3/13/25 FPC E-News

First Presbyterian Church

March 14, 2025 E-News

Upcoming Service for the Lord's Day

2nd Sunday in Lent / Birthday Sunday

Sunday, March 16, 2025 ~ 10:30 a.m.

Preacher: Rev. Leslie Roper

Sermon: "The One with the Disagreeing Sisters"

Scripture Lessons:

Psalm 122 and Luke 10:38-42

A Note from Pastor Leslie

I don’t know if it is due to the divine nature of my vocational calling or out of an unhealthy dose of egotism, but I have always loved reading a book about a pastor. Fiction books about pastors, mostly- the real story (or at least the part that we can and will tell) is rarely riveting storytelling. Wendell Berry’s novel Jayber Crow is sort of that story. Jayber, or J, or Jonah, depending on what part of his life he is telling, spent most of his life as a barber, but it was his experience of a call and then his time in seminary that seems to be the strongest current pushing his life. It’s beautifully written, but slow moving, so I encourage you to pick it up if you like to really get to know the core of a character (but not if you are looking for lots of action and intrigue).

Jayber (J at the time) has a lot of thoughts about Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, but that seems like a conversation for a little later in Lent, so don’t be surprised if we return to our friend in a few weeks.

In these first weeks of Lent, still in the early phases of our journey, it seems a better time to tackle one of his other consistent struggles, and that with doubt. Not far into his journey to become a preacher, Jayber discovered that there were inconsistencies in the teaching of the Bible that he didn’t know how to handle. How do we, for instance, have a God in one part of our scriptures who tells us to love our enemies while, in another part of the scriptures, God promises to wipe our enemies off the face of the earth. His struggles stay well within himself for a long time, until he walks into the office of one of his professors and lays out his concerns, hoping for an easy answer, a quick fix to his uncertainty. He receives neither:

~You have been given questions to which you cannot be given answers. You will have to live

them out - perhaps a little at a time.

~And how long is that going to take?

~I don't know. As long as you live, perhaps.

~That could be a long time.

~I will tell you a further mystery, he said. It may take longer.

I think Jayber’s professor would have made a good Presbyterian, since one of the things that I love about the Presbyterian church is that we are okay with doubts. Questions do not make our faith weaker, instead the examination that comes from our questions make our faith so much stronger.

As we walk with Jesus towards the cross, questions are natural. Our community is one in which you can ask your questions, name your doubts, wrestle with what you do not easily understand. By doing so, we stand in a long line of disciples going back to the one who knelt in front of Jesus crying, “I believe. Help my unbelief!”

p.s.- I also must confess that I love this book in part because I may have found my favorite passage from a novel, ever. I’m sure NONE of you can relate:

“In general, I weathered even the worst sermons pretty well. They had the great virtue of causing my mind to wander. Some of the best things I have ever thought of I have thought of during bad sermons.”

Text Scam

It appears that there is another text scam being sent to members of FPC. The scam apparently is from Pastor Leslie asking for an Apple Gift Card.

Please remember... Pastor Leslie will never text anyone asking for a gift card, money, or an item. Do NOT respond to the text and delete it right away.

We are not sure how this happened, but there are many scams out there and very clever people. In the future, please just delete any messages that appear to come from Leslie asking for these items. If Pastor Leslie does need help with something, she will personally call you.

Sunday, March 9, 2025

Worship Service

Sermon: "The One with the Unexpected Good Guy"

Church Office Schedule

The Church Office will close at 12:00 noon tomorrow, March 14. Please plan ahead.

Lenten Friends

During Lent in the gospel of Luke, we walk with Jesus all the way from Capernaum to Jerusalem, where the events of Good Friday and Easter Sunday take place. This year, as we journey with Jesus, we are going to pay a little extra attention to the cast of supporting characters that we meet along the way. Some of them will be old friends, but we will possibly see them in a different light. Some may be new friends that we will meet along the way. All of them, though, will have something to teach us. So, come journey with Jesus and his cast of supporting characters as we walk our Lenten journey.

Birthday Sunday Is This Sunday

Birthday Sunday is where we honor our members and friends celebrating birthdays in the month of March. Following worship, we invite members, friends and guests to the Fellowship Hall for Birthday Cake. Please join us!

3rd Annual Lenten Worship and Lunch Series

Each Monday in Lent, you are invited to gather as a Hot Springs faith community as we center worship around Jesus’ “I am” statements. We will begin at 12:05 p.m. each Monday in the host sanctuary with a brief time of worship followed by a light lunch and fellowship. This Monday, March 17, the host church is First United Methodist (1100 Central Ave) with Father Mark Nabors preaching.

Sandwiches, Sandwiches! We Need Sandwiches!

We will be hosting the Lenten Worship and Lunch here at FPC on Monday, April 7, and we need sandwiches. If you are able to make sandwiches for our Lenten Lunch, contact Tammy in the church office and let her know how many you can bring.

