HACC | Sermons

A brief time of reflection for Ash Wednesday, which begins the Christian season of Lent … a time for looking inward to consider our faith, our witness, and the ways we connect with the ministry and life of Jesus Christ.

Participate as a morning devotion to begin your day … during the day on your own or with family … share with those who might need and find this moment meaningful … or close the evening with this reflection.

Remember that you have come from the dust, and to the dust you will return, in sure and certain hope of the resurrection. Repent, and believe the good news. Amen.

in Sunday Sermons /by Kevin Howe

Wait. What?

February 14, 2021

14 Feb 2021

Click here for Worship

Click here to join us for The RISING worship service

Click here to join us for TRADITIONAL worship

Click here to join us for the SERMON only

Mark 9:2-9. Rev. Courtney Richards, preaching

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

in Sunday Sermons /by Ashley Pease

The Everlasting God

February 7, 2021

07 Feb 2021

Click here for Worship

Click here to join us for The RISING worship service

Click here to join us for TRADITIONAL worship

Click here for the SERMON only

Isaiah 40:21-31. Rev. David Emery, preaching

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

in Sunday Sermons /by Ashley Pease

A New Heart for a New Year – Give Me Trust to Console Me

January 31, 2021

31 Jan 2021

Click here for Worship

Click here to join us for The RISING worship service

Click here to join us for TRADITIONAL worship

Click here for the SERMON only

Jeremiah 17:5-8. Rev. David Emery, preaching

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

in A New Heart for A New Year, Sunday Sermons /by Ashley Pease

A New Heart for a New Year – Give me Courage to Strengthen Me

January 24, 2021

24 Jan 2021

Click here for Worship

Click here to join us for The RISING worship service

Click here to join us for TRADITIONAL worship

Click here for the SERMON only

Joshua 1:1-9. Rev. David Emery, preaching

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

in A New Heart for A New Year, Sunday Sermons /by Ashley Pease

A New Heart for a New Year – Give Me Wisdom to Direct Me

January 17, 2021

17 Jan 2021

Click here for Worship

Click here to join us for The RISING worship service

Click here to join us for TRADITIONAL worship

Click here for the SERMON only

Matthew 7:21-27. Rev. Kevin Howe, preaching

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

in A New Heart for A New Year, Sunday Sermons /by Ashley Pease

A New Heart for a New Year – Give Me Light to Guide Me

January 10, 2021

10 Jan 2021

Click here for Worship

Click here to join us for The RISING worship service

Click here to join us for TRADITIONAL worship

Click here for the SERMON only

John 8:12. Rev. David Emery, preaching

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

in A New Heart for A New Year, Sunday Sermons /by Ashley Pease

A New Heart for a New Year – Give Me Vision to Inspire Me

January 3, 2021

03 Jan 2021

Click here for Worship

Click here to join us in worship

Click here for the SERMON only

Ezekiel 36:26, Ephesians 1:18. Rev. David Emery, preaching

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

in A New Heart for A New Year, Sunday Sermons /by Ashley Pease

A Requiem for 2020

December 27, 2020

27 Dec 2020

Click here for Worship

Click here to join us in worship!

Click here for the SERMON only!

Rev. David Emery, preaching

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

in Sunday Sermons /by Ashley Pease

What the World Needs Now… Christ {Christmas Eve worship}

December 24, 2020

24 Dec 2020

Click here for Worship

Click the image above to join us for the CHRISTMAS EVE worship service.

Rev. David Emery, preaching

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

in Sunday Sermons, What the World Needs Now... /by Ashley Pease

The Rising – Christmas in Tune VII

December 20, 2020

20 Dec 2020

Click here for Worship

Click the image to join us for The RISING Christmas concert

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

in Sunday Sermons /by Ashley Pease

Christmas Cantata – The Story of Jesus

December 20, 2020

20 Dec 2020

Click here for Worship

Click the image to join us for the Traditional Worship Christmas cantata

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

in Sunday Sermons /by Ashley Pease

What the World Needs Now… Joy

December 13, 2020

13 Dec 2020

Click here for Worship

Click here to join us for The RISING worship service

Click here to join us for TRADITIONAL worship

Click here for the SERMON only

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11. Rev. David Emery, preaching

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

in Sunday Sermons, What the World Needs Now... /by Ashley Pease

What the World Needs Now… Peace

December 6, 2020

06 Dec 2020

Click here for Worship

Click here to join us for The RISING worship service

Click here to join us for TRADITIONAL worship

Click here for the SERMON only

Mark 1:1-8. Rev. David Emery, preaching

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

in Sunday Sermons, What the World Needs Now... /by Ashley Pease

What the World Needs Now… Hope

November 29, 2020

29 Nov 2020

Click here for Worship

Click here to join us for The RISING worship service

Click here to join us for TRADITIONAL worship

Click here for The SERMON only

Isaiah 64:1 – 9. Rev. David Emery, preaching

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

in Sunday Sermons, What the World Needs Now... /by Ashley Pease

November 22 2020 Worship Services – Given to the Lord

November 22, 2020

22 Nov 2020

Click here for Worship

Click here to join us for The RISING worship service

Click here to join us for TRADITIONAL worship

Click here for the SERMON only

1 Samuel 1 : 9 – 28. Rev. Courtney Richards, preaching

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

by Ashley Pease

November 15 2020 Worship Services – Netflixing Through the Bible

November 15, 2020

15 Nov 2020

Click here for Worship

Click here to join us for The RISING worship service

Click here to join us for TRADITIONAL worship

Click here for the sermon only

Matthew 25:14-30. Rev. David Emery, preaching

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

in Sunday Sermons, Together We Thrive /by Ashley Pease

November 8 2020 RISING – The Feeding of the Five Thousand

November 8, 2020

08 Nov 2020

Click here for Worship

Click the image above to join us in worship!
Mark 6:30-44. Rev. David Emery, preaching
Click here for SERMON ONLY video

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

in Sunday Sermons, Together We Thrive /by Ashley Pease

November 8 2020 TRADITIONAL – The Feeding of the Five Thousand

November 8, 2020

08 Nov 2020

Click here for Worship

Click the image above to join us in worship!
Mark 6:30-44. Rev. David Emery, preaching
Click here for the SERMON ONLY video

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

in Sunday Sermons, Together We Thrive /by Ashley Pease

The Healing of the Paralytic

November 1, 2020

01 Nov 2020

Click here for Worship

Click the image above to join us in worship!
Mark 2:1-12. Rev. David Emery, preaching
Click here for the SERMON ONLY video

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

in Sunday Sermons, Together We Thrive /by Ashley Pease

Have You Met My Neighbor?

October 25, 2020

25 Oct 2020

Click here for Worship

Click the image above to join us in worship!
Matthew 22:34-40. Rev. David Emery, preaching
Click here for the SERMON ONLY video

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

in It Sounds Nice, Sunday Sermons /by Ashley Pease

I Like My Boat

October 18, 2020

18 Oct 2020

Click here for Worship

Click the image above to join us in worship!
Matthew 14:22-33. Rev. David Emery, preaching

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

in It Sounds Nice, Sunday Sermons /by Ashley Pease

Don’t Worry About Your Life

October 11, 2020

11 Oct 2020

Click here for Worship

Click the image above to join us in worship!
Matthew 6:25-34. Rev. David Emery, preaching

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

in It Sounds Nice /by Ashley Pease

Let’s Go Deep

October 4, 2020

04 Oct 2020

Click here for Worship

Click the image above to join us in worship!
Luke 5:1-11. Rev. David Emery, preaching

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

in It Sounds Nice /by Ashley Pease

do the right thing

September 27, 2020

27 Sep 2020

Click here for Worship

Click the image above to join us in worship!
Romans 12: 9 – 21. Rev. David Emery, preaching
Click for the SERMON ONLY video.

