This Sunday’s Worship: May 16
(Sunday, May 16 At 11 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: I Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11; Acts 1:1-11
Hymns: All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name!; Today We All Are Called to Be Disciples; Crown Him with Many Crowns
Service Preview (Online):
Sermon: “Our Work is to Love the World”
The Ascension of Jesus into heaven is another one of those Biblical stories that challenge scientific principles. Unless Jesus had a jet-pack on, how did that happen? What I like most about the Ascension story is what happens immediately afterward. Two men appeared from seemingly nowhere and told the apostles, “Why are you gazing up into heaven? Get to work.” In other words, don’t waste time speculating on how that just happened. Focus on what Jesus told you, and do it.
This Sunday’s Worship: May 9
(Sunday, May 9 At 11 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Jeremiah 31:31-34; John 15:9-17
Hymns: New Songs of Celebration Render; We Rejoice to Be God's Chosen; For the Healing of the Nations
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Sermon: “Chosen” by Rev. Jim Reisner
Our text from the Gospel of John includes the most Presbyterian thing Jesus ever said: “You did not choose me but I chose you” (John 15:16). We Presbyterians are sometimes referred to as the "Frozen Chosen." Our belief is that we come into relationship with God not out of anything we can do, or out of any sense of our own goodness, but only through God’s grace. The Christian life is not about doing what we can do to get to heaven; the essence of the Christian life is responding to God’s grace with a gratitude that expresses itself (to paraphrase the prophet, Micah) in acts of justice, kindness, and humility.
This Sunday’s Worship: May 2
(Sunday, May 2 At 11 AM, Communion Sunday, Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: I John 4:7-15; John 15:1-9
Hymns: Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me; Loaves Were Broken, Words Were Spoken; Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
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Sermon: “ The Dude Abides” by Rev. Jim Reisner
Jesus says to his disciples, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit.”
The word "abide" appears no less that 15 times in our two scripture lessons this Sunday. It has multiple meanings: remain, stay; or live, dwell; or last, endure, continue. The image that Jesus uses is a branch attached to a vine that receives its nourishment from the vine.
This Sunday’s Worship: April 25
(Sunday, April 25 At 11 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Psalm 23, John 10:7-16
Hymns: The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Want; My Shepherd Will Supply My Need; Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us
Service Preview (Online):
Sermon: “By Hook or by Crook” by Rev. Jim Reisner
The fourth Sunday in Eastertide is referred to as Good Shepherd Sunday because the Gospel scripture lesson is always from the 10th chapter of John where Jesus says, “I am the Good Shepherd.”
This Sunday’s Worship: April 18
(Sunday, April 18 At 11 AM, Earth Day, Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Genesis 2:4-10,15; Romans 8:18-28
Hymns: All Creatures of Our God and King; Many and Great, O God, Are Thy Works; God of the Fertile Fields
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Sermon: “Earth Shall Be Fair” by Rev. Jim Reisner
God had more than humanity in mind in the work of redemption. Paul recognized this when he wrote, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now” awaiting redemption.
This Sunday’s Worship: April 11
(Sunday, April 11 At 11 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Hebrews 13:1-3; Luke 24:11-35
Hymns: Come, You Faithful, Raise the Strain; Because You Live, O Christ; Thine Is the Glory
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Sermon: “When Did We See You?” by Rev. Jim Reisner
Where is God? That’s an age-old question that seems more appropriate than ever. Amidst a world pandemic, school shootings, racial strife, social injustice, crushing poverty, and unending wars, where is God, indeed?
This Sunday’s Worship: April 4
(Sunday, April 4 At 11 AM, Easter Sunday, Communion, Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Colossians 3:12-17; Mark 16:1-8
Hymns: Jesus Christ Is Risen Today; The Day of Resurrection; The Strife Is O’er
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Sermon: “Is That It?” by Rev. Jim Reisner
The conclusion of Mark’s Gospel is startling and abrupt. It seems to cut off in mid-sentence. We are left with the women at the tomb running away and remaining silent because they are afraid. Is this any way to end a Gospel?
