“The Lord Needs It”

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April 13, 2025
Palm Sunday
Luke 19:28-40
“The Lord Needs It”
Rev. Benjamin J. Wines

We look forward to joining you in Worship this Sunday, starting at 11:00AM in the Sanctuary. Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “The Lord Needs It”.  We will be reading from Luke 19:28-40, and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 118

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:

Palm Sunday is a day for unrestrained joy!

What does it mean to you to think of God as joyful?

How can you cultivate joy within your own faith?

Creation Waits

April 6, 2025
Fifth Sunday of Lent
Isaiah 43:16-21
“Creation Waits”
Rev. Benjamin J. Wines

We look forward to joining you in Worship this Sunday, starting at 11:00AM in the Sanctuary. Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “Creation Waits”.  We will be reading from Isaiah 43:16-21, and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 126

Call to Worship, Psalm 126

Leader: When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,

People: We were like those who dream.

Leader: Then our mouth was filled with laughter,

People: And our tongue with shouts of joy;

Leader: Then it was said among the nations,

People: “The Lord has done great things for them.”

Leader: The Lord has done great things for us,

People: And we rejoiced.

Leader: Restore our fortunes, O Lord,

People: Like the watercourses in the Negeb.

Leader: May those who sow in tears

People: Reap with shouts of joy.

Leader: Those who go out weeping,

People: Bearing the seed for sowing,

Leader: Shall come home with shouts of joy,

People: Carrying their sheaves.

Questions for Further Reflection:

How do we see evidence of God’s grace in Creation?

How do we see abundance in Creation?

How might our redemption be good for the world around us?

Love People First

March 30, 2025
Fourth Sunday of Lent
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
“Love People First”
Rev. Benjamin J. Wines

We look forward to joining you in Worship this Sunday, starting at 11:00AM in the Sanctuary. Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “Love People First”. We will be reading from Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32, and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 32.

Call to Worship, Psalm 32:1-7
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:
Meditate on this phrase, “The Gospel is not fair.”
What does that idea stir up within you?
Does it bring you hope?

The Fox and the Hen

March 23, 2025
Third Sunday of Lent
Luke 13:31-35
“The Fox and the Hen”
Rev. Benjamin J. Wines

We look forward to joining you in Worship this Sunday, starting at 11:00AM in the Sanctuary. Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “The Fox and the Hen”.  We will be reading from Luke 13:31-35, and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 27.

Call to Worship, Psalm 27:1, 4-9

Leader: The Lord is my light and my salvation;
People: Whom shall I fear?
Leader: The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
People: Of whom shall I be afraid?
Leader: One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after:
People: To live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
Leader: To behold the beauty of the Lord,
People: And to inquire in his temple.
Leader: For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble;
People: He will conceal me under the cover of his tent.
Leader: Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me,
People: And I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;
Leader: I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
People: Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me!
Leader: “Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!”
People: Your face, Lord, do I seek. Do not hide your face from me.

Questions for Further Reflection:
In this passage, Jesus is defiant for the sake of others.
What does that say about who God is?
How can a defiant Christ help our faith grow?

Sin and Repentance

March 16, 2025
Second Sunday in Lent
Luke 13:1-9
“Sin and Repentance”
Rev. Benjamin J. Wines

We look forward to joining you in Worship this Sunday, starting at 11:00AM in the Sanctuary. Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “Where You Came From”. We will be reading from Luke 13:1-9, and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 63.

Call to Worship, Psalm 63:1-8
Leader: O God, you are my God,
People: I seek you, my soul thirsts for you;
Leader: My flesh faints for you,
People: As in a dry and weary land where there is not water.
Leader: So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
People: Beholding your power and glory.
Leader: Because your steadfast love is better than life,
People: My lips will praise you.
Leader: So I will bless you as long as I live;
People: I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
Leader: My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,
People: And my mouth praises you with joyful lips
Leader: When I think of you on my bed,
People: And meditate on you in the watches of the night;
Leader: For you have been my help,
People: And in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
Leader: My soul clings to you;
People: Your right hand upholds me.

Questions for Further Reflection:
In this passage, Jesus speaks to the people with a sense of urgency.
How can his urgency challenge us to be better disciples?
How can we channel that to do good things for our neighbors?

