Central United Methodist Church (Arlington, Virginia) Sermon Podcast: Recent Episodes

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Even God Takes a Break
Series: Divine Rest (Opening Message)
Scripture: Genesis 1:1–2:3 (Common English Bible)
Preacher: Pastor Sarah Harrison-McQueen

What does it mean that even God rested?

As we begin the Divine Rest sermon series, Pastor Sarah Harrison-McQueen invites us to rediscover the gift of Sabbath through the opening creation story in Genesis. In a world that constantly calls us toward productivity, accomplishment, and endless activity, Genesis offers a different rhythm: work, pause, notice, and rest.

The creation account does not end with another act of making. After six days of bringing order and beauty into the world, God stops. God blesses the seventh day and calls it holy—not because creation is incomplete, but because creation is good.

The seventh day reveals something surprising about the nature of rest. God does not disappear from creation or withdraw from the world. Instead, God rests in the midst of creation, fully present and savoring what has been made. Sabbath is not about escaping life; it is about learning to be present with God within it.

Throughout this sermon, Pastor Sarah reflects on our modern struggle with stillness and silence, the ways we measure our worth through productivity, and the difficulty many of us have in setting down what keeps us constantly moving.

The story of creation reminds us that human worth has never been based on what we produce. Before humanity ever accomplished anything, we were already created in God's image and declared good. Sabbath becomes an act of trust—a reminder that the world does not depend entirely on our effort and that God continues to hold all things together.

Drawing on the image of Sabbath as a "cathedral in time," Pastor Sarah invites us to consider what it means to set aside space in our lives for God's presence. Rest is not simply a break from work; it is a homecoming to the rhythm God has woven into creation.

As this five-week journey begins, we are invited to start small: to pause, to notice, and to practice the art of paying attention. Through these moments of Sabbath, we discover that God is already present, waiting for us in the sacred space of time.

Reflection Questions:

• The text says God rested, but it does not say God disappeared. What do you imagine God was doing on the seventh day? What might it mean that God rested in the midst of creation rather than withdrawing from it?

• What would it mean to treat one day each week as genuinely different from all the others? What would you have to stop doing?

• What in your daily life do you find it hardest to stop doing, to set down, or walk away from? What does that say about where you are placing your trust?

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Love Moved In
Series: Christmas in July (Final Message)
Scripture: John 1:1–14 (Common English Bible)
Guest Speaker: Rev. Lemuel Pearsall

What does it mean that God didn't remain distant—but chose to become our neighbor?

As the Christmas in July series concludes, guest speaker Rev. Lemuel Pearsall invites us to see the Christmas story from John's remarkable perspective. While Matthew tells of the Magi, Luke tells of shepherds, and the nativity places us in Bethlehem, John's Gospel begins even earlier—before creation itself.

"In the beginning was the Word..."

Before there was light, before there were stars, before time itself, Christ already was. John reminds us that the baby born in Bethlehem was not merely another child entering history, but the eternal Word through whom all things were made.

In John 1:1–14, we encounter one of Scripture's most profound declarations: "The Word became flesh and made his home among us." God did not simply send a message or a prophet. God came personally. The Creator entered creation, taking on human flesh while remaining fully God.

Throughout this sermon, Rev. Pearsall reflects on the wonder of the Incarnation—the mystery that the infinite God chose to live among ordinary people. Jesus did not remain safely distant from human suffering. He experienced joy and grief, friendship and betrayal, hunger and exhaustion. He became, as the sermon beautifully describes, "God with skin on."

John's cosmic view of Christmas reminds us that Bethlehem was never simply the beginning of Jesus' story. It was the moment when eternal love stepped into human history. The God who created the universe chose to enter it, not through displays of power, but through humility, vulnerability, and relationship.

The message also challenges us to consider what it means that God "moved into the neighborhood." Jesus didn't simply visit humanity—he took up residence among us. He walked our streets, shared our struggles, and revealed God's grace and truth through everyday acts of compassion, forgiveness, and love.

Because Christ came near to us, we are called to draw near to others. The Incarnation is not only something we celebrate; it becomes the pattern for Christian living. As followers of Jesus, we are invited to reflect his light by loving our neighbors, extending grace, showing compassion, and reminding a hurting world that no one is ever truly alone.

As Christmas in July comes to a close, this final message brings together the entire journey—from shepherds to Simeon and Anna, from the Magi to John's eternal Word—and reminds us that Christmas is ultimately about God's desire to dwell with humanity.

Love moved into our neighborhood so that we might one day live forever in God's.

Reflection Questions:

• John begins his Gospel before the beginning of time. How does that cosmic framing change the way you understand what happened in Bethlehem?

• What does it mean for your everyday life that God chose to become a neighbor rather than remain at a divine distance?

• Looking back over the four weeks, which encounter with the infant Jesus—the shepherds, Simeon and Anna, the Magi, or John's prologue—has stayed with you most? Why?

• What is one thing you want to carry forward from this series?

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We Followed a Star

Series: Christmas in July
Scripture: Matthew 2:1–12 (Common English Bible)

What are you following—and where is it leading you?

In this message from Christmas in July, we journey with the Magi as they follow a star toward the newborn Christ. Unlike the familiar scenes of shepherds and angels, Matthew’s Christmas story introduces us to unexpected travelers from far away who recognize something sacred and respond with faith, courage, and worship.

The Magi had no map, no certainty, and no guarantee of what they would find. They simply followed the light they had been given. Their journey reveals something important about seeking God: sometimes faith means stepping forward before we know exactly where the path will lead.

In this sermon, Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen explores the contrast between the Magi and King Herod. Both hear the news that a Messiah has been born, but they respond in completely different ways. The Magi move toward the light with curiosity and hope. Herod responds with fear and a desire to maintain control.

Matthew’s story reminds us that the gospel has always included unexpected people. The Magi were outsiders, people who were not already part of the covenant community, yet they were drawn toward Jesus. Their journey reveals that God’s grace reaches beyond boundaries and invites seekers from every place to encounter Christ.

When the Magi finally find Jesus, they are overwhelmed with joy. Their response is worship, generosity, and surrender. They offer their treasures, but they receive something far more valuable: an encounter with the living Christ that changes the direction of their lives.

After meeting Jesus, the Magi return home by another route. This small detail carries a powerful message—encountering Christ changes us. We cannot always return to life exactly as it was before. God’s presence invites us onto a new path.

This story invites us to consider what is shaping the direction of our own lives. Are we being led by fear like Herod, or are we willing to follow the light like the Magi? What are the “stars” we are following, and are they leading us toward joy, worship, and a deeper relationship with God?

The Christmas story reminds us that God is still calling people forward. The journey may include uncertainty, detours, and unexpected challenges, but those who follow the light of Christ discover that the path leads to transformation.

Reflection Questions:

• What does the story of the Magi reveal about whom the gospel includes?

• What is the difference between the Magi and Herod, and where do you see that contrast today?

• How has an encounter with Jesus changed the direction of your life?

• What is currently shaping the direction of your life, and is it worth following?

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Everything I Waited ForSeries: Christmas in July
Scripture: Luke 2:21–40 (Common English Bible)

What happens when the thing we have waited for finally arrives?

In this message from Christmas in July, we step into a quieter part of the Christmas story—the moment when Mary and Joseph bring the infant Jesus to the temple. There are no angels filling the sky, no shepherds rushing from the fields, and no grand announcement. Instead, a young family arrives faithfully carrying their child, and two people who have spent years waiting recognize that God’s promise has been fulfilled.

Luke introduces us to Simeon and Anna, two faithful people who know what it means to wait. Simeon has held onto a promise from God that he would see the Messiah before his death. Anna has spent decades in prayer and worship, remaining devoted to God through deep loss and uncertainty. Their stories remind us that waiting is not simply empty time—it can become a place where God shapes us.

In this sermon, Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen reflects on the spiritual discipline of hope and what sustains us when the distance between God’s promise and its fulfillment feels long. Simeon and Anna show us that faithfulness does not mean pretending waiting is easy. Instead, they teach us that staying close to God through prayer, worship, and trust allows us to recognize God’s presence when it appears in unexpected ways.

Simeon was guided by the Holy Spirit, and Anna made her waiting an act of devotion. Neither knew exactly when God would fulfill the promise, but both remained attentive and faithful. Their lives challenge us to ask: What are we doing while we wait? Are we allowing the waiting to draw us closer to God?

When Simeon finally holds Jesus, he declares, “my eyes have seen your salvation.” The fulfillment of his hope does not erase all difficulty, but it brings a deep peace—a sense that God’s promise has become real. And when Anna encounters Jesus, she cannot keep the good news to herself. Her joy overflows into testimony as she tells others what she has seen.

This story reminds us that genuine hope changes us. When God meets us, the response is not simply to hold onto the moment for ourselves, but to share what God has done. The hope we receive becomes a hope we offer to others.

Many of us are waiting for something: an answered prayer, a new beginning, healing, reconciliation, or a glimpse of where God is leading us next. Simeon and Anna remind us that waiting is not wasted time. The Holy Spirit is present even in seasons when we cannot yet see the outcome.

Thousands of years later, we still gather around this Christmas story of Emmanuel—God with us. We are reminded that God meets us not only in moments of celebration and certainty, but also in seasons of longing and anticipation.

May we learn from Simeon and Anna to remain faithful in the waiting, attentive to the movement of the Spirit, and ready to recognize God’s presence when hope is fulfilled.

Reflection Questions:

• What do you think sustained Simeon and Anna through decades of waiting?

• What does Simeon and Anna’s faithfulness teach us about holding onto hope?

• What do you notice about Anna’s response to seeing Jesus? What does her response suggest about what happens to us when genuine hope is fulfilled?

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A Night Unlike Any Other
Series: Christmas in July
Scripture: Luke 2:1–20 (Common English Bible)

What happens when God shows up in the places no one expects?

As we begin our new sermon series, Christmas in July, we return to one of the most familiar passages in Scripture—but with fresh eyes and unhurried hearts. The story of Jesus' birth is often confined to a few busy days each December, yet the mystery of the Incarnation speaks to every season of our lives.

In this message, Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen invites us to slow down and rediscover the wonder of that first Christmas night. Against the backdrop of Caesar Augustus' imperial census—a symbol of political power, control, and human authority—God quietly enters the world in the most unexpected way imaginable: as a vulnerable child born in a stable.

Yet the surprises do not end there.

Rather than announcing the Savior's birth to kings, religious leaders, or people of influence, God sends angels to shepherds—ordinary laborers who lived on the margins of society. Considered ritually unclean and lacking social status, they become the first witnesses to the greatest news in human history.

Luke's Gospel makes this choice intentionally. Again and again, we see God drawing near to those the world overlooks, reminding us that God's kingdom operates by different priorities than earthly empires. God's grace is not reserved for the powerful or the privileged. It is good news for all people.

This sermon invites us to consider where we expect to encounter God—and where we might be overlooking God's presence. The Christmas story reminds us that the sacred often breaks into the ordinary, that hope can emerge from unlikely places, and that God continues to work through people the world may dismiss or underestimate.

As we begin this new series, we are challenged not only to remember what happened on that extraordinary night long ago, but to recognize that the good news of Jesus Christ is meant to shape how we live every day of the year. The story of Christmas is not confined to a season—it is an invitation to encounter God's presence in every season of life.

Reflection Questions:

• Reflect on a time when you encountered God's presence unexpectedly or "out of season" in your own life. How did that encounter change you?

• How does celebrating Christmas in July change your perspective on where and how God chooses to meet us?

• The shepherds were the first to receive the news of Jesus's birth. Why do you think Luke emphasizes these marginalized workers as the primary witnesses? What does that tell us about God's priorities and who God considers worthy of encountering the sacred?

God's greatest work often begins in the places the world least expects. When we learn to look beyond power, prestige, and familiar routines, we discover that the good news of Christ continues to meet us—and transform us—in every season.

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Disciples Transform the World
Series: Forward Through the Flame (Final Message)
Scripture: Matthew 28:16–20 (Common English Bible)

What does it look like when ordinary disciples are sent to change the world?

In this final message of Forward Through the Flame, we stand with the disciples on a mountain in Galilee after the resurrection of Jesus. They have seen the risen Christ, yet even here, Matthew tells us, “some doubted.” And still—Jesus chooses them. Still, Jesus sends them. Still, Jesus entrusts them with a world-changing mission.

In Matthew 28:16–20, Jesus speaks words that define the identity and purpose of every disciple: go, make disciples, baptize, and teach. But at the center of it all is a promise that makes the mission possible: “I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.”

In this sermon, Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen reflects on what it means for disciples to transform the world not through certainty or perfection, but through faithful obedience in the presence of Christ. The passage is honest about human doubt—some worshiped, some hesitated, some weren’t sure what to believe. Yet Jesus does not wait for perfect clarity before commissioning them.

That same tension speaks into our lives today. Many of us assume that doubt disqualifies us from meaningful discipleship. But in this text, doubt is not a barrier to being sent—it is part of the context in which Jesus still calls and still sends.

The mission Jesus gives is not simply about geography or conversion. It is about a way of life shaped by his presence: love that is bold, service that is joyful, and leadership that is courageous. The world is not transformed by certainty alone, but by disciples who trust that Christ goes with them into every space they are called to enter.

This promise—“I myself will be with you”—reframes how we understand both calling and courage. We do not go alone. We do not lead alone. We do not serve alone. The presence of Christ is not conditional on our confidence; it is the foundation beneath our uncertainty.

As this series closes, we are invited to see discipleship not as something we graduate into once we feel ready, but as a daily response to Jesus’ ongoing invitation to follow and participate in God’s work in the world.

Even now, Christ is still sending. Even now, Christ is still present. Even now, the world is still being transformed through ordinary people who choose to follow.

Reflection Questions:

• Jesus promises, “I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.” When you face doubt, difficulty, or fear in your discipleship, how do you experience or sense that presence in your life?

• What does it mean for you to love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously this week?

• Jesus commissioned his disciples even though some doubted. How does that give you permission to move forward in faith despite your own uncertainties?

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Disciples Lead Courageously
Series: Forward Through the Flame
Scripture: Joshua 1:5–9 (Common English Bible)

What gives ordinary people the courage to step into an uncertain future?

In Joshua 1, the people of Israel stand at a turning point. Moses, their longtime leader, has died. The wilderness journey is ending, but the Promised Land—and all its challenges—lies ahead. Into this moment of uncertainty, God speaks a simple but powerful command: “Be brave and strong.”

In this message, Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen explores what it means to become disciples who lead courageously. Drawing from Joshua 1:5–9, we discover that biblical courage is not fearlessness. It is the willingness to move forward in faith even when the future is unclear.

Joshua had every reason to feel overwhelmed. He was stepping into enormous responsibility, leading a people with a complicated history into unfamiliar territory. Yet God’s encouragement was not rooted in Joshua’s abilities, experience, or confidence. Instead, it was grounded in a promise: “I will be with you. I won’t desert you or leave you.”

That promise remains at the heart of Christian courage today. We often assume that courage comes from having all the answers, a perfect plan, or complete confidence in ourselves. Scripture tells a different story. Courage grows from trusting that God is present even when we do not know what comes next.

The passage also reminds us that leadership is not reserved for a select few. Every disciple is called to lead in some way—through our actions, our relationships, our decisions, and our witness. Courageous leadership often begins in ordinary moments when we choose faith over fear, hope over cynicism, and obedience over comfort.

Throughout the sermon, we are invited to consider the places in our lives where God may be calling us forward. Sometimes the greatest obstacle is not the challenge itself, but the fear that tells us we are not ready, capable, or strong enough. Yet God’s invitation is not to rely solely on our own strength. It is to trust in God’s faithfulness.

Joshua’s story reminds us that courage is not a personality trait possessed by a few extraordinary people. It is a spiritual practice cultivated through prayer, trust, and daily dependence on God.

As disciples, we are called to move forward not because we can see the entire path ahead, but because the One who calls us forward walks with us.

Reflection Questions:

• What does it mean to you personally that God promises, “I will be with you…I won’t desert you or leave you”?

• When have you experienced God’s faithfulness in a moment when you needed courage?

• What specific area of your life right now is calling you to “be brave and strong”?

Courageous leadership is not about having no fear. It is about trusting God enough to take the next faithful step. When we remember that God goes with us wherever we go, we discover the strength to move forward with hope, confidence, and faith.

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Disciples Serve Joyfully
Series: Forward Through the Flame
Scripture: 1 Peter 4:8–11 (Common English Bible)

What if joyful service could be sparked by something as simple as a $2 hot dog?

In this message, Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen begins with a surprising story from the world of Michelin-star hospitality—where one chef discovered that the most memorable moment of a multi-course luxury dining experience wasn’t caviar or fine wine, but a simple street hot dog served with creativity, attention, and joy.

That moment revealed a deeper truth: excellence in service is not defined by luxury, but by love, presence, and faithful attention to others.

Drawing from 1 Peter 4:8–11, this sermon explores what it means to become disciples who serve joyfully. Peter reminds the early church that every gift we have is entrusted to us by God—not for personal ownership, but for faithful stewardship.

Rather than seeing our abilities, talents, and opportunities as things we control, we are invited to see them as gifts meant to be shared. This shift—from ownership to stewardship—transforms how we approach service, purpose, and daily life.

The passage also reminds us that love is the foundation of all faithful service. When service is disconnected from love, it becomes exhausting. But when it flows from God’s love already at work in us, it becomes life-giving, sustainable, and even joyful.

Throughout the sermon, we are invited to recognize that no act of service is too small. Whether through hospitality, teaching, encouragement, leadership, or simple acts of care, God works through ordinary people who are willing to offer what they have.

Joyful service is not about doing more. It is about offering who we already are—our gifts, our limits, and our whole selves—to God.

Drawing on the wisdom of Scripture and the lived reality of Christian community, we are reminded that God supplies the strength for what God calls us to do. We do not serve from emptiness, but from overflow.

And in that place of grace, even ordinary acts of service become sacred.

Reflection Questions:

• Peter writes that we are to be “good managers of God’s diverse gifts.” What does it mean to you to be a “good manager” rather than an “owner” of your gifts and abilities? How does this shift in perspective change the way you approach service?

• Joyful service flows from our response to God’s goodness. When have you felt like serving others was a burden rather than a joy? What made the difference?

• Consider your unique combination of gifts, passions, and life experiences. Where do you sense God calling you to serve right now? Is there something holding you back from saying “yes” to God’s call?

Joyful service is not measured by scale or recognition. It is revealed in love, attention, and faithfulness in the small things—and in the surprising ways God uses them for good.

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Disciples Love Boldly
Series: Forward Through the Flame
Scripture: Mark 12:28–34 (Common English Bible)

What is the most important commandment of all?

When a religious scholar asked Jesus that question, he was really asking what truth holds everything else together. Out of 613 commandments in the Torah, which one mattered most?

Jesus answered by joining two commands that can never be separated: love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.

In this message, Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen explores what it means to become disciples who love boldly—not with a shallow or sentimental love, but with a love that engages our whole lives.

Drawing from Mark 12, we discover that loving God involves far more than religious belief or occasional devotion. It means bringing our entire selves before God: our choices, our questions, our hopes, our fears, our strengths, and even the parts of ourselves we would rather keep hidden.

Jesus reminds us that faith is never meant to remain compartmentalized. Love for God touches every area of life, shaping how we think, how we spend our time, how we use our gifts, and how we relate to others.

But Jesus does not stop there.

He immediately connects love for God with love for neighbor. The two are inseparable. Genuine faith is revealed not merely through worship or religious activity, but through the way we treat the people around us—especially those who challenge, frustrate, or differ from us.

This sermon also explores a vital but often overlooked part of the commandment: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Healthy love of neighbor requires receiving God's grace for ourselves as well. We cannot continually pour out compassion if we never allow ourselves to experience compassion. God's love fills us so that it can overflow into the lives of others.

Drawing on the teachings of John Wesley and the Methodist understanding of social holiness, we are reminded that discipleship is not a solitary journey. We grow in love through relationships, through community, and through the daily practice of extending grace to one another.

Near the end of the conversation, Jesus tells the scholar, "You are not far from God's kingdom." Those words offer hope to every disciple who is still learning how to live what they already know. The Christian life is not about perfection. It is about continuing the journey of allowing God's love to transform us more fully each day.

Reflection Questions:

• What gets in the way of you loving God with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength? How could you give God more of your real self?

• The Greatest Commandment teaches that loving God and loving our neighbor are inseparable. How can you show your love for God through the way you treat someone today, this week, or this month?

• The Bible says to love your neighbor as yourself. That means you're supposed to treat yourself with kindness and respect, too. How do you show yourself compassion? And how could treating yourself better actually help you be more loving toward others?

Bold love is not reserved for people without fear, pain, or uncertainty. It is the love of God flowing into us and through us—transforming ordinary lives into living reflections of God's grace. As we learn to love God wholeheartedly, love our neighbors faithfully, and receive God's love for ourselves, we discover that we are not far from the Kingdom of God.

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Disciples Formed by Jesus Christ
Series: Forward Through the Flame
Scripture: Ephesians 4:11–16 (Common English Bible)

The Trinity has been called Christianity's greatest mystery: one God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. For centuries, Christians have wrestled with how to describe this mystery, often discovering that every explanation eventually falls short.

But what if the Trinity is not primarily a puzzle to solve?

