Sunday, December 20, 2020 - The Service of Lessons and Carols
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This week, the gospel reading was Matthew 10:40-42. It’s a brief reading, but tells us a great deal. It comes at the end of a much longer discourse section. The Gospel of Matthew is broken into sections of narrative and discourse. The narrative sections is where you will find healing stories, for example. The discourse sections involve Jesus teaching the disciples, which is what we find this morning. Jesus has been teaching the disciples how hard their mission will be on them. They can’t expect to always be welcomed and honored. Rather, they will face persecution and hatred. In these three verses, Jesus does tell them what will happen to those who do welcome them. You see, it was a Jewish custom to welcome in a visitor, because you were also welcoming the one that sent the visitor, as well as the entire community. This is why Jesus says, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.” And while this reading talks about those who welcome people bringing the gospel message, we can also learn how we should great others. And the truly amazing part of this passage is that even a cup of cold water is enough! So often, we imagine huge, earth-shattering work; however, if all we can do is offer a cup of water to someone in need in our own neighborhood, we are showing Christ’s love!
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Sermon Reflections
This week, the scripture was Romans 6:1-11. Romans is a theologically rich letter focusing a large amount of time on our justification through faith in Jesus Christ. In this reading, Paul anticipates a question from the previous chapter, that if grace abounds when sin increases, should we continue to sin? Paul says, “By no means!” He reminds us that we have been baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection, so how can we go on living in sin? In this sermon, we look at the depth of meaning behind our baptism, how our baptism is another exodus for Paul, and what the phrase “remember your baptism and be thankful” truly means for us today.
This week, the scripture was Romans 6:1-11. Romans is a theologically rich letter focusing a large amount of time on our justification through faith in Jesus Christ. In this reading, Paul anticipates a question from the previous chapter, that if grace abounds when sin increases, should we continue to sin? Paul says, “By no means!” He reminds us that we have been baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection, so how can we go on living in sin? In this sermon, we look at the depth of meaning behind our baptism, how our baptism is another exodus for Paul, and what the phrase “remember your baptism and be thankful” truly means for us today.
The Sermon
Remember Your Baptism
Scripture reading: Genesis 21:8-21; Romans 6:1-11
Text of Sermon by Rev. Chris Houtz
Sunday, June 21, 2020 at 9:30 am
Remember Your Baptism
Scripture reading: Genesis 21:8-21; Romans 6:1-11
Text of Sermon by Rev. Chris Houtz
Sunday, June 21, 2020 at 9:30 am
Paul’s letter to the Romans is like his opus. So much so that my professor of New Testament actually played music and danced as he introduced the book to us! The majority of Paul’s letter is about our justification through faith in Jesus Christ. And right before our passage, Paul says, “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” Instantly, our thoughts all probably go to the same question—well then why not keep sinning?! Seriously! If sin increasing means grace increases even more, why wouldn’t we keep sinning? And on the other side of that coin, if we don’t sin—do we still receive God’s amazing grace? These are questions that inevitably come out of his argument in chapter 5. And we get his answer at the beginning of our reading. He knew this question was coming—how couldn’t it? “Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound?” His answer is simple—“By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in sin?” In fact, Paul believes that our baptism raises us in Christ to walk in the newness of life.
And yet, sometimes we view baptism only as a cleansing of our sins. But there is so much more to baptism. Maybe we understand we are dead to sin and alive to God. But even that doesn’t fully explain the theological depth of the sacrament. Through our baptism, we aren’t just dead to sin. We join Christ in his crucifixion. Baptism isn’t some magical spell that shields us from suffering or pain. Instead, baptism calls us into Christ’s very crucifixion; however, as Paul tells us, his crucifixion was a one-time event that doesn’t need to be repeated by us. Since we have died with Christ in our baptism, we are assured of being raised to new life with God. Now, up to this point in Romans, Paul has been using the scriptures to help the people understand Christ. For Paul, baptism is very much another exodus: As the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt, so we continued enslaved to sin. But, as the bondage of slavery was broken as the Israelites passed through the waters of the Red Sea, our bondage to sin is broken as we pass through the waters of baptism. Yet, they didn’t immediately end up in the Promised Land. Instead, they entered a wilderness invaded by temptation and sin. Remember how stiff-necked they were: Building a golden calf to replace God; yearning to return to Egypt—“at least as slaves in Egypt we had food to eat and water to drink.” And it’s the same with us today. Even after our baptism, we still find ourselves in a world invaded by temptation and sin. We often build our own golden calves. Just as God was with Israel in the wilderness, but the Promised Land was still to come; so when we rise out of the waters of baptism, God is with us, but the fullness of life is still to come.
You see, baptism is our response to God’s love and grace. And yet, we often treat baptisms as a life event such as a prom, getting a license, or your graduation. It becomes just another box on a check list of life events. But it is so much more! We need to recognize baptism for what it is--a radical change in identity. We approach the waters of baptism as someone fallen in sin. And we come out not just wet with vague ideas of a life in Christ. Instead, we come out remade as new people claimed by Christ for all time. The chains of sin have been completely broken. We become new people given a new life in Christ. No wonder as we rise from waters, the church proclaims—remember your baptism and be thankful.
