Podcasts about pcusa

The Resurrection of the Lord; Sermon based on John 20:11-18. Preached at The First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn (https://linktr.ee/firstchurchbrooklyn). Podcast subscription is available at https://cutt.ly/fpcb-sermons or Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/4ccZPt6), Spotify, Amazon, Audible, Podcas....This item belongs to: audio/first-church-brooklyn-sermons.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Columbia Peaks, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

April 13, 2025 - Palm Sunday Scripture: Luke 19:29-20:8 Sermon: "by what authority" Moment for Mission: One Great Hour of Sharing View the full worship service on YouTube sermon_audio_2025-04-13.mp3File Size: 29150 kbFile Type: mp3Download File [...]

David A. Davis preaches on Luke 22:1-23 on Palm Sunday. April 13, 2025.

Palm and Passion Sunday; Sermon based on Luke 19:28-40. Preached at The First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn (https://linktr.ee/firstchurchbrooklyn). Podcast subscription is available at https://cutt.ly/fpcb-sermons or Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/4ccZPt6), Spotify, Amazon, Audible, Podcast Ind....This item belongs to: audio/first-church-brooklyn-sermons.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Columbia Peaks, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

April 6, 2025 - Fifth Sunday in Lent Scripture: Luke 18:31-19:10 Sermon: "What do you want me to do for you?" Moment for Mission: Ronald McDonald House View the full worship service on YouTube sermon_audio_2025-04-06.mp3File Size: 24211 kbFile Type: mp3Download File [...]

David A. Davis preaches on Luke 9:1-9 on the Fifth Sunday in Lent, April 6, 2025.

Fifth Sunday in Lent; Sermon based on Isaiah 43:16-21. Preached at The First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn (https://linktr.ee/firstchurchbrooklyn). Podcast subscription is available at https://cutt.ly/fpcb-sermons or Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/4ccZPt6), Spotify, Amazon, Audible, Podcast Inde....This item belongs to: audio/first-church-brooklyn-sermons.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Columbia Peaks, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

March 30, 2025 - Fourth Sunday in Lent Scripture: Luke 16:19-31 Sermon: Across the Divide Moment for Mission: Synod School View the full worship service on YouTube sermon_audio_2025-03-30.mp3File Size: 24300 kbFile Type: mp3Download File [...]

David A. Davis preaches on Exodus 16:1-21 on the Fourth Sunday of Lent. March 30, 2025.

Fourth Sunday in Lent; Sermon based on Psalm 32. Preached at The First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn (https://linktr.ee/firstchurchbrooklyn). Podcast subscription is available at https://cutt.ly/fpcb-sermons or Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/4ccZPt6), Spotify, Amazon, Audible, Podcast Index, or ....This item belongs to: audio/first-church-brooklyn-sermons.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Columbia Peaks, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

March 23, 2025 - Third Sunday in Lent Scripture: Luke 15:1-32 Sermon: Rev. Ekram Kachu Moment for Mission: Landscape Improvements View the full worship service on YouTube sermon_audio_2025-03-23.mp3File Size: 47921 kbFile Type: mp3Download File [...]

David A. Davis preaches on Genesis 3:17-19 on the third Sunday in Lent. March 23, 2025.

Third Sunday in Lent; Sermon based on Psalm 69:13 and Matthew 6:9-13. Preached at The First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn (https://linktr.ee/firstchurchbrooklyn). Podcast subscription is available at https://cutt.ly/fpcb-sermons or Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/4ccZPt6), Spotify, Amazon, Audibl....This item belongs to: audio/first-church-brooklyn-sermons.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Columbia Peaks, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

March 16, 2025 - Second Sunday in Lent Scripture: Luke 13:1-9, 31-35 Sermon: Love and Action Moment for Mission: One Great Hour of Sharing View the full worship service on YouTube sermon_audio_2025-03-16.mp3File Size: 24592 kbFile Type: mp3Download File [...]

Segment 1 • Church news: PCUSA and UMC are cutting staff, while SBC is also in decline. • Growing churches focus on biblical truth, not entertainment or worldly influences. • The Bible permits us to draw distinctions—don't settle for a worldly religion. Segment 2 • Bethel Church's influence is part of a broader intellectual regression. • Martin Luther's The Bondage of the Will offers timeless wisdom on salvation. • Franklin Graham's work in Ethiopia shows that real ministry still matters. Segment 3 • Bethel Church promotes the prosperity gospel, but true wealth is in Christ alone. • Money isn't the best thing God offers; Jesus offers something far better. • Sin may look enticing, but choosing it is settling for the lessor thing. Segment 4 • Dr. Jason Lisle in studio—don't miss this opportunity to learn from him. • We need a serious reevaluation of the death penalty in America. • The crime rate is worse than we realize—look to Ireland for the latest concern. ___ Preorder the new book, Lies My Therapist Told Me, by Fortis Institute Fellow Dr. Greg Gifford now! https://www.harpercollins.com/pages/liesmytherapisttoldme ___ Thanks for listening! Wretched Radio would not be possible without the financial support of our Gospel Partners. If you would like to support Wretched Radio we would be extremely grateful. VISIT https://fortisinstitute.org/donate/ If you are already a Gospel Partner we couldn't be more thankful for you if we tried!

Nassau's youth preach on Genesis 2:4-25 on the second Sunday in Lent. March 16, 2025.

