Join us this summer (July 12th - September 6th) for a sermon series in the book of Matthew. Before we understand Jesus, before we follow well, before we believe correctly, the kingdom of heaven is already at work among us. This series invites the congregation into a life shaped not by getting it right, but by receiving what God is already doing.
This Sunday, we continue in Matthew 16. Jesus never told us that “everything happens for a reason,” but he did tell us to take up our cross and follow him. In Matthew 16, Peter discovers that discipleship means getting behind Jesus and following where Jesus is actually going, even when that road leads toward suffering, solidarity, and the people the world would rather forget. The cross is not a religious synonym for inconvenience, but a public sign of what happens when the powers of this world encounter the way of Jesus. And still, the cross does not get the final word: not for Jesus, and because of Jesus, not for us.
We hope you will join us for worship this Sunday as we continue our Ready or Not series. Whether you are in town or on the road, I hope you will join us for worship at 11 AM. Bulletin
This Sunday, we meet a Canaanite woman who comes to Jesus from beyond every religious and cultural boundary the disciples know. When they try to send her away, she refuses to leave. She becomes a living parable of those whom the church has condemned, rebuffed, or walled out, yet who keep coming back because they still believe there is grace to be found in Jesus.
Her great faith exposes our small boundaries and reminds the church that Christ’s mercy is always moving farther than we expect.
We hope you will join us for worship this Sunday as we continue our Ready or Not series. Whether you are in town or on the road, I hope you will join us for worship at 11 AM.
This Sunday, we turn to Matthew’s account of Jesus feeding the five thousand and the disciples’ honest confession: “We have nothing here.” Like them, we often mistake “not enough” for “nothing,” only to discover that Jesus is not limited by our scarcity. The good news is not that we have more than we think, but that Jesus is more than we imagined.
We hope you will join us for worship this Sunday at 11:00 AM online and in person.
This Sunday, we will continue in Matthew 13 with Jesus’ short but strange parable of the yeast hidden in the dough. It sounds cozy at first, maybe even like something from The Great British Baking Show, but Jesus’ parables rarely stay cozy for long.
Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman hid in three measures of flour until all of it was leavened. The good news is that the kingdom does not wait for us to become impressive before it gets to work. Grace is already hidden in the lump. Christ is already mixed into the world. The Spirit is already breathing life into places that still look heavy, stubborn, and resistant.
So maybe the good news this Sunday is that we are more like dough than we thought.
This Sunday, we will have the gift of hearing from The Rev. Dr. Youtha Hardman-Cromwell. We will hear the parable of the wheat and the weeds. Whether your are in town or on the road, we hope you will join us this Sunday at 11:00 AM online or inperson.
This Sunday in worship, we will hear Jesus’ Parable of the Sower from Matthew 13. It is a familiar parable, but familiarity can be dangerous because we often rush straight to inspecting the soil. Am I the path? Am I the rocky ground? Am I full of thorns? Am I good soil? Before long, we turn one of Jesus’ parables into a spiritual personality test.
We hope you will join us for worship this Sunday at 11:00 AM on-line or in person.
This Sunday, our Wesley Seminary intern, Jacquie Numbi, will preach and invite us to consider what it means to trust that God is present with us precisely there: in the struggle, in the uncertainty, and even in the struggles we encounter within the church.
Maybe that is part of learning to receive grace too. Not pretending everything is fine. Not convincing ourselves that faithful people never struggle. But trusting that Christ is present even when things are messy, unfinished, and difficult.
Join us Sunday as Jacquie brings the good news and reminds us that wherever we find ourselves, God has not left us there alone. Whether you are in town or on the road, worship begins at 11 AM. Bulletin.