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

in When the Fog Rolls In /by Kevin Howe

grow your empathy

September 20, 2020

20 Sep 2020

Click here for Worship

Click the image above to join us in worship!
Romans 12: 9 – 21. Rev. Kevin Howe, preaching
Click for the SERMON ONLY video.

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

in Sunday Sermons, When the Fog Rolls In /by Kevin Howe

don’t run from hard

September 13, 2020

13 Sep 2020

Click here for Worship

Click the image above to join us in worship!
Romans 12: 9 – 21. Rev. David Emery, preaching
Click for the SERMON ONLY video.

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

in Sunday Sermons, When the Fog Rolls In /by Kevin Howe

the beacon of love

September 6, 2020

06 Sep 2020

Click here for Worship

Click the image above to join us in worship!
Romans 12: 9 – 21. Rev. David Emery, preaching
Click for the SERMON ONLY video.

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

in Sunday Sermons, When the Fog Rolls In /by Kevin Howe

This fellow welcomes sinners.

August 30, 2020

30 Aug 2020

Click here for Worship

Click the image above to join us in worship!
Luke 15: 11 – 32. Rev. David Emery, preaching
Click for the SERMON ONLY video.

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

in Flip the Script, Sunday Sermons /by Kevin Howe

Jesus and the party crasher.

August 23, 2020

23 Aug 2020

Click here for Worship

Click the image above to join us in worship!
Luke 7: 36 – 50. Rev. David Emery, preaching
Click for the SERMON ONLY video.

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER will return next week!

in Flip the Script, Sunday Sermons /by Kevin Howe

Jonah and the big fish.

August 16, 2020

16 Aug 2020

Click here for Worship

Click the image above to join us in worship!
Jonah 1: 1 – 3. Rev. David Emery, preaching
SERMON ONLY video below, following the worship bulletin.

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

SERMON ONLY

in Flip the Script, Sunday Sermons /by Kevin Howe

Naked and out of his mind.

August 9, 2020

09 Aug 2020

Click here for Worship

Click the image above to join us in worship!
Luke 8: 26 – 39. Rev. David Emery, preaching
SERMON ONLY video below, following the worship bulletin.

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

SERMON ONLY

in Flip the Script, Sunday Sermons /by Kevin Howe

Moses and the burning bush.

August 2, 2020

02 Aug 2020

Click here for Worship

Click the image above to join us in worship!
Exodus 3: 1 – 12 . Rev. David Emery, preaching
SERMON ONLY video below, following the worship bulletin.

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

SERMON ONLY

in Flip the Script, Sunday Sermons /by Kevin Howe

More Than Conquerors

July 26, 2020

26 Jul 2020

Click here for Worship

Click the image above to join us in worship!
Romans 8: 26 – 39 . Rev. Courtney Richards, preaching
SERMON ONLY video below, following the worship bulletin.

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

SERMON ONLY

in God Is For Us, Sunday Sermons /by Kevin Howe

What’s On Your Mind?

July 19, 2020

19 Jul 2020

Click here for Worship

Click the image above to join us in worship!
Romans 8: 5 – 6 . Rev. David Emery, preaching
SERMON ONLY video below, following the worship bulletin.

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

SERMON REFLECTION GUIDE

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

SERMON ONLY

in God Is For Us, Sunday Sermons /by Kevin Howe

No Condemnation

July 12, 2020

12 Jul 2020

Click here for Worship

Click the image above to join us in worship!
Romans 8: 1 – 4 . Rev. David Emery, preaching
Click here for the SERMON ONLY video.

WELCOME TO WORSHIP !

CONNECTION CARD (check-in / prayer concerns)

ONLINE GIVING

CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER

in God Is For Us, Sunday Sermons /by Kevin Howe

Climate Change

July 5, 2020

05 Jul 2020

Click here for Worship

Welcome! As always, mark your attendance and share your prayer concerns with our *Connection Card*.

We bring our tithes and offerings through online giving You can also mail offerings to the church address, or contact Business & Finance Director Nedean Geurin to set up autopay and other giving options.

Join Children Worship & Wonder, telling one of our favorites, the parable of the mustard seed.

*
THIS WEEK IN WORSHIP

> Call to Worship :: from Jan L. Richardson, Freedom in My Bones, August 2010
> Welcome :: Rev. David Emery
> Pastoral Prayer :: Rev. Courtney Richards
> ‘If My People’ (Jimmy Owens) :: Kelly Ford, vocal; Rick Fraley, piano; Susie Monger Daugherty, organ
> Scripture (Galatians 5: 13 – 26) & Sermon :: Rev. David Emery
> ‘Peace Be Still’ (Hope Darst/Mia Fieldes/Andrew Horst) :: Colt Stubblefield, reader; Andi Gross, vocal; Tom Jurena, piano
> Communion :: Rev. Courtney Richards
> ‘America the Beautiful’ (Samuel Ward) :: Rick Fraley, piano; Erica Parker, cello
> Benediction :: from Frederick Douglass

in Sunday Sermons /by Kevin Howe

Walking, Leaping, Praising God

June 28, 2020

28 Jun 2020

Click here for Worship

Welcome! As always, mark your attendance and share your prayer concerns with our *Connection Card*.

We bring our tithes and offerings through online giving You can also mail offerings to the church address, or contact Business & Finance Director Nedean Geurin to set up autopay and other giving options.

This week’s Children Worship & Wonder, telling the parable of the great pearl, will post for families on Monday.

*
THIS WEEK IN WORSHIP

> Welcome :: Rev. Courtney Richards
> Call to Worship :: Coppelia, Canaan, Cambrie, and Anna Chebny
> Pastoral Prayer & Lord’s Prayer :: Rev. Courtney Richards
> ‘Beautiful Things’ (Lisa Gungor/Michael Gungor) :: Isaac & Sarah Grace Herbert
> Scripture (Acts 3: 1 – 10) & Sermon :: Rev. David Emery
> ‘I Walked Today Where Jesus Walks’ (Greg Nelson/Gloria Gaither) :: Kelly Ford, Rick Fraley, Erica Parker
> Communion :: Rev. Courtney Richards; Steve Ray
> communion music :: Isaac Herbert
> Benediction :: the Chebnys

in Sunday Sermons, We Are The Church /by Kevin Howe

It’s Not Me and Jesus

June 21, 2020

21 Jun 2020

Click here for Worship

Welcome! THANK YOU for taking the time to mark your attendance and share prayer concerns with our *Connection Card.

We bring our tithes & offerings through *online giving. You can also mail offerings to the church address, or contact Business & Finance Director Nedean Geurin to set up autopay and other giving options.

Enjoy this week’s Children Worship & Wonder, telling the story of Dorcas and her great generosity and care for her community.

*
THIS WEEK IN WORSHIP

> Welcome :: Rev. David Emery
> Call to Worship :: excerpted from Rev. James Forbes,
> Pastoral Prayer & Lord’s Prayer :: Rev. Courtney Richards
> ‘Come, Holy Spirit Like the Wind’ (John Carter) :: Chancel Choir ensemble
> Scripture (Acts 2: 42 – 47) & Sermon :: Rev. David Emery
> ‘Hold Us Together’ (Matt Maher) :: Isaac & Sarah Grace Herbert
> Communion :: Rev. Courtney Richards; Geoff Brewster
> communion music :: Isaac Herbert
> Benediction

*

Our call is not be a church in a place.
Our charge is to the body of Christ, alive in the world.
We are people with a mission to share the good news, everywhere.

in Sunday Sermons, We Are The Church /by Kevin Howe

What Should We Do?

June 14, 2020

14 Jun 2020

Click here for Worship

Welcome! THANK YOU for taking the time to mark your attendance and share prayer concerns with our *Connection Card.

We bring our tithes & offerings through *online giving You can also mail offerings to the church address, or contact Business & Finance Director Nedean Geurin to set up autopay and other giving options.

Enjoy this week’s Children Worship & Wonder, telling the story of Phillip’s teaching in Samaria.

