Today is the sixth Sunday of the Easter season. The fifty days between Easter and Pentecost is a special time in our church year. It is a time that we set aside to reflect on what happened to Jesus following his crucifixion. On Easter Sunday, we focus our attention on the miracle of Jesus’ resurrection, on the empty tomb, the cornerstone of our fai…

We had a baptism in our sanctuary this morning during the worship service. My reflection, which focuses on the way our sanctuary is set up architecturally and on the relationship of form and function, is a reminder that baptism is only the beginning of our spiritual. journey. I think you might find it at least informative. (At least I hope you will…

This reflection, the fourth Sunday of the Easter season, is entitled "Don't Try to Hold On." It could just as easily have been named, "Don't Touch Me," "Don't Cling to Me," or "Don't Hold Me," depending upon which translation of the passage in John you read. It is about the suffering that arises from our attachments, from our grasping, whether it i…

The liturgical season of Easter is one of my favorite times of the Christian year. It is a time when we read the gospel accounts of how the disciples encounter Jesus, encounter their risen Lord, or are encountered by him. Their experiences of rediscovering the One whom they felt they had lost can guide us in our own experiences of our risen Lord, c…

In our observance of Holy Week, we move from Palm Sunday, a day of triumph, to Easter Sunday, another day of triumph, without passing through the dark night of the soul that is a central part of Holy Week. It is tempting to think we can have a resurrection without a crucifixion, without a sacrifice, without a death, either in Jesus’ life or in our …

Today is Palm Sunday, a day of celebration! Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem marks the beginning of Holy Week, one of the most profound and deeply symbolic weeks in human history. Churches distribute palms to their communicants on this day, sometimes as palm branches, sometimes in other forms. This morning, We reflect on the symbolism of the p…

This morning, the fifth Sunday in Lent, we are continuing our reflections on the power of prayer. I hope our reflections will lead us to a deeper understanding of the meaning and power of prayer, will lead us to believe more fully in the power of intercessory prayer, and will lead us to pray more constantly and more meaningfully in our daily life.…

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/ by Ben Keyes Bird migration is one of the the greatest marvels in God's creation. Every year, billions of birds take flight and travel from their wintering grounds to their breeding grounds and back, some flying thousands …

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/ by Joshua Chestnut Few books in the Bible are more disorienting and demanding than the book of Job. This lecture will consider what this collection of ancient Hebrew lament poetry has to offer those of us wanting to wrestl…

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/ by Dr. Donna Petter What is going on in the book of Ezekiel? Does the Old Testament speak about Trump, Putin, and UFOs? Some say that the book of Ezekiel does! But what is going on in this book? This lecture seeks to help …

Kirjoittanut Rev. Dr. Paul Sanderson

This morning, on communion Sunday, we are belatedly beginning our Lenten series of reflections on the power of prayer. I hope our reflections over the next few weeks, and probably after Easter as well, will lead us to a deeper understanding of the meaning and power of prayer, will lead us to believe more fully in the power of intercessory prayer, a…

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/ by Esther Dalton If you know what FOMO, FOBO and "Allergic to Commitment" mean, you probably have a sense of or have experienced yourself the increasing anxiety in our culture around making decisions and commitments, from …

Last week we thought about solitude, a theme to which we will be returning during our reflections on prayer, and the importance of touch, of breaking down or setting aside, or reaching past the boundaries that separate us from each other. This morning, let’s build on what we began last week by reflecting on community, on our community, and on the h…

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/ by Mary Frances Giles The "Proverbs 31 Woman" has long been held up as a model of virtue and character for Christian women, often appearing in Mother's Day sermons and women's retreat talks. But at times she has also been …

For one more week, I would like us to remain with the theme that we began several weeks ago, the theme of healing as illustrated in the healing miracles that are described in the Bible. In previous weeks, we have attempted to discern what these healing miracles have in common (if, indeed, they have anything in common). We have attempted to identify…

Kirjoittanut Rev. Dr. Paul Sanderson

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/ by Sarah Chestnut In this lecture, Sarah shares hr poem-prayer "A Liturgy of (Re)Dedication to the Way of the Amateur," recently published in Every Moment Holy Vol. III, and reflects on the questions and longings the praye…

