Blog of FPC Lebanon

Bible Reference(s): Matthew 5:1-12 Sermon by Rev. Terri Thorn As we are now nine days into the new administration of United States government I think we can all agree - no matter what your political views - we are living in a new reality.  A reality that many folks, both here and abroad, are still trying to figure out.  Sure, there will always some level of uncertainty when a new regime of leadership comes on the scene; however, the rapid upheaval of the last week has been a bit unnerving for people all around the world.   It has left a whole lot of Americans wondering what is life going to look like under this new leadership?   I wonder if the disciples felt a similar sense of concern when they answered the call to join Jesus in his mission?  Not that Jesus was an elected official, but clearly, having given up everything to follow him meant that their lives were radically changed. They were uprooted from homes, their families, and their livelihood, in order to be a part of something t

Bible Reference(s): I Corinthians 1:10-18 Sermon by Rev. Terri Thorn Let me just say that I have been thinking about this message all week but decided to wait until after Friday's inaugural events before I wrote anything.  You see, given the all the tension surrounding the election, I was afraid something would go horribly wrong...from a security standpoint...on Friday.  I was concerned I might need to re-think the message if it did.  Thankfully though, things in DC went pretty much as planned on Friday...and the history-making women's marches across the US and the world were all quite peaceful.  For both of these things, I think we all need to say, thanks be to God. The question being asked in churches this morning, though, is: "what now"?  What are we, American Christians, supposed to do next?   How do we respond to the recurring call for national unity while upholding the godly values of justice and mercy, as well as welcome and compassion?  How can we be agents of

Bible Reference(s): Isaiah 49:1-7 Sermon by Rev. Terri Thorn On Monday, we will celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the United States. That holiday, of course, honors Dr. King -  the undisputed leader of the Civil Rights Movement in the US in the 1960s. Dr. King is remembered for a variety of things…his soaring rhetorical style, his commitment to non-violent protesting, and his refusal to be intimidated by opponents who threatened his life, bombed his family home, and wiretapped his phone conversations.  Tomorrow on television, there will undoubtedly be replays of his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech from 1963, as well as his passionate "I Have Been to the Mountaintop" address which was given in Memphis on the night before he was killed.  Let's be clear, King was not without flaw.  He had his own personal demons (as we all do), and over his short lifetime he experienced his shares of both personal and professional failures. But those facts do not make him less of a nat

Bible Reference(s): Isaiah 60:1-6 Sermon by Rev. Terri Thorn According to the Christian calendar, today is either the Sunday we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord, or the day we observe the Baptism of the Lord.  I suppose there are some who would just as soon have us accelerate forward thirty years in Jesus' life and focus on the baptism.  You all know who you are...the Christmas decorations are long since down, packed and stored away and you have started the countdown to Easter. Others, however, are not so quick to move forward.   These are the folks who are more than willing to sing some carols today, linger over the Christmas story one more week, bring in the Magi one more time, and make this morning an Epiphany Sunday.  Based on the service thus far, you know which one I prefer, right?  But to be quite honest with you, I was not raised in a church that observed Epiphany.  Like many folks, our family brought all of the birth narrative versions together into one Christmas nativit