Hebron Presbyterian Church

06/16/2026

June 16
First Reading Numbers 11:24-33
Psalm Psalm 42
Second Reading Romans 1:16-25
Gospel Matthew 17:22-27

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is God’s saving power for everyone who believes.”
-Romans 1:16

Romans 1:16 is a verse to hold on to as one makes their way through Romans. A fundamental belief in the power of the gospel to change lives. Saving power for everyone who believes. All that follows, especially all that immediately follows, needs to be run through the filter of this foundational idea.

What does follow immediately is a bit of a seeming contradiction if we don’t hold on to this verse. The last of chapter one is a litany of things Paul seems to be lifting up as problematic behaviors. But this is where it becomes important to keep reading. The letter is a complete letter - if you happen to actually write a letter in our day of texting, you want the recipient to read more than the first couple of paragraphs. You want them to read the whole thing. So after writing a somewhat judgmental sounding end of chapter one, Paul will start chapter two with an admonition not to judge others, when our best practice is to pay attention to our own actions and choices.

It’s as though Paul is inviting us to see how easy it is to judge, for the purpose of strengthening his argument against not judging. In the language of Jesus, it’s comfortable to get all fired up about the speck in our neighbors eye while ignoring the log in our own. Again, why the beginning idea is so important. The good news is good news for everyone. My call is less to figure out where everyone else needs to apply it and change their hearts and minds, and more to listen for what God is asking of me, all the while being grateful for God’s grace and mercy.

06/16/2026

June 15
First Reading Numbers 9:15-23; 10:29-36
Psalm Psalm 5
Second Reading Romans 1:1-15
Gospel Matthew 17:14-21

“For God whom I serve with my spirit by announcing the gospel of his Son, is my witness that without ceasing I remember you always in my prayers, asking that by God’s will I may somehow at last succeed in coming to you.”
-Romans 1:9

“For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move and nothing will be impossible for you.”
-Matthew 17:26

Paul had faith that exceeded the size of a mustard seed. In his ministry he moved more than one mountain as he travelled, preached, and endured much persecution along the way. As the book of Romans opens you can feel the vitality of Paul’s faith. One could argue that in Paul’s mind Rome was the end of the earth. Not the most remote place on earth, but the exact opposite, the place where, as the saying goes, all roads led. Jesus had given the disciples the instruction to take the good news to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Paul had picked up nearly literally at the beyond Samaria point of that instruction.

One has to believe that as Paul was going about his missionary journeys Rome was always out there beckoning. Now as he is about to finish up his third missionary journey, he writes to the churches in Rome and shares his desire to come to them. He writes this letter from Corinth. I was reminded of this by our guide on a trip to the ruins of Corinth when we were traveling in Greece last fall. As she pointed out places, public buildings at the excavated ancient site, she connected some to biblical stories of Paul and reiterated that it was from here that he wrote his letter to Rome. The moment took my breath away.

Romans is an amazing book of the Bible. The arguments Paul makes are quite intricate and the force of the writing so compelling and powerful. Several summers back I preached through the entirety of Romans. It was one of the most rewarding summers I’ve experienced as a pastor, walking closely through this amazing letter from beginning to end. Standing there in Corinth that day put a landscape to the somewhat abstract style of Romans. Paul wasn’t just in a room somewhere, unbothered by the world, writing theological truths to the folks in Rome. He was in the midst of his work, in a real place, with beautiful geography, and no small amount of challenge to his safety, security, and freedom. I always knew where the letter to Rome wound up, obviously. What I’d never taken to heart is where the letter to Rome began. Paul, however, though he’d never been to Rome, could picture it, taste it, see it, knew he’d get there eventually. And with a faith that should have made mountains nervous, Paul would both send them this letter and one day, make it to the Eternal City.

06/15/2026

June 14
First Reading Ecclesiastes 6:1-12
Psalm Psalm 108
Second Reading Acts 10:9-23
Gospel Luke 12:32-40

“…Peter went up to the roof to pray.”
-Acts 10:9

The Acts passage is the story of Peter seeing visions of food. He’s hungry and the vision is lowered to him and he is told to eat. He sees that it is food that is largely identified as unclean in his Jewish faith tradition and which he has avoided all his life. The vision repeats three times and finally Peter is told that what God has made clean cannot be considered unclean and that he should eat. The vision is followed by a visit from representatives for a man named Cornelius, a Roman centurion, who has sent for Peter. Interpreting the vision to mean that God has extended the ability to follow Jesus to Gentiles, Peter goes to the home of Cornelius and ultimately baptizes Cornelius and his whole household.

