(Sunday, December 27 At 11 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Galatians 4:4-7; Luke 2:22-40

Hymns: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear; Go, Tell It on the Mountain; Away in the Manger; Good Christian Friends Rejoice

Sermon: “The Fullness of Time” by Rev. James Reisner

“We are all meant to be mothers of God. What good is it to me if this eternal birth of the divine [One] takes place unceasingly, but does not take place within myself? And, what good is it to me if Mary is full of grace if I am not also full of grace? What good is it to me for the Creator to give birth to the Son if I do not also give birth to him in my time and my culture? This, then, is the fullness of time: When the [Incarnate One] is begotten in us.” --Meister Eckhart (1260-1328)

(Thursday, December 24 At 5 PM, Christmas Eve Candlelight Service, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Luke 2:1-20

Hymns: O Come, All Ye Faithful; Hark, the Herald Angels Sing; O Little Town of Bethlehem; Away in the Manger; Joy to the World; Silent Night

Christmas Meditation: “From Bedlam to Bethlehem” by Jim Reisner

TPPC celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ with a Christmas Eve Candlelight Service of Lessons and Carols, with familiar songs, anthems, and the telling of the Christmas story.

(Sunday, December 20 At 11 AM, Fourth Sunday of Advent, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Isaiah 35:1-11; Philippians 4:4-7

Hymns: Angels, from the Realms of Glory; O Come All Ye Faithful; O Little Town of Bethlehem; The First Noel; Go Tell it on the Mountain; Angels We Have Heard on High; Joy To The World; It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

The Word: “An Interactive Christmas Pageant” by Norman Allen

Our sermon this Sunday will come in the form of a Christmas Pageant. Our church school will retell the Christmas story through a pageant written for a Zoom format. Come and hear the old, old story in a new, new way. This will be fun.

Also, TPPC will celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ with a Christmas Eve Candlelight Service on Thursday, December 24th at 5 pm.

(Sunday, December 13 At 11 AM, Third Sunday of Advent,Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Isaiah 35:1-11; Philippians 4:4-7

Hymns: Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates; Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming; ‘Twas in the Moon of Wintertime

Sermon: “Joy in the Age of COVID-19” by Rev. James Reisner

“At its heart Christianity is joy; and laughter and freedom and the reaching out of arms are the essence of it. Joy is a mystery because it can happen anywhere, anytime, even under the most unpromising circumstances, even in the midst of suffering, with tears in its eyes.”

--Frederick Buechner

(Sunday, December 6 At 11 AM, Second Sunday of Advent, Communion, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Isaiah 40:1-11; Mark 1:1-8

Hymns: Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus; Comfort, Comfort Now My People; Lo, He Comes with Clouds Descending

Sermon: “Comfort Food” by Rev. James Reisner

“Comfort, comfort, my people” proclaims the prophet, Isaiah. These are the first words of what is known as Second Isaiah which starts at the 40th chapter of his prophecy. Isaiah is declaring that to the people, after years of bitter exile in Babylon, that they are finally going home.

(Sunday, November 29 at 11 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Isaiah 64:1-9; Mark 13:24-37

Hymns: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel; The Days Are Surely Coming; People, Look East

Sermon: “Apocalypse Now” by Rev. James Reisner

The language of apocalypse has been always hard for first-world Christians to access. Maybe the many extraordinary events of 2020 gives us insight into what these strange texts mean.

(Sunday, November 22 at 11 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Deuteronomy 26:1-11; Luke 17:1-9

Hymns: We Gather Together; Let All Things Now Living; Now Thank We All Our God

Sermon: “Thanksgiving” by Rev. James Reisner

Memory is at the heart of Thanksgiving. When I sit down to Thanksgiving dinner I am always aware of Thanksgivings past. I can visualize my parents and grandparents, my uncles and aunts, those with whom I once sat at table who are gone.

In this most unusual year, many of us will be celebrating Thanksgiving in a different way, apart from family and friends. As we sit at smaller tables this year, let us remember other years and larger tables and give thanks for the people with whom we have shared the feast which is this life.

(Sunday, November 15 at 11 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Selections from Job chapters 38 & 42; Mark 8:34-38

Hymns: Gather Us In; Take up Your Cross, the Savior Said; We Give Thee but Thine Own; Take My Life

Sermon: “The Art of Losing Graciously” by Rev. James Reisner

The Bible is filled with people who contend with God. Jacob wrestles with an angel in the night. Job argues against his harsh circumstances and asserts his righteousness before God. The Psalmist often laments her condition and pleads to God for redress of her complaints.

In the Bible, and in our faith, it is appropriate to contend with God. We are allowed our complaints, and God counts them as prayers. Yet, the end and aim of all our wrestling with God is to lose.

(Sunday, November 8 at 11 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Amos 5:14-15,21-24; Mark 4:34-41

Hymns: Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee; My Shepherd Will Supply My Need; Love Divine, All Loves Excelling

Sermon: “The Storm Outside; the Storm Within” by Rev. James Reisner

We have all been tossed to and fro this week with the changing landscape of the election. God is both dynamic and constant amidst all the many changes of this life. One thing I know about God is that God has the capacity to still the storm in my own heart.

(Sunday, November 1 at 11 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Joshua 4:1-7, 18-24; Matthews 5:1-12

Hymns: The Church’s One Foundation; When Memory Fades; For All the Saints

Sermon: “Blessed” by Rev. James Reisner

“When we can reach beyond our fears to the One who loves us with a love that was there before we were born and will be there after we die; then oppression, persecution, even death will be unable to take our freedom,” wrote Henri Nouwen. No matter what happens this coming Tuesday, we still belong to God.

