Weekly sermons from Lawrenceville First Christian Church.

August 29, 2010 - Rev. Abby Conley 

August 15, 2010 - Rev. Abby Conley 

August 8, 2010 - Rev. Abby Conley - "Hebrews 11:1-16: By Faith..." I'm a sucker for salvation history; there's just no way around it. Hebrews 11 gives me chills every time I read it and I just can't understand why it doesn't do that to everyone. In response to such narration, especially one stopping before modern times, I instinctively begin narrating my own story. This sermon was written on the assumption that not everyone does that. So, really, for a congregation, what did it take for you to be in this room, listening to this sermon? The second half of the sermon is a narration of just that story. 

August 1, 2010 - Rev. Abby Conley - "Luke 12:13-21: A Practical Faith"It's amazing how mistitled a sermon can be on Thursday for one written the following day! Still, the lingerings of this title are in the sermon. One commentator remarked upon the presence of practical atheism in our regular lives. We say we trust God, but we live as if we are in control of our own lives. That was the rich man's folly. Planning is not the problem; the reasons for planning are. He failed to realize that his plans were only plans, and may never come to fruition. 

July 25, 2010 - Rev. Abby Conley - "Luke 11:1-13: How Persistent Can We Be?" This is admittedly a difficult text, mostly because Jesus' words do not seem true to much of our experience of the silence of God to our prayers and petitions. I cannot put my hands on the commentary that brought up the notion of continued prayer as confession of faith, but it obviously stuck with me. For me, the notion of prayer as confession--even in God's seeming silence--is one I can accept, especially when I consider the alternative, which must be despair. With some things, prayer among them, I think it really comes down to being something Christians do as part of our identity as Christians.

July 18, 2010 - Rev. Abby Conley - "Luke 10:38-42: Hearing the Gospel" There's more going on here than just Martha being distracted from Jesus and his teaching, but it is a story of priority, too. The work of the kingdom comes before maintenance. However, this story is placed after several narratives that also have a great deal to do with hospitality, particularly the parable of the Good Samaritan. I couldn't help but think as I read the Scriptures over the week, "There's something more going on here." It became a look at what it means to welcome others.   

July 11, 2010 - Rev. Abby Conley - "Luke 10:25-37: Asking the Right Questions" A friend and I were talking about the Gospel text for this Sunday. I was complaining that Jesus didn't answer the man's question. She responded, "Of course not." She was right, it seems to be a habit of Jesus' to not give a straight answer. So, why did Jesus give the response that he did? He gave it because it was the response his hearers actually needed. This sermon and the thoughts behind it are heavily influenced by Tim Jackson's The Priority of Love, in which he argues, as Paul does in 1 Corinthians 13, that love trumps all other virtues. 

June 27, 2010 - Rev. Abby Conley - "Galatians 5:1, 13-25: Trusting in the Spirit." In his work in the New Interpreter's Commentary, Richard Hays describes this text as "the most impassioned defense anywhere in Scripture of the sufficiency of the Spirit to guide the community of faith." It sounds both absurd and wonderful all at the same time. And it is the perfect assurance for difficult times in church life.

June 20, 2010 - Rev. Katie Hays - "Galatians 3:23-29: The Miracle of We."  This was Rev. Katie Hays' last sermon at Lawrenceville First. We're moving forward, and that's the key. We are moving forward.

June 13, 2010 - Rev. Abby Conley - "Luke 7:36-38: A Gospel of Abundance." Various commentators all remarked about the abundance that happens in this gospel excerpt. Some note the gushing woman, others the expensive perfume. The trip with the Youth Group, however, was a formative experience after reading this Gospel text. How different the abundance to which we're accustomed is from the abundance revealed in the Gospel!

June 6, 2010 - Rev. Katie Hays - "Luke 7:11-17: The Only Son of His Mother." During this time of transition, Lawrenceville First has been talking a lot more about us as a group. Even in the midst of all our differences, we're very much in this all together. 

June 6, 2010 - Rev. Dr. Ray Miles, Rev. Lance Pape, Rev. Katie Hays - Lance Pape's Transfer of Standing

June 6, 2010 - Dr. Anil Henry Dr. Henry was a visitor to Lawrenceville First, but we have long felt like we know him. He runs a hospital in Mungeli, India, and we have sent several pilgrims to witness his work there. We were grateful to be able to welcome him to hear firsthand about his work.

