Middle Island Presbyterian Church

Claire’s story of thanks…

A woman I worked with long ago used to say, “If opportunity came disguised as temptation, one knock would be enough.” Unfortunately, it seems that it is much more common for temptation to come disguised as opportunity than the other…

The story of the calling of Matthew – or Levi, depending on which Gospel you read is not a well-crafted story with great character development and plot twists and turns. It’s much too brief for that. But it’s a great…

Ministries all have a beginning. Even the ministry of Jesus Christ. Today’s passage follows right on the heels of the temptation in the wilderness and indicates that He began His earthly ministry shortly thereafter. Jesus, being God, actually knew exactly…

How many of you remember the old Bell Telephone commercials with the jingle about reaching out and touching someone via long distance? Could be they got the idea from this story about Jesus and the Centurion.…

Soup. Soup’s on. Dinner’s ready. Words we’ve all heard before. But are we ready? And what does soup have to do with the Bible?…

There is something really appealing about Old Testament justice, at least for me. It appeals to my sense of right and wrong in the world. An eye for an eye seems pretty fair. You don’t get to take a life…

I am not the world’s biggest fan of theme Sundays as I think they tend to glorify people more than God, but for some reason I was struck by the theme listed on my calendar for today: Celebrate the Gifts…

Every year about this time I get asked about fasting. Usually the question comes from either a young person with many Catholic friends or a person who was raised Catholic but who has not been an active Catholic in years.…

This evening’s lesson comes in an interesting place in the Gospel story. Jesus has already been doing ministry. He has explained where He stands on ethical quandaries, performed miracles that demonstrate His power, and preached a Gospel of repentance and…

This is the last year of the Lenten sermon series on “respectable sins” that I began my first winter here. The whole series was inspired by Jerry Bridges book Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate. Once again, I commend…

Today’s sins in our Lenten series are anger and resentment. That doesn’t mean we’re going to practice displaying them, but rather that we’re going to try to understand them as sins and figure out how to avoid them as much…

The story of the prodigal son is a familiar one. It is about forgiveness and the love the Father has for us. It is about redemption and the importance of reconciliation. We have heard the story many times and know…

As we continue our Lenten series on Respectable Sins, inspired by Jerry Bridges’ book of the same name, we come today to the so-called sins of the tongue. While some of you may be wondering what in the world is…

This is our last sermon in the series inspired by Jerry’s Bridges’ book Respectable Sins, and today we are dealing with one of the most insidious yet seemingly innocent sins: worldliness. Worldliness is what happens when we fail to draw…

We all love the triumphal entry story. We like the pageantry. We like the celebration. We like the return of the focus of worship to something more joyful than the tone of Lent. We like the hymns in major keys.…

He is risen! (He is risen indeed!)…

This week we begin a series of sermons focusing on the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus – the times between His Easter rising from the dead and His ascending to Heaven. All these appearances happened before Pentecost, so in only a…

The story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus is not all that different in some ways from our own journeys with Jesus – and neither is all that different from the Beatles song for which this sermon is…

The disciples were gathered together (except Thomas) discussing the amazing events that happened to Cleopus and his unnamed friend on the road to Emmaus when Jesus appeared in their midst. He greeted them, saying, “Peace be with you.” While this…

As we wrap up our series on post-resurrection appearances, we come to the story of Thomas. Poor Thomas who has missed it when Jesus first appeared to the disciples in the locked room after He rose from the dead. Poor…

Many years I skip focusing on Trinity Sunday. It’s easy enough to skip it. It often falls on or near Memorial Day or Father’s Day or some other flashier kind of day. We talk about the Trinity regularly in prayers…

Part of me now wishes I’d titled this sermon differently as you’ll know one of the answers to my question – they were all Presbyterian. The question I want to ask, though, is what do the following people all have…

I had the distinct pleasure of helping out with Vacation Bible School at the church in Garden City a couple of weeks ago, where they were also doing Pandamania, and it got me thinking a lot about panda bears. Of…

