Bread and More Soup Kitchen continues to serve a free to-go meal every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 5:30-6:15.
We are an open and affirming member of the United Church of Christ and no matter who you are or where you are in life's journey, you are welcome here. Contact the Pastor, the Rev. Dr. Murray at 631-727-2621 for more information.
Announcements:
Lenten Banks will be collected this Sunday, April 27.
Church services are held at 10:00 am usually followed by a coffee hour. Please join us.
All are welcome.
Alley Cat Thrift Shop: Donations of adult clothing , shoes and small household items are accepted Tuesday and Thursday from 10-2 and Saturday 9-1 only. No furniture or children's items accepted.
Sunday School: Please call our church office if you would like your child to join. Sunday School is held during church services.
If you would like to join us on Zoom , please follow the link
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86897065711?
pwd=a0FZcDg5MnRqKz-JMQXRLVzIBTGZFQT09 to start or join a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Meeting ID: 850 1493 9172
Passcode: 7272621
Easter Sunday
A Service of the Word
April 20, 2025
OPENING WORDS:
We open our hearts to the presence of God and worship together.
PRELUDE: God Will Take Care of You Martin
(Once the music begins we ask that you would please maintain respectful silence.)
*CHORAL INTROIT:
We are here this day to share God's love;
We have come with burdens and cares,
For within this place, we are bound as one
In this fellowship we share.
*CALL TO WORSHIP:
One: Alleluia! The Lord is Risen.
Many: Christ is risen, indeed. Alleluia!
One: God is our strength and our song;
this is the day of our salvation.
Many: The one who was rejected assures us;
We are accepted and loved by God.
One: We are chosen by God as witnesses to good news.
We will live and recount the deeds of our God.
Many: God reigns; let all nations and peoples rejoice.
In Christ, all shall be made alive.
*HYMN: Christ the Lord Is Risen Today No. 233
WELCOME
PRAYER OF INVOCATION:
…With thanksgiving, praise, and joy, we worship you, marvelous God. How amazing is all your creation! How glorious is this day of new life! Come among us now, we pray, to raise us up from our fears and doubts and perplexity. We want to believe. We want to trust. We want to dare. We want to live. Touch us today with a spirit of hope, that our discipleship may honor Christ, in whose name we pray….
CHILDREN’S TIME
PASSING OF THE PEACE
ANNOUNCEMENTS, CELEBRATIONS AND CONCERNS
A TIME OF PRAYER:
❖ Pastoral Prayer
…God empty tombs; God of promises fulfilled; strong, impartial, accepting, loving Creator of all things: Roll away the stone that lock us in tombs of prejudice, limited vision, and unbelief. Help us to recognize Christ in our midst, that we may feel your touch, hear your Word, and be moved to respond…..
❖ Silent Prayer
❖ Lord's Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come,
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts
as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the
power, and the glory, now and forever. Amen.
OFFERING
OFFERTORY: Rejoice He is Alive Shackley
DOXOLOGY AND BLESSING OF GIFTS:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise God, all creatures here below;
Praise God above you heavenly host:
Creator, Christ, and Holy Ghost.
SCRIPTURE LESSONS:
❖ Acts 10:34-43 NT Page 113
❖ Psalm 118:1-2,14-24 Hymnal Page 700
❖ 1 Corinthians 15:19-26 NT Page 155
❖ John 20:1-18 NT Page 100
SERMON: “What Does it Take to Believe?”
Without a doubt, Mary Magdalene was the most fortunate one that first Easter morning. Given the Biblical account up to that morning, had bets been placed on who would first get to see the risen Jesus, she wouldn’t have had great odds. Most would figure it would be Peter, and such was Paul’s read as he writes about the resurrection in 1 Corinthians. Other solid guesses would be the beloved apostle of John’s Gospel, or the sons of Zebedee: James and John, or even Jesus’s mother Mary.
But it’s this woman from a small fishing town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in Roman Judea, the town of Magdala, that gets the first look. It’s this one that previously had severe spiritual or psychological problems so that she was exorcised of what the Bible records as seven demons. The very same who was likely not well educated, perhaps illiterate (as there are no writings attributed to her), and one perhaps still rumored to be of questionable morals as this particular Mary is said to have had been a prostitute. And all of that amounts to a big problem.
Had Peter, James or John given the initial report of the empty tomb, they would have likely been readily believed. But Mary Magdalene? Her report needed to be verified. Did she have the wrong tomb or bad eyesight? Or were her mental problems back and she was seeing things? Was the Lord’s body really stolen, as she had supposed, or was it just out of sight?
