Ash Wednesday service

All are welcome to the multi-church Ash Wednesday service at The Church of the Palms UCC, February 22, 5 pm at 14808 N Boswell Blvd, Sun City, AZ.

We’ll be joined by our other sibling congregations: United UCC and Desert Garden UCC.

Our Regional Minister, Rev. Dr. Jay Hartley will be present along with the Southwest Conference UCC’s Transitional Conference Minister, Rev. Dr. Toni Hawkins.

Pastor’s Notes: 2/3/2023

The Gospel of Matthew will be our guide for the next several weeks in our sermons. Last Sunday we began the first of three lessons to come out of Jesus’ sermon on the mount which spans the chapters of 5-7. Last Sunday we covered the beatitudes and what it means to be salt and light. We skip ahead this week and pick up Jesus’ instructions on how to pray, Matthew 6:5-21.

I would encourage you to sit down and read what Matthew includes between what we are addressing in worship. Matthew 5:17-6:4 which includes Matthew’s various perceptions on the theme of righteousness as well as his understanding of Jesus’ view concerning a multitude of topics on what it means to love and be in covenant with our God.

In preparation for Sunday’s message, we notice that Matthew is being very intentional in pulling together the teachings of Jesus, by placing at the heart of this sermon a section concerning prayer. Prayer is the greatest connection humanity has with God on an ongoing basis. How to pray and where we direct our focus matters so this will be the focus for our time together Sunday. I look forward to worshipping with you!

Brett