This Sunday’s Worship: March 28
(Sunday, March 28 At 11 AM, Palm Sunday, Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Psalm 118:1-2,19-29; Mark 11:1-11
Hymns: We Are Marching in the Light of God; All Glory, Laud and Honor; Hosanna, Loud Hosanna
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Sermon: “Hosanna!” by Rev. Jim Reisner
When Jesus rides a donkey into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday he is a lit torch entering a firecracker factory – an explosion is inevitable. Jesus evokes images of the Passover, the prophecy of Zechariah, and the Maccabean revolt, all of which speak of political liberation from an oppressive force. No wonder that merely days later the people turn on him when Jesus preaches the power of love and not the love of power. Jesus is proclaiming liberation from an oppressive foe, but his enemy is far greater than Rome.
This Sunday’s Worship: March 21
(Sunday, March 21 At 11 AM, Fifth Sunday of Lent, Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Jeremiah 31:31-34; John 3:1-17
Hymns: Beneath the Cross of Jesus; My Song Is Love Unknown; O Jesus, I Have Promised
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Sermon: “We want to see Jesus” by Rev. Carolyn Tilley
“When we 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, the oppression, persecution, and even death will be unable to take our freedom. Once we have come to the deep inner knowledge – a knowledge more of the heart than the mind – that we are born out of love and will die into love, that every part of our being is deeply rooted in love, and that this love is our true Father and Mother, then all forms of evil, illness, and death lose their final power over us”
Henri Nouwen, Our Greatest Gift: A Meditation on Dying and Caring
This Sunday’s Worship: March 14
(Sunday, March 14 At 11 AM, Fourth Sunday of Lent, Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Numbers 21:4-9; John 3:1-17
Hymns: What Wondrous Love is This; My Shepherd Will Supply My Need; Lift High the Cross
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Sermon: “Nick at Night” by Rev. James Reisner
“We are on the road to heaven already if today we walk with God. For eternal life is not a possession conferred at death, it is a present endowment. We live it now, and continue it through death. And that is why belief in life to come should only increase our commitment to life now and here.” -- William Sloane Coffin
This Sunday’s Worship: March 7
(Sunday, March 7 At 11 AM, Third Sunday of Lent, Communion, Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Isaiah 1:11-20; John 2:13-22
Hymns: God the Sculptor of the Mountains; Bread Was Broken, Words Were Spoken; In the Cross of Christ I Glory
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Sermon: “Disorderly Conduct” by Rev. James Reisner
In the Gospel of John, the cleansing of the temple occurs at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, not on the evening of Palm Sunday as it does in the other three gospels. Another difference unique to John is that he does not accuse the moneychangers of defrauding the people. John sees the whole system of temple sacrifice as corrupt. The ritual formalisms have become more important than the essence of faith in God – the love of God and neighbor. We always need to keep in front of ourselves the question of whether our religion is getting in the way of our relationship to God.
This Sunday’s Worship: February 28
(Sunday, February 28 At 11 AM, Second Sunday of Lent, Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Isaiah 53:3-12; Mark 8:31-38
Hymns: Beneath the Cross of Jesus; Take Up Your Cross; Christ of the Upward Way
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Sermon: “I Been ‘Buked” by Rev. James Reisner
“Take up your cross,” Jesus says, “and follow me … For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.”
This Sunday’s Worship: February 21
(Sunday, February 21 At 11 AM, First Sunday in Lent, Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Psalm 25:1-10; Mark 1:9-15
Hymns: Great is thy faithfulness; Just a Closer Walk with Thee; God of Compassion, in Mercy Befriend Us
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Sermon: “The Year Lent Never Went Away” by Rev. James Reisner
Do we really need to be reminded of our mortality this Lent when death is all around us? Do we really need to give something up for Lent when so much has already been taken away from us?
And yet here we are entering a season of solemn self-examination and spiritual discipline. As we set out on our journey, let us remember that our destiny is the joy of Easter sunrise and the victory of life over all that would destroy us.