And so, according to the Gospel account you just heard, we get the apostolic footrace as Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, dash to the tomb to check things out for themselves.
What is true for each of our protagonists in our accounts remains true for us. In order for any day, any moment in history, to be truly life-changing, truly transformative, such change often requires the revisiting old prejudices and understanding, and overcoming them with new insights. This is true for those of us for whom Easter runs the risk of being just another ho-hum day of church and mealtime celebration, or for those of us who still struggle to make sense of our tradition of faith and to truly embrace the heartfelt belief in God who loves, accepts all, and forgives all, and in Jesus as our Savior. Looking anew, with new understanding and appreciation is also a requisite part of a living faith that counters any inclination to see life without miracles and wonder. It challenges all who would remain unchanged by the work of the Holy Spirit among us and within us. Reconsiderations pave the way to illumination of the heart, mind and soul.
Back to our account. John gets there first. He just peers in. Yep, empty tomb just linen wrappings. Peter arrives and goes in. Yep, empty tomb, linen wrappings.
Since Peter went inside, John decides to join him. And we read, “He saw and believed.” And that too, is a problem for we, who know the full story, might well be led to think that he believed Jesus has been resurrected. One Biblical commentary that I read goes so far as to affirm that this “believed” means “that faith grasped the evidence that Jesus has not been resuscitated from a swoon or stolen; he had been transformed without corruption into his resurrection body.” That read, however, is what we call wishful thinking and I’m thinking that commentator didn’t even bother to read Augustine to get the sound counter argument. That such a read is wrong is particularly evident be the verse that immediately follows, “for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.” Additionally, had they believed that Jesus has risen, one would expect that they would, at the very least, have hang out there in the garden around the tomb and see if Jesus was up and about.
What they believed was Mary Magdalene’s account or at least her read on the fact that the body was missing. Whether or not it was stolen was another question.
In John’s account, the focus comes back to Mary; apparently, she, too, arrives at the tomb at some point after the men. But now she was alone. Then as the story continues past angels and mistaken identity, we finally get the account of the appearance of Jesus, risen from the dead. Of course, the full recognition, doesn’t come until Jesus calls her by name. And then, of course, we get the hymn that we’ll sing in just a bit, but admittedly that writing does come a bit later.
And so we read “Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, I have seen the Lord;’ and she told them that he had said these things to her.” And we’re left hanging. There’s no report of rejoicing or reveling upon hearing this report. There’s no note of running back to the tomb to check things out again.
If anyone believes her now, we don’t know. They didn’t the first time. Will they now? Mary had it easy. The rest have to take it on faith. If we were there, could we believe? And if not then, then when? We’re left to consider what it takes to believe.
Consider the people you have met who profess faith. Perhaps you know a few trustworthy ones like Peter. Are they enough? Do you take the word or example of those with a sketchy past, or of those discounted because of some social, economic, educational status? Is it enough to have sensed the Divine, whether in church or in a garden or at the beach? St. Thomas Aquinas is recorded as writing, "To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible." But perhaps there is. It’s just a matter of truly exploring with the heart and soul the “what does it take for me to believe?”
*HYMN: I Come to the Garden Alone No. 237
https://youtu.be/EQJrvGJe4Yc
*PASTORAL BENEDICTION
CHORAL BENEDICTION:
May the light of God shine on us today.
May the light of God shine on us today.
May it show us where to travel,
Lead us back if we should stray.
May the light of God shine on us today.
POSTLUDE: Christ Is Risen! Shout Hosanna! Gaspard
(please remain seated for the postlude)
Palm Sunday
A Service of the Word
April 13, 2025 ✦ 10am
OUR PALM SUNDAY START:
<We gather at the front of the church with the donkeys.
People gather palms from the trees>
“The Messiah is coming. Spread the word!”
<The people gather palms and will line the way and follow Jesus
and the donkeys, chanting:>
“Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.”
<We enter into the sanctuary, and begin our worship inside>
*CHORAL INTROIT:
We are here this day to share God's love;
We have come with burdens and cares,
For within this place, we are bound as one
In this fellowship, we share.