In this message, Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen explores Paul's vision in Ephesians 4, where the mystery of the Triune God becomes the pattern for Christian community. Rather than focusing on abstract theology, Paul challenges the church to become a community shaped by the very life of God—a community marked by unity, mutual care, spiritual growth, and love.

Drawing on the ancient Christian concept of perichoresis—often described as the "divine dance" of the Trinity—this sermon invites us to imagine the church not as a collection of individuals gathered in the same place, but as a living body connected to one another and to Christ. Just as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit exist in perfect relationship, Christians are called to participate in a community where every person matters and every gift has a purpose.

Paul reminds us that disciples are not formed in isolation. We are equipped, encouraged, and strengthened through one another. Each person has unique gifts to contribute, and the church flourishes when every member discovers their place in the body of Christ.

This message also reflects on the many "winds" that seek to pull us off course—anxiety, fear, misinformation, division, and cultural pressures—and how a community rooted in Christ provides the stability needed to grow in faith and maturity.

Ultimately, discipleship is not about perfectly understanding every mystery of God. It is about becoming the kind of people who reflect God's love through our life together.

Reflection Questions:

• Verse 16 says the body grows as "each one does their part." What is one gift, skill, or way of showing up that you bring to this community that no one else brings quite the same way?

• The perichoresis, the divine dance, describes a community where no one is passive or irrelevant. What would it look like for you to be more fully present and engaged in the life of this congregation?

• Paul warns against being "tossed and blown around" by every wind. What is one voice, pressure, or fear in your life right now that tries to pull you away from who you actually want to be?

The Triune God remains a mystery beyond our full understanding. Yet through Christ, we are invited into a community of grace, purpose, and belonging—growing together as disciples formed by the love of God.

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Disciples Empowered by the Holy Spirit
Series: Forward Through the Flame
Scripture: Romans 5:1–5 (Common English Bible)

Two hundred and eighty-eight years ago, John Wesley attended a small gathering on Aldersgate Street in London after years of striving to earn God’s favor through discipline, morality, and religious devotion. But on that evening, while listening to Martin Luther’s preface to Romans being read aloud, Wesley encountered something he had never fully known before: the assurance that God’s love was not something to achieve, but something to receive.

He later described the experience with the now-famous words: “I felt my heart strangely warmed.”

In this message, Rev. Jan Phillips explores the connection between Aldersgate and Pentecost—two moments where the Holy Spirit transformed ordinary people through the experience of God’s grace. One came with wind and fire in Jerusalem. The other came quietly in a small meeting room in London. Yet both reveal the same truth: the Holy Spirit changes hearts, strengthens communities, and empowers disciples for courageous living.

Drawing from Romans 5, we reflect on Paul’s vision of a faith shaped not by avoidance of suffering, but by transformation through it. Suffering produces endurance. Endurance forms character. Character gives rise to hope. This hope is not shallow optimism, but the deep assurance that God’s love has been poured abundantly into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.

This sermon also explores a distinctly Methodist understanding of grace—not as a single emotional moment, but as a lifelong journey. Grace awakens us, forgives us, transforms us, and continually reshapes us into people who embody the love of Christ in the world.

We are reminded that the Holy Spirit does not work in isolation. Pentecost happened in community. Aldersgate happened in community. And the fire of faith is sustained as believers encourage, strengthen, and kindle one another toward love, courage, and hope.

To follow Christ is not simply to know about God—but to be transformed by the living presence of God through the Holy Spirit.

Reflection Questions:

• Romans 5 says suffering produces endurance, character, and hope. Where have you seen that progression in your own life?

• Wesley described his Aldersgate experience as his heart being “strangely warmed.” How would you describe your own experience of God’s love becoming personal rather than just intellectual?

• The Holy Spirit fell on the disciples together, not alone. How is this community essential to your own spiritual fire?

Hearts set on fire by grace do not remain passive—they burn brightly, warm others, and help transform the world into the beloved community God intends.

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Turning the World Upside Down
Series: Defying Limits
Scripture: Acts 17:1–9 (Common English Bible)

In Acts 17, Paul and Silas are accused of “turning the world upside down.” It was not meant as praise. It was a warning—a charge leveled against people whose faith was disrupting the assumptions, systems, and power structures of the world around them.

This sermon explores how that same accusation became part of the Methodist story.

Drawing on the witness of the early Methodist movement, we remember a people who were mocked, threatened, and attacked because they refused to accept a world shaped by exclusion, inequality, and indifference. From the riots in eighteenth-century Wednesbury to the courage of unnamed Methodists who stood between violence and the vulnerable, these stories reveal a faith rooted not in respectability, but in transformative love.

At the center of this message is John Wesley’s definition of a Methodist: someone pursuing “universal love filling the heart and governing the life.” Not love as sentimentality or private feeling, but love as a governing principle that shapes every decision, every system, and every relationship.

This sermon challenges us to ask what it would mean to embody that kind of love today. A love that confronts injustice. A love that refuses to leave people behind. A love willing to disturb the peace when peace is built on harm.

The Ascension was not the end of Christ’s mission, but the moment that mission was handed to the church.

And the work of turning the world upside down continues now.

Reflection Questions:

1. Wesley defined a Methodist as someone pursuing “universal love filling the heart, and governing the life.” Where does that definition challenge you most personally?
2. Jesus left the mission to us at the Ascension. What is one specific place where you feel called to turn the world upside down with God’s help?

The gospel has never been about preserving the world as it is—but participating in God’s work of transforming it.

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Methodist Mavericks

Series: Defying Limits
Scripture: Joel 2:28–29 (Common English Bible)

What happens when the Holy Spirit refuses to follow human permission structures?

In Joel 2:28–29, God declares a radical vision: the Spirit will be poured out on all people—sons and daughters, young and old, servants and leaders alike. In this vision, spiritual authority is no longer reserved for the elite, the ordained, or the officially recognized. God’s Spirit moves freely, without checking credentials first.

This sermon, Methodist Mavericks, explores what it means when God calls people before institutions are ready to affirm them. Across the history of the church, there have always been those who experienced this tension firsthand—people called by God but delayed, resisted, or dismissed by the systems around them.

We hear the story of Jarena Lee, who carried a call to preach for eight years before being recognized. We encounter Richard Allen and the founding of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, born out of a refusal to accept dehumanizing treatment in worship. We see Anna Howard Shaw, who expanded her calling beyond the limits of both church and profession to address deeper systems of injustice. And we remember others in the Methodist tradition who refused to confine the movement of the Spirit to institutional boundaries.

Together, these stories reveal a consistent truth: the Spirit is not controlled by structure, status, or permission. God’s calling often arrives before recognition does.

This sermon invites us to consider where the Spirit may already be moving in our lives—before approval, before affirmation, and before we feel ready. The question is not whether God is speaking, but whether we are willing to respond when the Spirit moves beyond what is expected.

Reflection Questions:

1. Jarena Lee felt called to preach for eight years before anyone gave her the chance. Have you ever felt strongly that God was calling you to something, but others said no or not yet? What helped you remain faithful in that waiting?
2. Richard Allen and early leaders of the African Methodist Episcopal Church grounded their dignity in God rather than human approval. When you experience rejection or exclusion, how does your understanding of your worth in God shape your response?
3. Anna Howard Shaw discovered that her calling required stepping beyond institutional approval. Where might God be inviting you to use your gifts even without official permission or recognition?

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Breaking Systems of Harm
Series: Defying Limits
Scripture: Galatians 3:26-29 (Common English Bible)

In Galatians, the Apostle Paul confronts a crisis in the early church: lines are being drawn about who belongs and who does not. Cultural expectations, religious traditions, and social pressures are reshaping the gospel into something smaller, more controlled, and less inclusive than what Christ proclaimed.

Paul responds with urgency, insisting that in Christ there is no longer division by status, identity, or background—all are one.

In this message, Rev. Jan Phillips invites us to reclaim that vision through the Wesleyan idea of “being more vile.” Far from its modern connotation, this phrase describes a willingness to resist respectability, challenge harmful systems, and bend social expectations in order to ensure that more people experience the love of God.

Drawing on Methodist history, we remember both the courage and the failures of the church. There were moments when Methodists stood boldly against injustice—challenging systems of harm and advocating for the marginalized. But there were also moments when the church chose comfort, influence, and acceptance over faithfulness, reinforcing the very divisions the gospel seeks to dismantle.

To be “vile” in this sense is not about disruption for its own sake, but about a refusal to let exclusion have the final word. It is a call to recover a faith that is willing to be uncomfortable, to tell the truth about harm, and to act in ways that reflect the radical inclusivity of Christ.

This sermon invites us to examine the systems we participate in, the lines we have drawn, and the ways we might be called to break them—for the sake of a more just, inclusive, and Christ-centered community.

Reflection Questions:

Are there ways that you think The United Methodist Church is still losing its vile-tality today?

How might we apply our General Rule to “do no harm” here in Arlington, VA?

What systems might we challenge in order to build a more inclusive, equitable, and wholistic table for all God's people?

The call of Christ has never been about maintaining systems—but transforming them.

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The World Is My Parish
Series: Defying Limits
Scripture: Matthew 25:31–46 (Common English Bible)

In Matthew 25:31–46, Jesus describes a vision of the final judgment that is startling in its clarity and unsettling in its implications. The nations are gathered, and the dividing line is not drawn by status, belief, or reputation, but by how each person has responded to the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned. In these overlooked places, Jesus says, the presence of Christ is already waiting to be recognized.

This sermon explores the radical claim that God is not distant from human suffering but located within it. Drawing on the idea of the incognito Christ, we discover that Christ is present in the very people and places we are most tempted to avoid or overlook. The question is not whether we will bring Christ into those spaces, but whether we will recognize that Christ has already arrived ahead of us.

The message also turns to the story of John Wesley, who understood ministry not as something confined to a building or boundary, but as a calling that extends into the whole world. His declaration that “the world is my parish” was not a slogan but a refusal to let limits define the reach of love. It was lived out in risky acts of solidarity, including his advocacy for Thomas Blair, where compassion moved beyond sentiment into costly action.

Together, these stories invite us to reconsider what it means to follow Christ beyond comfort, beyond reputation, and beyond the spaces we typically consider sacred. If Christ is already present among the least of these, then discipleship becomes a matter of attention, courage, and willingness to go where love leads.

This sermon asks us to see the world not as divided between sacred and secular, but as already filled with the presence of Christ waiting to be encountered.

Reflection Questions:

• Wesley’s willingness to cross a boundary on behalf of Thomas Blair grew out of his conviction that every person is worthy of God’s love. Whose worthiness are you finding hardest to hold onto right now, and what is getting in the way?
• The Thomas Blair story is not really about tolerance; it is about risk. Who is the person or group in your community that would cost you something to stand with, and what is keeping you from taking that step?
• The sermon suggests that Christ is already present in the places we are most reluctant to enter. What is one place you have been reluctant to go, and what would it mean to trust that Christ got there first?

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No Limits at the Kitchen Table
Series: Defying Limits
Scripture: Acts 2:42–47

In Acts 2:42–47, the early believers do not gather in cathedrals or formal religious spaces, but in homes—around shared tables where Scripture is taught, prayers are offered, meals are shared, and life is lived in common. The church is born in ordinary spaces, where the presence of God is experienced through fellowship, generosity, and the breaking of bread.

Luke describes their life together as marked by agalliasis—a wild, exuberant joy that the surrounding culture found threatening. This was not quiet or contained spirituality, but a visible, embodied way of living that resisted the fear, hierarchy, and scarcity of the Roman world. Their shared meals became a declaration that God’s kingdom operates by a different economy.

This pattern of faith lived at the table echoes through the story of Susanna Wesley, whose kitchen became a place of teaching, formation, and spiritual attentiveness. Long before Methodism became a movement, it was shaped in the rhythms of ordinary family life—where questions were asked, Scripture was read, and souls were formed in conversation. From that table comes a tradition that would shape John Wesley’s understanding of discipleship as deeply relational and consistently practiced.

At the center of that tradition is a question that continues to echo through Christian community: “How is it with your soul?” Not as a formality, but as a practice of spiritual honesty and care.

This sermon invites us to reconsider the sacredness of the table—not as a symbol of comfort alone, but as a place where joy resists despair, where grace is extended to those overlooked, and where everyday life becomes a site of discipleship.

Reflection Questions:

• Acts describes the early believers eating with agalliasis, a wild and exuberant joy that the surrounding culture found threatening. What would it mean for your daily life to practice joy as an act of resistance?
• How can we transform our own kitchen tables into sanctuaries of grace for those society ignores?
• John Wesley's discipleship groups always opened with the same question: “How is it with your soul?” This practice traces back to the conversations he had at his mother’s kitchen table. Who in your life asks you that question, and who might be waiting for you to ask it of them?

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Submitting to the Spirit
Scripture: Luke 4:16–21 (CEB)
Series: Defying Limits

What does it look like to submit to the Spirit when it leads us beyond comfort, control, and respectability?

In this week’s sermon, we travel back to 1739 Bristol and witness John Wesley’s uneasy but transformative moment of obedience. A man formed by discipline, order, and religious precision finds himself pulled beyond the boundaries of what he believed faithful ministry should look like. Standing before thousands of coal miners in an open field, Wesley does what once felt unthinkable: he submits to the Spirit and steps into a wider, wilder mission field.

Wesley later writes in his journal, “I submitted to be more vile”—not meaning shame or corruption, but a willingness to abandon respectability for the sake of the gospel. His story becomes a living illustration of what it means to move from inward devotion to outward action, from carefully contained faith to Spirit-led disruption.

That same tension is present in Luke 4, where Jesus stands in his hometown synagogue and declares that Isaiah’s promise is fulfilled today. Good news is proclaimed to the poor, release to the captive, and freedom to the oppressed—not as distant hope, but as present reality. Yet this proclamation also challenges boundaries, disrupts expectations, and ultimately provokes rejection when grace extends beyond what people are willing to accept.

Both Jesus and Wesley reveal a Spirit that refuses containment. The Spirit leads into uncomfortable places, calls us beyond familiar circles, and redefines what faithful presence in the world looks like. The question becomes not just what we believe, but where we are willing to go—and who we are willing to go there for.

🌀 Reflection Questions

• Wesley’s journal uses the word “submitted” because he did not initially want to engage in field preaching; he was pulled by the Spirit into a space he considered “vile” and “filthy.” When has the Holy Spirit nudged you toward a task or a group of people you initially resisted, and what did you discover about God's love once you finally yielded to that pull?

• If the “Good News” Jesus proclaims in Luke 4 is for the poor and oppressed, what “respectable” church protocols are we willing to break to ensure that mission is fulfilled?

• This scripture moved Wesley from an inward “strangely warmed” heart to one “set afire” for action. How does this scripture challenge you to move from private piety to outward “vile-tality”?

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In Death, There Is Resurrection
Scripture: Luke 24:1–12 (CEB)
Part of the Defying Limits worship series

What if the resurrection isn’t a tidy, comforting ending—but something far more disruptive?

On this Easter Sunday, we hear the familiar story of the empty tomb from Luke’s Gospel—but through the eyes of those who first experienced it, the resurrection doesn’t feel like joy at first. It feels like confusion, fear… even “nonsense.” The women come expecting death, not life. The disciples struggle to believe what they hear. No one is prepared for what God is about to do.

And yet, this is the scandal and the promise of Easter: God refuses to let death have the final word.

In this first sermon of our Defying Limits series, we explore how the resurrection breaks open everything we thought we knew about life, death, and the love of God. Drawing on the story of the empty tomb and the bold witness of the early Methodists, we are invited to consider what it means to follow a risen Christ who defies expectations, crosses boundaries, and calls us beyond fear into a more courageous, expansive faith.

Because resurrection isn’t just something that happened long ago—it is something God is still doing. In moments of grief, uncertainty, and change, God is at work bringing new life where we least expect it.

So where are you looking for the living among the dead?

This Easter, we are reminded that in death, there is resurrection—and that truth changes everything.

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Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus
Scripture: John 19:30–42 (CEB)
Part of the Witness at the Cross Lenten series

What does it take to step out of the shadows and live your faith openly?

In this week’s sermon, we encounter two men who come forward in the final moments after Jesus’ death—Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. One has believed in secret, held back by fear. The other is still on a journey of faith, full of questions and uncertainty. Yet both show up when it matters most.

Drawing on the Gospel of John and insights from Witness at the Cross by Amy-Jill Levine, we reflect on the different ways people come to faith—and how God meets us in each place along the journey.

Joseph’s story reminds us that it is never too late to find the courage to step forward. Nicodemus shows us that faith doesn’t require having everything figured out, but simply a willingness to seek, to question, and to show up.

Together, they bear witness to a love that cannot remain hidden.

This story invites us to consider where we are being called to respond—to move from fear to courage, from silence to action, and to create space for others who are still finding their way.

🌀 Reflection Questions

• Joseph of Arimathea believed in Jesus for years but kept his faith hidden out of fear. When has fear kept you a secret disciple?
• What did you witness at the cross, in this worship series, that has moved you from silence toward courage?
• Who in your life is a Nicodemus—someone seeking understanding and faith in God? How can you support them on their journey?

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The Women
Scripture: Luke 23:26–49 (CEB)
Part of the Witness at the Cross Lenten series

What gives someone the courage to stay present to suffering instead of looking away?

In this week’s sermon, we stand at the cross alongside the women who followed Jesus all the way to Golgotha. While many disciples fled, these women remained—watching, mourning, and bearing witness to the suffering of Christ.

Drawing on the Gospel of Luke and insights from Witness at the Cross by Amy-Jill Levine, we reflect on what it means to stay present in moments of pain and grief. These women remind us that faith is not about avoiding suffering, but about learning how to face it—with honesty, courage, and compassion.

Jesus’ words to the women—“weep for yourselves and your children”—also invite us into the practice of lament. We are called not only to grieve Christ’s suffering, but to acknowledge the pain in our own lives and in the world around us.

Even from a distance, the women stayed. And in doing so, they became faithful witnesses.

This story invites us to consider how we, too, are called to bear witness—to remain present, to support one another, and to trust that we are not alone at the cross.

🌀 Reflection Questions

• The women followed Jesus all the way to the cross when most disciples fled. What gives us courage to stay present with suffering rather than look away?
• Jesus tells the women to “weep for yourselves and your children.” When is lament for our own world’s pain an appropriate response to Jesus’ story?
• The text says the women “stood at a distance observing.” What keeps us at a distance from Jesus’ suffering? What would it mean to come closer?
• These women are named as witnesses—they saw, they stayed, they mourned. Who are the faithful witnesses in your life who have shown you how to stay present in hard times?

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The Beloved Disciple
Scripture: John 19:25–27 (CEB)
Part of the Witness at the Cross Lenten series

At the foot of the cross, a small group remains with Jesus in his final moments. Among them is an unnamed figure in the Gospel of John known simply as the beloved disciple. In this week’s sermon, we stand beside Mary, the mother of Jesus, and this anonymous disciple to reflect on what it means to remain close to Christ even in moments of suffering.

Drawing on insights from Amy-Jill Levine’s Witness at the Cross: A Beginner’s Guide to Holy Friday, we explore why this disciple may have been intentionally left unnamed. By leaving the beloved disciple anonymous, the Gospel invites each of us to step into the story—to see ourselves as the one whom Jesus loves and the one called to care for others in his name.

From the cross, Jesus forms a new kind of family. He says to Mary, “Here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” In that moment, family is redefined—not by biology, marriage, or obligation—but by love, faithfulness, and care for one another in Christ.

Standing close to the cross is not only about remembering the past. It calls us to look around and notice who is beside us, and to practice love in concrete ways—through presence, hospitality, and acts of compassion that reflect Christ’s love in the world.

🌀 Reflection Questions

• What spiritual practices help you stand closer to the cross and gain clarity and focus on what Jesus wants you to see?
• What does “family” mean to you after hearing John 19:25–27? How does that shape your commitments?
• Who is the person standing at the cross with you whom Jesus is calling you to love like family? What action can you take this week to love them well?

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The Soldiers
Scripture: Mark 15:16–25 (CEB)
Part of the Witness at the Cross Lenten series

What happens when people simply follow orders within a powerful system? In this week’s sermon, we stand at the cross alongside the Roman soldiers who carried out Jesus’ crucifixion and reflect on what their story reveals about obedience, responsibility, and witnessing to truth.

Drawing on insights from Amy-Jill Levine’s Witness at the Cross: A Beginner’s Guide to Holy Friday, we explore how Mark’s Gospel presents these soldiers not simply as villains, but as ordinary people participating in the machinery of empire. Their actions invite us to wrestle with difficult questions about the systems we live within and the choices we make every day.

Yet even in the midst of this difficult reflection, the Gospel offers hope. At the foot of the cross, a Roman centurion witnesses Jesus’ death and declares, “Truly this man was God’s Son.” In that moment, someone who had been part of the system becomes a witness to the truth.

This story invites us to consider how Christ calls us to move from passive participation toward courageous witness—speaking truth, seeking justice, and living as citizens of a different kind of kingdom.

🌀 Reflection Questions

• The soldiers were following orders when they crucified Jesus. When is it okay to follow rules, and when should we question them?
• When have you found yourself “just going along” with something you knew wasn’t right? What made it hard to speak up or step out of line?
• The centurion saw Jesus die and declared, “Truly this man was God’s Son.” What would it take for us to become witnesses to the truth rather than just participants in the system?

