MVP Message

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Pastor

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-16

In this episode we begin a 6-week journey exploring the new guiding vision of our denomination:

"The United Methodist Church forms disciples of Jesus Christ who, empowered by the Holy Spirit, love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in local communities and worldwide connections."

This week’s episode explores a journey from ambition and self-definition toward a deeper, Christ-centered calling. Rooted in the Epistle to the Ephesians, it highlights how community, humility, and shared gifts shape discipleship, inviting us to walk together in love and build up the body of Christ.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol || Pastor

Scripture: Matthew 28:1-10

The resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of our faith and the source of countless promises that have the power to fill us with bright hope no matter what we are experiencing in life. Easter is not only a celebration of new life, it is a remembrance of the most transformational change of events that has ever taken place. But let’s be honest, we need the resurrection to be real. Not just as a story we tell or a tradition we keep, but as a truth we can stake our lives on. In Matthew's Gospel, the women arrive at the tomb carrying grief, fear, and uncertainty only to be met by an empty grave and a message that sounds almost too good to be true, he is not here, for he has been raised. They do not respond with instant certainty. They run with fear and great joy tangled together, and maybe that is where many of us are too, caught between doubt and hope, longing to believe that death does not get the final word. This Easter, we will face the question head on, what if the resurrection is real, what if God truly has the power to bring life out of death, hope out of despair, and purpose out of our deepest pain, because if it is real then everything changes, not just for Jesus, but for us too.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol || Pastor

Scripture: Psalm 22:1-24 & John 19:14-22

Holy Week continues on Friday when we remember Jesus' crucifixion on a cross. Join us for this episode during which we will spend time with some of Jesus' final words and ponder part of the meaning of the cross for us today.

Preacher: Lee Schriber Aber || Minister of Engagement & Discipleship

Scripture: John 13:1-17, 31-35

At the table on Maundy Thursday, love moves from idea to action in the quiet, disruptive act of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet. This message takes an honest look at a phrase that can feel overused and asks what it really means to receive a love we cannot control. As Jesus lays aside what separates and steps into proximity, we are invited to examine the layers we hold onto and the ways we keep distance from one another. This is not sentimental love, but a love that confronts, reshapes, and calls us deeper. In the midst of a world marked by distortion and division, we are invited to imagine and begin to live a life where love goes all the way to the end.

This week’s episode opens with a compelling monologue that vividly explores the passion narrative, inviting listeners into the depth and drama of the story. Based on Matthew 26:14–27:66, this piece was written by Rev. McKennon Shea and was performed by one of our gifted members.

A Dramatic Presentation of the Passion Narrative

Drew Kopas || Performing

SERMON:

We Need a King Who Will Save Us

Matthew 21:1-11 & Philippians 2:5-11

Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Pastor || Preaching

Holy Week begins on this Sunday as we remember Jesus entering the city of Jerusalem bouncing on the back of a borrowed donkey while the crowds shouted "Hosanna," declaring their belief that Jesus was the one who would save them. It was a public witness that stood in stark contrast to what was happening on the other side of the city. Palm Sunday presents us with an opportunity to ponder who we believe will save us and how we live in a way that puts our trust in Jesus.

Psalm 130

What do you do when you are in the depths—the deep places where it feels like you are treading water, engulfed in sadness, suffocated by shame, or filled with regret?

To whom to do you call or depend on in these moments or chapters of life?

Psalm 130 not only grants permission, but teaches us how to cry out to God from the depths—before anchoring ourselves in hope that enables us to wait without saying another word. It's a Psalm of trust, of hope, and of sheer honesty about our need for mercy.

Preacher: Grace Rogers || Howard & Mary Martin Ministry Intern

John 11:1-45

Are you hopeful?

Or...are you having a hard time believing that things can ever be better than they are now? 

We want to believe people can change, wrongs can be made right, and life can come from death. We all want to believe the dead can rise again, but that is much easier said than done. However, what if that belief, that hope, cannot be found in isolation? What if Jesus' love and his tears for Lazarus reveal a greater truth?

Join us this week as we encounter the miracle of empathy and compassion at the tomb of Lazarus.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol

Scripture: John 9:1-40

How well do you see?

Is your sight becoming clearer? Or do you see the world around you through a lens that is a little hazy?

What if we were to answer these questions not through the lens of our recent eye exam but through a theological lens?

How well do you see? Is your capacity to see Jesus at work in your life and the world around you becoming clearer? Or are you instead choosing to remain where you are—even if your sight is a little blurry?

Join us this week as we encounter a man who is given the gift of sight after being blind from birth and watch as those who think they can see have their sight diminished through how they respond. Let's be honest...we may all find it harder to see than we care to admit.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol || Pastor

Scripture: John 4:5-30

How thirsty are you—really?

Where do you go to quench that thirst?

If we’re honest, we’re all thirsty. And we’ve all drawn from wells that promise satisfaction but leave us coming back for more.

But what if there was a different kind of well—one from a source that doesn’t run dry.

This week we meet an unnamed woman who walks to a well at noon where she expects to find herself alone as she draws water from a familiar source. But Jesus finds her there and changes everything when he speaks to her thirst, exposes her truth, and offers her living water.

What if Jesus is waiting for us at the wells we hope will satisfy us and offering something better?

This week our Lenten journey continues with "Let's be Honest...We're All Thirsty."

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol

Scripture: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 & Matthew 4:1-11

While we often pretend to have it all together, Lent calls us to name what hides behind the mask and to tell the truth about what is really happening in our hearts, minds, and lives. Our Lenten worship series, “Let’s Be Honest,” dares us to face the truths we often avoid but desperately need to admit.

We need cleaner hearts.

Temptation is real.

We are thirsty for more than this world can give.

Faith is hard when we cannot see clearly.

We long for someone to save us.

We struggle with the cross.

And we need resurrection to be real.

This journey does not demand certainty; it invites honesty.

It does not require perfection; it offers grace.

Come with your questions, your doubts, and your hope.

Let’s be honest—and trust that God is already at work in our complicated, messy, and hopeful selves.