Just the Sermons Please

Where God and neighbor meet.

In the stillness of Sabbath and the practice of justice, beloved community takes shape.

Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost – Worship Service – August 24, 2025

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Hebrew Scripture: Isaiah 58:9–14 | Modern Lesson: Archbishop Desmond Tutu

This Sunday, Pastor Chris preached a sermon titled “Where God and Neighbor Meet.” Drawing from Isaiah 58, he reminded us that true Sabbath worship is not escapism but engagement—where delight in God is inseparable from care for our neighbor. When we lift the yoke of oppression, feed the hungry, and honor each other’s dignity, our light breaks forth like the dawn.

Pastor Chris wove in the witness of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who taught that to deny another’s worth is to wound God’s very image. Worship, then, is not confined to liturgy but lived out in acts of justice, compassion, and community. The sermon invited us to reclaim Sabbath as resistance to busyness and as a holy rhythm that re-centers us in God’s justice and joy.

📖🙏 Order of Worship Highlights:

• Prelude: “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” – arr. J. Mansfield
• Modern Lesson: Archbishop Desmond Tutu
• Hebrew Scripture: Isaiah 58:9–14
• Sermon: “Where God and Neighbor Meet” – Pastor Chris
• Silent Meditation: Time of shared stillness with singing bowl
• Communal Songs: “Gather Us In” | “In an Age of Twisted Values” | “Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us with Your Love”
• Postlude: “Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us with Your Love” – arr. M. Sedio

“All human beings are created in the image of God—each one infused with priceless and intrinsic worth. To deny that worth to another is not merely unjust, it is blasphemous.”
— Archbishop Desmond Tutu

God’s mercy is always wider than we imagine.

As Charlotte Pride filled our streets this weekend, worship answered Jeremiah’s call: name false prophecy, reject fear, and embrace liberating love.

Tenth Sunday After Pentecost – Worship Service – August 17, 2025

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Hebrew Scripture: Jeremiah 23:23–32 | Modern Lesson: Rev. Broderick Greer (excerpt)

This Sunday, Pastor Chris led us through Jeremiah’s sharp warning against false prophets—voices that distort God’s word to preserve power and stoke fear. In contrast, true prophecy is grounded in God’s presence: it nourishes, liberates, and widens the circle of belonging.

Preaching in the heart of Charlotte Pride, Pastor Chris named how scripture has been weaponized against LGBTQ+ people and invited us to reclaim God’s voice of justice and mercy. He lifted up New Testament scholar Richard B. Hays’s journey from exclusion to affirmation—reminding us that theology is never abstract; it shapes real lives and families. The thread of scripture is not narrowing but widening: mercy, inclusion, and love.

Our worship affirmed what we hold dear at Holy Covenant: queer and trans lives are holy, beloved, and central to God’s story. Our praise within the sanctuary sends us out to live the offering God desires—acts of welcome, advocacy, and liberation.

📖🙏 Order of Worship Highlights:

• Prelude: “O Searcher of Hearts” – G. Clarke
• Modern Lesson: Rev. Broderick Greer (excerpt)
• Hebrew Scripture: Jeremiah 23:23–32
• Sermon: “Prophets and Pride” – Pastor Chris
• Communal Songs: “God of Many Faces” | “In an Age of Twisted Values” | “Sing a New World into Being”
• Postlude: “Christians, We Have Met to Worship” – arr. M. Hayes

“The most radical thing we can do as Christians is tell every LGBTQ+ person: you are loved, you are wanted, you are already enough.”
— Jayne Ozanne

The holy is not found in more, but in enough.

In a world that glorifies accumulation, this week’s worship asked: What does it mean to live richly by God’s standards?

Eighth Sunday After Pentecost – Worship Service – August 3, 2025

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Gospel Lesson: Luke 12:13–21 (NLT) | Modern Lesson: John Pavlovitz

This Sunday, Pastor Chris invited us into a courageous conversation about money—not to shame or scold, but to reframe. Preaching from Luke 12, he reminded us that Jesus doesn’t shy away from wealth conversations. In fact, he speaks about money more than almost anything else—not to villainize it, but to show how easily it distorts our hearts and clouds our sense of hope.

The parable of the rich fool is not about savings or success, but about misplaced trust. The farmer in the story believed his abundance could shield him from mortality, uncertainty, and community responsibility. But, as Pastor Chris shared, “he was invested in everything except what truly matters.”