*
THIS WEEK IN WORSHIP

> Welcome :: Rev. David Emery
> Call to Worship :: from John O’Donohue, Eternal Echoes
> Pastoral Prayer & Lord’s Prayer :: Rev. Courtney Richards
> ‘Breathe On Us’ :: The Rising Band
> Scripture (Acts 2: 36 – 41) & Sermon :: Rev. David Emery
> ‘I Surrender All’ :: Chancel Choir ensemble
> Communion :: Rev. Courtney Richards; Rev. Darlene Martinez
> communion music :: Susie Monger Daugherty
> Benediction :: ‘The Lord Bless You and Keep You’ :: Chancel Choir ensemble

in Sunday Sermons, We Are The Church /by Kevin Howe

You Will Be My Witnesses

June 7, 2020

07 Jun 2020

Click here for Worship

Welcome! As always, mark your attendance and share your prayer concerns with our *Connection Card*.

We bring our tithes and offerings through online giving You can also mail offerings to the church address, or contact Business & Finance Director Nedean Geurin to set up autopay and other giving options.

Enjoy this week’s Children Worship & Wonder, telling a wonderful story of Peter healing a man in Jerusalem.

*
THIS WEEK IN WORSHIP

> Call to Worship :: Rev. David Emery
> Scripture (Acts 1: 1 – 11) :: Rev. Courtney Richards
> conversation with Phil Armstrong, 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission
> ‘We Will Stand’ :: Phil Armstrong, Kelly Ford, Donald Ryan
> Sermon :: Rev. David Emery
> ‘Love Does’ :: Isaac Herbert
> Communion :: Rev. Courtney Richards; Susan Gross
> ‘Go’ :: Kelly Ford & Donald Ryan
> Benediction :: Rev. David Emery & Addie Timberlake

in Sunday Sermons, We Are The Church /by Kevin Howe

The Holy Spirit Comes

May 31, 2020

31 May 2020

Click here for Worship

Welcome! As always, let us know you’re here by using the *Connection Card*. Share any concerns and celebrations so that we can be in prayer with you and for you. (These go directly to our Connections Pastor, and you can note ‘pastors only’ if you choose.)

We bring our tithes and offerings through online giving You can also mail offerings to the church address, or contact Business & Finance Director Nedean Geurin to set up autopay and other giving options.

Enjoy this week’s Children Worship & Wonder, telling the story of Pentecost.

*
THIS WEEK IN WORSHIP

The traditional color for Pentecost is RED. So this week, as we hear the scripture about the fire and wind of the Holy Spirit moving among the believers as they gathered for worship, BYO flame (candles should do!), and wear your red! And then share a photo of you and all your Pentecost goodness!

Send your photo to Courtney AND post on social media, using the hashtags #ComeHolySpirit – #LoveStaysHome – #BEingHACC so that we can find you!

> Welcome :: Rev. David Emery
> Call to Worship
> Pastoral Prayer :: Rev. Courtney Richards
> ‘10,000 Reasons’ :: Isaac & Sarah Grace Herbert (and Autumn!)
> telling the story of Pentecost :: (from Acts 2) Dr. Richard Ward, Phillips Theological Seminary
> Sermon :: Rev. David Emery
> ‘All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name’ :: Kelly Ford & Vicki Smith
> Communion :: Rev. David Emery; Neil Gilpin
> communion music :: Isaac Herbert
> Benediction

in In the Meantime, Sunday Sermons /by Kevin Howe

Joy No Matter What

May 24, 2020

24 May 2020

Click here for Worship

Welcome! As always, let us know you’re here by using the *Connection Card*. Share any concerns and celebrations so that we can be in prayer with you and for you. (These go directly to our Connections Pastor, and you can note ‘pastors only’ if you choose.)

We bring our tithes and offerings through online giving You can also mail offerings to the church address, or contact Business & Finance Director Nedean Geurin to set up autopay and other giving options.

Enjoy this week’s Children Worship & Wonder, telling the story of the ascension (and getting ready for next week: Pentecost!).

*
THIS WEEK IN WORSHIP

Read a good book? Learned to ride a bike? What brings you joy? More uninterrupted time with family? Social distanced gatherings with friends and neighbors? Maybe it’s tending to your garden or … building a treehouse? {This one is newly rebuilt at the Fords’ home!} Look at the people and things around you and send us pictures of what brings you JOY!

Post to Facebook and Instagram, and hashtag it: #MyJoy – #LoveStaysHome – #BEingHACC so we can find each other! (As always you can just send your pictures to Courtney, too.)

> Welcome :: Rev. David Emery
> Call to Worship :: Dan & Cheryl Pease; Ashley Pease, Ezra
> Pastoral Prayer :: Rev. Kevin Howe
> ‘Holy, Holy, Holy’ :: Kelly Ford & Vicki Smith
> Scripture (Philippians 4: 4 – 9)
> Sermon :: Rev. David Emery, Rev. Courtney Richards, Rev. Kevin Howe
> ‘Happy Day’ :: Isaac & Sarah Grace Herbert
> Communion :: Rev. Courtney Richards; Dan & Cheryl Pease
> communion music :: Vicki Smith, organ
> Benediction :: a sabbatical blessing for Rev. Howe

in In the Meantime, Sunday Sermons /by Kevin Howe

Plant A Garden

May 17, 2020

17 May 2020

Click here for Worship

Welcome! As always, let us know you’re here by using the *Connection Card*. Share any concerns and celebrations so that we can be in prayer with you and for you. (These go directly to our Connections Pastor, and you can note ‘pastors only’ if you choose.)

Offerings are possible through online giving or can be mailed to the church address. (You may also contact Business & Finance Director Nedean Geurin to set up autopay and other giving options.)

Enjoy this week’s Children Worship & Wonder, telling the story of Jesus asking Peter to follow him (again!).

*
THIS WEEK IN WORSHIP

Harvard Avenue master gardeners, hobby horticulturists, flora and fauna aficionados … or just folks who love pretty plants. THIS is your week to shine!

This week’s sermon theme – In the Meantime: Plant A Garden – is just for you, and we can’t wait for you to share pictures of your garden! (or someone else’s!) Show us what has been planted, and what has grown, around you!

Post to Facebook and Instagram, and hashtag it: #PlantAGarden – #LoveStaysHome – #BEingHACC so we can find each other! (And, as ever, send your pics to Courtney, if it’s easier.)

> Welcome :: Rev. David Emery
> Call to Worship :: Diana & Scott Booren, Carolyn & Connor
> Pastoral Prayer & Lord’s Prayer :: Rev. Courtney Richards
> ‘New Wine’ :: Mark Bleikamp, Andi Gross, Nathan Wilson
> Scripture (Jeremiah 29: 4 – 14) :: Colt Stubblefield
> Sermon :: Rev. David Emery
> ‘How Great Thou Art’ :: Kelly Ford & Vicki Smith
> Communion :: Rev. Kevin Howe; Hank & Cathy Leonard
> communion music :: Isaac Herbert; photos by Summer Lyons & Courtney Richards
> Benediction :: Booren family

in In the Meantime, Sunday Sermons /by Kevin Howe

Make the Most Of It

May 10, 2020

10 May 2020

Click here for Worship

Welcome! As always, let us know you’re here by using the *Connection Card*. Share any concerns and celebrations so that we can be in prayer with you and for you. (These go directly to our Connections Pastor, and you can note ‘pastors only’ if you choose.)

Offerings are possible through online giving or can be mailed to the church address. (You may also contact Business & Finance Director Nedean Geurin to set up autopay and other giving options.)

Enjoy this week’s Children Worship & Wonder, telling the story of Jesus appearing to the disciples by the sea.

*
THIS WEEK IN WORSHIP

‘In the meantime’, how are you ‘making the most of it’? Did you repurpose a table to set up a home office? Have you baked your first ever loaf of bread? Adopt a dog so you can keep each other company? Is your family having ‘who can wear their pajamas the whole day’ contests? Find a flower growing that you don’t remember planting there?

