Arch Street Presbyterian Church (PHL)

On the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Pastor Carla preaches from John 15:9-17 NRSV. In this text, we consider what part is our work in creating a new heaven and a new earth - if God's work is putting the finishing touches on our collective work.

On the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Pastor Carla preaches from Acts 8:26-40 NRSV. The audio has been edited to remedy a brief tech glitch with the original recording.

On the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Pastor Carla preaches from Acts 4:5-12 NRSV. Borrowing from Peter Block's book by the same title, we consider what it means to say yes to our purpose and how to discern that purpose.

On the Third Sunday of Easter, Pastor Carla preaches from Luke 24:36-48 NRSV. Here, we see one more example of Jesus appearing to the disciples and they way that He takes food to offer proof of his resurrection and also reminds them of all that they learned from thier time with him. He feeds their faith so that they might feed others.

On this, the Second Sunday of Eastertide, we follow the disciples on their journey with the Resurrected Christ. Pastor Carla preaches from John 20:19-31 NRSV. Jesus bears the scars out of which we are invited to believe and draw strength. We are not called to be scarred or martyred. We are called to bear witness!

Pastor Carla proclaims the good news found in Mark 16:1-8 NRSV. This Easter text invites us to meet the women at the tomb and to have our lives altered by what we discover - even if it is not what we expected!

This episode includes a special treat! Pastor Carla reads the story from Mark 11:1-11 NRSV and then before the sermon, Ms. Crystal Charles sings a beautiful version of The Palms to prepare us for this entry into Holy Week! Enjoy!

On the Fifth Sunday in Lent, Pastor Carla invites us to reconsider how we view our enemies and how we might change our perspective to allow our enemies to be our partners for the Glory of God. Listen to this sermon from John 12:20-33 NRSV.

On the Fourth Sunday in Lent, Pastor Carla preaches from John 3:14-21 NRSV. Though this passage includes the well-known verse, John 3:16, we do not stop reading there. There is so much more for us to say about God!

On the Third Sunday in Lent, Pastor Carla approaches John 2: 13-22 NRSV and asks us to consider the stories we have heard that we no longer trust. How will we live in a world having been shaped and re-shaped by stories we may not trust?

On the Second Sunday in Lent, Pastor Carla preaches from Mark 9:2-9 NRSV. As we consider what happens on the mountain among Jesus, the disciples and Moses and Elijah, we are also invited to consider what it means to "belong" and to consider to whom we belong. Are you ready to be changed by belonging?

On the first Sunday of Lent, Pastor Carla preaches from Mark 1:9-15 NRSV. We will consider what it means to be altered by our witness. After celebrating Ash Wednesday, we have now cleaned the ashes from our faces and now, we have only our lives to bear witness.

Minister Danielle Gilchrist preaches from 2 Kings 2:1-12 NRSV. She calls our attention to the importance of vulnerability and our faith. Are you willing to have vulnerable faith?

Pastor Carla preaches from Mark 1:29-39 NRSVand leaves us with a decision to make about what we will choose to do as a result of the call of Christ on our lives.

Join us as Pastor Carla preaches from Mark 1:21-28 NRSV. Jesus has called the disciples and is now teaching in the synagogue and casting out an unclean spirit. What can we do in our own 'here and now' with the power that we have?

Pastor Carla preaches from Mark 1:14-20 NRSV. In this text, Jesus calls the first disciples and as we read, also calls us! Will we say yes?

On the second Sunday of January, we celebrate the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This recording includes a beautiful selection from Janine Kiah singing If I Can Help Somebody! Pastor Carla preaches from 1 Samuel 3:1-10 NRSV.

On this first Sunday of 2024, we celebrate Epiphany and we hear the story found in Matthew 2:1-12 NRSV. Listen as Pastor Carla preaches from the theme, "What Is The Purpose For Your Travel?" and asks us to consider where we are going, why we are going there and what is the "Herod" we need to avoid?

This week is the last week of the calendar year and also carries us into Chrismastide. In this sermon from Luke 2:22-40 NSRV, Pastor Carla preaches about the notion of seeing and becoming what we believe God has for us. What a powerful notion! Perhaps 2024 will be the year that we make visible the world we long to see! Happy New Year!

On Christmas Eve, Pastor Carla preaches this homily as part of our Christmas Eve worship service. Liturgists read Luke 2:1-20 and Isaiah 9:2-7. From these texts, we can see that the child, himself, was the sign and our world might be different if we were able to see and treat every child as a sign of the promise.

On the third Sunday of Advent, Pastor Carla preaches from Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 NRSV. The prophet's words are later spoken by a grown-up Jesus and mark for us what it can look like for an entire community to hear them as a mission statement - not merely for Jesus, but for all who hear them, including the prophet himself!

Pastor Carla preaches an Advent sermon from Mark 1:1-8 NRSV. We celebrated the Lord's Supper and a baby baptism, so there are references to both throughout the sermon.

On this first Sunday of Advent, Pastor Carla preaches from Mark 13:24-37 NRSV. Advent invites us to see possibilities when all that is around us looks like chaos. Welcome to this season of waiting for what is to come!

On this Sunday, our worship focused on singing our gratitude. Instead of a full sermon, Pastor Carla shared a Thanksgiving meditation crafted by theologian and mystic Howard Thurman.