But how do we do that? Remember your baptism and be thankful. Unless we were baptized as adults, do any of us remember being carried to the font by our family? I know it happened. I’ve seen the photos. But I certainly don’t remember it happening! So what do those words mean? How do we remember our baptism? Well—these words aren’t really about the time and place, who sponsored you, or who performed the sacrament. Instead, it’s a way of saying, “Remember who you are; remember—you have died to sin, remember—now you live a new life in Jesus Christ. Remember—you are children of God.” Even more, it’s a way of saying, “So be who you are!” Be a Christian! Baptism is our response to God’s grace, our active response. And still, we continue to sin. In fact, every Sunday, we offer our prayer of confession and acknowledge our sinful nature. Simply put, by continuing to sin, we fail to be who we are. You know—I remember growing up, the worst thing my parents could do when I got in trouble wasn’t some punishment. Instead, what really stuck with me, and still does—is when they would say to me things like, “We’re really disappointed,” or “Chris, you are better than that.” It’s those kinds of phrases that remind me, that remind all of us, when we sin, we are not being faithful children of God. We are better than that. And we should be disappointed. Maybe we should change the phrase to: remember your baptism and be who you are. And maybe we should start saying it every day. Then maybe—maybe—we will do a better job living a faithful life in Christ.
And you know, those words mean even more. For Paul, “remember your baptism” also means, “remember to whom you belong.” Remember to whom you belong! Now I know, that seems like a strange, uncomfortable idea to us. Our natural reaction is probably: We don’t belong to anyone! But to Paul and the Roman church, everyone belonged to someone or something. Everyone was a servant or slave. But of course, not us! In our country, we are staunchly proud of our individualism. We want to believe we can be whoever we want to be in life. What bigger point of pride is there than saying you pulled yourself up by your own bootstraps? You earned whatever you got in life. You don’t owe anything to anyone. Unfortunately, that kind of thinking allows us to keep our faith at arm’s length. It lets us gather together on Sunday mornings to hear a word from God, silently nod in agreement, only to go back to a world where we serve our own needs and desires.
But the odd thing is, as we proclaim our individualism, we still give our allegiance to something. Yet how often is that to God? For instance, how often do we give our allegiance to money? We attach ourselves to our money. It always seems we never have enough, and we crave more and more. We’re always drawn some golden calf that will save us. So we still end up being servants—to something other than God. Not free at all. But here’s the twist. There is a way for us to be free—truly free. We must remember that God has claimed each of us in baptism—we are servants of God. And when we do remember our baptism—when we remember to whom we belong—then we will be free from sin, free from the evils that penetrate our world, free from the dominion of death. And through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us, we can become the free people God calls us to be.
So what do we do? The idea of a baptized sinner would be incomprehensible to Paul; but we have been baptized, and we still live in sin. God has made us to be better people than we often are. And God knows that. But still—grace abounds! We can—and must—be God’s holy people in the world. We are called to demonstrate our grace-filled lives in Christ. We must act and live as faithful disciples of Christ. Our baptism is more than a symbol of our freedom from sin. It is our response to God’s call for justice and righteousness. We must remember that our old selves, along with our culture, our rights, our private spaces, and all our desires have been crucified with Christ. We have been given a new identity into which we must live! We must remember to be servants of God. Friends—Christ lives—so let’s serve him. Let’s remember our baptism. Remember to whom we belong. And be the new people we truly are! Thanks be to God!
And all God’s people say, Amen.
And yet, sometimes we view baptism only as a cleansing of our sins. But there is so much more to baptism. Maybe we understand we are dead to sin and alive to God. But even that doesn’t fully explain the theological depth of the sacrament. Through our baptism, we aren’t just dead to sin. We join Christ in his crucifixion. Baptism isn’t some magical spell that shields us from suffering or pain. Instead, baptism calls us into Christ’s very crucifixion; however, as Paul tells us, his crucifixion was a one-time event that doesn’t need to be repeated by us. Since we have died with Christ in our baptism, we are assured of being raised to new life with God. Now, up to this point in Romans, Paul has been using the scriptures to help the people understand Christ. For Paul, baptism is very much another exodus: As the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt, so we continued enslaved to sin. But, as the bondage of slavery was broken as the Israelites passed through the waters of the Red Sea, our bondage to sin is broken as we pass through the waters of baptism. Yet, they didn’t immediately end up in the Promised Land. Instead, they entered a wilderness invaded by temptation and sin. Remember how stiff-necked they were: Building a golden calf to replace God; yearning to return to Egypt—“at least as slaves in Egypt we had food to eat and water to drink.” And it’s the same with us today. Even after our baptism, we still find ourselves in a world invaded by temptation and sin. We often build our own golden calves. Just as God was with Israel in the wilderness, but the Promised Land was still to come; so when we rise out of the waters of baptism, God is with us, but the fullness of life is still to come.
You see, baptism is our response to God’s love and grace. And yet, we often treat baptisms as a life event such as a prom, getting a license, or your graduation. It becomes just another box on a check list of life events. But it is so much more! We need to recognize baptism for what it is--a radical change in identity. We approach the waters of baptism as someone fallen in sin. And we come out not just wet with vague ideas of a life in Christ. Instead, we come out remade as new people claimed by Christ for all time. The chains of sin have been completely broken. We become new people given a new life in Christ. No wonder as we rise from waters, the church proclaims—remember your baptism and be thankful.