Look around at the people and things of the moment, and share pictures of your “MOST”!

Post to Facebook and Instagram, and hashtag it: #MakeTheMostOfIt – #LoveStaysHome – #BEingHACC so we can find each other! (As always, you can just send your pictures to Courtney, too.)

> Welcome :: Rev. David Emery
> Call to Worship :: Nancy Pittman
> Pastoral Prayer & Lord’s Prayer :: Rev. Kevin Howe
> ‘Blessed Assurance’
> Sermon (text John 21: 1 – 17) :: Rev. David Emery
> ‘Waiting for My Real Life to Begin’ (Colin Hay) :: Isaac & Sarah Grace Herbert
> Communion :: Rev. Courtney Richards; Ashley Gibson
> ‘Both of Us’ll Feel the Blast’ (Waterdeep) :: Isaac & Sarah Grace Herbert
> Welcoming New Members
> ‘Your First Day in Heaven’ (Hamlin) :: Todd Maxwell, Kelly Ford, Ron Lee, Barry Epperley, & Donald Ryan
> Benediction :: Nancy Pittman

in In the Meantime, Sunday Sermons /by Kevin Howe

Come and Have Breakfast

May 3, 2020

03 May 2020

Click here for Worship

Welcome! As always, using the *Connection Card* lets us know you were in worship. Share any concerns and celebrations so that we can be in prayer with you and for you. (These are emailed directly to our Connections Pastor, and you can note ‘pastors only’ if you choose.)

Offerings are encouraged through online giving or can be mailed to the church address. (You may also contact Business Manager Nedean Geurin to set up autopay and other giving options.)

You can also find this week’s Children Worship & Wonder, telling the story of Jesus commissioning the disciples.

*

Since Jesus and the disciples are gathering for a morning meal on the beach, let’s do the same (sort of). Whether it’s simple cereal or a weekend spread; whether you’re in pajamas or clothes, costumes or church wear; send us your breakfast pics! Now you don’t have to choose: You can come to church AND come and have breakfast!

Post to Facebook and Instagram, and hashtag it: #ComeAndHaveBreakfast – #LoveStaysHome – #BEingHACC so we can find each other! (As always, you can just send your pictures to Courtney, too.)

> Call to Worship
> Pastoral Prayer & Lord’s Prayer :: Rev. Courtney Richards
> ‘Precious Lord, Take My Hand’ (Dorsey/arr.Shaw) :: Avenue; director Barry Epperley; filmed pre-COVID @ Christ the King, Tulsa
> Sermon (text John 21: 1 – 17) :: Rev. David Emery
> ‘There Was Jesus’ (Williams/Beathard/Smith) :: Isaac & Sarah Grace Herbert
> Communion :: Rev. Kevin Howe; Deborah Gist
> ‘Here I Am to Worship/There’s Something About That Name’ (arr.Fraley) :: Kelly Ford & Rick Fraley
> Benediction

in Sunday Sermons /by Kevin Howe

Can We Be Honest?

April 26, 2020

26 Apr 2020

Click here for Worship

Find our *Connection Card* to share attendance, concerns, and celebrations so that pastors, elders, and prayer teams can be in prayer with you and for you. (These are emailed directly to our Connections Pastor, and you can note ‘pastors only’ if you choose.)

Offerings are brought forward through online giving or mailed to the church address. (You may also contact our business manager to set up autopay and other giving options.)

You can also find this week’s Children Worship & Wonder, telling the story of Jesus appearing to Thomas.

*

Today, as we hear the story of Thomas, we realize his questioning actually shows us how to be faithful. This week’s photo offering borrows from our sermon theme picture: **Show us your question mark!** Draw one and take a picture. Build it out of coffee cups. Lay your children on the floor in the right shape. Line up those flower pots. Thinking about a new quarantine cut? 🙂 Have some fun!

We all have questions; let’s see your question marks! Post to Facebook and Instagram, and hashtag it: #CanWeBeHonest – #LoveStaysHome – #BEingHACC so we can find each other! (As always, you can just send your pictures to Courtney, too.)

> Call to Worship :: Andy & Jennie McMillan; Addie, Kendall, Embry
> Pastoral Prayer :: Rev. Courtney Richards
> ‘Honest’ (Evens/Seibold/Wilson/Noel) :: Isaac Herbert
> Sermon (text John 20: 24-29) :: Rev. David Emery
> ‘Why?’ (Harris/Koch/Clark) :: Kelly Ford & Rick Fraley
> Communion :: Rev. Kevin Howe, Jodi Howe; Bob & Sue Flint
> ‘How Great is Our God’ (Tomlin) :: Rick Fraley
> Benediction :: Bill & Betsy Richert

in Sunday Sermons /by Kevin Howe

Take A Deep Breath

April 19, 2020

19 Apr 2020

Click here for Worship

Please use this *Connection Card* to mark your attendance, and especially to share concerns and celebrations so that your pastors, elders, and prayer teams can be in prayer with you and for you. (These are emailed directly to our Connections Pastor, and you can note ‘pastors only’ if you choose.)

Offerings can be made through online giving or sent to the church address. (You may also contact our business manager to set up autopay and other giving options.)

You can also find this week’s Children Worship & Wonder, telling the story of the road to Emmaus.

This week, as we remember Christ entering into the room where the disciples gathered, and breathing peace upon them, show us a photo of your home’s doorway/entry. (You can include yourself and family or not! Be sure to obscure/crop the house number.) Post to Facebook and Instagram, and hashtag it : #ChristEntersIn – #LoveStaysHome – #BEingHACC so we can find each other! (You can just send your pictures to Courtney, too.)

> Call to Worship :: Heath & Staci Pennington; Coco, Izzi, Breaker
> Pastoral Prayer :: Rev. Kevin Howe
> ‘In Christ Alone’ (Getty) :: Kelly Ford & Mark DeLuca
> Sermon (text John 20: 19 – 22) :: Rev. David Emery
> ‘Holy Spirit’ (Katie & Bryan Torwalt) :: Rising Worship band (Isaac Herbert, Andi Gross, George Halls, Nathan Wilson)
> Communion :: Rev. Courtney Richards; David & Jennifer Brock; Eli, Toria
> ‘Breathe on Me, Breath of God’ (Hatch) :: Mark DeLuca :: photos, Courtney Richards, honoring 50th anniversary of Earth Day (April 22)
> Benediction :: Tom & Anita Wertz

in Sunday Sermons /by Kevin Howe

Where Is The Body? {Easter Sunday}

April 12, 2020

12 Apr 2020

Click here for Worship

EASTER SUNDAY

Please use this *Connection Card* to let us know you were here, sharing any prayer concerns and celebrations so that your pastors, elders, and prayer teams can be in prayer with you and for you. (These are emailed directly to our Connections Pastor, and you can note ‘pastors only’ if you choose.)

Your tithes & offerings can be made through online giving or sent to the church address. (Mail is collected daily.)

You can also find this week’s Children Worship & Wonder, celebrating the events of Easter morning.

Image preview > Scripture (Matthew 28: 1 – 10) :: Rev. Kevin Howe
> Call to Worship :: Colt Stubblefield
> ‘Living Hope’ (Phil Wickham) :: Rising Worship band
> Pastoral Prayer & Lord’s Prayer :: Rev. Darlene & Zoey Martinez
> Sermon :: Rev. David Emery
> ‘Joyful Joyful, We Adore Thee’ (arr.Maddux/Ryan) :: Kelly Ford & Donald Ryan
> Communion – Rev. Courtney Richards
> ‘Behold the Lamb’ (Townsend) :: Rick Fraley
> Benediction

in Sunday Sermons /by Kevin Howe

Good Friday

April 10, 2020

10 Apr 2020

Click here for Worship

Good Friday Reflection

Rev. Courtney Richards

Seven Last Words of Christ from the Cross

Please use our Connection Card to let us know you joined in worship today, and to share prayer concerns with our pastors, staff, and prayer team.

