First Presbyterian Church, Sterling IL

1 Peter 2:2-10, John 14:1-14 May 14, 2017 First Presbyterian Church, Sterling IL Christina Berry Our first reading for today is from 1 Peter 2:2-10, a letter to the churches written sometime at end of the first century. The epistles of 1st and 2nd Peter were likely not written by the Apostle Peter himself, but by a later disciple. The sophisticated Greek and the scripture quotations from the Greek version of the Hebrew scriptures indicate that it is unlikely that a fisherman from Galilee was the author. The letters were written to Christians in what is now Turkey, and were written to them during a time of distress. In that time it was increasingly difficult, if not dangerous, to be a Christian. Slander, accusations, insults, and discrimination were growing, and would later turn into outright persecution for those Christians who refused to worship the emperor. This letter is meant to be encouraging, and fortifying, for this young church made up mostly of Gentiles. The temple in Jerusal...

1 Corinthians 1:4-9, John 10:1-10 May 7, 2017 First Presbyterian Church, Sterling IL Christina Berry The Apostle Paul is known to us because of his dramatic conversion to Christ on the road to Damascus, and because of his work with churches in the years that followed. Many books of the New Testament are attributed to Paul; those books are letters to churches, in which Paul advises, encourages, and confronts those new communities to help them become more Christ-like. Here is part of Paul’s greeting to one such church, the church in Corinth. . Let’s listen for his words of encouragement and God’s word for us from First Corinthians 1:4-9 I thank my God always for you, because of God’s grace that was given to you in Christ Jesus. That is, you were made rich through him in everything: in all your communication and every kind of knowledge, in the same way that the testimony about Christ was confirmed with you. The result is that you aren’t missing any spiritual gift while you wait for ou...