Blog Archives - Fairfield Presbyterian Church

GROWING DIFFERENTLY - from Sunday, December 30, 2018

12/31/2018

Will you grow and develop in the new year? You will decide. Considering the stories of two young men, Samuel and Jesus, we gain insights about what it means to grow and mature in faith and serve God.

The environment for growth can be difficult. Young Samuel's witness takes place in the corrupt environment of Eli's priesthood in the Temple at Shiloh. His two sons are notoriously unethical and self-indulgent, apparently without correction from old Eli. How does Samuel grow to become one of the outstanding leaders in Jewish history while in the toxic environment of the Temple at Shiloh?

Luke has the only story of Jesus in his childhood, although at age 12, he is approaching the age of manhood. His delinquent parents have headed home for Nazareth from the Passover celebration in Jerusalem, and discover that their assumptions that Jesus was somewhere among the traveling pilgrims were all wrong. The kid was nowhere to be found.

They make the day-long hike back to Jerusalem, only to find him in the midst of discussion among the elders in the Jerusalem Temple. The scene has plenty of delightfully awkward moments. However, what was this conversation about that Jesus and the elders were having? We can only guess, but we learn something about our old selves that serves as reminder for what needs to guide us in the new year.

Check it all out in the sermon video below and note the downloads available below the video panel.

12-30-18-sermon.mp3
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12-30-18-ff-answers.pub.pdf
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12-30-18-growing_differently.pdf
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SHEPHERD IN THE STRENGTH OF THE LORD - from Sunday, December 23, 2018

12/23/2018

Comprehending what God is doing is typically an exercise in counter-intuitive thinking. Knowing that, you realize that the nativity story is totally counter-intuitive, counter to the expected narrative of how the world would expect this to be done. With mercy and faith at the forefront, stretch your mind with Sunday's sermon.

The prophets would speak of the things God was doing, but had to reach for metaphor to present their vision. Micah looks to sleepy, irrelevant Bethlehem as the place from which God's Promised One will arise. His strength will not be as worldly rulers and powers, based on whatever power they can acquire for themselves. Rather, his strength will be in his God, shepherding God's people into the future that God has promised.

If Bethlehem was nothing on the map, Mary is even less than nothing on the stage of leading personae of the day. She knew she was a nothing, too. Therefore, she knew how particularly blessed she was to be carrying the gift of God for God's people.

Her song - the Magnificat - is a strident picture of social and political revolution. Her song is filled with Kingdom values brought to engage the world and its powers by the Promised One. The proud and powerful are set in their places while the humble and poor are made the priority and take over authority. It's an amazing picture.

How does this counter-intuitive thinking play out in real time? Watch the sermon video and see what you think.

12-23-18-sermon.mp3
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12-23-18-ff-answers.pub.pdf
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12-23-18-shepherd_in_the_strength_of_the_lord.pdf
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BEARING FRUIT THAT'S WORTHY - from Sunday, December 16, 2018

12/17/2018

John the Baptist demands that those seeking baptism 'bear fruits worthy of repentance.' He is not talking apples and oranges. A new way is coming and he tells what that requires from everyone. In Ezekiel, God's vision of peace and security for all is related. God's Kingdom is the subject in both.

John berates those who have come to him for imagining that, because they are 'the children of Abraham,' they are in God's good stead. Not at all, John scolds them.

The Baptist then responds to the questions of sinners, in general and in particular - tax collectors and soldiers. In doing so, we need to look beyond the basic prescriptions for new behavior. John is teaching about God's Kingdom ways and challenges the powers of the world which lead to such suffering by the poor, weak, and vulnerable.

Ezekiel's vision of a transplanted cedar is rich in imagery, but includes the curious "bear fruit" line about a tree that bears little "fruit." Looking a bit closer, we find that God's Kingdom is reflected in a manner than John the Baptist would understand.

Find out more about what the "fruits" refer to - it's more than you think - and watch the sermon video below.

12-16-18-sermon.mp3
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12-16-18-ff-answers.pub.pdf
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12-16-18-bearing_fruit_thats_worthy.pdf
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PATHWAYS IN THE WILDERNESS - from Sunday, December 9, 2018

12/10/2018

The wilderness is not just a natural, wild place; it's when we're dislodged from our familiar and put into strange places off our usual map. The prophet Malachi and the song of Zechariah speak to God's promise for God's people in the wilderness. Do you remember being in the wilderness?

Stories in scripture often depict God's people in the wilderness; the Exodus wilderness wandering, Elijah's flight into the safety of the wilderness, and John the Baptist ministering in the wilderness, and Jesus' temptation in the wilderness are all examples.

However, the wilderness is more than a remote, inhospitable location. It is when we lose our familiar and comfortable, having been dislocated into a place we don't really want to be, but must cope with nonetheless.

When God's people are in the wilderness, God stands ready to provide deliverance for the faithful.

In Malachi's time, God's people were experiencing wilderness in their separation from God and from God's justice. His prophecy announces that the messenger is being sent who will proclaim the day of the coming of the Lord.

Luke's story of Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, relates a song that acknowledges the wilderness present for God's people, and how his son John will prepare the way of the Lord to come and bring God's kingdom sovereignty to liberate God's people and bring new life.

Get the whole story in the sermon video below and see how God comes to the faithful when they encounter the wilderness.

12-09-18-sermon.mp3
File Size:	49268 kb
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12-09-18-ff-answers.pdf
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12-09-18-pathways_in_the_wilderness.pdf
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THE DAYS ARE COMING - from Sunday, December 2, 2018

12/3/2018

Prophets tell us 'the days are coming!' What are these days, this time, this season? There was foreboding in the prophets, but much more. What if those days are closer than you imagined?

This is the beginning of new liturgical year on the church calendar, the season of Advent. It begins with the voices of the prophets, like Jeremiah. With the Babylonian army arrayed against Jerusalem, Jeremiah's prophecy of doom has landed him in house arrest. But the dire circumstances also bring forth a prophecy for the future. It includes a special leader to fulfill God's will for the creation and for God's people.

Nearing the end of Luke's gospel, Jesus teaches his disciples to be alert and watchful. The present season is as apparent as the leaves and figs on a fig tree telling the present season. Do you know what days are coming, or what days have come?

Explore this in the sermon video below and note the downloads available below the video panel.

12-02-18-sermon.mp3
File Size:	45167 kb
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12-02-18-ff-answers.pdf
File Size:	55 kb
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12-02-18-the_days_are_coming.pdf
File Size:	90 kb
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