First Congregational of Hamilton

There is so much talk today around the subjects of identity and purpose. Who am I and what am I here for? Where do we get our sense of self and sense of call from? In our culture of identity confusion, how do we go about identity formation? And what difference does God make in all this? As we continue our study of 1 Peter, we run right into the subject of our identity and purpose as the church. Ou...

How do we face rejection? All of us, at different moments in our lives, experience the pain of rejection. Once this happens, it’s easy to allow the fear of being rejected again to paralyze us and to keep us from doing or saying what we know we should. How do we handle these moments, especially as it relates to the rejection that can come because of our faith in Christ? As we pick back up in our st...

There is much confusion in our world. Confusion abounds equally on the international, national, state, and local levels. If we add to this our own personal and internal confusion it is easy to see how mistrust, conflict, anger, and disinformation abound. What we need more than new ideas and new solutions is true wisdom. Wisdom is grounded in knowledge, experience, and truth. Paul’s encouragement t...

We are Christians because we belong to God the Father and because we are committed to Jesus Christ, to the proclamation of the gospel, and to loving our fellow believers and our neighbors, even our enemies, irrespective of their ethnicity, nationality, or language.

We live in a time where the very foundations of our Christian faith are being severely questioned. One of the things that is being questioned and reconsidered by many is the nature and role of the church. Why should we bother with the church? What unique role does the church play in our world today? Join us this week as we continue our study of 1 Peter and rediscover the precious and permanent nat...

Life is hard and the entanglements, trials, and difficulties can weigh us down and cause us to become very weary. We’re often told to “read your Bible,” or “get in the Word” in order to help. But how do we do that with real effectiveness? How do we spend time with God and receive the spiritual nourishment we need? As we continue in our study of 1 Peter, we’ll be considering several principles of s...

NOTE: We apologize for the poor audio quality of this recording. Our regular feed went down so we needed to use the backup recording that was captured by a phone. Part of our mission statement as a church is “growing in the gospel.” But what does that mean? What exactly is the gospel and how does it practically change our lives? What's the difference between Christian growth and your average self-...

Something we hear a lot today is the expression, “Love is love.” As catchy as that phrase is, it doesn’t help to define what genuine love actually is and practically looks like. As Christians, we believe that real love finds its source in the very being of God, is exemplified in the life of Jesus, and is defined for us in Scripture. Join us this Sunday as we continue our study of 1 Peter and consi...

Faith and fear can be very counteractive. Where faith is freeing, fear is crippling. Our passage this week, delves into the opposing natures of these two forces, and shows us how our faith can free us from the storms of fear that so often rage across our lives.

What comes to your mind when you think of holiness? What does a holy person look like? In our culture today, the words ‘holy’ or ‘holiness’ can have a negative connotation. For many, living a holy life isn’t just seen as a dull thing, it’s seen as a dangerous thing because it means three things—I retreat from the world, I lose my freedom, and I sacrifice my happiness. As we step back into our stud...

We use the word ‘scapegoat’ all the time, but few people know that the term comes right out of the Bible. Tracking down how we got the word is a fascinating quest, and one with surprising relevance to your everyday life.

A special message from Dr. Patricia Batten, professor of preaching and Associate Director of the Haddon W. Robinson Center for Preaching at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. She’ll be sharing on the new paradigm for greatness that Jesus gives to us and how that should shape our everyday lives.

Pastor Jeremy shares at Spring Men's Breakfast on the struggle with sin and the difficulty of the Christian life using the metaphor we find in Hebrews on running a race.

How do we explain the current state of humanity? How do we begin to explain the state of our own souls and personal struggles? How do we discover our true authentic selves? These are just some of the questions we'll be considering as we continue our study of 1 Peter. We’ll be looking at the Christian’s inner conflict between the new self and the old self. How can we better understand the conflict...

If the Christian life is a different life, then what makes it so different? What are some of the key principles that characterize the new operating system of a Christian? As we return to our study of 1 Peter, we find ourselves in a new section—a section on Christian living. I’m very excited to share some of the essential dynamics of living the Christian life that we find in this section.

In times of great pain and loss, we can often feel abandoned by God. How can we know for certain that God is with us? And in what ways can we expect Him to draw near and help us?

In times of great pain and loss, we can often feel abandoned by God. How can we know for certain that God is with us? And in what ways can we expect Him to draw near and help us?

In times of great pain and loss, we can often feel abandoned by God. How can we know for certain that God is with us? And in what ways can we expect Him to draw near and help us?

On Palm Sunday, we focus our attention on the kingship of Jesus. But if Jesus is King, why is the world in the mess that it is? The suffering that we face in this world raises many questions. And one of those questions and cries of our heart is, “Where is God?!” In a world where God can seem so distant and detached from our pain and suffering, are there any beams of hope to light our way? Join us...

The term ‘salvation’ has fallen on hard times. Many people today can tend to view the Christian message of salvation, or our universal need for salvation as a primitive way of thinking. In our self-sufficient culture, being ‘saved’ can feel unnecessary or a cop-out for our irresponsibility. But in our passage this week, we’re going to see how the story of salvation is the most up-to-date and trans...

Christians are people who “walk by faith and not by sight.” Our faith is not contrasted with reason; it’s contrasted with sight. A few ways this works itself out is our love, faith, and joy in the unseen Jesus. Love, faith, and joy—these three characteristics are meant to mark our lives as Christians but what do they really mean, and how can we grow in them? These are the subjects and questions we...

In a world of a thousand things that can lead us to grief, how can we journey with grief and also take joy along with us? Can grief and joy actually hold hands and coincide? Join us as we continue our study of 1 Peter and discover how we can journey through the difficulties of life with both grief and joy beside us.

What assurance can a Christian have in confusing and difficult times? One thing we’re meant to have is the assurance of our salvation—the assurance of God’s love and the grand future that awaits us. But in reality, many sincere believers find themselves at times doubting their salvation. In the midst of personal failures and outside pressures, we can often wonder if God still loves us and if we’ll...

As we begin Lent and celebrate communion together, we will look at how Jesus is enough. Many times in our day to day lives we forget the impact of all that Jesus accomplished and we may falter in seeking him, but when we meditate on all that he has done it draws us to worship and trusting dependence.

One of the key motivational truths that we come across in the Bible for living the Christian life is the great inheritance that is set before us. Yet, we often misunderstand it or tend to underestimate the liberating power this can have in our lives. What is this inheritance, and how should it shape the way we live on a day-to-day basis? Join us this Sunday as we continue our study of 1 Peter and...