Trinity United Church of Christ
LENTEN WORSHIP SERIES
TUCC Worship Series – Lent and Easter 2021
February 17 – April 4, 2021
“The Blessings of Lent”
Lent is an early-church practice meant to prepare followers of Jesus for celebrating Easter. It remains a life-giving tradition that has the potential to transform the weeks leading up to Easter from a time of busy chaos into a season of beautiful commitment to Jesus. Lent has taken many shapes and forms throughout history. There’s no one way to do it. This year of surging pandemic we search for new ways that deepen our faith.
The Lenten Bible stories are powerful and inspiring. They are even richer still when paired with some selected Beatitudes from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. In pairing the Beatitudes with these ancient stories about Jesus—and the people Jesus encounters along the way—we will discover a richer source of blessings during this Lenten season. We are tempted. We receive gifts of grace, abundant grace. Our spiritual thirstiness is often quenched. In being open to new spiritual insights, we are renewed and inspired for a better life.
Worship Schedule – Lent 2021
February 17 Ash Wednesday – 7:00 pm via Zoom
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17; Isaiah 58:1-12; & Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Sacrament of Communion; Imposition of Ashes; & Homily by Pastor Hanberry
February 21 — Lent 1:
Blessed are the Poor in Spirit & the Baptism of Jesus
Genesis 9:8-17; Psalm 25:1-10; & Matthew 5:1-3
Sermon: ‘The Blessing of the Kingdom of Heaven”
February 28 – Lent 2: Blessed are the Meek & Jesus’ Call to Disciples to Take Up Their Cross…
Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16; Psalm 22:23-31; Rom 4:13-15;
Mark 8:31-38 & Matthew 5:5
Sermon: “…For the Sake of the Gospel”
March 7 – Lent 3: Blessed are Those Who Hunger for Righteousness & Jesus Cleanses the Temple
Exodus 20:1-17; Ps 19; 1 Corin. 1:18-25;
John 2:13-22 & Matthew 5:6
Sermon: “The Blessings of the Laws of God”
March 14 – Lent 4: Blessed are the Merciful & “God so Loved the World…”
Num 21:4-9; Ps 107:1-3, 17-22; Eph. 2:1-10; & John 3:14-21
& Matthew 5:7
Sermon: “The Blessing of Salvation”
March 21 – Lent 5: Blessed are the Pure in Heart & Losing and Keeping Your Life
Jeremiah 31:31-34; Psalm 51:1-12; Heb 5:5-10;
& John 12:20-33 & Matthew 5:8
Sermon: “The Blessing That Bears Much Fruit”
March 28 — Palm/Passion Sunday: Blessed are Those Who are Persecuted & Jesus on Parade
Isaiah 50:4-9a; Ps 118:1-2, 19-29; Phil 2:5-11;
Mark 11:1-11 & Matthew 5:11-12
Sermon: “The Blessing of the Palms
April 1– Maundy Thursday (7:00pm)
Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14; Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19; I Corinthians 11:2326; John 13:1-17, 31b-35 (The Upper Room)
Sacrament of Holy Communion
Homily: “The Blessing of Jesus’ Humility”
April 2 – Good Friday
Trinity UCC might participate with the churches for the Westminster Ministerium with their annual event.
April 4 — Easter Sunday Celebration
Pre-Recorded Service presented on FaceBook Live Streaming
No Zoom service or in-person worship
Acts 10:34-43; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; 1 Corin 15:1-11;
John 20:1-18 (The Resurrection of Jesus)
Sermon: “Seeing Jesus Again for the First Time”
TRINITY UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
The Season of Epiphany – 2021
“Come and See: Seeing in the Dark”
A Five-Sunday Sermon Series about Living
In Dark Days and Nights of Our Lives
Overview:
For some people today, even those who profess Christ and seek to follow Jesus, the ‘Dark’ is an enemy, an ever challenging space to encounter.
The profound, encouraging, and challenging words of the Psalmist in Psalms 139:12
(“…even the darkness is not dark to you; the
night is as bright
as the day, for darkness is as light to you.”)
can both invite us to open ourselves to god’s light when we are afraid in the dark and ‘smack’ us gently to awaken our spiritual gifts
and resources that allow us to see God’s ‘safety-net’ in the night.
This five-sermon series will challenge and inspire us to “Come and See God;” to allow God to soothe our fears in the darkness;
and to discover how the light can add brilliance and vitality to our lives.– Pastor Gerry Hanberry
January 17, 2021 — The Epiphany Season:
“Come and See – Seeing in the Dark”
Theme: “Who’s Afraid of the Dark?”
Scriptures: 1 Samuel 3:1-10 & John 1:43-51
Sermon: “I Am…Afraid of the Dark”
January 24, 2021 — The Epiphany Season:
“Come and See – Seeing in the Dark”
Theme: The Fear of the Lord
Scriptures: Jonah 3:1-5, 10 & Mark 1:14-20
Sermon: “We Really Don’t Fear the Lord; It’s More Like Honoring God”
January 31, 2021 — The Epiphany Season:
“Come and See – Seeing in the Dark”
Theme: The Emotions of the Night
Scriptures: Mark 1:21-28 (The Man with an
Unclean Spirit)
Sermon: “Why Won’t God Turn on the Lights?”
February 7, 2021 — The Epiphany Season:
“Come and See – Seeing in the Dark”
Theme: The Dark Night of the Soul
Scriptures: Isaiah 40:21-31 & Mark 1:29-39
Sermon: “Jesus Praying in the Dark”
Sacrament of Holy Communion
February 14, 2021 — The Epiphany Season:
“Come and See – Seeing in the Dark”
Theme: Working With Darkness –Transformed by the Lightness and the Darkness
Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 & Mark 9:2-9
Sermon: “What I Learned from the Dark”
To become the dark, go dark.
Go without sight,
And find that the dark, too, blooms and sings
–Wendell Berry