Westminster Presbyterian Church, Alexandria Va

You may best know the words to the third chapter of Ecclesiastes from a pop song. But what do these words tell us about life as we begin a new year? Larry Hayward preaches today on Ecclesiastes 3:1-15.

On Christmas Day, Larry Hayward leads us in a series of Scripture and literature readings in celebration of Christ's birth. Today's literature readings come from "For the Time Being" by W.H. Auden. The Scripture lessons are Matthew 2:1-2, 10-12; Luke 2:15–20; John 6:1–3, 5, 8–14; Luke 2:25–32; and are read by Amanda and Laura Wilcox.

"When we come to this place on Christmas Eve, we bring what is going on in our lives, what is going on in our families, and what is going on in our world, including its inherent sadness. Yet what we experience when we arrive here are words and music and silence and prayer and candlelight and harp that tell a story so transcendent that it reaches down from the heavens, lifts us into its arms, calls us by name, consoles and strengthens us, as it moves us to a new emotional and spiritual place." Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on Christmas Eve. Tonight's scripture lesson is Luke 1:26-38. The reading from W.H. Auden's "For the Time Being" was done by the Rev. Casey FitzGerald.

This Christmas Eve morning, Rev. Patrick Hunnicutt preaches on Luke 2:8-19.

When faced with Mary’s unexpected pregnancy, Joseph considers his options. We imagine he talks with his family or friends, consults Biblical texts he has memorized as a child, prays, listens to his own sense of conscience – engaging, in other words, his moral imagination. What begins as a noble exercise in Joseph’s moral imagination leads Joseph to experience the presence of God, learn the will of God, and join that will at work in the whole creation. Larry Hayward preaches from Matthew 1:18-25.

Presbyterians are part of a world-wide movement, commonly known as "Reformed," which traces its roots back to the Protestant Reformation. This series of four lectures by Dr. R. Bruce Douglass, Director of the Reformed Institute of Metropolitan Washington, is designed to provide a fresh interpretation of some of the key elements of that view. To conclude this series, we look a central theme of the Reformed tradition, the idea that we are saved by "faith alone." What does that mean? How is it related to the idea that Christians are known by their (good) works? Why have critics sometimes accused Reformed Christians of excessive emphasis on "works"?

The church turns to Isaiah frequently during Advent because it finds in his beautiful poetry resonance with the promises of redemption that come in and through the birth of Jesus Christ. Larry Hayward preaches on this third Sunday of Advent from Isaiah 35:1-10.

Presbyterians are part of a world-wide movement, commonly known as "Reformed," which traces its roots back to the Protestant Reformation. This series of four lectures by Dr. R. Bruce Douglass, Director of the Reformed Institute of Metropolitan Washington, is designed to provide a fresh interpretation of some of the key elements of that view. This Sunday, we look at Humanism: Calvin said the Bible is a source of wisdom about the human condition; and even though he believed much of that wisdom had do with human sinfulness, he still thought it was ultimately "good news." Why?

“I know that so many of our families, our marriages, our working relationships, our friendships, our churches, our communities, are frayed. I know it is easy to feel like we are standing in that burned out forest, smoke and ash beneath our feet. But I also know that in the burned out forest in which we live, a tiny shoot sprouts from a branch – a shoot from the stump of Jesse. I know that when the One born in Bethlehem arrives, through him we will have come to understand ourselves to be freer than we have ever understood ourselves to be free before.” Larry Hayward preaches on Isaiah 11:1-10. (This sermon was preached at the 8:30 a.m. service.)

Presbyterians are part of a world-wide movement, commonly known as "Reformed," which traces its roots back to the Protestant Reformation. This series of four lectures by Dr. R. Bruce Douglass, Director of the Reformed Institute of Metropolitan Washington, is designed to provide a fresh interpretation of some of the key elements of that view. This Sunday, we look at "The True God?" The beginning of wisdom, Calvin said, is the knowledge of God we derive from Scripture. But that knowledge often conflicted, he said, with the things human beings think they know about God. What exactly does the Bible tells us about God's nature, purposes, etc.?