Second Sunday in Lent; Sermon based on Psalm 27 and Luke 13:31-35. Preached at The First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn (https://linktr.ee/firstchurchbrooklyn). Podcast subscription is available at https://cutt.ly/fpcb-sermons or Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/4ccZPt6), Spotify, Amazon, Audible, ....This item belongs to: audio/first-church-brooklyn-sermons.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Columbia Peaks, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

David A. Davis preaches on Genesis 1:1-2:3 on the first Sunday in Lent. March 9, 2025.

First Sunday in Lent; Sermon based on Exodus 14:11-14 and Matthew 4:1-11. Preached at The First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn (https://linktr.ee/firstchurchbrooklyn). Podcast subscription is available at https://cutt.ly/fpcb-sermons or Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/4ccZPt6), Spotify, Amazon, Au....This item belongs to: audio/first-church-brooklyn-sermons.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Columbia Peaks, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

Lauren J. McFeaters preaches on Luke 9:28-36. March 2, 2025.

Transfiguration of the Lord; Sermon based on Luke 9.28-43. Preached at The First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn (https://linktr.ee/firstchurchbrooklyn). Podcast subscription is available at https://cutt.ly/fpcb-sermons or Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/4ccZPt6), Spotify, Amazon, Audible, Podcast ....This item belongs to: audio/first-church-brooklyn-sermons.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Columbia Peaks, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

Testify Testifya sermon by Rev. J. Christy Ramsey DOWNLOAD A LIVE RECORDING Audio from worship at the 10 AM Worship Service February 16, 2025at St Peter’s Episcopal Churchedited from a flawless transcription made by edigitaltranscriptions all errors are mine. John 8:12-19 Sermons also available free on iTunes My pastor growing up, Dr. Paul Bauer, said “Sermonettes are for Christianettes.” That was probably his only joke in 20 years, but it was a good one. Good morning, Episcopalians. They’ve got me tied to this mic today, so you’re welcome. So today I’ve got scriptures, I love the scriptures you give me there. Define the relationship of Jesus Christ and God the Father without straying from Episcopalian beliefs or violating your Presbyterian doctrine, and do it in 10 minutes. Thanks. We’ll pass on that. I mean, there have been wars fought over this, and over a single Greek letter. We’ll pass on that. What we won’t pass on is the opportunity the scripture gives us to talk about testimony. Testimony. We need more testimony in this world. We don’t need more arguing. We don’t need more fact-checking. We don’t need more gotcha. We don’t need any snarky answers to people’s sincerely held beliefs. What we could use is testimony. Did you hear it in Jesus’s saying, “You don’t know where I came from or where I’m going?” If you know where you came from, if you know where you are going, you have a testimony. You have something to say. And I don’t know if any of you have been preachers, weekly preachers for 40 years. But I’ll tell you a secret. When you’re preaching every Sunday, everything that happens is sermon-fodder. You know, everything goes in the old chipper and comes out, I tell you. And so I was thinking about testimony and what does it mean to – and where is the good testimony and where things are. And would you believe it, in my inbox comes testimony from the Episcopalians. Woo-hah. And about 20 other denominations, including Presbyterian, about sanctuary. Now, you all know how hard it is to keep quiet in a sanctuary. You know how hard it is to keep me quiet in the sanctuary before service. Well, I’ll tell you, you Episcopalians work even harder on sanctuary. For over a quarter of the century, sanctuary has been kept in churches, synagogues, religious gathering places around the country, saying, hey, arrest people somewhere else than in church, at services, on a Sunday. But no longer. No longer. And that’s what the Episcopalians testified. Listen to this. Sean Rowe, presiding bishop. In the Kingdom of God as we understand it, immigrants and refugees are not at the edges, fearful and alone. Their struggles reveal the heart of God. We cannot worship freely if some of us live in fear. Sean Rowe, Episcopal bishop, presiding bishop. Even Jesus himself identifies as “stranger.” We must proclaim, particularly in this time, that we are all welcome in the places of worship, that all have – that all are welcome in places of worship. This seems a basic human right, one that we are called by God to serve. In the first week of the current administration I see he arrested over 4,500 people, including 1,000 people in a Sunday immigration enforcement blitz. At least one of these – this is from the court case that your church joined with the church I serve, and 21 other churches in testimony. And at least one of these enforcement actions occurred at a church in Georgia during the worship service. According to news coverage, an usher standing at the church entrance saw a group of ICE agents outside, locked the door. The agent said that they were there to arrest Wilson Velasquez, who had traveled to the United States from Honduras with his wife and three children in 2022. Immediately after crossing the border, they turned themselves in to U.S. authorities, requested asylum. They were given a court date, released after federal agents put a GPS tracking monitor on Velasquez’s ankle. After settling in suburban life, the family joined the Pentecostal Church, where they worshipped several times a week and helped with the music. They were listening to the pastor’s sermon when ICE agents arrived to arrest Velasquez. Although Velasquez had attended all his required check-ins at the Atlanta ICE office and had a court date scheduled to present his asylum case to a judge, ICE agents arrested