(Sunday, December 22nd At 11 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Micah 5:2-5a and Luke 1:39-55
Sermon: Expanding the Family by Pastor Mark Harper
“Knit us together, God. We are so complex, but you are good for making us complex. Knit us together, O God, knit us together. Where and when we have been ripped apart, pick up the threads of our souls and knit us together. Knit us together in the womb of our Mother.” - Idelette McVicker, from a prayer inspired by the 139th Psalm
(Sunday, December 15th At 11 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Philippians 4:4-7 and Luke 3:7-20
Sermon: An Intervention by Pastor Mark Harper
“Dear Child of God, you are loved with a love that nothing can shake, a love that loved you long before you were created, a love that will be there long after everything has disappeared. You are precious, with a preciousness that is totally quite immeasurable. Filled with life and goodness and laughter – and joy.” - Desmond Tutu, The Book of Joy
(Sunday, December 8th At 11 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Malachi 3:1-4, John 1:1-14, and Matthew 1:18-22
Sermon: Advent Choral Worship by the TPPC Choir and Friends, directed by Dr. James Bingham
“We are in a world pregnant with hope, and we live in the expectation of the coming of God’s kingdom on earth. As we wait, we also work, cry, pray, ache; we are the midwives of another world.” - Shane Claiborne
(Sunday, December 1st At 11 AM, Hybrid Communion Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Jeremiah 33:14-16 and Luke 21:25-36
Sermon: Heads Up by Pastor Mark Harper
“Among the poor, among the proud, among the persecuted, among the privileged, Christ is coming; He is coming to make all things new.” - from an Advent Litany of the Iona Community
(Sunday, November 24th At 11 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Daniel 7:1a,9-10,13-14 and John 18:33-37
Sermon: Tell the Truth and Shame the Devil by Pastor Mark Harper
“ ‘Aslan is a lion – the Lion, the great Lion.’
‘Ooh’ said Susan. ‘I’d thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.’ …
‘Safe?’ said Mr. Beaver … ‘Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”-C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Photo by Paul Zoetemeijer on Unsplash
(Sunday, November 17th At 11 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Isaiah 58:6-12 and John 18:19-23
Sermon: A New Gospel by the Rev. Dr. Gayle Fisher-Stewart
“Many suggestions/And documents written/ Many directions/ For the end that was given/They gave us pieces of silver and pieces of gold/Tell me, Who’ll pay reparations on my soul?” - Gil Scott-Heron
(Sunday, November 10th At 11 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Psalm 146 and Jeremiah 32:1-10, 15
Sermon: Prophetic Investment by Pastor Mark Harper
“There are no unsacred places; there are only sacred places and desecrated places.” – Wendell Berry
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
(Sunday, November 3rd At 11 AM, Hybrid Communion Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
(Daylight Savings Time ends today)
Scripture: Isaiah 25:6-10 and Mark 12:28-34
Sermon: Rebuilding the Bridge by Pastor Mark Harper
“Neighbor is not a geographic term. It is a moral concept.”
-Rabbi Joachim Prinz
(Sunday, October 27th At 11 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture:Luke 4:16-21 and Deuteronomy 15:12-15 (GNT)
Sermon: “Restoration and Release: God’s Plan for Equity” by Rev Lewis T. Tait
“…the church, in obedience to Jesus Christ, is open to the reform of its standards of doctrine as well as of governance. The church affirms ‘Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda secundum verbum Dei, that is, ‘The church reformed, always to be reformed according to the Word of God’ in the power of the Holy Spirit.”
-The Book of Order of the Presbyterian Church (USA), F-2.02
(Sunday, October 20th At 11 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Philippians 2:1-11 and Mark 10:35-45
Sermon: Asking Better Questions by Pastor Mark Harper
“The real question for each of us is: Which side am I on? We know the deepest joy when we struggle on behalf of others. It is not a question of what or how much we do to assist the poor, but whether or not we have given our lives over to a commitment to the poor as our family.” -Murphy Davis, Surely Goodness and Mercy: A Journey into Illness and Solidarity
(Sunday, October 13th At 11 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Hebrews 4:12-16 and Mark 10:17-31
Sermon: Indigenous Jesus and the Sad Settler by Pastor Mark Harper
“It was our belief that the love of possessions is a weakness to be overcome. Its appeal is to the material part, and if allowed its way, it will, in time, disturb one’s spiritual balance.” - Charles Alexander Eastman, Santee Dakota, Physician and Historian
Photo by Francesco Alberti on Unsplash
(Sunday, October 6th At 11 AM, Hybrid Communion Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Mark 8:22-25 and Luke 19:1-10
Sermon: Reparations and the Struggle to See by Pastor Mark Harper
“Seeing clearly almost always is a struggle.” - Reparations: A Christian Call for Repentance and Repair by Duke L. Kwon and Gregory Thompson
(Sunday, September 29th At 11 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Acts 2:1-4 and Acts 2:43-47
Sermon: You Know It’s The Holy Spirit When, led by Rev. Mark Harper
“The true power of the Holy Spirit is to yield power and thus demonstrate the gospel in unexpected ways, such as by raising up the powerless and voiceless.” -Soong-Chan Rah
(Sunday, September 22nd At 11 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: James 3:13-18 and Mark 9:30-41
Sermon: Loving Our Way Out of Control, led by Rev. Mark Harper
“Nationalism is power hunger tempered by self-deception.”