This Sunday’s Worship: February 14
(Sunday, February 14 At 11 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: II Corinthians 4:3-6; Mark 9:2-9
Hymns: God Is Here; Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me; Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
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Sermon: “Love Changes Everything” by Rev. James Reisner
Jesus goes up a mountain with three of his closest disciples. There he is transfigured – the Greek word is "metamorphosized." His appearance is radically transformed into bright light. A voice descends from heaven saying, “This is my beloved. Listen to him.”
This Sunday’s Worship: February 7
(Sunday, February 7 At 11 AM, Communion Service, Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Isaiah 40:27-31; Mark 1:29-39
Hymns: Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise; The Church of Christ in Every Age; God of Grace and God of Glory
Service Preview (Online):
Sermon: “Let Us Go On” by Rev. James Reisner
Jesus began his ministry in his hometown. As word got out, a great crowd gathered seeking healing and eager to hear from this new prophet. Jesus went out to a quiet place at night to seek some solitude and rest. Peter and the others found him and summoned him to return home, but Jesus said, “Let us go on.” They set out for other towns in the region.
This Sunday’s Worship: January 31
(Sunday, January 31 At 11 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: I Kings 3:5-15; Mark 1:21-28
Hymns: All Beautiful the March of Days; What a Friend We Have in Jesus; I Want to Be a Christian
Service Preview (Online):
Sermon: “What Have You to Do with Us, Jesus?” by Rev. James Reisner
In the first public act of his ministry, according to Mark, Jesus goes to the synagogue on the sabbath in Capernaum. There, an unclean spirit who is possessing a young man with epilepsy cries out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus?” In other words, "Leave me alone."
This Sunday’s Worship: January 24
(Sunday, January 24 At 11 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Jonah 3:10-4:11; Ephesians 4:25-32
Hymns: Praise, My Soul, the God of Heaven; Inspired by Love and Anger; Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life
Sermon: “Angry Enough to Die” by Rev. James Reisner
We all know the beginning of the Book of Jonah – the whale and all that. The end of the book is a good read, too. When Jonah preaches “Repent or Die” in the streets of Ninevah the people believe him. They repent. And so God relents, and does not destroy the city. This makes Jonah angry – angry enough to die. He had preached destruction and now he wants to see it. He wants to be vindicated.
This Sunday’s Worship: January 17
(Sunday, January 10 At 11 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: 1 Samuel 3:1-18; John 1:43-50
Hymns: My Lord! What a Morning; I’m Gonna Live So God Can Use Me; Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing
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This Sunday we will be celebrating the life and ministry of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and recommitting ourselves to the work of racial justice during these difficult times. Our worship will include two opportunities for small breakout discussions, first on the scriptures and then on our reactions to policing and white supremacy. There will also be an opportunity to take action in support of police reform during the current Maryland General Assembly in Annapolis.
This Sunday’s Worship: January 10
(Sunday, January 10 At 11 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Romans 8:31-39; Mark 1:4-11
Hymns: All Creatures of Our God and KingShall We Gather at the RiverHow Firm a Foundation
Sermon: “Secure in Life’s Alarms” by Rev. James Reisner
The first Sunday after Epiphany is traditionally called The Baptism of our Lord. The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist is another act of revealing (or epiphany) of who Jesus is. In Mark’s Gospel, the story of the baptism ends with a descending dove, and a voice resounding from heaven and declaring, “You are my Son, the Beloved, in whom I am well-pleased.”
This Sunday’s Worship: January 3
(Sunday, January 3 At 11 AM, Ephiphany Communion Service, Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Psalm 72:1-7,10-14; Matthew 2:1-12
Hymns: We Three Kings of Orient Are; What Star Is This, with Beams So Bright; Sing of God Made Manifest
Sermon: “Wiser” by Rev. James Reisner
The Magi unwittingly bring Herod into the story of their pilgrimage to Bethlehem. While their motives are pure and their devotion enduring, the Magi’s naïvete regarding the intentions of the political powers leads to the atrocity of the slaughter of the innocents. Later, Jesus would teach his disciples to be as wise as serpents and as gentle as doves. Part of being a follower of a star, or a rabbi, is gaining in wisdom as we travel along. Can we become wiser as to the ways of the world without succumbing to the temptations of lesser gods and baser instincts?