him, explaining that they were simply looking for people with ankle bracelets. The pastor, Luis Ortiz, tried to reassure his congregation. But he said he could see the fear and tears in their faces. And if you’re upset that people are talking in sanctuary, imagine how upset you’d be if someone came in and arrested someone during the sermon. That should be an announcement every Sunday morning. But we’re not saying you’re bad, or you’re awful, or you vote for this person, or it’s all your fault or blame. We’re saying where we have been, where we came from, and where we are going, we know that, so we have a testimony. And here’s the Episcopal Church’s testimony. And God bless you all. This is in the filing of the United States court system. Because you all know where you’ve been, and you all know where you’re going, and you have a testimony. Plaintiff, the Episcopal Church. Recognizing the Bible’s repeated calls for God’s people to embrace the foreigner as a way of extending the work that is the heart of God in every time and place, the Episcopal Church, champions and advocates for humane policies toward migrants. And many dioceses, parish, and Episcopal networks provide resources, support, and care for asylum seekers, undocumented immigrants, refugees, and other migrant communities. Testimony. Testimony. If you don’t know where you’ve been and don’t know where you’re going, you don’t have a testimony. But Christians know where we’ve been. We read the scriptures every Sunday. Hopefully more than every Sunday. We live by them. And we know where we’re going. We’re going to the Kingdom of God, and we’re living in the Kingdom of God right here. We are not living in Empire. We do not serve the Empire. We serve the Kingdom of God. We know where we’ve been. We know where we’re going. We know what our passport says. Our passport says “Kingdom of God.” Not Empire. And so we have a testimony. You don’t have to argue with someone because they’re just not listening. They’re just waiting for their turn to argue with you and go back and forth. We need to have conversations. We need to find common ground. We need to go forward. Yes, yes, yes, yes. But that’s not going to come from arguing. It’s going to come from testimony based on where we come from and where we want to go. Brian, you got that slide up there for me? Here’s a testimony. Here’s a sign that doesn’t say “Vote for this” or “I voted that” or “Don’t blame me, I voted for the other one.” This is what I believe. In this house we believe love is love. Testimony. Black Lives Matter. And if you’re racist, Black Lives Matter Too, because I have to say that or otherwise you’d think that we do a Breast Cancer Awareness or Fundraiser, we’re saying no other cancer matters. Black Lives Matter Too. Science is real. Women’s rights are fundamental. Women’s rights are human rights. No person is illegal. Disability rights are human rights. Healthcare for all. Kindness is everything. That just says what you believe. That’s a testimony based on where you’ve come from and where you’re going. It attacks no one. It should upset no one. It goes, oh, thanks for sharing what you believe. Now, I know you a little better. Some of those things I believe. Maybe we could figure out how to make that a little more true in the greater world. It’s testimony. I brought a prop. My wife made this for me. And I think I’m going to be wearing it more and more. This might be a daily driver. Some people are against rainbows. But this shows where I believe. And I think I’m going to be wearing this shirt. I almost wore it to preach in. You’re welcome. This should threaten no one. This just gives a testimony to what I believe. It’s perfectly okay if you pee next to me. Now, if you want to bring a gun in, I might have an issue with that. But you all can pee next to me. So if you’re upset, you can say, well, at least he didn’t wear the T-shirt the whole time. So I come to thank you. Presbyterian Church is in the pleading, too. Eighty pages, great reading, along with Episcopalians, the spot on the Mennonites. We can almost – we’ve got a couple atheists in there. All testifying. In 1993, America decided that sanctuary was a place not just to keep quiet for a few minutes before worship, but a place where humans that are fearful could come and worship God, and hear the good eternal truth in the gospel without fear of being arrested and hauled off because it’s easy to get them there. Over a quarter of a century ago. I don’t remember changing, that we thought as long as you’re quiet you can arrest people in our services. Testimony. I believe sanctuary is a place where everyone can come and worship without fear of persecution, without fear of that. And you know, folks, I have some privileged folks in my life. And when I start talking about that, they go, oh, you’re talking politics. Oh, you’re just talking – we don’t talk politics. Wilson is now not with his family. He’s taken away from his children and his wife. And I would challenge that person to go and explain to their children that their father is not with them anymore, that he’s in prison, it’s just politics, and they shouldn’t really care that much. Our faith is a lot more than what is comfortable for us and for the people that we can see. Our faith is a faith of the entire world. We believe that Jesus Christ came, not to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. It’s not a scripture, but that world means cosmos, means everything, all the relationships, and all the people in it, and the plants and the animals, and the people that come and go. That’s what God came for, not just to make my life comfortable. And those I can see not suffering because that’s upsetting. It’s for everyone. So I come here as a wandering Presbyterian to thank the leadership of the Episcopal Church in saying where they come from and where they’re going, and testifying to all that would hear, and many that don’t want to, that this is who we are. This is who we love. And this is where we’re going. And we’re telling everyone. Testify. Amen.

