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First Presbyterian Church

Iraneal — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 04:40:50 GMT

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:40, 1 August 2026
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	* [[Sermon for August 2nd, 2026]] 581st Sermon: Higher Education Part I: Beatitudes (Back to School Sunday)		* [[Sermon for August 2nd, 2026]] 581st Sermon: Higher Education Part I: Beatitudes (2187) (Back to School Sunday)
	* [[Sermon for July 19th, 2026]] 580th Sermon: Psummer of Psalms IX - Psalm 20 (2143)		* [[Sermon for July 19th, 2026]] 580th Sermon: Psummer of Psalms IX - Psalm 20 (2143)
	* [[Sermon for July 12th, 2026]] 579th Sermon: Psummer of Psalms IX - Psalm 7 (2580)		* [[Sermon for July 12th, 2026]] 579th Sermon: Psummer of Psalms IX - Psalm 7 (2580)

Sermon for August 2nd, 2026

Iraneal — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 04:40:24 GMT

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 ==Higher Education Part I: Beatitudes==
-*Spend more time on vss. 1-2 (the educational approach)
+For the next several Sundays, we are going "back to school" with our half-brothers and half-sisters at First Christian Church, through a joint sermon series on the Sermon on the Mount--which is the most fundamental and challenging collection of Jesus' teachings in the gospel of Matthew.  For three of those Sermons, we'll be worshiping together, and for the other three, Pastor Nick and I will be preaching to our respective congregations, but using the same texts and themes.  Each week, we'll also provide you with some extra scripture readings that are part of the Sermon on the Mount, but not included in the sermons, along with some discussion questions to guide you through those readings.  I think it will be a fun and challenging experience, and a great way to celebrate both of our churches' commitment to education and life-long learning.
-*Makarios:  Blessed but really "bigger, happier"
-*The difficult teachings at the heart of the Sermon on the Mount
+The Sermon on the Mount begins with Jesus' famous collection of sayings, traditionally called the Beatitudes (Blessed are the poor, Blessed are those who mourn, Blessed are the peacemakers...).  No doubt you've heard of those, and I'll get to them later in the sermon.  But since I've preached on the Beatitudes several times--including an entire series just a few years ago--this time I want to take a bit more time to focus on what happens right before the Sermon on the Mount, and also on the first two verses of our passage today, verses that usually get skipped over to get to the good part, the familiar part.  I think there's a lot in those two verses, especially for students, teachers, and life-long learners.
-*Countercultural nature of the beatitudes and the rest of the sermon
-*Prelude (Matt. Chapter 4): Temptation, Calling of first Disciples, teaching and healing
+I'll start, though, like any good teacher would:  By setting the stage.

Sermon for August 2nd, 2026

Iraneal — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 23:34:15 GMT

Created page with "==Matthew 5:1-12 (New Testament p. 4)== 1When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: 3‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled...."

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==Matthew 5:1-12 (New Testament p. 4)==
1When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: 3‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 8‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

==Higher Education Part I: Beatitudes==

*Spend more time on vss. 1-2 (the educational approach)
*Makarios: Blessed but really "bigger, happier"
*The difficult teachings at the heart of the Sermon on the Mount
*Countercultural nature of the beatitudes and the rest of the sermon
*Prelude (Matt. Chapter 4): Temptation, Calling of first Disciples, teaching and healing

First Presbyterian Church

Iraneal — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 23:23:02 GMT

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:23, 1 August 2026
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	* [[Sermon for July 19th, 2026]] 580th Sermon: Psummer of Psalms IX - Psalm 20		* [[Sermon for August 2nd, 2026]] 581st Sermon: Higher Education Part I: Beatitudes (Back to School Sunday)
			* [[Sermon for July 19th, 2026]] 580th Sermon: Psummer of Psalms IX - Psalm 20 (2143)
	* [[Sermon for July 12th, 2026]] 579th Sermon: Psummer of Psalms IX - Psalm 7 (2580)		* [[Sermon for July 12th, 2026]] 579th Sermon: Psummer of Psalms IX - Psalm 7 (2580)
	* [[Sermon for June 28th, 2026]] 578th Sermon: Psummer of Psalms IX - Psalm 67 (1329) (Revision of 2020 sermon)		* [[Sermon for June 28th, 2026]] 578th Sermon: Psummer of Psalms IX - Psalm 67 (1329) (Revision of 2020 sermon)

