On this Ash Wednesday, we begin our Lenten journey with Psalm 51 and the honest prayer, “Create in me a clean heart, O God.” Rather than bargaining with God or hiding our brokenness, we learn to lean fully on God’s steadfast love, the love that makes repentance possible and begins its work even in the dust. As we enter a season called Love Made Visible, we trust that God is slowly, faithfully creating something new within us, layer by layer.

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In this final message of the Awakened to Grace series, we reflect on how ordinary practices (prayer, scripture, silence, fasting, Sabbath, and service) create space for God’s transforming grace. Drawing on Matthew 25, we see that grace opens not only our eyes but also our hands. 

Scripture is read by Kim Maxwell.

Sermon by Rev. Beth Demme

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In this sermon, Pastor Beth explores Sabbath as a gift of grace looking at Genesis, Jesus’ teaching in Matthew, and the wisdom of John Greenleaf Whittier. Through story, hymn, and Scripture, we discover that Sabbath is not about doing less perfectly, but about trusting that the world—and our lives—are already held by God. This message invites us to pause, rest, and see what Sabbath awakens in us when we stop striving and dare to call life good. 

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This is a look at fasting as a spiritual performance or act of deprivation, but as a way of creating space to awaken to God's grace. Drawing on Jesus's teaching in Matthew 6 and the prophetic call of Isaiah 58, the message invites us to fast from whatever dehumanizes our neighbors, especially the habits of heart that harden us in the face of suffering and injustice. Ultimately, this sermon calls us to a fast that moves us outward, loosen the bonds of injustice, and leads us into lives marked by courage, compassion, and concrete love.

Sermon by Rev. Beth Demme

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In this sermon, we meet the prophet Elijah not at his strongest, but at his most exhausted—hiding in a cave where God does not appear in noise or spectacle, but in a sound of sheer silence. Drawing on Scripture and real-life stories, this message explores how silence is not the absence of God, but a place where grace becomes noticeable and presence becomes real. Awakened to Grace Through Silence invites listeners to release the pressure to strive and, instead, make space for stillness and discover that God meets us gently, even in our weariness. 

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On the road to Emmaus, Scripture does not give the disciples new information—it awakens them to the grace that has been walking with them all along. In this sermon, Pastor Beth explores Scripture not as a test to pass or a weapon to wield, but as a companion that walks with us through questions, doubt, and hope. To be awakened to grace is to discover that we do not walk alone, and that God is already at work, opening our hearts to recognize Christ in our midst. 

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Guest preacher Joe Moxley offers a message about prayer on January 11, 2026.

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On Epiphany Sunday, we reflect on how God’s light often appears in ordinary places and unexpected moments especially for the weary, the searching, the outsider, and all who long to belong. 

Scripture reading by Kim Maxwell.

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On this Fourth Sunday of Advent, we reflect on the nearness of God’s love, a love that does not stay distant but comes close to hold life in the midst of a complicated world. Drawing on Luke’s Christmas story and the image of refugia, we see how God creates small and unexpected places of refuge such as Bethlehem, a manger, and ordinary shepherds where love awakens and begins to move. The good news is this: God has already come close, God is already at work, and God will carry love forward through us, not because we are perfect, but because God’s love is.

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On one of the longest nights of the year, we gather to make space for what is often left unspoken at Christmas. Absence, sorrow, and long seasons of waiting still exist. God meets us not by erasing our pain, but by sitting with us in it, offering presence rather than quick fixes. Jesus is the steadfast light that the darkness cannot, and will not, overcome.

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