David A. Davis preaches on 1 Corinthians 15:51-58. February 23, 2025.

7th Sunday After Epiphany; Sermon based on Jeremiah 22:3-5 and 1 John 3:11-17. Preached at The First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn (https://linktr.ee/firstchurchbrooklyn). Podcast subscription is available at https://cutt.ly/fpcb-sermons or Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/4ccZPt6), Spotify, Amazo....This item belongs to: audio/first-church-brooklyn-sermons.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Columbia Peaks, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

Alan's Soaps https://www.alansartisansoaps.comUse coupon code ‘TODD' to save an additional 10% off the bundle price.Bioptimizers https://Bioptimizers.com/ToddEnter promo code TODD to get 10% off any order.Bonefrog https://bonefrogcoffee.com/toddUse Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with an Irish Bag of coffee and a “Lucky” gift box from BoneFrog Coffee.  Use code TODD at checkout to receive 10% off your first purchase and 15% on subscriptions.Bulwark Capital Bulwark Capital Management (bulwarkcapitalmgmt.com)Don't miss the next live Webinar Thursday March 20th at 3:30pm pacific.  Sign up today by calling 866-779-RISK or go to KnowYourRiskRadio.com.Native Path Krill https://GetKrill.com/ToddVisit GetKrill.com/Todd to get your special offer of NativePath Antarctic Krill Oil for as low as $19 a bottle. Renue Healthcare https://renue.healthcare/toddYour journey to a better life starts at Renue Healthcare. Visit renue.healthcare/Todd  This black woman claims that America doesn't deserve black culture. According to CBS news, free speech enabled the Holocaust, and a lot more on CBS. Finally, you decide: Which take on Adam & Eve is the most insane?Episode Links:"America doesn't deserve black culture!” Advice for her?When the left talks about "Whiteness" what they mean is what's the graphic below:Anyone claiming “free speech was weaponized to conduct a genocide” in Nazi Germany is either profoundly ignorant or deliberately lying. The Nazis didn't “weaponize” free speech, they abolished it. No one pushing nonsense like this should be allowed anywhere near a newsroom.Armed state police conducted a 6 AM raid on a German citizen's home, confiscating their electronics.  Their alleged crime wasn't terrorism or threats—it was sharing a cartoon officials deemed offensive.German police are now conducting pre-dawn raids on citizens for posting "hate speech" online. The crime? Sometimes it's just insulting a politician or sharing an offensive meme.“Twelve days ago, people knew where their next paycheck was coming from. They knew how they were going to pay for their kids' daycare, their medical bills. And then, all gone overnight,” says Kristina Drye, who was fired in the USAID shutdown60 Minutes pulled in 2 comms consultants who were never actual employees of USAID and presented them as though they were longtime employees who were fired for lack of "loyaltyLonger clip of T.D. Jakes' weird sermon statement about Adam being Eve's Mom.PCUSA impastor says Eve actually made a great choice to eat the fruit in the garden of Eden, which Adam trusted her to make. In the same way, we should trust women to decide to abort their babies or not, and make the best decisions for themselves

David A. Davis preaches on Luke 6:17-26. February 16, 2025.

6th Sunday After Epiphany; Sermon based on Luke 6:17-26. Preached at The First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn (https://linktr.ee/firstchurchbrooklyn). Podcast subscription is available at https://cutt.ly/fpcb-sermons or Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/4ccZPt6), Spotify, Amazon, Audible, Podcast In....This item belongs to: audio/first-church-brooklyn-sermons.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Columbia Peaks, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

Segment 1: Trump Administration Removes Sex-Change Info from Social Security Website The Trump administration has taken a bold step by removing guidance on sex changes from the Social Security Administration (SSA) website. The removed content previously outlined how individuals could change their gender on official records. This move aligns with Trump's commitment to rolling back federal support for gender ideology and ensuring that government institutions reflect biological realities rather than activist agendas. Segment 2: PCUSA & ECUSA Praise Pro-LGBT Bishop In a joint statement, the Presbyterian Church (USA) (PCUSA) and the Episcopal Church (ECUSA) have openly praised a progressive bishop known for advocating LGBTQ+ inclusion in the church. This marks another step in mainline denominations shifting toward liberal theology, drawing both applause and concern from Christian communities. Some argue that this move embraces cultural trends over biblical truth, while others claim it's a necessary step for inclusivity. Segment 3: Teens More Likely Than Adults to Oppose Transgenderism A surprising new study reveals that teenagers are actually more resistant to transgender ideology than adults. Despite the push for gender fluidity in schools and media, younger generations appear to be more skeptical of radical gender theories. The study suggests that social pressures and firsthand experiences with the consequences of gender transitions may be fueling this pushback. Could this indicate a growing shift toward traditional values among the next generation? Get free alerts at http://PrayInJesusName.org © 2025, Chaplain Gordon James Klingenschmitt, PhD. Airs on NRB TV, Direct TV Ch.378, Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, GoogleTV, Smart TV, iTunes and www.PrayInJesusName.org

David A. Davis preaches on Luke 5:1-11. February 9, 2025.

5th Sunday After Epiphany; Sermon based on Psalm 138 and Luke 5:1-11. Preached at The First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn (https://linktr.ee/firstchurchbrooklyn). Podcast subscription is available at https://cutt.ly/fpcb-sermons or Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/4ccZPt6), Spotify, Amazon, Audibl....This item belongs to: audio/first-church-brooklyn-sermons.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Columbia Peaks, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

David A. Davis preaches on 1 Corinthians 12:27-13:13. February 2, 2025.

4th Sunday After Epiphany; Sermon based on Hebrews 3:1-6, 12-14. Preached at The First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn (https://linktr.ee/firstchurchbrooklyn). Podcast subscription is available at https://cutt.ly/fpcb-sermons or Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/4ccZPt6), Spotify, Amazon, Audible, Po....This item belongs to: audio/first-church-brooklyn-sermons.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Columbia Peaks, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