But how do we do that? Remember your baptism and be thankful. Unless we were baptized as adults, do any of us remember being carried to the font by our family? I know it happened. I’ve seen the photos. But I certainly don’t remember it happening! So what do those words mean? How do we remember our baptism? Well—these words aren’t really about the time and place, who sponsored you, or who performed the sacrament. Instead, it’s a way of saying, “Remember who you are; remember—you have died to sin, remember—now you live a new life in Jesus Christ. Remember—you are children of God.” Even more, it’s a way of saying, “So be who you are!” Be a Christian! Baptism is our response to God’s grace, our active response. And still, we continue to sin. In fact, every Sunday, we offer our prayer of confession and acknowledge our sinful nature. Simply put, by continuing to sin, we fail to be who we are. You know—I remember growing up, the worst thing my parents could do when I got in trouble wasn’t some punishment. Instead, what really stuck with me, and still does—is when they would say to me things like, “We’re really disappointed,” or “Chris, you are better than that.” It’s those kinds of phrases that remind me, that remind all of us, when we sin, we are not being faithful children of God. We are better than that. And we should be disappointed. Maybe we should change the phrase to: remember your baptism and be who you are. And maybe we should start saying it every day. Then maybe—maybe—we will do a better job living a faithful life in Christ.
And you know, those words mean even more. For Paul, “remember your baptism” also means, “remember to whom you belong.” Remember to whom you belong! Now I know, that seems like a strange, uncomfortable idea to us. Our natural reaction is probably: We don’t belong to anyone! But to Paul and the Roman church, everyone belonged to someone or something. Everyone was a servant or slave. But of course, not us! In our country, we are staunchly proud of our individualism. We want to believe we can be whoever we want to be in life. What bigger point of pride is there than saying you pulled yourself up by your own bootstraps? You earned whatever you got in life. You don’t owe anything to anyone. Unfortunately, that kind of thinking allows us to keep our faith at arm’s length. It lets us gather together on Sunday mornings to hear a word from God, silently nod in agreement, only to go back to a world where we serve our own needs and desires.
But the odd thing is, as we proclaim our individualism, we still give our allegiance to something. Yet how often is that to God? For instance, how often do we give our allegiance to money? We attach ourselves to our money. It always seems we never have enough, and we crave more and more. We’re always drawn some golden calf that will save us. So we still end up being servants—to something other than God. Not free at all. But here’s the twist. There is a way for us to be free—truly free. We must remember that God has claimed each of us in baptism—we are servants of God. And when we do remember our baptism—when we remember to whom we belong—then we will be free from sin, free from the evils that penetrate our world, free from the dominion of death. And through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us, we can become the free people God calls us to be.
So what do we do? The idea of a baptized sinner would be incomprehensible to Paul; but we have been baptized, and we still live in sin. God has made us to be better people than we often are. And God knows that. But still—grace abounds! We can—and must—be God’s holy people in the world. We are called to demonstrate our grace-filled lives in Christ. We must act and live as faithful disciples of Christ. Our baptism is more than a symbol of our freedom from sin. It is our response to God’s call for justice and righteousness. We must remember that our old selves, along with our culture, our rights, our private spaces, and all our desires have been crucified with Christ. We have been given a new identity into which we must live! We must remember to be servants of God. Friends—Christ lives—so let’s serve him. Let’s remember our baptism. Remember to whom we belong. And be the new people we truly are! Thanks be to God!
And all God’s people say, Amen.
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Good morning and welcome to the First Presbyterian Church of Iselin!
I know this has been a challenging couple of weeks across the country, so I am thankful you decided to join us for worship. As always, please continue sending us your prayer requests during the week so they can be included in the Prayers of the People during worship. Our email is fpcioffice2@comcast.net. Have them to us by Thursday, since the services will continue being recorded on Friday. Also, continue sending in your favorite hymns, either by emailing or posting them online. This week, our prelude is “It Is Well With My Soul” and the postlude is, “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” There is no liturgist this week, so if you want to volunteer—please let me know! Finally, let us know you joined us for worship by commenting and liking the video! We truly hope you are enjoying them each week! Today, we turn to Matthew 9:35-10:8. This is the first commissioning of the twelve disciples. Jesus and the disciples have been traveling from town to town, village to village, and city to city, proclaiming the Kingdom of heaven is near and healing many people. In our reading, we hear that Jesus had compassion and decided to send out the twelve to continue proclaiming the gospel message and healing those who were sick. However, this first commissioning was only for the children of Israel. As we will hear, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” Before we can go out into the world, spreading the message to the ends of the earth, we need laborers to harvest. However, last weeks message was easy enough to understand—go and make disciples of every nation. Difficult, of course, but understandable. Today, Jesus says to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons. What are we supposed to make of that? Is our call still the same literal meaning? Or perhaps, in our current world, we need to understand what it means to heal the sick, how we raise the dead, who the lepers are in our world, and realize the demons surrounding us in the evil that holds us in its grip. I want to thank Alaine for providing music to make these services complete! I want to thank Tanya for recording the services! I can always count on her to bring a smile to my face and light up my life. No matter what is going happening!
