(Sunday, March 28 At 11 AM, Palm Sunday, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Psalm 118:1-2,19-29; Mark 11:1-11

Hymns: We Are Marching in the Light of God; All Glory, Laud and Honor; Hosanna, Loud Hosanna

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Sermon: “Hosanna!” by Rev. Jim Reisner

When Jesus rides a donkey into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday he is a lit torch entering a firecracker factory – an explosion is inevitable. Jesus evokes images of the Passover, the prophecy of Zechariah, and the Maccabean revolt, all of which speak of political liberation from an oppressive force. No wonder that merely days later the people turn on him when Jesus preaches the power of love and not the love of power. Jesus is proclaiming liberation from an oppressive foe, but his enemy is far greater than Rome.

(Sunday, March 21 At 11 AM, Fifth Sunday of Lent, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Jeremiah 31:31-34; John 3:1-17

Hymns: Beneath the Cross of Jesus; My Song Is Love Unknown; O Jesus, I Have Promised

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Sermon: “We want to see Jesus” by Rev. Carolyn Tilley

“When we reach beyond our fears to the One who loves us with a love that was there before we were born and will be there after we die, the oppression, persecution, and even death will be unable to take our freedom. Once we have come to the deep inner knowledge – a knowledge more of the heart than the mind – that we are born out of love and will die into love, that every part of our being is deeply rooted in love, and that this love is our true Father and Mother, then all forms of evil, illness, and death lose their final power over us”

Henri Nouwen, Our Greatest Gift: A Meditation on Dying and Caring

(Sunday, March 14 At 11 AM, Fourth Sunday of Lent, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Numbers 21:4-9; John 3:1-17

Hymns: What Wondrous Love is This; My Shepherd Will Supply My Need; Lift High the Cross

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Sermon:  “Nick at Night” by Rev. James Reisner

“We are on the road to heaven already if today we walk with God. For eternal life is not a possession conferred at death, it is a present endowment. We live it now, and continue it through death. And that is why belief in life to come should only increase our commitment to life now and here.” -- William Sloane Coffin

(Sunday, March 7 At 11 AM, Third Sunday of Lent, Communion, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Isaiah 1:11-20; John 2:13-22

Hymns: God the Sculptor of the Mountains; Bread Was Broken, Words Were Spoken; In the Cross of Christ I Glory

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Sermon:  “Disorderly Conduct” by Rev. James Reisner

In the Gospel of John, the cleansing of the temple occurs at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, not on the evening of Palm Sunday as it does in the other three gospels. Another difference unique to John is that he does not accuse the moneychangers of defrauding the people. John sees the whole system of temple sacrifice as corrupt. The ritual formalisms have become more important than the essence of faith in God – the love of God and neighbor. We always need to keep in front of ourselves the question of whether our religion is getting in the way of our relationship to God.

(Sunday, February 28 At 11 AM, Second Sunday of Lent, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Isaiah 53:3-12; Mark 8:31-38

Hymns: Beneath the Cross of Jesus; Take Up Your Cross; Christ of the Upward Way

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Sermon:  “I Been ‘Buked” by Rev. James Reisner

“Take up your cross,” Jesus says, “and follow me … For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.”

(Sunday, February 21 At 11 AM, First Sunday in Lent, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Psalm 25:1-10; Mark 1:9-15

Hymns: Great is thy faithfulness; Just a Closer Walk with Thee; God of Compassion, in Mercy Befriend Us

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Sermon:  “The Year Lent Never Went Away” by Rev. James Reisner

Do we really need to be reminded of our mortality this Lent when death is all around us? Do we really need to give something up for Lent when so much has already been taken away from us?

And yet here we are entering a season of solemn self-examination and spiritual discipline. As we set out on our journey, let us remember that our destiny is the joy of Easter sunrise and the victory of life over all that would destroy us.

(Sunday, February 14 At 11 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: II Corinthians 4:3-6; Mark 9:2-9

Hymns: God Is Here; Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me; Love Divine, All Loves Excelling

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Sermon:  “Love Changes Everything” by Rev. James Reisner

Jesus goes up a mountain with three of his closest disciples. There he is transfigured – the Greek word is "metamorphosized." His appearance is radically transformed into bright light. A voice descends from heaven saying, “This is my beloved. Listen to him.”

(Sunday, February 7 At 11 AM, Communion Service, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Isaiah 40:27-31; Mark 1:29-39

Hymns: Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise; The Church of Christ in Every Age; God of Grace and God of Glory

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Sermon: “Let Us Go On” by Rev. James Reisner

Jesus began his ministry in his hometown. As word got out, a great crowd gathered seeking healing and eager to hear from this new prophet. Jesus went out to a quiet place at night to seek some solitude and rest. Peter and the others found him and summoned him to return home, but Jesus said, “Let us go on.” They set out for other towns in the region.

(Sunday, January 31 At 11 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: I Kings 3:5-15; Mark 1:21-28

Hymns: All Beautiful the March of Days; What a Friend We Have in Jesus; I Want to Be a Christian

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Sermon: “What Have You to Do with Us, Jesus?” by Rev. James Reisner

In the first public act of his ministry, according to Mark, Jesus goes to the synagogue on the sabbath in Capernaum. There, an unclean spirit who is possessing a young man with epilepsy cries out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus?” In other words, "Leave me alone."

(Sunday, January 24 At 11 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Jonah 3:10-4:11; Ephesians 4:25-32

Hymns: Praise, My Soul, the God of Heaven; Inspired by Love and Anger; Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life

Sermon: “Angry Enough to Die” by Rev. James Reisner

We all know the beginning of the Book of Jonah – the whale and all that. The end of the book is a good read, too. When Jonah preaches “Repent or Die” in the streets of Ninevah the people believe him. They repent. And so God relents, and does not destroy the city. This makes Jonah angry – angry enough to die. He had preached destruction and now he wants to see it. He wants to be vindicated.