Midtown Presbyterian Church

What do we do when things fall apart? The way we answer this question shows us the truth of who we are. We all look great when things are comfortable. It’s in the times of challenge, when the building is burning down around us, when all that we’ve held onto dissolves in our arms, that our true allegiance, our true character, our true identity get revealed. Listen as Pastor Clint opens our new seri...

What is your immediate response to those who have hurt you? For many of us, it's retaliation - our hearts, and the culture around us, has conditioned us to "get even," to bring upon those who have hurt us the same (or, in some cases, more) pain than we have received from them. Yet this sort of response only seems to bring us more and more violence. Listen as Pastor Clint unpacks one of the more di...

Back in 1980, there was an impending crisis looming tall in the cascade mountains of Washington. Mt. St. Helens, an active volcano, was showing signs that it was near erupting. Authorities worked to evacuate the area in preparation, and news stations got their helicopters and cameras ready. Then, on May 18th, at 8:32 am, it happened. With an energy equivalent to 1500 atom bombs, the volcano spewed...

We live in a world that is more sexually liberated than ever, where our personal sexual desires and encouraged and a multitude of structures exist to help us pursue what we feel when we feel it. Yet, according to multiple studies from Pew Research, Americans are less relationally satisfied than they've ever been, and are actually opting to have less sex than they have in decades. As it turns out,...

In a world of pollution, degradation of human bodies, neglect of refugees, and a lack of care for the poor, among other tragedies, Mother Teresa penned this precise and profound insight in an essay on working towards peace. Her words reveal her reflections on an underlying epidemic in humanity, and particularly in the global West: throwaway culture. We inhabit a world where unwanted items and unwa...

*No video for this week's sermon* Listen as guest preacher Jordan Gustafson wraps up our series entitled 'Dependence,' exploring Psalm 46 and its connectedness to the famous hymn, "It Is Well With My Soul." Join or follow us below: Facebook: www.facebook.com/midtownpreschurch Instagram: www.instagram.com/midtown.pres/ Website: www.midtownpres.org/ Community Groups: www.midtownpres.org/community-gr...

What is your story? What do you want your story to be? Listen as Pastor Clint explores Psalm 107, and the way in which the poetic storytelling teaches us to reflect on our own stories today: Sermon Resources: 1. "In the particular is contained the universal." -James Joyce Join or follow us below: Facebook: www.facebook.com/midtownpreschurch Instagram: www.instagram.com/midtown.pres/ Website: www.m...

What do you do with your emotions? Listen as Pastor Clint explores the common approaches our world takes to emotion, and how Psalm 124 gives us a guide to responding healthily in the midst of our distress. Sermon Resources: 1. "Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable” -Fred Rogers 2. “Life can only be understood looking backward; but it must be...

"Religion...is the opium of the people," penned Karl Marx, the famous philosopher and sociologist. Indeed, oftentimes it seems that the story of Christianity--a story of resurrection of the body and life everlasting--is an escapist, pie in the sky fairy tale meant to keep people "drugged" from real engagement in the world. Yet the bible, and church history, has something far different, and far mor...

We live in a world full of vengeance. Social media. Liam Neeson movies. Batman. For as long as we've been around, we've built our societies upon the notion that retribution and vengeance can really bring the peace and restoration we're hoping for. Yet over and over again it has failed. So what can we do to bring the peace and restoration we're hoping for. Listen as Pastor Clint unpacks the next li...

What's your masterpiece? Listen as Pastor Clint explores the next line in the Apostles' Creed (the communion of saints), and how the masterpieces of others that have come before us help us on our own spiritual journeys. Sermon Resources: 1. "The Last Leaf," by O. Henry 2. "A Hidden Life," by Terrence Malick Join or follow us below: Facebook: www.facebook.com/thespringmid...​ Instagram: www.instagr...

There's a curious phrase near the end of the Apostles' Creed: we affirm the holy catholic church. It is easy for that to just sound like religious speak - what do we actually mean when we use words like holy, catholic, or church? Listen as Pastor Clint unpacks this statement by looking at the first days of the church in Acts 2. Sermon Resources: 1. Study following 2021 election: https://www.dailym...