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A Thief’s Prayer
Scripture: Luke 23:39–43 (CEB)
Part of the Witness at the Cross Lenten series

In this week’s sermon, we remain at the cross and listen closely to a voice we might otherwise overlook—a condemned criminal hanging beside Jesus. In Luke’s Gospel, two men are crucified with him. One joins the chorus of mockery: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us.” The other does something astonishing.

He sees a king.

While religious leaders sneer, soldiers gamble, and a sign above Jesus’ head reads “King of the Jews,” this dying man recognizes what others cannot. He tells the truth about himself—“We are rightly condemned.” He declares Jesus’ innocence—“This man has done nothing wrong.” And then he dares to believe that Jesus’ kingdom is still coming.

“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Not if. When.

Drawing on insights from Amy-Jill Levine’s Witness at the Cross, we reflect on how this second criminal represents a radically different response to Jesus’ suffering. With nothing left to prove, no reputation to defend, and no time to make amends, he offers only an honest heart and a simple prayer. And in response, Jesus speaks one of the most grace-filled promises in all of Scripture:

“Today you will be with me in paradise.”

Throughout Christian history, believers have tried to explain how the cross accomplishes salvation—through ransom, satisfaction, substitution, moral influence, Christus Victor, and more. Yet what they all share is this: our salvation rests on God’s action, not our own. Jesus does what we cannot do.

The thief understands this before any theologian names it. He brings no good works, no theological credentials, no time to “get it right.” His only claim is this: “The man on the middle cross said I could come.” And that is enough.

As we prepare to come to the table of grace and reflect at the prayer stations, we are invited to release our regrets, fears, and shame into the hands of the crucified King. The kingdom that comes through the cross is not built on force or self-protection. It is a kingdom where grace meets us at our worst moment, where a King dies even for his enemies, and where Jesus looks at us and says, “I remember you. You’re with me.”

🌀 Reflection Questions:

• Does seeing Jesus as a suffering King change the way you imagine God’s power?
• The thief’s only credential for paradise was, “The man on the middle cross said I could come.” How does this simple truth challenge or comfort you in your faith journey?
• How does focusing on our salvation originating in God’s action through Christ—rather than our faith or our works—influence your daily walk with Jesus?

✨ Listen as we stand between two crosses, hear a dying man’s prayer, and rediscover the grace that welcomes us—not because we have earned it, but because Christ has spoken.

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The Cross as a Witness: Ash Wednesday
Matthew 6:1–6, 16–21

We begin Lent by marking ourselves with ashes and hearing the words, “Remember that you are dust.” Ash Wednesday confronts us with mortality — but it also points us to hope.

In this opening message of our Witness at the Cross series, we reflect on how the cross stands as a witness to two realities at once: the certainty of death and the greater certainty of God’s love in Christ. The cross exposes the emptiness of performative religion and calls us into a deeper, hidden faith.

Drawing from Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6, we explore how secret giving, private prayer, and unseen fasting become acts of quiet resistance — contending against pride, control, and the lie that more is always better. These Lenten disciplines are not about earning applause or perfecting ourselves. They are about allowing God’s grace to shape us in the hidden places of the heart.

In that secret place, resurrection begins.

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Bystanders and Scoffers
Scripture: Matthew 27:27-44 (CEB)
Part of the Witness at the Cross Lenten series

In this week’s sermon, we step into the final hours of Jesus’ life, witnessing the suffering, mockery, and crucifixion in Matthew 27. From Roman soldiers to passing crowds, from religious leaders to Simon of Cyrene, we encounter the many bystanders and scoffers surrounding the cross—and we are invited to see ourselves among them.

Drawing on Amy-Jill Levine’s insights from Witness at the Cross: A Beginner’s Guide to Holy Friday, we explore questions that challenge our daily lives: Are there any innocent bystanders? When do we remain silent in the face of injustice, and what might it take to move from observation to action? How does Simon’s compelled act of carrying the cross deepen our understanding of discipleship and responsibility?

This sermon also warns of the danger when those in positions of religious or social authority use influence to harm others in God’s name. How can we hold ourselves and our faith communities accountable, ensuring that our witness reflects Jesus’ inclusive love rather than fear or prejudice?

🌀 Reflection Questions:

• When have you found yourself as a “bystander” to someone else’s suffering or injustice? What made it difficult to step in, and looking back, what might have helped you become a participant instead?
• How does Simon of Cyrene’s story challenge your understanding of what it means to “carry the cross” in your daily life? Where is Jesus inviting you to carry something this week?
• How can we ensure our witness in the world mirrors Christ’s inclusive love rather than our own biases?

✨ Listen as we journey to the cross, confront the scoffers and bystanders within and around us, and consider how God calls us to active, faithful presence in a world that desperately needs courage and compassion.

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From the Mountain to the World
Scripture: Matthew 17:1-9 (CEB)
The culmination of our series, A Journey of Justice: From the River to the Mountain

In this concluding sermon of our worship series, we stand with Peter, James, and John on the mountaintop of the Transfiguration—awestruck by Christ’s radiant glory and tempted, like Peter, to stay where the moment feels holy and safe. But the mountain is not the destination. It is the launching place.

As Jesus leads the disciples back down toward Jerusalem—and ultimately toward the cross—we are reminded that every encounter with the living God is meant to send us back into the world bearing light.

Drawing on the life and witness of Desmond Tutu, this sermon explores what it means to practice joy as resistance. In the face of apartheid’s cruelty and injustice, Tutu chose laughter, hope, and unwavering love—not as denial of suffering, but as defiance against it. His joy was not naïve optimism; it was a theological conviction that the light of Christ is stronger than any darkness.

Rooted in the promises of our baptism—to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves—this message invites us to consider how mountaintop moments with God equip us for courageous, justice-shaped living. We cannot remain neutral in the face of harm. We cannot stay on the mountain. We are sent.

What would it mean for us to become “joy warriors” in our own time?
What does it look like to move from silence to action, from cynicism to hope, from private faith to public witness?

The world does not need more despair. It needs people so grounded in God’s love that they radiate joy, mercy, and justice wherever they go.

🌀 Reflection Questions:

• Desmond Tutu practiced “joy as resistance” in the face of apartheid’s evil. Where do you see the need for joyful resistance in our world today, and what might that look like in your own life?
• Tutu said, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Where might God be calling you to break your silence or move from neutrality to action?

✨ Listen as we journey from the mountain back into the world—carrying Christ’s light, choosing joy as resistance, and embracing our call to love boldly in a broken world.

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Corrie’s Reflections: A Journey of Justice — From the River to the Mountain

This week’s service was something different—and deeply moving. Instead of a traditional sermon, we welcomed guest speaker Olive Horning, who shared Corrie’s Reflections, a first-person portrayal of the life and witness of Corrie ten Boom.

Through story, memory, and testimony, Olive invites us to step into Corrie’s world: a quiet Dutch home transformed by war, courage, sacrifice, and an unwavering trust in God. As we listen, we encounter a faith forged not in comfort, but in resistance—one that chose to shelter the persecuted, speak truth in the face of evil, and cling to hope even in the darkness of Ravensbrück concentration camp.

Corrie’s Reflections is not a performance for entertainment, but a witness meant to be received. It bears testimony to a God who is present in suffering, faithful in impossible circumstances, and able to bring light even through fear, loss, and human weakness. Corrie’s story reminds us that God’s love truly is deeper than the deepest pit—and that ordinary people, relying on extraordinary grace, can become instruments of mercy and courage.

Olive also shares her own story of being called to carry Corrie’s witness forward, offering a gentle reminder that God often uses gifts we did not expect, in ways we could not have planned, for purposes far greater than ourselves.

✨ We invite you to listen prayerfully to this special episode, allowing Corrie’s story—and the God revealed through it—to speak to your heart, stir your faith, and renew your hope.

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Costly Discipleship: A Journey of Justice — From the River to the Mountain
Scripture: Mark 1:14–20 (CEB)

In Costly Discipleship, our journey of justice brings us back to the water—this time to the seashore—where Jesus calls ordinary people to leave their nets and follow him into an unknown future. With a simple, disruptive invitation—“Follow me”—Jesus reveals that discipleship is never abstract. It always asks something real of us.

This sermon reflects on the radical immediacy of the call in Mark’s Gospel and what it means to leave behind the “nets” that offer us security, comfort, or silence. Drawing on the life and witness of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, we confront the difference between cheap grace and costly grace—between claiming faith as private belief and living it as public, embodied obedience.

Bonhoeffer’s refusal to remain safely removed from suffering challenges us to reconsider where discipleship leads. His insistence that “the church is only the church when it exists for others” presses against any temptation to retreat into personal piety while injustice persists. Following Jesus, this sermon reminds us, inevitably draws us toward the vulnerable and into the work of resisting evil, injustice, and oppression.

Rooted in our baptismal vows and attentive to the realities of our own moment, Costly Discipleship invites us to listen for Jesus’ call today. What are we being asked to leave behind? What next faithful step is Christ placing before us? And how might costly obedience lead not to loss, but to deeper meaning, courage, and hope as we continue our journey—from the river to the mountain.

🌀 Reflection Questions:

• What “nets” in your life might God be asking you to leave behind so you can follow Jesus more faithfully?
• How does Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s example challenge your understanding of discipleship and public witness?
• In what concrete way this week can you move from private piety to costly obedience in service to others?

✨ Listen as we reflect on the call to follow, the cost of discipleship, and the grace that meets us when we dare to set our nets down and walk with Jesus into the world God so deeply loves.

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Sent to Heal: A Journey of Justice — From the River to the Mountain
Scripture: Matthew 10:1–8 (CEB)

In Sent to Heal, our journey of justice moves from the river into the world Jesus loves. Having been named beloved at baptism, Jesus now sends his disciples—entrusting them with authority, compassion, and power to bring healing in its fullest sense.

This sermon reflects on Jesus’ commissioning in Matthew 10, where he gives the disciples authority to cure disease, cast out spirits, and proclaim that God’s reign has come near. Yet Jesus’ vision of healing is never only about physical cures. It is about restoration, dignity, and the rebuilding of broken lives and communities.

Drawing on the witness of Florence Nightingale, we explore a vision of healing that reaches beyond individual illness to include presence, advocacy, and systemic change. Healing, in this broader sense, becomes the work of justice: restoring wholeness where harm, exclusion, or neglect have taken hold.

To be sent by Christ, this sermon reminds us, is to carry our baptismal identity into the hurting places of the world—not with all the answers, but with courage, compassion, and love. The same Spirit that met us at the river empowers us to participate in God’s healing work today.

This message invites us to reflect on the authority we have received, to expand our understanding of healing, and to imagine what wholeness might look like in our lives, our church, and our community as we continue this journey—from the river to the mountain.

🌀 Reflection Questions:

• In what ways has baptism given you a sense of authority to act for healing and justice?
• Florence Nightingale understood healing as dignity, presence, and systemic change. When have you experienced or witnessed healing that restored wholeness rather than simply curing? How does this broader understanding of healing reshape what it means to be sent by Christ?

✨ Listen as we reflect on baptismal authority, reimagine healing as justice-making work, and discern how Christ sends us to participate in God’s restoring love.

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A Journey of Justice: From the River to the Mountain
Follow Me into the Desert
Scripture: Matthew 3:13–17 (CEB)

In Follow Me into the Desert, our journey of justice moves from the waters of the Jordan into the hard, honest landscape of the wilderness. Jesus steps into the river not out of need for repentance, but in faithful obedience—to “fulfill all righteousness.” He enters cold water, vulnerability, and risk, and is named beloved before he is led anywhere else.

This sermon reflects on baptism as both grounding and sending. As heaven opens and the Spirit descends like a dove, Jesus hears words that anchor him for what lies ahead: “This is my Son, whom I dearly love.” Almost immediately, that same Spirit will lead him into the desert—into testing, temptation, and costly faithfulness. Belovedness does not spare him from difficulty; it prepares him for it.

Preached on Martin Luther King Jr. Sunday, this message draws deep connections between Jesus’ baptismal calling and Dr. King’s own journey into the desert places of justice work—marked by patience, suffering, exhaustion, and unwavering commitment to love. Water becomes both symbol and reality: cleansing and danger, life and weapon, promise and protest. Beneath the riverbed, the sermon reminds us, lies a deeper truth—a bedrock identity that sustains us when the road grows dry.

To follow Jesus, we are invited to follow him not only into the waters, but into the wilderness—thirsty for justice, righteousness, care, and love. This is not a solitary journey. The Spirit who descends also sustains, calling the community of faith to create spaces of renewal for those doing hard Kingdom work.

This message invites us to trust God’s timing, to listen for the Spirit’s leading even when it is risky, and to remember that justice does not flow from our strength alone, but from our belovedness.

🌀 Reflection Questions:

• Rev. Dr. King said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Jesus waited many years before his public ministry began. How does patience in God’s timing sustain you when justice work feels slow or discouraging?
• Rev. Dr. King’s “desert” included threats, jail, and exhaustion. Jesus’ desert would include temptation and suffering. What sustains you when following Jesus into difficult spaces for the sake of love and justice? How can we create spaces where people doing hard Kingdom work can be refueled and renewed?
• After his baptism, the Spirit immediately led Jesus into the wilderness. Dr. King wrote, “The ultimate measure of a person is not where they stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where they stand at times of challenge and controversy.” When have you felt the Spirit leading you toward something difficult or risky for the sake of justice? What gave you the courage to say yes—or what held you back?

✨ Listen as we follow Jesus from the river into the desert—grounded in belovedness, sustained by the Spirit, and called to trust that justice will yet roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

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Beloved and Bold: A Journey of Justice: From the River to the Mountain
Scripture: Mark 1:1–11 (CEB)

In Beloved and Bold, we begin our journey of justice at the river—standing with Jesus at the waters of baptism. As heaven is torn open and the Spirit descends, God speaks words that shape everything that follows: “You are my Son, whom I dearly love.” Before Jesus performs a single miracle or teaches a single crowd, he is named beloved.

This sermon reflects on how baptism grounds our identity not in achievement, productivity, or approval, but in God’s declaration of love. Jesus enters the Jordan not because he needs repentance, but in solidarity with a broken and vulnerable humanity. His baptism marks the beginning of a ministry rooted in presence, compassion, and justice—one that consistently stands with those on the margins.

From this moment at the river flows a bold life of resistance to injustice: healing on the Sabbath, crossing social boundaries, restoring dignity to the excluded, and challenging systems of oppression. The same Spirit that empowered Jesus is poured out on us in our baptisms, giving us freedom, power, and courage to live faithfully.

To be beloved, this sermon reminds us, is not a passive identity. When we know we are God’s beloved children, we are freed from proving our worth—and compelled to see others as beloved too. Justice then becomes not an obligation, but an act of love.

This message invites us to remember who we are, to renew our baptismal vows, and to take our first steps in a season-long journey of justice—from the river to the mountain.

🌀 Reflection Questions:

• When have you most felt affirmed as God’s beloved, and how can that memory strengthen you in times of doubt?
• How does embracing our identity as God’s beloved compel us to notice and respond to vulnerability and injustice in our community?
• Our baptismal vow calls us to resist evil, injustice, and oppression. What is one concrete, faithful step you will take this week to live out that promise?

✨ Listen as we remember our belovedness, renew our baptismal identity, and begin a bold journey of justice—empowered by the Spirit and rooted in God’s unwavering love.

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You Are Mine, and I Am Yours
Scripture: Jeremiah 31:31–34 (CEB)
Theme: Wesley Covenant Prayer · Covenant Renewal

In this sermon, You Are Mine, and I Am Yours, Pastor Sarah Harrison-McQueen reflects on God’s promise of a new covenant—one written not on stone tablets, but on human hearts. Drawing from Jeremiah’s vision of covenant renewal and the Wesleyan Covenant Prayer, she invites us to rest in the truth that our relationship with God is grounded not in what we do, but in who we are: God’s beloved people.

This message explores the deep reassurance of covenant faith—that even when humanity falters, God remains faithful. Through Jesus Christ, God fulfills the promise of a new covenant, one marked by grace, forgiveness, and presence. Communion becomes not a transaction, but a vow of relationship, reminding us that we belong to God, and God belongs to us.

At the heart of this service is the Wesley Covenant Prayer, a prayer that can feel both beautiful and challenging. Its words ask for trust in seasons of abundance and emptiness, action and rest, praise and suffering. Yet this prayer is not a resolution to “do better,” but an invitation to remember and celebrate a relationship already sustained by God’s grace.

Whether you are new to faith or have been walking with Christ for many years, this sermon offers space to reflect, renew, and rest—listening again for God’s promise spoken over our lives: You are mine, and I am yours.

🌀 Reflection Questions:

• As you read the Covenant Prayer slowly, what words or phrases stand out to you?
• Which parts of the prayer feel easy to say—and which feel difficult? Why?
• Looking at your whole life, what might God be asking you to stop, continue, or begin as part of this covenant relationship?

✨ Listen as we reflect on covenant, grace, and belonging—and as we renew our trust in the God who writes love on our hearts and walks with us through every season.

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Sacred Doing: Reflecting the Sacred
Scripture: Isaiah 52:7–10; Matthew 2:13–23 (CEB)

In this Christmas sermon from our series Reflecting the Sacred, we turn to Sacred Doing—the call to embody God’s presence through acts of justice, mercy, and solidarity in a suffering world. Drawing from Isaiah’s vision of beautiful feet that carry good news and Matthew’s account of the Holy Family fleeing violence and fear, Pastor Christina Hart-Perkins invites us to consider what faith looks like when it must move, risk, and respond.

Jesus’ life begins not in safety or certainty, but in displacement. Forced to flee as a child refugee, Jesus is formed in solidarity with the vulnerable, the grieving, and the displaced. His story confronts us with the reality that fear still breeds violence, that suffering persists even in holy seasons—and yet, God continues to break through with comfort, redemption, and hope.

This sermon reminds us that God does not stand apart from human suffering but enters fully into it. Sacred doing is not about grand solutions or easy answers; it is often as simple—and as costly—as showing up, bearing witness, and refusing to let evil have the final word. We are called to be the messengers Isaiah describes: people whose lives carry good news, whose steps lead toward peace, and whose presence reflects the sacred even in the hardest places.

🌀 Reflection Questions:

1. Jesus begins life as a vulnerable child who must flee for safety. How does this shape the way you see vulnerable people today?
2. What might “sacred doing” look like in response to fear, injustice, or suffering today?
3. What does it mean for us to dedicate ourselves to reflecting the sacred in all we do?

✨ Listen as we reflect on fear and faith, suffering and solidarity, and the invitation to become God’s agents of grace, peace, and healing in the world.

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Sacred Knowing: Reflecting the Sacred
Scripture: Matthew 1:18–25 (CEB)

This week in our Advent series Reflecting the Sacred, we turn our attention to Sacred Knowing—the quiet, often overlooked awareness of God’s presence woven into the ordinary fabric of our lives. Drawing from Matthew’s account of Jesus’ birth, Pastor Christina Hart-Perkins invites us to see the story through the eyes of Joseph: a man whose faith is revealed not through words, but through steady, faithful action.

Joseph’s story unfolds in uncertainty, risk, and disrupted expectations. Faced with a future that no longer made sense, Joseph listens for God not in spectacle, but in a dream—and responds with obedience that costs him comfort, reputation, and control. In naming the child Jesus, Joseph claims a sacred calling: to embody Emmanuel, God with us, not in grand gestures, but in daily faithfulness.

This sermon reflects on the profound truth that God’s saving presence is not confined to holy places or extraordinary moments. God walks among the pots and pans, the schedules and carpools, the disappointments and the mundane rhythms of life. Jesus—fully divine and fully human—meets us exactly where we are, saving us not after we have it all together, but in the midst of our becoming.

Sacred knowing helps us look beneath the surface of our lives to discover that even obedience, disruption, and ordinary labor can become holy ground. Advent reminds us that we do not need to escape the world to find God—God has already come to us.

🌀 Reflection Questions:

• When I quiet my mind, where is God calling me?
• As my schedule grows fuller with the approach of Christmas, where do I find peace, and how might I carry that peace to others?

✨ Listen as we reflect on Joseph’s faith, the holiness of the ordinary, and the deep truth that God is with us—and saves us—in every moment of our lives.

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Sacred Space: Reflecting the Sacred
Scripture: Isaiah 35

This week at Central, we continue our Advent series Reflecting the Sacred by exploring what it means to find — and create — sacred space in a world that often feels dry, fractured, and joyless. Drawing from the prophetic vision of Isaiah 35, Pastor Christina Hart-Perkins invites us into a promise of unexpected renewal: that even deserts will bloom, and joy will emerge where we least expect it.

Isaiah speaks honestly to a people who have lost home, community, and stability. He does not minimize their pain or rush them toward false hope. Instead, he names the wilderness for what it is — a place of loss, fear, and disorientation — while boldly proclaiming that God does not abandon us there. In the very places that feel barren, God’s saving presence brings life, beauty, and restoration.

In this sermon, Pastor Christina reflects on joy not as something we manufacture through seasonal trappings or outward cheer, but as a deep and sustaining strength rooted in God’s faithfulness. Joy, she reminds us, is not denial of suffering — it is what carries us through it. Sacred spaces are often hidden within pain and truth-telling, and it is there that God continues to meet us, renew us, and call us forward.

Advent invites us to prepare not only for the birth of Christ, but for the ways God is still entering the dry and weary places of our lives and our world. As we wait, we are called to embody sacred space — shaping homes, communities, and hearts that reflect God’s justice, hope, and enduring joy.