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Chris
I know this has been a challenging couple of weeks across the country, so I am thankful you decided to join us for worship. As always, please continue sending us your prayer requests during the week so they can be included in the Prayers of the People during worship. Our email is fpcioffice2@comcast.net. Have them to us by Thursday, since the services will continue being recorded on Friday. Also, continue sending in your favorite hymns, either by emailing or posting them online. This week, our prelude is “It Is Well With My Soul” and the postlude is, “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” There is no liturgist this week, so if you want to volunteer—please let me know! Finally, let us know you joined us for worship by commenting and liking the video! We truly hope you are enjoying them each week! Today, we turn to Matthew 9:35-10:8. This is the first commissioning of the twelve disciples. Jesus and the disciples have been traveling from town to town, village to village, and city to city, proclaiming the Kingdom of heaven is near and healing many people. In our reading, we hear that Jesus had compassion and decided to send out the twelve to continue proclaiming the gospel message and healing those who were sick. However, this first commissioning was only for the children of Israel. As we will hear, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” Before we can go out into the world, spreading the message to the ends of the earth, we need laborers to harvest. However, last weeks message was easy enough to understand—go and make disciples of every nation. Difficult, of course, but understandable. Today, Jesus says to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons. What are we supposed to make of that? Is our call still the same literal meaning? Or perhaps, in our current world, we need to understand what it means to heal the sick, how we raise the dead, who the lepers are in our world, and realize the demons surrounding us in the evil that holds us in its grip. I want to thank Alaine for providing music to make these services complete! I want to thank Tanya for recording the services! I can always count on her to bring a smile to my face and light up my life. No matter what is going happening!
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Chris
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Good morning and welcome to the First Presbyterian Church of Iselin! I know this has been a challenging couple of weeks across the country, so I am thankful you decided to join us for worship. As always, please continue sending us your prayer requests during the week so they can be included in the Prayers of the People during worship. Our email is fpcioffice2@comcast.net. Have them to us by Thursday, since the services will continue being recorded on Friday. Also, continue sending in your favorite hymns, either by emailing or posting them online. This week, our prelude is “Amazing Grace” and the postlude is, “I Danced in the Morning.” This week, our liturgists are John, Anita, and Joshua. If you want to help out with this, please let me know! Finally, let us know you joined us for worship by commenting and liking the video! We truly hope you are enjoying them each week!
Today, we turn to Matthew 28:16-20, “The Great Commissioning.” This is the very last scene in Matthew. In this gospel’s Easter morning account, Jesus told the women to have the disciples meet him. So they head to a mountain in Galilee. Once they get there, they see Jesus, so they begin to worship him. But something else happens—some still doubt. Imagine that! There they are, in front of the Risen Lord, and some still doubt! It is such a human reaction—but we still don’t always want to admit we have doubts. But as we here this morning, it’s okay to have doubt!
This passage also gives us our command to go out into the world and make disciples of all nations, teaching them everything Christ commanded them. And that seems unbelievably important for us today. What does it mean to be a Christian? Unfortunately, we have been seeing signs in our country, and throughout the world, that being a Christian is important on Sunday mornings, but a lesson forgotten in our every day lives. This has been a tough couple weeks, and a tough sermon to write. I understand many people come to church to escape, but it is our call as Christians to not sit silently, to not only offer kind words to others, but to act.
I want to thank Alaine for providing music to make these services complete!
I want to thank John, Anita, and Joshua for lending their talents to this worship service!
I wan to thank Tanya for recording the services! Through anything and everything, I know she is standing beside me!
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Chris
Today, we turn to Matthew 28:16-20, “The Great Commissioning.” This is the very last scene in Matthew. In this gospel’s Easter morning account, Jesus told the women to have the disciples meet him. So they head to a mountain in Galilee. Once they get there, they see Jesus, so they begin to worship him. But something else happens—some still doubt. Imagine that! There they are, in front of the Risen Lord, and some still doubt! It is such a human reaction—but we still don’t always want to admit we have doubts. But as we here this morning, it’s okay to have doubt!
This passage also gives us our command to go out into the world and make disciples of all nations, teaching them everything Christ commanded them. And that seems unbelievably important for us today. What does it mean to be a Christian? Unfortunately, we have been seeing signs in our country, and throughout the world, that being a Christian is important on Sunday mornings, but a lesson forgotten in our every day lives. This has been a tough couple weeks, and a tough sermon to write. I understand many people come to church to escape, but it is our call as Christians to not sit silently, to not only offer kind words to others, but to act.
I want to thank Alaine for providing music to make these services complete!
I want to thank John, Anita, and Joshua for lending their talents to this worship service!
I wan to thank Tanya for recording the services! Through anything and everything, I know she is standing beside me!
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Chris
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Good morning and welcome to the First Presbyterian Church of Iselin on this Pentecost Sunday!
