Church Service Videos 2025

Our Presbyterian Church Years is broken into a series of seasons.  The first is Advent which starts on the fourth Sunday leading up to Christmas.  For the 2025 Liturgical Year the first Sunday in Advent is December 1st and ends on Sunday evening December 22nd.  Advent is followed by Christmas which lasts from December 25th to January 5th.  After Christmas comes Epiphany starting on January 6th and lasts until  February 13th.  Lent begins on Ash Wednesday March 5th and includes Holy Week beginning on Monday April 14th until Saturday April 19th.  Easter begins with the celebration of Jesus' resurrection on April 20th and lasts until Pentecost on June 8th.  Easter is followed by that long season Ordinary Time which lasts until King of Kings Sunday on November 23rd.

March 2nd Worship Service

Nothing shows Jesus as God incarnate living among his people and his supernatural power like his resurrection.  An Epiphany like no other.


Between the time of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and his death on the cross Jesus developed a loyal following who listened to his message, which drew the ire of the Temple Sadducee's, Priests and Scribes.  This usurping of the Temple’s authority led to Jesus’ betrayal, his trial before Pilot and his death on the cross.


But three days later Jesus overcomes death and is back with the Disciples.  In the Gospel of Mark, Mary Magdalene, Salome and Mary, Jesus’ mother, find an empty tomb with an angel who tells them Jesus has risen and will meet them in Galilee.  They flee and do not tell anyone.  In Matthew, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary have the same experience as is in Mark ,except Jesus appears to them by the tomb. He meets the disciples in Galilee and gives them the Great Commission.  In Luke the women find an empty tomb and two angels who tell them Jesus has been raised.  He appears to two of the disciples as they walk to Emmaus, about 7.5 miles from Jerusalem. In the Gospel of John similar events take place with Mary Magdalene finding the empty tomb, telling Peter and the other disciple who rush to the tomb and find it empty. Peter and the other disciple return to where they are staying, but Mary stays by the tomb crying. Mary sees two angels appear inside the tomb and suddenly Jesus appears to Mary.


According to the Book of Acts Jesus spends 40 days with the disciples, teaching them the things they will need to know to carry on Jesus’ mission.  Their final meeting takes place on the Mount of Olives where Jesus was lifted up into the air and disappears among the clouds.  His power over death and his promises that give us hope and strength, are our Epiphany that Jesus is real and working in our lives.


Join us for our March 2nd Worship Service.

Photos:  Communion, an act of Manifestation in our lives, March 2nd.


February 23rd worship service

The manifestation of Jesus is a complicated issue in the Synoptic Gospels .  There were the miracles he performed such as changing the water into wine in Cana, of feeding the four thousand near Bethsaida with a few loves of bread, or walking on the water on the Sea of Galilee.  There are healing miracles such as restoring sight to the blind man ay Bethsaida, curing  a demon possessed man in the Gedarenes, or the raising of Lazarus or Jairus’ daughter. 


In spite of all of theses miracles how many people actually recognized Jesus as the all-powerful God in human form.  In the Synoptic Gospels (Mark, Matthew and Luke) there were actually very few who recognized Jesus as God.  They acknowledged his power and were amazed at his miracles, but the Son of God, who’s job it was to be the sacrifice for all of mankind’s sins, and deliver us to salvation.  Not very many. 


Probably the closest were Peter, James and John who witnessed Jesus during the Transfiguration when Jesus is shown with a blinding light and appeared beside Moses and Elijah.  Again, Peter in Matthew 16:16-30 when he declare “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God”.  But outside of this inner group, even in Mark 3:21 the family tries to get hm under control because they think he has lost his mind. 


At the conclusion of Jesus death in Mark, Matthew and Luke there is a Centurion who has been watching Jesus’ crucifixion.  In Matthew 27:51-54 the Centurion recognizes Jesus as the Son of God.  


51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and[e] went into the holy city and appeared to many people. 54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”


Join us for our February 23rd Worship Service.

Jesus Crucifixion, Sienna Cathedral Pulpit, 1265-68, Nicola Pisano and Assistants, Sienna, Italy





lent

Lent is a time of Repentance, Reconciliation and Redemption as we prepare ourselves to receive the gift of Jesus’ sacrifice on Good Friday and His resurrection on Easter Sunday.  Lent is the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter.  The 40 days reaches back to the time Jesus spent in the desert following his baptism in the Gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke.

 

The math is a little difficult. This year starts on March 5th and runs until April 29th.  Counting this comes out to six weeks equaling 42 days 4 days from March 5th to March 8th . While this adds up to 46 days, it includes six Sundays, which are not included in Lent.  These are days of celebration, because they are days worshiping our Lord.