Kirjoittanut Rev. Dr. Paul Sanderson

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/ by Jeridan Dyck The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri Fellowship. We ask that you respect this by not publishing the material in full or in part in any format or post it on a website without seeki…

Kirjoittanut Rev. Dr. Paul Sanderson

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/ by Ben Keyes The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri Fellowship. We ask that you respect this by not publishing the material in full or in part in any format or post it on a website without seeking …

Kirjoittanut Rev. Dr. Paul Sanderson

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/ by Joshua Chestnut Many of us have difficulty valuing process. Realities like practice, slow growth,k and development are often (and understandably) unsatisfying in our culture of rapid download speeds and instant gratific…

If you would like to comment on this, or any of the sermons, please email Rev. Sanderson at psandersonphd@gmail.com. Text (PDF) copies of the sermons are available on our web site: firstcommunitychurch.com.Kirjoittanut Rev. Dr. Paul Sanderson

Kirjoittanut Rev. Dr. Paul Sanderson

Sermon delivered Nov 26,2023 If you would like to comment on this, or any of the sermons, please email Rev. Sanderson at psandersonphd@gmail.com. Text (PDF) copies of the sermons are available on our web site: firstcommunitychurch.com.Kirjoittanut Rev. Dr. Paul Sanderson

A lecture given for L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/ by Phillip Johnston Since the rise of the MeToo movement in the mid-2010s, masculinity has reentered the cultural conversation with force. On the left, masculinity is often seen as a problem and rarely referenced without …

Sermon presented Nov. 26, 2023 If you would like to comment on this, or any of the sermons, please email Rev. Sanderson at psandersonphd@gmail.com. Text (PDF) copies of the sermons are available on our web site: firstcommunitychurch.com.Kirjoittanut Rev. Dr. Paul Sanderson

Kirjoittanut Rev. Dr. Paul Sanderson

We apologize for the delay in posting this sermon. We had technical problems with the original file and had to re-record it.Kirjoittanut Rev. Dr. Paul Sanderson

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/ by Ben Keyes The most moving and powerful art usually does not tell us exactly what to think. Many of the best paintings, songs, poems and short stories leave us with questions that linger in our minds. This does not neces…

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/ by Josue Reichow The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri Fellowship. We ask that you respect this by not publishing the material in full or in part in any format or post it on a website without seek…

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/ by Esther Dalton This final part of the baptized imagination series attempts to bring together some of the threads developed in earlier parts, including baptism, the image of God, story and seeing, with a deeper look at id…

Kirjoittanut Rev. Dr. Paul Sanderson

Kirjoittanut Rev. Dr. Paul Sanderson

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/ by Ben Keyes The first of a series, this lecture will kick off an extended exploration of the life of birds. We will reflect on the importance of going deeper in our investigation of God's created world, both for our own d…

Kirjoittanut Rev. Dr. Paul Sanderson

We apologize for the delay in posting this sermon.Kirjoittanut Rev. Dr. Paul Sanderson

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/ by Joshua Chestnut The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri Fellowship. We ask that you respect this by not publishing the material in full or in part in any format or post it on a website without se…

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/ by Ben Keyes The Screwtape Letters, a series of fictional letters from one demon to another, is one of C.S. Lewis's most widely read books. While the diabolical correspondence was a figment of Lewis's imagination, we can s…

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/ by Esther Dalton If it is true that to need is human and that dependence is not a flaw of human existence but a God-designed feature, then why is it so often difficult for us to admit our neediness? This lecture will exami…

Kirjoittanut Rev. Dr. Paul Sanderson

Kirjoittanut Rev. Dr. Paul Sanderson

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/ by Joshua Chestnut Learning to live within our creaturely limitations is neither easy nor intuitive but can be a path to our flourishing. This lecture is the first in a series of reflections on our creatureliness and will …

Kirjoittanut Rev. Dr. Paul Sanderson

Kirjoittanut Rev. Dr. Paul Sanderson

Kirjoittanut Rev. Dr. Paul Sanderson

Sermon delivered August 6, 2023Kirjoittanut Rev. Dr. Paul Sanderson

Kirjoittanut Rev. Dr. Paul Sanderson