Our life-giving Shepherd is with us even when we travel through the darkest valleys.

Morton Presbyterian Church

Even When: Sermon on Psalm 23 and John 10:1-15

The risen Christ makes his loving presence known among ordinary people in ordinary situations, like walking and talking together, and sitting down to a meal.

Ordinary and Holy: Sermon on Luke 24:13-35

To move into the future with Jesus it is critical to ask probing questions.

Probing Questions: Sermon on John 20:19-31

No barrier can stop the risen Christ.  He comes wherever fearful, overwhelmed people are and gives them the peace of his presence, the breath of new life, and the call to continue his life and work.

Lockdown: Sermon on John 20:19-23

While it is still dark God is already up and doing the work of resurrection.

While It Is Still Night: Easter Meditation on John 20:1-18

This pandemic season is a wilderness journey of uncertain duration, and our fears are many: fear about the sickness itself, fear for loved ones, fear that there won’t be enough of needed resources, financial fears, and more.   As they struggled with thirst in the wilderness, the Israelites cried out, “Is God with us or not?”  God invited them to trust, and God provided what they needed from an unexpected source: water from a rock.  Even now God is working to provide for us, and to deliver the world, and it may happen in ways as creative, unexpected, and seemingly impossible as squeezing water from a rock.

Squeezing Water From a Rock: Sermon on Exodus 17:1-7

 When the church seeks the power of the state to accomplish its goals, however good they may be, the church is in danger of making deals with the devil.  Because they appeared to offer expedient ways to accomplish good, the devil’s deals were appealing.  Through prayerful discernment of God’s will, Jesus said “No deal!”  Jesus continued to choose the more difficult way of the cross.

Making Deals with the Devil: Sermon on Matthew 4:1-11

Thanks be to God for those precious times when heaven and earth touch, and we glimpse God’s big picture in the shining face of Christ.

The Sunlight of His Face: Sermon on Matthew 17:1-9.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus sets before us the less-traveled way of God.  We must choose whether or not to walk in it.

The Road Less Traveled: Sermon on Matthew 5 and Joshua 24

Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of Jacob’s dream.  He is the connecting point between heaven and earth.  He is the place where time and eternity intersect.

Where Heaven and Earth Connect: Sermon on John 1:42-51 and Genesis 28:10-19.

Inviting others to come and see Jesus is simply about telling what we have seen.  Our stories do not have to be dramatic to be helpful to others.

What We Have Seen: Sermon on John 1:35-51

Christ is the Passover Lamb whose life, death, and resurrection delivers liberation to the cosmos.  The Lamb sets us free from every form of death, sin included.

Behold the Lamb of God: Sermon on John 1:29-42

Jesus models the way to invite people into his company.  Prepared to listen to them, Jesus asks people what they are looking for, invites them to come and see, and a relationship is born in the conversation.  Jesus calls us who follow him to approach others first of all with listening ears, and to open ourselves to real involvement and real friendships with them.  In real presence with each other we can experience the presence of Jesus.

Come and Converse. Sermon on John 1:29-42

Jesus' first act of ministry was to go down to the river where the sinners were, and get in the water with them.  Christ continues to pursue justice and righteousness in the gentle, yet persistent way of the servant in Isaiah 42.

Powerful Gentleness: Sermon on Isaiah 42:1-9 and Matthew 3:13-17

The vision of the dragon in Revelation 12 points to the shadow in the Christmas story: evil operating through agents like Herod, aiming to destroy the child and the child's siblings.  Its agents are still at work, but Christ's people take the way of the wise ones in Matthew 2. They don't cooperate with Herod, and they don't bow before the emperor.

A Christmas Vision: Sermon on Matthew 2 and Revelation 12

Sermons from Morton Presbyterian Church, Rocky Mount, North Carolina

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Morton Presbyterian Church

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