CHILDREN’S TIME
BLESSINGS OF THE PALMS
*OPENING HYM: Hosanna, Loud Hosanna No. 213
WELCOME
OPENING PRAYERS:
…We stand together, mighty God, for you have sustained us through weary days and anguished nights. We join the shouts of welcome, “Blessed is the one who comes in God’s name. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.” This is a day of celebration. There is joy in the air. We have witnessed the transforming power of Jesus’ compassion. But there are ominous overtones. There are voices that say peace is a mirage and love will not endure. We cling to our faith that your steadfast love embraces life and death, that we are surrounded and upheld by your goodness. Meet us here, we pray….
PASSING OF THE PEACE
ANNOUNCEMENTS, CELEBRATIONS & CONCERNS
A TIME OF PRAYER:
❖ Pastoral Prayer
…God of peace and glory, who sent Jesus to teach and inspire the multitudes and call us all to discipleship, help us to celebrate the triumph of humility and the satisfaction of servanthood. We rejoice that Christ shared our humanity and lifted the self-esteem of the lowly. May all the world receive Christ’s spirit and give thanks for your steadfast love….
❖ Silent Prayer
❖ Lord's Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive
us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not
into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power, the glory, now and forever. Amen.
OFFERING & OFFERTORY: Entry Into Jerusalem Besig
*DOXOLOGY AND BLESSING OF GIFTS:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise God, all creatures here below;
Praise God above, you heavenly host:
Creator, Christ, and Holy Ghost.
SCRIPTURE LESSONS:
❖ Isaiah 50:4-9(a) OT Page 640
❖ Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 HYMNAL Page 700
❖ Philippians 2:5-11 NT Page 174
❖ Luke 19:28-40 NT Page 72
SERMON: “When Expectations Need Updating”
Having to update our expectations is seldom a good thing. We hop in a car heading to the airport, expecting to get there with plenty of time, and then, yikes, we hit a ton of traffic. We get into the plane, expecting to arrive in sunny Florida with most of the day ahead of us, and then, yikes, we get stuck in the long tarmac delay. We follow the recipe for the cake, or so we thought, and end up with something dry as a bone. There are unfortunately plenty of examples when our expectations don’t get realized.
For any unmet expectation, we have a choice: We can see it as pure disappointment or we can update our expectation to fit the situation, and open ourselves up to the possibility that it’s not disappointment to be embraced but rather new opportunities, with experiences and lessons to help us learn, grow, and come to new understanding of how things are meant to be.
When it comes to the account of Jesus' triumph entry in Jerusalem, the expected is to hear of the crowd taking branches of palm trees to cheer him on as he rides to the temple. Luke, however, doesn’t give us the expected. Instead, Luke has the more Roman tradition of laying one's coat down to offer respect and praise. His account has only cloaks. We have to turn to Mark, Matthew or John for our expectation to be met. It’s a curious omittance. Could it be that Luke subtly expresses his desire that the trees get left alone to grow as they were? One has to wonder.
The more profound lessons of needing to update expectations come with the rest of the story, the post-arrival Jesus story that moves from cheering crowds to crucifixion and abandonment.
The cheering crowds so clearly depicted in all the Gospel accounts, fully expected this radical Jesus, this one who they had heard had performed so many deeds of mighty power, of God’s power, to completely transform the oppressive system they had been forced to tolerate under Roman rule. This one was showing up to put all things right. This one was on his way to be the new king, the new David or Caesar, the Liberator and leader of the people in ways of freedom and the merciful righteousness of God. This one was the savior, the Messiah, the one from God who would set things right. The old was about to come tumbling down, and the new build up by one who welcomed all people, who considered none to be outcasts or worthy to be discarded or discounted. And the expectation was that Jesus would come with the full force of God. Perhaps some thought that he’d ride in on a stately stead like the kings of old, flanked by his men also on fine horses. Instead, he comes on a donkey.
Yet still, the people cheered. Expecting that Jesus would act as the grand liberator, that he would establish a new kingdom on earth right then and there, they cheered. They figured they knew what was coming down.
But then comes the twist. When Jesus doesn’t overthrow the government, when Jesus doesn’t call the wrath of God on the people of other vision, when Jesus doesn’t establish a new reign on earth with his own self as supreme ruler, most of the crowd let their unmet expectations to become disappointment. Rather than update their expectations and hold fast to faith that God was still in control, they abandon Jesus. They retreat in fear and return to their old way of thinking.
Yet some, even then, update their expectations. Some will come to see that the suffering and death of the righteous one, the Passion of Christ, really carries the message of our God to us. They will come to understand that God’s ways are not our ways. God finds strength in weakness, and brings walls of injustice tumbling down in unconventional, unorthodox, ways. The newness comes through the unexpected, and challenges the people to stop looking to humankind for salvation, to stop evaluating strength in the same way, and to look for God, and to look with new eyes.