Not My Job Not My Joba sermon by Rev. J. Christy Ramsey DOWNLOAD A LIVE RECORDING Audio from worship at the 10 AM Worship Service January 26, 2025for ZOOM with Lee Vining Presbyterian Churchedited from a flawless transcription made by edigitaltranscriptions all errors are mine. John 2:1-11 Sermons also available free on iTunes Should the church be run like a business? People tell me that, throughout my career in the ministry in 40 years, and they come in, you know, church has to be run like a business. And they usually don’t know that I have a business administration degree from Grove City College with cum laude. So they think this is news to me, God bless ‘em. And I was wondering, you know, when I’m in a more festive mood, with is almost always, I admit it is a problem, I ask them, well, if church is run like a business, what’s its product? I mean, what is it selling? I mean, that’s basic business that you know your product. What’s a product? You know, it gives them pause because, I mean, you all think of that, I ain’t going to put you on the spot because, you know, it’s like being in the front row at a comedy club, you know. You know you’re going to get picked on if there’s only, like, six of you. So don’t answer out. I’m not putting you on the spot. But what would you say is the church’s business? What’s the product? What are we making? Oh, you’re going to – you’re going to – you’re, yeah, are we making Christians. That’s one of the A-plus answers. I would go A-plus on Christians, disciples, yeah. You know, others would say, you know, Laurie, others would say, well, you’re making worship services. You know, some people say that. Or, well, you’ve got to maintain the building, you know. Or some people would say, you know, you’re feeding the hungry, and Matthew 25, and the thirsty, and you’re doing that stuff. And I don’t know if you’d get agreement from everyone in a room about what the product is for the church, if it was run like a business. And then it gets even more complicated because then you’ve got to say, okay, we’ve got a product, maybe. You would say, well, who’s our customer? What’s our target audience? Who are we working for? And I’m sure Laurie knows the answer. It’s always God. God’s always the correct answer in any children’s message or sermon. Well, some people say God’s the customer. Okay. Other people would say, well, the people who pay the bills. You’ve got to keep them happy. You’ve got to keep the people happy who’re paying the bills or you don’t have a church. They’re the customer. Well, sure, God, but you know, oh, I’ve got to keep the money folks happy. Some people would say that. Some people say, well, it’s the church board. I mean, I don’t know if anybody would say that. Maybe one or two would say you’ve got to go with the – or maybe a couple would say the pastor has to be happy. That’s rare, but that could happen. I’m sure that’s happened. You know, who are you trying to please? Who are you working for? Who’s the customer? That’s a difficult one. What if they went beyond that and said, okay, well, now, who owns the business? You know? Who? Is it a nonprofit? That’s problematic in a church, if you don’t have profits. If you do, well, what’s the business? What is that customer? Who owns it? Who is in charge of it? I mean, the Presbyterians have gone all the way up to the Supreme Court about who owns the church. And the Supreme Court, way back, oh, ‘70s, said, well, that PCUSA owns the church, but please make it more clear in your constitution. So we’ve been – we struggle with that in reality of who owns the business of the business? That’s important, too. Well, you know, we shouldn’t be surprised that we have these questions and answers, and that we can’t get consensus and move around because even Jesus Christ had trouble, as we saw here, skipping over the dynamic of why you’re calling your mother “women,” that doesn’t sound good to us English-speaking ears that you go “woman.” But maybe it’s better in the Aramaic, I’m hoping. But Jesus had some troubles about his jobs and where he was doing and what he was doing it for. And, you know, a mother, the mother, you know, you don’t want your mother coming up to where you work and saying you’re not good at your job. I mean, that’s not good. That’s a bad day right there. And, you know, and I don’t know, you know, can you imagine, I don’t know if we can be Jesus, but you’ve got these world-changing powers. You want to change the world for good. You want to help people, you want to get love all around, forgiveness and all that, and your mom wants you to solve the lack of wine at a three-day blowout party for people you don’t know. You know, Jesus Christ is fully human. I can see him being a little upset about that one. And not just, you know, hey, bring a bottle of wine. I mean, come on, it’s a party, bring the wine, what are you? You know, we’re talking multiple gallons of water turning to wine. We’re talking 20 to 30, what is it, six times 20, help me out. It’s over 100 gallons of wine. That’s a lot of wine. Of course, you know, Mary didn’t say, hey, go get 100 gallons. Is that Jesus’ job? I don’t know. We struggle with that in the church. We’re struggling right now about what is the church’s job. I mean, folks will say let’s get politics out of the church, doo to doo to doo, you know, they want to say that. And you know what, I’ve noticed over the years, I mean, I’ve been around a little bit, politics just kept getting wider and wider and wider. You know? It used to be you could go buy craft supplies and not worry about politics. Now you’ve got to say, well, that one’s Republican and that one’s Democrat. Politics are just freaking everywhere. You know, and people wear them, you know, as part of their clothing, their politics. It is politics, politics, politics, politics everywhere. And it affects – and it’s not just politics. Politics affects our lives, affects our health, affects our neighbors, affects ourselves, affects our family. You know, we say, well, it’s just politics. Well, no, man, it’s morality. It’s reality. It’s how we live. It’s how we structure society. It’s how we help one another. And even now we saw right now that a bishop, you know, we don’t have bishops. I don’t know. Sometimes that’s good; sometimes it’s bad. I don’t know. But we don’t have bishops. But that’s like, you know, up there, you know, big hat, in charge of church and stuff. And the bishop in the church, okay, that’s kind of a big thing, bishop in the church there actually makes it a cathedral when the bishop’s in the church. So the bishop in the cathedral saying a sermon, you know, the bishop in the cathedral in a sermon, you think that’s religious. But some people say, oh, no, that’s politics. They can’t say this. They can’t say that. They’ve got this to do. They’ve got this to do. They’ve got to be in this box. They can’t be this. And oh, my gosh, I want to tell you about how the bishop in the cathedral preaching a sermon should be. I say get the politics out of the church. I say get the politics out of my life. My life belongs to Jesus Christ. Don’t be telling me I can’t follow Jesus Christ because you don’t like the politics. And don’t be coming into a cathedral and telling the bishop what he can say in their own pulpit. No. We have trouble with jobs, with what is a job. I mean, even today we have trouble. You know, we say we might get upset about oh, my gosh, he should have said into this. Oh, my gosh, that’s not her job. Oh, she shouldn’t have made the wine. I mean, I’m sure that there were some people, well, Jesus, you know, you shouldn’t be making that much wine for drunk people. I mean, that is a reasonable criticism. I mean, Laurie can help me out here, but I’m thinking that’s enabling. I mean, that’s like master-class enabling right there. These drunk people need more wine. I mean, the steward flat-out said they were already drunk; you know? And why do drunk people need more wine, I don’t know. And people could criticize that, and I don’t even think that would be political. But what is the job of the church? It’s something we’re going to be struggling with, I’ll tell you. We’re going to be struggling with that. And, you know, between