> texts :
1) Luke 23: 32 – 38 (Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.)
2) Luke 23: 39 – 43 (Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.)
3) John 19: 25 – 27 (Woman, behold your son. Behold, your mother.)
4) Mark 15: 33 – 39 (My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?)
5 & 6) John 19: 28 – 30 (I am thirsty. / It is finished.)
7) Luke 23: 44 – 49 (Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.)

> music : ‘At the Foot of the Cross/Ashes for Beauty’ (Kathryn Scott) :: Sarah Grace and Isaac Herbert

in Sunday Sermons /by Kevin Howe

Maundy Thursday

April 9, 2020

09 Apr 2020

Click here for Worship

Maundy Thursday
reflection

Rev. Kevin Howe

Please use our Connection Card to let us know you joined in worship today, and to share prayer concerns with our pastors, staff, and prayer team.
> Gather elements to serve as your bread and cup, to be shared during today’s reflection.
> text : John 6: 22 – 35
> music : ‘Be Near to Me’ (Enter the Worship Circle) :: Rising Worship Band; Isaac Herbert, leader

‘Do this in remembrance of me.’
All are welcome.

in Sunday Sermons /by Kevin Howe

The Gift of Desperation {Palm Sunday}

April 5, 2020

05 Apr 2020

Click here for Worship

Welcome to worship with Harvard Avenue!

Please use this *Connection Card* to let us know you were here, sharing any prayer concerns and celebrations so that your pastors, elders, and prayer teams can be in prayer with you and for you. (These are emailed directly to our Connections Pastor, and you can note ‘pastors only’ if you choose.)

Your tithes & offerings can be made through online giving or sent to the church address. (Mail is collected daily.)

You can also find this week’s Children Worship & Wonder, celebrating the events of Palm Sunday.

+ Welcome & Call to Worship :: Rev. David Emery

+ Pastoral Prayer :: Rev. Courtney Richards

+ ‘After All (Holy)’ (David Crowder Band) / ‘All the Poor and Powerless’ (All Sons & Daughters) :: Isaac Herbert

+ Scripture :: Matthew 21: 1 – 11 :: Rev. Kevin Howe

When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ²saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. ³If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” ⁴This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,

⁵“Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
    humble, and mounted on a donkey,
        and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

⁶The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; ⁷they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. ⁸A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!
    Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

¹⁰When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” ¹¹The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

+ Sermon :: ‘The Gift of Desperation’ :: Rev. Emery

+ ‘Where There is Faith’ (Billy Simon) :: Kelly Ford, Andy Chrisman, Donald Ford

+ Communion Meditation & Prayer :: Rev. Richards

+ Benediction :: Rev. Howe

in Sunday Sermons /by Kevin Howe

delight

March 29, 2020

29 Mar 2020

Click here for Worship

Welcome to worship with Harvard Avenue! Please use this link to send a ‘virtual Connection Card’ email : let us know you were here, and any prayer concerns, celebrations, news and information so that your pastors, elders, and prayer teams can be in prayer with you and for you in the days and weeks ahead. (These are emailed directly to our Connections Pastor, and you can note ‘pastors only’ if you choose.)

Your tithes and offerings can be offered through online giving

, or mailed to the church address. (Mail is collected daily.)

You can also find a 15-minute video of this week’s Children Worship & Wonder, this week exploring the story of Zaccheus.

+ Welcome & Call to Worship :: Rev. Courtney Richards
guitar : Isaac Herbert

Here we are again … together, apart. Not distanced, but in solidarity: Here we are to worship. We’re so glad to have this podcast, a few moments to breathe, sing, pray, sit, listen, be. We hope you’ll use the virtual Connection Card email. Let us know you came to worship today, and share any prayer concerns, joy and needs and news that you might have, so our pastors and staff, elders and prayer groups, can care for you in this season.

Perhaps you want to pause already before we go further. Find a candle and bring it to where you’re listening. Get your Bible so that you can read the scripture with us in a few minutes. Find the right place to sit and listen with your heart. Close all the other apps, put down all the other devices. Take that pause now, if you’d like. We’ll wait.

And now here we are to worship. Here we are to say that God is still God. Here we are, beloved of God, beloved to one another, in our homes, creating sacred spaces, finding sacred moments … together, apart. Here we are. To worship.

+ Pastoral Prayer :: Rev. Kevin Howe

Let us pray together.

Holy God, Giver and Author of Life, Maker of all Creation, we gather our minds and hearts together today in your Spirit, to seek refuge from the storms of life. In you we find strength for our living, joy and energy for new tomorrows. Lord, grant us your peace. Fortify our faith.

We name this day that there have been many times when the tragedies in our lives and on the news overwhelm us. And Lord we confess that our hope can begin to falter in your good news. We see troubles many and bitter, and yet Lord, you restore life.

You have been our refuge and strength, our rock in times of need, and we ask Lord that you continue to make your presence known among our lives and in our world, especially for all those who suffer this day. There are many who need your healing touch, God, and we ask that you would enfold them and all of us in your never-failing care.

Lord use us to be instruments of your hope and love with the world, and may we continue to adhere to the ways of Jesus Christ your son, who taught us to pray saying…

+ The Lord’s Prayer
piano : Susie Monger Daugherty

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

+ Reflection :: shifting toward delight :: Rev. Howe

In the 58th chapter of Isaiah, the prophet pleads with the people of Israel to delight in the Sabbath and to delight in the ways of the Lord. And so my wondering today is this: How does one make a shift to delight?

You know, often we tend to view delight as something we have no control over; we either find something to be delightful or we don’t. And it’s far easier to view things this way, because if enjoyment is something for which we have no control over, then we need not entertain the idea of trying something again that we did not like the first time. If we have no control over that in which we find delight, we can simply double down on our expressions of displeasure and disinterest in activities or circumstances that we did not previously find to be delightful.

I came into this season of social distancing and quarantines with a strong predetermination that these practices would be ones in which I would find no delight. And that was destined to be a self-fulfilling prophecy, as I was bound and determined to find everything unpleasant about these circumstances for which none of us have control over.

Then about a week back I came across an article on the internet that invited me to see my circumstances in a different way. The article was entitled “QuaranTraining,” and it spoke of the creative ways that people from within the mountaineering and rock-climbing community were choosing to fully embrace their time at home. Here is a community of people who much prefer travel and the outdoors to the confines of home. And yet the article contains images from climbers all over the world who are finding that there are in fact many ways to train for their sport of passion in their homes and apartments. Parents beware! The images show people scaling bookshelves, hanging from the underside of their stairs, setting protective gear between cabinets—and not for the sake of security but rather for a light-hearted laugh. One man suited up in the attire he would use for scaling the highest peaks in the world, so that he could climb his six-foot ladder and cleaning dust-bunnies from the crown moulding!

Rather than stew in resentment about not being able to participate in their outdoor pursuits, the community is finding ways to lean into the discomfort of these new circumstances, and is even finding some delight in it. Where there was once the mundaneness of home, there was new adventure. Where there was once lemons, now lemonade.

A great deal of suffering in our lives is bound up in our struggle to preserve our predetermined ways of thinking, feeling, and acting in the world. Because it is rare that the circumstances of our days align with our notion of what we would have for ourselves, it can be a continual struggle not to sit our own self-imposed quarantine of resentment toward how things are unfolding. But our faith calls us to continually refresh the way we see our circumstances, particularly about how we see adversity in our living.

I think about the Apostle Paul’s words in the 12th chapter of Romans, where he says

“Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

It takes a real measure of faith to renew one’s mind – to free ourselves of our preconceived notions about how things should go, in this world in which we have very little control. But our faith offers us this beautiful invitation: To choose a new way of seeing our circumstances, to take up Christ’s invitation to lean into adversity with the confidences of God’s care and God’s presence. And when God is in the picture, there is always the audacious possibility that we will find delight.

This is my hope: That we will lean into God during this season, to find comfort and security in God’s presence, so that we may see our lives and circumstances anew, open to the radical possibility of delight.