Look how this all gets underway. Before Peter goes to Cornelius, he has to receive the request and be favorable to the request. Before that can happen he has to see and understand the vision about the clean and/or unclean food. Before that can happen he has to be in a position to receive that vision. Which means that Peter, at the very outset of this series of events, makes a decision that completely leads to all of this, but which he makes without having any sense that any of it is coming.

Peter went up to the roof to pray. Peter had watched Jesus go off by himself to pray for three years. Peter was taking notes. Now engaged in his own ministry on behalf of the the good news of Jesus, Peter is following Jesus’ example, taking time to pray. So off to the roof he goes to pray. To make himself available to God. To listen for God’s guidance. And you’ll notice the guidance just seems like a slightly odd dietary message until, the very next thing, the representatives of Cornelius show up at the door and the message Peter had received finds its application.

06/14/2026

June 13
First Reading Numbers 3:1-13
Psalm Psalm 63
Second Reading Galatians 6:11-18
Gospel Matthew 17:1-13

“For neither circumcision or uncircumcision is anything, but a new creation is everything.”
Galatians 6:15

As Paul wraps up his letter to the Galatians you can almost feel the inner turmoil he feels between the details of debate over the law and the big picture joy he wants to focus on as he shares that “a new creation is everything!” He knows that the back and forth over circumcision is going to continue and he has strong feelings on the subject and feels compelled to address them one last time in his farewell. He mentions that he is writing this section in his own hand, this is not dictated to someone serving as his secretary, this is Paul taking the writing instrument and making one more appeal not to get bogged down in rules that don’t fit the current circumstance.

He mentions how large his handwriting is - what a particularly human detail. I do most of my writing on the computer now. There was a point where I would write things out by hand, and then type what I had written. What I notice, especially now, when I do write something by hand is how my handwriting does indeed grow, the longer I write and the more interested I am in the topic. I will begin trying to be neat and as legible as possible and within a few paragraphs the letters have grown to twice the size and occasionally entire lines begin to bend.

Paul is excited. That’s important I think to always keep in front of us when considering Paul. Paul is not some academic theologian who sets out to write books of systematic theology. He’s a follower of Jesus who is constantly thinking back to his past, to his conversion, and to his new life in Christ. He wants that experience for everyone. He wants it for the Galatian church. Paul, in his own hand, is communicating his passion - don’t get so caught up in the details that we lose sight of the wonder of God’s new creation.

06/14/2026

Sunday Morning Worship for June 14 from Hebron - you are invited!

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

06/13/2026

Weekly Check-In Vol.5 #23
June 13, 2026

If you get the email version of the Weekly Check-In please have a look at the list of graduates that has been assembled and make sure any names you submitted are on the list and if you have any to add please comment below or message the church.

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A reminder that we will have the 2025 year end financial statements to share on Sunday along with 2026 January 1 through the end of March. There will be a short meeting after church to give some explanation of just what the numbers mean, but the short version is they mean you are faithful stewards who care about Hebron. Looking forward to sharing these reports on Sunday.

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Our sermon series on the Holy Spirit continues tomorrow through the end of the month.
June 14 The Holy Spirit and Holiness
June 21 The Holy Spirit and Discernment
June 28 The Holy Spirit and Bearing Good Fruit

Our adult Sunday School is also studying the Holy Spirit. We meet at 9:45 and you are invited. Here is our focus through the end of June:
June 14 The Holy Spirit In The Acts of the Apostles
June 21 The Holy Spirit In the Acts of the Apostles (continued)
June 28 The Holy Spirit in the Epistles of Paul

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Thanks to Rick Caple for all that he does to maintain our church grounds. The mulch that many of you noticed last Sunday morning, was put down by Rick in the week prior to last Sunday. It looks great!

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Upcoming visit scheduled…
On Tuesday morning, June 30 we’ll be traveling to the Hildegard House in Louisville. This is a wonderful place the Presbyterian Women learned about at their Spring gathering and felt called to learn more. The Hildegard House provides end of life care for folks who may otherwise have difficulty accessing or affording such care. On the 30th will visit and then likely have lunch somewhere together in Louisville. Watching for more specific information about gathering and departure times in upcoming weeks.

Celebrate Life!

