The First Presbyterian Church of East Hampton
The First Presbyterian Church of East Hampton
Sermons, lectures, and conversations from the ministries of the First Presbyterian Church of East Hampton The Olde Town Church | Est. 1648
Episodes
/Rel/ational - Old and New
Where two or more are gathered, the church comes into being. Scripture teaches us that God reveals himself through relationship - and, because we are made in God's image, we also take our true form through relationship. So how can we learn to live in loving relationship the same way Jesus did? We begin by shifting from individualism into the community where faith unites us.
World Communion Sunday 2026
World Communion Sunday reminds us that the church’s unity in Christ overcomes division of all kinds. Together, we sit at the same table and eat the same bread and drink the same cup. But this unity is only possible if we really believe that Jesus is The Bread of Life. So, what does it mean to believe in something by embodying it? And how can we accomplish this together as a church?
/Rel/ational - Beginning and Ending
Does God care about human suffering? And what difference does a personal relationship with God make in the midst of tragedy? The Christian theology of sin and evil distinguishes between sentimentalism and true relationship, assuring us that God is with us in our suffering, sin does not have the final word, and God works to redeem the evil we experience because he has put an ultimate end to sin.
/Rel/ational - Dead and Alive
What is the purpose of life? And where does it come from? Scripture does not instruct us on which jobs to have, where to live, or who to spend time with. Instead, God’s purpose for us is revealed through simple acts. We were created on purpose, for a purpose. And as we pursue that purpose, we experience more than a purposeful life - we come to know the new life God gives us in Christ.
/Rel/ational - An Argument
Is the Christian faith primarily about a mission? A mission to save souls, a mission to heal the world, or a mission to be right? Or is our faith primarily about a relationship? Humanity seeks answers, but God responds with a person, not an answer. We seek certainty, but God meets us vulnerability. Christianity can only be understood through relationship - first with God, and then with our neighbor.
Rest and Restoration
The most widely ignored commandment in the church today is to honor the Sabbath and keep it holy. We have been told that a choice must be made between excellence and rest, between productivity and healing. Jesus tells us that Sabbath rest is a foretaste of the Kingdom of God. When we deny ourselves this blessing, we miss out on far more than a nap. We do dishonor to our identity as children of God.
What Christians Do: Mission
Guest preacher, Stephen DiTrolio, shares his reading of The Great Commission as he draws from his experience as the child of missionaries. The call to the church is to bring the love of Jesus into every corner of creation. This requires the whole church - not just clergy and leaders. God’s call on every believer’s life is the same: love God and your neighbor with your actions.
What Christians Do: Serve
Redemption is the means by which God is restoring the world. This belief informs so much of what we do as a church community. The problem is: many of us never do anything with it. It remains an idea in our hear, and never moves down into our hands or hearts. Jesus tells us that service is the church's tool to make redemption real - service is how we are being restored, even as we work toward the restoration of the world.
What Christians Do: Change
Are we allowed to change our mind about God? Better Yet - does God ever change his mind about us? If you live long enough, you will find that change is seldom the result of a choice you made. Its source is mysterious and it ushers in the unknown, reminding us of how little control we actually have. So how can we learn to accept the changes God brings into our lives?
What Christians Do: Give
Is God really after our money? Is it possible that Christian generosity isn't measured in dollars, but instead measured in time? The witness of scripture challenges us to reconsider what we believe about the relationship between God, money, and ourselves. Far more is written about what God wants to give us, than what he wants us to give him. It turns out that all of our money could never satisfy God, because he wants us.
What Christians Do: Hope
As Christians, we aren't given the choice to be hopeless people. The hope God gives us is a demanding one. It demands practice and discipline - faith that God abides even in the silence. Christian hope demands that we offer our neighbor a tangible sign of God's kingdom here and now, even when it costs us something.
What Christians Do: Discern
Sometimes we are faced with questions that only God can answer. We are confronted with the ways in which our will is at odds with God's will. How should we respond to uncertainty? Scripture teaches that Christians are called to practice discernment - to ask what God's will is and to seek His answer. We find that God's response to us is an unique as our relationship with him.
What Christians Do: Gather
Where can we reliably experience a tangible expression of God's love? We see glimpses of it throughout our lives, but none that can replace the gathered church. Scripture affirms that God has chosen the church to be the sign, instrument, and foretaste of his Kingdom. By virtue of this choice, we are called to be an embodiment of the salvation Jesus offers.
What Christians Do: Discipline
The church is called to bring the Kingdom of God to earth. That work takes on many forms, but none of it is possible without discipline. Discipleship, Justice, and Witness are only possible where Christians decide to act with intention and honesty. Discipline is the means by which God shapes us into ourselves.
What Christians Do: Forgive
When the world looks upon the church, does it see something unique? Is there any feature of the community of believers that stands out - that makes Christians appear different from their unbelieving neighbors? Scripture tells us that a central mark of our new identity is: forgiveness. We are a forgiven and forgiving people. When we walk the way of Jesus, this means making forgiveness a regular part of our life together - no matter how uncomfortable or vulnerable it makes us.
What Christians Do: Love
What unites Christians all over the world and throughout history? Most would say that we are united by a common faith - we are united by what we believe. But is this true? This summer we will explore the idea that evangelism - being a Christian in public - is primarily shaped by what Christians do, not what we believe. Fundamentally, Christians are called to love. This is the first thing we do, and from this act comes every other.
The Gospel of John: Twin Trials
Before his journey to the Cross, Jesus is tried before the religious authorities and the civil authorities to the same effect. In both cases, he is found guilty without evidence. According to John, this is all the evidence we need to find the institutions, themselves, guilty. Instead, he offers a crucial reminder: Jesus did not come to serve the government or religious authorities - he came to replace them. The Church is not called to be an institution, but a faithful group of followers living as Christ lived.
The Gospel of John: Judas and Peter
Jesus comes to do what only he can do. He makes us clean, he forgives us, and he loves us just as we are. Pride tells us that God's grace is always for someone else. Jesus tells us - dirt and all - that we are loved and accepted.
The Gospel of John: Love or Fear
The life we build is constructed through an endless series of small choices. Each choice reflects our core orientation to the world: do we choose fear or love? The Resurrection is about the victory of life over death. But it is not the victory of just any kind of life - it is about the victory of a life defined by love, not fear.
The Gospel of John: Reading the Signs
The Gospel narrative is not single-dimensional. With every perspective, the contours of its story change, broaden, and vary. John does not satisfy our longing for a simplistic tale of black and white morality, where every scene clearly communicates the significance of Jesus’ every action. Instead, John uses ambiguity to challenge our preconceived notions. He squarely asks us: do you really understand the Gospel? Or are you just following along?
The Gospel of John: The Freedom of Disbelief
There are many good reasons not to believe in God. They may be personal or public, individual or universal. John’s Gospel is just as attentive to belief as it is to disbelief. The resurrection of Lazarus is the ultimate and greatest miracle Jesus performs - and it has the effect of dividing its witnesses. As it turns out, it is the religious witnesses who deny the resurrection. Those who follow Jesus because of who he is, not what he does believe in the resurrection, even if they reject the religion of the Pharisees.
The Gospel of John: Faith of the Heart
The Great Commandment is reflexive. Because God calls us to love him and serve our neighbor using every part of ourselves - heart, soul, body, mind - he also redeems every part of us. This means that God wants more from us than obedience or worship - God wants a relationship with us. We cannot experience this relationship and we cannot live out the Great Commandment unless we offer God our hearts - in addition to our minds.
The Gospel of John: Freedom For Sacrifice
Christian Freedom, at its best, should follow the sacrifice of Jesus. When the Church acts, it should act in free obedience to the God who is revealed in Christ’s sacrifice. This means we are called to put our neighbor’s interests before our own, sacrificing our time, talent, and spirit in service to them and to God.
The Gospel of John: The Boundaries of the Table
Christians historically have fought to exclude their enemies from the life of the church - through wars, schisms, and trials. Their justification? To purify the church through its worship and practice. The results are not convincing. But what happens when Jesus is the one who draws the boundary - what happens when obedience to his means giving up some of our freedom?
The Gospel of John: Obedience to a Higher Law
What happens when Jesus asks you to break God’s law? Christian freedom means liberation from the oppressive laws of man - but what does it mean for God’s law? Jesus models how the way of the Gospel is not anarchy or lawlessness, rather it accomplishes what law cannot.
The Gospel of John: Freedom from Oppression
When Jesus finds us struggling under the burden of tradition and man's law, he reminds us that we are subject only to His law. This means that we remove any barrier to loving God and neighbor, no matter its source: nation, religion, gender, or ethnicity. Jesus makes clear that his way is above the way of the world, and the kingdom he inaugurates conquers the ways of man.
The Gospel of John: Freedom from Certainty
What does it mean to be born again? If the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these, why doesn’t Jesus clearly explain how we can be born again? In the mystery of birth, we discover that God’s grace poured out must have more to do with his action than ours - his call which makes our response possible.
The Gospel of John: God’s Yes and No
Christian freedom is nothing less than freedom from fear - fear of neighbor, self, and God. Jesus bravely models the fearlessness he calls disciples to imitate. In taking on the powers of exploitation and injustice, Jesus embodies the Christian mission: to love God and neighbor in the face of fear.
The Gospel of John: Called to Freedom
How does conversion work? Is it more like conquest or liberation? The Bible provides several examples of how Jesus calls us to discipleship, but the most common is through dialogue. We bring our questions, doubts, and authentic selves to Jesus and he meets us as we are.
The Gospel of John: Obedience in Freedom
John's Gospel is unique. It was born out of a crisis of faith and the need to articulate unambiguously the truth of Jesus' mission and identity. More than any other evangelist, John paints a picture of Jesus colored by Christian Freedom - freedom for and from. In Christ, we are freed for obedience and from sin.
The Epiphany of the Lord
Jesus came to give us life and to save us from death. The story of salvation runs through all of scripture and challenges us to see Jesus as more than just a teacher of morality. He is our savior and liberator. Through his life and work, we are freed for obedience.
Advent 2025 | Joy
The joy of the world is fleeting, but divine joy endures. The prophet Isaiah tells us that the joy found in Jesus is something like a desert flower sprouting from dry ground. It is the resilient anchor that provides peace amid uncertainty, and allows us to shine a light into a darkened world.
Advent 2025 | Hope
Divine peace is only possible when it is founded on prophetic hope. The hope we read of in Isaiah and experience in Jesus is otherworldly. Our hope is not dependent on humanity’s improvement or our own merit. Instead, we find hope in the Prince of Peace who brings us good news of great joy.
Advent 2025 | Peace
When the power of God meets the powers of the world, the result is not war - it is peace. God conquers the world through an infant who teaches us how to become peacemakers.
What God Has Done: Do Your Part
A special guest message from the Rev. Trevon Ferguson of Calvary Baptist Church, East Hampton.
What God Has Done: Realization
When the superficial layers of our identity are taken away, what is left? Is our faith skin deep - or do we carry it within our bones? The mission of the church is constantly tested, always at odds with the ways of the world. So the source of our faith must be constant, the object must be clear. To realize the mission of the church, we must rely on God from beginning to end.
What God Has Done: Preparation
God has given the universal church a clear mission: make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of God. But every individual church is called to participate through a unique expression of this mission. And, although the mission continues after 2,000 years, it is no less urgent today than it was when Jesus commissioned his disciples. What is our mission and how can we act with urgency and faithfulness to accomplish it?
What God Has Done: Conviction
Conviction is the force that moves us from comfort into a life of faith. It enables us to understand Peter's decision to get out of the boat and walk to Jesus on the stormy sea. It also baffles our neighbor who remains comfortably on the boat. Conviction challenges members of the church to lead a life defined by the logic of faith, and not the logic of human knowledge.