ministers, and it’s especially a struggle because, you know, when you get in a ministry you can sort of say, good, the ministry will figure that out; you know. But when it’s just y’all, you know, you’ve got to figure out what is the church. Does the church do this? Does the church do that? Is that our job? Should we have services even though none of us lives in Lee Vining and we’ve got a lot of weather? Should we do that? I mean, it’d be really nice to have a minister decide that. But you don’t, so you’ve got to decide that, oh, you know. So what do you do? Now, let me change gears a little bit. Palisades Fire. Have you heard of it? Palisades Fire. Now, I don’t know it you know about Palisades. Kind of a rich people place. But, you know, they have a severe homeless problem. They’ve got a lot of folks there that are hungry, don’t have housing, don’t have food. But the disaster is a disaster. I can’t imagine losing everything you own. I can’t imagine that. There’s been loss of life in the double digits, I think it’s up to 23 or so. Whole neighborhoods washed out. I mean, one of the Presbyterian execs lost her home down there, one of my friends, Wendy. I can’t imagine that. Everything, you look around, everything gone. Another one of the ministers at the Palisades church, he had time to run down – you’ve got to read it. It’s on the PCUSA website, that Palisades fire, and was in the Presbyterian newsletter last week. But the pastor had enough time to run from the church down to the elementary school, grab his kids, because there was just cars everywhere, nothing was moving. There’s parents trying to get their kids. Had enough time to go down, get his kids, take them back out to the car, and flee the church. He didn’t take anything out of his office, and the church burned to the ground. I can’t imagine, what a tragedy. I want to say that, that it’s awful, it’s a tragedy, it’s a horrible thing. Suffering is real. And that’s one of the things the Church knows. But I do want to tell you about jobs. When we’re talking about jobs, for at least a little while, for at least a couple weeks, there’s no hungry person in the Palisades. There’s no one hungry. There is no hunger because World Food Kitchen rolled in there with the food trucks. They rolled in, and they said anyone that’s hungry, come and eat. And we’re not checking your ID. We’re not seeing where you’re living. If you’re hungry, come and eat. We’ve got food. Come on down. And good food, too. And they got stores there that are open, and they’ve got brand new stuff for babies, and clothes, and if you lost something, come on in and don’t pay. There’s no charge. The donations are there, and they’re here for you to pick up, and God bless. So we can do that. It takes a fire. It takes a disaster. It takes a horrible thing. Now, in Mary’s case the disaster was we ran out of wine at a social event. Okay, a little bit of a disaster. But the disaster that we have here that wiped out entire communities was enough to say, oh, yeah, we can feed every person and not charge them. We can clothe the naked and not charge them. We can do that. So when you say to me, oh, well, we can’t do it, you know, we’ve got to run like a business, and we’ve got to have profit and loss, so we’ve got to have [indiscernible] and negative, yeah, I’d say, well, yeah, I understand that, I mean, I did get an A in accounting. But for at least a couple weeks we did it. We could do it. We could stop making billionaires and now trillionaires. We’ve got a couple people on the way to trillionaire, hoo-hoo. We could quit making them. And we can start making people that are fed and housed. We can do it. I don’t want a fire to wipe out a whole community to figure out how we can be Christians and make sure everyone’s got fed, clothing, and housing. I’d rather not. I’d rather we just decided, yeah, this is something we could do. And you know, it’s not just the church’s job. I mean, we say, well, the church ought to do that. They should have a lot of money and social things and all this. You know, Matthew 25, where it talks about the naked, clothing the naked and feeding the hungry and visiting the imprisoned and all the things that folks say, oh, I don’t know if we can afford all that. It doesn’t say the church is going to be judged by that. It doesn’t say that individuals are going to be judged by that. We would like it to, oh, my gosh, that’d be so much easier. You know, oh, I’ve done good. I’m okay. I give things. I’m helpful. No. It says the nations will be judged. The nations of the world line up and are judged. Our Bible says, our Savior says, our gospel good news says right there in black-and-white, that the nations will be judged by how they take care of one another. So if you take comfort like I do, well, I’m a good person, I don’t hurt anybody, I’m nice, uh-oh. The nations are judged by that. Well, that’s pretty heavy, Christy. My gosh. No wonder they only let you in once a month. Hey, let’s talk about the servants. Did you notice the servants? It’s hard. They don’t have any speaking parts. I mean, that is just plain unfair right there. Because you look at the Scripture, the servants are doing all the work. They’re going, they get ordered over here, I mean, there’s this Mary person. Who’s she? She’s not part of the household. Mary has to go over here, and he goes, talk to the stranger; you know? And here’s the thing, you know, if I’m a servant, you know, and I’m thinking this, I’m not saying it out loud because servant, you know. But I’m thinking, you know, we’d have the wine if this guy didn’t bring all his big burly Galilean fishermen to drink all the wine. You know, I’m thinking that was an issue. I don’t think they planned for that. You know, his whole entourage comes, I mean, I’m thinking, those are some wine drinkers there, buddy. You know? And so makes sense to talk to this guy, do what this guy says. And they’re saying, oh, okay, I guess we’re servants. I guess we do that. And he goes, go fill up those big old honkin’ jars. I mean, you know, it’s like 55-gallon drums, if you can imagine. Not quite that big, but, you know, roll them around and fill them up with water. I mean, who knows where that water is? Could have been, you know, a couple blocks away; you know? Lot of work there. They do all that. And they’re thinking, this guy’s nuts. Why is he giving water? We’re out of wine. We should be going around and getting some wine, and now he’s having us do this busywork and then go do that. And then they go, they bring that. And then Jesus says, “Go take the water to the chief steward to inspect for wine.” They go, what craziness is this? They’re going to yell at us. This is ridiculous. Why are we bothering the stewards? I don’t want to get involved. And the guy, the steward said, you know, this is really good wine. And, you know, the servants are going, “Crazy white people,” you know. What? What? We put that in there. It’s water. We know. And they go, oh, yes, it’s great wine. And they tell one another, you know, should we say something? Should we tell them? No, we shouldn’t say anything. I don’t want to say anything. We’ll get along just fine. And then says the disciples believe. I think the servants just thought he was crazy, crazy folks. But, you know, where are the servants? You know? You know, he says, go do whatever Christ told you to do. Even though it’s crazy. Even though it can’t possibly work. Even though we know better. Even though we know it’s going to fail terribly. Go ahead and do it anyway. Go ahead and do it anyway. What if Jesus says go over to Palisades and feed all the hungry over there? Oh, that’s not going to work. I can’t possibly do that. That’s ridiculous. Go do it anyway. That’s where we’re at. You know, we’re not around, sitting around saying, oh, let me think about what Jesus should be doing, what the job of the church is, and where are we going, and what’s our profit and loss, and what’s our five-year plan? What’s our objectives, you know, specific measurable attainable and time-related. What should we do? It’s to follow Jesus and do whatever he tells you. That’s our job. That’s our job. If we do that, Jesus will be revealed, and people will believe. Amen.

