Sermons

Good Friday Service | 10 April 2020

Good Friday | 10 April 2020

Special thanks to Elisa Leahy for video production.

Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained through One License with license A-727859.

Prelude | Ah, Holy Jesus,* Johann Cruger (1640) Arr by John Carter (*HWB 254) | Tom Blosser

Welcome | Joel Miller

Call to Worship | Miller Family

On this night, as the shadows deepen,
We come to be present with Jesus.
With the glory of Palm Sunday behind us and the victory of Easter not yet come,
We will sit together, although apart, with our listening and breaking hearts.
In this world that is at once beautiful and tragic,
We seek to be present with all who suffer.
We will be present with ourselves
In the dark valleys of life, when sorrow threatens to overwhelm,
We long for a safe and sacred space to sit with our grief and our questions.
Jesus Christ, holy friend,
we know that you are here with us.
Let us be here with you. Amen.

Hymn | STJ 105 Don’t...

CMC Sunday Meditations | The Cross and Being a Witness | Lent 6 | Palm Sunday | April 5

Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained through One License with license A-727859

The video above includes the full service for today. You can click on the four arrows in the bottom right of the video to make it full screen.

The Cross and Being a Witness | Lent 6 | Palm Sunday | April 5

Opening Remarks | Joel Miller | video: 0m.00s

Peace Candle/Welcome | Jen Cartmel & Maya Plessinger | video: 1m43s

As we meet today in spirit but not in person, we gather around these Sunday Meditations offered by members of the CMC community. Just as we light the Peace Candle to begin our worship, you are invited to light a candle for these Meditations. The flame joins us in spirit across distance, along with our sister church in Armenia, Colombia.

Call to Worship | Jen Cartmel | video: 2m10s

Hymn | Hold me God | Katie Graber | video:...

CMC Sunday Meditations | The Cross and the Death Penalty | Lent 5 | March 29

CMC Sunday Meditations | 29 March 2020 | Lent 5
The Cross and the Death Penalty

For full audio, click on the player above.

Peace Candle Opening | Mark Rupp | audio: 00m00s

Scripture Reading | John 8:2-11 Common English Bible (CEB) | Oliver Davey | audio: 00m24s

2 Early in the morning he returned to the temple. All the people gathered around him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The legal experts and Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery. Placing her in the center of the group, 4 they...

CMC Sunday Meditations | The Cross and Atonement | Lent 4 | March 22

CMC Sunday Meditations | 22 March 2020 | Lent 4

The Cross and Atonement

Opening Thoughts | Joel Call

I grew up with the picture above. The crude sketch is a basic illustration of the underlying logic of how I was taught to understand Christ’s death on the cross, and how it saves me, i.e., it was my atonement theology for most of my life. “We are separated from God.” The commentary on the drawing would always begin on this fundamental premise. There’s a gap between us and God, and Christ’s sacrifice effectively bridges this primordial gap, making a way for us to commune with the Divine; to be reconciled to God.

Today finds us separated from each other in new, unprecedented ways. In the...

CMC Sunday Meditations | The Cross and Redemptive Suffering | Lent 3 | March 15

15 March 2020 | Lent 3
The Cross and Redemptive Suffering

Contents:
A word from Joel
Prayers of the people
Poem: Pandemic, by Lynn Ungar
Sermon/Scriptures/Guided Meditation, by Mark Rupp

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A word from Joel:

Here’s a riddle:
What’s more important than going to a concert, or the library?
What’s more important than going on vacation, flying overseas?
What's more important than kids going to school and college students attending classes? More important than testing and labs?
What's more important than the NBA, NHL, MLS, MLB, NCAA, March Madness, high school and youth athletics?
What’s worth risking loss of production, loss of profits, loss of wages? What's more important than the Dow, the S&P, and the GDP?
What’s more important than Sunday church?
What’s more important than all your well-crafted plans?
Your answer here: ______________________

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Prayers of the People

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Poem

Pandemic

What if you thought of it
as the Jews consider the Sabbath—
the most sacred of times?
Cease from travel.
Cease from buying and selling.
Give up, just for now,
on trying to make the world
...

Sermons

CMC Sunday Meditations | 29 March 2020 | Lent 5 The Cross and the Death Penalty

For full audio, click on the player above.

Pages

CMC Sunday Meditations | 29 March 2020 | Lent 5
The Cross and the Death Penalty