🌀 Reflection Questions:

1. How do the spaces I inhabit — at home, work, and in community — reflect God’s justice and joy?
2. What am I being called to create in order to further goodness in the world?
3. What emotions do I feel when I think about visiting a street adorned with Christmas lights or a calming nature spot?

✨ Listen as we reflect on wilderness, truth, and the joy that endures — and discover how God is still bringing life to bloom in the most unexpected places.

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Sacred People: Reflecting the Sacred
Scripture: Matthew 3:1–12

This week at Central, we continue our Advent series Reflecting the Sacred by turning our attention to what it means to see one another as sacred people. Pastor Christina Hart-Perkins invites us into a surprising and powerful Advent companion: John the Baptist. Far from the serene scenes on our Christmas cards, John comes to us wild, blunt, and uncompromising—yet carrying a message of love that reaches deeper than sentimentality.

In a season that often idealizes warmth and harmony, John’s call to repent can feel jarring. But Pastor Christina reminds us that repentance—teshuva, “to return”—is not about shame. It is an invitation to come back to our truest identity: beloved children of God. When we release the guilt, judgments, and stories we hold about ourselves, we also become free to see the sacred in others, even those who are difficult to love.

John’s fierce urgency is not meant to make us small, but to call us back to ourselves and to one another. True repentance clears the space for love to grow—for us to recognize that God claims every person as holy, cherished, and worthy. From the marginalized to those we’d rather avoid, from the ones who hurt us to the ones we simply don’t understand, God’s love reaches first into the desert places and invites us to meet Him there.

Advent beckons us to return, to release what separates us, and to recognize the sacred humanity in all whom we encounter.

🌀 Reflection Questions:

1. Where do I look for the sacred in other people this week, even in those I find difficult to love?
2. How can I remind myself to pause and pray for a new understanding when I feel disconnected from someone?

✨ Listen now as we explore what it means to repent, return, and reflect God’s love—discovering the sacred not only in ourselves, but in every person we meet.

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Sacred Time: Reflecting the Sacred

Scriptures: Romans 13:11–14; Matthew 24:36–44

This week at Central, we enter both the first week of Advent and the opening of our new worship series, Reflecting the Sacred. Pastor Christina Hart-Perkins invites us to consider what it means to step into “sacred time”—to live awake, attentive, and present to God’s movement in our everyday lives.

In a season often filled with rushing, planning, and distraction, Scripture reminds us that we do not prepare for Christ’s coming by predicting a day or hour, but by waking up to God’s presence here and now. Romans calls us to shake off spiritual sleep, while Matthew urges us to stay alert, ready for the unexpected ways God breaks into our world.

Pastor Christina reflects on the story of Noah—on what it means to build something faithful and hope-shaped even when the world cannot yet see its purpose. Like Noah’s ark, our practices, rituals, and communities of faith become vessels of love, justice, and hope that help us live toward God’s unfolding future.

Advent invites us to slow down and notice the sacred woven into each hour—to breathe deeply, to reconnect, and to create moments that draw us beyond ourselves and into God’s holy mystery.

🌀 Reflection Questions:

• How can I stay present this week?
• What ritual helps me stay connected with the sacred in this season?
• If I don’t have one, how will I create sacred moments?

✨ Listen now as we begin this Advent journey together—awakening to God’s presence, embracing sacred time, and preparing our hearts for the hope that is coming.

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From Complaining to Connecting: A Complaint Free World

Scripture: Ephesians 4:29–32

This week at Central, we continue our series A Complaint Free World by exploring how God calls us to move from criticism toward deeper connection. Complaints—especially about one another—often spring up quickly and easily, but scripture invites us to pay attention to the heart behind our words. In Ephesians, Paul reminds us that our speech carries the power to either bring life or to spread “rotting” words that tear others down.

Pastor Christina challenges us to consider how we relate to one another, especially when frustrations arise. Instead of venting, gossiping, or comparing ourselves to others, we are invited to respond with kindness, compassion, and forgiveness—the same grace God has shown us. By shifting from complaint to direct, grace-filled communication, we open the door to stronger relationships, deeper unity, and a community shaped by love.

Together, we discover that the journey from complaining to connecting begins not with changing our vocabulary, but with allowing Christ to transform our hearts.

🌀 Reflection Questions:

1. What would it look like to respond with kindness instead of criticism?
2. How could you take the opportunity to connect instead of complaining about someone else?

✨ Listen now and reflect on how God invites us to speak life, build one another up, and move from complaint to connection—becoming a community rooted in grace, compassion, and the love of Christ.

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From Complaining to Seeking Justice: A Complaint Free World

Scripture: Isaiah 1:17 & Micah 6:8

This week at Central, we explore how to move beyond complaints and toward hope-filled action for justice. Complaining often leaves us stuck in frustration, while seeking justice invites us to channel our concerns into meaningful, positive change. Guided by scripture, we learn that God calls us not only to notice injustice but to actively participate in making our world more compassionate and fair.

Pastor Sarah shares practical ways to transform complaints into action, using tools and reflective exercises to reframe frustration into hope, prayer, and tangible steps for change. We discover that spiritual disciplines—prayer, reflection, and community—can guide us in living out justice with patience, courage, and faith.

🌀 Reflection Questions:

1. When was the last time you found yourself complaining about a social issue? How might you reframe that complaint into a vision of positive change and use words that sound hopeful instead of angry?
2. In what ways can your spiritual disciplines support active, hope-filled justice work?
3. What's one thing in your world that you'd like to see improve? What are three small steps you could take to help make that change?

✨ Listen now and reflect on how God invites us to move from frustration to action, transforming complaints into hope-filled steps toward justice, compassion, and a world shaped by God’s love.

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From Complaining to Grieving: A Complaint Free World

Scripture: John 11:1–44

This week at Central, we continue our journey toward a complaint-free life by moving from complaining to grieving. In John 11, Jesus meets Mary and Martha in the depth of their sorrow over the death of their brother, Lazarus—and He weeps with them. In this sacred moment, we see that God does not rush past our pain or demand composure. Instead, Jesus enters fully into our grief, showing us that divine compassion meets us right where we are.

Pastor Sarah invites us to move beyond surface-level complaints and explore what lies beneath them—unacknowledged grief, loss, or longing. Through visuals like the Grief Iceberg and the Feelings Wheel, we learn how to recognize what’s truly under the surface and to bring those deeper emotions into God’s presence.

Grieving isn’t about control or fixing—it’s about allowing our hearts to break open in the presence of a God who is not afraid of our tears. And it’s there, in that sacred space of vulnerability, that we discover resurrection hope: the God who weeps with us is also the God who calls us to new life.

✨ Listen now and reflect on how God meets us in our grief, transforms our pain, and reminds us that even in our sorrow, resurrection is already stirring.

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From Complaining to Lamenting: A Complaint Free World

Scripture: Numbers 11:1-6 & Lamentations 3:19-24

This week at Central, we explored the difference between complaining and lamenting, guided by the experiences of the Israelites in the wilderness and the raw honesty of Lamentations. Complaints often focus on what’s missing, keeping us at the surface of our emotions, while lament invites us to name our pain, confront our deeper feelings, and bring them into God’s presence with trust and hope.

Pastor Sarah shared practical ways to notice when we complain, dig beneath the surface using tools like the feelings wheel, and transform those complaints into honest, vulnerable prayers of lament. Through this process, we learn to approach life’s difficulties with faith, awareness, and gratitude, even in the midst of suffering.

This week’s sermon also includes helpful visual aids:

• Feelings Wheel
• Complaint-to-Lament Chart
• Emotion Deep-Dive

🌀 Reflection Questions:

1. Are you willing to take on the challenge to try to go 21 days in a row without complaining?
2. What emotions are typically "hidden below the surface" when you find yourself complaining?
3. Using the feelings wheel, can you identify the deeper emotion behind a recent complaint you've had?
4. Where in your life do you tend to stay "above the surface" with complaints instead of diving deeper into your true feelings?
5. How does God invite us to move from surface-level grumbling to honest, vulnerable prayer?
6. This week, when you catch yourself complaining, pause and ask: "What am I really feeling?"

✨ Listen now and reflect on how God invites us to move from surface-level complaints into a deeper, faith-filled dialogue with the Divine — discovering hope, honesty, and God’s unfailing presence along the way.

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Ambassadors for Christ: A Story Worth Sharing
Scripture: Ephesians 6:18–20

This week at Central, we celebrated Laity Sunday—a day when members of the congregation step forward to share their stories of faith and discipleship, reminding us that ministry belongs to all of God’s people.

Through heartfelt witness, Fabian Rosado reflected on how a simple act of welcome drew him into community and revealed what it means to be an ambassador for Christ—someone whose everyday kindness becomes an invitation into God’s love. Carol Cobb shared her own faith journey, shaped by generations of believers and the quiet, steady witness of those who lived their faith with integrity and joy.

Lay Minister Tricia O’Hara offered the morning message, drawing from Paul’s words in Ephesians: a call to pray continually, to speak boldly, and to remember that each of us represents Christ in the world. Prayer, she reminded us, is both conversation and calling—a way of staying grounded in God’s presence and open to being used for God’s purposes, wherever we are.

🕊️ This Laity Sunday reminds us that the Church is not built by pastors alone, but by a community of faithful people—ambassadors of grace—whose lives, prayers, and love bear witness to the gospel in every place and circumstance.

🎧 Listen now and be encouraged by the stories, prayers, and message of a community living out God’s call together.

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Seeds That Bless the World: A Story Worth Sharing

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:6–15

This week at Central, we continued our A Story Worth Sharing series by exploring Paul’s reminder that generosity is like sowing seeds—when we give freely and cheerfully, God multiplies our offering to bless others and nurture new growth.

Guest preacher Rev. Christina Hart-Perkins shared how the seeds we plant through acts of kindness, generosity, and faithfulness don’t just change individual lives—they ripple outward, bearing fruit in ways we may never see. Just as Ms. Corbin’s small gesture of generosity inspired deeper gratitude and giving, our own gifts can become part of God’s greater harvest of grace.

In a world that often measures worth by what we keep, this passage invites us to see abundance in what we share. God supplies both the seed and the harvest, calling us to trust that our giving—whether time, resources, or love—can truly bless the world.

🌀 Reflection Questions:

• Where have you seen the “seeds” of generosity take root and grow in your own life or community?
• How does the idea of cheerful giving challenge or inspire your approach to generosity?
• What “seed” might God be inviting you to plant this week, trusting that it will bless others?

✨ Listen now and discover how every act of giving, no matter how small, can become part of God’s abundant harvest—transforming lives, communities, and hearts for good.

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Partners in God’s Good Work: A Story Worth Sharing

Scripture: Philippians 1:3–6

This week at Central, we explored Paul’s letter to the Philippians and the remarkable joy he expressed even while in prison. Paul reminds us that we are not alone in our faith journey — we are partners together in God’s ongoing work. From the support and encouragement of the Philippians to our own church community, spiritual partnership strengthens, transforms, and sustains us.

Pastor Sarah encouraged us to recognize the ways God is already at work in our lives and to consider how we can actively participate in this good work. Whether through prayer, acts of service, generosity, or simply journeying alongside others in faith, every contribution matters. God begins the work in us and promises to bring it to completion, and our partnerships help it flourish.

🌀 Reflection Questions:

Where do you see God still at work in your own life, carrying a “good work” toward completion?

Paul gives thanks for the Philippians’ partnership in the gospel. Who has been a “partner in God’s good work” in your life, and how did their support shape your faith?

What is one specific way our congregation could strengthen its partnership in God’s work with the wider community this year?

✨ Listen now and reflect on the joy and confidence that comes from being part of something bigger than ourselves — God’s good work continues, and we are all invited to join in.

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What I Know Is Enough: A Story Worth Sharing

Scripture: John 9:1–39

This week at Central, we continued our series A Story Worth Sharing with the story of the man born blind in John 9. Pressed with questions he couldn’t answer and pressured to explain what was beyond him, the man gave a simple but powerful testimony: “I was blind, and now I see.” He didn’t have all the theological details, but he had his story — and that was enough.

Pastor Sarah reminded us that we, too, do not need to know everything before sharing the difference God has made in our lives. Testimony doesn’t require polished arguments or perfect answers. It asks only for honesty about where we were, what God has done, and how we are living differently because of that encounter. Whether our stories are dramatic or slow transformations over time, they are gifts that can strengthen faith and invite others into the good news of God’s grace.

🌀 Reflection Questions:

• In what ways has God transformed me, and how am I living differently because of that change?
• Based on how God has been working in my life, what is one specific way I sense God calling me to grow or serve in the coming month?
• What would it look like for our community to become a place where people feel safe sharing both struggles and celebrations? What barriers might prevent authentic storytelling, and how can we intentionally remove them?

✨ Listen now and join us in reflecting on how what you know is enough — your story matters, and someone needs to hear it.

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A Story Worth Sharing: Holy Rocks

Scripture: Genesis 28:10–19

This week at Central, we continued our series A Story Worth Sharing with Jacob’s story in the wilderness. Fleeing from the consequences of his deceit, Jacob finds himself alone, exhausted, and afraid, with nothing but a rock for a pillow. Yet it is in this place — the middle of nowhere, in the middle of his mess — that Jacob dreams of heaven touching earth. God meets him not with condemnation, but with a promise: “I am with you now… I will not leave you.”

Pastor Sarah reflected on how Jacob’s “holy rock” became a marker of God’s presence — a tangible reminder that even in liminal spaces, God shows up. Just as Jacob turned his stone pillow into a sacred pillar, we too are invited to name and mark the moments where heaven has touched earth in our lives. These “holy rocks” become stories worth sharing, reminders of God’s faithfulness not only for ourselves, but for the generations to come.

🌀 Reflection Questions:

1. When have you felt like God was silent or distant in your life? Looking back, can you see signs that God was still present and at work?
2. Jacob marked his encounter with God by setting up a stone. What might it look like for you to create a reminder of where you’ve seen God in your story?
3. Where in your daily routine do you need to pause, “look up,” and notice God’s presence? How might doing that change the way you see your relationships, struggles, or surroundings?

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A Story Worth Sharing: From Persecutor to Preacher

Scripture: 1 Timothy 1:12–17

This week at Central, we continued our series A Story Worth Sharing. Pastor Sarah reflected on Paul’s powerful testimony — a story that begins not with triumph, but with failure. Before he became the great missionary of the early church, Paul (then Saul) was a persecutor of Christians, complicit in violence against the followers of Jesus. Yet rather than hide his past, Paul put it front and center. He called himself “the biggest sinner of all,” not to wallow in shame, but to magnify the endless patience and transforming grace of God.

In a world that prizes highlight reels and carefully curated stories, Paul’s example reminds us that God doesn’t want the edited version of our lives. Grace shines brightest in the broken places, and our most painful chapters can become powerful testimonies of hope. By leading with vulnerability, Paul shows us that no one is beyond God’s reach — and that our stories, even the hardest ones, can open doors for others to encounter mercy and healing.

🌀 Reflection Questions:

1. What part of your story have you found difficult to share because of shame or fear of judgment? How might sharing these honest parts of your journey open the door for healing and transformation by God’s grace?
2. How can acknowledging our shared experiences of failure and brokenness strengthen our relationships within the church community? In what ways can we create a safe space for one another to tell these whole stories without shame?
3. Paul’s testimony reminds us that no one is beyond the reach of God’s grace. How does knowing that God’s redemption includes the totality of your story influence how you view yourself and your journey with Christ?

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A Story Worth Sharing: The Unknown God Revealed

Scripture: Acts 17:16–34

This week at Central, we began a new worship series, A Story Worth Sharing. Pastor Sarah reflected on Paul’s visit to Athens, where the city was filled with shrines, altars, and philosophies — including one altar marked “to an unknown god.” Rather than debate or condemn, Paul began with the Athenians’ spiritual hunger. He connected their searching to the God already at work in their lives, the God revealed fully in Jesus Christ.

This is the Methodist story of prevenient grace: God’s love goes before us, stirring in our lives even before we recognize it. Like the Athenians, we may have “altars to an unknown god” — seasons or moments when we longed for something more but didn’t yet have the words or story to name it. Paul shows us that evangelism isn’t argument but invitation, telling the story of God’s grace in a way that meets people where they are.

Each of us has a story worth sharing — a story that reveals God’s presence and love in our lives. By telling those stories, we offer others not debate, but light.

🌀 Reflection Questions:

• When you look back at your life, where do you recognize God was already at work in your story before you fully knew it? What were some of your own “altars to an unknown god”?
• When you think about the people in your life who don’t share your faith, what are they already seeking or longing for? How do you see God at work in those desires?

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Singing Our Faith: Go Down, CUMC

Scripture: Exodus 5:1–6:8 (CEB)

This week in our Singing Our Faith worship series, Central UMC welcomed guest preacher Rev. Lemuel Pearsall, Jr. to reflect on the story of Moses, Pharaoh, and God’s unshakable promises. Standing before Pharaoh, Moses demanded freedom for God’s people, only to see their burdens grow heavier — bricks without straw, beatings without mercy, despair without relief. Pharaoh’s arrogance, the Israelites’ frustration, and even Moses’ own doubt all reveal how unbelief takes root in the face of suffering.

Yet God’s response is steadfast: I will bring you out. I will deliver you. I will redeem you. I will take you as my people. I will be your God. Seven promises of covenant love, each later fulfilled in Christ. Rev. Pearsall reminded us that faith is not the absence of questions, but where we bring them. Like Moses, we are invited to groan in the right direction — to lay our pain, doubt, and longing before God, who is faithful even when we are not.

The legacy of the spiritual “Go Down, Moses” echoes this truth: God stands with the oppressed, delivers the enslaved, and calls us to confront the Pharaohs of our own time. Our hope is not in our strength, but in the God who has already said yes and amen through Christ Jesus.

🌀 Reflection Questions:

1. How does the legacy of the Spiritual “Go Down Moses” deepen our understanding of God’s solidarity with the oppressed?
2. What does it mean for us, like Moses, to confront the “Pharaohs” in our lives and communities today?

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Singing Our Faith: Tambourine Theology

Scripture: Exodus 15:1–21 (CEB)

This week at Central UMC, Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen invited us to stand on the shores of the Red Sea with the Israelites, who had just witnessed the impossible. Behind them, the waters closed over Pharaoh’s army. Ahead of them stretched wilderness, uncertainty, and freedom. In that liminal moment, the first sound was not a command or a quiet prayer, but music — tambourines and dancing led by Miriam the prophet.

Rev. Harrison-McQueen reminded us that throughout history, music has been the language of liberation. From the songs of enslaved Africans in America to the freedom anthems of the Civil Rights Movement, from the rubble of the Berlin Wall to the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, rhythm and song have always carried the power to resist oppression and proclaim hope.

Miriam’s tambourine teaches us that celebration is not frivolous — it is prophetic. Her embodied praise declared that oppression did not have the final word and that God’s deliverance was real. Even in the wilderness, the people carried tambourines because they expected to celebrate. This is tambourine theology: a faith that insists on joy, even before the full story of freedom has been written.

We are invited to live this same way today. Our worship can be resistance, our joy can be a witness, and our embodied praise can become a proclamation that God is still making a way where there seems to be none.

🌀 Reflection Questions:

1. When has God helped you through something that felt really hard or impossible?
2. How can your praise become an act of witness or resistance?
3. What “tambourines” — symbols of joy or hope — are you carrying with you on your journey of faith?

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Singing Our Faith: The Best Is Yet to Come

Scripture: Isaiah 43:15–21 (CEB)

This week at Central UMC, we welcomed guest preacher Rev. Michelle Holmes Chaney, Director for Leadership and Church Vitality for the Northern Virginia District. Rev. Holmes Chaney reminded us that even in the midst of uncertainty and reflection, God is constantly doing something new—sprouting, emerging, and unfolding in our lives and in the world around us.

Through personal stories, memories, and even a Frank Sinatra song, she showed how hope can emerge in both the ordinary and the extraordinary. Like seeds that inevitably sprout when nurtured, God’s new things are always at work, even if we cannot yet see the full bloom.

Rev. Holmes Chaney encouraged us to pay attention to God’s perpetual “now”—a present that is always imminent and filled with possibility. Through trust, faith, and expectation, we are invited to perceive God’s transformative work in our lives, in the church, and in the world. The refrain is simple yet profound: The best is yet to come, and the sun has yet to shine its brightest.

🌀 Reflection Questions:

1. Where in your life, or in the life of the church, do you sense God inviting you to let go of the past in order to make room for something new?
2. What helps you remain hopeful when the future feels uncertain or delayed?
3. What is one thing you can do this week to actively cultivate hope, either in your own life or in someone else’s?

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Singing Our Faith: Directions for Singing

This week at Central UMC, we welcomed guest preacher Brian Lamb from Wrights Chapel UMC in Ladysmith, VA. A seminary-educated public high school business teacher pursuing ordination, Brian brings a unique vision for ministry in the public schools — serving God and students where faith and daily life meet.

Drawing from John Wesley’s timeless “Directions for Singing,” Brian invited us to see worship music not as a battleground between “traditional” and “contemporary,” but as a living expression of God’s renewing work. Just as the psalmist turned the old story of the Exodus into a new song, God continues to make all things new — even in our music.

Through personal stories of worship transitions, seasons of spiritual dryness, and moments when God’s presence broke through in unexpected ways, Brian reminded us that styles may change, but God’s love remains constant. The question is not whether we prefer the organ or the guitar, the hymn or the praise chorus, but whether we are open to God breaking down the barriers — in music and in life — that keep us from deeper communion with Him.

