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Sunday, February 8, 2026 - "Beatitudes: Mercy, Purity, Peace"

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Watch the Sermon here The First United Presbyterian Church “Beatitudes: Mercy, Purity, Peace” Rev. Amy Morgan February 8, 2026 Matthew 5:7-9 Jesus taught them, saying: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Blessed are the arrogant, For theirs is the kingdom of their own company. Blessed are the superstars, For the magnificence;   in their light we understand better our own insignificance. Blessed are the filthy rich, For you can only truly own what you give away - Like your pain. Blessed are the bullies, For one day they will have to stand up to themselves. Blessed are the liars, For the truth can be awkward. These are the beatitudes that bridge two songs on the band U2’s 2017 album Songs of Experience. The first song is about fighting to reclaim love and liberty and the second is about the American dream and identity. The poem in between,...
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Sunday, February 1, 2026: "Beatitudes: Gentle and Righteous"

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Watch the Sermon here The First United Presbyterian Church “Beatitudes: Gentle and Righteous” Rev. Amy Morgan February 1, 2026 Matthew 5:5-6 Jesus taught them, saying: “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Order matters. As Presbyterians, of course, we delight in doing things “decently and in order,” but Biblical scholars also relish the opportunity to dissect a passage of scripture, revealing its structural framework. Oftentimes, what they find is that the Biblical writer was very intentional about the orderly placement of each phrase and the use of a particular word.   But New Testament scholar David Wenham admits that some might view Matthew’s rendering of Jesus’s Beatitudes as “a bit of a mess, a jumbled-up collection of blessed thoughts.” He notes, “there is repetition with two of them having the identical promise ‘for theirs is the kingdom of heaven’ – did the author...
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Sunday, January 25, 2026 - "Beatitudes: Poor in Spirit and Mourning"

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Watch the Sermon here The First United Presbyterian Church “Beatitudes: Poor in Spirit and Mourning” Rev. Amy Morgan January 25, 2026 Matthew 5:1-4 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he began to speak and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” On Tuesday, a panel of all 17 active judges in the 5 th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments regarding laws passed in Texas and Louisiana requiring that the Ten Commandments be posted in every public school classroom. The case is almost certainly going to end up in the Supreme Court this year in the latest battle over the separation of church and state.   Now, it is not my place to weigh in from this pulpit on the interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. However, it has always puzzled me that Christians in our nation have insisted that the ten commandmen...
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