The Rev. Reggie A. Weaver, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Chicago, is the featured preacher Sept. 2 and 9 on “Day 1” with host Peter Wallace, the nationally syndicated radio program also accessible online at Day1.org.

Before coming to First Presbyterian in 2009, Weaver served as a Lake Fellow in Parish Ministry at Second Presbyterian Church of Indianapolis, Ind. A native of Alabama, Weaver graduated from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn., and earned his M.Div. from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga.

Weaver’s sermon for Sept. 2, based on Jesus’ confrontation with the religious leaders over their cleanliness rituals in Mark 7, is entitled “Cleanliness or Godliness.”

“It’s okay to have rituals. It’s okay to have a tradition,” he says. “But our rituals and traditions must never become our god. Rituals and traditions will not save us. They won’t make us clean. If we want to be clean we must look not at the works of our hands, but at our hearts. True cleanliness comes from within.”

His message for Sept. 9, “When the Roof Crumbles,” is based the story of Jesus’ healing of a man whose friends dropped him through a hole in the roof (Mark 2:1-12).

“That’s what was at stake — their understanding of the way God related to the people on earth. They thought God was removed from the world. But on that day, when the roof crumbled, Jesus showed them that God was right there in their midst. No longer was there a separation between God and God’s people.”

The programs include interviews with Weaver conducted by Wallace, who is also executive producer.

“Day 1” has been broadcast every week for 67 years, until 2002 as “The Protestant Hour.” It is currently distributed to more than 200 radio stations across America and overseas. The voice of the mainline churches, “Day 1” is produced by the Alliance for Christian Media in cooperation with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church and other denominations.