Thank you for joining us for our worship service. As always, please continue sending us your prayer requests during the week so they can be included in the Prayers of the People during worship. Our email is fpcioffice2@comcast.net. Have them to us by Thursday, since the services will continue being recorded on Friday. Also, continue sending in your favorite hymns, either by emailing or posting them online. This week, our prelude is “How Great Thou Art” and the postlude is, “Blessed Assurance.” At the last session meeting, it was suggested that we use a liturgist in the services. So we did! This week, our liturgist is Sue, who had the idea. If you want to help out with this, please let me know! So far, I have two other volunteers, but would love more! Finally, let us know you joined us for worship by commenting and liking the video! We truly hope you are enjoying them each week! Today, we turn to Acts 2:1-21. If you remember last week, Jesus told the disciples they would have to wait for the Holy Spirit. After 10 days, that wait is over! Jerusalem is again filled with people from all over the world for the Festival of Weeks. It was celebration of the wheat harvest, as well as a remembrance of God giving Moses the Torah. Suddenly, a violent wind comes rushing in and tongues of fire rest over the disciples, who begin speaking in different languages. Everyone in the crowd was able to understand in their own native language! The disciples were speaking of God’s great deeds of power. While many were amazed, a few sneered at them. But Peter comes out and begins a sermon that would convert many. The part of his sermon we hear is a quote from Joel. By using this quote, Peter is telling them that everyone can receive the Spirit! So the question for us today is—will we listen to the Spirit? Will we follow the Spirit’s command to go out into the world? We also have a special Lord’s Prayer today. Since it is Pentecost, when the disciples spoke in tongues and all could understand, the Lord’s Prayer is recited in both English and a variety of languages. I hope you enjoy it! The volunteers (in order): Ron: Aramaic Jennifer: Latin Rev. Chris: Greek Lilliam: Spanish Anita: Tamil Jennifer: German I want to thank Alaine for providing music to make these services complete! I wan to thank Tanya for recording the services! Since meeting her at the start of college, every day has been a blast!
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Chris
Thank you for joining us for our worship service. As always, please continue sending us your prayer requests during the week so they can be included in the Prayers of the People during worship. Our email is fpcioffice2@comcast.net. Have them to us by Thursday, since the services will continue being recorded on Friday. Also, continue sending in your favorite hymns, either by emailing or posting them online. This week, our prelude is “How Great Thou Art” and the postlude is, “Blessed Assurance.” At the last session meeting, it was suggested that we use a liturgist in the services. So we did! This week, our liturgist is Sue, who had the idea. If you want to help out with this, please let me know! So far, I have two other volunteers, but would love more! Finally, let us know you joined us for worship by commenting and liking the video! We truly hope you are enjoying them each week! Today, we turn to Acts 2:1-21. If you remember last week, Jesus told the disciples they would have to wait for the Holy Spirit. After 10 days, that wait is over! Jerusalem is again filled with people from all over the world for the Festival of Weeks. It was celebration of the wheat harvest, as well as a remembrance of God giving Moses the Torah. Suddenly, a violent wind comes rushing in and tongues of fire rest over the disciples, who begin speaking in different languages. Everyone in the crowd was able to understand in their own native language! The disciples were speaking of God’s great deeds of power. While many were amazed, a few sneered at them. But Peter comes out and begins a sermon that would convert many. The part of his sermon we hear is a quote from Joel. By using this quote, Peter is telling them that everyone can receive the Spirit! So the question for us today is—will we listen to the Spirit? Will we follow the Spirit’s command to go out into the world? We also have a special Lord’s Prayer today. Since it is Pentecost, when the disciples spoke in tongues and all could understand, the Lord’s Prayer is recited in both English and a variety of languages. I hope you enjoy it! The volunteers (in order): Ron: Aramaic Jennifer: Latin Rev. Chris: Greek Lilliam: Spanish Anita: Tamil Jennifer: German I want to thank Alaine for providing music to make these services complete! I wan to thank Tanya for recording the services! Since meeting her at the start of college, every day has been a blast!
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Chris
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Good morning everyone! Please join us tomorrow morning at 10:30 for our Pentecost worship service! We have a new prelude and postlude from the congregation's favorite hymns! We have a liturgist! We have a special Lord's Prayer in several languages!
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Good morning and welcome to the First Presbyterian Church of Iselin on this sixth Sunday of Easter! Thank you for joining us for our worship service. As always, please continue sending us your prayer requests during the week so they can be included in the Prayers of the People during worship. Our email is fpcioffice2@comcast.net. Have them to us by Thursday, since the services will continue being recorded on Friday. This week, we return to John 14:15-21. In our passage this morning, we hear Jesus promise the Holy Spirit to the disciples. The Holy Spirit is definitely one of the more challenging aspects of our faith to understand. God and Jesus are explained throughout the Bible, but the Holy Spirit remains a vague idea for the early Christians, and continues to be today. One key part of this passage is Jesus telling the disciples he will not leave them orphaned. The word “orphan” has a different meaning when this was written. It was a term used for people who considered themselves disciples of a leader who disappeared for some reason. Suddenly without a leader, the people were called orphans, so they would quickly look for a new leader. However, that isn’t what happened with the disciples of Jesus! They continued to teach the lessons of Christ, years after he was crucified. The disciples were able to do this through the Holy Spirit. This passage also reminds us that to love Jesus, we must obey his commandments. And remember—those commandments are to love God and to love our neighbor as one of our own! I hope you enjoy the service! I want to thank Alaine for the music you will hear in the service! She has also started to record some of hymns that were mentioned as personal favorites. The music will be used as a prelude and a postlude, so be sure to listen for your favorite hymns! I also want to thank Tanya, who continues to take time out of her crazy schedule to help me record these services! And it is her birthday on Tuesday, May 19! Happy birthday!! Yours in Christ,
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Good morning and welcome to the First Presbyterian Church of Iselin on this fifth Sunday of Easter! Thank you for joining us for our worship service.
