Old Pine Street Presbyterian Church

In this sermon on Luke 2:7-20, Pastor Rebecca explores the familiar nativity story through the lens of Mary's experience and the context of her powerful song in Luke 1 (the Magnificat). 

Rev. Ferris concludes our mini-series on John the Baptist by exploring the dramatic story of John's beheading by King Herod. This dramatic tale offers a window into a fundamental question: Will we live our lives by fear or by love? The text is Mark 6: 14-29. 

We continue our mini-series on John the Baptist with a sermon on Matthew 11:2-11. Rev. Ferris explores John's confusion about Jesus: is he the Messiah or are we to wait for another? He explores the strangeness of the incarnation, concluding with a story about Henri Nouwen.

We begin a 3-week mini series on the John the Baptist. Today, Rev. Ferris explores John's prophetic ministry, baptizing people in the Jordan River. He discusses John's strange personality and the humility he showed in drawing attention to Jesus. He also explores Da Vinci's famous portrait of John, which was printed on the church bulletin. Matthew 3: 1-6, 11.

As we look to the beginning of the Advent season next week, how might we get ready to "enter the great mystery of Christmas?" Rev. Blake explores how Mary's song, the Magnificat, gives us ways to make space for the tenacious hope and love of God to abide in and with us. Our text is Luke 1:36-55. 

We celebrate All Saints Day with a sermon about "saints." Rev. Ferris explores Paul's message to the Corinth church, which had factions that were tearing apart the community. He draws on select passages from 1 Corinthians 1. 

Rev. Ferris preaches on Consecration Sunday, the day we make our annual financial pledges to the congregation. He explores the image of "living stones" from 1 Peter and talks about how the church relates to the world. 1 Peter 2: 4-12

In this sermon on Luke 12:13-34, Rev. Blake explores what it looks like to "store up an unfailing treasure in heaven."  Prioritizing what matters makes a profound difference in our lives, especially in light of this anxiety-filled time in our country and in light of the season of stewardship, when we evaluate and take a step forward in pledge our resources to God's work in and throu...

We end our series on the visual metaphors of salvation by looking at the story of the Gerasene demoniac from Mark 5:1-20. Rev. Ferris explores the reality of evil, which social science theories fail to adequately describe. He finds in the story a message of love and healing.

Rev. Ferris explores the parable of the unforgiving servant from Matthew 18: 21-35. He explores the debt that sin creates, which must be paid by someone, and how the cross is God's solution to this cosmic problem. 

We continue our sermon series that explores the Bible's visual metaphors of salvation. This Sunday, Rev. Ferris preaches on Jesus' parable of the lost sheep. He asks, "How is the Gospel different from every other pathway to God?" The reading is Luke 15:1-7. 

Rev. Ferris explores the metaphor of darkness and light that appears throughout Scripture. He investigates Augustine's notion that evil is privation, arguing that this insight can help us seek Christ as the light that fills the vacuum of nothingness. The main text is John 1:1-14.

At various points in the Gospel of John, Jesus refers to the gift of "living water" as something he gives, which results in "a spring of water gushing up to eternal life." Rev. Blake explores how we might understand salvation through the picture of living water in the story of Jesus meeting a Samaritan woman at a well in John 4:3-30. 

Another "picture of salvation" is freedom from slavery as a metaphor for freedom from sin. Rev. Ferris explores the Israelite's escape from Egypt by crossing the Red Sea. The text is Exodus 14: 10-22. 

In Romans 8, Paul uses the metaphor of adoption to explain the reality of salvation. Rev. Ferris explores adoption in ancient Rome and how this "picture" applies to our lives today. Rom 8: 14-17, 31-39.

We begin a new sermon series today entitled, "Pictures of Salvation." Each week we will focus on a different visual metaphor of the salvation experience. Today's picture is "home." Rev. Ferris explores Jesus' parable of the man with two sons from Luke 15:1-3, 11-32.

When we feel far from home, far from who we once were or who we want to be, how does God show up in our lives? What might God invite us to do? In today's sermon Pastor Rebecca preaches on Jeremiah 29:1, 4-14, tracing the thread of God's presence in the lives of the ancient Israelites, exiled in Babylon, and exploring the ways God is present with us today when we are in "survival mod...

In the first of a three-part series, Pastor Rebecca explores the story of strange gifts God gave to the Israelites in the wilderness shortly after the exodus from Egypt. Our text is various verses from the book of Exodus, chapter 16. (The three-part sermon series is titled "Even Still, Even Here, Even Now: Unexpected Provision in Survival Mode." We hope you'll join us either in wors...

The conclusion of our 12-week series on Acts. Rev. Ferris explores the colorful story of Demetrius, the silversmith who is angry with Paul for his teachings against idols. What are our idols today and how might we overcome them? The text is Acts 19: 23-28. 

Paul preaches at the Areopagus in Athens. He brilliantly uses Greek literature to explain the Gospel to a sophisticated intellectual audience. Rev. Ferris explores Acts 17:16-30.

As Paul and Barnabas begin their missionary journey, Paul reveals the core message of the Gospel: that through Jesus, human beings are released from sin. Rev. Ferris explores Acts 13: 26-31, 38-39. 

Rev. Ferris explores the remarkable ethnic diversity displayed in the gathering of church leaders in Antioch, and how the Gospel makes this diversity possible. The reading is Acts 13:1-3.

In this sermon on Acts 10, Pastor Rebecca explores the story of Peter and Cornelius, their respective visions, and the radical movement of the Holy Spirit in the earliest days the Church. How is the Holy Spirit leading us to live out an ever-expanding love of God, especially today in a world more polarized than ever?

Saul, also known as Paul, experienced a significant conversion and call on the road to Damascus. This sermon from Pastor Rebecca explores what happened next in Acts 9:20-31, how Paul deconstructed and reconstructed his understanding of God. How was God present to Paul in the midst of his deconstructing and reconstructing, and how is God present to us today in similar questions?

Rev. Ferris explores the story of Paul encountering the Risen Lord on the road to Damascus. Should we understand this story as a conversion narrative or a call narrative? The answer, he argues, is "Yes." The text is Acts 9:1-11, 17-19.