We live in a world that loves to throw around the word 'spirit.' Yet the meaning of that word is, often, ambiguous; if you asked 10 different people to define it, you'd likely get 12 different answers. Christians use this word 'spirit' as well, and in this next installment in our series entitled "Christianity Uncomplicated," Pastor Clint explores how the Christian understanding of 'spirit' is far...

We're a culture that has grown used to asterisks - we inherently assume that hiding underneath any claim of good news is some sort of bad news. And when we arrive to the statement that Jesus is coming again to judge the living and the dead, many of us assume it to be bad news hiding under good news. Watch as Pastor Clint unpacks the significance of these words in the creed and in the scriptures -...

When we think of hell, we often carry with us certain pictures and images. More often than not, those images are formed less by what the bible actually says, and more by what our culture has depicted. Watch as Pastor Clint unpacks the story that the bible truly unfolds, how the bible's is far more a picture of heaven and earth than it is heaven and hell, and how Jesus' death, resurrection, and asc...

What exactly do Christians believe? There are so many different denominations and non-denominational churches around the world. Churches split because they disagree about all kinds of things. Is there any place that we can go to find out the essentials of the Christian faith? Any place we can go to discover what all Christians believe? Yes. The Apostles Creed is one of those places. The word “cree...

What exactly do Christians believe? There are so many different denominations and non-denominational churches around the world. Churches split because they disagree about all kinds of things. Is there any place that we can go to find out the essentials of the Christian faith? Any place we can go to discover what all Christians believe? Yes. The Apostles Creed is one of those places. The word “cree...

What exactly do Christians believe? There are so many different denominations and non-denominational churches around the world. Churches split because they disagree about all kinds of things. Is there any place that we can go to find out the essentials of the Christian faith? Any place we can go to discover what all Christians believe? Yes. The Apostles Creed is one of those places. The word “cree...

What exactly do Christians believe? There are so many different denominations and non-denominational churches around the world. Churches split because they disagree about all kinds of things. Is there any place that we can go to find out the essentials of the Christian faith? Any place we can go to discover what all Christians believe? Yes. The Apostles Creed is one of those places. The word “cree...

"He is risen!" Christians often say odd things like this, and it can be confusing to know exactly what they mean. Watch as Pastor Clint unpacks the life-changing depth underneath that sort of statement, and why it might be worth looking into in our lives, even today. Join or follow us below: Facebook: www.facebook.com/thespringmid...​ Instagram: www.instagram.com/midtown.pres/ Website: www.midtown...

There’s a form of artistic expression that originated in Japan a few centuries ago - it’s called Kintsugi. It’s a combination of two Japanese words: “kint,” which means gold, and sugi, which means “to mend.” Kintsugi begins with pottery that has been broken, shards of plates, cups, and bowls that are no longer able to function as they were intended. Then the artist, after collecting and getting to...

Jesus had a beef with the many of Jewish religious leaders of His time. In some cases these leaders were doing things or teaching things that were unnecessarily burdensome; in other cases they lacked integrity; in other cases they were violently opposed to everything God was doing in Jesus. In talking to his disciples about these leaders, he often used a unique word: “Woe!” “Woe to you when all sp...

Jesus had a beef with the many of Jewish religious leaders of His time. In some cases these leaders were doing things or teaching things that were unnecessarily burdensome; in other cases they lacked integrity; in other cases they were violently opposed to everything God was doing in Jesus. In talking to his disciples about these leaders, he often used a unique word: “Woe!” “Woe to you when all sp...

Jesus had a beef with the many of Jewish religious leaders of His time. In some cases these leaders were doing things or teaching things that were unnecessarily burdensome; in other cases they lacked integrity; in other cases they were violently opposed to everything God was doing in Jesus. In talking to his disciples about these leaders, he often used a unique word: “Woe!” “Woe to you when all sp...

*Apologies for the poor audio quality this week!* Jesus had a beef with the many of Jewish religious leaders of His time. In some cases these leaders were doing things or teaching things that were unnecessarily burdensome; in other cases they lacked integrity; in other cases they were violently opposed to everything God was doing in Jesus. In talking to his disciples about these leaders, he often...