We mean it when we say, “Everyone is Welcome here!”

September 30- October , 2026

This Week @ First Church

Wednesday September 30

Mindful Meditation – 6 p.m.

Come every Wednesday evening and leave the troubles of the world outside as you spend an hour in meditation. Enter the church through the Delaware Street entrance.

Friday October 2 – 7:30 p.m

Narcotics Anonymous Meeting

Enter the church through the alley parking lot entrance.

Saturday October 3 – 1pm

LGBTQIA+ Pride Group

A place for Fellowship, Friendship, Mentorship, Support

Sunday October 4

Communion Sunday

Worship Service – 10 a.m.

Worship Service In-Person and on Facebook

SERMON “Do This in Remembrance of Me” by Tom Seeberger
Based on Philippians 3:4-14 and Matthew 21:33-46

Note for Philippians 3:4-14

Here Paul is warning the church to favor a relationship with Christ over the rituals and righteousness of religion. He shares how he was a great person of Jewish faith who did everything correctly, he was a Pharisee and yet, he did not find true joy and peace until he became a follower of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 3:4-14

4  Even if I am able to trust in myself, still I do not. If anyone thinks that he has a reason to trust in himself, he should know that I have greater
reason for trusting in myself.  5  I was circumcised eight days after my birth. I am from the people of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin. I am a Hebrew, and my parents were Hebrews. The law of Moses was very important to me. That is why I became a Pharisee.  6  I was so enthusiastic that I tried to hurt the church. No one could find fault with the way I obeyed the law of Moses.  7  At one time all these things were important to me. But now I think those things are worth nothing because of Christ.  8  Not only those things, but I think that all things are worth nothing compared with the greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of Christ, I have lost all those things. And now I know that all those things are worthless trash. This allows me to have Christ  9  and to belong to him. Now that I belong to Christ, I am right with God and this being right does not come from my following the law. It comes from God through faith. God uses my faith in Christ to make me right with him.  10  All I want is to know Christ and the power of his rising from
death. I want to share in Christ’s sufferings and become like him in his death.  11  If I have those things, then I have hope that I myself will be
raised from death.

Note for Matthew 21:33–46

Jesus and his disciples have entered Jerusalem. Jesus has been teaching and healing many. The elders and the priests are challenging Jesus’s authority. So of course, as usual, he shares with them another parable. This is the Parable of the Wicked Tenants.

Matthew 21:33–46

“Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a wine press in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and
killed him. “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.” Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “ ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to
pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.

HYMNS

“For the Beauty of the Earth”

“Christ is Made the Sure Foundation”

“We Cannot Own the Sunlit Sky”