🌀 Reflection Questions:

• What barriers keep you from fully connecting with God?
• How has God refreshed your faith during dry or difficult seasons?
• How can we invite others into a relationship with God in ways that are relevant to their lives?

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Singing Our Faith: Ubi Caritas Deus Ibi Est

Scripture: Psalm 107:1–7, 33–43 (UMH 830)

This week at Central UMC, we welcomed guest preacher Rev. Joanna Dietz, a deacon who ministers in the community—often at farmer's markets and public gatherings—where she makes visible the steadfast love of God.

Rev. Joanna invited us to reflect on Psalm 107, a rich song of thanksgiving and reversal: deserts become springs, the lowly are lifted up, and the weary are led to a place to dwell. Through the lens of monastic life—from the chants of the Benedictines to the humble service of the Franciscans—we explored the tension and balance between personal holiness and social holiness.

We learned how the early monks not only memorized all 150 psalms through chant but also lived out their faith through daily labor, hospitality, and care for the poor. Their monasteries became oases in the wilderness—places of song, prayer, and service.

Rev. Joanna reminded us that in today’s world of doomscrolling, division, and despair, we are still called to create oases of community and compassion. Like the psalmists, we name the desert places—loneliness, hunger, injustice—and trust in God’s transforming love to bring about healing and abundance. Each of us is invited to consider the places we’re called to act, speak out, and stand in solidarity with those on the margins.

This is the rhythm of grace: worship and justice, prayer and protest, solitude and service. The question is not just How is it with your soul? but also How is it with your neighbor?

🌀 Reflection Questions:

1. Are you spending time in scripture and prayer with God and allowing your heart to be transformed to see the world through God’s eyes?
2. How is God calling you to action in response to the fear and scarcity mentality with love, grace, and abundance?
3. How can you live your life balanced by personal holiness with social holiness as you seek solidarity with those who need one with privilege to speak to those in power against injustice?

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Singing Our Faith: The Still Center

Scripture: 1 Kings 19:8–16

This week at Central UMC, we turned to the story of the prophet Elijah—a man who stood against injustice, called down fire from heaven, and then found himself hiding in a cave, burnt out and afraid. In 1 Kings 19, Elijah flees to Mount Horeb, the same sacred ground where Moses once met God, and there, in the quiet, he encounters the divine—not in the wind, earthquake, or fire, but in the sound of sheer silence.

Pastor Sarah led us through a powerful reflection on the "still center"—a space of sincere, grounded faith in a noisy and chaotic world. Drawing inspiration from The Swan, a serene musical interlude tucked inside a satirical symphony, we explored how God calls us not to match the noise of the world but to embody grace and stillness within it.

In a time of performative religion, relentless news cycles, and spiritual fatigue, we were reminded that God's voice often comes not in spectacle, but in silence. Elijah’s story reminds us that we’re not alone, that faith is passed from generation to generation, and that God is still speaking—quietly, but powerfully.

🌀 Reflection Questions:

1. How do you feel God’s presence in small or quiet moments?
2. Where in your life are you experiencing noise right now?
3. How might you create space this week to listen for the still, small voice of God?

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🎶 Faith That Sings: Songs of Heaven and Resistance

Scripture: Hebrews 11:1–16

This week at Central UMC, we turned to the stirring words of Hebrews 11—a chapter sometimes called the “Hall of Faith”—to reflect on the kind of belief that doesn’t just survive adversity but sings through it. Through the stories of Abraham, Sarah, Noah, and others, we were reminded that faith is not wishful thinking—it is confident assurance. It's the ability to live as if God’s promises are already true.

Pastor Sarah guided us through a powerful reflection on how faith has always found expression in song—especially in traditions like Southern Gospel, where music born from suffering becomes a vision of resistance. We explored how singing about heaven is not an escape from reality but a prophetic protest against the brokenness of the world. From enslaved people lifting their voices in hope to revival tents filled with trembling hearts and triumphant songs, we are part of a great chorus that believes heaven is coming—and is already breaking in.

As part of our Singing Our Faith series, this service invites us to sing not just for joy, but for justice. To let our music proclaim a better world, even when we cannot yet see it.

🌀 Reflection Questions:

• What does it mean to have a faith that not only endures suffering but also resists it?
• How might our church reflect a heaven-rooted hope that works for justice in the present?

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🕊️ Sent and Still: A Taizé-Inspired Service

Scripture: Luke 10:1–11

This week’s worship service at Central UMC took a contemplative turn as we explored the rhythms and spiritual practices of the Taizé Community, an ecumenical monastic movement in France devoted to prayer, simplicity, and reconciliation. Pastor Sarah introduced us to the story of Taizé’s founding, its daily rhythms of prayer and reflection, and the spirit of unity that continues to draw thousands of pilgrims there each year.

Our scripture reading comes from Luke 10, where Jesus sends out 72 disciples in pairs—not to work alone, but to rely on community, hospitality, and trust in God’s provision. The reflection, originally shared with pilgrims at Taizé, challenges us to embrace the mystery of being “sent” not with certainty, but with trust, humility, and openness to those we meet along the way.

As part of our Singing Our Faith series, this service invited us into silence, sacred listening, and shared reflection. In a world of noise and speed, Taizé reminds us that the Spirit still speaks—especially when we slow down enough to hear.

🌀 Reflection Questions:

• Have I ever brought some peace to a difficult situation?
• What helps me believe that Jesus himself is present there?
• How do “being sent” and having to make choices in life fit together?

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Tending the Flame

Scripture: Leviticus 6:8–13

In this week's message, Pastor Sarah draws from the rarely-visited book of Leviticus to uncover profound truths hidden within ancient temple rituals. Centering on the command to keep a continuous fire burning on the altar, the sermon invites us to reflect on the fire of God’s presence in our own lives—how it burns, how it flickers, and how we are called to tend it daily.

We explore the theological significance of the burnt offering and how it symbolized repentance, reconciliation, and the transforming grace of God. Pastor Sarah weaves in personal stories from summer camp, testimony circles, and even theological debates between traditions, showing how the work of salvation is not a single moment, but a lifelong journey of grace.

As part of our Singing Our Faith series, this message reminds us that salvation isn’t transactional—it’s transformational. The fire of God’s love is not confined to a temple altar but lives within us, shaping us through daily acts of mercy, justice, and love. We are not only saved—we are being saved and will be saved.

🕊️ Reflection Questions:

• How do you understand salvation in your life right now?
• We often talk about being “saved,” but what does it mean to you that we have been, are being, and will be saved?
• How does that shape your relationship with God and with others?

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Praying at the River

Scripture: Acts 16:13–15

In this week’s message, Pastor Sarah takes us to the riverside in Acts 16, where Paul meets Lydia—a bold and generous woman whose open heart and courageous faith helped birth the first church in Philippi. Drawing from personal stories of outdoor baptisms and the unexpected grace that flows in those holy moments, we explore how prayer, like music, often happens best in community and in rhythm.

As part of our Singing Our Faith series, this sermon reflects on how our faith—like a good bluegrass jam—calls us to play in time, tune our hearts, act with courage, and join in harmony with others. Through the story of Lydia’s baptism and hospitality, we are reminded that our faith is not meant to stay private. It flows outward, impacting our homes, our churches, and our world.

Whether you're new to faith or have been on this journey for decades, this message invites you to reflect on your own baptismal calling and what it means to live it out together. There's room for every instrument—and every heart—at the river.

🕊️ Reflection Questions:

• Scripture says, “...the Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly.” When in your life have you experienced a moment of spiritual openness like Lydia? What helped prepare your heart?
• Lydia’s response to the gospel was immediate and public when she and her household were baptized. How do you respond when you sense God moving? What helps you say yes quickly and fully?
• Lydia’s faith affected not only her but her entire household. How does your faith impact the people around you?

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Improvising Prayers

Scripture: Romans 8:22–27

Sometimes prayer begins not with words, but with sighs too deep for words. In this week’s message, Pastor Sarah shares a powerful experience of communal prayer in South Korea and reflects on the Spirit’s ability to speak through our groans, our longing, and even our silence.

Drawing from Romans 8 and Psalm 40, we explore the deep connection between lament and hope, silence and song, structure and improvisation. Just as jazz invites us to improvise on familiar themes, our prayers—structured or spontaneous—can become living, breathing expressions of faith. Whether whispered in stillness or cried aloud in anguish, the Spirit intercedes on our behalf.

Pastor Sarah also introduces a simple four-part prayer model to help us grow a more personal and creative prayer practice: You / Who / Do / Through. For those seeking a starting point or a new rhythm of prayer, this week’s message offers tools, stories, and encouragement.

🕊️ Reflection Questions:

1. Psalm 40 proclaims, “I waited patiently for the Lord…God put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.” Are you waiting on God for something in your life? What song might be forming as you wait?
2. Where in your life are you being invited to pray honestly, even if the words don’t come easily?
3. What collect prayer are you inspired to write today?
   👉 Visit https://bit.ly/collect-prayer for a “how to” guide.

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Singing Our Faith

Scripture: Colossians 3:12–16

What we sing shapes what we believe. As we begin our new worship series, Singing Our Faith, Pastor Sarah invites us to reflect on how music forms us—individually and as a church community.

This week’s message explores the connection between worship and formation through the lens of Colossians 3, where Paul calls us to live in compassion, love, and unity—and to “teach and warn each other with all wisdom by singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.” Pastor Sarah shares results from our recent church music survey and invites us into a summer of worship shaped by the songs that move us, challenge us, and root us in the grace of Christ.

Whether you're drawn to traditional hymns, contemporary praise, or something in between, this series reminds us that when we sing with gratitude, our hearts and habits are transformed.

🎵 Reflection Questions:

1 - What does "putting on" compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience look like in my daily life?

2 - How does the Word of Christ live in me?

3 - What barriers do I experience that prevent me from singing to God with gratitude in my heart?

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Journey: The Places We Will Go
Scripture: Acts 10:34–36

Some transformations lead us far from where we started. When the Holy Spirit moves, we may find ourselves crossing borders, breaking assumptions, and joining in a love that is bigger than we imagined.

In this week’s sermon, Pastor Sarah shares the story of Peter’s awakening to the expansive grace of God. What began as a personal revelation became a world-changing proclamation: God shows no partiality. Every person, in every place, is welcomed into the story of Jesus. Like the Monarch butterfly on its long, daring migration, we too are invited into a journey—one that leads to new life, new freedom, and a deeper understanding of the Spirit’s calling.

As our butterfly series continues, we’re reminded that transformation doesn’t always keep us in place. Sometimes, it sends us.

Sermon Reflection Questions

🦋 Butterfly Fact: Each year before winter, Monarch butterflies undertake a truly heroic journey from as far north as Canada and all across the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Some Monarchs travel more than 3,000 miles during this migration!

– Where are you feeling called to go next in your life?
– What journeys have you taken to renewed life and freedom?
– How does the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost help us understand Peter’s words that God's love is for everyone?

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Fly: Daring New Heights
Scripture: Mark 2:1–5

Some transformations only happen when we’re willing to take risks—when we dare to go higher, dig deeper, and break through the barriers in our way.

In this week’s sermon, Pastor Sarah reflects on the bold faith of four friends who refused to let a crowded house keep them from bringing someone they loved to Jesus. They climbed the roof, tore it open, and made space for healing. Their story invites us to consider how faith, community, and courage work together to lift us—and others—into the presence of Christ.

As our butterfly series continues, we’re reminded that some butterflies can fly over 30 miles per hour. Transformation has energy. Grace has momentum. And sometimes, faith takes flight.

Sermon Reflection Questions

1. 🦋 Butterfly Fact: Most butterflies fly at about 5–12 miles per hour. Some species can fly over 30 miles per hour!
   How are you being energized lately? What makes your spirit soar?
2. What does it mean in your life right now to be a “roof-breaker”?
   (Someone who breaks through barriers, fears, or expectations so that healing and transformation can take place—either for yourself or someone else.)
3. How does the faith of the friends in this story inspire you to think about the role of community in your own healing—or in someone else’s transformation?

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"Let Go: Leaving Behind What We Don’t Need"
Scripture: Exodus 16

On this Memorial Day weekend, we remember not just those we’ve lost, but the quiet grief that comes with change — even good change. In Exodus 16, the Israelites are no longer enslaved, but freedom brings uncertainty. They miss Egypt — not the cruelty, but the comfort and predictability of what they knew.

This week’s message explores what it means to let go of what no longer serves us — the habits, assumptions, or comforts that can keep us tethered to the past. God meets the Israelites in their fear and hunger, not with judgment, but with daily provision: manna, quiet and sufficient, like grace itself.

What do we still carry from our own “Egypt”? And do we trust God to provide just enough for the journey ahead?

Sermon Reflection Questions

1. Butterfly Fact: A chrysalis is a hard exoskeleton that the caterpillar forms when it's time to transform. The chrysalis keeps the caterpillar safe for a time during metamorphosis and is ultimately discarded when the new butterfly is ready to come out. What safe spaces and comfort zones have you outgrown? How does our protective armor sometimes impede growth?

2. What does it look like for you to trust God’s provision one day at a time, especially when you’re in a season of transition or uncertainty?

3. When have you experienced a time of spiritual “wilderness” that turned out to be a season of preparation or transformation? What did you learn about God, and about yourself, while waiting and trusting in that in-between space?

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Sermon preached on 2025-05-18 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen
Matthew 16:13–20
Common English Bible

In this moving sermon, Pastor Sarah reflects on the moment Jesus renames Simon as Peter—the rock—showing how Christ sees who we are becoming, not just who we’ve been. Like a caterpillar transformed into a butterfly, we are invited to step into the fullness of our God-given identity. This message calls us to trust the Spirit’s work in us, embrace transformation, and live into the names and purposes God speaks over our lives.

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Sermon preached on 2025-05-12 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen
John 11:1–44
Common English Bible

In this powerful message, Pastor Sarah explores the story of Lazarus—inviting us to confront what holds us back, embrace grace, and wake up to new life in community.

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Sermon preached on 2025-05-04 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Luke 24: 28-49 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2025-04-27 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Hebrews 11:1-3 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2025-04-20 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen John 20:1-18 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2025-04-13 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Mark 14:32-52 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2025-04-06 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen John 13:1-16 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2025-03-30 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Matthew 14:3-9 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2025-03-23 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Matthew 25:15-22 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2025-03-16 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Mark 11:15-19 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2025-03-09 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Matthew 21:1-11 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2025-03-02 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Matthew 17:1-9 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2025-02-23 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Matthew 5:38-48 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2025-02-16 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Matthew 5:21-37 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2025-02-09 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Matthew 5:13-20 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2025-02-03 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Matthew 5:1-12

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Sermon preached on 2025-01-26 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Matthew 4:12-23

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Sermon preached on 2025-01-19 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Matthew 4-1-11

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Sermon preached on 2025-01-12 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Matthew 3-13-17

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Sermon preached on 2025-01-05 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Matthew 2:1-12

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Sermon preached on 2024-12-29 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Colossians 3:12-17

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Sermon preached on 2024-12-22 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen
Luke 1:39-55

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Sermon preached on 2024-12-15 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen
Philippians 4:4-7 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-12-08 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen
Malachi 3:1-4 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-12-01 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen
Acts 20:32-36 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-11-17 by Rev. Thomas James
Ephesians 1:15-23 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-11-10 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen
Luke 10:25-37 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-11-03 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen
1 Corinthians 12:1-11 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-10-20 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen
John 11:17-44 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-10-20 by Tricia O'Hara
Proverbs 1:2-23 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-10-13 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen
Philippians 3:10-16 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-10-06 by Rev. Ilga Iluna Philippians 2:1-5 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-09-29 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen
Philippians 1:2-14 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-09-22 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen
Philippians 2:5-11 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-09-15 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen
Hebrews 11:8:16 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-09-08 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen
Mark 4:30-32 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-09-01 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen
Matthew 20:1-16 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-08-25 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Mark 4:26-29 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-08-18 by Rev. Jesse Lee Luke 14:12-24 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-08-11 by Rev. Ilgha Monga Ilunga Luke 7:36-50 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-08-04 by Rev. Ilgha Monga Ilunga Luke 16:1-12 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-07-28 by Rev. Ilgha Monga Ilunga Luke 18:9-14 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-07-21 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Luke 18:1-8 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-07-14 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Luke 15:1-7 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-06-23 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Matthew 25:1-13 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-06-16 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Matthew 13:24-30 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-06-9 by Rev. Patti Money Luke 12:13-21 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-05-19 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Acts 2:1-21 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-05-26 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Matthew 28:16-20 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-06-02 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Matthew 13:1-17 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-05-05 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen John 5:1-9 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-05-12 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Luke 24:44-53 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-04-25 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen John 13:31-35 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-04-21 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Acts 9:36-43 Common English Bible

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Sermon preached on 2024-04-14 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen John 21:1-19 Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2024-04-07 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Psalms 150:1, Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2024-03-31 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen John 20:1-18, Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2024-03-17 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen John 12:20-33, Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2024-03-10 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen John 3:1-21, Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2024-03-03 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen John 2:13-22, Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2024-02-11 by Rev. Alyssa Densham Scripture Mark 8:31-38, Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2024-02-11 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Scripture
Mark 1:9-15, Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2024-02-11 by Rev. Lemuel Pearsall Scripture
Matthew 17:1, Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2024-02-03 by Rev.Sarah Harrison-McQueen Scripture
Matthew 16:24, Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2024-01-27 by Rev.Sarah Harrison-McQueen Scripture
Psalms 139:1, Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2024-01-20 by Rev.Sarah Harrison-McQueen Scripture
Romans 1:7, Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2024-01-14 by Rev.Sarah Harrison-McQueen Scripture Matthew 17:5, Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2024-01-06 by Rev.Sarah Harrison-McQueen Scripture Matthew 2:1-12, Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-12-31 by Rev.Sarah Harrison-McQueen Scripture, Luke 2:22-40, Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-12-24 by Rev.Sarah Harrison-McQueen Scripture, Luke 2:1-20, Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-12-17 by Rev.Sarah Harrison-McQueen Scripture, Luke 1:46-55, Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-12-10 by Rev.Sarah Harrison-McQueen Scripture, Mark 1:1-8 AND Isaiah 40 1-11, Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-12-03 by Rev.Sarah Harrison-McQueen Scripture, Mark 13:24-37 AND Isaiah 64:1-9, Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-11-26 by Rev.Sarah Harrison-McQueen Scripture, Revelation 1:4b-8, Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-11-19 by Rev.Sarah Harrison-McQueen Scripture, Philippians 4:4-9, Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-11-12 by Rev.Sarah Harrison-McQueen Scripture, Matthew 25:1-13, Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-11-05 by Rev.Sarah Harrison-McQueen Scripture, Hebrews 11:32-12:2 Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-10-29 by Rev.Sarah Harrison-McQueen Scripture, Jeremiah 29:10-14 Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-10-22 by Rev. James Henry Scripture, 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-10-15 Scripture, Philippians 2:1-13 Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-10-08 by Rev. Harrison-McQueen Sarah Scripture, Romans 8:18-28 Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-10-01 by Rev. John Obeng Scripture, John 15:1-17 Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-09-24 by Pastor Sarah Scripture, 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-09-17 by Pastor Sarah Scripture, Colossians 3:12-17 Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-09-10 by Pastor Sarah Scripture,  Micah 6:1-6 Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-09-03 by Pastor Sarah Scripture,  Isaiah 12:1-6 Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-08-27 by Pastor Sarah Scripture,  Isaiah 55:1-12 Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-08-20 by Michelle Chaney Scripture,  Matthew 15: 10-28 Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-08-13 by Gene Cross Scripture,  Matthew 14: 22-33 Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-08-06 by Drew Ensz Scripture,  Matthew 14: 13-21 Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-07-30 by Robert Thomas Scripture,  Matthew 13:31-33; 44-52 Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-07-23 by Drew Ensz  Scripture, Psalm 34:10-12 Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-07-16 by Drew Ensz  Scripture,  Genesis 25:19-34 Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-07-08 by Drew Ensz  Scripture,  Matthew 11:16-19,25-30 Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-07-01 by Rev Janet Salbert  Scripture,  Matthew 10:40-42 Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-06-25 by Rev Drew Ensz "Feed My Sheep"  Scripture,  John 21:1-17  Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-06-18 by Rev Drew Ensz "Promises You Can Count On"  Scripture,  Genesis 18:1-15, 22:1-7  Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-06-11 by Rev Drew Ensz "Being a Blessing is Hard"  Scripture,  Genesis 12:1-9  Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-06-04 by Rev Drew Ensz "Everyday"  Scripture,  Matthew 28:16-20  Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-05-28 by Rev Drew Ensz "All in Our Own Language"  Scripture,  Acts 2:1-21  Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-05-21 by Rev DeLishia Davis"Cast Your Care"  Scripture,  1 Peter 5:6-11 (CEB) Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-05-14  by Rev. Dawn-Marie Singleton"Thy Kingdom Come"  Scripture, Matthew 6:9-13 (CEB) Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-05-07  by Rev. Drew Ensz, "Peace in the Midst of Trouble?"  Scripture, John 14:1-14 (CEB) Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-04-30  by Rev. Dawn-Marie Singleton , "What's in a name?"  Scripture, Matthew 6:7-15 (CEB) Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-04-23  by Rev. Dawn-Marie Singleton , Our Father Prayer: Part 2"  Scripture, Matthew 6:5-15 (CEB) Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-04-16  by Rev. Drew Ensz , Faith or Doubt"  Scripture, John 20: 19-31 (CEB) Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-03-25  by Rev. Dawn-Marie Singleton, "My Journey of Faith"  Scripture,  Matthew 4:18-22 (CEB) Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-03-18  by Rev. DeLishia Davis, "How to Sleep Through a Storm"  Scripture,  Mark 4:31-38 (CEB) Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-03-11  by Pastor Sarah, "Greatest Commandment"  Scripture,  Luke 10:25-28 (CEB) Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-03-04  by Pastor Sarah, "Giving Thanks"  Scripture,  1 Thessalonians 5:12-18 (CEB) Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-02-25  by Tricia O'Hara Sermon, "Get Up and Don't Be Afraid"  Scripture,  Matthew 4:1-11 (CEB) Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-02-18  by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Spiritual Affective Disorder" Sermon, "Get Up and Don't Be Afraid"  Scripture,  Matthew 17:1-9 (CEB) Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-02-11  by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Spiritual Affective Disorder" Sermon, "Walk this Way"  Scripture,  Deuteronomy 30:15-20 (CEB) Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-02-04  by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Spiritual Affective Disorder" Sermon, "Little Altars Everywhere!"  Scripture,  Psalm 84 (CEB) Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-01-29  by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Spiritual Affective Disorder" Sermon, "Make My Day!"  Scripture,  Micah 6:1-8 (CEB) Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-01-22  by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Spiritual Affective Disorder" Sermon, "Lighten Up!"  Scripture,  Isaiah 9:1-4 (CEB) Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-01-15  by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Spiritual Affective Disorder" Sermon, “Arise! Shine!"  Scripture,  Isaiah 60:1-6 (CEB) Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-01-08  by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Generation to Generation" Sermon, “We Keep Seeking"  Scripture,  Matthew 2:1-12 (CEB) Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2023-01-01  by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Generation to Generation" Sermon, “God Dwells with Us” Scripture,  John 1:1-14 (CEB) Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2022-12-24  by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Generation to Generation" Sermon, “We Tell the Story” Scripture,  Luke 2:1-20 (CEB) Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2022-12-18  by Pastor Marti Ringenbach worship series, "Generation to Generation" We see God in each other Scripture, Luke 1:39-58 (CEB) Common English Bible. 