As always, please continue sending us your prayer requests during the week so they can be included in the Prayers of the People during worship. Our email is fpcioffice2@comcast.net. Have them to us by Thursday, since the services will continue being recorded on Friday.
This morning, we are turning to the Book of Acts. This book chronicles the early church as they begin to spread the gospel message. The apostles were successful in converting hundreds of people, despite the temple authorities trying to stop them. Stephen, the first martyr of the church, was one of seven people originally chosen to care for the poor and the widows. However, he still preached to crowds. Just before our reading this morning, Stephen gives a long speech to the council after being accused of blasphemy. When he finishes, the crowd has heard enough and drag him out to be stoned. Our reading picks up there. This may seem like an odd passage during the Easter season, but we can learn some powerful lessons about God and how to be a faithful disciples—especially in our world today. The second hymn you will hear was written by a UCC pastor, Ruth Duck, in response to our current environment. It is to the tune of “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded.” I want to thank Alaine for the music you will hear in the service! I also want to thank Tanya, who makes me smile day after day, for recording the service.
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Chris
As always, please continue sending us your prayer requests during the week so they can be included in the Prayers of the People during worship. Our email is fpcioffice2@comcast.net. Have them to us by Thursday, since the services will continue being recorded on Friday.
This morning, we are turning to the Book of Acts. This book chronicles the early church as they begin to spread the gospel message. The apostles were successful in converting hundreds of people, despite the temple authorities trying to stop them. Stephen, the first martyr of the church, was one of seven people originally chosen to care for the poor and the widows. However, he still preached to crowds. Just before our reading this morning, Stephen gives a long speech to the council after being accused of blasphemy. When he finishes, the crowd has heard enough and drag him out to be stoned. Our reading picks up there. This may seem like an odd passage during the Easter season, but we can learn some powerful lessons about God and how to be a faithful disciples—especially in our world today. The second hymn you will hear was written by a UCC pastor, Ruth Duck, in response to our current environment. It is to the tune of “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded.” I want to thank Alaine for the music you will hear in the service! I also want to thank Tanya, who makes me smile day after day, for recording the service.
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Chris
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Good morning and welcome to the First Presbyterian Church of Iselinon this fourth Sunday of Easter! Thank you for joining us for our worship service.
As always, please continue sending us your prayer requests during the week so they can be included in the Prayers of the People during worship. Our email is fpcioffice2@comcast.net. Have them to us by Thursday, since the services will continue being recorded on Friday. This morning, we return to the Gospel of John. Our reading is a small piece of a larger story, encompassing all of chapter 9, as well as chapter 10, verses 1-21. We are focusing on the 10 verses that describe Jesus as the gate to the sheep. It’s not exactly the most famous “I am” saying from John, but it is still a powerful statement on Christ’s divine character. He is still talking to the Pharisees and scribes, after telling them that they are actually the blind ones. He tries to explain the kingdom of God and who he is, but they are unable to fully understand. After telling them he is the gate to the sheep, as well as the shepherd who will go out and find lost sheep, he tells us he is here in order that we may have abundant life in God. I want to thank Alaine for the music you will hear in the service! I also want to thank Tanya for taking time out of her wildly busy schedule to help me record these services.
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Chris
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Good morning and welcome to the First Presbyterian Church of Iselin on this third Sunday of Easter! Thank you for joining us for our worship service. As always, please continue sending us your prayer requests during the week so they can be included in the Prayers of the People during worship. Have them to us by Thursday, since the services will continue being recorded on Friday.
Today, we read one of the most famous and beloved stories in the gospels—The Road to Emmaus. As have heard over the last couple of weeks, the gospels each have different accounts of Easter. Luke is the only one that has this story. After several women find the tomb empty, they hurry back and tell the disciples. Peter runs out to the tomb, and when he finds it empty, he returns home, amazed at what had happened.
Our reading picks up after that. We join Cleopas and another as they travel to Emmaus, when a stranger suddenly joins them. They don’t know it at the time, but this stranger is the risen Lord! They tell this stranger what has happened in Jerusalem, and then the stranger opens up the scriptures to them. But they still don’t recognize him. In fact, they don’t know it’s Jesus until he breaks bread with them.
This is a theologically rich passage—too much to cover in one sermon. This year, with everything going on in the world, one piece of this story really struck me. Listen to find out!
I want to thank Alaine for the music you will hear in the service!
I also want to thank Tanya for helping me record the service each week—she has made this stay-at-home a breeze!
Here is the link to the video: http://makethemvisible.com
Go to their website, and scroll down. It's the first video and has the heading "Our Social Experiment"
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Chris
Today, we read one of the most famous and beloved stories in the gospels—The Road to Emmaus. As have heard over the last couple of weeks, the gospels each have different accounts of Easter. Luke is the only one that has this story. After several women find the tomb empty, they hurry back and tell the disciples. Peter runs out to the tomb, and when he finds it empty, he returns home, amazed at what had happened.
Our reading picks up after that. We join Cleopas and another as they travel to Emmaus, when a stranger suddenly joins them. They don’t know it at the time, but this stranger is the risen Lord! They tell this stranger what has happened in Jerusalem, and then the stranger opens up the scriptures to them. But they still don’t recognize him. In fact, they don’t know it’s Jesus until he breaks bread with them.