George

06/12/2026

June 12
First Reading Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:14
Psalm Psalm 84
Second Reading Galatians 5:25-6:10
Gospel Matthew 16:21-28

“The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments for that is the whole duty of everyone.”
-Ecclesiastes 12:13

“For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life?”
-Matthew 16:26

The world is about to have its first trillionaire. If the news accounts are accurate, a combination of rocket ships and Wall Street IPO will move one of the world’s billionaires into the exclusive category, trillionaire. To be honest, I can’t think in that many zeros. Some might look at the idea of being a trillionaire and imagine that having that sort of valuation must result in a happy person. The world’s first trillionaire may or may not be happy, but the Bible argues that their happiness and our happiness are not the result of our financial net worth.

The Ecclesiastes passage brings the book to a close with the summary that the important task before us is to “fear God and keep his commandments.” Jesus teaches that there is no profit in gaining the world and forfeiting our life. When he speaks of forfeiting our life he speaks of squandering our opportunity to live the life that God envisioned for us. Living the life abundant, which is rich in obedience and finds fulfillment in walking in the path to which God has called us.

The point is not that billionaires can’t be happy. The point is they won’t find happiness in their billions. For those of us without billions, there is still the temptation to rest our happiness on things that are not God. The beautiful thing is that happiness is there for us if we keep our life in Christ the priority. There we will find a happiness that is not fleeting and a joy that is eternal.

06/12/2026

June 11
First Reading Ecclesiastes 11:1-8
Psalm Psalm 116
Second Reading Galatians 5:16-24
Gospel Matthew 16:13-20

“Just as you do not know how the breath comes to the bones in the mother’s womb, so you do not know the work of God, who makes everything.
In the morning sow your seed, and at evening do not let your hand be idle, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.”
-Ecclesiastes 11:5-6

“Stay in your lane.” There’s a phrase that gets tossed around a bit now when someone begins to act as though they are an expert in things in which they are not experts. For instance, when I get to far off into the weeds of critiquing the performance of my favorite soccer team, it would be fair to tell me to stay in my lane - there’s a one hundred percent chance the coach who is actually an experienced expert in the sport, knows more than I will ever know about the technical and strategic aspects of soccer.

These verses from Ecclesiastes are something of a “stay in your lane” message. The message is for humans and it is addressed to us when we begin to imagine we have a better plan for the future than God. Succinctly in two verses, the reminder is delivered. First, there is the illustration of God’s gift of life. It is just that - God’s gift. We may understand aspects of the process, but we did not create or design the process. We did not call forth life. Second, we don’t know with any certainty in the morning what the evening will be like. The suggestion is to do our best work and understand that we control our effort, not the results, because, again, we are not God.

It is good to be reminded that we are playing a part in the totality of God’s vision. It is good to be curious about what God is up to and to seek to participate as fully as we can by doing what we believe God is calling us to do. Where we can perhaps save ourselves some anxiety is in understanding we will spend this life as the Apostle Paul said, viewing things through a mirror dimly. We trust and place our hope in God, accepting our call to sow seeds in the morning and to continuously give our best as we believe God is directing.

06/11/2026

June 10
First Reading Ecclesiastes 9:11-18
Psalm Psalm 96
Second Reading Galatians 5:1-15
Gospel Matthew 16:1-12

“…the only thing that counts is faith working through love.”
-Galatians 5:6

Paul is writing here, at least in part, about the seemingly never ending conversation around the law and freedom from the law. Specifically, he’s been addressing, not for the first or only time, the question of circumcision. Where he winds up is in a moment of clarity - “the only thing counts is faith working through love.” Paul spends a lot of time in a lot of letters addressing issues around faith and works. And there is a lot about what the law has meant within the Jewish tradition and what it will mean in the then brand new Christian tradition. So those things clearly do count and are important. If for no other reason than people are trying to make sense of them and understand how to deal with them. So when he says “the only thing that counts is faith working through love,” it’s not actually the only thing that counts.

However, it is what matters most and it is what matters when you arrive at the end of the conversation. All the things can’t be the bottom line. Faith working through love is a bottom line consideration. Not how am I doing on the scorecard, or how am I doing checking off boxes in the rule book, but how am I doing in being a person who lives my faith, guided by love?

Love is not something you can really keep score on. You can’t love to a point where you will be able to say, “There, that’s enough love.” Love is not a commodity. It’s a guiding principle. It’s an orientation. It’s an intentional approach to living our life. Note, Paul didn’t say the only thing that counts is determining when faith has worked through love enough. There is no enough, there is no end; the call is not to be perfect at rules, or love till the requirement has been satisfied. It is simply to live a life guided by God’s love.

06/11/2026

Wednesday Evening Prayer for June 10 - come on in!

Hebron Presbyterian Church, Shepherdsville, Kentucky, Wednesday Eve...