From Your Pastor

To the First Presbyterian Church family,

A month later, I still remain touched by the surprise party you threw for me in celebrating my ten years here as your pastor and thanks again! I don’t want to make this letter a list of my accomplishments here but I can say I am proud of the fact that in those ten years we’ve worked through the Old Testament story. Over those Ordinary Time periods of summer, fall, and sometimes January/February we worked through the below list. (Obviously we haven’t covered everything, please head over to a prior pastor’s column for a fuller look at this now-concluded long-term series, what we covered, what we skipped, and why.)

2015 – Gospel of Mark

2016 – Genesis

2017 – Romans

2018 – Exodus 2019 – Leviticus & Numbers

2020 – Deuteronomy & Joshua

2021 – Judges & Ruth

2022 – I & II Samuel

2023 – I & II Kings

2024 – Ezra & Nehemiah

2025 (Jan-Feb Ordinary Time) – Esther

As we are now in another summer of Ordinary Time, I guess the question is: Where do we go now? The gospel stories along with the beginning of Acts have been covered many times in annual trips through the church seasons (including just this last spring as we read about Jesus’ ministry, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension followed by the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost). So, let’s pick up there in Acts 2 after the disciples have received the promised manifestation of the Holy Spirit, and Peter preaches the first evangelistic message! Over the course of this summer (and likely into summer 2026) we’ll follow the book of Acts and its remarkable story of what’s next for the people of God.

This will open many avenues of application for our church. First and foremost, what did the earliest church look like and how do the followers of Christ then and now act? The title of this book is certainly applicable! But there are other areas of application . . . more akin to the writings of Paul than the gospels. Starting in Acts 8 the mission field widens from Israel to the Roman Empire in general. With that comes interesting conundrums like pagan audiences, philosophers, and (for the Apostle Paul) how to utilize Roman citizenship when expedient but defy it when necessary. Speaking of which, the powerful Roman empire both conquered the nations and offered a higher standard of living to its people than any before it and very few since. The comparison between this and the United States has received attention in countless books, and I am looking forward to exploring that with you – the good, the bad, and the ugly. And in the books of Acts alone, there are plenty of all three involved with the church growing up in that powerful nation. The Acts of the Apostles continue today through their followers, through you and me. I’m excited to dig into all of that with you this summer.

Acts 9:31

~Pastor Peter Martin