The unexpected comes, and the unexpected proves the holy and only true font of God’s grace. Yet that comes later. And for the people to really come to see Jesus as the Messiah, they have to update their expectation of what the Messiah really does. Although Jewish and Christian people of faith have long been taught to look to, pray for, and even expect the unexpected ways of God, such a lesson is rarely embraced, for when God does not act on our terms, we can barely accept it.
The lesson is not simply about how updated expectations led to faith and praise upon the resurrection for those in Jesus’ day, but about our call to update our expectations as we face life’s challenges. We’re to consider the way we live our lives when we confront the unexpected, particularly the ugly unexpected realities that seem to thwart our well-made plans and hopes. Few of us deal well with them. The need to update expectations, as was the case through the suffering and death of our Passion narrative, is viewed as bothersome rather than an opportunity for the surprising and uplifting grace of God. But we are reminded, even today as we hold our palms, that God’s ways are not our ways and that the Way of God’s victory is the Way of the Cross, a triumph that comes out of tragedy and even through weakness. It may not be just as we expected but it's still cause for thanks and praise.
*HYMN: Ride On! Ride On in Majesty #215
https://youtu.be/uHeIX8xTpYs
*BENEDICTION
CHORAL BENEDICTION:
May the light of God shine on us today.
May the light of God shine on us today.
May it show us where to travel.
Lead us back if we should stray.
May the light of God shine on us today.
POSTLUDE: All Glory, Laud, and Honor Gaspard
Fifth Sunday in Lent
Service of Word and Sacrament
April 6, 2025✦ 10am
We open our hearts to the presence of God and worship together.
PRELUDE: Canzona Purvis
*CHORAL INTROIT:
We are here this day to share God's love.
We have come with burdens and cares,
For within this place, we are bound as one
In this fellowship we share.
*CALL TO WORSHIP:
One: God’s spirit is moving among us; give thanks!
Our God is about to do a new thing in our midst.
Many: How good is it to be chosen by God;
we gather to sing our praises and thanks.
One: God has done great things for us; we are glad!
Now God is pointing us toward new goals.
Many: We are waiting to hear what God would have us do;
we are ready to risk new behaviors to be faithful.
One: Into the wilderness of our lives comes living water.
Into the sorrow of our days comes reason for joy.
ALL: Forgetting what lies behind, we greet our future;
we press on, responding to the upward call of Christ.
*HYMN: Lift High the Cross No. 198
https://youtu.be/ephp3TVkPVY
WELCOME
PRAYER OF INVOCATION:
…Powerful God, we give thanks that you have called us to be your people. In our times of gloom, you have sent your light. When we are weary and discouraged, you lift us up. In our thirst for meaning and purpose, you bring us to living water in Jesus Christ. Set before us now the joy of discovery and a vision of future possibilities. Unite us in friendship with one another, with Christ as our center and inspiration….
CHILDREN’S TIME
PASSING OF THE PEACE
ANNOUNCEMENTS, CELEBRATIONS & CONCERNS
Lenten Schedule: All services at 7:00pm
April 9: Salvation Army
April 17 Maundy Thursday Old Steeple
April 18 Good Friday Baiting Hollow
Easter Lilies: Please get your orders in. They can be placed by phone or in church Palm Sunday
Easter Schedule: On Easter Sunday we will begin at 7:00 with a Sunrise Communion Service, Westend of Grangebel Park. Our Alleluia Service is at 10:00 in our sanctuary.
A TIME OF PRAYER:
❖ Pastoral Prayer:
God of the poor and oppressed, whose mercy and pardon are for all those who put their trust in you, teach us to be faithful to all we have learned from Jesus Christ. We seek the power of Resurrection faith and the strength to achieve the goals you set before us. May we answer your call and bear fruit for your realm, attracting others to your loving embrace….
❖ Silent Prayer
❖ Lord's Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power, the glory, now and forever. Amen.
OFFERING & OFFERTORY ANTHEM: Every Valley Beck
*DOXOLOGY AND BLESSING OF GIFTS:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise God, all creatures here below;
Praise God above, you heavenly host:
Creator, Christ, and Holy Ghost.
SCRIPTURE LESSONS:
❖ Isaiah 43:16-21 OT Page 632
❖ Psalm 126 Hymnal Page 707
❖ Philippians 3:4b-14 NT Page 175
❖ John 12:1-8 NT Page 92
*GLORIA:
Glory to the Creator, the Christ, the Holy Spirit,
Three -in-one; as it was in the beginning
Is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen. Amen.
