Hummelstown UCC Podcast

John 10:11-18; Psalm 23 (CEV); Acts 4:5-12Lucille 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;”

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 withlayers of meaning may need to be revisited time and time again to unpack theclues, metaphors, and relationships the story explores.”-Rev. Dr. Cheryl A. Lindsay

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 waitson the right time to act, for the right principles and in the right way.”-Fulton J. Sheen

Luke 24:1-12; Luke 9:10-17The 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!

Psalm 118:19-29; John 6:25-35This week we celebrate Palm Sunday, the one day a year when we reallyacknowledge how desperate and confused we are. We are filled with hope andfear all at the same time, and we turn to God and to one another, never really surewhich emotions we will project. Even with all our preparations and attempts, we willfall short. We will be left feeling hungry. We still need God. We have journeyedthrough our Lenten worship series, Let Love Rise, following each week through thesteps 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 seeclearly that the focus is on Jesus and his preparation to be, to give, and to share theBread of Life. He entered the city, each step bearing all the hopes and fears ofhumanity; each step making him more ready. And so we pick up palms, shout“Hosanna!” and Let Love Rise.-Palm Sunday

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

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

Psalm 19: God’s Glory in Creation and the Law; Matthew 13:24-33One 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 millingflour, so we will focus this week on the Parable of the Weeds in Matthew 13, in whichJesus 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 toprepare us this Lenten season?-Milling the Flour

Psalm 22:23-31; Exodus 16:2-5 , 13-30It is hard to find a balance in life between what God does and what we do. Whenthings are going well, how do we find a balance between gratitude for God’sblessings 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 continueour 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 creationand human effort. There are many opportunities for us to be partners with God asGod provides for the world. Let us worship!-Harvesting Blessing

Psalm 25: Prayer for Guidance and for Deliverance; Luke 8:1-5When Jesus preached his sermons and parables, he often used illustrations relatingto everyday life at the time- farming, family, cooking and sharing meals. In order tounderstand 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 aswe begin our Lenten journey and Let Love Rise.-Starting with a Seed

2 Kings 2:1-12; Psalm 50:1-6:The Acceptable Sacrifice: A Psalm of Asaph; Mark 9:2-9“God places us in the world as his fellow workers-agents of transfiguration. We workwith God so that injustice is transfigured into justice, so there will be morecompassion and caring, that there will be more laughter and joy, that there will bemore togetherness in God's world.”-Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu

PSALM 147:1-11, 20; MARK 1:29-39; ISAIAH 40:21-31Today I choose life. Every morning when I wake up I can choose joy,happiness, negativity, pain… To feel the freedom that comes from being ableto continue to make mistakes and choices – today I choose to feel life, not todeny my humanity but embrace it.-Keyvin Aucoin

MARK 1:21-28; PSALM 11; DEUTERONOMY 18:15-20“Scripture tells us that love “binds everything together.” It is how we are held. It ishow we exist at all. Let us reawaken ourselves to love’s presence in this communitythrough service. May our worship not be a rote motion, but rather an experience ofrelationship with you and those gathered here. Open in us what love is requiring ofus today, O God, and may we respond in faith. Amen.”- Health and Human Services Sunday

PSALM 62:5-12; MARK 1:14-20; JONAH 3:1-5,10“In an ideal world we would all learn in childhood to love ourselves. We would grow, being secure in our worth and value, spreading love wherever we went, letting our light shine. If we did not learn self-love in our youth, there is still hope. The light of love is always in us, no matter how cold the flame. It is always present, waiting for the spark to ignite, waiting for the heart to awaken and call us back to the first memory of being the life force inside a dark place waiting to be born - waiting to see the light. ”-Bell Hooks

JOHN 1:43-51; PSALM 139:1-6, 13-18;1 SAMUEL 3:1-20 “I don't have many certainties about God. I do have many hopes. Chief among them is that it’s true what they say: that God is love, is made of love and looks at the faces of you and me and my gramma and, without hesitation or demand, delights. ”- Cole Arthur Riley

Genesis 1:1-5; Matthew 2:1-12 Modern Herald - Audre Lorde“There are no new ideas. There are only new ways of making them felt.”OPENING MEDITATION“The beginning is always today”-Mary Shelley

Matthew 1:18-25; Modern Herald: James BaldwinLots of angels appear in the biblical story of Christ’s birth with a consistent message,“Do not be afraid!” When the angel visits Joseph this week, he is wrestling with thecontrast of good news with the difficulties of the world. What can we hear from theangel’s message to Joseph this year? Join us on this final Sunday of Advent as weprepare for the love of God entering the world again.-Hark to Angels, Heralds of the Love of our Faith

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11; Luke 1:39-55Listen to heralds of joy this week! In the story of Mary and Elizabeth, Mary was inneed of good news before she could herald for God. Before she could sing hersong, she needed to hear God’s good news and love for her first. Her herald washer cousin, Elizabeth. Who have been heralds for you reminding you that no matterwhat you are loved by God? Join as we Hark to the herald, Elizabeth, to find joy inthe spirit this week.-Hark to Elizabeth, Herald of the Joy of our Faith

Isaiah 40:1-11; Mark 1:1-8John the Baptist was the herald for Jesus’ ministry. He prepared the way for Jesus bycalling for peace and justice, sometimes very bluntly. This Sunday, we will focusourselves on his message. How does his view of the good news inspire us? How doesit challenge us? Let’s Hark to the herald, John the Baptist, so we can discern God’scalling to peace.-Hark to John, Herald of the Peace of our Faith

Isaiah 2:1-5; Mark 13:24-37“Hope has two beautiful daughters; their names are Anger and Courage. Anger atthe way things are, and Courage to see that they do not remain as they are.”-Modern Herald, Augustine of Hippo