Pastor Carla preaches from Matthew 25:14-30 NRSV. On this Sunday before Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in the US, we consider the joy that comes from understanding that not only can we trust God but God also trusts us!

Pastor Carla reads Reverend Dr. Wilda Gafney's translation of Matthew 6:28-34 and invites us to consider what it means to live within the boundaries of God's grace in a single day.

On a celebration of All Saints' Day, Pastor Carla preaches from Matthew 5:1-12 NRSV. This is a somewhat different take on what sainthood can mean for us. Our everyday lives are fertile ground for sainthood!

Pastor Carla preaches from Deuteronomy 34:1-12 NRSV. Typically read as the story of the death of Moses, here we consider what it might mean to see the possibilities that God has placed before us.

Pastor Carla preaches from Exodus 33:12-23 NRSV. Here God explains to Moses the terms and conditions for our relationship with the Divine!

Pastor Carla preaches from Exodus 32:1-14 NRSV

Elder Lars Peterson preaches from Matthew 21:33-46 NRSV.

Pastor Carla preaches from Exodus 17:1-7 NRSV.

Reverend Dr. Phaedra D. Blocker shares with us from Exodus 16:2-18 - the story of God providing bread from Heaven for the sustenance of the Israelites. Hear her as she preaches about A Theology of Enough!

Pastor Carla preaches from Exodus 14:19-31 NRSV. In this text, we consider what God may need to "drown" out of our lives so that we might move into freedom.

After hearing young Rene reading the Exodus 12:1-14 text, Pastor Carla preaches about the power of entering communal memory. This is what the Passover story asks of us and what the Lord's table also asks of us. The same is true for those in the US whose lives were impacted by the events on September 11, 2001. Allowing our memories to be shaped within a community helps us remember something bigger and greater than our perspective.

In a sermon from Exodus 3:1-15, Pastor Carla preaches the story of the God who reveals God's identity to Moses and is consistent across time and space. As you ask yourself this question, "Where do you need to find God this week?" this sermon is a reminder of God's promise to be with us!

The Revised Common Lectionary takes us to Mathew 16:13-20, where Jesus enters a conversation with his disciples about his identity. Pastor Carla preaches from the subject of "A Valid ID". What makes our identity as Christians valid? Listen for more...

Today's sermon has one foot in the 70's and one in our current context. We read Matthew 5:43-48 as translated by Rev. Dr. Wilda Gafney in A Women's Lectionary For The Whole Church (Year A) and while sitting with the multitudes who heard Jesus teaching that day, we consider the question, How Deep Is Your Love? Jesus teaches us a new way to love and though complicated, it is possible!

The third in the Sermon Series on Understanding Our Identity by understanding the church. This week, Pastor Carla preaches from Acts 8: 26-39 where Philip meets the Ethiopian eunuch. What do we mean by the word church? What does it look like to be free? These are the questions!

On Sunday, July 23rd, our Intern from Princeton Theological Seminary, Erica McLin, preaches the second sermon in the series on understanding our identity by understanding God. The scripture is 1 Samuel 1:1-10, 12-18 ESV. The key question is: What evil institutions attempt to steal your identity or distort your understanding of yourself?

Princeton Seminary Intern, Erica McLin preaches a powerful sermon in the first installment of the Summer Sermon Series. This week, we look at the identity of Jesus as a compass for our own identity formation. She preaches from John 14:1-13 NRSV.

After a scripture reading by young Rory Park, Pastor Carla preaches a sermon emphasizing rest, sabbath and communal gathering. The scripture comes from Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 NRSV.

On this Sunday before the Fourth of July celebrations in Philadelphia, Pastor Carla Jones Brown preaches from 1 Peter 2:4-10 as translated by Rev. Dr. Wilda C. Gafney in A Women's Lectionary for the Whole Church, Year W. Pulling together the history of the birth of the US and the 1915 silent film, Birth of A Nation, we are called to reconsider what kind of nation we are birthing as dual citizens of God's priesthood of all believers and as US citizens.

On the last Sunday of PRIDE month, Pastor Carla preaches from Genesis 21:8-21 NRSV. This story allows us to see the complications of family dynamics and the promises of God. The rainbow is a sign of God's promise and this story reminds us that the rainbow may also appear in the wilderness...lighting the way for us to find those who have been cast away.

On this Father's Day Sunday, we hold space for the range of emotions that come to the worship moment. On this Sunday, Pastor Carla preaches from Romans 5:1-8 NRSV about the love of God and the hope that does not disappoint.

This Sunday, Arch Street Presbyterian Church celebrates the retirement of Pastor Mike Pulsifer. This sermon from Matthew 4:12-23 NRSV calls us to be disciples as Pastor Mike has said yes to a life of discipleship. We draw courage and we find joy in Pastor Mike's journey and in our own journey as well.

On the first Sunday of Pride Month 2023, Pastor Carla preaches "Working on Commission" from Matthew 28:16-20. Jesus calls disciples and we are called as well.

On Pentecost Sunday, Pastor Carla preaches from 1 Corinthians 12:3-13 NRSV. We are asked to consider how each person adds value to the body of Christ.

Pastor Carla preaches on the power of prayer as we consider Acts 1:6-14 NRSV. The disciples had done all that they could do and Jesus has ascended, so what do we do with the power we have? We pray together and listen for God's next steps!