May 30, 2010 - Rev. Katie Hays  - "Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; John 16:12-15a: "Does Not Wisdom Call?" I am especially indebted to Ellen Davis's Westminster Bible Companion on Proverbs for opening my eyes to Michelangelo's rendition of Wisdom by God's side on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and for reminding me that "homo sapiens" distinguishes us from the animal kingdom as "wise men." The image of the Sistine Chapel ceiling that I printed to share with the congregation, I found at www.getreligion.org.

May 23, 2010 - Rev. Abby Conley - "Acts 2: The Spirit on All Flesh." During this sermon Abby honored every child and youth in our congregation by placing a red stole over their shoulders. Thanks to Gen Ashby who sewed each one with her own hands, including the applique of a chalice on each stole. The kids were astonished by their gift and are wearing them proudly to participate in worship.

May 16, 2010 - Rev. Katie Hays - "Luke 24:44-53: By the Power Vested In Me." Our church is clearly going through some major transitions, getting ready to let two pastors go and not knowing who is coming to take our place. It's a difficult time. But it is not without hope, because we have, indeed, been vested with power by the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus promised. There were some muffled responses of "yes" and "amen" during this sermon -- perhaps not as loud as I would have liked -- but this church is on its way to God's good future.

May 9, 2010 - Rev. Katie Hays  - "Acts 16:6-15: Looking for Lydias." This sermon was presented by 14 ministry leaders in our church, not counting me. We had recently concluded a comprehensive inventory of our congregation's ministries "outside the walls," trying to lay out all the directions that God is sending us to do God's work in the world, and we wanted to communicate that to our whole church. Simply put, it was awesome.

May 2, 2010 - Rev. Katie Hays - "Acts 11:1-18, John 13:31-35: The Yoga of Love." This sermon was seriously misnamed, because I named it before I wrote it. It should have been called "Pass the Salt." Anyway, I completely stole the idea of turning my head and spitting (puh!) to demonstrate the ancient Jews' disdain for Gentiles. I might have gotten it from Prof. Tom Long at Emory University, who says that Luke spits that way whenever he mentions money (puh!). Or I (or Tom Long) might have gotten it from "Fiddler on the Roof," wherein Tevya and his family spit to keep evil spirits away. Whatever -- I meant to convey how crazy-hard it was for the original Jesus-people to accept their new siblings in Christ. I'm not afraid to steal stuff to make the point.

April 25, 2010 - Rev. Katie Hays - "Acts 9:36-43: Your One Wild and Precious Life." The poem referenced in the second half of the sermon is Mary Oliver's "The Summer Day," from New and Selected Poems, 1992. You'll notice, perhaps, that the point of the sermon is quite different from the point of the poem, but Oliver's phrase "your one wild and precious life" is still so perfect. The extra-biblical examples came from our real life together: a former member of our church, Sandy Haddox, had recently been consecreated for ministry at her little church in New Mexico, and my sister-in-law Laura had recently announced her intention to be a living donor of a kidney to her brother's friend. We were in prayer for both these women, and they wound up alongside Dorcas for this sermon.

April 11, 2010 -  Abby Conley - "Acts 5:17-32." In the midst of the end of my seminary career, I seemed to stumble upon Luke and narratives about Peter quite a bit. When I started preparing this sermon, all I could think was, "What happened to Peter?" The answer was surprisingly simple and complicated at the same time: the Holy Spirit. The previous Sunday, Rev. Katie Hays announced her resignation. For me, there was no better way to narrate the continued presence of the Holy Spirit in this congregation than to speak of my own life and transformation in this place. For me, there's no way to answer the question, "What happened to Abby?" than the same wonderfully simple, complicated answer as Peter: the Holy Spirit. 

April 4, 2010 - Rev. Katie Hays - "Luke 24:1-12: Remember How He Told You." Happy Easter! After this sermon, one listener said, "I never heard a sermon that used Robert Frost, Billy Joel, and Eminem in a single paragraph." So that was fun.