Service Archives

We look forward to joining you in Worship, starting at 11:00AM in the Sanctuary. Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “Dance in a Garden”, part of the Sermon Series, “Faith and Art, Redux”.  We will be reading from Nehemiah 8:8-12 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 118.

You can see Nicolas Lancret’s “Dance in a Garden” at the Ackland Museum in Chapel Hill, or by clicking this link: https://ackland.emuseum.com/

We look forward to joining you in Worship, starting at 11:00AM in the Sanctuary. Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “Old Woman Gathering Brush”, part of the Sermon Series, “Faith and Art, Redux”.  We will be reading from 1 Kings 17:7-16 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 68.

You can see Winslow Homer’s “Old Woman Gathering Brush” at the Ackland Museum in Chapel Hill, NC, or by clicking this link.

We look forward to joining you in Worship, starting at 11:00AM in the Sanctuary. Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “Slow Down Freight Train”, part of the Sermon Series, “Faith and Art, Redux”. We will be reading from 2 Corinthians 4:6-18 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 34.

You can see Rose Piper’s “Slow Down Freight Train” at the Ackland Museum in Chapel Hill, or by clicking on this link.

We look forward to joining you in Worship, starting at 11:00AM in the Sanctuary. Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “The Puritan”, part of the Sermon Series, “Faith and Art, Redux”. We will be reading from Mark 7 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 51.

You can a reduction patterned after Saint-Gaudens’s monument, “The Puritan” at the Met Fifth Avenue, or by clicking this link.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 51)
Leader: Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love;
People: According to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
Leader: Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
People: And cleanse me from my sin.
Leader: For I know my transgressions,
People: And my sin is ever before me.
Leader: Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
People: And done what is evil in your sight.
Leader: Create in me a clean heart, O God,
People: And put a new and right spirit within me.
Leader: Do not cast me away from your presence,
People: And do not take your holy spirit from me.
Leader: Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
People: And sustain in me a willing spirit.
Leader: Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
People: And sinners will return to you.
Leader: The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;
People: A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Questions for Further Reflection:
In this passage, Jesus pushes back on folks whose focus is misplaced.
How do we let our beliefs shape our actions?
And how do we make sure we don’t fall into just saying what we believe with no action?

We look forward to joining you in Worship, starting at 11:00AM in the Sanctuary. Our guest, Dr. Garry Crites, will be bringing the message, “Learning to Trust Again”.
We will be reading from Acts 15:36-40 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 8.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 8)
Leader: O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
People: You have set your glory above the heavens.
Leader: Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark,
People: To silence the enemy and the avenger.
Leader: When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
People: The moon and the stars that you have established;
Leader: What are human beings that you are mindful of them,
People: Mortals that you care for them?
Leader: Yet you have made them a little lower than God,
People: And crowned them with glory and honor.
Leader: You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
People: You have put all things under their feet,
Leader: All sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,
People: The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
Leader: Whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
People: O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

We look forward to joining you in Worship, starting at 11:00AM in the Sanctuary. Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “The Seine at Giverny, Morning Mists”, part of the Sermon Series, “Faith and Art, Redux”. We will be reading from Psalm 19:1-10 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 104.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 104)
Leader: O LORD, how manifold are your works!
People: The earth is full of your creatures.
Leader: These all look to you to give them their food in due season;
People: When you give to them, they gather it up;
Leader: When you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
People: When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
Leader: When you take away their breath,
People: They die and return to their dust.
Leader: When you send forth your spirit, they are created;
People: And you renew the face of the ground.
Leader: I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
People: I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
Leader: May my meditation be pleasing to him,
People: For I rejoice in the LORD.

Questions for Further Reflection:
Think back to a moment in nature when you felt particularly close to God.
What was it about the Creation that made you think of God?
What did God reveal to you in that moment?

Please note: Our piece for this week’s sermon is The Seine at Giverny, Morning Mists by Claude Monet. It is located in the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, NC.

We look forward to joining you in Worship, starting at 11:00AM in the Sanctuary. Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “St. Lawrence Distributing the Treasures of the Church”, part of the Sermon Series, “Faith and Art, Redux”.  We will be reading from 1 John 3:11-24 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 23.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 23)
Leader: The Lord is my shepherd
People: I shall not want.
Leader: He makes me lie down in green pastures;
People: He leads me beside still waters;
Leader: He restores my soul.
People: He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.
Leader: Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
People: I fear no evil, for you are with me;
Leader: Your rod and your staff—they comfort me.
People: You prepare a table before me,
Leader: In the presence of my enemies;
People: You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Leader: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
People: All the days of my life.
Leader: And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
People: My whole life long.

Questions for Further Reflection:
This passage and this painting remind us that people are worth more than treasure.
What does it mean to you to know that God treasures you?
How does the love of God call you to treasure other?

We look forward to joining you in Worship, starting at 11:00AM in the Sanctuary. Our guest speaker, Rev. Jeanell Cox will bring the message, “The Great Divide”. We will be reading from Luke 16:19-31 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 103.

We look forward to joining you in Worship, starting at 11:00AM in the Sanctuary. Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “Everything Happens for a Reason”, part of the ongoing Sermon Series, “I’m Just Trying to Help”.  We will be reading from Romans 8:26-39 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 105.

Questions for Further Reflection:

What role can the Christian community play in grief?
How does having a community help in all aspects of life?

We look forward to joining you in Worship, starting at 11:00AM in the Sanctuary. Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “There Go I”, part of the ongoing Sermon Series, “I’m Just Trying to Help”.  We will be reading from John 7:53-8:11 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 112.