Today is Easter Sunday.
Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “From Fear to Faith” Our Scripture passage comes from Matthew 28:1-10 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 118. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 118)
Leader: O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
People: His steadfast love endures forever!
Leader: I thank you that you have answered me
People: And have become my salvation.
Leader: The stone that the builders rejected
People: Has become the chief cornerstone.
Leader: This is the Lord’s doing;
People: It is marvelous in our eyes.
Leader: This is the day that the Lord has made;
People: Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Leader: Save us, we beseech you, O Lord!
People: O Lord, we beseech you, give us success!
Leader: Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
People: We bless you from the house of the Lord.
Leader: You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
People: You are my God, I will extol you.
Leader: O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
People: For his steadfast love endures forever!

Questions for Further Reflection:
In this passage, the women who approach the tomb are asked to move from fear to faith, quickly.
What role does fear play in the life of faith?
How does God help us move past fear and place our faith in Jesus?

This Sunday is Palm Sunday.
Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “Preparing the Way” Our Scripture passage comes from Matthew 21:1-11 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 118. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 118)
Leader: O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
People: His steadfast love endures forever!
Leader: I thank you that you have answered me
People: And have become my salvation.
Leader: The stone that the builders rejected
People: Has become the chief cornerstone.
Leader: This is the Lord’s doing;
People: It is marvelous in our eyes.
Leader: This is the day that the Lord has made;
People: Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Leader: Save us, we beseech you, O Lord!
People: O Lord, we beseech you, give us success!
Leader: Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
People: We bless you from the house of the Lord.
Leader: You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
People: You are my God, I will extol you.
Leader: O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
People: For his steadfast love endures forever!

Questions for Further Reflection:
On Palm Sunday, Jesus showed the world he would be a different kind of king.
How do God’s priorities differ from the rulers of our world?
How can our expectations of a king lead us into sin?

This Sunday is The Fifth Sunday in Lent.
Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “Impossible” Our Scripture passage comes from Hebrews 10:4-10 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 130. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 130)
Leader: Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord,
People: Lord, hear my voice!
Leader: Let your ears be attentive
People: To the voice of my supplications!
Leader: If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
People: Lord, who could stand?
Leader: But there is forgiveness with you,
People: So that you may be revered.
Leader: I wait for the Lord,
People: My soul waits,
Leader: And in his word I hope;
People: My soul waits for the Lord
Leader: More than those who watch for the morning,
People: More than those who watch for the morning.
Leader: O Israel, hope in the Lord!
People: For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
Leader: And with him is great power to redeem.
People: It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.

Questions for Further Reflection:
In this passage, we are called to do more than just believe.
How can sin stop us from acting on our beliefs?
What can we do to make sure our actions match our words?

This Sunday is The Fourth Sunday in Lent.
Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “What Do We Deserve?” Our Scripture passage comes from 1 Samuel 16:1-13 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 23. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

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:
In this passage, God sees differently and rejects worldly signs of power.
How can we do the same?
How does sin twist our sight and hold us back?

This Sunday is the Third Sunday in Lent.

Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “The Wilderness of Sin ” Our Scripture passage comes from Exodus 17:1-7 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 95. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 95)
Leader: O come, let us sing to the Lord;
People: Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Leader: Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
People: Let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
Leader: For the Lord is a great God,
People: And a great King above all gods.
Leader: In his hand are the depths of the earth;
People: The heights of the mountains are his also.
Leader: The sea is his, for he made it,
People: And the dry land, which his hands have formed.
Leader: O come, let us worship and bow down,
People: Let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
Leader: For his is our God, and we are the people of his pasture,
People: And the sheep of his hand.

Questions for Further Reflection:
In this passage, the people of Israel grapple with change and uncertainty.
How do our we engage with God differently
throughout our lives? Why can that feel so unsettling?

