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

COMING IN FEBRUARY: New Member Sunday- 2/15, Cupids & Casseroles Potluck Dinner 2/15, MLK & Black History Celebration 2/22

February 4 – 10 , 2026

This Week @ First Church

Wednesday February 4th

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.

Sunday February 8th

Worship Service – 10 a.m.

Sermon – “You ARE Salt & Light” based on Isaiah 58:1-9 and Matthew 5:13-20.

Background for Isaiah 58:1-9

Here God is telling Isaiah to shout out against the people’s hyprocrisy. While the people act religious, they continue to oppress, fight and selfishly
seek their own pleasure during their fasts. Thus God is clarifying that the fast He desires isn’t one merely abstaining from food, but it should include loosening the bonds of wickedness and injustices, lifting other up not burdening them
and breaking their spirits. Fasting should include sharing food with the hungry and housing the poor. For when we fast like
this, the Light of God shines brightly through us.

Isaiah 58:1-9

“Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
    Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
    and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.
2  For day after day they seek me out;
    they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
    and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
    and seem eager for God to come near them.
3  ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
    ‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
    and you have not noticed?’
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
    and exploit all your workers.
4  Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
    and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
    and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5  Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
    only a day for people to humble themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
    and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
    a day acceptable to the Lord?
6  “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
    and untie the cords of the yoke,to set the oppressed free
    and break every yoke?
7  Is it not to share your food with the hungry
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8  Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness [a]  will go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9  Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
    you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

Background for Matthew 5:13-20.

Jesus has just delivered the Beatitudes to a crowd and now he is sharing how we should go forth furthering acts that please God for we ARE salt and
light; both precious elements necessary to heal, preserve and make life more tasty and bright for all God’s children.

Matthew 5:13-20

13  “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness,
how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for
anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
14  “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot
be hidden. 15  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a
bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to
everyone in the house.  16  In the same way, let your light shine
before others, that they may see your good deeds and
glorify your Father in heaven.

17  “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the
Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill
them.  18  For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear,
not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any
means disappear from the Law until everything is
accomplished.  19  Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the
least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be
called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices
and teaches these commands will be called great in the
kingdom of heaven.  20  For I tell you that unless your
righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers
of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

HYMNS

Jesus, The Light of The World

My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less

They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Love