St. Paul's Church - Willington, CT

A new year (and a new decade) are about to begin. This week we considered three things to keep in mind as we plan and make our resolutions: (1) The brevity of life, (2) The command to "Seek first the Kingdom," and (3) The Lord's "new mercies" every morning.

Our Sounding Joy series concluded with a Christmas Eve message looking at one final song: O Holy Night. Why should we "feel our soul's worth" at Christmas? How does the birth of Christ help us to call slaves "brothers"?

O Come O Come Emmanuel is a song rich with Biblical references, many of which can go over our heads. This week we dove into Old Testament prophecies to understand this ancient, haunting carol better.

"The Little Drummer Boy" isn't like the other carols we've looked at so far: it features a character never mentioned in the Bible and doesn't have any archaic language or theological terms. But with a few simple lines it expresses truth about God, about us, and about worship.

This week we looked closely at "What Child is This," a carol that calls attention to the irony of Christ's birth. What does it mean that "the silent word was pleading"?

Every Christmas we hear and sing old familiar carols, but do we recognize the significance of the words we sing? This Advent season we are taking a break from our Revelation series to look at the lyrics of some of the most theologically-rich Christmas carols and the Scriptures that inspired them. This week we began our series with "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," considering the meaning of lines lik...

This week we continued John's vision of God's throne. John is told that a lion has triumphed, but when he looks at the lion he sees a lamb on the throne. We asked the question: why does the lion look like a lamb? And what does it mean that he is able to "unseal the scroll"?

This week we moved on in the Book of Revelation from the messages to the seven churches to John's vivid visions. We established some ground rules for understanding and appreciating these visions as much as possible, and then reflected on the significance of the vision of God's throne.

This week we were joined by guest speaker Carrye Burr from the preaching team at Hope Church in East Hampton. Carrye challenged us to think about how what Christ has done for us should influence our sense of security, our daily experience, and our view of our own failures.

Of all the seven churches Jesus writes to in Revelation, Laodicea might be the most relatable for 21st century Americans: they weren't facing significant persecution and they found security in their health and wealth. Jesus described them as "lukewarm." We identified what that means, as well as Jesus' prescribed solution.

The small church in Philadelphia didn't receive any correction from Jesus, but it did receive a lot of encouragement to continue doing what they were doing. We considered how Jesus' words of encouragement to them can also encourage us as well. We also considered if Jesus' words of encouragement require us to believe in the idea of "the rapture," popularized by books and movies like Left Behind.

The church at Sardis was good at keeping up appearances, but not at actually following Jesus. We considered how easy it is to fall into the trap of faith as performance, and how to break free from "sleepy hypocrisy."

The church in Thyatira was commendable in so many ways, but it had one dangerous flaw: it had become too tolerant. In a culture where tolerance is often viewed as one of the most important virtues, we considered what this means for us.

This week guest speaker Peter Scalzo returned (his last visit was in early 2018) to talk more about what God has taught him through his 15-year (ongoing) struggle with cancer and his 12-step recovery journey.

This week we looked at the message to the first century church in Pergamum. Jesus saw much to commend, but was concerned about a subgroup that had embraced two dangerous sins - both of which are big temptations in our culture today. He promised that those who overcome will be given "hidden manna" and "a white stone with a new name." We considered what these intriguing promises might mean...

In Smyrna refusing to worship anyone but Jesus could result in imprisonment or even death. For many people today, "Smyrnan faith" doesn't make sense. We identified several reasons why, and what's missing in many people's understanding of faith.

This week we began our new series on the seven letters written to the churches in the Book of Revelation, starting with the letter to the church in Ephesus. Jesus commended this church for many things, but said that it suffered from one critical flaw that could forever destroy its witness.

The story of Daniel and the lion's den is a Sunday School favorite: good triumphs and obedience is rewarded. It's an encouraging story, but we have to be careful not to understand it too simplistically. This story teaches not only that God saves, but also that the way of faith can be difficult and costly.

This week we continued our series in Daniel by looking at the story of King Belshazzar, where the expression "the writing's on the wall" originates. Unlike Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar never humbled himself before God. He saw God as dead, because he failed to pay attention to the evidence of Nebuchadnezzar's transformed life.

One of the most emotionally-provoking and divisive issues in present-day America is the topic of immigration. This week guest speaker Chuck Redfern considered what Scripture has to say about this subject. All of us need to ask ourselves: which face are we presenting to the world? The face of anger and rage? Or the face of grace?

This week guest preacher Steve Crosby reminded us that our lives as followers of Jesus are supposed to be characterized by HOPE. But what do we do when we (or those we love) are afflicted by mental conditions that make it especially hard to hope? Steve addressed this difficult question, speaking from both Scripture and personal experience.

For the first several chapters of Daniel, it's hard to tell whether King Nebuchadnezzar is a villain or an ally. This week we looked at the last part of Nebuchadnezzar's story. Nebuchadnezzar loses his mind. When we understand why, there's an important lesson for all of us.

n Daniel chapter 3, three men are faced with a choice: bow down to a false God, or get thrown into a furnace. They refuse to bow down. The faith they display should challenge us to ask ourselves: is my faith merely a way of gaining God's favor so that I can live a long and comfortable life? Or is it something deeper than that?

This week we started a new series on the story of Daniel. Daniel was an exile in a foreign land, and - in a sense - we are, too. As followers of Christ, our true citizenship is not in any earthly kingdom, but in Heaven. The story of Daniel gives us an example of what it looks like to remain faithful in our own exile.

On the surface, the Book of Ruth is a sweet story about a loyal daughter-in-law and a reversal of fortune for her and her mother-in-law. But when we understand the larger story it's a part of, it's even more beautiful.