-George Orwell, Notes on Nationalism
(Sunday, September 15th At 11 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Mark 24:13-21 and Acts 1:1-8
Sermon: Beyond Borders, led by Rev. Mark Harper
“Although nations may serve God’s purposes in history, the church which identifies the sovereignty of any one nation or any one way of life with the cause of God denies the Lordship of Christ and betrays its calling.” -The Confession of 1967 (PCUSA)
(Sunday, September 8th At 11 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture:Mark 1:16-20 and 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 27-31, 13:1-3
Sermon: Testimonies from Servant Leaders, led by Rev. Mark Harper
“The triune God gives to the congregation all the gifts of the gospel necessary to being the Church … In the life of the congregation, individual believers are equipped for the ministry of witness to the love and grace of God in and for the world. The congregation reaches out to people, communities, and the world to share the good news of Jesus Christ, to gather for worship, to offer care and nurture to God’s children, to speak for social justice and righteousness, to bear witness to the truth and to the reign of God that is coming into the world.” -Book Of Order of the PCUSA, G-1.01
Photo by Katherine Conrad on Unsplash
(Sunday, September 1st At 10 AM, Hybrid Communion Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: James 1:17-27 and Mark 7:1-2,5-8,14-23
Sermon: The Cult of Innocence by Pastor Mark Harper
“While we are made in the likeness of God, we are not God. We do not possess the authority to create truth – only to reflect it. God does not authorize us to dominate our neighbors. To do so is to dominate the image of God, to enact violence against God, to declare war on God. To be re-humanized is to stand down in the fight against God for supremacy.” -Lisa Sharon Harper
(Sunday, August 4th At 10 AM, Hybrid Communion Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: 11 Kings 8:1,7,10,22-23,41-43 and Ephesians 6:10-20
Sermon: Faith and Wonder by Peter Lukehart
“I believe the world will be saved by beauty.” - Fyodor Dostoevsky (and quoted often by Dorothy Day)
Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
There will be no worship blog post for the next two weeks. Worship blogs will resume for the service on Sunday, August 25.
(Sunday, August 4th At 10 AM, Hybrid Communion Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 11:17-22,27-29 and Exodus 16:2-4,9-15
Sermon: What is It? by Pastor Mark Harper
“I will tell you something about stories … they aren’t entertainment. Don’t be fooled. They are all we have, you see, all we have to fight off illness and death.” -Leslie Marmon Silko
(Sunday, July 28th At 10 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Psalm 27:1-6 and Psalm 27:1-6
Sermon: There will be a hymn sing this Sunday.
“When spoken words are impossible or inadequate vessels, singing is a superpower, resonating through the body, shifting the atmosphere, and communicating beyond words … The power of singing and collaborative resistance are superpowers that we, in the 21st century, would do well to remember as we pursue the full realization of freedom and justice for all.” - Rev. Dr. Donna Cox
Photo by Josep Molina Secall on Unsplash
(Sunday, July 21st At 10 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Ephesians 2:11-22 and Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
Sermon: Fringe People by Pastor Mark Harper
“Right at the depth of the human condition lies the longing for a presence, the silent desire for a communion. Let us never forget that this simple desire for God is already the beginning of faith.” -Brother Roger of Taize
Photo by Guillaume QL on Unsplash
(Sunday, July 14th At 10 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Psalm 85:8-13 and Mark 6:14-29
Sermon: Trapped by Pastor Mark Harper
“Well, it seems like I’ve fallen in your trap again;
And it seems like I’ll be wearing the same old pains;
But good must conquer evil and truth will set me free;
So you see that somewhere I have found the key;
Yes, you see that somewhere I have found the key.”
-Jimmy Cliff
Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash
(Sunday, July 7th At 10 AM, Hybrid Communion Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Ezekiel 2:1-5 and Mark 6:1-13
Sermon: Shake it Off by Pastor Mark Harper
“Prophets are dangerous. But dangerous to the status quo. Prophets are God-intoxicated people. And they are dangerous to people intoxicated by the status quo. Prophets are intoxicated and caught up in God’s dream of a just and loving world.” -Anthony Smith
(Sunday, June 30th At 10 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: 2 Samuel 1:1-17 and 2 Corinthians 8:7-15
Sermon: Rev. Eugene Eastman
You come through thick stone walls, armed guards, and bars;
you bring me a starry night and ask about this and that.
You are the redeemer.
I recognize you.
Even my cellar blooms with stars, and peace,
and light pours forth.
You sprinkle beautiful words on me like flowers:
“Son, what are you afraid of? I am with you!”
Viktoras Petkus
(Sunday, June 23rd At 10 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Psalm 139:1-12; 23-24 and Mark 4:35-41
Sermon: Fear by Rev. Carolyn Tilley
Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good. - Maya Angelou
Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash
(Sunday, June 16th At 10 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Luke 4:16-21 and Mark 4:26-34
Sermon: The Danger of Watching the World Burn by Pastor Mark Harper
“Through non-violence, courage displaces fear; love transforms hate. Acceptance dissipates prejudice; hope ends despair. Peace dominates war; faith reconciles doubt. Mutual regard cancels enmity. Justice for all overthrows injustice. The redemptive community supersedes systems of gross social immorality.” - Rev. James Lawson, September 22, 1928 - June 9, 2024
Photo by Thomas Bormans on Unsplash
(Sunday, June 9th At 10 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: 1 Samuel 8:1-22 and Mark 3:20-27
Sermon: Time to Eat by Pastor Mark Harper
“A new world is possible. It doesn’t have to be this way.” - Andre Henry
(Sunday, June 2nd At 10 AM, Hybrid Communion Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:5-12 and Mark 2:23-28
Sermon: Living a Better Story by Mark Harper
“Justice is good, but supper is essential.”
-Ed Loring
(Sunday, May 26th At 10 AM, Worship on the Steps: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Our worship this Sunday is a recent tradition for Memorial Day Weekends - Worship on the Steps. Worshippers are invited to join us on the Maple Avenue side lawn (weather permitting). Please bring something to share: a thought, a reading, a poem, a song, an instrument.