The Rev. Dr. Kimberly Wagner preaches on Luke 24:13-35. January 26, 2025.

3rd Sunday After Epiphany; Sermon based on Ecclesiastes 4:7-12 and 1 Peter 4:7-11. Preached at The First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn (https://linktr.ee/firstchurchbrooklyn). Podcast subscription is available at https://cutt.ly/fpcb-sermons or Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/4ccZPt6), Spotify, A....This item belongs to: audio/first-church-brooklyn-sermons.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Columbia Peaks, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

Eric D. Barreto preaches on Luke 4:16-24. January 19, 2025.

Martin Luther King Jr. Sunday; Sermon based on Amos 5:21-24, Galatians 3:23-29, and Revelation 21:1-5. A portion of Dr. King's last Sunday sermon preached at the Washington National Cathedral on March 31, 1968 - related to racial injustice....This item belongs to: audio/first-church-brooklyn-sermons.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Columbia Peaks, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

Baptism of the Lord; Sermon based on Luke 23:15-17, 21-22. Preached at The First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn (https://linktr.ee/firstchurchbrooklyn). Podcast subscription is available at https://cutt.ly/fpcb-sermons or Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/4ccZPt6), Spotify, Amazon, Audible, Podcast ....This item belongs to: audio/first-church-brooklyn-sermons.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Columbia Peaks, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

Joseph Chu preaches on Isaiah 43:1-7. January 12, 2025.

Epiphany Sunday; Sermon based on Matthew 2:1-12. Preached at The First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn (https://linktr.ee/firstchurchbrooklyn). Podcast subscription is available at https://cutt.ly/fpcb-sermons or Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/4ccZPt6), Spotify, Amazon, Audible, Podcast Index, or ....This item belongs to: audio/first-church-brooklyn-sermons.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Columbia Peaks, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

Jess Winderweedle preaches on Matthew 2:1-23. January 5, 2025.

First Sunday of Christmas; Sermon based on Luke 2:41-52. Preached at The First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn (https://linktr.ee/firstchurchbrooklyn). Podcast subscription is available at https://cutt.ly/fpcb-sermons or Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/4ccZPt6), Spotify, Amazon, Audible, Podcast In....This item belongs to: audio/first-church-brooklyn-sermons.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Columbia Peaks, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

David A. Davis preaches on John 1:1-16. Christmas Eve, 2024.

Christmas Eve; Sermon based on Luke 2:8-14. Preached at The First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn (https://linktr.ee/firstchurchbrooklyn). Podcast subscription is available at https://cutt.ly/fpcb-sermons or Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/4ccZPt6), Spotify, Amazon, Audible, Podcast Index, or TuneI....This item belongs to: audio/first-church-brooklyn-sermons.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Columbia Peaks, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

David A. Davis preaches on Luke 2:8-20. December 22, 2024.

Advent IV; Sermon based on Psalm 25:1-7 and Luke 1:46-55. Preached at The First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn (https://linktr.ee/firstchurchbrooklyn). Podcast subscription is available at https://cutt.ly/fpcb-sermons or Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/4ccZPt6), Spotify, Amazon, Audible, Podcast I....This item belongs to: audio/first-church-brooklyn-sermons.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Columbia Peaks, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

The Pageant Presented by the children of Sunday School “The Herald Angels Sing” A Christmas Pageant written by Kelly Strandemo Directed by Adama Muench and Amy Neuner.This item belongs to: audio/first-church-brooklyn-sermons.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Item Tile, MPEG4, Metadata, Thumbnail

