting appeared first on Trinity Presbyterian Church - Charlotte, NC.