Sermon for July 19th, 2026

Iraneal — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 03:56:01 GMT

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 May he remember all your offerings, and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices. Selah
 May he grant you your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your plans.
-May we shout for joy over your victory, and in the name of our God set up our banners. May the Lord fulfil all your petitions.
+May we shout for joy over your victory, and in the name of our God set up our banners. May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.
 Now I know that the Lord will help his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with mighty victories by his right hand.
 Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses, but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God.
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 ==Psalm 20: Setting Out With a Blessing==

Sermon for July 19th, 2026

Iraneal — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 00:06:21 GMT

Created page with "==Psalm 20:1-9== To the leader. A Psalm of David. 1 The Lord answer you in the day of trouble! The name of the God of Jacob protect you! 2 May he send you help from the sanctuary, and give you support from Zion. 3 May he remember all your offerings, and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices. Selah 4 May he grant you your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your plans. 5 May we shout for joy over your victory, and in the name of our God set up our banners. May the Lord fu..."

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==Psalm 20:1-9==
To the leader. A Psalm of David.
1 The Lord answer you in the day of trouble! The name of the God of Jacob protect you!
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary, and give you support from Zion.
3 May he remember all your offerings, and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices. Selah
4 May he grant you your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your plans.
5 May we shout for joy over your victory, and in the name of our God set up our banners. May the Lord fulfil all your petitions.
6 Now I know that the Lord will help his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with mighty victories by his right hand.
7 Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses, but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God.
8 They will collapse and fall, but we shall rise and stand upright.
9 Give victory to the king, O Lord; answer us when we call.

==Psalm 20: Setting Out With a Blessing==

First Presbyterian Church

Iraneal — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 00:02:34 GMT

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			* [[Sermon for July 19th, 2026]] 580th Sermon: Psummer of Psalms IX - Psalm 20
	* [[Sermon for July 12th, 2026]] 579th Sermon: Psummer of Psalms IX - Psalm 7 (2580)		* [[Sermon for July 12th, 2026]] 579th Sermon: Psummer of Psalms IX - Psalm 7 (2580)
	* [[Sermon for June 28th, 2026]] 578th Sermon: Psummer of Psalms IX - Psalm 67 (1329) (Revision of 2020 sermon)		* [[Sermon for June 28th, 2026]] 578th Sermon: Psummer of Psalms IX - Psalm 67 (1329) (Revision of 2020 sermon)

Sermon for July 12th, 2026

Iraneal — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 03:54:43 GMT

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	In that absence of information, supporters of the two former school employees (or possibly the employees themselves) started the petition, accusing me of all sorts of things, including financial impropriety. Ten months (and ten thousand dollars) later, a full review of our finances from an independent accounting firm uncovered what I already knew--the only "financial improprieties" originated from the employees who were fired. That vindication, however, came at a tremendous cost to the church, and it didn't really alleviate all the frustration, all the division, all the heartbreak from that experience.		In that absence of information, supporters of the two former school employees (or possibly the employees themselves) started the petition, accusing me of all sorts of things, including financial impropriety. Ten months (and ten thousand dollars) later, a full review of our finances from an independent accounting firm uncovered what I already knew--the only "financial improprieties" originated from the employees who were fired. That vindication, however, came at a tremendous cost to the church, and it didn't really alleviate all the frustration, all the division, all the heartbreak from that experience.