SERMON: “In the (K)Now with God”
<Big Sigh> Yes, we know what’s out there. The market has been plunging. There have been massive layoffs. Many of what we consider vital programs have had deep funding cuts. And people took to the streets to protest in large numbers yesterday. Few are happy. Yes, we know what’s out there.
Yet we’re not there. We’re here. In church. And the question is, how is it with your soul? Can you put your head where your feet are and take in God?
Each new day, each new moment, begins with the now. When concerns run high – concerns for the world, concerns for family or neighbor, concerns for tomorrow – the now becomes confounded with what’s next. Rather than set our heads where are feet are, we contemplate the next strategy for handling what’s on the horizon, near or far.
To a conquered people living in exile in a foreign land, the prophet Isaiah counsels that the people should not remember the former things. Despite of their faith, the people of the land of ancient Israel were conquered, overrun by enemies, and their city and former way of life was destroyed. Yet they are not to remember the past, the defeat and loss, but to take in the now. To a troubled and suffering people, the word comes that God is about to do a new thing, and that new thing is even happening in the now: Now it springs forth. The now for the original listeners was the now of again taking in the Word of God, taking in faith; of being in the now with God. And they’re reminded who the God of their hearts is. They are to know that God carves a way even in the wilderness and even provides water in a barren land. The message is God will surely restore the people. The people just needed to take hold of the hope and rise up in now of the strength of the vision of a new day.
In our gospel lesson, Mary is in the now. Judas is not. That despite the fact that both Lazarus, the one who Jesus raised from the dead, and Jesus himself is in his midst. Yet rather than taking in a scene of adoration and praise, Judas throws toxic noise into the now by voicing his concerns born of selfish motives. Yet Jesus doesn’t challenge Judas’ motives, but rather his ability to be in the now, the now with God.
As Christians, we're reminded that "the joy of the Lord is our strength." Our faith is to help boost our spirits and foster a better attitude of what God is doing in our midst. Yet, even we, the faithful followers, seem to need the reminder to look around and rejoice and be glad, especially when the tendency is to fear and to grumble.
The negative that Paul confronts in our middle reading was in some ways similar as there were many who could only remember the former things, the ways of old. The old timers held that since Christianity was born out of Judaism, a gentile who didn’t understand the Jewish ways and history couldn’t be a Christian. To them, emersion and union meant conversion to both the ways of Christ and Judaism – complete with circumcision (and so there is in the reading the line about being confident in the flesh). After all, they think, that’s the way it’s always been and so needs to be. But Paul says no, and he champions a new way of welcoming people into the faith. He was willing, in spite of his history, to forget what lies behind, even his own the mistakes and errors, and press on towards the new. In that now there is confident hope, new vision, new understanding.
As we take to heart the lessons, we're to apply them in the living of our days. Yes, the past can be a place of loss, even destruction and defeat, as was the case for the people of Isaiah’s time. Confidence and conviction can become so shaken that we can just give up and fail to seek to try, to press on; we can become trapped in the “hope is gone,” and “all is awful.” Or we can get so wrapped in our understanding and motives that we forget about God. Yet the message remains, God still in control and even about to do a new thing. The good will and does come.
Like the Jewish followers of Jesus who were insisting the gentiles become Jews before following Jesus, we're to open ourselves up to seeing things differently. It's a new day, in a new world. Our old vision can be so provincial, so narrow, that rather than open our hearts enough to welcome anything new, we try to hold onto the former ways. And Paul, a visionary, was certainly right to focus on the new, away from dietary and cleanliness codes of old that had little to do with true holiness. He said no to the negative and embraced the new that had come by the hand of God.
With the gospel, we're reminded that our read of what might be, even for that which is already out of the bottle, can create a misplaced focus that prevents both right action for today as well as a more positive embrace of it. Judas doesn't see God in his midst, but only holds to his version of what might have been.
The challenge for us is to settle into the now with God. To take in where you are, even the nourishment of God through communion, and to embrace hope and new vision. It is to know who God is, our God of miracles and wonder, and to remember that God, despite it all, remains in control. In that know that with God, we are to regain our confidence in what God can do, and even has begun to do, for us and through us. Look to the newness and goodness that is blooming in midst, and let your now be one with God.
