First Presbyterian Church, Sterling IL

Proverbs 10:1-12 July 19, 2015 First Presbyterian Church, Sterling IL Christina Berry We’re continuing with our series on wisdom literature this week with our third and final selection from the book of Proverbs. It is believed that this particular section of the book was used for instruction in some sort of classroom or school. These sayings were directed toward the young, to teach them how to make wise choices. You’ll notice in this section that the proverbs are often statements of contrast – a wise person does this, but a foolish person does that. They contrast wisdom and foolishness, and righteousness and wickedness. It’s helpful to remember as you hear these that wisdom and righteousness always go together. You can’t be wise without being righteous. but you can do righteous things in foolish ways, or foolish things in righteous ways. In other words, we are to aim for the dual traits of righteousness and wisdom. Let’s listen for God’s wisdom teaching in Proverbs 10: 1-12 1 The prove...

Proverbs 8:22-36 July 12, 2015 First Presbyterian Church, Sterling IL Christina Berry Last Sunday we experienced the first part of Proverbs eight, where we encountered the poetic image of Woman Wisdom. That imagery showed us a personification of wisdom as a woman who meets us in all the public places of our lives – on the heights, beside the road, at the city gates, at our doors, She calls out to us loudly and her voice speaks of the goodness of her path, the benefits of righteous living and the deep assurance that following in her way is walking in life and light. This week, Woman Wisdom again speaks to us, in the remainder of this long poem that is the eighth chapter of Proverbs. But no longer is Lady Wisdom in the loud and busy urban setting of last week; now she is at the beginning of time and the creation of the cosmos, alongside the Creator who brings order out of chaos. Let’s listen for earth wisdom in today’s reading from Proverbs 8:22-36 The Lord created me at th...

Image from http://www.thepoorinspirit.com/post/33238604992/scriptural-roles-of-women-lady-wisdom Proverbs 8:1-11 July 5, 2014 First Presbyterian Church, Sterling IL Christina Berry This week is the third in our series drawing our texts from the books of the Bible that are known as wisdom literature. In the 66 books of the Bible, we find a range of literary genres – history, poetry, prophecy, letters, and wisdom. Proverbs is an anthology of wise sayings, but it is not a random collection of Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations of ancient history. Throughout the book, several poetic themes and metaphors arise again and again. One of them is the personification of wisdom as a woman. In much the same way, our country, the United States of America, is personified as Columbia, a woman. That imagery is reflected in Lady Liberty, the beloved statue who lifts her torch at the gateway to America, welcoming immigrants, strangers, and travelers to this country. In Proverbs, this image...

Proverbs 1:1-7; 3:1-8 June 28, 2015, Confirmation Sunday First Presbyterian Church, Sterling, IL Christina Berry If you’ve ever looked at the book of Proverbs, you may have had some questions arise. For example, did Solomon really write this book? We learned last week that when Solomon became king, he asked God for only one thing – wisdom. But the notion that Solomon himself wrote Proverbs is probably not reliable. More likely, this book is an anthology – a collection - of wisdom sayings. Another question you might have had is about the content – some of it seems, well, not so wise. And some of the sayings even seem to contradict themselves. That’s the nature of such collections, though. You may have had a real-life experience that mirrors this. Maybe at some point in your life, your mom said, “Look before you leap!” and then at another point she said, “Hesitate and all is lost!” So which is it, Mom? Look, or leap? If you think of Proverbs as a treasure chest, into which ...

Isaiah 6:1-8, John 3:1-17 Trinity Sunday, May 31, 2015 First Presbyterian Church, Sterling, IL Christina Berry In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has...

Genesis 11:1-9, Acts 2:1-15 Pentecost, May 24, 2015 First Presbyterian Church, Sterling, IL Christina Berry Genesis 11:1-9 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” 5 The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will n...

Ezekiel 37:1-14 May 17, 2016 First Presbyterian Church, Sterling, IL Christina Berry It is really hard to imagine the plight of the Israelites in the years nearly 600 years before the birth of Christ. Except for the poorest among them, they had been deported from their homes. They had lost everything – their houses, their children, their families; their faith, their temple, their God; their homeland, their culture, their songs, their story. How could they sing the songs of Zion in a foreign land? They sat down by the rivers of Babylon and wept. It seemed that God had abandoned them, or had been defeated by a more powerful deity. They were bitter, full of hatred and the lust for revenge. Even if they could go home, everything they cherished was gone. They might as well be dead. They were nothing but dry bones – no life, no breath, no hope. And then, the prophet Ezekiel had a vision. Ezekiel 37:1-14 The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit...