First Presbyterian Church Albemarle

06/18/2026

Join us this Sunday afternoon as we contribute to our community's celebration of Make Music Day!

06/17/2026

Some highlights of our Cooking Camp that was held last week. We had some talented chefs and culinary artists!

06/16/2026

Sometimes in life we need to clear away false hopes so that we can start discerning where real hope lies.

In life, we all must wear a yoke, but our freedom lies in choosing which yoke to bear.

Bulletin: http://www.fpcalbemarle.org/Images/Bulletins/2025-12/28.p...

06/15/2026

Many think they have mastered the 10 Commandments, or at least some of them: they've never murdered anyone, stolen anything, or crafted an idol. But I would argue that we've all broken all ten. Join our Back to the Basics class Tuesday night at 6:30 to see how the 10 Commandments require of us far more than we ever realized and create a powerful moral framework that our society needs to recover.

06/08/2026

No one would ever pick a doctor who wasn’t honest with them about their health issues and the needed treatment plans. Such a doctor would be sued for malpractice. So why do we so often desire a pastor who just tells us what we want to hear and doesn't give us the hard truth about our spiritual health issues? The false prophets treated the wounds of the people carelessly by telling them everything was fine when, spiritually, they had gaping wounds and were in need of emergency surgery. Beware of spiritual malpractice.

06/01/2026

Some sermon highlights:
Jeremiah said, "Ah, Lord! God Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy." In the novel Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis, Aslan asks Caspian if he feels sufficient to take up the role of king of Narnia, and he says, “I- I don't think so, sir, I'm only a kid.” To which Aslan says, “Good, if you had felt yourself sufficient it would have been proof that you were not.”
God promised to make Jeremiah like a bronze wall and an iron pillar. Theodore Beza, a student of John Calvin, said, “It belongs to the Church of God to suffer blows, not to strike them...But the Church is an anvil which has worn out many hammers.” We don't hit back, we love our enemies, but it is possible that that which is getting hit is stronger than that which is doing the hitting. It doesn't work out very well, for example, to try to punch a brick wall.

05/26/2026

The fruit of the Spirit are the results of someone’s labor, but not our own. They are the fruit of the Spirit’s labor in our lives. If we want holiness, if we want virtue, we have to tap into the power of the Spirit. Neither a self-help regimen nor coaching nor spiritual disciplines will be as effective at life change as simply spending more time with God through the Holy Spirit.

“If you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law.” The law can at best restrain sin. But the law cannot produce righteousness. The law can punish the ungodly, but it cannot form godly people. The law can put up bumpers to prevent gutter balls. But the law can’t help you roll a strike. But the Holy Spirit can do these things that the law can’t! When you’re bowling strikes and spares, you don’t need the bumpers up anymore, you remove them.

Bulletin: http://www.fpcalbemarle.org/Images/Bulletins/2025-12/28.p...

05/18/2026

How can you add hope into the world at times when it needs it most? If I were in Jerusalem, being besieged by the Babylonian army, I’d purchase a field. If the world were to end tomorrow, I’d plant an apple tree. If atomic bombs were being threatened, I’d pray and work. If I was imprisoned, I’d plant a garden. If war came to my country, I’d play cello in the streets.

Bulletin: http://www.fpcalbemarle.org/Images/Bulletins/2025-12/28.pdfRegister of Friendship: https://forms.gle/eKmPrzko2fHzYCP58Welcome to worship at First P...

05/11/2026

The illustration of the potter and the clay teaches us that the greatest danger in our life is not becoming marred or spoiled, for wet, pliable clay can easily be reworked; the greatest danger is becoming stiff and hardened. The greatest danger is not having sinned, but refusing to confess and repent.

Common advice today is: "Be whoever you want to be." Better advice is: "Be who you were made to be."

Bulletin: http://www.fpcalbemarle.org/Images/Bulletins/2025-12/28.pdfRegister of Friendship: https://forms.gle/eKmPrzko2fHzYCP58Welcome to worship at First P...

05/07/2026

Congrats to the scholarship recipients!

One of the first words on work in the Bible is the curse of toil that comes as a result of humanity's fall into sin. But it is not the first word! Work shows up even in the paradise of Eden. Our prayer is that these students would find work that is meaningful, rewarding, and is of service to God and neighbor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=td_iEFN0TEY