OUR ORDER OF COMMUNION
The Invitation and Time of Confession:
❖ Call to Confession
❖ Silent Confession
❖ Unison Prayer of Confession:
O God, whose upward call in Christ Jesus we have so often
chosen to ignore, we confess that we settle for lesser goals
while you summon us to embrace the realm of heaven. We
seldom look beyond our own interests to the well-being of our
sisters and brothers. We can see the wasteful acts of other
people but not our own selfish habits. We exaggerate the
contributions we make but ignore the sacrifices of others.
We need forgiveness, O God. Do a new thing within and
among us. Amen.
❖ Words of Assurance
Thanksgiving:
Pastor: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Pastor: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them up to the Lord.
Pastor: Let us give thanks to God Most High.
People: It is right to give God thanks and praise.
Pastor: We give you thanks, God of majesty and mercy,
for calling forth the creation and raising us from dust
by the breath of your being.
We bless you for the beauty and bounty of the earth and for the vision of the day when sharing by all will mean scarcity for none.
We remember the covenant you made with your people Israel, and we give you thanks for all our ancestors in faith.
We rejoice that you call us to reconciliation with you and all people everywhere and that you remain faithful to your covenant even when we are faithless.
We rejoice that you call the entire human family to this table of sacrifice and victory.
We come in remembrance and celebration of the gift of Jesus Christ, whom you sent, in the fullness of time, to be the good news.
Born of Mary, our sister in faith, Christ lived among us to reveal the mystery of your Word, to suffer and die on the cross for us, to be raised from death on the third day, and then to live in glory.
We bless you, gracious God, for the presence of your Holy Spirit in the church you have gathered. With your sons and daughters of faith in all places and times, we praise you with joy as we say together:
All: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts,
Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory,
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
Words of Institution and Communal Proclamation:
Pastor: We remember that on the night of betrayal and desertion,
and on the eve of death, Jesus gathered the disciples for a shared meal of preparation.
Jesus took bread, and after giving thanks to God, broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying: “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way, he took the cup after supper.
Again he gave God thanks and praise and said:
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as
often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
Therefore, we proclaim the mystery of our faith:
All: Christ’s death, O God we proclaim.
Christ’s resurrection we declare.
Christ’s coming, we await.
Glory be to you, O God.
Prayers of Consecration:
Pastor: Eternal God, we unite in this covenant of faith, recalling Christ’s suffering and death, rejoicing in Christ’s resurrection, and awaiting Christ’s return in victory. We spread your table with these gifts of the earth and of our labor. We present to you our very lives, committed to your service on behalf of all people. We ask you to send your Holy Spirit upon this bread and wine, upon our gifts, and upon us. Strengthen your universal church that it may be the champion of peace and justice in all the world. Restore the earth with your grace that is able to make all things new.
All: Be present with us as we share this meal,
and throughout all our lives, that we may know you as
the Holy One, who with Christ and the Holy Spirit,
lives forever. Amen.
Sharing the Bread and Cup:
Pastor: Praise God! Christ our Passover is offered for us.
People: Therefore, let us keep the feast.
Pastor: The gifts of God for the people of God.
We celebrate the grace of God in our midst.
(Please wait until all have been served and we’ll ingest together)
Unison Prayer of Thanksgiving:
We give you thanks, Almighty God, that you have refreshed us at your table through the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Continue to heal us, we pray, and strengthen our faith. Increase our love for one another, and send us forth into the world in courage and peace, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit; we ask these things in the Name of Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
*HYMN: Now Let Us All, in Hymns of Praise No. 529
*PASTORAL BENEDICTION
CHORAL BENEDICTION:
May the light of God shine on us today.
May the light of God shine on us today.
May it show us where to travel,
Lead us back if we should stray,
May the light of God shine on us today.
POSTLUDE: Postlude in F Bach
(please remain seated for the postlude)
Fourth Sunday in Lent
A Service of the Word
March 30, 2025 ✦ 10am
OPENING WORDS:
We open our hearts to the presence of God and worship together.
PRELUDE: Chorale Smith
(Once the music begins we ask that you would please maintain respectful silence)
*CHORAL INTROIT:
We are here this day to share God's love;
We have come with burdens and cares,
For within this place, we are bound as one
In this fellowship, we share.
*CALL TO WORSHIP:
One: A new day has dawned, God’s gift to us;
the fruits of the land are ours to enjoy.
Many: We are a new creation in Jesus Christ;
the old has passed away, the new has come.
One: This is a day for forgiveness and reconciliation;
celebrate God’s love for the lost who are found.
