Hummelstown UCC Podcast

Psalm 34: 1-18; Matthew 3: 13-17: The Baptism of Jesus Hearts Afire: The Courage to Say Yes What does it mean for us to live courageously as God’s people in the midst of the  daily grind of life? How do we claim our courage with an abiding hope as we  worship through such a time as this? The latin root “cor” reminds us that the word  courage means “to speak from one’s heart.” Courage is a matter o...

Matthew 2:1–15 Leader: Beloved of God, Epiphany is the season of revealing— the holy momentwhen what is hidden becomes known. We light these candles to proclaim the truthwe know— to make visible the God’s Presence already among us. Four travelerscome forward: three stargazers and a shepherd. Each carries a taper to light fromthe Christ Candle— each bears a gift that God desires of us: Justice, Joy...

Matthew 3:1-12; Malachi 3:1-6 In the second week of Advent, we turn our hearts toward peace—not a fragile quiet, but the deep, steady peace God plants within us and calls us to share with the world. In this episode, we explore what it means to be people of peace in turbulent times: peace that heals, peace that resists injustice, peace that welcomes every neighbor just as they are. Grounded in the...

Mark 13:24-37; Isaiah 2:1-5 Vigilant Hope As we enter the first week of Advent, we lean into vigilant hope—the kind of hope that keeps watch, pays attention, and believes that God is doing a new thing even when the world feels weary. In this episode, we explore how hope is not passive waiting but active, courageous expectancy. Rooted in the inclusive love of the United Church of Christ, we reflect...

Psalm 100; Philippians 4:4-9; Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Building Community... What too will you use?

Ruth 1: 14-22; Acts 10: 34-47 “Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice. Justice at its best islove correcting everything that stands against love.” -Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Job 2:11-13; 2 Timothy 4:9-18 “After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most inthe world.” Philip Pullman

Psalm 149: Praise for God’s Goodness to Israel; Ephesians 1:11-23; Luke 6:20-31 Today we are celebrating All Saints Day. We recognize that we have saints in ourown lives who have formed our faith in some way and who have passed on from thislife. So on All Saints Day, we celebrate, honor, and remember these forebearers ofthe faith. Today in worship we will read aloud the names of the saints in ourc...

1 Samuel 1:1-18; Mark 5:21-43 “Tears shed for another person are not a sign of weakness. They are a sign of a pureheart.” -José N. Harris

Genesis 2:4-15; John 1:35-51 Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change. -Brené Brown

1 Chronicles 29:10, 13, 14b-17; Ephesians 2:19-22; Matthew 7:24-27 One: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion ofthe Holy Spirit be with you all. Many: And also with you.

Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15; Amos 6: 1-2, 4-7; 1 Timothy 6:6-10, 17-19; Luke 16:19-31: The Rich Man and Lazarus Psalm 146, The Message VersionHallelujah! O my soul, praise God! All my life long I’ll praise God, singing songs to myGod as long as I live. Don’t put your life in the hands of experts who know nothing oflife, of salvation life. Mere humans don’t have what it takes; when they die, theirprojec...

Psalm 113: God the Helper of the Needy; Amos 8:4-7; Luke 16:1-13 "Look up and not down; look out and not in; look forward and not back, and lend ahand." -Edward Everett Hale

Psalm 51:1-12; Luke 14:25-33 “The community member stared at the bill the Afghan family had just shown her,aghast. She had no idea how they would pay this, no idea how she might be ableto help them. She’d been involved with the immigrant community around her foryears, welcoming families, connecting them with resources, being invited into theirhomes for tea – so much tea. But this season felt diffe...

Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18; Luke 14:25-33; Philemon 1-21 “Some people came to (Kolkata), and before leaving, they begged me: ‘Tell ussomething that will help us to live our lives better.’ And I said, ‘Smile at one another;smile at your wife, smile at your husband, smile at your children, smile at each other-it doesn’t matter who it is-and that will help you to grow up in greater love for eachother.’ And...

Genesis 1: 1-5, 31, 3: 16-19; 1 Corinthians 15: 1-10;  (1 Corinthians 15: 10)From The Message by Eugene PetersonBut because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am. And I’m not aboutto let this grace go to waste. Haven’t I worked hard trying to do more than any ofthe others? Even then, my work didn’t amount to all that much. It was God givingme the work to do, God giving me the energy to...

Psalm 103:1-8; Isaiah 58:9b-14; Isaiah 58:9b-14 We read in Matthew’s gospel that in his last days before the cross, Jesus cleansedexploitative commerce out of the Temple, caused a fig tree to wither, and told hisfollowers that even small faith can move mountains. “The cleansing of the Templeand the withering of the fig tree tell the same story. God is not impressed byappearances, by show, or by re...

Psalm 82; Hebrews 12:1-2; Luke 12:49-56 “God can as little do without us, as we without God. If at first this seems a wildstatement, we may well consider in how many ways God’s will depends on ourcooperation. God cannot do some things unless we think… And God cannot dosome things unless we work… Now if God has left some things contingent on ourthinking and working, why may God not have left some t...

Psalm 33:12-22; Genesis 15:1-6; Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 “A real spiritual life … makes us so alert and aware of the world around us, that allthat is and happens becomes part of our contemplation and meditation and invitesus to a free and fearless response.” Henri J.M. Nouwen

Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14, 2:18-23; Psalm 107 1-9, 43; Luke 12:13-21 Amazing God, we honor and celebrate your presence among us. We rejoice in yourgoodness and delight in your wonderful works. We lament the suffering of the worldand take courage that you are with us. We ask that you make your presence knownto us. Speak, O God, for we attune our attention for your guidance. Receive ourpraise as we gl...

Psalm 138; Genesis 18:20-32; Luke 10:38-42 "God weeps over our obsession with manyness and muchness... For too long wehave been in a far country: a country of noise and hurry and crowds, a country ofclimb and push and shove, a country of frustration and fear and intimidation."And God welcomes us home: home to serenity and peace and joy, home tofriendship and openness, home to intimacy and acceptan...

Psalm 52 (from the Common English Bible); Psalm 15 (from the New Revised Standard Bible); Luke 10:38-42 “For too long we have thought of the Christian life as essentially either involvementin political, economic, social concerns that wear us out… or activity which keepsthe church intact and doctrinally pure. Our primary orientation cannot be aninstitution or some great cause or even other people,...

Psalm 25:1-10; Luke 10:25-37 “The essential part of the Christian message is the idea of salvation for the wholecommunity of people, of which the individual is a member… Thus, the individualnever stands alone, but within the community, just as the individual communities arepart of the one community, the Church. The Church begins, not with an individual,but with God.” - Hans Kung

Psalm 66:1-9; 2Kings 5:1-14; Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 God our Good Shepherd, we come to worship you, to tell the story of yourmarvelous deeds, to lament the horrors and suffering in the world, to find strength tobe your witnesses, and to remind ourselves of the truth of what is possible. May ourprayers rise to your heart, and your heart infiltrate our prayers. May we sing songsthat move you with deligh...

Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20; Psalm 16; Luke 9:51-62 “The Church is not here exclusively, nor primarily, to transform society. That is notwhy we are here. When the Church sets out to transform society, very little isaccomplished. The uniqueness of the Church is denied as we enter the battle onthe same terms as secular and godless forces. We assume that justice can be wonby force, by technique, by doing. It...