+ ‘Precious Lord, Take My Hand’ :: Avenue; Barry Epperley, director

+ Scripture :: Isaiah 58: 1 – 14

Shout out, do not hold back!
    Lift up your voice like a trumpet!
Announce to my people their rebellion,
    to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet day after day they seek me
    and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness
    and did not forsake the ordinance of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments,
    they delight to draw near to God.
3 “Why do we fast, but you do not see?
    Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?”
Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day,
    and oppress all your workers.
4 Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
    and to strike with a wicked fist.
Such fasting as you do today
    will not make your voice heard on high.
5 Is such the fast that I choose,
    a day to humble oneself?
Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,
    and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Will you call this a fast,
    a day acceptable to the Lord?

6 Is not this the fast that I choose:
    to loose the bonds of injustice,
    to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
    and to break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
    and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
    and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
8 Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator[a] shall go before you,
    the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
  you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.

If you remove the yoke from among you,
    the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
10 if you offer your food to the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
    and your gloom be like the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you continually,
    and satisfy your needs in parched places,
    and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
    like a spring of water,
    whose waters never fail.
12 Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
    you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
    the restorer of streets to live in.

13 If you refrain from trampling the sabbath,
    from pursuing your own interests on my holy day;
if you call the sabbath a delight
    and the holy day of the Lord honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
    serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs;
14 then you shall take delight in the Lord,
    and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth;
I will feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob,
    for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

+ Reflection : Prepare: delight :: Rev. Richards

We do not like being told what to do. We just don’t. The pioneering spirit of American lore is ingrained in us. (We ignore the parts of that history that are problematic.) We’ve spent our lives, and certainly our adult years, with incredible benefits and privileges. (Even the times that we’ve been down and out, or left behind, or gone without, we were still so far ahead of the curve …) We’ve also been told, and come to believe, that in this country, in this society, in this church, in this family, we can be and do anything we want.

And right now? In this moment in world, national, state, city, neighborhood, family life? It’s just not true. We cannot do and be everything we want to … right now. We cannot see all of the people we want to see – at least not the way we’re used to seeing them. We cannot do all of the things we want to do – at least not the way we’re used to doing them. We cannot go all of the places we want to go – and even the places we can go are fraught with restriction and limits.

We don’t like limits. We do not like being told what to do. It’s cramping our style, and changing our plans. It’s having a financial impact, and an emotional one. This has disrupted our schedule, our work, our school, our homes, our love, our grief, our health, and our spirits.

And?

It is making us sit still. And listen. Carefully.
We are getting a right-in-our-face lesson about caring for our neighbors. And learning that our definition of neighbor has always needed a little expanding.

It is making us think about our choices.
We are being forced to consider what is important, and what is not, and why we’ve always thought it was.

It is making us make things.
Phone calls to people we would usually just see. Appointments with coworkers we would ordinarily just go talk to. Meals with ingredients we didn’t even realize were in our house, let alone could go together!

This season has sparked some of the most creative communications – from drivewalk chalk, to posters in the window, to combined technologies across miles and time zones.

We’re expanding our understanding of education, what it is and how it happens and who’s involved. (And when we said over and over that we HAVE to figure out how to pay our teachers the money they deserve, we were absolutely not kidding.)

More of us are finding ways to move our bodies, even when our social movement is restricted. From breathing exercises, to living room yoga, to backyard catch, to neighborhood walks with dogs that are wondering why they’re suddenly not the ones who have to ask to go outside!

We’re picking up food from local businesses, and writing actual letters and using actual stamps. We’re cleaning out closets and dropping off donations. We’re paying attention to how we interact, and we’re being intentional with our words and with our movements. And we are remembering that everything we do can be done with someone else in mind.

And we’re finding – at least we’re trying to find – ways to reset our spirits. We’re digging out music we haven’t listened to in a while. That stack of books we’ve been staring at is actually getting read. We’ve rediscovered our love for crosswords, and jigsaw puzzles, and coloring books. And we are gathering with our church friends: listening to worship, reading prayers, doing video call bible studies, and calling and texting and emailing just to say hello.

Is not this the fast God chooses? That the oppressed would be released, that the lost would be found, that the discarded would be regathered, that the sabbath would be honored and the rhythm of life would be that which honors the best of who we are and who God intends us to be?

As you read and heard our Isaiah text today, adding verses as we have each week, and completing the chapter this time, we may at first think ‘Delight?! Where on earth can we find that right now?’

But it’s right there, in the text, and in us:

When we actively choose not to go our own way, but to honor the sabbath, to remember God’s holiness. When we feed on the heritage of our ancestors and delight in the keeping of God’s intentions for us … not for us as individuals, but recognizing that God’s desire and delight is for all of us, for everyone of us, all together.

So this week, while we are still sheltering, still safe, still healthy, still at home … where will you find your delight? Where will God’s delight be revealed to you?

Will you find a word here in Isaiah, or in the Psalms, or in a Gospel, and pray that word over your family? Will you write it on a post-it note … or sit it at your desk … or tuck it in as a bookmark … see it and repeat it and hold it close as strength and guide?

Will you remember, in the moments when anxiety kicks in, when fear comes too close, when case reports and patient counts become too real – will you remember that everything you feel is fine to feel, and normal, and part of this whole wild process. And will you remember that God is still, at the same time, right there with you?

Will you sit at an ordinary meal, and see it as communion – a sharing in the body of Christ? Whether by yourself, or with whoever else is sheltered with you, can you see that bread, that cup, that plate, those gifts, as the peace of Christ given to you, the salvation of Christ for your and for all? Can you even say those words, to yourself and to each other, calling each other by name … These are the gifts of Christ, for you

These are my prayers for us today, in this season that is not at all what we thought it would be. On this last Sunday of March, Kevin and I planned to lead worship out of this interim season the way we led into it: sitting side by side. But we are in spirit. And we are in spirit with each of you, rejoicing to welcome our new Lead Pastor, Rev David Emery, and know that you are praying with us for him as he leads us through this next moment and he joins us in worship next week.

So these are the gifts of Christ, given for you. These are the things I’m praying:

That we would delight in the Lord.
That we would take nourishment from all that has gone before us.
That we would honor God’s intent for us by living and loving with intention and compassion.

That we would trust, and not be moved.

+ ‘Those Who Trust’ :: The Rising Band; Isaac Herbert, leader

+ Benediction :: Rev. Richards
guitar: Isaac Herbert

Our words of benediction today, from Quaker singer/songwriter Carrie Newcomer. We’ll link to this full piece in the transcript; she is well worth your attention.

Now I don’t know and never will
What rises in the evening still.
How empty cups keep getting filled
How healing comes and hope rebuilds

Today I sense that all is near
Evermore and soon to be
Within us and between us is
Is everything we need.
(Carrie Newcomer, Everything We Need)

Go in peace, beloved of God. Go and stay : stay at home, stay in health, stay with God. Amen.

in Prepare, Sunday Sermons /by Kevin Howe

rebuilding

March 22, 2020

22 Mar 2020

Click here for Worship

Welcome to worship with Harvard Avenue! Please use this ‘virtual Connection Card’ email : let us know you were here, and any prayer concerns, celebrations, news and information so that your pastors, elders, and prayer teams can be in prayer with you and for you in the days and weeks ahead. (These are emailed directly to our Connections Pastor, and you can note ‘pastors only’ if you choose.)

(Our online giving button should be ready on Monday. Programmers are doing lots of overhauls too!)

You can also follow this link to find a 15-minute video of this week’s Children Worship & Wonder, focused on the parable of the treasure.

Come, family of faith, wherever you are,
let us worship God together!

+ Welcome & Call to Worship :: Rev. Kevin Howe

Friends of Harvard Avenue Christian Church, welcome to this week’s worship cast. We hope that this recording will be for you a sacred moment wherever and whenever you are listening.