Many: The glad cries of deliverance surround us;
shouts of joy arise from our hearts.
One: Let all who are faithful offer up prayers;
May all who are in Christ give thanks.
ALL: We will be glad and join the dance of life;
with the upright of heart, we rejoice and sing.
*HYMN: Love Divine, All Loves Excelling No. 43
https://youtu.be/hsbsd0oZgH8
WELCOME
PRAYER OF INVOCATION
…Welcoming God, we have gathered together so that you may teach us the way we should go. In our times of distress and need, you have provided. When we have stubbornly followed our own plans, you have curbed our impulses. From our days of confusion and aimless wandering, you have rescued us and restored us to our true identities. Meet us, now as we worship together to shape us into a righteous reconciling people. Amen.
CHILDREN’S TIME
ANNOUNCEMENTS, CELEBRATIONS & CONCERNS
Lenten Schedule: Midweek Lenten Services are held at 7pm each Wednesday: Below is the schedule:
April 2: FCCR (tonight!)
April 9: Salvation Army
April 17: Maundy Thursday Old Steeple
April 18: Good Friday Baiting Hollow
A TIME OF PRAYER:
❖ Pastoral Prayer
…God, whose love for us never fails, even when we wander far from home, teach us compassion for all who are lost and confused. Keep us from living as competitors for your favors that we might participate joyfully in your forgiving, reconciling work. Make us ambassadors for Christ, that all your children may come home to your welcoming arms…
❖ Silent Prayer
❖ Lord's Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power, the glory,
now and forever. Amen.
MISSION MOMENT: One Great Hour of Sharing
OFFERING & OFFERTORY: His Eye is on the Sparrow arr. Gross
Soloists: Susan Conrad and Anne Stevens
*DOXOLOGY AND BLESSING OF GIFTS:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise God, all creatures here below;
Praise God above, you heavenly host:
Creator, Christ, and Holy Ghost.
SCRIPTURE LESSONS:
❖ Joshua 5:9-12 OT page 182
❖ Psalm 32 Hymnal Page 642
❖ 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 NT Page 159
❖ Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 NT Page 67
SERMON: “Embrace the Blessing in the New”
Admittedly, the older I get, the less enthusiastic I am about embracing the new. Mind you, I do like new purchases: computers, clothes, and plants, for example, are great new. But when the new is about change in life routines or traditional expectations, I’m not one to run to them. We get used to the way things work or are, all of which tend to take a bit of learning curve, and we get comfortable with them. And if the new brings something we don’t readily agree with, then the embrace is especially slow to come, if it ever does.
Consequently, I understand completely the prodigal son’s brother’s point of view. Not only did he get used to things without his brother around, but he was also –understandably -- considerably less than thrilled by the treatment the runaway got upon return.
Of course, as we learn the story of the prodigal son, we don’t focus on the brother. It’s the father’s grace of forgiveness that’s celebrated. While the prodigal son is in the account to represent the sinners and tax collectors who are welcomed by God in the new age of Jesus, the elder son is in the picture to represent the Jewish authorities who begrudged the changes that Jesus was bringing. Like the brother, the Jewish leaders would only find the blessing in the new if they came to see thing differently. But such a change in perspective is seldom easy, especially when it runs counter to long held teachings and beliefs.
As I look around, I doubt there are any prodigal ones here who are longing to go home to the place of forgiveness and new starts. Rather, those whom I see are the good children, who have long been home and hard at work, even while other brothers and sisters are out there playing. So rather than focus on our need for the welcome of a forgiving and loving embrace on the homefront, a more needed focus for us is on our role as the good child or parent already at home, and on our challenge and willingness to take the prodigal one back.
In addition to the well-known lesson of the prodigal son, our other readings today also illustrate the call of God and God’s own example for us to be people of grace, of forgiveness and welcome.
Our first lesson was from the book of Joshua. OT: Joshua. After Moses’ death, Joshua leads the people into the promised land. Additionally, that day is Passover– the feast of unleavened bread and remembrance, when the people call to mind that God spared their lives and freed them from the bond of slavery in Egypt. Now 40 years after they fled Egypt, they finally arrive into the promised land of Canaan, the land said to be flowing with milk and honey. An odd thing happens here – the people eat some of the produce of the land and the manna ceases. The cycle of forgiveness is complete and the people with no longer go out in the morning to gather the manna, but eat what the land itself offers. The reproach – blame, rebuke, guilt and shame – of Egypt is gone. Total forgiveness and with it a fresh start in a new land of mystery and challenge. God has forgiven the people for all their waywardness and led them home, and now it’s up to them to make a fresh start, to put away their idols and return to faithful living. The time of change has come, and the people must embrace change in the very way they live to be able to survive and thrive in a land of new starts.