“Here’s the thing that we know as Christians, that we are called to know and live by: We can sit in darkness. We can be people who dwell in the dark, knowing that Jesus Christ is light enough. In Advent, we make way for this light—we prepare for this light, we welcome it—and it gets closer and closer to us.” Today’s Scripture includes “Christmas and Easter: A Story,” an adaptation of the Gospel of Luke arranged by the Rev. Dennis Dewey; Romans 13:8–14 (NRSV); and the “Prophecy Catena,” an adaptation of Jeremiah 33, Luke 21, and Romans 13 arranged by the Rev. Casey FitzGerald. Our worship leaders today are the Rev. FitzGerald, Heather West, and Dave Aland. Cover Art: Those Who Walked In Darkness © Jan Richardson. janrichardson.com.

Presbyterians are part of a world-wide movement, commonly known as "Reformed," which traces its roots back to the Protestant Reformation. This series of four lectures by Dr. R. Bruce Douglass, Director of the Reformed Institute of Metropolitan Washington, is designed to provide a fresh interpretation of some of the key elements of that view. This Sunday, we look at Why the Bible? Why Only the Bible: The Reformation began with an insistence on the unique authority of the Bible in matters of faith. But what exactly does it mean in practice, and how is it affected by the way we interpret Scripture?

"When we remember, it is not simply a “remembrance of things past,” a supporting of veterans with better health care and home and education loans when they return, as important as these are. Remembering also involves to the best of our ability understanding what they faced, how much we owe our democratic freedoms to them, and vowing ever to protect those freedoms." Larry Hayward preaches on this Remembrance Sunday from Isaiah 65:17-25.

Dr. Muyskens, a WPC member, has written and taught on religion and medical ethics and was President of Queens College, the City University of New York, from 2002-2013. At this second session, we have a philosophical discussion looking at whether access to a basic minimum of care is a right—can a society be called just if many have no access?

Unlike some topics on which the Scriptures are silent, the Scriptures taken as a whole have something to say about politics, and can provide some perspective that might shed light for us as Christians and voters in the United States of America in 2016. In this Sunday before the general election, Larry Hayward preaches from 1 Samuel 12:1–25.

Dr. Muyskens, a WPC member, has written and taught on religion and medical ethics and was President of Queens College, the City University of New York, from 2002-2013. His first session will focus on how the American health care delivery systems works—or doesn’t. At the second, we’ll have a philosophical discussion looking at whether access to a basic minimum of care is a right—can a society be called just if many have no access? The third session will involve active audience participation, talking about how we navigate these seas of changes.

Today is Reformation Sunday, and this year we mark the 499th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, dating from when Martin Luther nailed 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral. Using Marilynne Robinson’s essay “Reformation,” Dr. Larry Hayward explores the Reformers’ belief that every able human being had the right to access the scriptures, because God reveals wisdom to each individual person on earth. The scripture lesson is Luke 21:1-4.

Dr. Peter Stearns, Professor of History and Provost Emeritus at George Mason University, talks with us about fear. An obvious factor in contemporary life, how has American fear been changing since the 1970s? What is our response to excessive fear? Part 2 of 2.

The first thing we say about ourselves in worship each week is that we are sinners. This is a meaningful moment; a moment where we are honest with ourselves and before God and are yet are able to receive God's grace with joy and thanksgiving. How do we balance this understanding of ourselves as sinners with the knowledge of our divine origins in the image of God? Patrick Hunnicutt preaches on Psalm 51:1-5, 10-12.

Dr. Peter Stearns, Professor of History and Provost Emeritus at George Mason University, talks with us about fear. An obvious factor in contemporary life, how has American fear been changing since the 1970s? What is our response to excessive fear? Part 1 of 2.