	Slander sucks. But I know I'm not first one to go through it--most of you can probably think of times in your life when you have been wrongly accused, or judged unfairly. Three thousand years ago, a man wrote a song about exactly this, which found its way into the pages of the Bible. Our scripture reading today, Psalm 7, has been called a "Song for the Slandered Soul." And while it offers hope for those who have been wrongly accused, it also offers a helpful process--not for vindication or justice, but for coming to peace and acceptance of the things that are ultimately out of our control. Let's jump into the text of that song...		Slander sucks. But I know I'm not the first one to go through it--most of you can probably think of times in your life when you have been wrongly accused, or judged unfairly. Three thousand years ago, a man wrote a song about exactly this, which found its way into the pages of the Bible. Our scripture reading today, Psalm 7, has been called a "Song for the Slandered Soul." And while it offers hope for those who have been wrongly accused, it also offers a helpful process--not for vindication or justice, but for coming to peace and acceptance of the things that are ultimately out of our control. Let's jump into the text of that song...

	If you look at Psalm 7 in your Bible, you'll notice a little line in italics before verse one even begins: "A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjaminite." This is the ascription, and most of us skip right past it, the same way we skip the terms and conditions on our phones. But it usually tells us some pretty important things, and in this case, it contains two fascinating mysteries.		If you look at Psalm 7 in your Bible, you'll notice a little line in italics before verse one even begins: "A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjaminite." This is the ascription, and most of us skip right past it, the same way we skip the terms and conditions on our phones. But it usually tells us some pretty important things, and in this case, it contains two fascinating mysteries.
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	First, (not a mystery) the ascription tells us who is singing the song: David. As in King David, here probably before he became king, while he was still serving as a commander in the army of his predecessor, King Saul.		First, (not a mystery) the ascription tells us who is singing the song: David. As in King David, here probably before he became king, while he was still serving as a commander in the army of his predecessor, King Saul.

	Second, (~~heres~~' the first mystery) there's that strange word shiggaion. It appears only time in the entire Bible, and honestly? Nobody knows what it means. But the best guess is that it comes from the Hebrew root שָׁגָה (shagah), which means to stagger, to reel, to lurch, to wander off course. So perhaps, a staggering song. A reeling prayer. And if you read Psalm 7 straight through, that's exactly what it does—it lurches from terror to courtroom drama to confidence to praise, like someone who can't quite find his footing. That's what slander does to you.		Second, (here's the first mystery) there's that strange word shiggaion. It appears only one time in the entire Bible, and honestly? Nobody knows what it means. But the best guess is that it comes from the Hebrew root שָׁגָה (shagah), which means to stagger, to reel, to lurch, to wander off course. So perhaps, a staggering song. A reeling prayer. And if you read Psalm 7 straight through, that's exactly what it does—it lurches from terror to courtroom drama to confidence to praise, like someone who can't quite find his footing. That's what slander does to you.

	Third, there's the mystery of Cush. Here's everything else the Bible tells us about Cush the Benjaminite: Nothing. He appears nowhere else in scripture. John Calvin concluded he was some ambitious member of Saul's court, who figured out that the fastest way to get ahead was to spread a false story about David—that David was a traitor, secretly plotting against the king. In fact, where our NRSV translation says "concerning Cush," the Hebrew literally says עַל־דִּבְרֵי־כ֝֗וּשׁ (al divrei Cush) or "concerning the WORDS of Cush." Words were the whole weapon. They usually are.		Third, there's the mystery of Cush. Here's everything else the Bible tells us about Cush the Benjaminite: Nothing. He appears nowhere else in scripture. John Calvin concluded he was some ambitious member of Saul's court, who figured out that the fastest way to get ahead was to spread a false story about David—that David was a traitor, secretly plotting against the king. In fact, where our NRSV translation says "concerning Cush," the Hebrew literally says עַל־דִּבְרֵי־כ֝֗וּשׁ (al divrei Cush) or "concerning the WORDS of Cush." Words were the whole weapon. They usually are.

