Placentia Presbyterian Church

A message by
Rev. F. David Throop, Pastor
July 11, 2010

Scripture:    Romans 12:9-21 and Colossians 3:12-17

Gracious Lord God, help each one of us to become more intentional in how we envision, and then in deep trust, live out our lives, confident in the embrace of Your love for us in Jesus Christ, in whose strong name we pray.  Amen.

Like some of you, or perhaps like many of you, I am a list-maker.  Making lists not only helps me to organize my life but it also gives me a satisfying sense of accomplishment at the end of a day or the end of a work week.  Being able to draw a line through an item once completed helps me to see that my life is not a complete waste, and that I can still accomplish a few more things!

A message by
Rev. F. David Throop, Pastor
Independence Day
July 4, 2010

Scripture:    Psalm 71:1-24

Gracious Lord God, our prayer is simple:  as our nation celebrates this day as a national day of independence, may we as followers of Christ celebrate today as one of continued dependence on Your everlasting grace.  In the strong name of Jesus our Savior we pray.  Amen.

As we all know, today is one of our nation’s most historically significant holidays.  Today is the anniversary of declaring our independence as a nation some 234 years ago.  So, following our time together in worship, what are your plans for the remainder of today?  Do you have any special activities or gatherings scheduled to celebrate this great national holiday?

A message by
Rev. F. David Throop, Pastor
Father's Day
June 20, 2010

Scripture:    Psalm 103:1-22

Gracious Lord God, on this Father’s Day, help us to grasp Your love so completely, that Your love will be reflected in our love, and especially in the love we show the precious children in our lives.  Through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray.  Amen.

For any of you who have not yet figured out the rest of the question in front of us, I will share it with you.  The question, by the way, is not hypothetical.  It is as real as any other gut-level question you and I and our children ask from time to time.

A message by
Rev. F. David Throop, Pastor
June 13, 2010

Scripture:    Philippians 1:1-11

Lord God, may never waste the gift of time You have placed in our trust simply by goin’ through the motions.  Through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray.  Amen.

So, are you living your dream, or, do you believe it’s okay simply to do nothing?

If you are familiar with Dove’s chocolate candies, then you know that there’s always a message printed on the inside of each wrapper.  Not long ago, on what might be considered something of a so-so day, I opened one of these wrappers, popped the candy in my mouth, and then read the brief message.  The message written just to me was this:  “It’s okay to do nothing.”  What a great way to be affirmed on a so-so day, that, “It’s okay to do nothing.”  Well now, is it?  Is it okay simply to do nothing, or are you and I supposed to be living our dreams?

A message by
Rev. T. Franklin Harmon
Associate Pastor
June 6, 2010

Scripture: Numbers 13:26-14:9

How many of you have ever been told you can’t do something or that you weren’t any good?  How many of you ever let someone else define what you can and can’t do?  Growing up I never learned to ride a skateboard, a dirt bike or a four wheeler.  I was only allowed to go skiing because my youth leader promised my dad that I would not break any bones.  That was the reason I never learned to do any of those things, because I was told from a young age that if I did them I would break a bone and not be able to play sports.  I want to point out that to this day I have never broken a bone, of course I still haven’t done those things so maybe my dad was right, but you never know I could have been the next Tony Hawk, if only given a chance (he is a professional skateboarder). 

You all might have similar stories as to what could have been if only you hadn’t been told you couldn’t.  We are all familiar with names like Christopher Columbus, Nicolaus Copernicus, Abram, later known as Abraham, and Rosa Parks.  What did these people have in common?  They went against what the world told them to believe and found truth.  Columbus was told the earth was flat and if you went too far you would fall off the edge.  Copernicus was told that the earth was in the center of the universe and everything else revolved around it, and Abram lived in a world that told him there were many gods and you had to worship them all.  And Rosa Parks was told that the only place that African American people belonged was the back of the bus and not in the front with white people.  Where might we be today if these people had listened to what the world told them?

A message by
Rev. T. Franklin Harmon
Associate Pastor
May 30, 2010

This morning we are going to talk about memory.  Being reminded of things is something that we cannot escape.  Last week we remembered Pentecost, next week we will take communion and will remember Christ’s Last Supper.  We have cemeteries full of headstones to remind us of the people who once filled our lives.  There is a new phenomenon which I don’t quite understand, and that is the cars that have, “In memory of” someone in their back window.  Is there car suppose to be the memory or just the window?  I don’t know.

A message by
Rev. F. David Throop, Pastor
Mother’s Day and Baptism Sunday
May 9, 2010

Scripture:    Galatians 5:16-23

Gracious Lord God, as Your word calls us to live by the Spirit, help us to know clearly what this means.  And then, if we have sincerely made a decision to follow You in the name of Jesus, and if we have received Christian baptism, above all, help us to live in a manner which reflects both.  In the strong name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, we pray.  Amen.

“Well now, does any of it really make any difference?”  Every once in a while, I’m asked this question not only about baptism, but about the church in general — worship, Bible studies, tithing, and so forth.  “Does any of it really make any difference?”

A message by
Rev. F. David Throop, Pastor
Communion Sunday
May 2, 2010

Scripture:    Genesis 1:27-27, Col. 1:15ff and 3:1-17

Gracious Lord God, help us to understand the importance of remembering each day that without any exception, each one of us has been created in Your image, an image made real in Jesus Christ, and an image we have been chosen to reflect.  We pray this in the strong name of our Savior.  Amen.

Take a look around.  Ours is an interesting culture, to say the least.  In fact, more than just interesting, at times it’s absolutely fascinating.  Have you ever wondered, for example, what it would be like to take someone from an isolated people group in a remote area of the world, and then introduce them into this world in which you and I live?  In doing this, can any of us even begin to imagine the challenge of trying to answer all of their questions and explain clearly all of the interesting and baffling dimensions of our culture, a culture which even to us still, at times, seems a bit bizarre?

A message by
Rev. F. David Throop, Pastor
April 25, 2010

Scripture:    Acts 17:16-34

Gracious Lord God, help us never to be timid in sharing with others something of the magnitude of Your great grace and Your saving love given in Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

As a follow up to the prayer I have just offered, there is certainly nothing timid about the eruption of a volcano, especially the recent one in the country of Iceland, an event which has received extraordinary attention over the past week and a half.  This volcano, whose name — “Eyjafjallajokull” — I won’t even attempt to pronounce, began its eruption on Wednesday, April 14th, and as of today, even at a diminished rate, continues to release into the skies its volcanic ash comprised largely of small particles of glass and pulverized rock, pushed upward and outward by immense amounts of pressurized gases.

A message by
Rev. F. David Throop, Pastor
April 18, 2010

Scripture:    Acts 2:42-47 and 4:32-35

Gracious Lord and loving God, You have called to Yourself a Church, and You have invited us to be a part of Your Church.  Help us to remember that the Church is, indeed, the living body of Christ for today, and in this, help us always to behave as those who in Your grace are Christ’s family.  In his strong name we pray.  Amen.

In case you may not know, I grew up in a Christian family, a strong and faithful Christian family.  On both sides of my family were active Christians.  On my dad’s side, my grandfather was a Presbyterian missionary and minister, my dad was a minister, and then I became a minister.  It goes without saying that our family worshipped every Sunday, always when on vacation or when visiting relatives, and when relatives came to visit us.