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Sermon preached on 2022-12-11  by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Generation to Generation" Sermon, “We can choose a better way” Scripture, Matthew 1:18-25 (CEB) Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2022-12-04  by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Generation to Generation" Sermon, “God Meets us in our fear” Scripture, Luke 1:26-38 (CEB) Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on November 27, 2022 by Pastor Sarah  series, "Generation to Generation" Sermon There's room for every story. 

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Sermon preached on November 20, 2022 by Pastor Sarah  series, "Liturgy of the Ordinary" Sermon, "Sabbath" Scripture, Matthew 11:25-30.

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Sermon preached on November 13, 2022 by Pastor Sarah  series, "Liturgy of the Ordinary" Sermon, "Soaking in God's Goodness" Scripture, Isaiah 55:1-12.

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Sermon preached on November 06, 2022 by Pastor Sarah  series, "Liturgy of the Ordinary" Sermon, "We belong to each other" Scripture, Romans 12:3-16.

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Sermon preached on October 30, 2022 by Pastor Sarah  series, "Liturgy of the Ordinary" Sermon, "Waiting" Scripture, Luke 2:22-40.

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Sermon preached on October 23, 2022 by Pastor Sarah  series, "Liturgy of the Ordinary" Sermon, "Blessed and Sent" Scripture, Luke 10:38-42

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Sermon preached on October 16, 2022 by Pastor Sarah  series, "Liturgy of the Ordinary" Sermon, "Shalom" Scripture, 2 Corinthians 5:14-21

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Sermon preached on October 9, 2022 by Pastor Sarah  series, "Liturgy of the Ordinary" Sermon, "Overlooked Nourishment" Scripture, Matthew 4:1-11

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Sermon preached on October 2, 2022 by Pastor Sarah  series, "Liturgy of the Ordinary" Sermon, "Confession and the Truth About Ourselves" Scripture, Romans 6:1-14

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Sermon preached on September 25, 2022 by Pastor Sarah  series, "Liturgy of the Ordinary" Sermon, ". Brushing Teeth - Standing, Kneeling, Bowing, and Living in a Body" Scripture,  Genesis 1:27-31

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Sermon preached on September 18, 2022 by Pastor Sarah  series, "Liturgy of the Ordinary." Serm, "Monotony of our daily routines." Scripture, Acts 2:42-47

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Sermon preached on September 11, 2022 by Pastor Sarah  series, "Liturgy of the Ordinary: Waking Up" Scripture, Galatians 3:26-29.

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Sermon preached on September 4, 2022 by Pastor Sarah  Sermon, "Labor Day" Scripture,  Matthew 5:13-16.

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Sermon preached on August 28, 2022 by Pastor Sarah  series, "We Make the Road by Walking." Sermon, "I'm Telling You a Secret" Scripture, 1 Corinthians 15:50-58.

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Sermon preached on August 21, 2022 by Pastor Sarah  series, "We Make the Road by Walking." Sermon, "A New Heaven and New Earth" Scripture, Revelation 21:1-8 .

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Sermon preached on August 14, 2022 by Pastor Sarah  series, "We Make the Road by Walking." Sermon, "Spirit of Life" Scripture, Philippians 1:20-30 .

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Sermon preached on August 8, 2022 by Pastor Sarah  series, "We Make the Road by Walking." Sermon, "Co Working with Christ" Scripture, 1 Corinthians 3:9-15; 15:20-28.

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Sermon preached on July 31, 2022 by Rev. Nilse Furtado-Gilliam series, "We Make the Road by Walking." Sermon, "Spirit of Power" Scripture, 2 Timothy 1:1-7. 

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Sermon preached on July 24, 2022 by Rev. Nilse Furtado-Gilliam series, "We Make the Road by Walking." Sermon, "The Spirit of Conspiracy"  Scripture, Hebrews 13:1-8. 

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Sermon preached on July 17, 2022 by Rev. Sarah. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking." Sermon, "The Christ Hymn"  Scripture, Philippians 2:1-11. 

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Sermon preached on July 10, 2022 by Rev. Sarah. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking." Sermon, "Growing in Love"  Scripture, Ephesians 4:1-16.

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Sermon preached on July 3, 2022 by Rev. Sarah. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking." Sermon, "Perfect Love"  Scripture, 1 John 4:10-19.

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Sermon preached on June 26, 2022 by Rev. Sarah. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking." Sermon, "Love Remains"  Scripture, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13.

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Sermon preached on June 19, 2022 by Rev. John. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking." Sermon, "Loving as God Loves"  Scripture, Romans 8:1-17.

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Sermon preached on June 12, 2022 by Rev. John. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking." Sermon, "Being in the Trinity"  Scripture,  Galatians 5:1, 13-26.

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Sermon preached on June 5, 2022 by Rev. Sarah. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking." Sermon, "Life in the Spirit"  Scripture,  Acts 2:1-21

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Sermon preached on May 29, 2022 by Rev. Sarah. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking." Sermon, "Rising up the Blind"  Scripture,  Acts 9:1-25

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Sermon preached on May 22, 2022 by Rev. Sarah. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking." Sermon, "Love in Action."  Scripture,  2 Corinthians 8:1-15

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Sermon preached on May 15, 2022 by Rev. John . Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking." Sermon,  "Uprising Partners” Scripture,  Acts 16:16-40

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Sermon preached on May 8, 2022 by Rev. John . Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking." Sermon,  "One in Our Differences” Scripture, Colossians 3:12–17

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Sermon preached on May 1, 2022 by Rev. Sarah Harrison. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking." Sermon,  "The First Christian” Scripture, John 21:1-19

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Sermon preached on April 24, 2022 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking." Sermon,  "The First Christian” Scripture, John 20: 19-31

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Sermon preached on April 17, 2022 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Translated into Vietnamese by Rev. Hieu Phan, Pastor of First Vietnamese-American UMC during our joint Easter worship service.

Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking" Sermon,  "A New Normal.” Scripture, John 20:1-18.

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A joint worship service with Central UMC and Arlington Temple UMC. Scriptures readings by the Rev. Allie Rosner Bass, Pastor of Arlington Temple UMC, the Rev. John Conway, Minister of Health and Visitation for Central UMC, and the Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen, Senior Pastor of Central UMC.

Apologies for the low audio quality of the recording.

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Sermon preached on April 3, 2022 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking." Sermon,  "Decision Time (Again)” Scripture, Matthew 7:13-29

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Sermon preached on March 26, 2022 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking." Sermon,  "Good Advice” Scripture, Matthew 6:19-7:12

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Sermon preached on March 19, 2022 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking." Sermon,  "Living Prayer” Scripture, Matthew 6:1-18

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Sermon preached on March 12, 2022 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking." Sermon,  "Serving Many” Scripture, Matthew 5:17-48

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Sermon preached on March 5 , 2022 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking." Sermon,  "Blessed are the poor in Spirit.” Scripture, Matthew 5:1-16

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Sermon preached on February 26 , 2022 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking." Sermon,  "Decision Time.” Scripture, Mark 2:1-19 and Hebrews 11:1-3.

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Sermon preached on February 20 , 2022 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking" Sermon,  "A Different Way” Scripture, Matthew 16:13-28 and Acts 1:4-9

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Sermon preached on February 13 , 2022 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking" Sermon,  "Choices” Scripture, Luke 16:19-31. 

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Sermon preached on February 6 , 2022 by Pastor John. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking" Sermon,  "Known by Your Friends.” Scripture, Luke 19:1-10. 

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Sermon preached on January 30, 2022 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking" Sermon,  "Parable of the Sower.” Scripture, Mark 4:1-34.

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Sermon preached on January 23, 2022 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking" Sermon, "Miracles Happen.” Biblical Storytelling: Mark 1:21-28.

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Sermon preached on January 16, 2022 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking" Sermon,  "The Temptation of Scarcity.” Scripture, Luke 4:1-13.

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Sermon preached on January 9, 2022 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking" Sermon,  "Maturing Christians.” Scripture, Luke 3:1-22.

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Sermon preached on January 2, 2022 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Sermon,  "A New Covenant.” Scripture, Jeremiah 31:31-34.

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Sermon preached on December 24, 2021 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking" Sermon,  "The Light of the World.” Scripture, John 1:1–5, 9–10; 3:19–21; 8:12; 9:5; 12:35–36, 46.

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Sermon preached on December 18, 2021 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking" Sermon,  "Family Tree.” Scripture, Matthew 1:1-17.

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Sermon preached on 2021-12-11 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking" Sermon,  "Keeping Herod in Christmas” Scripture, Matthew 2:15.

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Sermon preached on December 4, 2021 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking" Sermon,  "Pregnant With Impossibilities.” Scripture, Luke 1:26–55.

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Sermon preached on 2021-11-27 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking" Sermon,  "Promised Land/Promised Time.” Scripture, Luke 1:67-79.

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Sermon preached on 2021-11-20 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking" Sermon, “Are we there yet?” Scripture,  Isaiah 2:1–5 (CEB) Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2021-11-13 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking" Sermon,  "Our Stories.” Scripture, 2 Kings 2:1-15.

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Sermon preached on 2021-11-06 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking" Sermon, “This is the way, walk in it.” Scripture,  Deuteronomy 7:7-9 (CEB) Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2021-10-30 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking" Sermon,  "From 'No' to 'Yes.'” Scriptures, Exodus 20:1-21 and Matthew 22:34-40.

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Sermon preached on 2021-10-23 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking" Sermon, “Slavery Comes in Many Forms.” Scripture, Exodus 1:1-14; 3:1-15 and John 8:1-11.

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Sermon preached on 2021-10-16 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking" Sermon, “Struggling for a Blessing.” Scripture,  Genesis 32:22-32 (CEB) Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2021-10-09 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking" Sermon, “The Razor Edge of Hope.” Scripture, Genesis 22:1-19.

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Sermon preached on 2021-10-02 by guest preacher Eric Owusu, who is a Master's of Divinity student at Wesley Theological Seminary. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking" Sermon, “Walking by Faith.” Scriptures, Genesis 12:1–9 and Galatians 3:6–9 (CEB) Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2021-09-25 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking" Sermon, “Remember the Promise.” Scripture, Genesis 6:5-8, 13, 17, 8:1-21, 9:8-17 (CEB) Common English Bible.

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Sermon preached on 2021-09-18 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking" Sermon, “Enter Judgement.” Scripture, Genesis 3:1-13.

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A joint worship service between Central UMC and the First Vietnamese-American UMC. The sermon is preached in both English and Vietnamese, with the Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen preaching in English and the Rev. Hieu Duc Phan preaching in Vietnamese.

Scripture is John 1:1-17.

In the beginning was the Word
and the Word was with God
and the Word was God.
The Word was with God in the beginning.
Everything came into being through the Word,
and without the Word
nothing came into being.
What came into being
through the Word was life,
and the life was the light for all people.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light.

A man named John was sent from God. He came as a witness to testify concerning the light, so that through him everyone would believe in the light. He himself wasn’t the light, but his mission was to testify concerning the light.

The true light that shines on all people
was coming into the world.
The light was in the world,
and the world came into being through the light,
but the world didn’t recognize the light.
The light came to his own people,
and his own people didn’t welcome him.
But those who did welcome him,
those who believed in his name,
he authorized to become God’s children,
born not from blood
nor from human desire or passion,
but born from God.
The Word became flesh
and made his home among us.
We have seen his glory,
glory like that of a father’s only son,
full of grace and truth.

John testified about him, crying out, “This is the one of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is greater than me because he existed before me.’”

From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace;
as the Law was given through Moses,
so grace and truth came into being through Jesus Christ.

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Sermon preached on 2021-09-05 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "We Make the Road by Walking" Sermon, “In the Beginning.” Scripture,  Genesis 1:1-2:3.

The first sermon in a church-wide, year-long journey through scripture.

We're using the Rev. Brian McLaren's book, "We Make the Road by Walking: A Year-Long Quest for Spiritual Formation, Reorientation, and Activation." We begin reading chapter 1 on September 1. Each chapter is about four pages long and is accompanied by a set of Scripture readings and reflection questions.

This sermon covers the scriptures texts for chapters 1 and 2. 

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Updating our listeners on why our podcast feed halted abruptly in March. And, inviting them to join us on our year long journey through scripture using the Rev. Brian McLaren's book, "We Make the Road by Walking: A Year-Long Quest for Spiritual Formation, Reorientation, and Activation."

http://brianmclaren.net/we-make-the-road-by-walking-2/

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Sermon preached on 2021-04-04 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "Roll Down, Justice!" Sermon, “Welcome: The New Jerusalem” Scripture, Jeremiah 31: 1-6.

This worship series features the music of Mark A. Miller. Visit this link to hear his original composition, “Welcome” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH64DtCDDMU

This is the day we proclaim that justice does indeed roll down in a stream of love that cannot be stopped! No matter what, we will continue to work to invite and welcome all people to “a city built of love and light, the new Jerusalem.” For it is in walking together, talking together and dreaming together that we are all saved from the things of death and made heirs to life as we create a better, safer and more hospitable world.

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Sermon preached on 2021-03-28 by Rev. John Conway Worship series, "Roll Down, Justice!" Sermon, “The Day is Coming.” Scriptures, Matthew 21: 1-11.

This worship series features the music of Mark A. Miller. Visit this link to hear his original composition, “The Day is Coming” https://vimeo.com/154877021

The entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem was a vision of a coming day when power is displayed not with military might but through the solidarity of all people in the name of love and justice. We pray this day for a time when we are one and we support one another on the road of life, not tear one another down because of our differences. We will affirm our oneness with the whole human family this day.

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Sermon preached on 2021-03-21 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "Roll Down, Justice!" Sermon, "God Has Work for Us To Do." Scripture, Isaiah 58: 6-12.

This worship series features the music of Mark A. Miller. Visit this link to hear his original composition, "God Has Work For Us To Do." https://vimeo.com/154877053

Our featured scripture this week speaks of being a “well-watered garden like a spring of water that won’t run dry.” Baptismal waters continue to feed the streams of justice as we allow the Holy Spirit to work within us every time we set our hands and feet to the work God has for us to do. As we break bread today, we remember that as long as there are those who are hurting, hungry, excluded and oppressed, we are called be faithful disciples, setting a table and inviting all to the feast.

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Sermon preached on 2021-03-14 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen Worship series, "Roll Down, Justice!" Sermon, “I Choose Love.” Scripture, Luke 23: 32-43.

This worship series features the music of Mark A. Miller. Visit this link to hear his original composition, “I Choose Love” https://vimeo.com/154877032

Each time someone is baptized, the whole church body gathered also makes vows. One of the things we promise is to be a community of love and forgiveness. Each day we must choose between letting the difficult things about life create resentment in us or allowing the work of forgiveness to make way for love. Our song of justice this week was written as a response to a modern-day act of forgiveness that reminds us of the power of Jesus’ forgiveness, even on the cross.

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Sermon preached on 2021-03-07 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "Roll Down, Justice!" Sermon, "I Dream of a Church." Scripture, Matthew 25: 31-40.

This worship series features the music of Mark A. Miller. Visit this link to hear his original composition, "I Dream of a Church." https://vimeo.com/154877038

At our baptism, we promise to nurture others and are reminded that we are to “serve as Christ’s representatives in the world.” Today we ask the question, “do we as the church look and act like Jesus?” Our song of justice today invites us to dream of a church “where justice is flowing with hope and peace growing.” What thoughts and behaviors do we need to shed in order to make room for hope and peace to grow in and through our lives and this church?

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Sermon preached on 2021-02-28 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Roll Down, Justice!" Sermon, “How Long?” Scripture, Psalm 13.

This worship series features the music of Mark A. Miller. Visit this link to hear his original composition, “How Long?” https://vimeo.com/154877065

Over half of the liturgical songs of the Israelites were Psalms of Lament. Penned in a time of exile and persecution, these were poets trying to give voice to the pain of the people. Today we lament the injustice of our time and yet, like the Psalms of Lament, we end in praise anyway for “God is good, all the time.” We remember that even and especially in times of despair, through our baptism we are given the “freedom and power to resist evil in all its forms” as we “put our whole trust in God.” How will we put these words into action to show hope to the world?

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Sermon preached on 2021-02-21 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "Roll Down, Justice!" Sermon, "Child of God." Scripture, Romans 8: 31-39.

This worship series features the music of Mark A. Miller. Visit this link to hear his original composition, "Child of God." https://vimeo.com/145909282

In our baptismal rituals, we take a special moment to repeat the precious name of the person being baptized. In a world that seems obsessed with who is “right and wrong,” “good or bad,” “in or out” or on “this side or that side,” it is a radical endeavor to name each person as “Child of God”–no matter what people say. This, indeed, is where love of the other begins… love for the self, as God loves us.

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Sermon preached on 2021-02-14 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "God is Holding Your Life." Sermon, “In  God Alone.” Scripture, Psalm 50:1-6.

“God speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.”

The Psalm that comes at the end of our series speaks of an active God whose light shines for all time and in all places. God is not silent, but calls the people to remember that they, too, can act on God’s behalf, holding all suffering peoples in hands of prayer and care and transforming the world that will shine bright into the future. May it be so.

Psalm 50:1-6
Lukan Psalter translation

ADONAI our God speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting. 

Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth. 

ADONAI comes and won’t be silent:
a devouring fire goes before God,
while storms rage all around. 

God summons heaven and earth
to the trial of God’s people: 

“Gather to me my faithful ones,
who make their covenant with me 
by sacrifice!”

The heavens affirm God’s justice
because it is God who is the judge!

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Sermon preached on 2021-02-07 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "God is Holding Your Life." Sermon, "“We Wait, We Hope, We Stay.” Scripture, Psalm 147:1-11, 20c.

Today’s Psalm comes late in the Book and offers a glimpse of a time when the exiledoutcasts are gathering back together and seeing their world built back up. We too, yearnfor a re-gathering and a day when we sing our praises and play our instruments withabandon together again. We wait, we hope, we stay firm in our faith, knowing as ourancient ancestors did, that God is indeed holding our lives.

Psalm 147:1-11, 20c (Lukan Psalter translation)

*Alleluia! How good it is to praise our God!
How pleasant and how fitting to sing God’s praise!

ADONAI rebuilds Jerusalem,
and gathers Israel’s exiles.
God heals the brokenhearted,
and binds up their wounds.

God knows the number of the stars
and calls each one by name.
Great is ADONAI, and mighty in power;
there is no limit to God’s wisdom.
ADONAI lifts up the oppressed,
and casts the corrupt to the ground.

Sing to our God with thanksgiving;
sing praise with the harp to our God—
who covers the heavens with clouds,
who provides rain for the earth,
who makes grass sprout on the mountains
and herbs for the service of the people,
who gives food to the cattle,
and to the young ravens when they cry.

God does not thrill
to the strength of the horse,
or revel in the fleetness of humans.
ADONAI delights in those
who worship with reverence
and put their hope in divine love.

Alleluia!*

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Sermon preached on 2021-01-31 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "God is Holding Your Life." Sermon, "Whole Heart Hallelujah.” Scripture, Psalm 111.

