First Presbyterian Church of Bakerstown

Today we worshiped at First Presbyterian Church of Bakerstown, PO Box 127, 58 Heckert Road, Bakerstown, PA 15007, 724.443.1555, www.fpcb.org, Rev. Dan Muttart, Senior Pastor.


Bob’s thoughts:

We were looking forward to returning to Bakerstown for the contemporary service. Unfortunately our extensive tour of Route 8 looking for the church made us late enough to miss the beginning of the service. While we missed the praise worship music, what we did hear later was enjoyable.

A highlight for me was the group for the Children’s Message being projected on the large screen for all to see.

The sermon was from the 11th chapter of John about Christ raising Lazarus. I am always interested in the nuances of Scripture translation and thought how very fitting that Christ’s call to “trust” could also be to “believe.” We are called to trust God’s endgame…difficult, but a great plan.

The sermon was followed by a powerful testimony from a parishioner on being faithful through the illness of a daughter.

I found a notice in the newspaper of a Christian Education presentation on “Heaven, Hell, and the Afterlife.” With the losses in our family I thought it might be of benefit. The presentation was by a doctor from the seminary who seemed quite comfortable in his delivery but the message was intellectualized.

Locating the seminar did amplify the one problem I experienced at this church, the complete lack of signage. It is a confusing campus for a visitor.

Jan’s thoughts:

We saw an announcement in the paper that Bakerstown was beginning a 3-part adult education series called “Heaven, Hell, and the Afterlife.” Reading this reminded us that we had wanted to attend the contemporary worship service there, so we opted to combine the two. Unfortunately, due to a story much too long to tell here, we arrived during the last half of the last praise song.

We were instantly given a bulletin but I needed to find the ladies room. Seeing no signs in the immediate area I simply asked for directions.

The Order of Worship for the traditional service is contained on the inside two pages of the folded 11 x 14 sheet and the (brief) Order of worship for the contemporary service is on ½ of one side of an insert. The only other insert is a helpful, informative outline of Adult Christian Education offerings through March.

The Children’s Moment was in process as we entered the Sanctuary, and it was being shown on the screen in the front. I was very glad as that was the only way we would see anything from the very back of this beautiful but deep Sanctuary.

The sermon was powerful. The title was “Where Is Jesus When I Hurt?” and the text was John 11:17-44 about Lazarus’ death and return to life.

Scripture just never ceases to amaze me. Since July,I’ve been reading and meditating on the book of John, and I’ve read this passage recently but I never took it personally until I heard it today. As the pastor read the Scripture, when Jesus said, “Lazarus, come forth!” it suddenly felt personal. It was as if Jesus was calling me personally forth from a life that at times feels more dead than alive. (This is not the way I’ve thought of any part of my life, so it was a surprise to me. But perspectives change sometimes, especially when God steps in.) And it makes me think that Jesus wants to say this to each of us, as I suspect we all have areas in our lives where we feel more dead than alive.

The sermon points spoke to trust: 1 – trust in God’s endgame (great term for His ultimate goal); 2 – trust in Christ’s presence; 3 – trust that Jesus restores.

Then a gentleman from the congregation spoke at length about the birth of his daughter. My guess is that the congregation was well aware of the history and the current situation; however we were unacquainted with the details so I’m sure did not grasp the full import of some of what he shared. Nevertheless, it was a compelling story with a happy ending that was based on the parents’ trust in God and a reminder to “Look how God has answered your prayers.” I don’t believe I’ve witnessed a standing ovation for a sermon before, but I did today.