The Muses Project

The Muses Project opens its 2025 Season with “Celtic Spring” tomorrow, March 14, at 7:00 p.m. at the Woodlands Auditorium in Hot Springs Village. They will also have performances at the Muses Cultural Arts Center (428 Orange Street, Hot Springs) on March 15 and 16 at 3:00 p.m.

Celtic Women Inspired~ Features the Muses mesmerizing Troupe of singers, dancers, instrumentalists and Harp/Flute duo, "Chaski". A breathtaking blend of traditional and contemporary Irish, Scottish and English ballads, upbeat folk songs and inspiring sacred selections, sure to lift spirits and bring joy to hearts!

Tickets are only $35 and can be purchased here or call 501-609-9811. Come for the music and stay for the MAGIC!

Marilyn Davidson Memorial Service

A memorial service for Marilyn Davidson (mother of Deleen Davidson) will be this Wednesday, March 19, at 6:00 p.m. at The Muses, 428 Orange Street, Hot Springs, AR 71901. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to a Memorial Music Scholarship Fund for Young Singers established through The Muses.

Please click here for a complete obituary.

Music Notes from Ian Aipperspach

Our focused hymn this week has strong Calvinist roots, even though it is sung in many traditions of our Christian faith. “Take My Life,” with lyrics by Frances Ridley Havergal (1836-1879) and music by H.A. César Malan (1787-1864), was written in 1874 and is considered by many to be a “Consecration Hymn” due to the prayerful nature of asking and giving to God our life, our body, our time, and our talents as referenced in the first line, “Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord to Thee.” Ms. Havergal, the daughter of an Anglican minister, wrote the six stanza poem after spending time assisting in a care house in England where several people either renewed their faith in Christ or came to Christ. She wrote, “I was too happy to sleep, and passed most of the night in praise and renewal of my own consecration; and these little couplets formed themselves, and chimed in my heart one after another till they finished with 'Ever, Only, ALL for Thee!'” The original text only had four lines, but many hymnals, including ours, repeats the last line for emphasis (and the fact that with our tune, if we ended it before we repeated the last line, it would sound odd.) She devoted herself to learning multiple languages, writing poetry, and supporting the Church Mission Society. Her hymn was first published in 1878 in a pamphlet called Loyal Responses(a contrast to many of her hymns being published on ornamental cards).

The Rev. Henri Abraham César Malan was born in Geneva, Switzerland and was ordained into ministry in 1810. Known as a member of the conservative evangelicals, Société des Amis, his preaching brought about an evangelical renewal across the European continent, but was also controversial according to the state church when he preached on justification by faith alone. He began his own independent church which had the support of prominent pastors, Charles Spurgeon and Henry Drummond. Like Havergal, he wrote both poetry and melodies. HENDON, the tune associated with our text today is believed to date from 1827, well before Ms. Havergal wrote her text. No exact date is recorded as to when the text and tune merged, except for the publication in 1876. The tune name is a reference to a village of the same name in Middlesex, England he may have visited on one of his trips.

Both Havergal and Malan have ties to Calvinism. Her writings have often been considered by James Davidson to be “mildly Calvinistic, without the severe dogmatic tenet of reprobation.” Malan having attended Geneva Academy (now known as the University of Geneva) was profoundly influenced by the continued teachings of its founder, John Calvin. He was known for high Calvinist theology throughout his career. As we respond to the sermon this Sunday, let us remember to live “ever, only, all for Thee!”

Online Church Member Directory Is Now Available

If you would like access to the directory, please contact Tammy in the church office. An invitation will be sent to you to create your login information. Once you create your login information, you can download the app by going to your cell phone’s app store and searching for Realm Connect. Through the app (if you choose to download it) when pulling up an individual’s profile, you will be able to call, email, or get directions to their house just by touching any of their contact information. You can also update information in your own profile and change privacy settings. If you have any questions, contact Tammy.

Who Knows?

Not only is Jan Meyers a former water ski show performer, she is also a very talented artist. Jan painted these two pictures that are hanging in the church parlor in 1988 and donated them to the church.

First Presbyterian Newsletter

Every week we send out an updated church news email. If you would like to be added to the email list, please contact the church office, (501) 624-5646. Alternatively, if you or someone you know would like to receive a paper copy, please call the office.

The 2025 Flower Board is available to sign up to donate Sunday flowers!

Located on the wall by the 2 large closets in the Fellowship Hall, pick your date, add your name and special dedication. If you do not wish to write it on the board, or if space does not allow, please call, email or visit the office. You may do this at any time well in advance of your day. Cost is $38.50

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Thank you!

God Bless You on Your

Special Day!

Share your birthday blessings with our graduating Seniors! Each month on the 3rd Sunday, we celebrate church members' birthdays and ask those celebrating this month to make a donation in honor of their birthday to our scholarship fund. Thank you for supporting our graduating seniors!