On today's program, author and teacher Dr Michael Brown of the radio program Line of Fire has agreed to a third-party investigation after being accused of sexual impropriety. We'll have details. And, we remember two anniversaries this week—the release of a GRACE investigation into Bob Jones University and their handling of sexual abuse cases, and the fall of Mars Hill Church. We take time to reflect on both—lessons learned and where things stand now. Plus, overall membership in the Presbyterian Church USA continues to fall—except among people who identify as genderqueer. We'll take a look. But first, after a year-long battle, an Ohio church is NOT being allowed to shelter the homeless this winter. The producer for today's program is Jeff McIntosh. We get database and other technical support from Stephen DuBarry, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Writers who contributed to today's program include Kim Roberts, Jessica Eturralde, Marci Seither, Bob Smietana, David Fairchild, Jeffrey Walton, Brittany Smith, and Christina Darnell. A special thanks to Juicy Ecumenism for contributing material for this week's podcast. Until next time, may God bless you.   MANUSCRIPT:   FIRST SEGMENT Warren: Hello everybody. I'm Warren Smith, coming to you from Charlotte, North Carolina. Natasha: And I'm Natasha Cowden, coming to you from Denver, Colorado. And we'd like to welcome you to the MinistryWatch podcast. Warren: On today's program, author and teacher Dr Michael Brown of the radio program Line of Fire has agreed to a third-party investigation after being accused of sexual impropriety. We'll have details. And, we remember two anniversaries this week—the release of a GRACE investigation into Bob Jones University and their handling of sexual abuse cases, and the fall of Mars Hill Church. We take time to reflect on both—lessons learned and where things stand now. Plus, overall membership in the Presbyterian Church USA continues to fall—except among people who identify as genderqueer. We'll take a look. Natasha: But first, after a year-long battle, an Ohio church is NOT being allowed to shelter the homeless this winter. Warren: An Ohio judge has issued a preliminary injunction against Dad's Place and its pastor Chris Avell, preventing the church from using its first floor to shelter homeless people, even as temperatures are expected to plummet later this week. Dad's Place and Avell have been involved in a dispute with Bryan, Ohio, since last year over whether it can open the first floor of the church in a business district to allow homeless persons to escape the cold. In January, a federal district court issued an order “forbidding [the city] from enforcing any alleged violations of the City's zoning or fire codes without the court's approval or the church's agreement.” Natasha: What happened? Warren: The City of Bryan and the church, through its counsel at First Liberty Institute, tried to resolve their differences, but negotiations broke down in April. In July 2024, the federal court denied Dad's Place request for a preliminary injunction to prevent the city from enforcing its fire regulations against the church. Then in September a three-judge panel of the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the church's appeal of the district court's decision. Now, Ohio Judge J.T. Stelzer has issued an injunction preventing the church from offering its building for use by homeless persons in the city. Natasha: What happens next? Warren: Dad's Place remains in violation of several fire safety code regulations, including failure to install a sprinkler system, said Stelzer. The decision also pointed to two other shelters near Dad's Place that utilize their second floors as temporary residences to shelter the city's needy and homeless residents while in “full compliance with the city's fire code and zoning ordinances.”

This week we look at Syria, Rumania, Burkina Faso, Water in Australia, Climate Cooling in Antartica, Kim Leadbetter and Coercion, Abortion in Queensland, Gemutlich, Argentina gets rid of debt, Angela Rayner on housing, Anti_semitism in Australia, Victim of Islamist charged with hate crime in Germany, Muhammed the most popular baby name in the UK, Witchcraft in Australia, PinkNews scandal, the Queering of Christmas, Banning puberty blockers in the UK, Decline in the PCUSA,  reopening of Notre Dame, and the most popular Bible versewith music from Paul Kelly, Father Seraphim, Twenty One Pilots, Slade, the Eagles, Yo Yo Ma and Theocracy.  

What happens when a pastor trades the pulpit for a tech startup? In this episode, Martha welcomes back Alexander Lang, a former PCUSA pastor turned tech entrepreneur, to share his journey from church ministry to launching a business focused on fostering meaningful relationships. Alexander dives into his latest creative projects, including the Restorative Faith Podcast and his upcoming YouTube series, Kokoro, which draws inspiration from Mr. Rogers to address universal themes like trust, anxiety, and doubt, offering adults a space to feel seen, heard, and valued. Through the lens of Kokoro, he unpacks how theology and media intersect, blending a theology of love and acceptance with practical strategies for personal growth. Martha and Alexander also discuss the potential of platforms like YouTube and TikTok to transcend traditional church boundaries, highlighting how social media can transform modern faith communication and reach new audiences in powerful ways. Alexander Lang is a former PCUSA pastor who worked in church ministry for 20 years. He has since left the church to pursue a technology business that is designed to help people form meaningful relationships. Alex's interests include independent film, electronic music and deep conversation with people who question, doubt and want to dig into the most complex issues we face as humans. When he's not working on books, podcasts or the Restorative Faith Movement, Alex enjoys spending time with his wife and two sons.   Previous Episodes with Alex Lang: 21st Century Spirituality: https://futurechristian.podbean.com/e/spirituality-for-the-21st-century-rationalist-a-conversation-with-alexander-lang/ The Most Viral Article on Clergy Burnout: https://futurechristian.podbean.com/e/alex-lang/   Presenting Sponsor: Phillips Seminary Join conversations that expose you to new ideas, deepen your commitment and give insights to how we can minister in a changing world.  Supporting Sponsors: Restore Clergy If you are clergy in need of tailored, professional support to help you manage the demands of ministry, Restore Clergy is for you!   Future Christian Team: Loren Richmond Jr. – Host & Executive Producer Martha Tatarnic – Co-Host Paul Romig–Leavitt – Associate Producer Dennis Sanders – Producer Alexander Lang - Production Assistant