So often we want to be like Jonah – to run away from things that are hard, to hide from God. But Jonah couldn’t run far enough for God to be unable to find him, for God to be unable…

Most of you know that we had a whole crew of sixteen who travelled to Johnstown, NY last Sunday to spend a week loving our neighbors as ourselves – and sometimes even more. What you may or may not know…

Weariness is part of life. We all experience it, some more than others, but we all experience it. But what are we supposed to do about it?…

Today’s passage from Matthew’s Gospel reminds us that sometimes the most faithful of people are not the ones we would anticipate. Sometimes they are the ones we might label as sinner. The Canaanite woman was not one of the chosen…

Saying goodbye is never an easy thing, not even if the leave taking is for a happy reason. For both the ones being left and the ones leaving, the future is uncertain and there are mixed emotions. But the thing…

When I was originally planning this sermon, I had no idea what this week would bring, but it was truly a week of very big changes for some of our church family as well as a myriad of smaller changes…

In four short verses, Paul summarizes the source of the Gospel and its power. There is a lot contained within, so before we get to work, we’re going to open with prayer:…

It is appropriate that on World Communion Sunday we focus on the first communion – the actual supper with the Lord that occurred so many years ago. It is appropriate that as we look at the history of Christianity that…

“At this time I have seen and put in study to look into all the Scriptures ...which our Lord opened to my understanding – I could sense His hand upon me – so that it became clear to me that…

Ecclesiastes 1:9 says, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” That is true of many things in life, perhaps most especially of the great questions of…

What we do in any moment changes the future. Even little things that we don’t think are all that significant may well be the catalyst for some great change. I was recently watching a program on the History Channel called,…

Our two Scriptures this morning encompass all three part of the slogan of the Protestant Reformation. Sola Scriptura – Scripture alone – sola gratia – grace alone – and sola fide – faith alone. These three ideas continue to inform…

Granite countertops or Feed the Children. Bathroom makeover or Habitat for Humanity. Sweet sixteen party at a country club or supporting the ASPCA. Family cruise or utilities for the church. Tooth whitening or groceries for Long Island Council of Churches…

Today we heard a testimony from Cynthia Howerter about God’s faithfulness and maintaining stewardship under trial.…

⁷“Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? ⁸ They are higher than the heavens above—what can you do? They are deeper than the depths below—what can you know? ⁹ Their…

Our two Scriptures today provide quite a contrast. One is a view of a life that claims peace, but is far from peaceful. The other is a view of a life that sounds more challenging, but has real peace.…

One of my favorite Christmas memories is of 1990. I was all of 22, working full time at Bennigan’s Steak House in Hampton, Virginia, and I was broke. It was Sunday, December 23 and I had bronchitis, but I…

John was not the Messiah. John knew he was not the Messiah. John was baptizing people and telling them that while he used water, agreater One was coming who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. And when…

I am a big fan of the Protestant Reformation and the theology that grew out of it. I am a big believer that we do not earn brownie points with God, but that it is by faith alone that…

This is the day we not only ordain and install elders to lead us into the future, but also review the results of the last year’s leadership at the annual meeting following church. It is a good day to…

My original title for this sermon was wytrzymac, which is Polish for withstand. It’s actually my favorite Polish word, as it is so often a great reminder to self and also because it is such a great example of how…

Jesus taught that we are to love the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Our passages from Psalms and James today help us understand part of how we are…

When I was a child, my grandmother used to day, “Watch your mouth!” if we were saying things that were unkind or unnecessary or improper. It was a warning that we were headed for trouble and that we’d best…

Worldly wealth gets bashed pretty hard in the New Testament, which can grate on the nerves of modern Americans who have worked hard for what they have, dealt honestly, and lived right. It seems geared to make us feel…

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I have, as many of you know, spent agreat deal of time in hospitals visiting with folks who were ill or injured, sitting with the families of those having surgery. It is a privilege to me to be able…