First Congregational of Hamilton

As we approach the two year mark of the pandemic, as we brace for yet another international crisis, and with so much uncertainty surrounding our environment and economy, not to mention the daily grind of life, it can be easy to lose hope. Thankfully, what Jesus offers us is a hope that both transcends our circumstances and transforms the way we face them. But what is this Christian hope and how ca...

What does it really mean to become a Christian? All throughout the Bible becoming a Christian is compared to the personal and dramatic experience of physical birth. Becoming a Christian means experiencing another kind of birth. But what does this mean and how can this description help us to better understand the Christian life and the unique difficulties we face? Join us this Sunday as we continue...

How does our Christian faith and relationship with God make a difference in times of trouble? What do we need as we face the demands and difficulties of life? As we start again in 1 Peter, we’ll be looking at the benediction at the beginning of the letter and the resources of grace and peace that abound to us through prayer.

We often think of the story of Zacchaeus as something that's just for children. But if we pay close attention to it, we will see that this short story about a little man packs a big punch.

Isaiah ministers to a kingdom and people who are confused and fearful. It sounds a lot like many in our world today. It may even sound like us at FCCH. What are we to do with these feelings and the vast concerns that weigh on our hearts and minds? We will look at Isaiah’s call to ground our response to life’s challenges in the character and presence of the living God who has power and authority ov...

In this message, we consider a classic passage together regarding the vital importance of our personal trust in the Lord. Do we really trust Him? How do we know? What does it look like to trust the Lord as we face another year of a thousand and one uncertainties? And what effect can that trust have upon our lives and others?

How do we experience hope when life is hard? What is God calling us to in the midst of social pressure, suffering, and pain? Join us this Sunday (whether in person or over the livestream), as we begin our study of the consoling, inspiring, and hope-filled letter of 1 Peter. In the introductory verses, Peter highlights three key truths that we need to remember as we journey through this fallen worl...

What do we really need as we face the challenges of another year? What do we need and how do we get it? Join us this Sunday as we begin the new year by seeking God’s fullness together. We’ll be studying a vital Christian prayer from the book of Ephesians and learning what it means for our everyday lives.

Please join us this Sunday as we close out the year by looking at the subject of regret. It’s easy to look back upon our past and feel some level of regret over certain things that we have done or left undone. How do we learn from our past but not live in the past? How do we let go of regret and step into the future that God has for us without the weight of our past mistakes? The Apostle Paul will...

In this final message in our Advent Series, “Christmas with Mary", we consider Mary’s song, known for centuries as the Magnificat, and discovering the profound spiritual lessons it can teach us. Too often, we struggle to experience an abiding joy in the face of life's problems. In this message, Mary helps us to magnify the Lord and to sing for joy together.

This week, we’ll be looking at Mary’s visit with Elizabeth and how their time together is a model for authentic Christian community. What are the marks of real Christian fellowship? How can we build a stronger sense of this community in our church? How can our lives intersect throughout the week in a way that stimulates our joy and strengthens our faith? Mary and Elizabeth can teach us a lot.

On this second Sunday of Advent our reading is focused on faith and we will see how faith plays out in Mary’s response to the call to bear the Messiah. It is a wonderful moment in history and also a great example for us to emulate as we align the priorities of our soul with God’s priorities.

In this sermon, we kick off our Advent series by looking at the two parts to Mary's gift - the gift of God's grace and the gift of God's Son. What is grace and how should the grace of God shape our lives? How do we, like Mary, courageously identify with Jesus when it's hard?

"Going Beyond Gratitude" What’s the difference between gratitude and thanksgiving and why does it matter? This week, we’ll be considering the story of the ten lepers and what they can teach us about how to respond to the goodness and grace of Jesus in our lives. We hope you can join us on this special Sunday before Thanksgiving.

Sometime ago I was speaking with a younger gentleman who had just become a Christian and he asked me a very pointed question. He asked, “Why is being a Christian so hard? Why does it seem like it’s so difficult to follow Jesus in this world?” His question is a common one and I’m convinced it’s become more common today because in order to convince people to join the church or to become a Christian,...

It’s no secret, one of the results of the pandemic has been a rapid decline in church attendance (both worshipping in-person and remotely) and in overall church-life involvement across the country. More and more people seem to be looking upon the church as either irrelevant to their walk with God or just not that important. So, it begs the question, what’s so great about the church, and why does o...

On this Reformation Day Sunday, special guest Dr. Paul Copan speaks to us about the priesthood of all believers. We’ll rediscover the treasure of having the Scriptures in the language of the common people and be encouraged to see how every honest vocation can be pleasing to God and seen as an act of worship.

How can we nurture a heart for God and a heart for missions when we lose heart? How can we affirm our commitment to the Lord when it seems like everything around us is giving way? In this message, guest preacher, Pastor Julian, teaches us how the Lord’s mercy, power, word, and glory can strengthen our resolve.

We’ll look at the Apostle Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” and discover how God wants to use our weakness to reach the world for him. Join us this Sunday as we learn how to face the painful, unpleasant, and often debilitating areas of personal weakness with God’s strength and hope in our lives.

Isolation. Loneliness. Alienation. Especially in this time of social distancing, what do we do when we feel like we're all alone in the world? Even when we’re surrounded by lots of people, we can still be lonely. How do we handle the weight and grief of loneliness? This week, we’ll look at another famous story of grief and hope and what it can teach us about our stories.

To be human is to experience shame. To different degrees, every person is fighting a battle with shame. Shame is a universal experience, but what exactly are we experiencing? Moreover, is there healing for our shame? In this message, we’ll be looking at Jesus’ encounter with the Woman at the Well and learning together how Jesus begins to heal us and free us from our shame.

No one gets a pass on grief and we all feel the burden of loss. Sometimes we don’t know how we are going to get through and it seems like God has abandoned us. We’ll look at someone who endured great suffering, but ultimately found hope in a God who never forgot her.

There are times in all our lives that call for courage. In the second part of our series, “Grief and Hope: Stories of Suffering and Endurance,” we consider the grief of religious oppression and the need for courage. We’ll be looking at the story of Daniel’s three friends and the fiery furnace and seeking to learn from them the path to true courage.

In this message, we look at the story of Joseph and learn how to face the bitter grief of betrayal with forgiveness and peace in our hearts.

In the final message of the series, Overlooked Vices, we consider the seriousness of laziness. What is laziness and why should we take it seriously? We’ll be looking at the wisdom of Proverbs and, of course, the gospel of Jesus to grow in our diligence and to develop a biblical theology of work and rest.