How the Hebrew people make out in the land is always tied to how well they take up the call to change, to make a new start. And when they show that they haven’t actually repented, that they aren’t willing to make the new start, they suffer at the hand of God, the loving parent. But ultimately, they get it right, and get established as a sovereign nation under God. The people become the prodigal ones made good by grace with a new start.
The need for change comes upon people. Sometimes it’s voluntary; sometimes it’s not.
Examples of our day lie with the morbidly obese who have to change if they will live, and with those whose spending is out of control – DA – or who drinking or drugging is killing them: AA/NA.
Within the bounds of fresh starts, that people do change needs to be clear. It’s ironic that both the inability to change, and the fact that change has come over a person are both used as arguments by going through divorce. Some say, “he’s a bum and will always be a bum. He’ll never change, and I can’t take it anymore. Others say, “she’s changed. She’s not the same person I fell in love with.” We know people change, and we have seen it. And often the change is for the better. Born-again Christians; Paul writes, “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.” There are also those of AA/DA/NA, and there are the reformed husbands, wives, daughters, sons, friends, neighbors, bosses, employees, who do repent and change. But the question is, are we willing to see it or allow it.
As the account of the Prodigal Son makes clear, our challenge, as the good father or good child on the home front, lies in our willingness to accept the change for the good, not simply in ourselves, but in others. This bucks some of the common wisdom of our days: a leopard doesn’t change its spots; you can’t teach an old dog new tricks; once bitten twice shy. The call is to forgiveness – to give others the opportunity to prove themselves as having changed, and the willingness, on our own behalf to allow that change has occurred.
This willingness to regard the returning one with new eyes, to see another as newly regarded, is to allow the grace of God’s reconciliation to happen. I remain rather amazed at the number of people who have shared with me accounts of family fallouts, when someone is no longer speaking to another: to a child or parent or sibling. They have been hurt once to many, and so have written off the other. And yet grace in action is the gift of those who know to look beyond the past, even beyond race, or class, or sexual orientation, or mental or physical ability, or any other prejudicial reducer of the value of another, and focus instead on the heart and worth of another as a child of God. Grace is the ability to view another, regardless of how “other” that one seems, as an eternal member of one’s own home, a part of the clan who can never be disowned. Grace is a warm and welcoming home when, in the words of Robert Frost (set as a dialogue between a quarrelling husband and wife) you come,
…Out of the woods, worn out upon the trail.”
“Home is the place where, when you have to go there,
They have to take you in.”
“I should have called it
Something you somehow haven’t to deserve.”
Grace is the gift we receive and hope to be able to extend to others, in the wrapping of sincere and heartfelt forgiveness, regardless of merit. Grace is how we all start over and begin anew. Grace is the great leveler, equalizer, of us all. It is freely given and should be freely shared. And it is only by grace that any of us can be newly regarded as those who are indeed a new creation in Christ.
New perspectives are seldom easy, but often it is only when we are willing to embrace the new that we can truly embrace the blessing in that new. And that will make for better and more grace-filled going for us. Give the new a chance, and embrace the blessing.
*HYMN: O God, How We Have Wandered No. 202
https://youtu.be/RyXWyfQ69bA
*BENEDICTION
CHORAL BENEDICTION:
May the light of God shine on us today.
May the light of God shine on us today.
May it show us where to travel.
Lead us back if we should stray.
May the light of God shine on us today.
POSTLUDE: Jig Fugue Buxtehude
We're biblical, traditional, yet progressive.
We honor and take pride in our
Congregational roots.
We covenant with one another and with God,
as revealed
in Jesus Christ through the illumination of
the Holy Spirit.
We endeavor to walk humbly with God and
strive for justice and peace.
My house shall be called a house of prayer for all people.
Isaiah 56.7
We are an open and affirming congregation in which all persons regardless of race, ethnic background, economic status, gender, age, or personal ability, are equally affirmed into membership, leadership and employment
and joyfully welcomed.
Our church office is open for phone calls at 631-727-2621. Pastor Sean will return your calls. Our secretary is in the office Wednesday and Thursday mornings.
Our church office is open for phone calls at 631-727-2621. Pastor Sean will return your calls. Our secretary is in the office Wednesday and Thursday mornings.
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