“The works of God’s hands are faithful and just.” One mode of poetry in the Psalms is all-out praise and thanksgiving, such as the one for today. We also find praise even in Psalms of lament and complaint because “God is good all the time and all the time God is good!” Life is not always good, but when we engage in gratitude, we remember the evidence of God at work in our lives and we remember that indeed, God is holding our lives, even now.

Psalm 111
Lukan Psalter translation

Alleluia!
I will thank you, ADONAI, with all my heart
in the meeting of the just and their assembly.
Great are your works,
to be pondered by all who love them.

Majestic and glorious are your works,
and your justice stands firm forever.
You make us remember your wonders—
you are compassion and love.

You give food to those who revere you,
keeping your Covenant ever in mind.
You reveal to your people the power of your actions
by giving them the lands of the nations
as their inheritance.

The works of your hands are truth and justice,
and all your precepts are sure,
standing firm forever and ever,
and carried out uprightly and faithfully.

You have sent deliverance to your people
and established your Covenant forever.
Your Name is holy and awe-inspiring!

Reverence for ADONAI
is the beginning of wisdom—
those who have it prove themselves wise.
Your praise will last forever!

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Sermon preached on 2021-01-24 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "God is Holding Your Life." Sermon, “In  God Alone.” Scripture, Psalm 62: 5-12.

In God alone my soul finds rest,
for my deliverance comes from God, 
who alone is my rock, my salvation, 
my fortress:
I will never be shaken.

Only in God—my deliverance, my glory—
my refuge is God. 
Trust in God always, my people;
pour out your hearts before God our refuge. 

Humankind is but a breath,
mortals are just an illusion. 
Put them on the scales and the balance 
is thrown off:
they weigh less than a breath. 

Do not trust in extortion,
or put false hopes in stolen goods;
do not set your heart on riches
even when they increase. 

For God has said only one thing,
Twice have I heard it:
that power belongs to God:
Steadfast love is yours, ADONAI –
you repay all people according 
to their deeds.

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Sermon preached on 2021-01-10 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "God is Holding Your Life." Sermon, "Awe and Wonder.” Scripture, Psalm 29.

Strength and peace is the prayer of the Psalm this week. The Psalmist says “let me count the ways” that we can know the strength of the Holy One. With awe and wonder we behold the presence of God in all the elements of creation–water, fire, air, earth. And it is this glory that assures us that God, indeed, is holding our lives.

Psalm 29
Lukan Psalter translation

Give glory to ADONAI, you heavenly court,
give ADONAI glory and strength!
Give forth the glory that God’s Name deserves,
and worship ADONAI in the splendor of holiness!

The voice of ADONAI resounds
over the waters;
the God of glory thunders over the
raging seas.
God’s voice is powerful,
God’s voice is full of majesty.

The voice of ADONAI snaps the cedars,
shatters the cedars of Lebanon.
It makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.

The voice of ADONAI strikes with
bolts of lightning;
the voice of YHWH shakes the wilderness,
the wilderness of Kadesh.

The voice of God twists the oaks,
and strips the forests bare;
and in God’s Temple all cry, “Glory!”

ADONAI sits in judgment over the flood;
ADONAI is its Ruler forever.
Give strength to your people, ADONAI!
Bless your people with peace!

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Sermon preached on 2021-01-17 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "God is Holding Your Life." Sermon, "Where Can I Go?” Scripture, Psalm 139: 1-18.

This week’s Psalm text brings home this message: we are in an intimate relationship with God. There is nowhere we go that God is not present–no state of our being that results in our being abandoned. God has knit us together, has woven us, knowing us from before our beginning. God, indeed, is holding our lives.

Psalm 139: 1-18
Lukan Psalter translation

ADONAI, you’ve searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up,
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You trace my journeys and my resting places;
and are acquainted with all of my ways.

Indeed, there is not a word on my lips;
but you, O God, know it altogether.
You press upon me, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
it is so high I cannot attain it!

Where can I go then from your Spirit,
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I climb up to heaven, you are there;
if I make the grave my bed, you are there also.
If I take the wings of the morning,
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand will lead me,
and your right hand hold me fast.

If I say, “Surely the darkness will cover me,
and the light around me turn to night,”
darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
darkness and light to you are both alike.

You created my inmost being
and stitched me together in my mother’s womb.
For all these mysteries I thank you—
for the wonder of myself,
for the wonder of your works—
my soul knows it well.
My frame was not hidden from you
while I was being made in that secret place,
knitted together in the depths of the earth;
your eyes saw my body even there.

All of my days
were written in your book,
all of them planned
before even the first of them came to be.

How precious your thoughts are to me, ADONAI!
How impossible to number them!
I could no more count them
than I could count the sand.
But suppose I could?
You would still be with me!

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Sermon preached on 2021-01-03 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "God is Holding Your Life." Sermon, "These Lives are Precious.” Scripture, Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14.

We do not live in a land ruled by Kings, as the hearers of our first Psalm of this series did. Nevertheless, the petitions of the psalmist for justice, deliverance, defense of the poor and oppressed, and peace for all peoples is an undergirding theme of our faith. We are reminded that a just society is one that proclaims “these lives are precious” and worthy of protection. God, indeed, is holding our lives. Let this be our “epiphany” in this new year.

Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14
Lukan Psalter translation

O God, give your anointed one your judgment—
and your justice.
Teach your chosen one to govern your people rightly
and bring justice to the oppressed.

The mountains will bring the people peace
and the little hills bring justice!
Your anointed will defend the oppressed
among the people,
save the children of the poor,
and crush the oppressor.
The reign of your anointed will endure
as long as the sun and moon—
throughout all generations.

The rule of the chosen one will be
like rain coming down on the meadow,
like showers watering the earth.
Justice will flower through the days,
and abundance of peace ’til the moon
shall be no more.

Tarshish and the Isles will offer gifts;
Arabia and Sheba will bring tribute.
All rulers will pay homage,
and all the nations will serve your anointed.

Your anointed will rescue the poor
when they cry out,
and the oppressed when there is no
one to help them.

Your chosen one will take pity on the lowly
and the poor,
and will save their lives.

Your chosen one
will rescue them all from violence
and oppression,
and will treat their blood as precious.

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Sermon preached on 2020-12-27 by Rev. Dr. Sarah Calvert, Arlington District Superintendent. "Go Tell it on the Mountain!" Scripture, Matthew 28:16-20.

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The story of Christ's birth through scripture, song, and story.

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A sermon preached for Central UMC on 2020-12-20 by the Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Advent Apocalypse." Sermon, "The Unveiling .” Scripture, Romans 16:25-27.

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A sermon preached for Central UMC on 2020-12-13 by the Rev. Allie Rosner Bass (Pastor of Arlington Temple UMC). Worship series, "Advent Apocalypse." Sermon, "Keep Awake.” Scripture, Mark 13:28-37.

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Advent Apocalypse: Lessons and Carols, celebrating the season of expectation in word and song.

This year our worship series Advent Apocalypse is looking at scripture that remind us Advent is not just about preparing to celebrate the birth of Christ in Bethlehem, it is also about looking forward to the return of Christ.

In the Middle Ages, the Church observed Advent as a season of great solemnity. There was a spiritual preparation similar to Lent with an emphasis on prayer and fasting — along with contemplation of scriptures related to judgment, hell, and heaven.

Advent also created sacred time and space for celebration because Christ would return, not only as Judge, but also as Savior, and would usher in the Kingdom of God here on earth. Today we embrace the hope we have in the future return Christ who will banish all sin.

Our worship service this morning is a celebration of Advent Lessons and Carols. This service aims to recapture that Advent longing and hope we have in the promise that God will deliver all people from sin and death.

In the monastic tradition, the Magnificat, the song of Mary, is sung or spoken every day at Evening Prayer. During the last week before Christmas, there is special group of prayers called antiphons that are said before and after the Magnificat each day. These are called the O Antiphons, because they all begin with “O” as a way of addressing the Messiah with various titles drawn from the Hebrew scriptures:

O Wisdom, O Lord, O Root of Jesse, O Key of David, O Rising Dawn, O King of the Nations, and O Emmanuel, God with Us.

Today’s service is based on these “O Antiphons.” If we were to pray these prayers each night the week before Christmas, and we also understood Latin we would discover the hidden meaning in the order of the words. The Benedictine monks arranged these antiphons with a definite purpose. The Latin text of the O Antiphons imbeds an acrostic: read in reverse order from last to first antiphon, the second word of each stanza begins with the letters ERO CRAS, Latin for “Tomorrow, I will come.” This word is only revealed when praying the final “O Antiphon” on December 23. This reminds us that we are not only looking to the past to celebrate the incarnation of Christ but we also look to the future promise of Christ’s return.

Music provided by Nathan Drake and used by permission (https://www.reawakenhymns.com/the-soul-felt-its-worth-videos).

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A joint sermon preached on 2020-11-29 by the Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen (Central UMC) and the Rev. Allie Rosner Bass (Arlington Temple UMC). Worship series, "Advent Apocalypse." Sermon, "In Those Days...” Scripture, Mark 13:24-27.

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Sermon preached on 2020-11-22 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Unraveled." Sermon, "Finding Wisdom When Life Totally Unravels.” Scripture, Job 28:12-28.

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Sermon preached on 2020-11-15 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "Unraveled." Sermon, "The Unraveling of the Mind.” Scripture, Mark 5:1-20.

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Sermon preached on 2020-11-8 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "Unraveled." Sermon, "When Our Plans for Our Children Unravel.” Scripture, Exodus 1:22, 2:1-10.

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Sermon preached on 2020-11-01 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Unraveled." Sermon, "Unraveled Shame.” Scripture, John 4:1-29.

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Sermon preached on 2020-10-25 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Unraveled." Sermon, "When Humans Unravel God’s Plans for Justice.” Scripture, Exodus 7:8-23.

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Sermon preached on 2020-10-18 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Unraveled." Sermon, "When Dreams Unravel.” Scripture, Jeremiah 29:1-7.

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Sermon preached on 2020-10-11 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "Unraveled." Sermon, "Unraveled and Re-raveled.” Scripture, Acts 9:1-20.

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Sermon preached on 2020-10-04 by guest preacher Rev. Courtney McHill. Worship series, "Unraveled." Sermon, "Unraveled by Mystery.” Scripture, John 20:19-29.

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Sermon preached on 2020-09–27 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "Unraveled." Sermon, "Radical Unraveling of Vocation.” Scripture, Luke 19:1-10.

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Sermon preached on 2020-09–20 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Unraveled." Sermon, "Unraveled by Grief.” Scripture, 2 Samuel 3:7; 21:1-14.

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Sermon preached on 2020-09–13 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "Unraveled." Sermon, "Unraveled by Uncertainty.” Scripture, Matthew 14:22-33.

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Sermon preached on 2020-09-06 by Rev. Dr. Sarah Calvert, Arlington District Superintendent. "Barbeque Redemption." Scripture, John 21:15-19.

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Sermon preached on 2020-08-30 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Exploring Holy Ground." Sermon, "Haleakalā National Park, Journey.”  Scripture, Matthew 17:1-8 .

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Sermon preached on 2020-08–23 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "Exploring Holy Ground." Sermon, "Yellowstone National Park, Faithfulness.” Scripture, Lamentations 3:22-24.

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Sermon preached on 2020-08-16 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Exploring Holy Ground." Sermon, "Saguaro National Park, Nurture.”  Scripture, Isaiah 35.

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Sermon preached on 2020-08–09 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "Exploring Holy Ground." Sermon, "Arches National Park, Connection.” Scripture, John 15:4-11.

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Sermon preached on 2020-08-02 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Exploring Holy Ground." Sermon, "Rocky Mountain National Park, Perspective”  Scripture, Matthew 5:1-12.

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Sermon preached on 2020-07-26 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "Exploring Holy Ground." Sermon, "Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Movement.” Scripture, Exodus 14:10-15.

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Sermon preached on 2020-07-19 by Rev. Chenda Innis Lee. Worship series, "Exploring Holy Ground." Sermon, "Denali National Park and Preserve, Name." Scriptures, Genesis 2:4-14, 18-20a and Philippians 2:5-11.

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Sermon preached on 2020-07-12 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Exploring Holy Ground." Sermon, "Yosemite National Park, Trust." Scripture, Psalm 18.

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Sermon preached on 2020-07-05 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "Exploring Holy Ground." Sermon, "Boston National Historical Park, Reconciliation.” Scripture, John 15:12-17.

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Sermon preached on 2020-06-28 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Exploring Holy Ground." Sermon, "Pearl Harbor National Memorial, Silence." Scripture, Lamentations 3:19-33 (CEB).

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Sermon preached on 2020-06-21 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "Exploring Holy Ground." Sermon, "Grand Teton National Park, Companionship.” Scripture, Luke 9:1-6.

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Sermon preached on 2020-06-14 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Exploring Holy Ground." Sermon, "Petrified Forest National Park, Time." Scripture, Ezekiel 37:1-14.

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Sermon preached on 2020-06-07 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "Exploring Holy Ground." Sermon, "Mesa Verde National Park, Community.” Scripture, Acts 2:44-47.

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Sermon preached on 2020-05-31 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Exploring Holy Ground." Sermon, "Wind Cave National Park, Spirit." Scripture, John 20:19-23.

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Sermon preached on May 24, 2020 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "The Heart of the Matter." Sermon, "Open the Eyes of My Heart." Scripture, Luke 24: 44-53.

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Sermon preached on May 17, 2020 by Rev. Dr. Sarah Calvert, Arlington District Superintendent. Worship series, "The Heart of the Matter." Sermon, "Love Connections." Scripture, John 14:15-21.

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Sermon preached on May 10, 2020 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "The Heart of the Matter." Sermon, "No Trouble in My Heart." Scripture, John 14:1-14.

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Sermon preached on 2020-05-03 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "The Heart of the Matter." Sermon, "Hearts Overflowing." Scripture, John 10:1-10.

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Sermon preached on 2020-04-26 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "The Heart of the Matter." Sermon, "Easter People." Scripture, Luke 24:13-35.

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Sermon preached on 2020-04-19 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "The Heart of the Matter." Sermon, "Our Bodies Remember." Scripture, John 20:19-31.

The end of the sermon includes the body prayer created by Julian of Norwich. To see the video of this sermon please visit https://vimeo.com/409519618.

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Sermon preached on 2020-04-12 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "The Heart of the Matter." Sermon, "Resurrection." Scripture, a Contemplative Reading of John 20:1-8 (original video located at https://vimeo.com/405057455). This short film tells the story of the empty tomb through time lapse art using the image, “Fullness of the Tomb” by Lauren Wright Pittman. 

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Sermon preached on 2020-04-05 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "Come to the Table." Sermon, "Come to the table…and turn it upside down." Scripture, Matthew 21:1-13.

Matthew 21:1-13 Common English Bible (CEB)

When they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus gave two disciples a task. 2 He said to them, “Go into the village over there. As soon as you enter, you will find a donkey tied up and a colt with it. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that their master needs them.” He sent them off right away. 4 Now this happened to fulfill what the prophet said, 5 Say to Daughter Zion, “Look, your king is coming to you, humble and riding on a donkey, and on a colt the donkey’s offspring.” 6 The disciples went and did just as Jesus had ordered them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and laid their clothes on them. Then he sat on them.

8 Now a large crowd spread their clothes on the road. Others cut palm branches off the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds in front of him and behind him shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up. “Who is this?” they asked. 11 The crowds answered, “It’s the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Cleansing the temple

12 Then Jesus went into the temple and threw out all those who were selling and buying there. He pushed over the tables used for currency exchange and the chairs of those who sold doves. 13 He said to them, “It’s written, My house will be called a house of prayer. But you’ve made it a hideout for crooks.”

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Sermon preached on 2020-03-29 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Come to the Table." Sermon, "Come to the Table...at your house today." Scripture, Luke 19:1-10 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

He entered Jericho and was passing through it. 2 A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. 7 All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” 8 Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” 9 Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”

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Sermon preached on 2020-03-22 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Come to the Table." Sermon, "Come to the Table...set in the presence of my enemies." Scripture, Psalm 23 (Revised Standard Version).

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want;
    he makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters;
    he restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
    for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
    I fear no evil;
for thou art with me;
    thy rod and thy staff,
    they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies;
thou anointest my head with oil,
    my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    for ever.

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Sermon preached on 2020-03-15 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Come to the Table." Sermon, "Come to the Table...for all." Scripture, Acts 11:1-18 New International Version (NIV)

"The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3 and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

4 Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story: 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. 6 I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds. 7 Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’

8 “I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

9 “The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ 10 This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.

11 “Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. 12 The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. 14 He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’

15 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”

18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

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Sermon preached on 2020-03-08 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "Come to the Table." Sermon, "Come to the Table...of Love." Scripture, Luke 15:1-3; 11-32.

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable:

“There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them.

A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and he traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.”’ So he set off and went to his father.

But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.

Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.

“Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the young men and asked what was going on. He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’

Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’”

Today’s scripture lesson is often called “The Prodigal Son” but that is not correct. “Prodigal” means “spending money or resources freely, wastefully extravagant, having or giving something on a lavish scale.” In today’s lesson, we have two (and maybe three) prodigals; the young son, certainly. But so too the father, for he gives first into the unreasoning demands of his young son, then in his welcome, and finally in his dealings with the older son. And the older son, isn’t he wasteful in his anger?

This week look for how many ways you can be “wasteful” in spreading God’s love and also for when you might have been “wasteful” in neglecting the grace God gives you. Pray for opportunities to do the first and to avoid the second.

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Sermon preached on 2020-03-01 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Come to the Table." Sermon, "Come to the Table...of Grace." Scripture, Matthew 15:21-28.

*From there, Jesus went to the regions of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from those territories came out and shouted, “Show me mercy, Son of David. My daughter is suffering terribly from demon possession.” But he didn’t respond to her at all.

His disciples came and urged him, “Send her away; she keeps shouting out after us.”

Jesus replied, “I’ve been sent only to the lost sheep, the people of Israel.”

But she knelt before him and said, “Lord, help me.”

He replied, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and toss it to dogs.”

She said, “Yes, Lord. But even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall off their masters’ table.”

Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith. It will be just as you wish.” And right then her daughter was healed.*

This short pericope [scripture text] provides a raw, telling glimpse of the human Jesus, for this is the only instance in the Gospels when he loses an argument! Whenever he is confronted publicly Jesus always has a response to his questioners. But in this instance, his female Canaanite interlocutor manages to stump him – a major embarrassment for a middle- eastern man of the 1st century. More significantly, it appears that Jesus evolves in his thinking about the nature and scope of his ministry. He initially makes it clear to the woman that he has come for the sake of Israel, but by the conclusion of this episode something has changed. Could this be the moment when Jesus realized that the salvation he brought was to be for the nations as well?

This story serves as a challenge to the closed religious mind – those who see faith as static and not subject to development. Jesus exhibits a willingness and ability to change and take on a new perspective. Are there any areas of your faith life where you might be closed-minded or short-sighted?

• How have you been challenged with a new perspective and way of articulating some aspect of your faith that made you feel uncomfortable, but resonated with you none-the-less?
• How does our encounter with and contemplation of the humanness of Jesus nourish our spirituality, identity as disciples, and faith life?

(Source: https://episcopalchurch.org/library/bible-study/bible-study-proper-15-2017)

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Sermon preached on Ash Wednesday, 2020-02-26 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Come to the Table." Sermon, "Come to the Table...of Life." Scripture, Genesis 2:4-7.

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Sermon preached on 2020-02-23 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Odd and Wondrous Calling." Sermon, "Word, Service, Discipleship, and Hospitality." Scripture, 1 Corinthians 12:4-27

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”

Paul is writing to the church in Corinth where one-upmanship is apparently a problem. Humans love a pecking order and knowing who is the most important in the room. Paul says that spiritual gifts are given for the common good, and the Spirit chooses who receives which gift. Gifts are not earned or deserved, they are simply given and received. This passage from Corinthians speaks helps us recognize the wonderful variety of gifts that the Holy Spirit provides and call us to recognize and receive these abundant gifts with open minds and open hearts for the common good.

• How do these words inform how we view our own spiritual gifts and those of others?
• What is one of your gifts that you use for the common good?
• How do you recognize spiritual gifts in others?

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Sermon preached on 2020-02-16 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Odd and Wondrous Calling." Sermon, "Word, Service, Sacrament & Order ." Scripture, 1 Timothy 4:1-16.

"The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3 They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. 4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

6 If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. 7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. 9 This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. 10 That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.

11 Command and teach these things. 12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 14 Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.

15 Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers."

Reflection questions:

• Paul challenges Timothy to “train yourself for godliness.” (4:7) How are you doing this? What else could you do? What help do you need?
• When Paul challenged Timothy to “let no one despise you for your youth” (4:12) why would a person disrespect someone for their youth? What would cause an older person to disrespect a younger person? What characteristics does Paul challenge Timothy to develop in order to give no one the opportunity to disrespect him simply for being young? What is gained with age and what can be learned with training?
• Can the church help people ponder the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
• What role does the church play in determining a person’s career path? What role do you think it should play?
• How have you heard God’s call in your life? How have you responded?
• Have you ever found yourself resisting God’s call? What kept you from heeding God’s voice?

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Sermon preached on 2020-02-09 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "Odd and Wondrous Calling." Sermon, "Word, Service, Justice & Compassion." Scriptures, Acts 6:1-6 and 1 Timothy 3:1-10.

Acts 6:1-6 New International Version (NIV) In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” 5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.1 Timothy 3:1-10 New International Version (NIV) Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. 2 Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap. 8 In the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. 9 They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.

