"The Parable of the Lost Sheep"

Skip Strauch, The Parable of the Lost Sheep, Luke 15:1-7, April 14, 2024, First Presbyterian Church, Ashland OR. The sermon starts at 35:07 of the video below....

"Faith That Comes Alive: Searching"

Skip Strauch, "Searching", Matthew 7:7-11, April 7, 2024, First Presbyterian Church, Ashland, OR. The sermon starts at 29:10 of the video below....

"Wandering Heart: Jesus Sought Me."

Skip Strauch, "Wandering Heart: Jesus Sought Me", Luke 5:1-11, February 18, First Presbyterian Church, Ashland. Sermon starts at 34:39 of the video below...

Finding Healing in a Hurting World

Finding Healing in a Hurting World. Skip Strauch, John 4:4-30, 39-42, December 31, 2023, at First Presbyterian Church of Ashland. The sermon starts at 27:47 of the video...

Living With Confidence

Here is a sermon about living with confidence in the face of life's challenges. It's at Bethany Presbyterian Church in Grants Pass, Oregon. Based on Psalm 27:1.

"What would it be like to be made whole?"

 Here's a sermon at Bethany Presbyterian Church about how God comes into the lowest of our circumstances and brings help and healing (the congregation is seated in the back pews and are not visible in the video). Based on Mark 10:46-52. 

Compassion, A Path of Love...

Janet, her husband John, and their two daughters, eight year old Audrey and seven year old Libby, live in an urban neighborhood. They and their neighbors had noticed a van with a small beat up camper

trailer parked at the end of the block. The van had now been there five months.

Coming home from church one Sunday, Janet felt God gently leading her, 

"Go to the trailer and invite the people in the trailer to lunch."

Janet said, "John, I think we should invite whoever is in the trailer to lunch. I get the sense God is leading us to do this!"

"You can knock on the door!" replied John.

"You've got to come with me!" Janet pleaded.

"I'll come, but you knock," said John. 

That afternoon, filled with adventure, they walked to the trailer. Janet knocked on the door. Nothing. Then they heard a small voice. A woman opened the door a crack. 

Janet, holding a shopping list in hand, said, "Hi, we're going to the store and wondered if we could pick anything up for you."

The woman seemed startled at having a visitor. "The only thing I have on my list is butter," she quietly replied. 

By now the door had opened a bit wider. Janet, John and their daughters could see that the woman was pregnant. A man and a two year old boy were also inside. 

Janet asked, "Do you need bread?" 

"Okay," replied the woman. 

Janet, enjoying their encounter said, "Great. On our way home we'll stop by... We actually have a pot of stew on the stove too. Would you like to join us for lunch?"

"Sure," replied the woman. 

Janet said, "Good--when we get back we can all walk together to our house over there."

Excitedly, Janet, John, and the girls walked to the store, the girls hopping and skipping every other step along the way. They were giddy over what God was doing with them that moment, as they took action and walked a journey only He could lead.*

Whatever your family circumstances, God wants to lead you on your own unique path of love. This path creates powerful meaning in your life.  

*Janet Butler (pseudonym), telephone conversation with Sayer, February 7, 2008.

From The High Definition Family book, pages 17-18, "It All Begins With God".