The content of this podcast originates from First Presbyterian Church of Charlotte, an inclusive, urban church in the center of Uptown Charlotte. Visit us at firstpres-charlotte.org.
Martha's Vineyard | Isaiah 5:1–7 & Matthew 21:33–46
What if the things we think we own were never really ours to begin with?
In Jesus' parable of the vineyard, tenants entrusted with the care of someone else's land begin behaving as though it belongs to them. For guest preacher Rev. Dr. Amantha Barbee, that distinction between stewardship and possession speaks directly to the way we understand our own resources, influence, institutions, and communities.
God has given us authority and responsibility, but authority is not the same as ownership. We are tenants in God's vineyard—and faithful stewardship asks us to consider what is being produced under our care.
From the needs of our neighbors in Charlotte to our siblings in Haiti, Amantha challenges us to recognize what has been entrusted to us and to use it so that others may flourish.
God has given us what we need to make a difference. The vineyard belongs to God. We have been given the privilege of being its keepers.
Preached by Rev. Dr. Amantha Barbee at First Presbyterian Church of Charlotte on October 4, 2026.
5 Oct 2026
Divine Foolishness
Divine Foolishness | Exodus 4:10–17 & 1 Corinthians 1:18–31
If true wisdom tapped us on the shoulder, would we recognize it?
Paul tells the Corinthians that the wisdom of God looks remarkably different from the wisdom of the world. The cross—an instrument of weakness, humiliation, and defeat—becomes the place where God reveals power, reconciliation, forgiveness, and life. Pasted text Pasted text
In this sermon, Rev. Dr. Lewis Galloway explores a gospel that refuses to conform to our usual assumptions about success and strength. Christianity is not a set of rules for getting ahead or a formula for getting what we want from God. It is an invitation into life with Christ—a life shaped by the cross.
That can mean doing things the world considers foolish: forgiving those who have hurt us, practicing hospitality toward strangers, crossing the boundaries that divide us, taking risks that require sacrifice, and believing that weakness can become strength. Pasted text
From Moses standing before Pharaoh to a teacher crossing the divide between migrant laborers and farm owners, Lewis reminds us that God repeatedly chooses unlikely people and unexpected means to accomplish something new.
"Only the foolishness of God is wise enough to carry us."
Perhaps wisdom has already tapped us on the shoulder.
Will we recognize it?
Preached by Rev. Dr. Lewis Galloway at First Presbyterian Church of Charlotte on September 27, 2026.
21 Sept 2026
Saints Alive
Saints Alive | Isaiah 43:15–25 & 1 Corinthians 1:1–9
What if the name God gives us is more important than all the names we give ourselves—and one another?
The church in Corinth was far from perfect. Its members argued, divided themselves into factions, looked down on one another, neglected the vulnerable, and struggled to understand what it meant to live together as the body of Christ.
And yet when Paul writes to them, he calls them saints.
In this sermon, Rev. Dr. Lewis Galloway explores the difference between seeing sainthood as something extraordinary people achieve and understanding "saint" as an identity God has already given us. We may not always live up to that name, but God continues patiently shaping, smoothing, forgiving, and forming us into the people we were created to become.
Lewis reminds us of the simple words a mother once gave her children as they walked out the door: "Remember who you are." How we understand ourselves shapes how we live.
And perhaps remembering who we are can also change the way we see everyone else.
Instead of defining one another with the labels that divide and diminish, what if we learned to see each other through God's eyes?
Saints alive. Saints together.
Preached by Rev. Dr. Lewis Galloway at First Presbyterian Church of Charlotte on September 20, 2026.
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