Category: Video
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Your Huddled Masses
Categories: Video
Watch the full service online by clicking here.
Jesus’ invitation is simple and powerful: “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” In this week’s message, Rev. Mary Teague reminded us that these words were first spoken to ordinary people living under heavy burdens, people weighed down by religious expectations, political oppression, and the struggles of daily life. Christ’s invitation was not reserved for the powerful or the successful. It was offered to everyone who longed for hope, healing, and peace.
Drawing on the familiar words engraved at the base of the Statue of Liberty, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” Mary reflected on how those words echo the heart of Jesus. Christ welcomes those the world often overlooks. Our worth is not found in our nationality, status, accomplishments, or failures. We are welcomed because we are God’s beloved children, created in God’s image and invited into a life of grace.
As followers of Jesus, we are called to extend that same welcome to others. The church becomes a place where burdens are shared, strangers become neighbors, and every person is invited to experience the love of Christ. Together, we continue learning to open our hearts, offer hospitality, and live as a community where all can find rest, belonging, and hope.
Take Time to Reflect
- Where have you experienced Christ’s invitation to find rest in the middle of life’s burdens?
- How can you help Saint Matthew become a place where others experience welcome, belonging, and hope?
- Who might God be calling you to notice, welcome, or encourage this week?
Matthew 11:28
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
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What’s God Up To in Ordinary Times?
Categories: Video
Click here to watch the full service online.
Most of life is lived in ordinary moments. We move through familiar routines, carry responsibilities, and sometimes face long seasons of waiting or uncertainty. Yet Scripture reminds us that God is not absent in these everyday moments. God’s steadfast love never ceases, and God’s mercies are made new every morning, offering hope even when we cannot yet see what God is doing.
In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus notices a woman who had lived with suffering for eighteen years before healing her on the Sabbath. While others focused on rules and expectations, Jesus saw a beloved child of God and responded with compassion. Her story reminds us that God’s work is often unfolding long before we recognize it. Even in seasons that seem ordinary, God is present, faithful, and at work in ways we may not yet understand.
As followers of Christ, we are invited to trust God’s faithfulness in every season. We do not have to wait for extraordinary experiences to encounter God’s presence. Through worship, prayer, acts of kindness, and the daily rhythms of discipleship, God continues to shape us, strengthen us, and lead us forward with hope.
Take Time to Reflect
- Where have you noticed God’s faithfulness in the ordinary rhythms of your life recently?
- Is there a season of waiting where God may be inviting you to trust rather than lose hope?
- How can you help someone else recognize God’s presence in an ordinary moment this week?
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Love Boldly: Who Will Help Us?
Categories: Video
Watch the full service online here.
As Jesus traveled from town to town, teaching, healing, and proclaiming the good news, he looked upon the crowds with compassion. He saw people who were weary, searching, and in need of care. In response, Jesus told his disciples that the harvest was plentiful, but the workers were few. His words remind us that God’s work in the world continues, and that Christ calls ordinary people to participate in sharing hope, love, and grace with others.
Rev. Mary Teague reflected on how often we assume ministry is for someone else, someone more experienced, more gifted, or more qualified. Yet throughout Scripture, God repeatedly calls ordinary people to serve. The disciples were not chosen because they had all the answers. They were chosen because they were willing to follow. God continues to work through people who offer their gifts, their time, their prayers, and their presence in service to others.
As a church family, we are invited to consider how God may be calling us to love boldly beyond these walls. Whether through prayer, hospitality, service, encouragement, generosity, or simply showing up for someone in need, each of us has a role to play in God’s mission. When we trust that God will equip us for what lies ahead, we can respond with faith and confidence, saying, “Here I am, Lord. Send me.”
Matthew 9:35-38 NIV
The Workers Are Few
35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
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Love Boldly
Categories: Video
Watch the full service online by clicking here.
God’s love changes us. It roots us in grace, frees us from fear, and calls us into deeper relationships with one another. Love is more than something we believe or talk about. Love becomes visible when we show compassion, extend hospitality, serve our neighbors, and choose to care for one another in meaningful ways.
The love of Christ gives us the courage to move beyond what is comfortable and familiar. When we trust that we are fully known and fully loved by God, we can open our hearts to new relationships, new opportunities to serve, and new ways of growing together as disciples. Perfect love casts out fear because God’s love is already at work within us.
As a church family, we are called to live that love boldly. We do this when we welcome others, strengthen our community, share our gifts, and participate in God’s work around us. Christ’s love is not something we keep for ourselves. It is something we receive, embody, and share with the world.
Take Time to Reflect
- Where do you see God’s love already at work in your life and relationships?
- How is Christ inviting you to move beyond fear and love more boldly?
- What opportunities do you have this week to share God’s love through hospitality, service, or encouragement?
Scripture References:
1 John 3:17-18, 1 John 4:17-18, Ephesians 3:17-19