First Presbyterian Church, Sterling IL

Luke 1:5-25; Ruth 1 November 30. 2104 First Presbyterian Church, Sterling IL Christina Berry Ruth, Chaper 1 During the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. A man with his wife and two sons went from Bethlehem of Judah to dwell in the territory of Moab. The name of that man was Elimelech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They entered the territory of Moab and settled there. But Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died. Then only she was left, along with her two sons. They took wives for themselves, Moabite women; the name of the first was Orpah and the name of the second was Ruth. And they lived there for about ten years. But both of the sons, Mahlon and Chilion, also died. Only the woman was left, without her two children and without her husband. Then she arose along with her daughters-in-law to return from the field of Moab, because while in the ...

1 Timothy 6: 17-19 November 23, 2014 First Presbyterian Church, Sterling IL Christina Berry As we complete our stewardship season this year, and prepare to dedicate our pledges, the selected Scripture reading is pretty short. It comes from the book of 1st Timothy, a letter to the church that was presumed to have been written by Paul, but was probably actually from a later writer. First and Second Timothy and Titus are often neglected books, in part for the directives about women which, taken in a modern context, are restrictive and oppressive. But the books were written to help churches order their lives. These books are source material for much of the way churches now organize and govern themselves. So this brief directive near the end of 1st Timothy comes in a larger context, a set of instructions about how to be church in this generation. Let’s listen for God’s word to us today from 1 Timothy 6:17-19 As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haug...

Matthew 20:1-16 November 16, 2014 First Presbyterian Church, Sterling IL Christina Berry Matthew 20: 1-16 1 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 When he went out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; 4 and he said to them, "You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went. 5 When he went out again about noon and about three o'clock, he did the same. 6 And about five o'clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, "Why are you standing here idle all day?' 7 They said to him, "Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, "You also go into the vineyard.' 8 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, "Call the laborers and give them their...

Mark 12:38-44 November 9, 2014 First Presbyterian Church, Sterling, IL Christina Berry This third Sunday of our Stewardship Season, we continue to explore the Generations of Generosity in our faith history. Last week, we were in the Old Testament, as the widow of Zarephath shared the last of her meal and oil with the prophet Elijah, and through God’s provision, she did not run out. We saw how what we bring, though it be only a little, can be made into plenty by God’s mighty power. This week, we hear about yet another widow who gives her all. But this is a different widow, in a different context and a different generation. Jesus has come to Jerusalem for the last time, riding into town on the back of a donkey to shouts of “hosanna!” And before long he will be arrested and executed. He has been challenging the leaders with his actions and his words. Just before this widow comes to give her offering, Jesus says: "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long rob...

November 2, 2014 First Presbyterian Church, Sterling, IL Christina Berry 1 Kings 17:1-16 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word. " The word of the Lord came to him, saying, "Go from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the Wadi Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. You shall drink from the wadi, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there. " So he went and did according to the word of the Lord; he went and lived by the Wadi Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the wadi. But after a while the wadi dried up, because there was no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have comma...

2 Chronicles 31: 4-12 October 26, 2014 First Presbyterian Church, Sterling, IL Christina Berry 4 He commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to give the portion due to the priests and the Levites, so that they might devote themselves to the law of the Lord. 5 As soon as the word spread, the people of Israel gave in abundance the first fruits of grain, wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything. 6 The people of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah also brought in the tithe of cattle and sheep, and the tithe of the dedicated things that had been consecrated to the Lord their God, and laid them in heaps. 7 In the third month they began to pile up the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month. 8 When Hezekiah and the officials came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord and his people Israel. 9 Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites about the heaps. 10 The chief priest Azariah, w...

The Empty Church Philippians 2:1-11 October 19, 2014 First Presbyterian Church, Sterling Il Christina Berry Dear Sisters and Brothers of the 21st century American church, Greetings from the church at Philippi. Our city was founded by Philip of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great, about 350 years before the time of Christ. We were once the site of a strategic garrison, and a royal mint. During the Roman civil war, Philippi was the place where Mark Antony and Octavian caught up to Brutus and Cassius, the assassins of Julius Caesar. After that war, our town became a popular retirement city for Roman soldiers. Philippi was populated mostly by Romans and Greeks. Paul first visited our city on his early missionary journeys, when the Holy Spirit came to him in a dream and told him to come to Macedonia. Even though Paul was arrested during his very first visit to us, he loved us and wrote to us with deep affection and joy. This scripture provides an ethic that ...