First Presbyterian Church Fort Dodge

           With the summer coming to an end, we approach an exciting time! In the last seven years of life in Iowa, I’ve come to love the Fall – the beginning of fall sports, the mild weather, the beautiful changes in the scenery, preparation for holidays and times with family, and the anticipation it brings with new opportunities beginning.

            I’m excited about our fall sermon series, and the sermons to follow. We’ve recently mapped out the sermon schedule for the year, and I want to share with you about where we will be going.

            For this fall season, on September 18^th, we’ll go through the book of Galatians, start to finish. This six-chapter letter to the churches in Galatia, modern-day Turkey, is all about our freedom in Christ. It serves as a great introduction to how we are saved from our sins. Even more, it provides a real-life example of how people in Biblical times disagreed with one another and took a stand for their beliefs. In our culture, in this election season, in the ongoing circumstances of change all around us, it’s vital for us to stand for our beliefs while also standing together. Paul’s letter is more relevant than ever.

            During the church season of Advent, Sara and I will preach about famous Christmas events using our recent trip to the Holy Land. We will learn about Nazareth, the hill country on the way to Bethlehem, the shepherds’ fields of Bethlehem, the town of Bethlehem, and the Roman influence on the entire region of Palestine.

            With the beginning of the new year, our sermons will take us through the church’s newly adopted mission and vision statement, about it means for our ministry, and for goals within our church, moving forward. You may have already heard some preliminary information about this new mission/vision statement from our Holy Land videos we recorded earlier in the summer.

            As we approach the season of Lent and Easter, we’ll go back to Genesis and follow God’s people all the way up to Jesus’ death and resurrection, examining the Biblical notion of home. Where is our home? What does it mean to have a sense of home and belonging?

            So this is the 30,000 foot view of where our preaching is headed in the next nine months. I invite you to join with me on this journey as we dive into the Book of Galatians on September 18^th.

Blessings,

Austin D. Hill