As United Methodists, we believe in the ministry of all Christians. That means whether or not you serve the church in a pastoral role, like Pastor Sarah or Pastor John, you are also a minister of the Church. We call this “the unity of ministry in Christ.” We are all in this ministry together because we have been baptized.

Our United Methodist Discipline tells us that: “All United Methodists are summoned and sent by Christ to live and work together in mutual interdependence and to be guided by the Spirit into the truth that frees and the love that reconciles.” This means that we are all called to a servant ministry to serve Christ and to serve our community.

This week, take some time to reflect on what your gifts for ministry are and how and where you can use your gifts. Can you use your gifts at home, at school, at work, going shopping, as you are commuting? Take time this week to pray for your ministry and for the ministry of our church family.

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Sermon preached on February 2, 2020, by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Won't you be my neighbor?" Sermon, "Who is my neighbor?" Scripture, Luke 10:25-37.

25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

When Mister Rogers called his viewers “neighbors,” when he hosted us in his neighborhood for over thirty years, he was playing out his own greatest parable: calling us, gently but firmly, into lives of mercy and care for one another. He knew we wouldn’t always get it right, that we are prone, like the king he lovingly created, to bow to fear and to serve competition, to privilege our own safety and to neglect others’ real needs. Maybe, in calling us neighbors, he knew he was calling us something better than we actually were. But maybe he believed that if he got to us while we were young, if he told us, again and again, that we are good, that we are lovable, and that we can build bridges of mercy, maybe we could grow into real neighbors to one another. (Tuttle, Shea. Exactly as You Are. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. Kindle Edition location 1541.)

When you think about the neighbors in your circles, think of those you encounter in the following places:

• Geographical neighbors: where you live
• Marketplace neighbors: where you work
• Social neighbors: where you play – park, gym, coffeehouse, etc.

How can you practically show them the love and life of Jesus?

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Sermon preached on January 26, 2020, by Rev. Allie Rosner Bass. Worship series, "Won't you be my neighbor?" Sermon, “What do you do with the mad that you feel?” Scripture, Psalm 137.

1 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.
2 There on the poplars we hung our harps,
3 for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.
6 May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.
7 Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. “Tear it down,” they cried, “tear it down to its foundations!”
8 Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us.
9 Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.

The Psalms are a collection poetry that can be sung. The beauty of poetry and music is that it can help us express feelings we may not be able to find the right words to say on our own. Praying the Psalms is an ancient practice in our faith tradition. Today’s Psalm poses a particular challenge to the reader. What kind of prayer is it to pray for violence? It reflects the most raw part of our humanity that came from the real experience of people exiled from the Promised Land. This Psalm shows us how the people of Israel are inconsolable and vengeful. Separated from their most holy place they were incapable of singing the Lord’s Song.

God doesn’t always answer prays in the way we like. Sometimes the answer is in God’s timing and not our desired timing. Other times we get a “no” when we want a yes. God doesn’t answer this prayer for vengeance as some of the exiled people may have wished, but that doesn’t mean we have to hide our feelings from God. We can take all of who we are before God in prayer.

Mr. Rogers answering a question from a young girl about unanswered prayer: “Now, you know prayer is asking for something, and sometimes you get a yes answer and sometimes you get a no answer,” he carefully explained. “And just like anything else you might get angry when you get a no answer. But God respects your feelings, and God can take your anger as well as your happiness. So whatever you have to offer God through prayer—it seems to me—is a great gift. Because the thing God wants most of all is a relationship with you, yeah, even as a child—especially as a child. Look how Jesus loved the children who came around Him,” he told her. (Hollingsworth, Amy. The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers (p. 22-23). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.)

• How do you sing the Lord’s Song
• What do you need to take to God in prayer today to bring all of who you are to God?
• How do you invite God into the feelings you have about what is happening in your life, in our community, and in our world?

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Sermon preached on January 19, 2020, by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Won't you be my neighbor?" Sermon, "Walk the Walk." Scripture, Philippians 2:12-16.

Philippians 2:12-16 New International Version (NIV)

12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16 as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.

The phrase “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” in verse 12 may cause some confusion. Paul persistently taught that salvation is through faith and grace alone, and is in no way dependent on performing deeds. Now, he is telling the Philippians to work out their salvation? Verse 13 shows up who is the one at work. God is at work in us! We just need to say, “yes” to allow God to work in our lives. Paul wanted the church at Phillipi to cooperate with God’s work in them to produce a mature community of faith. Individual and communal spiritual maturity is the product of “working out” our salvation. “Fear and trembling” could also be understood as “awe and reverence.” John Wesley emphasized that embracing faith produced inward and outward holiness, also called sanctification. The process of sanctification is God at work in us and this holy work is worthy of our awe and reverence.

When we say, “yes” to the grace that God offers to us and then God works in us to reduce the sin in our life and increase the love in our life. One of the ways that we say “yes” to God at work in our lives is through daily prayer and scripture study.

“Prayer is not only a daily discipline that deepens our relationship with God; it also provides a way for us to be together in our aloneness.” (Hollingsworth, Amy. The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers, p. 29. Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.)

• What are the ways that you say, “yes” to God at work in your life?
• What is one way you can feel God working in your life?
• Do your inner attitudes match your outward actions and vice-versa?
• Do you have different standards of behavior when you are with different people?
• How does your life shines like the stars in the sky?

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Sermon preached on January 12, 2020, by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Won't you be my neighbor?" Sermon, "143." Matthew 22:34-40.

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

This week’s passage appears at the end of a series of debates with Sadducees and Pharisees. Jesus easily answered all questions, and finally, one of the lawyers asks: “Which commandment is the greatest?” (v. 36). Jesus responds with what Jewish people refer to as the Shema, “You shall love the Lord your god with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (See Deuteronomy 6:4-5.) It expands the first commandment found in Exodus: “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). Jesus affirms these two commands are foundational. David Ewart writes: “As long as we observe both commandments, we can be confident we are on that Godly path. However, if we choose to ignore either love, we will soon find ourselves in a spiritual ditch.” (Source: https://episcopalchurch.org/library/bible-study/bible-study-proper-25-2014)

"Love isn’t a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like 'struggle.' To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now." — Fred Rogers, from “The World According to Mr. Rogers"

"There are many ways to say I love you. Just by being there when things are sad and scary. Just by being there, being there, being there to say, I love you." —Lyrics from "Many Ways to Say I Love You" as performed on Episode 1643 of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

• What spiritual ditches do you find yourself in? How might the love of God and neighbor help to dig you out?
• In what ways is love of God like love of neighbor? Do we do the second as a form of obedience to the first? Or do we do the second because it is indistinguishable from the first?
• Who are the people who have loved you so that you have encountered the love of God?
• This week, how can you say “I love you” to one of your neighbors?
• This week, how can you say “God loves you” to one of your neighbors?

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Sermon preached on 2020-01-05 by Rev. John Conway. Sermon, “Baptism and Communion.” Scripture, Ezekiel 36:25-28 and Romans 6:3-14.

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Live recording of worship at Central United Methodist Church on December 29, 2019. Carols not included in this recording.

Relighting the Candle of Hope
Scripture, Isaiah 63:7-9
Reflective Reading, “The Christmas Spirit” by Ann Weems

Relighting the Candle of Peace
Scripture, John 14: 25-27
Reflective Reading, “Unexpected” by Ann Weems

Relighting the Candle of Joy
Scripture, John 15:11-13
Reflective Reading, “Let Me Not Keep Christmas” Linda Felver

Relighting the Candle of Love
Scripture, 1 John 4:7-8
Reflective Reading, “The First Coming” by Madeleine L’Engle

Relighting the Christ Candle
Scripture, John 1:1-5
Reflective Reading, “The Work of Christmas” by Howard Thurman

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Sermon preached on Christmas Eve, 2019-12-24, by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Heaven and Nature Sing!" Sermon, "The Lord is Come: Incarnate Joy." Isaiah 52:7-10 & Luke 2:1-20.

After the scripture reading we played "The Christmas Scale" mini-movie (https://www.worshiphousemedia.com/mini-movies/35213/the-christmas-scale) purchased from Igniter Media. Due to copyright restriction this was deleted from our audio podcast.

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Sermon preached on 2019-12-22 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "Heaven and Nature Sing!" Sermon, “Make the Nations Prove: Peaceful Joy.” Isaiah 7:13-15 and Matthew 1:18-25.

Due to technical difficulties the audio file only includes the scripture reading and not the sermon as preached. The sermon manuscript can be downloaded from this link.

Reflection Questions:

• How can we take a deep breath and, like Joseph, open to discover what may be an unexpected gift in the midst of a difficult situation?
• What will help us choose peace and serenity instead of joining chaos when we encounter it?
• How are we contributing to chaos instead of the reign of truth and grace?
• Who in your life or community needs a “kiss” of peaceful joy and the spirit of Christ?

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Sermon preached on 2019-12-15 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Heaven and Nature Sing!" Sermon, "Make the Blessings Known: Unabashed Joy." Isaiah 35:1-10 and Luke 1: 46b-55.

Reflection Questions:
How can we personally tap into the strength of ever-present, God-given joy, especially in the midst of difficulty?
How are we contributing to the oppression of others?
What are we doing to bring healing in our community?
What is our “magnificat”—our song of prophetic joy?

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Sermon preached on 2019-12-08 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Heaven and Nature Sing!" Sermon, "Repeat the Sounding Joy: Loving Joy." Isaiah 11:1-10 and Matthew 3:1-12.

Reflection Questions:

• Who needs a message of love in your life? In the world?
• Why do we ration love as if it isn’t never-ending, ever-green?
• Like the tree adorned with ornaments, with what outward messages do we adorn our own lives?
• What messages of love and joy can we repeat? How?

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Sermon preached on 2019-12-01 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Heaven and Nature Sing!" Sermon, "Prepare Him Room: Hopeful Joy." Isaiah 2:1-5 and Romans 13:11-14.

Reflection Questions: 

• What, or who, needs to be lifted up in hope this day?
• Where have we fallen down in celebrating the beauty of each being?
• How can we find a unity where all are included, like the circle of the wreath?
• What keeps us from “making room” in our lives for God?
• What perspective needs to be shifted in order to embrace hope?
• Are we contributing a voice of hope or a voice of negativity?

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Sermon preached on 2019-11-24 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "A Season of Saints." Sermon, "Jesus, Lord of the Dance." Colossians 1:11-20.

In this letter there is an explanation of what Christ has done for us, and it explains how we should act in the world to live out Christ’s salvation. This passage contains a hymn to Christ starting at verse 15, “He is the image of the invisible God,” and going until verse 20, “by making peace through the blood of his cross” (The People’s New Testament Commentary, p. 627).

“Christ is the image of the invisible God! All things were created through him and for him, and through Christ all things in heaven and on earth may be reconciled to God through the peacemaking of the cross!” That is definitely a hymn of praise. It conveys a strong message, and it helps us to be more joyful in how we give thanks. All these facts about Christ lead us to be joyful and to be strengthened for the journey.

What are some of your favorite hymns? How do you feel when singing them? Do you sing them when you are stressed, angry, sad, hurt? Try writing out the text of a hymn to see what it teaches you and what gospel truth it proclaims.

Try writing a hymn like this one. What do you love most about Christ? How do you know Christ in your own experience? What images or stories from Scripture come to mind when contemplating Christ?

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Sermon preached on 2019-11-17 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "A Season of Saints." Sermon, "Queen Liliʻuokalani." Psalm 150.

From the beginning of Psalm 1 to the very end of Psalm 150, from “Happy is the one...” to “Let everything that breathes praise the Lord, alleluia!”, the book of Psalms is an invitation to let our faith breathe, and to praise God. Not because all is necessarily well when we pray, but because God listens and answers prayer. The living God often surprises us but never lets us down. This is the profound conviction which undergirds these ancient prayers. The wonder is that everything in human existence, from the highest joy to the deepest desolation, has a place in the Psalms. Nothing is filtered out. Such prayer embraces life whole so as to bring it before God. In this case praise is more than praying to God when things go right. It is all of life as it enters mercy’s light.

Psalm 150, the conclusion to the Psalter, is a prayer of pure praise. The invitation to praise God, “hallelu”, is repeated in each line. A final “Hallelujah” comes once again at the very end. When we reach the final verse, the vista opens wide and the crescendo spills over into a call addressed to all living beings: “Let everything that breathes praise the Lord, alleluia!” Praise carries the believer always further. Where does it lead us? To rejoicing in God’s beauty, to serving God’s joy in one another until it spreads throughout all creation. The breath that makes us live and sing is that which animates all that God has made.

• For what “deeds of power” can I praise God? Where can I see God’s “greatness”?
• If praise is an art, what helps us “learn” to praise God?
• What changes in our lives when we praise or thank God?

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Sermon preached on 2019-11-10 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "A Season of Saints." Sermon, "Rachel Held Evans." Acts 5:27-39.

“Christianity isn’t meant to simply be believed; it’s meant to be lived, shared, eaten, spoken and enacted in the presence of other people.”
“Faith isn’t about being right, or settling down, or refusing to change. Faith is a journey.”
-Rachel Held Evans , Searching for Sunday

Saints come in all ages, and in all shapes, and in all sizes. Saints are living today, sometimes in plain sight and sometimes hidden. Saints don’t always declare themselves by leading “holy” or “saintly” lives as we may imagine those types of lives to be. Instead, there are saints who show themselves by how they approach their faith and their doubt and uncertainty in their day-to-day lives. They find sainthood in their unique, everyday living with their own unique shortcomings banging up against the shortcomings of others.

• Have you met someone who, by how they lived their lives, taught you what it means to be a Christian? What in your faith life do you owe to their example? How can you pass that lesson on?
• Doubt is a part of the Christian faith journey. This week, spend some time in prayer about what it is you may be doubting in your faith.
• One common aspect of saints is their joy in living for God, a joy expressed in the pictures of their dancing in harmony on the walls of St. Gregory’s Church. Find a way this week to express your own unique joy in God.

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Sermon preached on 2019-11-03 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "A Season of Saints." Sermon, "Cloud of Witnesses." Hebrews 11:1-2, 11:32-12:2

Hebrews 11-12

By faith, by faith, by faith… the long line of forefathers and foremothers unfolds in this passage, declaring God’s powerful deeds done by means of their faith. If the author of Hebrews wrote this passage today who else might be named? Would it include people like Martin Luther King, Jr. or Mother Teresa? Would it also include people who carried the faith to you? Parents, siblings, and friends who walked with you by faith through a challenging time. Aunties who disclosed God’s marvelous works in their lives and cousins who held your hand in hushed prayers under the night’s sky. How many thousands of pages would be filled if we listed all of the names of ordinary people who lived by great faith? This great cloud of witnesses, the ones we personally know and the ones whom we’ve only read about, are cheering us on. One day we too will be part of this cloud of witnesses.

• How are you now carrying faith to others?
• How can you be the one who tells others of the glory of God, the relative who holds out a hand in prayer, or that friend who walks by faith alongside another?
• Who is in your great cloud of witnesses?
• What are the feats of faith that you’ve seen in your own life?

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Sermon preached on 2019-10-27 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Imagine." Sermon, "Abundance." Matthew 14:13-21.

“Mother Teresa said about Jesus, ‘He uses us to be his love and compassion in the world in spite of our weaknesses and frailties.’ In this miracle Jesus does not produce food out of nowhere. He takes the little that the apostles have, and he multiplies it a thousand-fold. No matter how little I think I have to give, once I freely place my gifts in Jesus’ service, they become limitless. 

In the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, I am reminded that Jesus can also provide spiritual sustenance beyond my imagining. There is a mysterious disproportion between what I give and what the Lord makes of it.”

• How do we imagine the crowd reacted to this miracle?
• Do you think their participation in this event changed them?

(From the Sunday, June 23 entry in “Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2019 “ by The Irish Jesuits, Loyola Press, 2018)

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Sermon preached on 2019-10-20 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Imagine." Sermon, "God’s World Transformed." Matthew 14:13-21.

The sermon text begins on a sad note. Jesus has just been told that his cousin, John the Baptist, has been killed. (Matthew 13:1-12) Moreover, his body has been desecrated: his head being placed on a platter and brought to Salome. Jesus withdraws “to a deserted place by himself” (verse 13), but upon seeing the crowds who needed him, he emerged because “he had compassion for them” and went to cure their sick (verse 14). 

Jesus surely felt profound grief over John’s fate, but upon seeing the crowds, his sense of mission prevailed. The crowds needed him. The text says that “he had compassion for them” (verse 14). The Greek word translated as “compassion” refers to a sense of profound emotion. Jesus’ compassion for the crowds seeking his healing eclipsed his personal grief. 

Can you relate to Jesus’ desire for solitude in the midst of his grief? Who surrounded you during that time? How have you experienced this type of compassion from another person? From God? Have you been moved with compassion for others that causes you to act? 

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Sermon preached on 2019-10-13 by Rev. John Conway. Worship series, "Imagine." Sermon, "Unlimited Possibility." Matthew 14:13-21.

“Jesus said to them, ‘They need not go away, you give them something to eat.’” Matthew 14:16

Where the apostles saw only scarcity, Jesus spoke to them from a place of abundance. When the apostles could imagine only a quick way out—send the people home—Jesus saw the unlimited possibility that comes from the Divine. The powerful message of Jesus’ simple command is that:

• God loves us and cares for us
• God calls us to act as disciples; and
• God empowers us to act.

God calls us to share in holy abundance even as our society calls us to compete for scarce resources.

During the coming week, look for the ways our secular world tries to make us afraid of not having enough. Look for ways to see that this is not true and to instead give thanks to God for holy abundance. In giving thanks, look for where and for whom God’s love and care are calling you to act.

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Sermon preached on 2019-10-06 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Imagine." Sermon, "Feeding the Multitudes." Matthew 14:13-21.

Like loaves and fish, unlimited abundance is possible when we connect with others and areempowered by our faith. As United Methodists, through our connectional giving, a portion ofour gifts joins with more than 12 million United Methodists investing in strong leadership,quality education, and building new United Methodist communities around the world. Likemultiplying loaves and fishes, together we do more to fill communities with overflowing signs ofGod’s love for us through Jesus.

In this account, Jesus doesn’t feed the people. He trusts the disciples to find a way.What does that look like today through our own discipleship? 

We can pursue the God sizedvision for this church, confident that we have the resources we need. And when each of ourgifts joins with others, we experience unlimited possibility.

Jesus trusts and empowers his disciples to feed the people. There is a mission field beyondthese walls and through our gifts we can offer them Christ. As you consider and give thanks forwhat God has blessed you with, imagine the possibilities for how your gifts can impact thischurch, the community, and God’s world.

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Sermon preached on 2019-09-29 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Three Simple Rules." Sermon, "Stay in Love with God." John 15:1-11.

Jesus makes clear in this passage that obedience to God is not simply a matter of adhering to rules; rather, it’s an intimate relationship with the Holy One who created us. We abide in Jesus’ love as we keep his commandments; we keep his commandments as we abide in his love. And the more we “get” this, the more complete is his joy in us.

• How do you think about the relationship between following Jesus’ commandments and abiding in his love? Do you sometimes feel as if you have to do one or the other?
• Can you think of a time when you were especially aware of the Holy Spirit’s guidance as you followed God’s commandments?
• If you do not currently have a consistent personal spiritual practice that supports “staying in love with God” take time to reflect on beginning one.
• If you already have a consistent practice, reflect on what works and what doesn’t. Challenge yourself to change a component to make it new again.

Prayer: Christ, you are the true vine and we are the branches. By your Spirit, produce the fruit of love, joy, peace, and patience in us for others to taste and enjoy. Keep us from hanging on to love for ourselves. Prune all selfishness from us and fill us with your love. Amen.

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Sermon preached on 2019-09-22 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Three Simple Rules." Sermon, "Do Good." Philippians 4:4-9

Bishop Rueben P. Job, Three Simple Rules That Will Change the World“Doing good, like doing no harm, is a proactive way of living. I do not need to wait to be askedto do some good deed or provide some needed help. I do not need to wait until circumstancescry out for aid to relieve suffering or correct some horrible injustice. I can decide that my way ofliving will come down on the side of doing good to all in every circumstance and in every way Ican. I can decide that I will choose a way of living that nourishes goodness and strengthenscommunity.” (p. 38- 39)

“But taking appropriate care of self and living selflessly are not opposites. Rather, they areessential elements of a healthy and productive life. To love God with all of life and to love one’sneighbor as oneself is not to denigrate, deny, or devalue self. It is to proclaim the heart of ourtheology as Christians and to place enormous value on self and on neighbor. It is to choose tolive in the reign of God NOW. To begin to live as a citizen of a new order in which God’s love forall creation is recognized and proclaimed in word and deed.” (p. 49)

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Sermon preached on 2019-09-15 by Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen. Worship series, "Three Simple Rules." Sermon, "Do No Harm." Galatians 5:13-26.

From Bishop Rueben P. Job (Author of Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living) “What would it mean if we took this first simple rule seriously? First of all, it would mean an examination of the way we live and practice our faith. And if this examination were thorough, it would surely lead to a change in the way we practice our faith. To do no harm is a proactive response to all that is evil- all that is damaging and destructive to humankind and God’s good creation, and therefore, ultimately destructive to us. To adopt this first simple rule as our own is a giant step toward transforming the world in which we live.” Three Simple Rules; p. 30.

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