This Sunday is The Second Sunday in Lent.
Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “What Do We Deserve?” Our Scripture passage comes from Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 121. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 121)
Leader: I lift up my eyes to the hills—
People: From where will my help come?
Leader: My help comes from the Lord,
People: Who made heaven and earth.
Leader: He will not let your foot be moved;
People: He who keeps you will not slumber.
Leader: He who keeps Israel
People: Will neither slumber nor sleep.
Leader: The Lord is your keeper;
People: The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
Leader: The sun shall not strike you by day,
People: Nor the moon by night.
Leader: The Lord will keep you from all evil;
People: He will keep your life.
Leader: The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in
People: From this time on and forevermore.

Questions for Further Reflection:
In this passage, Paul emphasizes that we are saved by the grace of God.
Why is that so important?
How would sin try to convince you that’s not true?

This Sunday is The First Sunday in Lent.
Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “At the Very Beginning”. Our Scripture passage comes from Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 32. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 32)
Leader: Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,
People: Whose sin is covered.
Leader: Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity,
People: And in whose spirit there is no deceit.
Leader: While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.
People: For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
Leader: My strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.
People: Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity;
Leader: I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
People: And you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Leader: Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you;
People: At a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters shall not reach them.
Leader: You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble;
People: You surround me with glad cries of deliverance.

Questions for Further Reflection:
In this passage, Adam and Eve give in to Satan’s temptations.
Why is Satan able to tempt them?
Why do we continue to struggle with sin today?

This Sunday is Transfiguration Sunday.

Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “Boldness”. Our Scripture passage comes from 2 Peter 1:16-21 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 99. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 99)
Leader: The Lord is great in Zion;
People: He is exalted over all the peoples.
Leader: Let them praise your great and awesome name.
People: Holy is he!
Leader: Mighty King, lover of justice, you have established equity;
People: You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.
Leader: Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel also called on his name.
People: They cried to the Lord, and he answered them.
Leader: He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;
People: They kept his decrees, and the statutes that he gave them.
Leader: O Lord our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them,
People: But an avenger of their wrongdoings.
Leader: Extol the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain;
People: For the Lord our God is holy.

Questions for Further Reflection:
We tend to think of “boldness” as something aggressive or brash.
What does it mean to have a bold faith?
How does boldly living by the gospel’s teaching differ from brashness?

This Sunday is the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany.
Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “Passion”. Our Scripture passage comes from Matthew 5:13-20 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 112. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 112)
Leader: Praise the Lord! Happy are those who fear the Lord,
People: Who greatly delight in his commandments.
Leader: Their descendants will be mighty in the land;
People: The generation of the upright will be blessed.
Leader: They rise up in the darkness as a light for the upright;
People: They are gracious, merciful, and righteous.
Leader: It is well with those who deal generously and lend,
People: Who conduct their affairs with justice.
Leader: For the righteous will never be moved;
People: They will be remembered forever.
Leader: They are not afraid of evil tidings;
People: Their hearts are firm, secure in the Lord.
Leader: Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid;
People: In the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
Leader: They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor;
People: Their righteousness endures forever.

Questions for Further Reflection:
In this passage, Jesus urges the disciples to keep the faith.
What fuels your passion for God?
What fuels your passion for people?
And how can you reach out to others in faithful ways?

This Sunday is the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany.
Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “Justice”. Our Scripture passage comes from Micah 6:1-8 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 15. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 15)
Leader: O Lord, who may abide in your tent?
People: Who may dwell on your holy hill?
Leader: Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right,
People: And speak the truth from their heart;
Leader: Who do not slander with their tongue, and do no evil to their friends,
People: Nor take up a reproach against their neighbors;
Leader: In whose eyes the wicked are despised,
People: But who honor those who fear the Lord
Leader: Who stand by their oath even to their hurt;
People: Who do not lend money at interest,
Leader: And do not take a bribe against the innocent.
People: Those who do these things shall never be moved.

Questions for Further Reflection:
In this passage, God yearns for the people of Israel to value justice.
What does justice look like in God’s kingdom?
How are our lives affected by God’s justice?