Mission Sunday And The Gift Of Service

"The God Who Shows Up" (June 21, 2026 Sermon)

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2418921/fan_mail/new] Text: 1 Kings 18:20-40 Preaching: Rev. Dr. Stephen M. Fearing A drought that will not break. A nation hedging its bets. A prophet who refuses to let the crowd hide behind silence. We sit with 1 Kings 18 and the unforgettable showdown on Mount Carmel, where Elijah puts the real question on the table: who do you actually serve when the stakes are high and the sky stays empty?  We walk through the story’s tension and its sharp edges, from Ahab and Jezebel’s embrace of Baal worship to the prophets’ frantic religious performance and Elijah’s bold repair of a ruined altar. We talk about why Elijah drenches the sacrifice with water, why the fire matters, and why the phrase “no voice, no answer, no response” still haunts anyone who has ever trusted a god that cannot hold the weight we put on it. Along the way, we offer a pastoral note on the “limping” metaphor, making clear it is not aimed at disability but at a chosen, divided posture of the heart.  Then we bring the text into modern life, where allegiance gets split in quieter ways: faith that blesses peace while normalizing violence, prayers about debt inside an economy built to trap people, creation as “gift” treated like a commodity, and Jesus as Lord rivaled by nationalism or political identity. The good news we cling to is simple: we limp, but God does not. God stays faithful to the poor, the stranger, and the vulnerable, and droughts can end when we stop playing the fence and choose a life that serves both God and neighbor. If this resonated, subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find us. Follow us on Instagram @guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch [https://www.instagram.com/guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch/] Follow us on Facebook @guilfordparkpc [https://www.facebook.com/guilfordparkpc/] Follow us on TikTok @guilfordparkpreschurch [https://www.tiktok.com/@guilfordparkpreschurch?lang=en] Website:  www.guilfordpark.org [http://www.guilfordpark.org]

"The Voices We Heed" (June 14, 2026 Sermon)

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2418921/fan_mail/new] Preaching: Rev. Dr. Stephen M. Fearing Text: 1 Kings 12:1-17 A single bad listening decision can split a community, a workplace, even a nation. We open with 1 Kings 12 and the moment Rehoboam steps into power, hears a desperate plea to lighten the burden Solomon left behind, and chooses the advice that flatters him most. The result is as dramatic as it is familiar: harsh words, wounded trust, and a kingdom that breaks in two.  We zoom out to Solomon’s “high water mark” at the temple dedication and the slow drift from wisdom toward the god of gold. Forced labor, heavy taxes, and vanity projects prop up a shining public image while neighborliness fades. It’s an ancient story, but it reads like a modern case study in political leadership, economic inequality, and what happens when “success” is measured without asking whether the hungry are fed or the vulnerable are protected.  Then we bring it home with Lev Shomeah, the listening heart. A listening heart is powerful, but it is not automatically good; it becomes wise when we choose voices that stretch us, correct us, and tell the truth. We contrast Rehoboam’s yes-men with Abraham Lincoln’s team of rivals, and we name the hard work of discernment: not all voices are of God, and listening widely does not mean heeding blindly. As our nation approaches a major anniversary, we also ask what faithful Christian patriotism looks like when we examine who has been heard and who has been dismissed. If this stirred something in you, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review, then tell us: which voices do you need to hear more clearly right now? Follow us on Instagram @guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch [https://www.instagram.com/guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch/] Follow us on Facebook @guilfordparkpc [https://www.facebook.com/guilfordparkpc/] Follow us on TikTok @guilfordparkpreschurch [https://www.tiktok.com/@guilfordparkpreschurch?lang=en] Website:  www.guilfordpark.org [http://www.guilfordpark.org]

Charles "Skip" Bailey Funeral Service (June 7, 2026)

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2418921/fan_mail/new] Follow us on Instagram @guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch [https://www.instagram.com/guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch/] Follow us on Facebook @guilfordparkpc [https://www.facebook.com/guilfordparkpc/] Follow us on TikTok @guilfordparkpreschurch [https://www.tiktok.com/@guilfordparkpreschurch?lang=en] Website:  www.guilfordpark.org [http://www.guilfordpark.org]

"Can God Really Dwell on Earth?" (June 7, 2026 Sermon)

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2418921/fan_mail/new] Text: 1 Kings 8:22-30 Preaching: Rev. Dr. Stephen M. Fearing God might meet us in a breathtaking sanctuary, but that does not mean God lives there. We open with 1 Kings 8:22–30, Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication, and sit with the surprising honesty at its center: “Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built.” That single line reframes how we think about temple, church, and sacred space.  We talk about why beautiful worship spaces matter, not as trophies but as places where real people gather to sing, pray, celebrate baptisms and weddings, and grieve at funerals. We also name the subtle temptation many of us carry: turning a sanctuary into a way to manage the holy, as if God is safer when we can point to an address and a schedule. Solomon’s wisdom pushes back, and it invites a bigger, freer faith.  From the pulpit to the week ahead, the message turns practical. God dwells in hospital rooms and waiting areas, in veterinary offices, at kitchen tables when money is tight, in graduation auditoriums full of hope and fear, and in every place where love and loss collide. Communion becomes the sending practice that ties it together: we come to the table to meet God here, and we leave ready to notice that God is already out there, too. If this encourages you, subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the podcast. Follow us on Instagram @guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch [https://www.instagram.com/guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch/] Follow us on Facebook @guilfordparkpc [https://www.facebook.com/guilfordparkpc/] Follow us on TikTok @guilfordparkpreschurch [https://www.tiktok.com/@guilfordparkpreschurch?lang=en] Website:  www.guilfordpark.org [http://www.guilfordpark.org]

"A Listening Heart" (May 31, 2026 Sermon)

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2418921/fan_mail/new] Text: 1 Kings 3:3-15 Preaching: Rev. Dr. Stephen M. Fearing God gives Solomon a blank check, and the most surprising part is how little Solomon asks for. We start with the raw backstory behind 1 Kings: David’s decline, a household already marked by violence, and a throne gained through ruthless moves that feel closer to a crime saga than a children’s Bible story. Then Solomon finally sleeps and God meets him in a dream with one simple prompt: “Ask.”  We imagine our own answers and name the forces that often drive them: fear that wants safety, scarcity that wants money, and pain that wants payback. Solomon chooses something else entirely, asking for an “understanding mind” to govern well. Digging into the Hebrew, we find Lev Shomeah, a listening heart, not a one-time burst of insight but a lifelong posture of attention and humility. That detail flips our definition of power: leadership that listens before it speaks and discerns before it acts.  We also hold the tension that wisdom is fragile. Even right after Solomon receives this gift, his instinct can still reach for the sword, a warning for every generation that confuses cleverness with virtue. We connect that to our moment, where information is endless and tools like artificial intelligence can amplify both good and harm. If you want a biblical framework for Christian leadership, discernment, and conflict resolution that feels painfully current, press play, then subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review. What would you ask God for if you could ask for one thing? Follow us on Instagram @guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch [https://www.instagram.com/guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch/] Follow us on Facebook @guilfordparkpc [https://www.facebook.com/guilfordparkpc/] Follow us on TikTok @guilfordparkpreschurch [https://www.tiktok.com/@guilfordparkpreschurch?lang=en] Website:  www.guilfordpark.org [http://www.guilfordpark.org]