21 APR 2024 · John 10:11-18; Psalm 23 (CEV); Acts 4:5-12 Lucille Clifton, from “won’t you celebrate with me” “what did i see to be except myself? i made it up here on this bridge between starshine and clay, my one hand holding tight my other hand;”

14 APR 2024 · Luke 24:36-48; Psalm 4: Confident Plea for Deliverance from Enemies; Acts 3:12-19 “Sometimes, a story does not make sense as it unfolds. Complex narratives with layers of meaning may need to be revisited time and time again to unpack the clues, metaphors, and relationships the story explores.” -Rev. Dr. Cheryl A. Lindsay

7 APR 2024 · Acts 4:32-35; Psalm 133: The Blessedness of Unity; John 20:19-31 “Patience is power. Patience is not an absence of action; rather it is "timing" it waits on the right time to act, for the right principles and in the right way.” -Fulton J. Sheen

2 APR 2024 · Luke 24:1-12; Luke 9:10-17 The bread has been baked and broken, and now, it is ready to share. Pairing the Easter story with Luke’s story of feeding five thousand, we focus today on how the love of God expands to include everyone in need. Share the Bread of Life and confidently declare Christ is Risen! -Love Will Rise!

24 MAR 2024 · Psalm 118:19-29; John 6:25-35 This week we celebrate Palm Sunday, the one day a year when we really acknowledge how desperate and confused we are. We are filled with hope and fear all at the same time, and we turn to God and to one another, never really sure which emotions we will project. Even with all our preparations and attempts, we will fall short. We will be left feeling hungry. We still need God. We have journeyed through our Lenten worship series, Let Love Rise, following each week through the steps of baking bread, with each step representing our own spiritual preparation. This week, as we come to the final step of baking and finishing with fire, we see clearly that the focus is on Jesus and his preparation to be, to give, and to share the Bread of Life. He entered the city, each step bearing all the hopes and fears of humanity; each step making him more ready. And so we pick up palms, shout “Hosanna!” and Let Love Rise. -Palm Sunday

17 MAR 2024 · Psalm 119:9-16; Luke 13:6-9, 20-21 After so much work, it’s finally time to wait. It is time for the bread dough to rest, but if you watch closely, it is not resting idly. It is slowly rising. We have moved through this season of Lenten preparation to arrive at this moment of sabbath resting and hopeful rising. We are almost ready to follow Jesus to his last days of bread broken, shared and given for all. -Waiting for Rising

11 MAR 2024 · Micah 6:6-8; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 The cross and the church are foolishness in the world. Are they foolishness to you? Are you willing to do your part to see the foolishness of God redeem the world? Are you using your gift to the glory of God or was God just being foolish in centering plans in you?

3 MAR 2024 · Psalm 19: God’s Glory in Creation and the Law; Matthew 13:24-33 One of the most difficult steps of making bread is milling the wheat grains into flour. It takes both time and labor. The Bible doesn’t have very many references for milling flour, so we will focus this week on the Parable of the Weeds in Matthew 13, in which Jesus spoke about the farmer allowing weeds to grow alongside the wheat, separating them just before milling. What is the labor that God pours into us to prepare us this Lenten season? -Milling the Flour

25 FEB 2024 · Psalm 22:23-31; Exodus 16:2-5 , 13-30 It is hard to find a balance in life between what God does and what we do. When things are going well, how do we find a balance between gratitude for God’s blessings and celebration of our own hard work? When things are not going well, how do we balance our own frustration with trust in God’s provision? We continue our worhsip series this Sunday with a focus on harvesting, gathering the gifts of God. Harvesting is an essential part of our life together and necessary for any bread- making, but farming is a difficult enterprise requiring a balance of God’s creation and human effort. There are many opportunities for us to be partners with God as God provides for the world. Let us worship! -Harvesting Blessing

18 FEB 2024 · Psalm 25: Prayer for Guidance and for Deliverance; Luke 8:1-5 When Jesus preached his sermons and parables, he often used illustrations relating to everyday life at the time- farming, family, cooking and sharing meals. In order to understand his meaning, it is helpful for us to learn more about bread in Jesus’ time. What was the process and labor needed to produce a loaf of bread? This Sunday, we begin at bread’s beginning, with a sower and the seed. Let us join together as we begin our Lenten journey and Let Love Rise. -Starting with a Seed