With deep empathy and prophetic clarity, Pastor Chris invited us to look at our own barns—what we accumulate, why we cling, and what we fear losing. Drawing on John Pavlovitz’s reminder that real life is found in how well we love, we were called to invest in the kind of wealth that endures: generosity, justice, relationships, and rest. In a culture of endless striving, this worship reaffirmed our call to live richly toward God—not in fear, but in faith.

📖🙏 Order of Worship Highlights:

• Prelude: “Give Me Jesus” – arr. M. Hayes
• Introit: “There’s a Spirit of Love in This Place”
• Modern Lesson: John Pavlovitz
• Gospel Reading: Luke 12:13–21
• Sermon: “Plenty to Live On, Nothing to Live For” – Pastor Chris
• Communion: Mystic Supper – All Are Welcome
• Communal Songs: “In an Age of Twisted Values” | “Table of Grace” | “God, Whose Giving Knows No Ending”
• Postlude: “You Satisfy the Hungry Heart”

“A life of faith isn’t measured in possessions or achievements, but in how well we love… That’s when we find what’s real. Everything else fades. But love endures.”
— John Pavlovitz

Lord, teach us to pray.

In a world of noise and striving, prayer reclaims our sacred center and reawakens our belovedness.

Seventh Sunday After Pentecost – Worship Service – July 27, 2025

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Gospel Lesson: Luke 11:1–13 | Modern Lesson from Pádraig Ó Tuama

This Sunday, Pastor Chris led us into a sacred exploration of prayer—not as performance, but as presence. Preaching on Luke 11 and drawing from the poetic theology of Pádraig Ó Tuama, his sermon “Lord, Teach Us to Pray” invited us to rediscover prayer as a posture of openness, courage, and communion with God.

In a moment of personal witness, Pastor Chris shared a touching video of his six-year-old son, Carter, who is autistic, praying aloud at the dinner table for the first time. It was a holy moment—a reminder that prayer does not have to be polished to be powerful. Whether spoken, signed, sung, or silent, **prayer in any form is an act of belovedness**.

The sermon reminded us that prayer is not about manipulation but relationship. “Shameless persistence,” as Jesus calls it, is not about pestering the Divine—it’s about trusting God enough to keep showing up as our full selves. Prayer dismantles ego, holds space for lament, and becomes an embodied act of justice when our hearts and lives speak together.

The service included a time of shared silence and interactive prayer stations—inviting us to engage with prayer through creativity, global intercession, and expressions of gratitude. In a culture of striving and spiritual perfectionism, this worship called us back to the core: we pray not to prove anything, but to stay close to the heart of God.

📖🙏 Order of Worship Highlights:

• Prelude: “I Need You Every Hour”
• Modern Lesson: Pádraig Ó Tuama’s *In the Shelter*
• Gospel Reading: Luke 11:1–13
• Sermon: “Lord, Teach Us to Pray” – Pastor Chris
• Silent Meditation: 3–5 minutes of shared contemplative prayer
• Prayer Stations: Gratitude • Justice • Art • Global Intercession
• Communal Songs: “Come and Find the Quiet Center” | “Seek Ye First”
• Postlude: “My Faith Looks Up to You”

“Contemplation is the soul’s rebellion against the busyness of oppression. In silence, we remember we are beloved.”
— Dr. Barbara Holmes

“What do you see?”

Inspired by Amos 8, God’s Summer Basket of Fruit invites us to see justice ripening and truth made visible in community.

The Time Is Ripe: Prophecy in the Age of Propaganda – Sermon – July 20, 2025

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Hebrew Scripture: Amos 8:1–12

With the prophet Amos as our guide, we entered this Sunday’s worship with a bold and ancient question: “What do you see?” Rev. Glencie Rhedrick—returning to Holy Covenant’s pulpit—brought a theologically rich, justice-centered message titled “The Time Is Ripe: Prophecy in the Age of Propaganda.”

Drawing on the imagery of Amos’s basket of summer fruit, Rev. Rhedrick called us to recognize that moments of abundance are also moments of accountability. The fruit is ripe—so is the reckoning. The systems that trample the poor and silence the prophets have been named before. And yet, God still calls for truth-telling, solidarity, and repair. In the UCC tradition, we are not only invited to discern God’s word—we are called to embody it in the public square.