This is a theologically rich passage—too much to cover in one sermon. This year, with everything going on in the world, one piece of this story really struck me. Listen to find out!
I want to thank Alaine for the music you will hear in the service!
I also want to thank Tanya for helping me record the service each week—she has made this stay-at-home a breeze!
Here is the link to the video: http://makethemvisible.com
Go to their website, and scroll down. It's the first video and has the heading "Our Social Experiment"
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Chris
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Good morning and welcome to the First Presbyterian Church of Iselin,
On this second Sunday of Easter! Thank you for joining us for our worship service. As always, please continue sending us your prayer requests during the week so they can be included in the Prayers of the People during worship. Have them to us by Thursday, since the services will continue being recorded on Friday. This week, we return to the John’s Gospel, picking up on Easter night. Now, this year, the reading for Easter Sunday came from Matthew, and it differs a little bit from John. Mary Magdalene went to the tomb on Easter morning, and when she found it empty, she ran to the disciples. But after Peter and the one whom Jesus loved saw the tomb, the two disciples returned home. However, Mary remained at the tomb and Jesus appeared to her. After seeing Jesus, Mary ran back to the disciples, telling them the Lord has risen! Our reading begins immediately after Mary told the disciples. But despite hearing that Jesus had returned, the disciples remained inside, scared of the authorities. It is in the house, behind locked doors, that Jesus appears to the disciples. I want to thank Alaine for the music you will hear in the service! I also want to thank Tanya for helping me record the service each week!
Yours in Christ, Rev. Chris
PS: because the service is filmed on Friday, we don't necessarily have the most up-to-date prayer requests. I received a prayer request on Saturday from Heather. Reggie McCallum, a custodian at her school, past away on Friday. Our prayers are with his family!
On this second Sunday of Easter! Thank you for joining us for our worship service. As always, please continue sending us your prayer requests during the week so they can be included in the Prayers of the People during worship. Have them to us by Thursday, since the services will continue being recorded on Friday. This week, we return to the John’s Gospel, picking up on Easter night. Now, this year, the reading for Easter Sunday came from Matthew, and it differs a little bit from John. Mary Magdalene went to the tomb on Easter morning, and when she found it empty, she ran to the disciples. But after Peter and the one whom Jesus loved saw the tomb, the two disciples returned home. However, Mary remained at the tomb and Jesus appeared to her. After seeing Jesus, Mary ran back to the disciples, telling them the Lord has risen! Our reading begins immediately after Mary told the disciples. But despite hearing that Jesus had returned, the disciples remained inside, scared of the authorities. It is in the house, behind locked doors, that Jesus appears to the disciples. I want to thank Alaine for the music you will hear in the service! I also want to thank Tanya for helping me record the service each week!
Yours in Christ, Rev. Chris
PS: because the service is filmed on Friday, we don't necessarily have the most up-to-date prayer requests. I received a prayer request on Saturday from Heather. Reggie McCallum, a custodian at her school, past away on Friday. Our prayers are with his family!
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The Lord is risen! The Lord is risen, indeed! It’s Resurrection Sunday! Welcome to the First Presbyterian Church of Iselin and our Easter morning worship service. This has been a Lent, Holy Week, and Easter Sunday unlike any we have ever had. I certainly didn’t expect my first Easter Sunday with the church would be in an empty sanctuary, with everyone only able to watch from home. However, as you will hear, this year may seem a little more like that first Easter morning than you first realized. One problem with recording the service on Friday and having it uploaded for Sunday morning, the prayer requests are not as up-to-date as we hope. With that said, one prayer request you will hear comes from Pat Lillie. Her cousin’s husband, Arnie, was on a ventilator suffering from Covid-19. Sadly, a few hours after recording this service, she called to let me know he passed away from the virus. Our hearts go out to her family! Friends—today is the day the Lord has made. Rejoice and be grateful! The Lord is risen! He is risen, indeed! Hallelujah!
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Chris
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Chris
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Dear First Prebyterian Church of Iselin and Guests,
I hope you all enjoyed the dramatic readings over the last two days. I cannot thank Sue, Betsy, Andrea, Chris, Ron, and Alaine enough for all their hard work with this. I am very appreciative of their willingness to help! As I was preparing the sermon for this Sunday, I just felt that we needed something from the church on Good Friday. This isn't the entire Passion narrative. You can hear that below! The passage I read is John 19:16-42. Take some time tonight and reflect on the meaning of this important day. Yours in Christ, Rev. Chris |
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We have finally reached the end of our dramatic reading of the Passion Narrative. Jesus has given up his last breath, and is taken down from the cross. After being taken to the tomb, the temple leaders ask Pilate to protect it, because they were afraid some of the disciples would try to take the body, and claim he had been risen. So many thanks again to Betsy, Sue, Andrea, Ron, Chris, and Alaine for making this possible!
The Burial Cast: Narrators-Ron and Chris Priest-Andrea Pilate-Betsy |
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With Jesus now on the cross, he is mocked by the crowds. The Roman guards cast lots for his clothing, and others deride him for saying he is the Messiah. Some challenge him to save himself if he is who he says he is. However, they didn't know what we now do--by doing this, he was saving all of us! The Mockery has two songs, so make sure you stay through the first one!
