Sermon for Sunday, September 19th, 2021 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC) Old Testament reading: [Exo 21:12-32 ESV] 12 “Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death. 13 But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I …
Sermon on Exodus 20:13 – “A Commandment of Life” Read More »
Sermon for Sunday, September 12th, 2021 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC) Old Testament reading: [Exo 20:12 ESV] 12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. New Testament reading: [Eph 6:1-9 ESV] 1 Children, obey your parents …
Sermon on Exodus 20:12 – “Teachings of the Fifth Commandment” Read More »
Sermon for Sunday, September 5th, 2021 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC) Old Testament reading: [Exo 31:12-18 ESV] 12 And the LORD said to Moses, 13 “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you …
Sermon for Sunday, August 29th, 2021 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC) Old Testament reading: [Exo 20:1-6 ESV] 1 And God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 “You shall have no …
Sermon on Exodus 20:1-6 – “The First Two Commandments” Read More »
Sermon for Sunday, August 22th, 2021 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC) Old Testament reading: [Exo 19:1-25 ESV] 1 On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. 2 They set out from Rephidim …
Sermon on Exodus 19:1-25 – “Prepare to Meet Your Maker” Read More »
Sermon for Sunday, August 15th, 2021 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC) Baptism of Birch Renze Douma Old Testament reading: [Exo 4:24-26 ESV] 24 At a lodging place on the way the LORD met him and sought to put him to death. 25 Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s …
John Witherspoon and the Connecting of American Presbyterians Speech given at the 84th General Synod of the Bible Presbyterian Church meeting in Cape Canaveral, Florida, August 9, 2021. by Rev. Douglas J. Douma [Introductory Remarks: On the theme of connectivity at the level of the general assembly (or synod in the case of the BPC), …
John Witherspoon and the Connecting of American Presbyterians Read More »
Sermon for Sunday Evening, July 25th, 2021 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC) Scripture reading: [Act 3:1-26 ESV] 1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the …
Sermon on Acts 3:1-26 – “Miracles in Jesus’ Name” Read More »
Old Testament reading: [Exo 18:1-27 ESV] 1 Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2 Now Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her home, 3 along …
Sermon on Exodus 18:1-27 – “A Fruitful Family Reunion” Read More »
Sermon for Sunday, July 18th, 2021 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC) Old Testament reading: [Exo 17:1-7 ESV] 1 All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for …
Sermon on Exodus 17:8-16 – “On the Undefeated Team” Read More »
Sermon for Sunday, July 11th, 2021 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC) Old Testament reading: [Exo 15:22-27 ESV] 22 Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 When they came to …
Sermon on Exodus 16:1-36 – “Complaining and Contentment” Read More »
Sermon for Sunday, July 4th, 2021 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC) Old Testament reading: [Exo 15:1-21 ESV] 1 Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying, “I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into …
In using Old Testament figures for comparisons, the authors of the New Testament considered each of them as historical as the next. Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jonah, Moses, and David were each real people who lived and died on this earth as the Old Testament speaks of them. [1Co 15:22 ESV] 22 For as in Adam …
Sermon for Sunday Evening, June 27th, 2021 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC) Scripture reading: [Act 2:14-47 ESV] 14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. …
Sermon on Acts 2:14-47 – “Peter’s Sermon at Pentecost” Read More »
Sermon for Sunday, June 27th, 2021 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC) Old Testament reading: [Job 1:6-12 ESV] 6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” …
Sermon for Sunday, June 20th, 2021 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC) Old Testament reading: [Psa 105:26-45 ESV] 26 He sent Moses, his servant, and Aaron, whom he had chosen. 27 They performed his signs among them and miracles in the land of Ham. 28 He sent darkness, and made the land dark; …
Sermon for Sunday, June 13th, 2021 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC) Old Testament reading: [Exo 13:1-22 ESV] 1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.” 3 …
The following is excerpted from “The History of Sullivan County” by James Eldridge Quinlan, 1873. Rev. Thomas Grier (or Greer) was the founding pastor of each the Westtown and Unionville Presbyterian Churches. Here we find him laboring in a neighboring county. There is ground for belief that Rev. Thomas Greer, a Presbyterian clergyman of …
A story of Rev. Thomas Grier, “Minister of Minisink” Read More »
I’ve been working on piecing together the earliest history of churches in my area and in the process have acquired a number of digital maps of the area. Putting them here in chronological order may be of some benefit to later explaining the history. The following maps are from 1769, 1780, 1829, 1851, 1860, 1875, …
Sermon for Sunday, June 6th, 2021 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC) Old Testament reading: [Exo 12:29-51 ESV] 29 At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the …
There are a number of requirements to take communion in a Reformed or Presbyterian church. While specifics may vary from church to church, before participating in communion a person must be baptized, must be of sufficient maturity to “examine yourself,” must not be under church discipline, and must be a member of an evangelical (or …
On the Requirement of Being a Member of an Evangelical Church to Take Communion Read More »
Sermon for Sunday, May 30th, 2021 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC) Old Testament reading: [Exo 12:1-28 ESV] 1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. …
Sermon on Exodus 12:1-28 – “Preparations for Passover” Read More »
