Scripture: John 3:1-17
A wise one called Nicodemus comes looking for Jesus, but perhaps uncertain if he can leave his position and power behind. How are we being invited to be “born again” continually, releasing what has been to move more and more lovingly into what may be in God?

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Scripture: Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7, Matthew 4:1-11
What really happened in the Garden? Did humanity start with a story of disobedience, or maybe distrust? Did we leave a paradise with us at the center, or a web of mutuality and connection? As we begin Lent, Jesus resists the temptation to center self, and reconnects us to the center of God’s loving care.

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Scripture: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
We begin the season of Lent by remembering how fragile life is. Jesus reminds us that if we live for ourselves, all we build is just as fragile, but if we live for God’s love and others… that love makes something that can last.

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Scripture: Matthew 17:1-9

As we hear the story of Jesus’s Transfiguration, we are tempted to define and limit the life of the spirit to experiences of wonder and amazement… but when a voice says, “Listen to him,” Jesus speaks with a life that does not revel in mountaintop experiences, but goes down into the heart of all that may be hurting and broken in our world.

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Scripture: Isaiah 58:1-12
Guest preachers The Rev. Jeff Logan from Grace-Street Ministry and Matt Brown from Hope Squad offer the wisdom they have found with our neighbors who live unhoused. The prophet Isaiah calls the people to this worshipful way, finding the face of God and the invitation to true worship in caring presence.

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Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12
Jesus proclaims blessings in “the Beatitudes,” telling of God’s closeness and care for those in the midst of struggle… and and the call to us all to do the same, drawing near to those who yearn for peace, righteousness, and comfort in times of mourning.

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Scripture: Matthew 4:12-23
“What are you prepared to do?” As Jesus takes on a new chapter in his ministry and begins to call disciples to follow in his way, we wonder at the gifts and skills we bring with us into the ministry of the church, and the challenge to use those gifts to “escalate in love.”

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Scripture: Psalm 40:1-11
In a time of deep divisions, the psalms can tempt us into a painful duality of those who we would call friends and enemies. Yet they may also call us into that life giving tension of naming injustice clearly and holding out faith in God’s reconciling and redeeming power.

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Scripture: Matthew 2:1-12
Wise ones come from away seeking a new king. They get lost, because they go looking in a palace and in a capital. When they find a child born among animals, they—and we—are left to ponder, what if nations came to pay homage to a poor child? What if nations sought to live together in such a way that all children might be welcomed as the beloved of God?

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Lessons and Carols

As we tell of the many characters of Christ’s birth stories, we recognize that none of them find God with Us through a path they would expect. As we come to celebrate perfect love come down, we pray to release all our expectations of perfection in our celebrations, in the season, in our lives… we find that God has come to meet us where and how we are. What Joy to the World!

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