Hummelstown UCC Podcast

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

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

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

Psalm 118:19-29; John 6:25-35 This week we celebrate Palm Sunday, the one day a year when we really acknowledge how desperate and confused we are. We are filled with hope and fear all at the same time, and we turn to God and to one another, never really sure which emotions we will project. Even with all our preparations and attempts, we will fall short. We will be left feeling hungry. We still nee...

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

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

Psalm 19: God’s Glory in Creation and the Law; Matthew 13:24-33 One of the most difficult steps of making bread is milling the wheat grains into flour. It takes both time and labor. The Bible doesn’t have very many references for milling flour, so we will focus this week on the Parable of the Weeds in Matthew 13, in which Jesus spoke about the farmer allowing weeds to grow alongside the wheat, sep...

Psalm 22:23-31; Exodus 16:2-5 , 13-30 It is hard to find a balance in life between what God does and what we do. When things are going well, how do we find a balance between gratitude for God’s blessings and celebration of our own hard work? When things are not going well, how do we balance our own frustration with trust in God’s provision? We continue our worhsip series this Sunday with a focus o...

Psalm 25: Prayer for Guidance and for Deliverance; Luke 8:1-5 When Jesus preached his sermons and parables, he often used illustrations relating to everyday life at the time- farming, family, cooking and sharing meals. In order to understand his meaning, it is helpful for us to learn more about bread in Jesus’ time. What was the process and labor needed to produce a loaf of bread? This Sunday, we...

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

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

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

PSALM 62:5-12; MARK 1:14-20; JONAH 3:1-5,10 “In an ideal world we would all learn in childhood to love ourselves. We would grow, being secure in our worth and value, spreading love wherever we went, letting our light shine. If we did not learn self-love in our youth, there is still hope. The light of love is always in us, no matter how cold the flame. It is always present, waiting for the spark to...

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

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

Matthew 1:18-25; Modern Herald: James Baldwin Lots of angels appear in the biblical story of Christ’s birth with a consistent message, “Do not be afraid!” When the angel visits Joseph this week, he is wrestling with the contrast of good news with the difficulties of the world. What can we hear from the angel’s message to Joseph this year? Join us on this final Sunday of Advent as we prepare for th...

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11; Luke 1:39-55 Listen to heralds of joy this week! In the story of Mary and Elizabeth, Mary was in need of good news before she could herald for God. Before she could sing her song, she needed to hear God’s good news and love for her first. Her herald was her cousin, Elizabeth. Who have been heralds for you reminding you that no matter what you are loved by God? Join as we Hark...

Isaiah 40:1-11; Mark 1:1-8 John the Baptist was the herald for Jesus’ ministry. He prepared the way for Jesus by calling for peace and justice, sometimes very bluntly. This Sunday, we will focus ourselves on his message. How does his view of the good news inspire us? How does it challenge us? Let’s Hark to the herald, John the Baptist, so we can discern God’s calling to peace. -Hark to John, Heral...

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

Matthew 25:31-46; Psalm 100: All Lands Summoned to Praise God; Ezekiel 34:11-24 Hear ye, hear ye! Everywhere and all people. Lift your voices. Shout it to the mountaintops! It’s ok to have fun praising God! Don’t be shy. Bask in the joy that comes only from God. There are times for seriousness but also times for revelry! So, laugh. Loosen up. Play. Be happy. God loves to see you smile. -Maren Chri...

Mathew 25:14-30; Psalm 123: Supplication for Mercy; Judges 4:1-9 Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. -Melod...

Matthew 25:1-13; Psalm 70: Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies; Amos 5:18-24; Wisdom of Solomon 6:12-20 “Turn your wounds into wisdom.” -Oprah Winfrey

Matthew 23:1-12; Psalm 107:1-7; 33-37; Joshua 3:7-17 Gracious God, oil the hinges of our hearts’ doors that they may swing gently and easily to welcome your coming. -Prayer from New Guinea

Matthew 22:34-46; Psalm 90:1-6; 13-17; Deuteronomy 34:1-12 “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” -Lao Tzu

Matthew 22:15-22; Psalm 99; Exodus 33:12-23 “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” -Oscar Wilde