Faith Presbyterian Church Tallahassee

Philippians 4:10-13 It has often been said that "God will not give you anything that you cannot handle." The truth is we face many challenges, obstacles, and suffering that we could never handle on our own. Our hope is that God will never forsake us, and with Christ all things are possible

Hebrews 10:23-25, Rev. Trinity Whitley

Stewardship season begins with a reminder that the strength of our church does not come from our money or our faithfulness. Our strength comes from God who renews our strength when we feel like we may fail.

Revelation 7:9-12

"Son you are always with me and all that is mine is yours. But we had to rejoice and celebrate because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost but now he is found."

"There is joy in the presence of angels of God over one sinner who repents."

"Which of you, having one hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?"

The Kingdom of God is near. We catch glimpses of it all the time, when God's grace shines through this world. How can we help others see the Kingdom of God that is right outside our door? 

Paul tells the Philippians that we are citizens of heaven even though the Kingdom is not fully realized. How can we live like Kingdom people now, while we are looking forward to the future? 

Each Sunday we pray that God's Kingdom will come. Jesus shared many parables about the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus tells the disciples that the Kingdom is a treasure that should be valued. Unlike other treasure that we might hide or put away for safe keeping, the Kingdom of heaven cannot be contained. 

A great banquet has been prepared and invitations have been sent. But many make excuses and choose not to come to the feast. Those who fill the tables are not those people who have honor, but those who are grateful. 

Our youth who attended Dogwood Acres and Montreat conferences this summer share their experiences.

There are so many achievements of humankind: climbing Mount Everest, reaching the moon, curing disease. We so often look at this world as something to be tamed, something to be conquered. There is so much in this world that can conquer us. But by the grace of God we can be more than conquerors. 

The news is filled with suffering. It is easy to get overwhelmed. Our hope in Christ is that there will be a time to come, a new Heaven and new Earth, and nothing will compare to the glory of God. 

The trouble with sin is that we cannot escape it on our own. We only have to look at the law of God and realize that we fall short in countless ways. But God can do what the law cannot do. God can heal us and repair our relationship with God and with each other. Using the law alone, we will always be broken, but with Christ we are healed. 

No one is perfect, not even Paul the Apostle. While we all strive to be who God wants us to be, when we take stock of our actions at the end of each day, we can all think of ways that we could be better, words that we wish we could take back, money that we wasted, neighbors that we have taken for granted. Paul offers us a vulnerable expression of the nature of sin, reminding us that our only hope...

Freedom is a great value of our nation. Paul describes freedom as an illusion. We are always serving something, whether we are serving our desires, serving idols, or serving a greater good. When we choose to serve Jesus Christ, we are set free from all of those false hopes to serve something greater.

Jesus names the 12 disciples and sends them out into the world to serve. But these heroes were ordinary people. It was God who made them extraordinary. 

Jesus heals two daughters. One is the daughter of the leader of the synagogue. The other is a child of God. 

Today we commission our mission team as they leave for Port Charlotte, FL to help with hurricane clean-up. Jesus commissions all of us to go out into the world and share the gospel through our hands, feet, and voices. 

Join us as we conclude our journey through Acts on Pentecost. This Sunday we will turn our attention to the movement of the divine wind in our lives, witnessing to the Holy Spirit's presence and transformative power.

Jesus ascents to heaven and the disciples stand in awe and wonder. The the angels remind the disciples that there is not time to stand still. There is work to do

Peter heals a saint of the church named Dorcas. Dorcas proved what a saint can be -- someone who does small things with great love. 

We have all heard the story of Paul's conversion, but the call of Ananias was just as miraculous. Ananias shows great trust and great courage by following the will of God. 

Paul shares the gospel with the people of Athens by reminding them that God is bigger than we can imagine.