This is the second week of our Epiphany sermon series where, despite all the changes we have had to absorb around us, we ground ourselves in our belief that God’s promises never change. God promises us new life, faithfulness, ministry, blessing, guidance, freedom and wonder! If we believe that God promises us these things, maybe we struggle because we don’t see them as readily apparent in our real day to day lives. That is the point of Epiphany Season—to shine a light on what is true and what is real; to help us turn our attention to God in a new way; to build capacity to see God’s presence and God’s work. This week, we focus on God’s promise of faithfulness–notice that the focus is not on OUR faithfulness, but on God’s! Thank God that this journey of being a Christian does not depend on our ability to do it right all the time; it is utterly dependent on God’s love for us, which we emphasized last week in baptism. This is also PCUSA Race Relations Sunday in honor of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. What does his struggle for justice have to do with God’s faithfulness? Let’s think it through together!

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This week, we enter into a new sermon series for the Winter (and church season of Epiphany) called “New Year, Same Promises”.

“New Year, new you”: this is the message we get from pop culture, year after year. We vow to make changes to our diet, exercise habits, or lifestyle, but in spite of those resolutions, most things stay the same. This may be cause for disappointment, but there is some consistency we can celebrate. God’s promises to us do not change with the calendar or the latest fitness trend. Rather than focusing our energy and attention on making (and in all likelihood breaking) promises to ourselves, let’s spend the first part of the new year appreciating God’s unbreakable promises.

This particular week, as we witness the baptism of Pastor Jessie’s baby boy Blake and also ponder Jesus choosing to get baptized, we consider God’s way of taking something old and traditional and making it new and reimagined—a new way of telling us the same message. We are beloved!

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We are celebrating Epiphany on the Sunday before the official holy day this year, and it just happens to also fall on the very first day of a new year as well as a Sunday where we receive holy communion. How beautiful and hopeful! This Sunday each year, we examine the story of the “magi” who visit Jesus; wise and generous strangers from other cultures (and likely other religions) who somehow understand the Christmas story better than the rest of the world, at least early on. But still—ARE we as open as these magi to following new paths? New stars? What guides our journeys and where do we seek our light? Perhaps this new year is a new chance for a fresh relationship with God and each other! Christmas is a season, friends, and its life-changing story of Incarnation still has gifts to give us.

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In this virtual service, we celebrate Christmas Day by considering what it was like for the shepherds to return home. When the presents are unwrapped and the Christmas feasts have been eaten and dishes washed…what now? How do we live out the Good News of Christmas beyond the magical moment of Christmas Day? Also prayerfully consider these words by Howard Thurman…

When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among others,
To make music in the heart.

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This Christmas Eve, in the spirit of our Advent sermon series about the African American spirituals, we consider God’s repeated command in the scriptures (ex: Psalm 96/Psalm 98 / Psalm 149/ Isaiah 40 / Revelation 5) to SING A NEW SONG. What could this mean during a season all about comforting rituals and precious traditions? What areas of life is God inviting us to make new and how did God do something new in our cherished Christmas story?

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