(Sunday, June 27 At 10 AM, Hybrid Worship Live-Streamed On Zoom and in-person)

Scripture: Numbers 11:24-29 and I Peter 2:2-10

Hymns: Come, Christians, Join to Sing; Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation; What a Fellowship, What a Joy Divine

Sermon: “Ministers: All the People of the Church” by Rev. Jim Reisner

The priesthood of all believers was one of the primary principles of the Reformation. Its headwaters are found in our text from I Peter: “Like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

(Sunday, June 20 At 10 AM, Hybrid Worship Live-Streamed On Zoom and in-person for those whose last names begin with L through Z)

Scripture: I Peter 4:7-11 and Matthew 11:28-30

Hymns: For the Beauty of the Earth; How Clear Is Our Vocation, Lord; Called as Partners in Christ’s Service

Sermon: “Called as Partners in Christ’s Service” by Rev. Jim Reisner

“Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins.” Indeed, love does just that, and it’s a good thing it does. I Peter acknowledges that we humans are pretty hard to tolerate at times. We screw up. We miss the mark. We fail to see beyond our own noses. We sin. Yet, we are called to come together and be the church together.

(Sunday, June 13 At 10 AM, Hybrid Worship Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Isaiah 43:16-21; Revelation 21:1-7

Hymns: Praise Ye the Lord, the Almighty; Every Time I Feel the Spirit; The Church of Christ in Every Age

Sermon: “Something New: Permission to Experiment” by Rev. Jim Reisner

The church is as good at resisting change as any institution. Christians who want to stay set in their old ways will often quote scripture: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). “God’s Word doesn’t change so we shouldn’t either.” What they fail to see is that in scripture God is always changing, always on the move, always adapting to circumstances. And when God does something new in scripture, God’s favorite tool in the toolbox is forgiveness. Old wounds and grudges are erased, and God once again “makes all things new.”

(Sunday, June 6 At 10 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: I Samuel 8:4-20; Mark 3:19b-27

Hymns: Holy! Holy! Holy!; In an Age of Twisted Values; Rejoice, the Lord is King!

Service Preview (Online):

Sermon: “Something Old: the Authoritarian Instinct” by Rev. Jim Reisner

Our text from First Samuel tells of when Israel asks for a king. The old prophet warns the people of all the suffering and servitude they will experience under the rule of a king, but the people nonetheless persist in their desire for an earthly ruler. Then God says to Samuel, “Let them have what they want.”

(Sunday, May 30 At 10 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

This Sunday is our annual Memorial Day weekend "Worship on the Steps," which isn't on the steps even in the years we meet in person. We'll gather on the virtual steps by Zoom. We invite you to take your computer or phone into your garden and we'll sit together. Please join us and come prepared to share.

(Sunday, May 23 At 11 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Acts 2:1-13; John 14:15-16,18-19,25-27

Hymns: Come, O Spirit, Dwell Among Us; Like the Murmur of the Dove’s Song; We Are One in the Spirit

Service Preview (Online):

Sermon: “In a Fearful and Broken World” by Rev. Jim Reisner

At the table of the Last Supper, Jesus promised his disciples that he would not leave them orphaned or desolate. He tells them that God will send to them the Holy Spirit, the Advocate and Comforter. The Day of Pentecost when the Spirit appeared as wind and fire is the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise. What God promises over and over again is God’s presence. We experience that presence as the Holy Spirit.

(Sunday, May 9 At 11 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Jeremiah 31:31-34; John 15:9-17

Hymns: New Songs of Celebration Render; We Rejoice to Be God's Chosen; For the Healing of the Nations

Service Preview (Online):

Sermon: “Chosen” by Rev. Jim Reisner

Our text from the Gospel of John includes the most Presbyterian thing Jesus ever said: “You did not choose me but I chose you” (John 15:16). We Presbyterians are sometimes referred to as the "Frozen Chosen." Our belief is that we come into relationship with God not out of anything we can do, or out of any sense of our own goodness, but only through God’s grace. The Christian life is not about doing what we can do to get to heaven; the essence of the Christian life is responding to God’s grace with a gratitude that expresses itself (to paraphrase the prophet, Micah) in acts of justice, kindness, and humility.

(Sunday, May 2 At 11 AM, Communion Sunday, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: I John 4:7-15; John 15:1-9

Hymns: Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me; Loaves Were Broken, Words Were Spoken; Love Divine, All Loves Excelling

Service Preview (Online):

Sermon: “ The Dude Abides” by Rev. Jim Reisner

Jesus says to his disciples, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit.”

The word "abide" appears no less that 15 times in our two scripture lessons this Sunday. It has multiple meanings: remain, stay; or live, dwell; or last, endure, continue. The image that Jesus uses is a branch attached to a vine that receives its nourishment from the vine.