🤝 Ending Conflict: Choose Christ and One Another — A call to listen deeply, love generously, and remain united in mission even when we disagree.

Worship Service – January 25, 2026 | Third Sunday After the Epiphany

Bulletin – 01-25-2026

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:10–18 (CEB)

This Sunday at Holy Covenant United Church of Christ, we gathered on the
Third Sunday After the Epiphany for worship shaped by care, intention, and resilience. Due to inclement weather, today’s service was pre-recorded and thoughtfully woven together using both current segments and moments from past worship services. Though we were not gathered physically in the sanctuary, we remained deeply connected in prayer, reflection, and shared purpose.

Worship centered on a truth both ancient and urgently present: conflict is inevitable in community, but division does not have to be. From the opening welcome to the final blessing, the service invited us to consider how faith calls us not to avoid disagreement, but to navigate it with courage, humility,
and love.

Our scripture from 1 Corinthians 1:10–18 addressed a divided church, where factions and loyalties threatened to fracture the community. Paul’s words reminded us that the heart of Christian faith is not about being right, winning arguments, or aligning with personalities—but about remaining centered in
Christ and united in shared mission.

In his sermon, “Ending Conflict: Choose Christ and One Another,” Pastor Chris offered practical, pastoral guidance for living this calling. We were invited to speak directly to one another rather than about one another, to listen with openness instead of defensiveness, to seek common ground, and to
release the need to be right in favor of being in relationship.

Throughout the service, prayers, readings, and music reinforced the sacred work of reconciliation. The Prayer of Transformation named our tendency to prioritize certainty over compassion, while the Words of Grace reminded us that forgiveness and new beginnings are always possible. Even when
gathered apart, worship affirmed that unity is sustained by intention, humility, and love.

Music served as both witness and prayer—from “They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love” to“We Are One in the Spirit,” echoing the call to live our faith not as abstraction, but as embodied commitment. Together, the service proclaimed that choosing Christ means choosing one another—again
and again.

📖🙏 Order of Worship Highlights:

• Prelude: “They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love”
• Introit: “Holy Ground”
• Hymn: “The Church’s One Foundation”
• Modern Lesson: Words from Jiddu Krishnamurti
• Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:10–18
• Sermon: “Ending Conflict: Choose Christ and One Another” — Rev. Christopher Czarnecki
• Gift in Song: “Weave” — Judah L. Jones
• Closing Hymn: “We Are One in the Spirit”
• Postlude: “Make Me a Servant”

“Choosing Christ means choosing relationship over division, love over certainty, and mission over ego.”