About Jeff

Pastor of Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church in Savannah, Georgia.

Becoming Christ-like

Jeff Garrison Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church Hebrews 12:1-2 August 25, 2019              Why do we exist? What is our purpose in life? The Westminster Confession says we’re to enjoy and glorify God. That’s succinct. In Rick Warren’s … Continue reading

True Freedom

Jeff Garrison Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church July 7, 2019 John 8:31-36 With pomp and circumstance, along with fireworks, hot dogs, watermelons, sunburns, and thunderstorms, we celebrated our Nation’s birthday on Thursday, Independence Day. But what does freedom mean? What are … Continue reading

Three Reviews: Poems, the Old South, & Storms at Sea

Joy Harjo, Conflict Resolutions for Holy Beings: Poems. (New York: W. W. Norton, 2015) 139 pages. I picked up this book after learning that Joy Harjo has been appointed poet laureate for the United States. It’s exciting because she’s the … Continue reading

Three Book Reviews (Short Stories, Sailing, and the Environment)

From my recent readings. They’re all different!  Anjali Sachdeva, All the Names They Used for God (Siegel & Grau, 2018), 257 pages. This is a collection of short stories and the first book by Ms. Sachdeva. I heard Sachdeva read … Continue reading

Pentecost Sermon

Jeff Garrison  Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church John 14:8-17 June 9, 2019   Today is Pentecost, the birthday of the church, a day to wear red in remembrance of those tongues that appeared as flames announcing the arrival of the Spirit. … Continue reading

A Light to the World

Jeff Garrison  Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church  Matthew 5:14-16 May 19, 2019   Over the past year, Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church has invested a lot of money along with both volunteer and staff time to help our congregation improve its technology. … Continue reading

The Resurrection, Part 3

Jeff Garrison Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church 1 Corinthians 15:29-34 May 12, 2019   I have been reading Chimamanda Adichie’s novel, Purple Hibiscus. Set in Nigeria during a politically unstable time, it’s the story of Kambili, a fifteen year old girl … Continue reading

The Resurrection

Jeff Garrison  Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church Easter Sunday, 2019 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Resurrection Day! The most holy day in the Christian calendar as we celebrate the risen Christ! And what a glorious day we’re enjoying. Today I begin a series … Continue reading

Give It a Rest

Jeff Garrison  Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church  Mark 2:21-28 April 14, 2019 We’re coming to the last Sunday in our series, “Busy: Reconnecting with an Unhurried God.” I hope you have discovered a freedom to enjoy life and God and not … Continue reading

The Right Tempo

Jeff Garrison Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church March 10, 2019 Matthew 11:28-30   Jig Pendleton is crazy on religion. He’s a character in Nathan Coulter, a Wendell Berry’s novel. Jig lives alone in a shanty overlooking the Kentucky River. Like some … Continue reading

Christmas Eve Homily 2018

Jeff Garrison Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church Christmas Eve 2018 John 1:1-14 Throughout Advent, we’ve been reading traditional seasonal passages about the coming and birth of Christ using the various Christian traditions outlined by Richard Foster in Streams of Living Water … Continue reading

Be Generous

Jeff Garrison  Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church  2 Corinthians 8:1-15 November 18, 2018  Today, I want us to look at Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth. The Corinthian letters show us that conflict within a Christian community isn’t something … Continue reading

God will be with us

Jeff Garrison Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church Acts 22:30-23:11 August 5, 2018   How do we sustain ourselves when we feel compiled to stand up for the truth when others around disagree? Our passage today answers this question. Paul is about … Continue reading

Two Poems

For the last few years I have been a part of a writer’s group, the Peacock Guild, that meets in the childhood home of Flannery O’Conner.  Every year we hold a public reading on a Sunday afternoon. It’s the last … Continue reading

Soup from the garden

Last Wednesday evening was the final Bible Study class until fall. During these classes, someone volunteers to make soup and provide bread for a simple meal. As I am teaching, I don’t often volunteer, but as we were coming toward … Continue reading

Nicodemus visits at night

Jeff Garrison   Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church May 27, 2018 John 3:1-17               In the liturgical calendar, today is Trinity Sunday. The Trinity, like God, cannot be fully understood by those of us who are mere mortals. It’s a mystery. … Continue reading

Pentecost 2018

Jeff Garrison Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church Ezekiel 37:1-14 May 20, 2018 I pretty much thought I had the sermon all together Friday. Then, after the wonderful preschool graduation, I came home and learned about the latest school shooting. These have … Continue reading

Two Roads

Jeff Garrison Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church May 13, 2018 Psalm 1   We’re exploring the very first Psalm today. Before we get to the Scripture, I want talk a bit about Psalms. Whenever I’ve preached from the Psalms, I’ve tried … Continue reading

My First Canoe

Buck and Nancy were the youth group advisors at church during my Senior High years. They were both teachers.  Buck, who’d done a stint with the Marine Corps as an officer in Vietnam, taught high school biology and Nancy taught in … Continue reading

Kirkin 2018

Jeff Garrison Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church Psalm 85 April 15, 2018   On this Sunday in which we celebrate our Scottish heritage, let me speak a bit about the Reformation in Scotland. Unlike the Swiss, German and English Reformations that … Continue reading

Christ the King

Jeff Garrison Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church  November 26, 2017 Ezekiel 34:11-24[1]   Today is Christ the King Sunday. That may not mean much to those of us who grew up in non-liturgical churches. After all, Christ should be our king … Continue reading

Scripture Alone

Jeff Garrison Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church October 22, 2017 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5   Over the past couple of decades there have been debates over the visible presence of the Ten Commandments in public places like courthouses. This has brought out … Continue reading

A New Logo

A New Logo The Session of Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church has adopted a new logo for our congregation.  The logo includes our name, wavy lines representing water, the cross and the sign of the Trinity which together form a tree.  … Continue reading

James 5:7-20

Jeff Garrison Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church James 5:7-20 July 23, 2017   It’s always bittersweet coming to an end. This is my last sermon from the Epistle of James, at least for a while.  We’ve covered this Epistle thoroughly.  At … Continue reading

Satisfied: Identity Shift

Jeff Garrison Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church October 30, 2016 Ephesians 1:3-14          Our topic this week, in our all-church study of Jeff Manion’s book, Satisfied: Discovering Contentment in a World of Consumption, is identity shift.  When we are adopted into … Continue reading

Satisfied: Comparison

Jeff Garrison Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church October 23, 2016 Matthew 20:1-16     This is our second week of looking at topics found in the book Satisfied: Discovering Contentment in a World of Consumption.  Last week we talked about enrolling … Continue reading