We will worship on Christmas Eve in a different fashion this year. Many of you have contributed to this worship experience as readers, prayers, and musicians, and it is my hope that all of you will enjoy this service and find comfort and hope, as well as a new energy to worship and glorify God…
Luke 1:26-45 [46-56] Announcement of Jesus’ birth to Mary; he will receive the throne of David. Much of the Old Testament contains stories about women and children. We remember the stories of women who did not have children, and who could not have children, until God intervened. We remember Sarah, and Rachel, and Hannah. We remember that the promises of God…
Isaiah 61:1-11 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to bring good news, liberty, and to make an everlasting covenant.
Joel 2:12-13, 28-29 Turn to a merciful God, promise of the Spirit. As we look at our world, as we have throughout this year, and even decade, or maybe century, we often wonder along with the Psalmist, “How long, O Lord?” At times, we wonder how long God will put up with us, or if not us, them. Joel, on the…
Daniel 6:6-27 Daniel in the lions’ den; deliverance; God’s kingdom shall never be destroyed. Daniel is perhaps most famous for this passage. It is one we learn as children. It has drama, and excitement, and lions. We may also remember Daniel and the fiery furnace, or Daniel and his weird dreams/visions. These are the high points of the stories – the…
Advent means ‘”coming.” Well, it has come, and it is upon us. We are waiting and preparing for the coming of the Christ. Each new liturgical year starts with Advent, and then enters into the life of Christ at Christmas. You can find more about Advent here. Together we will journey towards Bethlehem, towards the…
Jeremiah 36:1-8, 21-23, 27-28 and Jeremiah 31:31-34 Jeremiah has a word from God for the king and the kingdom that the king doesn’t want to hear. Jeremiah is barred from the God’s house, so he sends a scroll with Baruch to the house of the Lord to read the scroll. The scroll makes its way to the king, and as the king…
Isaiah 6:1-8 Typically the call of Isaiah is preached at things like ordinations, sometimes at graduations, or at commissioning of missionaries. We end up focusing on the end lines, “Here I am, send me!” When we do that, we miss so much from this encounter. Isaiah has a vision that puts him in the presence of God, in God’s throne room. Isaiah’s…
Jonah 1:1-17; 3:1-10 [4:1-11] Here we find another middle of the faith journey story. Jonah is a person of faith, who both believes certain things about God – that God is slow to anger and abiding in steadfast love – and is called by God to be God’s messenger. So he gets sent to Nineveh, into the middle of ‘them,’ into the…
Friends, The Session wanted to relay to you some of our discussions about worship as we head into the fall and Advent and Christmas. We have been worshiping via Zoom for 7 months now, and we have begun to have a small group of people back in the worship space. In the short term, we will continue holding a hybrid worship service.…