So Great A Cloud of Witnesses
“Ultimately, one should not ask what the meaning of her life is, but rather must recognize that it is she who is asked. In a… Read More »So Great A Cloud of Witnesses
St. Stephen
Welcome Mitchell Crawford, our new Organist!
St. Stephen Presbyterian Church is excited to announce that, after a year-long search, we have hired Mitchell Crawford to be our new Organist and Director… Read More »Welcome Mitchell Crawford, our new Organist!
Wedding Policy
WEDDING POLICY & PROCEDURE Effective: 06/2016 Contact Anne Barrett (817) 927-8411 • [email protected] Call the Church office, Wedding Coordinator or Assistant Wedding Coordinator… Read More »Wedding Policy
Top 10 Reasons You Might Like It Here
10. You’re put off by hierarchy and energized by community. 9. You’re tired of simple answers to difficult questions. 8. You’re looking for community where… Read More »Top 10 Reasons You Might Like It Here
Holy Week 2016
March 20 – Palm/Passion Sunday: Experience the emotion of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem that begins on the lawn with a procession of palms, donkey, clergy, choir… Read More »Holy Week 2016
Why are the Processional Crosses Draped?
Worshipers will notice that the draped crosses carried in our Processional and Recessional by our Acolytes and placed in the Chancel during worship are a… Read More »Why are the Processional Crosses Draped?
Strategic Plan News
At its last meeting, St. Stephen’s session selected and approved the implementation of two of the objectives of our strategic plan. There are a number… Read More »Strategic Plan News
Session Update
This past November, the officers of the church participated in a retreat led by Presbyterian church consultant the Rev. John Wimberly. Wimberly is the retired… Read More »Session Update
Room in the Inn
Room in the Inn, our hands-on ministry to the homeless, is always looking for volunteers. Throughout December, January, and February St. Stephen welcomes homeless men… Read More »Room in the Inn
Born as Jacob, Reborn as Israel
Rev Dr. Fritz Ritsch
Baptism of the Lord Sunday
January 10, 2016
Isaiah 43: 1-7
“He who created you, O Jacob; He who formed you, O Israel.” That’s how our Isaiah passage begins; and it ends speaking of all people whom God will redeem: “Every one who is called by My name, whom I created for My glory, whom I formed and made.”
Now what the Lord means in context is that God created the nation of Israel and that God will save it from the trouble it’s in, specifically, the Babylonian exile, in which the nations of Israel and Judah were defeated by the Babylonians and sent into exile throughout the empire. God is promising to bring them back from exile to their homeland again. In Isaiah’s poetry, God’s people are called by turns Jacob and Israel. This is because of the story of the founder of Israel, Jacob. It’s a story worth repeating.Read More »Born as Jacob, Reborn as Israel