The Mockery Cast: Narrator-Sue Man-Chris , Woman-Betsy, Priests-Andrea and Rev. Chris Jesus-Ron |
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The Crucifixion is the first of three videos today.
The scene picks up in Pilate's headquarters. Jesus is mocked by the Roman guards, then taken to be crucified. In Matthew, the two criminals who are crucified along with Jesus both mock him. The remaining two videos will be released at 3pm and 5pm. I hope you are able to take some time during this Good Friday to reflect on the sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross. The Crucifixion Cast: Narrators-Andrea and Sue Soldiers-Betsy, Ron, Chris, and Rev. Chris |
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This is the second dramatic reading of the Passion Narrative. We pick up with Jesus having been taken by the authorities from the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus faced the trial in the temple, and was then taken to Pilate. Jesus Before Pilate Cast:
Narrator-Betsy Judas-Ron Priest-Sue Jeremiah-Rev. Chris Jesus-Chris Pilate-Andrea Crowd-Everyone |
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Good evening, everyone! Since we are unable to have Holy Week services in church, we decided to have a dramatic reading of the Passion Narrative! There are 5 videos that will be released over the next two days. The Last Supper (this video) and Jesus Before Pilate will be released today. The Crucifixion, The Mockery, and The Burial will all be released tomorrow, on Good Friday. I want to thank Betsy, Sue, Andrea, Chris, and Ron for volunteering to record this with me! And thanks to Alaine, who performed and recorded all the music you will hear! The Last Supper cast: Narrator- Betsy Judas- Ron Peter- Sue Disciple-Andrea Jesus-Chris I hope you enjoy!
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Good morning, everyone! And welcome to our fourth streaming service! There are have been times during the last four weeks when it feels like we have been away from church for ages! But at the same time, I cannot believe it is already Palm Sunday! Lent really feels like it has come and gone in an instant. And yet, look at how much the world has changed during the Lenten season. We are all struggling with this new reality, so I really hope and pray that these weekly services held in our sanctuary, can give you at least some sense of normalcy. This week, the scripture reading is Matthew’s Palm Sunday narrative, Matthew 21:1-11. After the scripture reading, the sermon focuses on the impact of Jesus’ triumphal entry, and what it really meant to Jerusalem, and what it means for us today. I know many of us remember those Palm Sunday services where we all wave palm branches to your church’s favorite processional hymn for this day. Unfortunately, we are unable to have that moment, but we still celebrate Palm Sunday, we still remember Holy Week and the Passion of Christ, and we still prepare our hearts and minds for Good Friday. Again, thank you to Alaine Bolton for performing and recording all music you hear in this service. Thank you, Tanya, for filming the service and for always knowing how to brighten even the rainiest of days!
Yours in Christ, Rev. Chris
Yours in Christ, Rev. Chris
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Good morning! And welcome to the First Presbyterian Church of Iselin. This is our third streaming service--I hope you enjoy it! This week, our scripture passage is the famous story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, John 11:1-45. One thing I want to you listen for is just how human John portrays Jesus as. I know, that may sound weird at first, but John is always more focused on portraying the divine, heavenly aspects of Jesus’ life. This becomes very clear when John tells us, “Jesus began to weep.” (John 11:35, NRSV). The immediate reaction of those around Jesus was to say how much Jesus loved Lazarus. But I don’t think that is fully accurate. Of course, Jesus did love Lazarus, that is clear in the Gospel of John. But remember, whenever the Judeans are shown interpreting the words or actions of Jesus, we often see their interpretation isn’t right. So why would this be any different? The music you hear during the Prayers of the People is the hymn, “You Are Mine.” We will post the hymn on our website, so please check it out at: www.1stpresbyterianiselin.org We are also on Facebook and Instagram—take some time and get to know us better! Again, I would like to thank our music director, Alaine Bolton, for performing and recording all the music. I also want to thank my wife, Tanya, for recording the service and always supporting me!
Rev. Chris Houtz
Rev. Chris Houtz
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Good morning and welcome to worship with the First Presbyterian Church of Iselin! This is our second week with online only services due to the ongoing health crisis. However, this one is a much more complete service, with all the hymns and music you could want. The scripture reading is John 9:1-41--the story of the Blind Man. In it, we see the blind man's vision get stronger and stronger, while everyone else's vision gets darker and darker. In the coming weeks, please email the church office with any prayer requests to be included in our prayers of the people. The email is: fpcioffice2@comcast.net After watching the service, head over to our website: 1stpresbyterianiselin.org to find out more about the church and the people who call it home! You can also find links to our social media pages on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. I want to thank the entire congregation for their continued support and care for myself and each other, especially during this time. I want to thank Alaine Bolton, our music director, for performing and recording all the music you hear this morning. I want to thank Tanya, my wife, for recording this service, and for always being the rock in my life on whom I can always lean!
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John 4:1-42. I know this isn’t how any of us wanted to worship today, or in the coming weeks, but we also want to make sure we’re caring for our church family. Over the next couple of weeks, we will be uploading a short service on Sundays. This was done on short notice, so it only includes an opening prayer, the scripture passage, sermon, and our prayers of the people. In the coming weeks, we will add various elements to the videos, and try to make the most meaningful worship experience possible.
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Chris Houtz
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Chris Houtz
