United Church of Cohoes

Tonight, we continue our series on the Minor Prophets by diving into the second part of Zechariah. We look at the two oracles in these chapters and see what they meant for their day and how we can understand them today.

This week, we kick off our Lent series, “Into the Wilderness.” This week we examine how wilderness times are often the times when we learn the most about ourselves and what is important in our lives. We ask ourselves some questions that invite God to speak to us during these difficult times. Our main passages this week are Matthew 4:1-11.

This week, we continue our new series journeying together through the book of Mark. Today, AJ shares with us about Jesus’ interaction with a man who was a leper. We look at how Jesus went out of his way to connect and love this person. We close by asking ourselves who are the lepers of today that society as a whole tells us we shouldn’t love, but Jesus tells us we should? Our main passages this we...

Tonight, we take a half-sidestep from our Thursday evening series on the Minor Prophets by giving some narrative background via the book of Ezra. Ken will highlight the major points of the book and talk about the idea of reconciliation and how that theme is still so relevant for us today.

Tonight, we continue our series on the Minor Prophets by diving into the first eight chapters of Zechariah. We will walk through the 8 visions of Zechariah and examine how they come together to paint a picture of what God wants to do in the land of Israel at the time and in our world today.

This week, we continue our new series journeying together through the book of Mark. Today, we examine the second half of Jesus’ first real day of ministry as present in Mark. We will highlight 5 themes that are laid out in this first day that we will see grow through the book. We end by asking ourselves, “how can we live into these themes that Jesus presented in this section?” Our main passages th...

This week, we continue our new series journeying together through the book of Mark. Today we will look at Jesus’ first healing in the book of Mark, the casting out of a demon. We will explore how most of the time the demons we face are the people around us wearing false faces or masks hiding their true intent or desire. Our main passages this week are Mark 1:21-28.

Tonight, we continue our Thursday evening series on the Minor Prophets by walking through the book of Haggai. We will see how the leaders of the newly returned Israel let their own pride and ambition get in the way of the amazing plan God had for them and what it cost them. We will then ask ourselves ‘in what whys do we continue to do this same thing today?” Discussion Questions: 1) The people squ...

This week, we continue our new series journeying together through the book of Mark. Today, we will examine how Jesus gathers his first disciples and just what that means. We explore the idea of just what it means to be an ambassador of the Kingdom of Heaven. Our main passages this week are Mark 1:14-20.

Tonight, we continue our Thursday evening series on the Minor Prophets by walking through the book of Obadiah. We will read this book through the lens of seeing it within its cultural context and its continuing meaning for us today. What does it look like to hold the tension of justice and forgiveness in tandem? Discussion Questions: 1) How do you balance a book like this with Jesus’ notion of for...

This week, we continue our new series journeying together through the book of Mark. Today, we will examine Jesus’ baptism and subsequent temptation in the wilderness. We will explore the idea that just as Jesus was not alone in his time in the wilderness, neither are we alone in our wilderness times. Our main passages this week are Mark 1:9-13.

Tonight, we continue our Thursday evening series on the Minor Prophets by walking through the book of Habakkuk. We will look at its overall structure, history, and delve into its themes of justice and faith. We will ask if these questions still resonate with us today.

This week, we kick off a new series where we will journey together through the entire book of Mark. For this opening message, we will get a little background on the book of Mark as a whole. Then we will look at how some of Mark’s themes present themselves in the first few verses, even before Jesus shows up. Our main passages this week are Mark 1:1-8.

This week, we kick off 2026 by asking the question “What makes a thriving church?” We will then examine three key relationships in our lives and challenge ourselves to grow in real tangible ways in all three. Our main passages this week are Matthew 22:37-40.

This week, we conclude our Advent series, “The Redemption of Scrooge”, by looking at Scrooge’s encounter with the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. We see that seeing a glimpse of sad future full of death and loneliness was the final push needed for Scrooge to embrace redemption. We then ask ourselves what would our futures look like without Jesus? Our main passages this week are Mark 14:32-36 and M...

Tonight, we continue our Thursday evening series on the Minor Prophets by walking through the book of Zephaniah. We examine how Zephaniah points out corruption at every level in Judah and we ask ourselves what does this look like today and how can we turn wrong into right?

This week, we continue our advent series “The Redemption of Scrooge”. For this installment, we will examine Scrooge’s encounter with the Ghost of Christmas Present. We see that the person that most reminds Scrooge of his pain and sorrow (Nephew Fred) is the person who is most activity trying to redeem him. This leads to the idea that God can take our fears and transform them into hope. Our main pa...

This week, we continue our advent series “The Redemption of Scrooge”. For this installment, we will examine Scrooge’s encounter with the Ghost of Christmas Past. We explore the idea that we are often our own harshest critics. Why is it that the person we have the hardest time forgiving, is ourselves? Our main passage this week is John 4:7-17, 25-26.

Tonight, we continue our Thursday evening series on the Minor Prophets by walking through the book of Micah. We will examine the world into which Micah was speaking and look at the interesting extended metaphor Micah utilizes to talk about the people’s path away from their God.

This week, we break the social norms and start Christmas a little bit early! Our advent series this year is “The Redemption of Scrooge”. For our first installment, we will examine Scrooge’s encounter with his dead partner Jacob Marbly and what Jacob must teach him about how Scrooge should see the world. Our main passage this week is Luke 16:19-31.

This week, we look ahead to Thanksgiving, and we examine the idea of giving thanks to God. Nick explores the notion of ‘completing the circle of prayer’ by not only bringing our needs and desires to God but also thanking God when prayers are answered. Our main passage this week is Luke 17:11-19.

This week, we wrap up our series examining the 9 values of UCC by looking at how ‘Our Gifts Set Us on Mission.' We explore the idea that there is no perfect archetype person that God uses to spread the gospel, we can each show God’s love in our own unique way. Then we recap all our values and ponder the idea of what would living into these values look like. Our main passage this week is Matthew 28...

Tonight, we continue our Thursday evening series on the Minor Prophets by walking through the book of Jonah. We will examine just why Jonah was hesitant to prophesy the people of Nineveh and why he is so angry when God spares them. We will then ask ourselves, “how good at forgiveness are we?” Can we get to a place where we can forgive like God does?

This week, we continue our series examining the 9 values of UCC by looking at how ‘Generosity is our Heart’. We explore what it means to be generous, how it stretches far beyond dropping money in a plate. We also examine why we give of ourselves, how our generosity expands the reach of God and God’s love. Our main passage this week is Matthew 25:14-27.

Runthrough of the Nation of Israel by United Church of Cohoes