Long Story, Short
Lent 2019
The Bible is full of stories, but these many and various vignettes together comprise one grand story: the story of God at work in the world. In our worship, study, and conversation, we often take this story as a given, but rarely do we consider it as a whole, from start to finish. This series attempts to do just that: to look at the whole story of God from beginning to end as presented by scripture. This story is the foundation upon which our life of faith, our acts of love, and our hope for the future are constructed.
Ecclesiastes
February 10 - March 3, 2019
The book of Ecclesiastes might be the only book in all of scripture that we read and think, "Why is this even in the Bible?" In spite of that, some of the ideas and the language present in this Old Testament wisdom text have woven themselves into popular culture in such a way as to become intimately familiar to many of us (though we may not realize that Ecclesiastes is their source). How can we come to terms with the cynicism and despair of this text, and how does the dim outlook of its author square with the good news of the gospel?
Samuel
January 6 - 27, 2018
Samuel was called to be a prophet for Israel at a critical time in their history. The pressure from the surrounding nations was intense, and Israel was struggling to figure out what kind of people they would be and how they would interact with the world around them. Samuel sees them through uncertainty, turmoil, and transition, demonstrating to us three millennia later what happens when God's servants—you and I—answer God's call with courage and humility.
The Gifts We Bring
Advent 2018
The magi of the Christmas story brought three gifts to the infant Jesus: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Tradition has long ascribed symbolic meaning to these gifts: gold symbolizes Jesus's royalty, frankincense, his divinity, and myrrh, his mortality. This series delves into these three gifts, examines the significance of these three aspects of Jesus's nature, and urges us to think seriously about what gifts we ourselves bring to the Christ child.
Rise Up!
November 11 - December 9, 2018
Jerusalem had deteriorated and nearly come to ruin, but when God's people realized that God had a vibrant future in mind for them, they said to one another, "Let's rise up and build." We believe that God has a vibrant future in mind for Milford Presbyterian Church, and now is our time to rise up and meet the opportunities that lie before us.
Miracles
September 9 - November 4, 2018
Some of the most memorable moments of Jesus's life and ministry are his miraculous deeds—actions that awed crowds and set people to talking far beyond the Galilean countryside. Sometimes we treat these events as mere spectacle: raw demonstrations of God's power and proof of the Christ's divine origins. But there is so much more to these stories. They convey nothing short of the very heart and will of God, and through them we glimpse the greatest miracle of all: God's care and concern for this world and everyone in it.
Ezekiel
Summer 2018
The prophet Ezekiel stands out among the prophets of the Old Testament as eccentric and extreme—called by God not only to deliver harsh messages, but in his own life and action to experience and embody the plight of Israel and the wrath of God. Yet in the midst of God's judgment on the chosen people of Israel, there are glimmers of hope, hints of restoration. Can a people who have utterly failed be redeemed? Can lives that have been wasted find purpose again? Can dry, dead bones live again?
The Trinity
May 27 - June 10, 2018
Few doctrines are more central to the Christian faith than the Holy Trinity, the idea that God exists in three "persons" without compromising God's oneness. This apparently self-contradictory notion lies at the heart of the Christian understanding of the nature of God and how God is at work in the world. This series explores the depth of this important doctrine and what it means for us today.
All In: The Way of Discipleship
April 8 - May 13, 2018
In his ministry, Jesus did not set out to start a religion; his goal was to start a movement. He gathered around himself people who were willing to learn from him and to follow him. These disciples would continue the work—the movement—of the kingdom of God for generations after he was gone. But it is no small commitment to be a disciple of Jesus. Jesus asks for nothing less than all that we have and all that we are. Are we willing to walk the way of discipleship?