Rev. Rhedrick named the danger of theological comfort zones and reminded us that the famine Amos speaks of is not a lack of food—but a lack of hearing God’s voice. Her sermon challenged us to listen with urgency and act with courage, especially when truth is inconvenient. Our worship was grounded in lament, resistance, and the deep joy of those who seek justice not just in word, but in deed.

📖🙏 Order of Worship Highlights:

• Prelude: “O For a Thousand Tongues to Tell”
• Introit: “There’s a Spirit of Love in This Place”
• Hebrew Scriptures: Psalm 52 | Amos 8:1–12
• Sermon: “The Time Is Ripe: Prophecy in the Age of Propaganda” – Rev. Glencie Rhedrick
• Postlude: “God’s Eye Is on the Sparrow”

“The time is surely coming, says the Lord God, when I will send a famine… not of bread, but of hearing the words of the Lord.”
— Amos 8:11

Go and do likewise.

Jorge Cocco Santangelo’s rendering of the Good Samaritan invites reflection on mercy that transcends expectation and borders.

2-Step Instructions – Sermon – July 13, 2025

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Christian Lesson: Luke 10:25–37

This week, guest preacher Rev. Barbara L. Thomas delivered a theologically grounded and prophetically challenging sermon titled “2-Step Instructions.” Preaching from the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Pastor Barbara reminded us that the call to discipleship in the United Church of Christ is not about theological precision or performative charity—it is about embodied compassion and transformative solidarity.

The “two steps” are deceptively simple: Go and do the same. But as Pastor Barbara showed us, these steps demand everything: empathy, humility, courage, and a willingness to be changed. In Jesus’ story, the neighbor is not the priest or the religious elite, but the one who acted with mercy—someone marginalized, unexpected, and systemically excluded. That choice, she reminded us, is not incidental. It is revelatory.

This parable is not a private moral tale—it is a public theological confrontation. It invites us to affirm that the **Kin-dom of God** is not built on religious status or doctrinal gatekeeping but on relational justice, community repair, and the full inclusion of all people. The Jericho Road—like so many of our modern systems—needs restructuring. We are not merely called to help the wounded, we are called to change the road.

Pastor Barbara closed with a challenge and a hope: The church—this church—is needed now more than ever, not as a sanctuary of avoidance, but as a community of action. Our covenant with God and each other is not passive. It is participatory. We are called, together, to become the Samaritan: to show up, cross the road, and build a world where healing is possible and neighbor truly means everyone.

📖🙏 Order of Worship Highlights:

• Prelude: “Wonderful Words of Life”
• Call to the Heart and Invocation led by Ed Vickery
• Hebrew Scripture: Deuteronomy 30:10–14
• Gospel Reading: Luke 10:25–37
• Sermon: “2-Step Instructions” – Rev. Barbara L. Thomas
• Postlude: “Will You Come and Follow Me?”

Our gratitude to the Bold and Beautiful Covenant Group for providing refreshments following worship.

“True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar.
It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.”
— Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Beyond Vietnam, 1967

In stillness and strength.

An evocative portrayal of reflection and resilience, honoring the sacred connection between spirit, earth, and ancestry of radical welcome and inclusion.

Are You Standing in God’s Way? – Sermon – July 06, 2025

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Hebrew Lesson: 2 Kings 5:1–14

In this deeply reflective and progressive message, Pastor Chris explored how the grace of God often appears not in the dramatic or obvious, but in the small, strange, and easily overlooked. Preaching from 2 Kings 5:1–14, he recounted the story of Naaman—a powerful military leader whose healing came only when he set aside his pride and surrendered to an unexpected path.

Pastor Chris wove together the wisdom of Howard Thurman, Barbara Brown Taylor, and contemporary liberation theology to ask: How often do we resist transformation because it doesn’t arrive on our terms? We were invited to examine the ways ego, fear, and certainty can obstruct God’s movement in our lives—and to open ourselves to the surprising places where healing begins.

This sermon reminded us that God’s kin-dom often unfolds not through spectacle, but through quiet acts of courage, vulnerability, and grace. True liberation, Pastor Chris said, begins when we stop standing in the way of our own becoming.

The kin-dom of God unfolds not in the spectacular, but in the small, the quiet, and the overlooked.
— Ada María Isasi-Díaz

“🌈 “God’s Doors Are Open to All” – A vibrant declaration

of radical welcome and inclusion.”