MVP Message

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Pastor Scripture:  Matthew 5:13-20 “You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world.” We often hear these words from the Sermon on the Mount as suggestions, as if being salt or light is something we choose when it’s convenient or when we feel up to it. But Jesus offers no such option. Speaking to the community formed in his name, Jesus declare...

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Pastor Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12 Years ago, when asked what brings him hope for the church today, theologian N.T. Wright pointed to something simple yet profound: ordinary believers living out the Sermon on the Mount in a world aching for healing. That everyday faithfulness, he said, is what first spread the gospel—and what still transforms communities toda...

Preacher: Grace Rogers, Howard and Mary Martin Ministry Intern Scripture: Matthew 4:12-23 Throughout the story of Christianity, ordinary people are called forward for extraordinary things. From the first disciples to the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we can attest to the power of those who step forward to walk in Jesus' way of peace and justice. Join us on Sunday as our new series...

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Pastor Scripture:  Isaiah 42:1-9  and  Matthew 3:13-17 Join us this week as we hear God proclaim Jesus as God's son, the beloved, and imagine God saying the same to us before pondering how we might live if we fully embraced the gifts and expectations that come with baptism. We'll also have the opportunity to touch the waters of baptism as we remembe...

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Pastor Scripture: Matthew 2:1-12, 16-18 As the new year begins, the world can still feel shadowed by fear. On Epiphany, we follow the magi—who refuse to let fear or power have the final word—and discover a hope that leads us forward by another way. Join us for worship as we celebrate Epiphany, receive a star word for the year ahead, and gather at Christ’s t...

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Pastor Scripture: Luke 2:1-20 Join us in worship this Christmas Eve as we meditate on how the good news of Christmas can drown out the noise of fear, in light of how God has entered our fear-filled world not from a distance, but up close: to live, to die, and to rise again, freeing us from all that holds us captive.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Pastor Scriptures: Matthew 1:18-25  and  Isaiah 41:5-10 Join us in worship this week as we explore a theology of proximity--one that walks with people in danger, lightens loads, and plays a real role in cultivating new life.

Preacher: Grace Rogers, Howard and Mary Martin Ministry Intern Scriptures: Jeremiah 1:4-10  and  Luke 1:26-39 Join us in worship this third week of Advent as we explore the ways God has called and used the "little guys" in the past before imagining where God may be calling us now. 

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Pastor Scriptures: Isaiah 43:19-21  and Matthew 11:1-11 Join us this week on the second Sunday of Advent as we explore how trembling hope can still carry us, and how God is still moving even when we cannot see the fruits of our labor.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Pastor Scriptures: Lamentations 3:55-57 and Luke 1:5-13 Join us this week as we seek to step into their stories and discover why God’s silence is never absence, and why our deepest ache may be the very place God regularly chooses to break in with hope. Don’t miss it. This might be the word your heart has been waiting for.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Pastor Scripture:Philippians 4:4-9 and John 6:25-35 Join us this week as we wrestle with these questions and more in the conclusion of our sermon series, “This is Us: The Heart of MVP.” Together, we’ll lean into our core value of cultivating spiritual depth in hopes of discovering a faith that doesn’t bargain, but abides; a faith that doesn’t demand, but en...

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Pastor Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-16 How might we help others experience a sense of belonging? Join us this week as we explore these questions alongside the invitation found in Ephesians 4 to be formed into one body that builds itself up in love.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Pastor Scripture: Psalm 139:1-18 At Mount Vernon Place, we believe God speaks these words about every single person. Not only are we all made in God’s image, we are also the reason God’s heart beats and sometimes skips a beat. And we believe that living into our belovedness can change everything."

Preacher: Grace Rogers, Howard & Mary Martin Ministry Intern Scripture: Ephesians 1:11-23 The Heart of MVP, in which we will be exploring and celebrating who we are as a congregation and how we seek to live out our core values. As we begin our new series, we will be invited to consider the bounty of our faith inheritance in celebration of All Saints Day, the liturgical day of the year on which...

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Pastor Scripture: ⁠John 21:1-19⁠ Join us this week as we read the final chapter of John's Gospel, one we often read during Eastertide, about Jesus' third post-resurrection appearance. The disciples have gotten into a boat to go fishing. But on "that night" they caught nothing.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Pastor Scripture: Leviticus 19:9-10 and 25:8-12 and Luke 18:1-8 Join us this week as we explore an early policy of ensuring hungry people could be fed before pondering how we might work together in similarly creative ways. How might "reimagining" be a spiritual practice that strengthens the entire community?

Preacher: Donna Claycomb Sokol, Pastor Scripture: Matthew 19:16-22 and Deuteronomy 15:1-11 Join us this week as we explore what Scripture says about debt—not just as a personal struggle, but as a force that impacts entire communities—and then meet a man desperate to live a life that truly matters, yet paralyzed by his unwillingness to part with his wealth.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Pastor Scripture: Exodus 16:1-18 Our series begins this week with a familiar story of God providing manna in the wilderness with specific instructions to take enough for each day. What is enough? How do you discern how much you need? Are you able to faithfully name when you have too much or too little? Please make plans to join us as we ponder these questio...

Preacher:Thornton Muncher, Certified Candidate for Ordained Ministry in the North Alabama Conference of The United Methodist Church Scripture:Luke 16:19-31 “The Rich Man and Lazarus” is a complex story with themes of systemic injustice, classism, and eschatological consequences–but also, good news. As people of the crucified-and-resurrected Christ, we find hope in this parable that we are able to...

Preacher: Bishop LaTrelle Easterling Scripture: Luke 4:16-2 This week we had the privilege of welcoming Bishop LaTrelle Easterling, Resident Bishop of the Baltimore-Washington and Peninsula-Delaware Annual Conferences, as our guest preacher. On this week's episode of the MVP Message, Bishop Easterling used her powerful and prophetic voice to lead us through Luke 4:16-21 and the holy truth to b...

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Pastor Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 Our series concludes this week with reminders of how Jesus regularly defies human expectations—in life, in death, and in life beyond death. Indeed, God's ways are not our ways—a truth we might be quick to accept with our lips while struggle to embody with our lives.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Pastor Scripture: Luke 14:25-33 This week, the gospel writer of Luke beckons us to ponder the question "Does Jesus Expect That Much?" as Jesus tells a large crowd of people following him that they must hate their parents, spouses, siblings, children and life itself; carry their cross, and give up all their possessions. It's a high bar for disc...

Preacher: Grace Rogers, Howard & Mary Martin Ministry Intern Scripture: Luke 14:1, 7-14 This week, Jesus invites us to ponder the question "Why Do I Always Want the Best Seat?" as he literally turns the tables on societal expectations of hierarchy and power. We are invited to explore how true honor is found through a lens of abundance over scarcity and hospitality over exclusion. Joi...

Preacher:Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Pastor Scripture:Luke 13:10-17 While it might be easy to shake our heads at his response, Luke invites us to take a closer look at ourselves. Are there moments when our loyalty to rules, traditions, political affiliation, or preferences blinds us to the liberating work of God in our midst? Could it be that, sometimes, we, too, are standing in the way of the...

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Pastor Scripture: Luke 12:32-40 Our series continues this week with Jesus inviting the disciples to be ready to receive the Kingdom of God as a present and future reality. What is the Kingdom of God? How do we get ready for such a place—now and in God's reign that is to come? Join us as we ponder these questions and more on Sunday. We'll also celebr...