North Decatur Presbyterian Church

4.18.21. Scripture: John 20:19-29 | Rob Schoonover Preaching

Scripture: Acts 4:32-35 and Psalm 133:  Unity In The Resurrection | Kendra Peebles  Kendra will take a closer look at what unity looks like by naming a recent event that happened right here in Georgia. She will compare the unity found in the lectionary text to the unity embodied by our faith leaders. Unity requires more than believing in the resurrection, it requires our loyalty to...

4.4.21. Christ is Risen! Christ is Risen indeed! We gather this Sunday to receive the best news of all: the tomb is empty and Christ is risen. In Mark’s gospel, however, the Risen One does not appear to the disciples. There is only a mysterious figure in the tomb, who tells the women that in order to see the risen Christ, they must go to Galilee. They must go back to the beginning, go back home. W...

3.28.21. Text: John 12:1-9 | Rev. Beth Waltemath preaching.

3.21.21. As we get closer to Holy Week and the story of Jesus’ death, the lectionary readings get messier. More specifically, bloodier. This week’s reading from Hebrews 5 talks about Jesus’ sacrifice. “Sacrifice” has become a bit of a dirty word–both theologically and culturally. What can we make of the profound, troubling image of Jesus as a blood sacrifice? Rev. Lewicki, preaching.

3.13.21. John 3:16 is perhaps the most well-known verse in the Christian scriptures. Over the years, the verse has shown up on the eye black of football players, random signs on I-75, and in the consciousness of nearly every church basketball player ever. This Sunday, Rob Schoonover invites you to consider the meaning of this verse from a different perspective. He promises that he won’t make you m...

3.7.21. The Rev. Shavon Starling-Louis invites us to imagine the faithful work of Building (and reBuilding) the church through the lens of Acts 2 and 12-step spirituality. She challenges us to live into new ways of being community - with humility, honesty with ourselves, and daily dependence on the grace of God.  

2.28.21. “Who do you say that I am?” Have you ever asked someone what they thought of you? Have you wondered what your eulogy might one day say? “Take up your cross” is Jesus’s invitation to live with integrity. It is an invitation we cannot fully entertain until we have entertained the reality of our own death and the impact of our life on this earth. “Who do you say that I am?’ Jesus asks the di...

2.21.21. Wilderness is a concept that is found throughout the Old and New Testaments. What significance does wilderness have in our own journey? Join us this Sunday we examine the Gospel of Mark's account of the Temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.

2.14.21. Transfiguration. Metamorphoses. Change. It's the effect of God's wonder-working power. It happened to Jesus on a mountaintop. It happens everywhere around us. And it even happens to us. Rev. Lewicki, preaching.

2.7.21. And He Cured Many Who Were Sick We have never been so aware of sickness and health as we are in this pandemic. Into this moment, comes a story of Jesus as a healer of those who are sick (Mark 1:29-39). How are we supposed to hear stories like this today? We hear from some of NDPC's "healers" as they reflect on this story and their own work.

1.31.21. "Authority" is a word that makes us uncomfortable. We are often skeptical of the word authority (and we're right to be skeptical). Join us this Sunday as we examine the gentle authority of Jesus and what it means for us today." Robert Schoonover preaching.  Mark 1:21-28

1.24.21.  Jesus calls the disciples, Simon and Andrew, and the brothers James and John. It all seems so smooth, so easy. These four men see a guy wandering by, he says a few vague words about God, and they leave their whole world--jobs, families, future--to follow him. Easy. Too easy? This Sunday, we dig a bit deeper into the story of the first disciples and explore our own reasons for wantin...

1.17.21. In the midst of a tumultuous time in American political life, and on the cusp of the annual celebration of the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rev. David Lewicki preaches about how we might continue to conceive of God's role in our political life today. Does God put leaders in power? Does God pull them down? Our text is from 1 Samuel.

1.10.21. This week, we read the story of Jesus’ baptism. Jesus was a grown man when he stood in a line of strangers, waiting his turn to wade into the muddy river to let Wild John plunge his head under the surface. In the years after Jesus’ death, his disciples did something peculiar. They kept dunking people under water as a sign of being joined into the life of Christ. We still do it. And we wil...

Join us as the Epiphany season begins. 1.3.21.

12.27.20. Rob Schoonover preaching from Luke 2:22-40. The new year offers new beginnings, and this Sunday’s text shows us how even folks in ancient Israel were looking for new beginnings. The text gives us a tiny glimpse of what kind of new beginnings those in ancient Israel were looking for. You may find they aren’t so different from what many of us are looking for in 2020. So tune in as Rob Scho...

12.20.20. Mary's song is a fixture of the Advent season. We've come to pin our hope on this young woman's voice glorifying God in the midst of uncertainty. Her song offers a vision of our bodies and souls magnifying the essential will of the divine. But every mother knows there is grief amidst the glory. As we read Luke 1:46-55 and listen to choral interpretations of the Magnificat let us consider...

12.13.20. It is the third Sunday of Advent -- we light the candle of joy. This Sunday's scripture reading is from the oldest book in the New Testament, First Thessalonians. The reading begins, "Rejoice always." Always? Even this year? Even when life feels heavy and strange? We spend time naming the sources of our joy as we draw closer to Christmas. Rev. Lewicki, preaching.

12.6.20. The greatest kiss in literature is from a surprising source: the Psalms. This Sunday, the 2nd in Advent, we read Psalm 85. There, the kiss of justice and peace gives us an image of the Beloved Community that we all long to share. We light the candle of Peace. Rev. David Lewicki preaching.

11.29.20. This Sunday's preacher is our newest Ministry Fellow, Kendra Peebles. Please welcome Kendra to her first experience in NDPC's virtual pulpit!  The sermon will come from Isaiah 64:1-9. We often find ourselves longing like the Israelites, desiring and waiting for God to perform wonderful deeds as in the past. During this Advent season, God is desiring for us to do more than...

11.22.20. Matthew 25 is the mantra of "social justice" Christians. But it is much more than a call to feed the hungry and house the homeless. It is an  invitation to see all people as bearers of the image of God, to see the incarnate Christ in the most offensive places. Rev. David Lewicki, preaching.

11.22.20.

11.8.20. "Stay awake." "Stay awake." "Stay awake." Jesus tells a parable about ten young people waiting for a party to begin. The wait is long. Too long. Some were ready. Some were not. "Stay awake," Jesus says. Rev. David Lewicki, preaching.

11.1.20. Matthew 5:1-12. 2020 is supposed to be the symbol of perfect vision. Instead, it is the year of collapse on multiple fronts. What do we make of all the ways we have fallen as a society and a culture? The scales may be falling from our supremacist lenses but the scales of justice continue to tip in favor of the oppressors. As we look back this All Saints' Day in 2020, we grieve all the liv...