This Sunday is our 2nd annual Epiphany worship service. Instead of a sermon, the worship will feature selected poems from ancient and modern poets, each of which is a “showing forth” of some hidden aspect of reality. Between every poem, Minister of Music Clint Miller has chosen a musical work that extends the meditation.

Epiphany is the annual feast day when the church celebrates the “showing forth” of Jesus as the beloved child of God. A secret, once hidden, is revealed!

See you Sunday at 11am. No adult Sunday School, but for folks who want to come early, we will have time for kids to play and adults to share a cup of coffee together.

Baptism of Jesus

Luke 3:1-22

“You brood of vipers!” John was not subtle, and it is clear he never read Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People. And yet the crowds flocked to him. The response to his call of repentance was intense. People came from all over to be baptized and find guidance. Their repentance was sincere as evidenced by their very specific questions to John about their own lives and professions such as tax collectors and soldiers.

John gave them specific answers: share your abundance, don’t cheat people, don’t bully them. His answers point the way to life, then and now. What is your question for John?

PRAYER: Gracious God, give us ears that we may hear the voice of one crying in the wilderness. Give us strong minds and bodies to prepare the way. And give us grateful hearts that we may rejoice. Amen.
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Linda Davis

Murder of Innocents

Matthew 2:13-23

These passages of scripture from the Old Testament are concerned with the birth and early life of Jesus as the fulfillment of what the Lord had said through the prophets. Probably this remembering of what God said in the Old Testament was to give credibility to the new story that was being told. This new story about a very poor child born to displaced parents and forced to flee to another country for safety sounds so different from the glory of King Solomon’s court and the grandeur of King David’s royal self-indulgence.

The slaughter of the innocent little boys in and around Bethlehem doesn’t seem to bother the storyteller since it had been predicted by Jeremiah. It has always troubled me. Why was it necessary that the innocents be slaughtered?

PRAYER: Dear Creator God, we pray for a time when we will not have to struggle so hard to change the ways of the powerful in this world, for a time when the powerful will work for peace and justice, for a time when the powerful will honor and protect the innocent, especially the young and vulnerable. Amen.

Kent Leslie

Wise Men

Matthew 2:1-12

If God were to give me clear signs to the Messiah, would I follow? Would I be too busy, too preoccupied to even notice? I believe that every day we’re given an opportunity to follow God’s plan. We can listen and follow his path, or we can allow distractions to pull us away from the beauty and simplicity of God’s design and love for us. Today, two days after Christmas, it’s easy to “put Christmas away,” literally and figuratively. I want to strive to be like the wise men: to follow God’s intention for me, to be still, listen, and keep the miracle of Jesus’ birth with me every day, not just at Christmas.

PRAYER: God, show me the way. Allow your Magi to inspire and stay with me as I strive to keep the beauty and perfectness of Christmas in each day. May I too have direction and guidance that allows me to do your work in the world. Amen.

Angela Towner

Simeon Sees the Baby

Luke 2:21-35

It is purification time for Mary. She and Joseph have taken Jesus to the temple to be presented to the Lord. At 33 days, the baby’s eyes are starting to focus and he is beginning to smile. Mary must be brimming over with happiness and pride for her beloved son when Simeon appears, tenderly taking the baby in his arms and making a moving speech that confirms all her hopes and dreams. He blesses the young family, and then turns to Mary: “this child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel,… and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

I picture Mary remembering Simeon’s prophecy as she stood under the cross looking up at her beloved child. By the time she told Luke this story she had keenly felt that sword, but she also knew that God was faithful and death was not the end.

PRAYER: Loving God, thank you for the lasting Christmas gift of hope. Help us to trust that you can still bring about something beautiful even when we experience the worst life has to offer. Amen.

Anne Topple