Where You Come From

March 09, 2025
First Sunday in Lent
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
“Where You Came From”
Rev. Benjamin J. Wines

We look forward to joining you in Worship this Sunday, starting at 11:00AM in the Sanctuary. Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “Where You Came From”. We will be reading from Deuteronomy 26:1-11, and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 91.

Call to Worship, Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16
Leader: You who live in the shelter of the Most High
People: Who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
Leader: Will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress; my God in whom I trust.”
People: For he will deliver you from the deadly pestilence;
Leader: He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge;
People: His faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
Leader: You will not fear the terror of the night,
People: Or the arrow that flies by day,
Leader: Or the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
People: Or the destruction that wastes at noonday.
Leader: Those who love me, I will deliver;
People: I will protect those who know my name.
Leader: When they call to me, I will answer them;
People: I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them.
Leader: With long life I will satisfy them,
People: And show them my salvation.

Questions for Further Reflection:
Think about your hometown.
How did it shape your character?
How did it shape your faith?
How does God’s call continue to shape you as a person?

The Truth

March 2, 2025
Transfiguration Sunday
Luke 9:28-36
“The Truth”
Rev. Benjamin J. Wines

We look forward to joining you in Worship this Sunday, starting at 11:00AM in the Sanctuary. Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “The Truth”. We will be reading from Luke 9:28-36, and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 99.

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:
The Transfiguration is a wonderful, mysterious event in history.
What does it say about Jesus’ identity?
How does his identity affect ours?

The Challenge

February 23, 2025
Seventh Sunday after Epiphany
Luke 6:27-38
“The Challenge”
Rev. Benjamin J. Wines

We look forward to joining you in Worship this Sunday, starting at 11:00AM in the Sanctuary. Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “The Challenge”.  We will be reading from Luke 6:27-38, and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 37

Call to Worship, from Psalm 37

Leader: The Lord knows the days of the blameless,

People: And their heritage will abide forever;

Leader: They are not put to shame in evil times,

People: In the days of famine they have abundance.

Leader: Our steps are made firm by the Lord,

People: When he delights in our way;

Leader: Though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong,

People: For the Lord holds us by the hand.

Leader: Depart from evil, and do good;

People: So you shall abide forever.

Leader: For the Lord loves justice;

People: He will not forsake his faithful ones.

Leader: The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;

People: He is their refuge in the time of trouble.

Questions for Further Reflection:

This passage calls us to love our enemies.

Why would Jesus call us to do that?

The Sermon

February 16, 2025
Sixth Sunday after Epiphany
Luke 6:17-26
“The Sermon”
Rev. Benjamin J. Wines

We look forward to joining you in Worship this Sunday, starting at 11:00AM in the Sanctuary. Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “The Sermon”. We will be reading from Luke 6:17-26, and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 1.

Call to Worship, from Psalm 1
Leader: Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
People: Or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers;
Leader: But their delight is in the law of the Lord,
People: And on his law they meditate day and night.
Leader: They are like trees planted by streams of water,
People: Which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither.
Leader: In all that they do, they prosper.
People: The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Leader: Therefore the wicked will not stand in judgment,
People: Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
Leader: For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
People: But the way of the wicked will perish.

Questions for Further Reflection:
The tension in this passage issues a challenge to us modern Christians.
Where are my blind spots, that is, who are the people I may not realize I’m ignoring?
What would it mean to go looking for them?
What should I do when I find them?

The Disciples

February 9, 2025
Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
Luke 5:1-11
“The Disciples”
Rev. Benjamin J. Wines

We look forward to joining you in Worship this Sunday, starting at 11:00AM in the Sanctuary. Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “The Disciples”. We will be reading from Luke 5:1-11, and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 138.

Call to Worship, from Psalm 138
Leader: I give you thanks O Lord, with my whole heart;
People: Before the gods I sing your praise;
Leader: I bow down towards your holy temple
People: And give thanks for your steadfast love and faithfulness;
Leader: For you have exalted your name and word above everything.
People: On the day I called, you answered me, you strengthened by soul.
Leader: All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O Lord,
People: For they have heard the words of your mouth.
Leader: They shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
People: For great is the glory of the Lord.
Leader: For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly;
People: But the haughty he perceives from far away.
Leader: Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
People: You preserve me against the wrath of my enemies.
Leader: The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;
People: Your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.

Questions for Further Reflection:
In this passage, Jesus’ words have a lot of power.
How does he change the lives of Simon, James, and John?
How can his words change your life and the life of your community?