 

And so we spend the next six weeks in contemplation about our relationship within our community, our families and friends, and most importantly our relationship with our God.  What is right, and what needs correction as try to prepare ourselves for the most important relationship of all time, that goes back to gift given over 2,000 years ago.  The gift of grace, which gives us freedom and life.

Art Work: Annunciation of the Lord, da Vinci, Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy / Jesus Betrayal, Fra Angelico 1440-5 Convent of San Marco, Florence, Italy / Christ Before Pilate, Duccio 1311, Museo dell Opera Metropoliana del Duomo, Siena, Italy




epiphany

Epiphany comes from the Greek, meaning manifestation.  Starting on January 6 the season lasts until Ash Wednesday, March 5th and the start of Lent.  The purpose of the season to recognize the times Jesus is acknowledged as the Son of God, the answer to God’s promise of redemption leaning back to the prophets.

 

Recognition is seen in several instances.  The most celebrated is the visit of the Magi following the heavenly star and bringing gifts to the Christ child.  Other examples include the presentation of Jesus at the temple and being recognized by Anna and Simeon.  Another example is Jesus’ baptism, first when he is recognized by john and again when coming out of the water the heavens open, the spirit in the form of a dove descends and the voice of God saying, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.  Another is the miracle of changing water into wine.


Join us for our February 9th Worship Service.                                                 Join us for our February 16th Worship Service.

Join us for our January 26h Worship Service.                                                  Join us for our February 2nd Worship Service.  

Join us for our January 12th Worship Service.                                                Join us for our January 19th Worship Service.

Photos:

Jesus' Baptism:  Marco Monastery Florence, Fra Angelico, 1418

Jesus casts out demons: Basilica St. Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna:

Marriage at Cana: Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Italy, Giotto di Bondone, 1305

Three Magi Going to Jesus: Basilica St. Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna:

christmas

It is the season of Christmas, December 25th - January 5th.  We have spent the last four weeks preparing our hearts, minds, and soles to receive the gift God sent to His people, Himself to be sacrificed, that His peoples sins may be washed away, and they can be with Him, eternally.  But why 12 days for the season?

 

The Christmas Season, also known as Christmastide, goes back to the Council of Tours meeting in 567 who proclaimed the 12 days between Christmas (the birth) and Epiphany (the Magi Recognition) as the Christmas Season.  The main purpose is celebrate.  After the 4 weeks of fasting, introspection and preparation to receive Jesus into our lives, now is the time to celebrate our acceptance.  

 

Significant event during Christmastide include: December 25: Jesus’ birth / December 26: feast of St. Stephen (Good King Wenceslaus) / December 27: feast of John the Apostle / December 28: feast of the Holy Innocents (children killed on Herod’s order) / December 29: murder of Thomas Becket 1170 (Archbishop of Canterbury) / December 30: remembrance of John Wyclif 1395 (translated the Bible to English…martyred because) / January 1: circumcision of Jesus / January 2: remembrance of Vedanayagam Samuel Azariah, 1945 Bishop of South India / January 6: beginning of Epiphany, the Magi (manifestation).January 4: remembrance of Elizabeth Ann Seton, 1821, founder of the United States parochial school system / January 5: Epiphany Eve, remembrance of the Desert Mothers (women ascetics living in the deserts of Egypt, Palestine, Syria 4th & 5th century) / January 6: Epiphany begins, Magi visit (manifestation).

Photos 2024: Bell Choir / Christmas Tree and Advent Candles / Nativity in the Sanctuary.


Join us for our December 29th Worship Service.                              Join us for our January 5th Worship Service.


Advent

No one is sure when Advent, the four Sundays leading up to Christmas, came into the Christian schedule, but it was well established by the year 480, and so we have been celebrating the birth of Jesus, God’s gift to humanity, for well over 1500 years.  Advent actually takes place on three levels.  The first is the physical birth of Jesus in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago.  The second is the reception of Jesus into the hearts of the believers.  Finally, there is the awaited presence of when Jesus returns to the earth and brings about the world of His desire. 

 

Advent is celebrated in many ways.  There is always the decorating of the church with a Christmas Tree, Christmas Wreathes, special programs and litanies, Christmas Cantatas, and almost in each church the lighting of the Advent Candles.

 

It is our way of celebrating the birth of Jesus, God’s gift to a world in sin, and the source of our salvation.  An event well worth celebrating, and preparing for. 


Join us for our December 15th Worship Service.                                 Join us for our December 22nd Worship Service.

Join us for our December 1st Worship Service.                                   Join us for our December 8th Worship Service.