Sermons from First United Presbyterian Church

Photo by  Frankie Lopez  on  Unsplash The First United Presbyterian Church “Walking into the Fire” Rev. Amy Morgan August 30, 2020 Exodus 3:1-15 1 Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.   2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed.   3 Then Moses said, "I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up."   4 When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am."   5 Then he said, "Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground."   6 He said further, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his f

  Photo by  Michelle Garres  on  Unsplash The First United Presbyterian Church  “ Playing Our Parts” Rev. Amy Morgan August 23, 2020 Exodus 1:8-2:10 8 Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 He said to his people, "Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we. 10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land." 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labor. They built supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for Pharaoh. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. 13 The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites, 14 and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labor. They were ruthless in all the

Photo by  Jon Tyson  on  Unsplash The First United Presbyterian Church “More to the Story” Rev. Amy Morgan August 16, 2020 Gen. 37:1-4, 12-28; 45:1-15 Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived as an alien, the land of Canaan.   2 This is the story of the family of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers; he was a helper to the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father.   3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made him a long robe with sleeves.   4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him. Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem.   13 And Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them." He answered, &q

The First United Presbyterian Church “Struggling with Promises” Rev. Amy Morgan August 9, 2020 Gen. 32:22-32 22 The same night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.   23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had.   24 Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.   25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.   26 Then he said, "Let me go, for the day is breaking." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go, unless you bless me."   27 So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob."   28 Then the man said, "You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed."   29 Then Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name."