First Presbyterian Church

Iraneal — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 03:44:18 GMT

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	==2026==		==2026==
	* [[Sermon for July 12th, 2026]] 579th Sermon: Psummer of Psalms IX - Psalm 7		* [[Sermon for July 12th, 2026]] 579th Sermon: Psummer of Psalms IX - Psalm 7 (2580)
	* [[Sermon for June 28th, 2026]] 578th Sermon: Psummer of Psalms IX - Psalm 67 (1329) (Revision of 2020 sermon)		* [[Sermon for June 28th, 2026]] 578th Sermon: Psummer of Psalms IX - Psalm 67 (1329) (Revision of 2020 sermon)
	* [[Sermon for June 7th, 2026]] 577th Sermon: Psummer of Psalms IX - Psalm 51		* [[Sermon for June 7th, 2026]] 577th Sermon: Psummer of Psalms IX - Psalm 51

Sermon for July 12th, 2026

Iraneal — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 03:43:19 GMT

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File:Petition.png

Iraneal — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 23:51:02 GMT

Iraneal uploaded File:Petition.png

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Sermon for July 12th, 2026

Iraneal — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 23:50:12 GMT

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:50, 11 July 2026
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	==Psalm 7: The Song of the Slandered Soul==		==Psalm 7: The Song of the Slandered Soul==
	The ~~following~~ headline ~~appeared in the daily newspaper and threw the city hall into an uproar~~: "Half the city council are crooks."		The newspaper for a small town printed a controversial headline that read as follows: "Half of the city council are crooks." This threw the city into an uproar, and the council threatened to sue the newspaper for slander and libel unless they issued a retraction and an apology. The editor-in-chief of the paper agreed, and the next morning the newspaper ran the following headline: "Our Apologies: Half of the city council are NOT crooks."
	A retraction in ~~full was demanded~~ of the ~~editor under~~ the ~~threat of a libel suit. Next afternoon,~~ the headline ~~read,~~ "Half the city council ~~aren't~~ crooks."
			I know a thing or two about slander, libel, and defamation. Somewhere on the internet, still live today, is a petition calling for my termination.



			Thankfully, that picture of me, smoking a cigar in my clergy collar, looking like a Presbyterian mob-boss has been taken down, but the petition is still there

Sermon for July 12th, 2026

Iraneal — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 23:24:08 GMT

Created page with "==Psalm 7:1-17 (OT p.491)== A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjaminite. 1 O Lord my God, in you I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me, 2 or like a lion they will tear me apart; they will drag me away, with no one to rescue. 3 O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands, 4 if I have repaid my ally with harm or plundered my foe without cause, 5 then let the enemy pursue and overtake me, trampl..."

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==Psalm 7:1-17 (OT p.491)==
A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjaminite.
1 O Lord my God, in you I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me,
2 or like a lion they will tear me apart; they will drag me away, with no one to rescue.

3 O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands,
4 if I have repaid my ally with harm or plundered my foe without cause,
5 then let the enemy pursue and overtake me, trample my life to the ground, and lay my soul in the dust. Selah

6 Rise up, O Lord, in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies; awake, O my God; you have appointed a judgement.
7 Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered around you, and over it take your seat on high.
8 The Lord judges the peoples; judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me.

9 O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous, you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God.
10 God is my shield, who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge, and a God who has indignation every day.

12 If one does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and strung his bow;
13 he has prepared his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.
14 See how they conceive evil, and are pregnant with mischief, and bring forth lies.
15 They make a pit, digging it out, and fall into the hole that they have made.
16 Their mischief returns upon their own heads, and on their own heads their violence descends.

17 I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.

==Psalm 7: The Song of the Slandered Soul==
The following headline appeared in the daily newspaper and threw the city hall into an uproar: "Half the city council are crooks."
A retraction in full was demanded of the editor under the threat of a libel suit. Next afternoon, the headline read, "Half the city council aren't crooks."

First Presbyterian Church

Iraneal — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 23:19:16 GMT

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:19, 11 July 2026
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	==2026==		==2026==
			* [[Sermon for July 12th, 2026]] 579th Sermon: Psummer of Psalms IX - Psalm 7
	* [[Sermon for June 28th, 2026]] 578th Sermon: Psummer of Psalms IX - Psalm 67 (1329) (Revision of 2020 sermon)		* [[Sermon for June 28th, 2026]] 578th Sermon: Psummer of Psalms IX - Psalm 67 (1329) (Revision of 2020 sermon)
	* [[Sermon for June 7th, 2026]] 577th Sermon: Psummer of Psalms IX - Psalm 51		* [[Sermon for June 7th, 2026]] 577th Sermon: Psummer of Psalms IX - Psalm 51