What God Has Done: Consecration
From the beginning, God has set aside certain places, things, and people for his purposes. The idea of consecration endows human life with meaning and purpose - we are given a mission and goal. The church is where God's consecrated people collaborate to spread the Gospel in word and act.
What God Has Done: Transformation
It takes very little to be 'against' something. From the beginning, the Church has been against poverty, sickness, and hunger. The challenge is how to be 'for' something - how to live out the Gospel in word and act. Scripture teaches us that Jesus transforms the problems our community faces into opportunities for faithfulness. Because of this, we are called to confront our problems in faith, not hide from them.
What God Has Done: Expectations
This year's stewardship campaign calls us to consider What God Has done through our church. Often we focus only on what we, alone, are capable, of when the spirit of stewardship is inherently collective. Using the story of Lazarus, we find that our expectations of God and his expectations of us are relational. We expect God to help the needy and God expects us to help him serve the needy. Pursuing stewardship faithfully means setting biblical expectations for God, our church, and ourselves.
The Beginning of Christian Formation
Christian formation is a lifelong process that begins in the home. Before there was Sunday school, youth group, or confirmation - the people of God used their experience with God to teach their children. What can today's church learn from this? And how can we avoid making the same mistakes that we find in scripture?
The Family of God
In Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth, he argues that the Exodus event reveals something about what it means to be a member of the church. In the Exodus event, the Hebrew people are transformed into the nation of Israel - God's chosen people. And in Baptism, people of all kinds are transformed into children of God - members of God's family. In the wilderness, Israel ate manna and today we commune with the same heavenly food and drink. Now, as then, we must learn to coexist with our new family members despite the challenge.
Genesis: The Revelation
Is God with us in our worst moments and our best moments? Do we deserve the evil that happens to us - and do we earn the good? The conclusion to Joseph’s story challenges us to consider the constancy of God’s grace and presence. We cannot earn what God freely gives us, and we are called to show this same generosity toward our neighbor.
Genesis: The Betrayal
Too often, our longing for moral simplicity clouds our judgment. Instead of seeing our neighbor as a complex, sympathetic human - we are tempted to label them as 'good' or 'evil.' Scripture resists this approach, instead urging us to lead with empathy in all that we do. Empathy is difficult, but it makes redemption possible - and we are called to be a people defined by redemption.
Genesis: The Reunion
The reunion of Jacob and Esau is the culmination of God’s plan to bless both brothers. It is a glimpse into the sort of blessing that God gives freely. Their effortless reconciliation stands in contrast the the blessings that come only through struggle. In the span of 24 hours, Jacob experiences both kinds of blessings.
Genesis: The Stranger
In the story of Jacob and Essau, Jacob acts deceptively to manipulate his brother and father. Essau acts ungratefully and plots his brother's murder. Despite their actions, God blesses them. Their story illustrates the scandalous grace of the Gospel, reminding us that God can take anything we give him and transform it into blessing.
Genesis: The Test
Devotion to God has taken on many forms throughout the history of the church. Conventional wisdom assures us that God meets us in our testing. So what should we make of Abraham’s test in Genesis 22? In the choice between sacrifice and mercy, scripture confirms that God will choose mercy every time.
Genesis: The Son
Who are the good guys in the Bible? The story of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar challenge us to reconsider who the heroes of God’s story are. For as much as we might learn from Abraham’s good example, we have just as much to learn from his life as a cautionary tale. God’s relationship with humanity is not limited to one group or another - the heroes vs. the villains. And so the Church must also make room for all kinds as we pursue faithfulness to God.
Genesis: The Call
Abraham is considered the patriarch of 3 major world religions. When God calls him into a new land, away from his home and family, Abraham is blessed to be a blessing. He is chosen by God, from all humanity, so that God might relate to creation in a new way. In the story of Abraham, we meet a God whose righteousness is the basis of covenantal love. We are called to respond with faith.