First Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Chattanooga

09/10/2026

Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes Week 2: Prostitutes, Saints, and Astrologers

Why does Matthew open his Gospel with a genealogy? And why does he break tradition by naming five women — including a woman who disguised herself as a pr******te and a Moabite widow?

This week, Rev. Courtney Krueger digs into Matthew's account of Jesus' birth and asks two questions that shape everything: Who did Jesus come to save? and Who were the Wise Men, really?

We'll trace the stories of Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba — women whose messy, complicated lives were woven right into the family tree of the Messiah. We'll look at Joseph's quiet mercy toward Mary. And we'll unpack the real story behind the Magi — where they came from, what the star actually did, and why their presence in the Christmas story was a signal that Jesus came for everyone: Jew and Gentile, deserving and undeserving, rich and poor.

Come with your questions. Come with your doubts. There's room at this table.

Why does Matthew open his Gospel with a genealogy? And why does he ...

09/09/2026

The Bell Still Rings - Sermon for September 13, 2026
🔔 WHAT IF FORGIVENESS DOESN’T MEAN YOU STOP HURTING?

What if forgiveness isn't a feeling at all?

In “The Bell Still Rings,” preacher Courtney Krueger takes us into one of Jesus' hardest teachings: forgive again… and again… and again.

Through the story of a family betrayal and the extraordinary witness of Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, Courtney asks a difficult question:

What do we do with the pain when the wound doesn't simply go away?

Forgiveness doesn't erase what happened.
It doesn't make what was wrong suddenly right.
And it doesn't give back what was taken.

But it can give YOU back.

The bell still rings—not because the pain is gone, but because we keep choosing what to do with it.

🔔 77 times, if that's what it takes.

🔔 WHAT IF FORGIVENESS DOESN’T MEAN YOU STOP HURTING?What if forgi...

09/08/2026

09/04/2026

Conflict is inevitable, but reconciliation is a miracle.
Check out this powerful Communion sermon preached by Courtney Krueger on how Matthew 18 offers a clear, grace-filled path to resolving conflict and healing broken relationships.

Conflict is inevitable, but reconciliation is a miracle. Check out...

09/04/2026

Think you know the Christmas story? Think again! 📖✨

Did you know scripture never mentions a donkey, an inkeeper, or a lonely wooden barn out back?

In this eye-opening Sunday School lesson, Courtney Krueger walks us through Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes by Kenneth Bailey to uncover what Luke 2 actually tells us about the birth of Jesus.

Here is what you’ll discover:

🔹 The Real Meaning of "The Inn" – What the Greek word Catalama tells us about first-century homes and guest rooms.

🔹 Radical Middle Eastern Hospitality – How a local family and community welcomed Mary and Joseph instead of turning them out into the cold.

🔹 Why the Shepherds Mattered – How the lowest, most unlikely witnesses became the first to share the Good News.

It’s a powerful lesson on clearing out space for others and rediscovering biblical hospitality in our everyday lives.

08/31/2026

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08/27/2026

The pool will close at 5 pm on Saturday, August 29th.

08/26/2026

"The Ending You Didn't Order" sermon for August 30.
Jesus just let Peter call him the Messiah. Thirty seconds later, he calls Peter "Satan." What happened in between is the whole sermon.

We love a hero who fights back — the Statham movie, the revenge plot, the ending where the bad guy finally gets what's coming. Peter wanted that Messiah. Jesus offered something else: a cross, a death, and a resurrection that doesn't look anything like winning — until it does.

This week pastor Courtney looks at Matthew 16:21-26 and asks what it actually costs to stop thinking like a human and start thinking like God.

08/26/2026

Lydia: The Coincidences that Aren't - Bible Study.
In this study, pastor Courtney explores Acts 16 and the story of Lydia — a Gentile merchant from Thyatira whose "chance" meeting with Paul in Philippi becomes the founding moment of the European church. Along the way: a closed door in Asia, a night vision, an ordinary shipping route, and a woman whose hospitality quietly shapes the story that follows. What looks like a string of coincidences turns out, in hindsight, to be the hand of God at work.

In this study, Rev. Courtney Krueger explores Acts 16 and the story...