October 2026 – Wicomico Presbyterian Church

Under Pressure: How Faith Handles the Test, Part 2: Your Money, Your Life

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 Matthew 22:15-22 Some of us are old enough to remember Jack Benny, the comedian. His comedy made fun of himself for being stingy, miserly. One of his best remembered bits was a man sneaks up behind him and points a gun at him, saying “Your money or your life.” And Jack makes a pained expression and says, “I’m thinking it over!” In real life, I have heard he was actually very generous. It’s a good schtick, because we get it. We know all about the tug of war inside of us when it comes to money and possessions. And, honestly, doesn’t the demand “your money or your life” sound like a trick question? I have had many thoughtful and sincere conversations with people who feel the conflict because we know that, in this world, we cannot live without money. We also know that as we grow old, […]

Under Pressure: How Faith Handles the Test, Part 1: Testing, Testing …

Philippians 4:1-9 Matthew 22:1-14 While Paul sat in a prison cell, he wrote to the Philippian church, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Some days we might hang on to these words like a life preserver. If only we could do this. Toward the end of the book of Acts, there is a story about Paul being arrested, one of many times this happened to him during his ministry. Paul saw the inside of many jail cells. This time he has been taken to Caesarea and is brought before the governor, Felix. Caesarea was the capital of the Roman government in Palestine. The lawyer for the Jewish authorities, Tertullus, begins to make his case. He says, “We find this man, Paul, […]

Under Construction, Part 4: A Finished Work in Progress

Romans 12:1-8 Genesis lays out the story of God’s creation of the world as six days of work. And then a day of rest. Time to admire this thing God made. Now we have reached the end of this series – Under Construction: A Spiritual Journey of Transformation. And we are at the end of the construction project in our sanctuary. For now. But the reality is there is always more to do. There is always change. As long as Wicomico Presbyterian Church exists, there will be change. As long as we are living, there is opportunity for growth. And so, while we now rest from the work of this renovation project, we know that God is not finished with is. And for the work of spiritual growth, we know that we are always a work in progress. In the 12th chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans, we see […]

Under Construction, Part 3: Wired for Power

Romans 8:1-11 There have been times during this chancel renovation project when it feels like nothing is happening. Every morning I come in and open the sanctuary door with anticipation. And there have been days when I would see – well, nothing new. Day after day it looked the same. Like nothing was happening. But something was happening, actually: the wiring. All kinds of work was going on under the surface to wire us for power. We have electrical outlets, and audio connections for speakers and microphones. We have special outlets for the organ to be plugged in when it arrives. And wiring that will all be needed for the organ to play. So much was happening under the surface. As it happens in life, many critical works are hidden from our eyes. Such as the work of the Spirit. We don’t see the Spirit of God. We hardly know […]