First Congregational of Hamilton

Even though Jesus returned to his Father after only 30-some years, he did not abandon us as orphans. He left the Holy Spirit to comfort, guide, convict, teach, and remind us of all things he taught. We now live in the age of the Spirit. In week five of our summer series, “What We Believe,” we tackle the doctrine of the Holy Spirit.

In Week Four of our summer series, “What We Believe,” we will dive deeper into the work of Jesus. We will look to the Old Testament to see how God has prefigured the Messiah’s suffering and resurrection in the familiar stories of Jonah, Daniel, and Joseph and how this impacts us today.

In Week Three of our summer series, “What We Believe,” we come to the heart of our faith—Jesus. Who was he, and how can we describe his nature as both God and man? What did he do by living a perfect life and dying a shameful death? As Charles Wesley said,   ’Tis mystery all: the Immortal dies. Who can explore His strange design? In vain the firstborn seraph tries To sound the depths of love divine...

The Trinity is not so much something we comprehend, but something we experience. Prayer is the intimate place where we experience the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Dr. Adonis Vidu Andrew Mutch Distinguished Professor of Theology Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary

Welcome to our summer series—What We Believe. This series is based on our  church’s doctrinal statement . Our goal is to remind and instruct on “mere Christianity.” That is what C. S. Lewis called the essential biblical doctrines. The word “mere” does not mean anemic or watered-down; it means basic and indispensable. God has revealed himself to us, so we listen with open ears and hearts.

We have come to the end of our seven-week series from Micah. In the last verses of the book ( Micah 7:18-20 ), the symphony comes to a climax as Micah asks, “Who is a God like you?” Of course, the answer is “No one!” because of the grace of the covenant-keeping God. The symphony could have climaxed by lifting up God’s power or holiness, but instead Micah puts grace on center stage. Aren’t you glad...

As we come to the penultimate week of our time in Micah, we will look at a well-known verse ( Micah 6:8 ) that sums up our response to the goodness of God in our lives, a guidepost to living the good life. It is easy to put comforting verses on refrigerator magnets, but in its context, it is more challenging and ultimately more comforting. In preparation, take time to read all of  Micah 6  and I c...

Discipline and deliverance, rebuke and restoration. These are the themes that keep coming up in Micah and this week’s passage,  Micah 5:1-5a , is heavy on the second element: deliverance. Good news! But when will God deliver us? When will God’s kingdom become all in all? Micah 5 points the way toward an answer.

Hope springs eternal! In the middle of Micah’s relentless attack on the ungodly and immoral choices of the leaders and people of Israel and Judah, God is planning a better future. Looking back we know that future is made possible through Jesus. How do you receive warnings? How do you think about the responsibilities we have as Christians? How are we as the church participating in building a temple...

In Micah 1 we learned that idolatry angers the Lord, and this sobering message continues in  Micah 2 . What angers the Lord? Unethical business dealings and man-pleasing prophecies. But Micah 2 has hope also, because He is faithful to His covenant.

We start the Old Testament book of Micah beginning with  Micah 1:1-16 .  Why Micah? Because the prophet knew God, loved him, and felt his passion. Micah can help us comprehend the heart of God.

We have come to the last sermon in our parable series—the Good Shepherd—and  Luke 15:1-7  is a great place to stop: with a story about our Lord and Savior, Jesus. He knows, he cares, he owns, loves, seeks, finds, and celebrates. May FCCH walk in his steps by seeking the lost and introducing them to the Shepherd.

Jesus is called many things in the Bible: door, vine, shepherd, cornerstone, and so forth. Did you know that he is also called the “firstfruits” of the coming resurrection? We will explore  1 Corinthians 15:20-26  on Easter, resurrection day!

Palm Sunday is the beginning of Holy Week and we will gather as the church to remember and proclaim all that Jesus did for us in our Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Resurrection Sunday services. As we come to worship together, consider what is most important to you? What do you proclaim with your life, what is the celebratory focus of your soul? This Sunday we will look at the passage that follo...

“Are only a few people going to be saved, or will there be many?” That is the question that drives Jesus’s parable of the Narrow Door in  Luke 13:22-30 . But he turns the speculative question into personal exhortation” “Strive to enter through the narrow door.”

In the kingdom of God, the way up is the way down. That’s a bedrock fact for disciples. As Jesus says in  Luke 18:9-14 , the parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector—whoever exalts himself will be humbled, but whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Lord, help us to put off pride and put on humility!

The topic of justice is a hot topic today, and it deserves to be because it is close to the heart of our Lord. But in our concern for social justice, something may be missing—prayer. In  Luke 18:1-8 , the parable of the Persistent Widow, Jesus teaches us to pray for justice, pray without ceasing, pray and do not lose heart.

Sometimes a first reading of scripture can make us scratch our heads, but when we take a closer look it yields spiritual riches that inform our lives. My hope is that our learning together this Sunday will remind us of God’s priorities for serving and investing in God’s kingdom for the benefit of others and for our good. It may be a bit of a head-scratcher because Jesus tells a parable using someo...

The parable of building on rock or sand in  Matthew 7:24-27  - one message, two builders, two foundations, one storm, two outcomes—that’s how Jesus concludes the Sermon on the Mount. Will your house stand when the storm strikes?

The expert in religious law asked Jesus to define “neighbor” in Luke 10:25-37 . Was he obligated to love only the Jews, or maybe his fellow religious scholars? Just who does God command us to love? When Jesus answered, he turned the conversation upside-down. He says that we are the neighbors. We make neighbors by acting neighborly with compassion.

Jesus explains to his followers in  Luke 19:11-27 , that their life's mission is to attentively listen to his words and put them into practice, which guarantees that he will entrust us with the treasure of eternal life in the new creation.

This week the World Economic Forum, a meeting of so-called elite business and political leaders, is taking place in Davos, Switzerland. The increasing global wealth gap is on their agenda. On Monday, Oxfam published a report that the wealth of the world’s five richest men had more than doubled in the last two and a half years from $405 billion to a staggering $869 billion! Jesus had compassion for...

We eagerly begin our new series focusing on Jesus’ parables. Each week we will examine the way Jesus used stories and puzzles to remind, challenge, and teach his listeners about the Kingdom of God. This is the “told” part. We will also look for the ways these parables remind, challenge, and teach us today. This is the ongoing gift of our savior’s teaching, the “tells” part. To start getting your m...

Christmas has come and gone, but I hope you won’t mind thinking about Jesus again and how he humbled himself when he took a body . As the old hymn says, he “went out of the ivory palaces into a world of woe.” As we prepare to look at this on Sunday please read Hebrews 10: 1-14.

The birth of Jesus is not a story, in the sense of a narrative that is either true or fictitious, mostly told to maintain the interest of readers and listeners, to amuse, and perhaps to instruct. The birth of Jesus is told by  Luke  and  Matthew  as a historical event that took place in a specific location and at a specific time. The birth of Jesus was, for Jesus’ followers in the first century, a...