This week, as we consider the earliest Church and its lessons for the future of the larger church, we have a flashback of sorts to the night Jesus was betrayed and to a portion of His “Farewell Discourse” to His closest disciples. It is everything He wants them to know before His death, according to the Gospel of John, and the portion that we read has within it a famous verse in John 14:6 that has historically been used as an argument for Jesus as the only way to Heaven and salvation. But within its context that night, was that what Jesus was up to in this speech? Was that the point of all this? Or was something deeper going on?

At its core, I see that night Jesus offering companionship, comfort and reassurance to disciples who had more questions than answers. And that’s okay. That is the Christian journey! Questions are not a bad thing; questions often are what keep us moving forward, searching and seeking and reaching for God. And just as Jesus promised to somehow still be with them, abiding with them after His death, so too Jesus is still journeying with us, often through the works we do as we follow Him.

Link to readable sermon PDF

This Sunday is special because, even though Pastor Jessie will be in the worship service, she is delighted for her friend and colleague Rev. Khristi Adams to lead the sermon. Khristi will continue on in our Building Blocks sermon series and reflect with us on what it means to recognize Jesus in our day as His disciples. What makes it hard to see who Jesus really is and where He is at work? Where have we caught surprising glimpses of Him, maybe even among us in our community like COA?

Bio: Rev. Khristi Lauren Adams is the Dean of Spiritual Life and Equity/DEI at The Hill school in Pottstown, PA. She is also the author of two books entitled Parable of the Brown Girl and Unbossed: How Black Girls are Leading the Way. She is currently working on a third book. 

I can’t wait for you to hear from her!

This is our church’s 3rd annual Green Sunday, aligning with Earth Day, and focusing our worship on themes of creation care and God’s call (more urgent than ever) to steward this world that has been entrusted to us. We examine these themes using the story of the earliest church; a reimagined community. How much will our responses to climate change be fueled by our faith, and where might we need to reimagine our place in the world in order to love this world the way that God does?

This Sunday also includes several exciting hands-on activities and music by our contemporary band! This is one not to miss! Thanks to our COA Green Team for all their planning and work to make this service possible!

Link to readable sermon PDF

This Sunday continues the Easter season (it’s not just a day, but a whole season of celebrating resurrection!), and we kick off a Spring sermon series using the Revised Common Lectionary scriptures. It is called

BUILDING BLOCKS: Ancient Church Lessons for the Future Church
Believers in Jesus had quite the journey to recover from the shock of the cross and resurrection to the formation of a new community. We have much to learn from them! What commitments are foundational to who we are? We believe in what we cannot see, experience the resurrected Christ for ourselves, learn to share in community, ask questions as we grow in faith, draw connections for those with other beliefs, draw strength from shared prayer and value all who are part of the Body of Christ.

This week, we begin the series with the story we read every single year on this Sunday after Easter Sunday: the story of so-called “Doubting Thomas”. We consider what it means to a growing community of faith to engage with our doubts and questions; how that can be valuable for all of us. We also think about getting beyond belief or a system of dogma and into the realm of true faith and trust in a dynamic relationship with the living God.

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During the season of Lent, and this last week in Holy Week, we focused on growing gardens, tending the life that is right in front of us, rather than constantly climbing ladders of what this world defines as success. We have been embracing “good enough” lives and “good enough” selves that are worthy of love, no matter what. We have been acknowledging the suffering that is a natural part of life, and we have practiced compassion as we deal with the realities and limitations that invite us to let go of perfectionism and the incessant
drive toward something other than our own real, holy, and “blessed-regardless” lives.

And now we encounter Easter. It is a day we proclaim that while death is a part of life–even little “deaths” along the way of dreams, of love, of the way we thought life would go–even though this is a part of life, we are part of a faith that invites us to consider that the Good Gardener is always tending us, abiding with us, beyond any kind of death that faces us.

CHRIST IS RISEN!!!

Link to readable sermon PDF