(Sunday, October 25 at 11 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Habakkuk 2:1-4; Romans 1:16-17, 3:19-24

Hymns: I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art; Our God, Our Help in Ages Past; A Mighty Fortress is Our God

Sermon: “What's Your Motivation” by Rev. Jim Reisner

One of the theological principles of our Reformed tradition is the doctrine of total depravity. That sounds kind of bleak, doesn’t it? What it means is that we are all screwed up. We’re all screwed up but God loves us anyway. The upside of all this is that since there is nothing we can do to affect our own salvation, then the only response is gratitude.

You can do a whole lot worse than if your purpose in life is gratitude.

Sunday, October 18, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. (live-streaming)

Scripture: Leviticus 19 (selections); Luke 10:38-42

Hymns: God is Calling through the Whisper; For All the Faithful Women; The Church of Christ Cannot Be Bound

Sermon: Happiness Isn’t a Room without a Roof

In the well-known story, the sisters, Mary and Martha, welcome Jesus under their roof. Hospitality is an important and time-honored practice in both the Hebrew and Greek scriptures. The heat and rugged terrain of the Middle East took its toll on travelers. How longed-for was a roof or a tent that could offer some relief from the noonday heat in a weary land.

(Sunday, October 11 at 11 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Psalm 2; Matthew 5:38-48

Hymns: Lord, I Want to Be a Christian; Why Do Nations Rage Together; In an Age of Twisted Values

Sermon: “Praying for Pharaoh” by Rev. Jim Reisner

I have had several conversations lately about how hard it is to pray right now. Our anger and outrage make it hard to pray for people who are doing harm to the poor and the refugee families. How do we pray for the oppressor? How do we pray for Pharaoh?

(Sunday, October 4th at 11 AM, World Communion Sunday Service, St. Francis of Assisi Day, Live-Streamed on Zoom)

This Sunday is also Invitation to Dream Sunday for our Capital Campaign.

Scripture: Isaiah 58:4-13; Ephesians 3:14-21

Hymns: O For a World; Bread of the World, In Mercy Broken; In Christ There is No East or West

Service Preview (Online):

Sermon:  “An Invitation to Dream” by Rev. James Reisner

When the nation of Judah returned to Jerusalem after years of captivity in Babylon, they began to rebuild their devastated cities.

The restoration of Israel was about rebuilding walls, yes, but even more so, it was about restoring justice, decency, humanity, joy, faith, hope, love. A commitment to rebuilding our roof is all about everything that happens under that roof.

(Sunday, September 20 at 11 AM, Live-Streamed on Zoom)

Scripture: Exodus 16:2-15; John 6:31-41

Hymns: Morning Has Broken; Lord, Speak to Me that I May Speak; Brethren, We Have Met to Worship

Service Preview (Online):

Sermon:  “Manna from Heaven” by Rev. James Reisner

“And the whole congregation of Israelites complained.” (Exodus 16:2)

(Sunday, September 13 at 11 AM, Live-Streamed on Zoom)

Scripture: Exodus 14:10-16,21-31; Romans 6:3-11

Hymns: God the Sculptor of the Mountains; Come You Faithful, Raise the Strain; How Firm a Foundation

Service Preview (Online):

Sermon:  “A Way Through the Waters” by Rev. James Reisner

Walter Brueggemann describes the Israelites passage through the Red Sea waters as the “primal saving event.”  It sets forth the idea that God calls people from bondage to freedom, that God provides, that God will never abandon, and that, therefore, we will not fear. All these ideas find expression in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

(Sunday, September 6 at 10 AM, Communion Service, Live-Streamed on Zoom)

Scripture: Exodus 10:1-20; II Corinthians 4:5-12

Hymns: All People That on Earth Do Dwell; When Israel Was in Egypt’s Land; Bread of the World in Mercy Broken; All Who Hunger, Gather Gladly

Service Preview (Online):

Sermon: “Faith in a Time of Plague” by Rev. James Reisner

It is hard to explain what might be in the heart of a tyrant. How can we understand the irrational and harmful acts of a national leader in a time of plagues?  The challenge of comprehending evil has been difficult for every religious tradition. Why does God allow suffering? Where is God in a pandemic, or the subjugation or enslavement of one people by another?

(Sunday, August 30 at 10 AM, Live-Streamed on Zoom)

Scripture: Exodus 3:1-15;  Colossians 1:15-20

Hymns: God You Spin the Whirling Planets; O God, in a Mysterious Way; God of the Ages, Whose Almighty Hand

Service Preview (Online):

Sermon: “A Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery inside an Enigma” by Rev. James Reisner

Shortly after the end of World War II, Winston Churchill referred to Russia as “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” That phrase can easily be applied to what experienced in the hills of Midian when Moses came upon a bush that was on fire yet not being consumed by the flames. When Moses attempts to familiarize himself with the One speaking to him, he says, in effect, what do I call you? God’s response is: “I AM WHO I AM. Tell the Israelites ‘I AM’ has sent you to them.”

(Sunday, August 23 at 10 AM, Live-Streamed on Zoom)

Scripture: Exodus 1:8-2:10;  Luke 20:20-26

Hymns: Live Into Hope; Precious Lord, Take My Hand; How Great Thou Art

Service Preview (Online):

Sermon: “Creative Resistance” by Rev. James Reisner

The Book of Genesis ends with the 12 sons of Israel and all of their kinfolk relocating to Egypt during a famine.  As the Book of Exodus begins, the deeds of Joseph are long-forgotten, and Pharaoh perceives the many Hebrews living in Egypt as a threat. Pharaoh calls for the midwives of Egypt to kill the Hebrew male babies at birth, but the midwives resist. In the midst of this resistance, we hear the story of the birth of one Hebrew baby, Moses, and how this baby comes to grow up in Pharaoh’s own household.