We would invite you to fill out the virtual connection card when you engage this recording by clicking the link which can be found beside play button for this worship cast.

If you happen to be in a place where you could light a candle, we invite you to do so as a tangible reminder of Christ’s light, present to each of us as we worship. We would also invite you to grab a bible and read along with today’s scripture, as it is offered later in worship. Feel free to pause this recording now, if you would like to gather these things.

Now, let us go before our God with eager hearts and minds to worship the One on whom abundant life is built. Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

+ Pastoral Prayer :: Rev. Darlene Martinez

borrowing the ‘Prayer for the Pandemic’, from Cameron Bellm

God of all creation, we come to you today from many locations, but with one heart, joined together to commune with you.

Our prayer for today is that

we who are merely inconvenienced,
that we might remember those whose lives are at stake.

May we who have no risk factors
Remember those most vulnerable.

May we who have the luxury of working from home
Remember those who must choose between preserving their health or making their rent.

May we who have the flexibility to care for our children when their schools close
Remember those who have no options.

May we who have to cancel our trips
Remember those that have no place to go.

May we who are losing our margin money in the tumult of the economic market
Remember those who have no margin at all.

May we who settle in for a quarantine at home
Remember those who have no home.

As fear grips our country, let us choose love.

During this time when we cannot physically wrap our arms around each other,
Let us yet find ways to be the loving embrace of God to our neighbors.

Hear us now as we join in prayer the way that Jesus taught us to pray …

+ The Lord’s Prayer

+ Scripture :: Isaiah 58: 1 – 11 :: Rev. Richards

Shout out, do not hold back!
Lift up your voice like a trumpet!
Announce to my people their rebellion,
  to the house of Jacob their sins.
²Yet day after day they seek me
  and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness
  and did not forsake the ordinance of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments,
  they delight to draw near to God.
³“Why do we fast, but you do not see?
  Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?”
Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day,
  and oppress all your workers.
⁴Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
  and to strike with a wicked fist.
Such fasting as you do today
  will not make your voice heard on high.
⁵Is such the fast that I choose,
  a day to humble oneself?
Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,
  and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Will you call this a fast,
  a day acceptable to the Lord?

⁶Is not this the fast that I choose:
    to loose the bonds of injustice,
    to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
    and to break every yoke?
⁷Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
    and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
    and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
⁸Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator shall go before you,
    the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
⁹Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
    you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.
If you remove the yoke from among you,
    the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
10 if you offer your food to the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
    and your gloom be like the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you continually,
    and satisfy your needs in parched places,
    and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
    like a spring of water,
    whose waters never fail.
12 Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to live in.

+ Reflection :: prepare: rebuilding :: Rev. Howe

After first hearing about the original Seven Wonders of the World, I recall the disappointment I had upon also learning that only one of these structures remains intact. Here are these amazing works of art and architecture that serve as a testament to the ingenuity, imagination, and sheer hard work of which human beings are capable. But they also serve as reminders of the impermanence of even the most impressive of our efforts.

For all the great things we humans have built, each one has met the same end. I think about the story in the Gospel of Matthew, when one of Jesus’ disciples calls his attention to the splendor of the temple in Jerusalem. The temple, like other magnificent structures, was a site to behold. It would have likely impressed just about anyone who laid eyes on it. Well, except you-know-who. Jesus tells his disciples, “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” (Matt 24:1-2)

As a reader strolling through the Gospels, you may have noticed that Jesus is not impressed with things that are big and shiny. This is perhaps part of the reason Jesus becomes weary of the crowds that gather around him in his ministry and their increasing affirmation of him. Jesus was no less impressed with his star-struck fans or the pursuit of a book deals, for that matter. He recognizes the same things in the eyes of those who marvel over his works as those who marvel over the temple and other edifices of humanity. Jesus is keen to steer clear of the seduction of greatness.

Throughout history, rulers and empires have often poured extravagant resources into the construction of buildings and monuments to highlight their greatness. But at one time or another, we have ALL been lured by the temptation to build structures of greatness in our own lives—outward signs that result from inward projects about self-importance.

Unfortunately, there are any number of these projects of greatness that one can pursue in life. They can involve proving our financial success, or building a professional career that sends us to the hall-of-fame, or achieving an optimal level of health and fitness. Even our religious beliefs and practices, if left unchecked, can be used in effort to build our lives up as things of self-importance and greatness. We hear of this in today’s scripture reading from Isaiah 58, as those seeking the Lord’s favor are met with God’s critique of superficial rituals and practices of fasting, that they were performed as signs of outward piety, rather than the acts of self-denial which they were intended to be. The Lord then reminds the people that a fast pleasing in God’s sight is one where practitioners seek to diminish themselves for the sake of acting with compassion and justice for others.

Perhaps the most unsettling about Isaiah 58 is that its indictment of lives and communities built upon projects of self-importance and greatness could easily have been written for our day and age. Many of us have fallen victim to the seduction of greatness and the hardships that come with its pursuit. We are lured in by promises of constructing our lives on such things that will either make us complete or offer us security or bring us fame and fortune. But while these projects seem enticing, building our lives upon them often keeps us penned down with anxiety and working toward things which never quite pan out to be what was pledged. There’s always just one more favor to do, one more promotion to get, one more enemy to defeat, before you can rest secure.

And adding insult to injury, we eventually find ourselves in a real-world version of the childhood story about the Three Little Pigs, when life’s Big Bad Wolves come huffing and puffing at the proverbial structures we have built in our lives. Perhaps it’s a crisis, a trauma, a disease, an illness that blows with such force that our lives are razed to their very foundations.

There’s perhaps nothing more unsettling than having to rebuild or remodel the project that is our lives. It’s uncomfortable work, to relocate the foundational assumptions of our thinking and doing. But the good news of our faith is that each time we undergo the process of rebuilding and remodeling our lives, we have this precious opportunity to leave behind those things which were merely projects for greatness, and pursue the construction of something more enduring.

We hear that the Lord promises to the people of Israel that, if they adhere to a fast comprised of humility and the care and love of neighbor through acts of compassion and justice, their ancient ruins will be rebuilt and they will raise up the foundations of many generations.

And herein lies the paradox of God’s ways: when we give up our plans for greatness and self-importance, God uses us to build something that cannot be lost, or destroyed or eroded by the years. It is by letting go our own wants and desires, that God takes people like you and me and builds something that is far greater than any of the Seven Wonders, including the Pyramid of Giza, which is the only one that stands right now…but will also fall victim to the sands of time.

Consider the example of Jesus as we follow his ministry in the gospels. We come to see how he constructs something beautiful for God by denouncing greatness and taking on a servant’s heart. He never constructed a temple, or even built a chapel for prayer. Instead, through humbling himself he built the Kingdom of the Holy, whose architecture remains faithful people who are ready to live their lives in accordance to God’s will. Its pillars are service, prayer, worship, peacemaking. The carved stones of this timeless temple are faith, hope, and love.

In the 2nd chapter of 1 Peter, the apostle calls us forth to build our lives not on greatness but on the cornerstone of Christ and his way of humility:

“Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture: ‘See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame’.” (1 Pet 2:4-6)

As people of faith, God asks us to rebuild our lives on a fast that is pleasing to the Lord. To all other projects, Jesus offers this sobering advice: Do not be led astray. One day, not one stone of these things will be sitting on another. Do not put your faith in that which is destined to crumble. Do not build the foundations of your life and communities on such things. Instead, find your hope in something that cannot be broken with a hammer, or destroyed in a war, or eroded by time. Put your hope in the kingdom.

As we move closer to Holy Week, my prayer is that we would seek to build more of our lives on the sure foundation that is the Lord: our rock, a solid place to lay the foundations of our living, especially in these unsettling times. And may we always strive to follow Christ’s path of humility and service, so that the glory of the Kingdom of God is that which we seek to build.

