First Presbyterian Church of Baton Rouge

“Oh, beautiful for patriot dream That sees beyond the years Thine alabaster cities gleam Undimmed by human tears!” For years I assumed Katharine Lee Bates, writer of "America the Beautiful," meant Boston or Los Angeles or Chicago. But no city in our great nation will come to the point where tears shall be no more. No, it is only the great heavenly city, the city prepared by our God as a bride prep...

False worship reaches for empty glory, while true worship seeks God’s presence, beauty, truth, goodness, grace, and holiness. God’s glory changes our lives, shapes us as his distinct people, gives meaning, hope, joy, and draws the pain out of our souls.

The Law is not and cannot be a checklist to make sure we’re in good with God. It never was! But now, in Christ as those set free, God’s gracious gift to us is a Law that will redirect us, point us the way we should go. And, by the Spirit’s power as he renews us in the image of the Son, he enables us more and more to live according to how God has made us and called us.

Israel arrives at Mount Sinai and hears God declare who they are: His treasured possession, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. Though they remain in the wilderness, waiting for the fulfillment of God’s promises, their identity is secure because it is rooted in God’s covenant love rather than their circumstances. These promises ultimately find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ, whose perfect...

In response to the question “Is the Lord among us or not?” simply look to Jesus Christ, Emmanuel , who is God With Us. The Lord may not give us every answer to our questions and our tears this side of heaven. Rather, He gives us Himself. The day is coming, we are told, when every tear will be wiped away, when death and sorrow will be no more. Those griefs and unanswered questions will turn into re...

When we are in the wilderness, we need to think more deeply on who we actually are, and who the Lord is. Slogans from the world such as “you are enough” or “live your truth” won’t stand up under the hot sun of suffering. But gathering around the oasis of God’s word and letting it sink into our hearts with others will provide help and hope even in the most difficult of times.

Our culture treats the parting of the Red Sea primarily as figurative, thus denying the power of the historical event. The church is prone to believe God’s mighty acts happened historically but forget that they have any power for us today. Exodus 14 shows us that we must go forward seeing what is real, and believing in God’s glorious name.

The Lord’s Passover reveals both the justice and mercy of God. As the final plague falls upon Egypt, God delivers his people through the blood of a spotless lamb, calling them to faithful trust and corporate obedience. The Passover becomes a sign of redemption, belonging, and hope passed from generation to generation. Yet this lamb points beyond Egypt to Jesus Christ, the true Lamb of God who take...

The plagues of Egypt reveal God’s sovereignty over Pharaoh, idols, pride, and rebellion. Through hard heads, hard hearts, and darkness felt, God exposes false worship, calls people to repentance, and demonstrates redemption. The darkness surrounding Jesus Christ shows the ultimate purpose: salvation, light, hope, joy, obedience, and deliverance through his glorious saving work.

Moses' encounter with God at the burning bush as a foundational conversion experience and a model for how believers meet God in times of uncertainty and transition. God often calls us in moments of discouragement and obscurity, requiring us to "turn aside" from our distractions to notice his presence. The burning bush represents God's holy, purifying nature—dangerous yet life-giving—and reveals th...

"He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him." "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"

" When they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs."

"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good." No horror surpasses what transpired on a hill outside Jerusalem almost two millennia ago. And yet we call it "Good" Friday.

"The hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners." The hour has come. All history hinges on this hour. And it is utterly terrifying. Jesus must decide: will he turn to protect his own skin and soul, or will he stay the course and embrace his Father's perfect and painful will?

"Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" With the previous three days awash in drama—Sunday's triumphal entry, Monday's temple cleansing, and Tuesday's tense exchanges, with the silencing word from Psalm 110—now Wednesday comes like the calm before the storm. This is the day Judas made a deal with the religious officials to reveal to them Jesus’ whereabouts...

"The LORD says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool." With each passing hour, Jesus drew nearer to thelion's jays. In just three days, he would be shamed and humiliated, tortured and executed. How did he keep going? On the inside he was singing.

" I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

"Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" Branches are cut from trees, hands are raised in praise, and the most important figure enters the great city for his final week.

"Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." Jesus' body in which he died was not only restored to life but changed.

"After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." Imagine the moment when Jesus first sat down on heaven's throne.

True peace is found not in circumstances but in Jesus Christ, who reconciles humanity to God and to one another. Through his sacrifice, divisions rooted in sin, prejudice, and history are broken down, forming one unified body of believers. Christians are called to live out this peace by pursuing humility, community, and reconciliation, reflecting Christ’s work by overcoming hostility and embracing...

"Behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom."