First Presbyterian Church of Baton Rouge

Our mission occurs when we launch people into what, for us, are the most remote areas. Our mission also involves each little decision we make during the day to do the right thing. We imitate what is good. We welcome others. We cultivate the fruit of the Spirit so that partaking of our lives tastes like the sweetness of love, joy, and peace. We understand that Church means all believers everywhere...

We do not want to be a fireplace with pretty flames but no heat. We want to show the world that we know we must love one another or die. We choose not despair. Not cynicism. Not hatred. But truth in love, and love in truth.

What would happen if you and I looked at each person we meet this week as if their names were engraved in the palms of Jesus? If we saw that there was room in the wounds of Jesus for the name of each one? That each has been created and called to be in the hands of Jesus? We would realize how Jesus speaks to his Church amidst all the thorny issues of the day and gives us an underlying, often uncomf...

Jesus gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. ​ He gets us unstuck. ​ The grace that is Jesus Christ appeared in the world once and for all time, interrupting the death march of humanity by his own living, dying, and rising. ​ Now, in this present, the event of Jesus calls us to a new life today...

Do you really want to go back to the ridiculous futile ways of your former ignorance? Do you still want to pick up dead things and see if you can poke them alive? Do you still want to fit in with a world captive and crushed under its defiant enthronement of self? Of course not! Keep believing and repenting and moving from the circle of sin to the circle of the gospel. More and more, deeper and dee...

You may not see yourself as having much to offer the Lord in 2026. Perhaps you have fears, concerns, or hurts that feel beyond your ability to address. And you’re right. But under our Lord’s authority, He is able to make you a new creation. In fact, Christ’s love becomes the love we have for others.

Lord Jesus, on this Christmas Eve, we light candles in the darkness. We sing carols into the night. While chaos seems ever near, we draw upon the deep peace of your being gathered in Mary’s arms. You came through the barrier of our rebel humanity to be near us. Forgive us for all the times we have scampered away from you. For the ways we have sought life among dead things. For the doubts we raise...

We want to gaze upon Christ now so that when we meet face to face, we have been preparing. We gaze on him as we enter the stories of his interactions with us. In the Scriptures we discover there are endless treasures in Jesus to behold and adore. We look at Christ by looking at life and the world through the eyes of Christ. We engage the task of growing more like him, not in fear but in hope.

God creates light from nothing when he shines within us. He shines light so that we can see the light of his glory shining in the face of Jesus Christ. And believe. It takes an act of creation to remove our blindness. It takes an act of creation to create faith in us. To see that the Jesus of the Christmas story is the savior of the world and my personal savior. 

The world’s redeemer revealed his sacred face as he nestled in the arms of Mary. Even the most hardened and secular people feel the sense of blessing that comes from holding an infant in your arms. The mystery of new life granted. This, this child with this face reveals the disposition of the eternal God toward you. He shines with grace. He beams with acceptance, pleasure, and welcome. O come, let...

Hide not your face from me lest I be like those who go down to the pit. Cut off from the face of God we feel as discarded as refuse thrown into a garbage dump. The soul cries out to God for the bright morning light of God’s shining face. If we could but see his expression and know it is one of steadfast love!

Do not underestimate the power of fruit. Do not underestimate the power of joy. Do not underestimate the power of humble lives lived in bold, hopeful obedience. So, seek the fruit. It’s pleasing to God. It’s how we conquer the world.

For all things needed of me, I have strength in the one strengthening me.

We have weapons with which to fight worry and anxiety. But as with anything, we have to learn how to use them. We have to engage the disciplines of dealing with anxiety. Especially in the days when things are more normal, and the pressure is not so great. Habits of prayer. Habits of rejoicing, thanking, and trusting that God is near. Resolutely offering all our worries to the heavenly Father who l...

There’s a resiliency work in progress in Christ’s church. The mission of the church around the world depends on how we move towards resolution in every conflict. How we stretch our minds to embrace enemies and to embrace the worldwide communion of believers. We hold in our hearts and minds our eternal solidarity with every soul in Christ in all times and all places. 

We draw upon the new life Christ has created in us. For Jesus who grabbed hold of us has given us his Holy Spirit inside us. We yield ourselves to his will and we ask him to give us the strength and power we need. It’s the daily bread of life in Christ. We draw from the Spirit like letting an empty bucket down into a spring of fresh water. Come, Holy Spirit, fill me, cleanse me, satisfy me, change...

Compared to Jesus, even the God-given good things in our lives are as rubbish. Thankfully, God does not usually ask us to literally put our treasures in the rubbish pile. Instead, he asks us to surrender them to Christ our Lord and let Jesus dictate how we are to use them for his glory. 

The positive command to rejoice in the Lord includes the negative command to cease exalting in human standards. Stop taking so seriously your resume or your portfolio or lack of one. Without Christ, these are nothing but false paths to an illusive dream of a good life. Trash that story as your primary life narrative. Jump into your participation in the big Story of Jesus. That’s a way to joy. And...

Real Christianity is the farthest thing from the world’s monotonous grind. The creativity in the relationships of Paul, Epaphroditus and Timothy makes us fully alive with the adventure of living for Christ. Do you have your 3? Are you living out your 3 for others?

Christians are called out of the world as children of God. But we do not lose our solidarity with all the world. We know the evil in our hearts. We know the love God had for the world that hated him. We know our light shines brightest when we turn the other cheek, when we wash feet, when we lay down our lives for another. When we recognize the humanity, both the need and the hope, in even our wors...

You can talk about spirituality all day long in any place, and the worst response you will get is boredom. You can talk about a Higher Power and create little offense. You can even talk about following the teachings of the “J” man, and as long as you keep him on the level of any other great ethical teacher, no one minds. Speak of the man Jesus as the Son of God who is the measure of truth and the...

We should be willing to act on a prompting from the Spirit and risk things getting messy. Opportunities are all around us every day. If we open ourselves to this, the world might be drawn to our Savior. The surest way to develop an interest in others’ lives and to see their significance is through prayer. Notice what people are living through and pray for them. Stop blaming. Stop judging. See the...

What does it look like today for us to live as dual citizens of our nation, but devoting ourselves to the kingdom of God? In our increasingly polarized environment, there is a cultural expectation of what it means to “honor the emperor” that may approach ultimate trust or devotion. No political party can or should claim that place of authority in a Christian’s life – nor should we expect to find d...

The counter-cultural gospel subverts the chronic despair of lost people with the hope of everlasting life. It subverts the crippling power of shame with the healing force of atonement. It undermines living for self-protection with the mighty assurance that we are thoroughly known and infinitely loved. It replaces the pretensions of a life-story about worldly power with the beauty of a story of God...