The glory of God’s Kingdom—where God’s love reigns supreme—is not the glory of the Taj Mahal, or London Bridge (which isn’t falling down yet, but it will). You might not be able to buy souvenirs of it like you would at the Eiffel Tower, or to purchase tickets for a guided tour like you could at the Louvre. But you can place a human life in the Kingdom of God. And all the edifices of humanity will crumble around it, and the home of your spirit will not even shake, and you will proclaim, “It is well with my soul.”

+ ‘It Is Well With My Soul’ :: Kelly Ford & Mark DeLuca

+ Reflection :: spiritual foundations in covid times :: Rev. Richards

How do we set our souls right? It’s the question of the season of Lent. How do we remove distractions, how do we step away from the things that interrupt us? What is it in our life that consumes our focus, and blurs our vision for who God is and who God calls us to be? What do we need to set aside in life as it is, to focus on life as it could be?

That is the question of every Lenten season. The weeks leading up to the celebration of the resurrection are supposed to be such a time of fasting – of paring down what only serves us, and guiding our hearts more completely toward what serves God.

Well. I supposed there’s nothing like a global pandemic to make you really hone in on things like trust and faithfulness, compassion and responsibility, community and mercy and love.

Here we sit, worshipping all in our own places. Finding sanctuary in different rooms. Seeing love take shape in ways we never could have imagined just a few weeks ago.

So how can you nourish your spirit? How are you establishing spiritual foundations in these shifting-sand days of COVID-19?

Being here in worship with us is a great start. Even though it looks and feels and sounds different in this moment, I hope it also looks and feels and sounds familiar, and remains a holy grounding and connecting moment for each of you, and for us together. Use the connection card link right below where you clicked play on this morning’s worship service; let us know you were here, and how we can be in prayer with you and for you in these days and weeks ahead.

While you’re naming how we can pray for you, consider how you might pray for others. Turning our gaze outward keeps us in tune with God’s will for our lives – that the whole body of Christ might be strengthened and carry on. Make a list of people you know, and maybe people you don’t know, who might be in need of God’s grace. Pray for someone each day. It doesn’t have to be fancy or formal, it doesn’t have to be out loud or written down. It doesn’t even have to be anything anyone else knows about. Simply thinking of and praying for others grounds us in community, in what matters most.

Listen to what your body is telling you about what’s going on in the world. We are the body of Christ, and right now that body is aching (more than usual). There is tension in the air and in our muscles. There is anxiety in our words, and our hearts race a little when we hear and repeat those words. Listen to your body, and answer its needs.

Sit still.
Breathe slowly and deeply.
Get away from that work-at-home desk once in a while.
Stand up and stretch.
Walk around the block.
Wave to a neighbor.
Listen to music.
Phone a friend. Use a video call if you can.

For now, caring for each other means not being together. It’s weird and we don’t like it and some of us may even think it’s overreacting, but it’s the best and healthiest and most critical and most compassionate choice we can make. For now, love looks like an empty sanctuary. And yet here we are to worship. Slowing down. Saying God is still God.

Worship. Pray. Listen.

Even in the darkness, we’ll find the light.

+ ‘Find the Light’ :: The Rising Band; Isaac Herbert, leader

+ Benediction :: Rev. Howe

We’re glad that you could engage in this worship cast with us. And as we go forth from this moment, may we do so with the aim of anchoring our lives on the sure foundation of the Lord; the One who is our rock and our salvation. May we seek to establish ourselves as part of the timeless structure that is God’s kingdom — with Christ as our cornerstone, and the enduring materials of faith, hope, and love. Amen.

in Prepare, Sunday Sermons /by Kevin Howe

satisfaction

March 15, 2020

15 Mar 2020

Click here for Worship

+ Welcome & Call to Worship :: Rev. Courtney Richards
Our highest call as people of faith, as those who follow the ways of Jesus, is to love. For now, love looks like an empty sanctuary. It looks like love of neighbor, over love of self. It looks like concern for the greater good, over doing what we’d rather. We know that faith is active, that it is lived out, that it moves and breathes in the world. But today – for a number of days we don’t yet know – we’re moving differently, and breathing slower, and we’re doing all of this each in our own place. Yes, it is strange. And it’s something we’re still sorting out. What we know for sure is that sanctuary is more than a room. It is the soul-deep truth that we are held and loved by the God who made us. For now, love looks like an empty sanctuary. But God is here, wherever we are, and sanctuary is wherever we find it.

+ ‘Sanctuary’ :: Rev. Kevin Howe

+ “Pandemic” (Lynn Ungar 3-11-20) :: Rev. Darlene Martinez

What if you thought of it
as the Jews consider the Sabbath –
the most sacred of times?
Cease from travel.
Cease from buying and selling.
Give up, just for now,
on trying to make the world
different than it is.
Sing. Pray. Touch only those
to whom you commit your life.
Center down.

And when your body has become still,
reach out with your heart.
Know that we are connected
in ways that are terrifying and beautiful.
(You could hardly deny that now.)

Know that our lives
are in one another’s hands.
(Surely, that has come clear.)
Do not reach out your hands.
Reach out your heart.
Reach out your words.
Reach out all the tendrils
of compassion that move, invisibly,
where we cannot touch.

Promise this world your love –
for better or worse,
in sickness and in health,
so long as we all shall live.

+ Pastoral Prayer / Lord’s Prayer :: Rev. Howe

Holy God, Word among all words,
you were there in the beginning.
You remain still the most important word
that is spoken into our lives;
one of grace and love and mercy.
We give thanks for the word of Good News
that you have imprinted on our hearts,
and we ask that you give us awareness of that Word this day,
and the strength and courage that comes from knowing You are with us.

Take our words and live your grace through them.
Transform our words and change our lives through them.
Take our voices and use them to speak out against the injustices
that are out of line with what You would have this world be.
And when our words are too deep to speak aloud,
we pray that your Spirit will speak them for us,
so that all the words of our mouths
and the meditations of our hearts
will be acceptable in your sight.
We lift these things to You, O God,
Word beyond all words.
Amen.

+ ‘Great Is Thy Faithfulness’ :: Kelly Ford and Mark DeLuca

+ from ‘For Courage’ (John O’Donohue) :: Rev. Martinez

Close your eyes.
Gather all the kindling
About your heart
To create one spark.
That is all you need
To nourish the flame
That will cleanse the dark
Of its weight of festered fear.

+ Reflection :: “change” :: Rev. Howe

Change: the only constant everyone agrees upon and that everyone resists. Every day—at church, at home, at work—we are expected to adapt, to modify, to alter, to change. We know beyond a shadow of a doubt there is absolutely nothing in this world that is not changing, and for the most part, we fight every minute of that change. Especially, when it comes to deeply instilled routines and patterns of being.

Even trying to putting on our socks in a different order can make us feel like we’re starting our day off on the wrong foot. There are actual physiological explanations about the neurological connections in your brain that explain why this is so discombobulating, but the bottom line is: having to learn a new way of doing things—a new way of communicating, a new working, a new way of being church, does not come without its fears and anxieties.

Fear and anxiety are natural reactions when we cannot see the future or know for sure what will happen next. But the invitation to follow Jesus is an invitation to trust God with an unknown future. And this commitment comes with a promise. The promise of the gospel is that we can choose abundant life over our fears of what will come next. It is a promise that God will walk beside us and will equip us to be faithful even when our circumstances demand that we live into new ways of being and doing.

Our current context requires that we do things a new way. It‘s unchartered territory for many communities of faith, but the promises of God remain: God takes the people who are willing to lean in to the gospel during the changes of life, and with them God does beautiful, beautiful things.

In this time, what new and beautiful things will God do through you?

“Behold: I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” – Isaiah 43:19

+ Scripture :: Isaiah 58: 1 – 11 :: Rev. Richards

Shout out, do not hold back!
Lift up your voice like a trumpet!
Announce to my people their rebellion,
  to the house of Jacob their sins.
²Yet day after day they seek me
  and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness
  and did not forsake the ordinance of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments,
  they delight to draw near to God.
³“Why do we fast, but you do not see?