Blog: Forest Lake Talks

Text: Deuteronomy 16:18-20 18 You shall appoint judges and officials throughout your tribes, in all your towns that the LORD your God is giving you, and they shall render just decisions for the people. 19 You must not distort justice; you must not show partiality; and you must not accept bribes, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of those who are in the right. 20 Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue, so that you may live and occupy the land that the LORD your God is giving you. Devotional: In these words from God through Moses, we see two…

Dear Friends, The good news at FLPC is coming in thick and fast. Let me spread some around! First, our very own Katie Pittman began working with FLPC on Monday as our summer intern! Katie grew up at FLPC (daughter of David and Kathy Pittman and granddaughter of Joe and Kathryn Hall), and just finished her junior year at Queens College in Charlotte, NC! At Queens, Katie is pursuing a degree in Art History and Art Leadership and Administration, and she is working on a minor in Interfaith Studies. At Queens, Katie worked with Dr. Adrian Bird – the campus…

Text: Matthew 28:18-20 (CEB version) 18 Jesus came near and spoke to them, “I’ve received all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you. Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.” Devotional: Long before an arena bore his name, long before the wins piled up, Dean Smith was a little-known assistant coach in Chapel Hill, NC, an understudy of the charismatic Frank McGuire.…

Text: Luke 10:17-20 The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Devotional: At the beginning of chapter ten in Luke’s gospel, Jesus appointed 70 disciples and sent them in pairs to places…

May 24, 2023 Dear Friends, When the Holy Spirit showed up the first time (after Jesus left in a cloud – read Acts 1:6+ for the story of the Ascension), Jesus’ followers were set on fire! They were completely transformed from cautious, careful, fearful followers of a dead rabbi, into bold, willing, and passionate followers of a living God. What the Pentecost story (Luke 2) describes as the coming of the Holy Spirit was the creation of a movement and a way of being in the world. Pentecost gets celebrated once a year, and that celebration happens to be this…

Text: James 1:1-15 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who…

Dear Friends, Because of the faithful planning and stewardship of many in this congregation, our congregation is able to give away $78,280.00 this year to meet needs in our own community through the FLPC Endowment Fund! Years ago, forward thinking members of our congregation formed an Endowment Fund and invited the congregation to consider funding it through their own estate planning. Many of our members have included FLPC in their estate planning, and as a result, the Endowment Fund has grown from $49,931.08 in 2001 to 1.5 million dollars in January 2023! The purpose of this fund is to “expand…

Text: Daniel 4:28-34 28All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30and the king said, “Is this not magnificent Babylon, which I have built as a royal capital by my mighty power and for my glorious majesty?” 31While the words were still in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven: “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: The kingdom has departed from you! 32You shall be driven away from human society, and your dwelling shall be with the animals of the field. You shall be made…

Text: John 13:1-20 13 Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 The devil had already decided that Judas son of Simon Iscariot would betray Jesus. And during supper 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands and that he had come from God and was going to God, 4 got up from supper, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. 5 Then he poured water into a…

March 29, 2023 Dear Friends, This Sunday begins our observance of Holy Week. The Celebration of Easter is at the exact center of our faith, and is the reason that we are called Christ-ians. Christmas gets much more cultural emphasis because of the obvious economic potential. But Easter is the center of our faith. I hope to see each of you on Easter Sunday. And, I want to plead with you to prepare your hearts and minds BEFORE you come to that worship service. You might choose to prepare by re-reading the stories of Jesus crucifixion, death, and resurrection from…

Isaiah 1:17 (CEB) 17 learn to do good. Seek justice: help the oppressed;[b defend the orphan; plead for the widow Micah 6:8 (CEB) He has told you, human one, what is good and what the LORD requires from you: to do justice, embrace faithful love, and walk humbly with your God. This year’s confirmation class began in January with a mercy and justice retreat with Charleston Youth Mission Co. in North Charleston. We participated in two service-related projects. One project was with Homeless to Hope. Homeless to Hope fund was created to in 2016 to provide help and hope to…

Dear Friends, This last Monday, nineteen FLPC folks gathered at Beth Shalom Synagogue to hear reports on the work of MORE Justice and to prepare for the big event of the year: The Nehemiah Action. If you are a person who values caring for “the least of these” and who knows that the need for mercy is great in our community, then I want to invite you to consider attending The Nehemiah Action on Monday, March 27th. Forest Lake Presbyterian is a member congregation of MORE Justice [Midlands Organized Response for Equity and Justice]. MORE Justice is an interfaith, non-profit…

Meekness/Gentleness/Humility Colossians 3:12-17 (CEB) 12 Therefore, as God’s choice, holy and loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Be tolerant with each other and, if someone has a complaint against anyone, forgive each other. As the Lord forgave you, so also forgive each other. 14 And over all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15 The peace of Christ must control your hearts-a peace into which you were called in one body. And be thankful people. 16 The word of Christ must live in you richly. Teach and warn each other…

Our Lenten journey of God’s Beautiful Way continues with the practice of mercy. Lord, have mercy! I have prayed it, exclaimed it, sang it. Our Lord is full of mercy. God is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4-5) and God asks us to be merciful, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:36) I don’t have to ask God to show mercy, God is one step ahead of me and my limited thinking. Yet when we are desperate, we cry out, “Have mercy on me” as the Psalmist does in the fourth Psalm. The Holman Bible Dictionary defines the…

March 1 , 2023 Dear Friends, I wish that you could all see our church family from my vantage point. I know that there is a lot of bad news in the world, and that we are all human beings – imperfect and limited.  But I cannot tell you how often I see you “being Church” in amazing, quiet, and wonderful ways.  By “being Church” I mean that I see you living together in generosity, grace, kindness, and respect.  That doesn’t mean that I don’t see disagreements, or that there are never hurt feelings among you.  But, more often than…