First Presbyterian Church Of Baton Rouge

God himself rolled up his divine sleeves and said, “All right, I’m on the way. Nobody can fix you but me. And it’s going to take an ingenious fix. An extraordinary rescue. An expensive solution. But I’m coming to do it.” Crucified. Dead. Buried. It’s emphatic. The only Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit underwent a human death. No wonder the earth quaked and the sun went dark. God died. The wonder is that the universe did not go out of existence when the worst impossible happened. "Crucified, Dead and Buried" Gerrit Dawson 1 Corinthians 15: 1-6

Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified dead and buried. Our God is not a stranger to our pain and suffering. He is not aloof from our tears. He rode the crazy train. He rode the crazy train of the world of Pontius Pilate until it ran right off the rails into a cross.

The paradox at the heart of our faith: Our savior and Lord Jesus is fully God and fully man. He is of the same stuff as any ordinary person. He is of the same stuff as the only true God. This is the mystery of the incarnation.

The desire for God without the knowledge of God allows for idols. Ben Cunningham "Created to Know Him" Acts 17: 22-27

The Christian understanding is "I am THOUGHT, therefore I am" (Joseph RatzInger) rather than "I think, therefore I am." The meaning of life cannot be found in isolation as a choosing individual. It's only found in relationship. God the Creator thinks of you. All the time. You only exist because God thinks of you. He holds us together by always holding us in his thoughts. "Creator of Heaven and Earth"

For all who call upon the name of the LORD will be saved. Your heavenly Father loves you. He just wants you home. He just wants you to turn to him, for the first time or the millionth time. "The Father Almighty" Gerrit Dawson

So how do you know the correct way to interpret the Bible? What’s the key to faithful interpretation? How do you keep from going wrong when you read the Word? One core story is the key that unlocks the whole story. The Creed is the story that pulses with energy. It leads us to meet Jesus, the real Jesus of history, the one Redeemer and Lord of all.

So we all try to get rid of guilt. Whether we are believers or atheists, whether we are hyper-aware or completely oblivious, every one deploys a strategy for diminishing the power of guilt. It seems there are three attractive but ultimately futile ways we try to deal with such guilt. For fun, we’ll call them the Karma Shift Spin. "It All Comes Out in the Wash" Psalm 32 Gerrit Dawson

Idols come wrapped in a different story than the story of God’s redeeming work in Scripture. They come with an alternate story about the purpose of human life, its main problems and what to do to overcome the problem and have a good life. They challenge the understanding that we are beloved creations of God, who are also sinful and in need of a savior. We exist to glorify God and enjoy him forever, but cannot get there without humbly asking for the grace of Christ. Let's consider our idols in terms of colors. And that Samuel’s call (1 Samuel 7: 2-12) is a call for us to get the color right in our lives. Green, Rainbow, Red. "Getting the Color Right" Gerrit Dawson 1 Samuel 7: 2-12 #firstpresbyterianbr #1samuel #answeringthecall #color

Hannah’s song teaches us that the Triune God of Grace works on a level far above our sight. He is working in our lives beyond every expectation. We can’t get this God to do what we want. But we can learn two important markers. The proud will get taken down. Whenever I think I am self-sufficient, I am heading for a reversal. When I think I don’t need the God who made me for himself, that I can solve my life myself, things will unravel. But in humility, in crying out from the brokenness that is inevitable in life, I discover how Christ lifts us from the dust. As the old song says, we can “trade ashes in for beauty and wear forgiveness like a crown.” "Hannah's Song" Gerrit Dawson

The Lord reveals himself to Samuel. Darin Travis 1 Samuel 3: 1-21

God is faithful and therefore demands faithful allegiance and leadership, but He also faithfully provides the means to do so. In the dark shadowy description of Eli’s worthless sons, there emerges a piercing beam of light. "Eli and His Worthless Sons" 1 Samuel 2: 12-36 Darin Travis

The wisdom of Hannah’s story from 1 Samuel tells us, “Go to the place of your pain and there you will find God waiting.” There, in that place where you hate yourself for failing to speak up again, where you loathe yourself for your timidity, God is waiting to give you courage. There, in that place of unfulfilled dreams, that place where life has not turned out to be anything you expected it to be. The place where you reached your limits long before you reached your goals. The place where you ended up barren and childless, either literally or figuratively. There, God waits to meet you and fill you with his presence.

It's impossible to glorify God in isolation from others. He made us for community and calls us to a particular, committed community so that each local congregation can join with the universal church in harmonious praise. As we live out following Jesus together, we are connected to the worldwide church and our worldwide mission. When we love, steadily and determinedly through the years, the world sees the heart of the God of grace. "Club Rules" Gerrit Dawson Romans 3: 21-25

True mothers are a lot like our Lord: They’d rather “let go” and grant life than hold on and cause death. Christ is the Author of Truth and the Author of Life, no matter how a life was conceived. "Who's Your Mother?" Jim Solomon 1 Kings 3: 16-27. #mothersday #firstpresbyterianbr #1kings #mothersday2019