MVP Message

Preacher: Lee Schriber Aber, Minister of Engagement & DiscipleshipScripture: Acts 2:1-21 & 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13What does it mean to truly understand one another? In a world shaped by division, suspicion, and noise, we long for connection that goes deeper than words alone. Where do we encounter a love capable of crossing the boundaries that so often separate us?Join us for this Pentecost Sunday episode as we turn to the stories of Acts 2 and 1 Corinthians 12, and reflect on how the Holy Spirit brings people together across all sorts of barriers. As we again hear the story of the birth of the Church—formed from many voices into one body—we’ll consider what it means to truly hear one another and to live as a community shaped by the love of God. Come as you are to reflect and discover what the Spirit may yet be speaking to us today.

Preacher: Sam Pannell || Chair, Strategy, Accountability, and Leadership Table (SALT)Scripture: Psalm 96This week we conclude our 6-week journey exploring the new guiding vision of our denomination: "The United Methodist Church forms disciples of Jesus Christ who, empowered by the Holy Spirit, love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in local communities and worldwide connections." In Psalm 96, we hear the call to sing a new song, proclaim God’s salvation, and declare God’s glory among all peoples. As we close this series, we reflect on what it means to be disciples who are not only shaped by God’s love, but sent into the world as witnesses to God’s renewing work. How is God calling us to live out our faith beyond the walls of the church? Where are we being invited to embody hope, justice, and grace in our communities and beyond? Join us in this episode as we explore what it means to be disciples who help transform the world and consider how the Holy Spirit sends us to love boldly by sharing God’s grace with others, serve joyfully by participating in God’s healing work in the world, and lead courageously by bearing witness to God’s reign in our communities and beyond.

Preacher: Grace Rogers, Howard & Mary Martin Ministry InternScripture: Ephesians 6:10-20This week we continue a 6-week journey exploring the new guiding vision of our denomination:"The United Methodist Church forms disciples of Jesus Christ who, empowered by the Holy Spirit, love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in local communities and worldwide connections."When faced with leadership that falsely misaligns itself with the Gospel, how do we courageously lead resistance? How do we faithfully lead in our lives, mindful to not replace God's will with our own? Where do we find the courage to do the "right thing" and the wisdom to know that it's right? Join us as grapple with this questions and explore the "armor of God" as a call to lead with courage. 

Preacher: Grace Rogers, Howard & Mary Martin Ministry InternScripture: Psalm 100 & Mark 10:42-45This week we continue a 6-week journey exploring the new guiding vision of our denomination:"The United Methodist Church forms disciples of Jesus Christ who, empowered by the Holy Spirit, love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in local communities and worldwide connections."How do we serve joyfully in a world that is deeply hurting? What is the source of your joy? We are often told that our status, our power, or possessions will bring joy, but what if true, everlasting joy comes from somewhere deeper? Join us this week as we discover the ways we are formed by Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit to serve joyfully in our local communities and through worldwide connections. 

Preacher: Grace Rogers, Howard & Mary Martin Ministry InternScripture: Mark 12:28-34This week we continue a 6-week journey exploring the new guiding vision of our denomination:"The United Methodist Church forms disciples of Jesus Christ who, empowered by the Holy Spirit, love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in local communities and worldwide connections."What does it actually look like to love boldly? Is love enough? Is it possible that love for God and one another is the answer? Join us this week as we use Jesus' teaching in the book of Mark on the Greatest Commandment to explore these questions and discover what it might look like to love boldly and without reservation. 

Preacher: Grace Rogers, Howard & Mary Martin Ministry InternScripture: Acts 2:14, 36-47Do you see the Holy Spirit active in your life? What does it mean to be empowered by the Holy Spirit? Join us this week as we explore the work of the Holy Spirit in the earliest church and discover where the Spirit is working in our lives today, empowering us to love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, PastorScripture: Ephesians 4:1-16In this episode we begin a 6-week journey exploring the new guiding vision of our denomination: "The United Methodist Church forms disciples of Jesus Christ who, empowered by the Holy Spirit, love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in local communities and worldwide connections."This week’s episode explores a journey from ambition and self-definition toward a deeper, Christ-centered calling. Rooted in the Epistle to the Ephesians, it highlights how community, humility, and shared gifts shape discipleship, inviting us to walk together in love and build up the body of Christ.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol || PastorScripture: Matthew 28:1-10The resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of our faith and the source of countless promises that have the power to fill us with bright hope no matter what we are experiencing in life. Easter is not only a celebration of new life, it is a remembrance of the most transformational change of events that has ever taken place. But let’s be honest, we need the resurrection to be real. Not just as a story we tell or a tradition we keep, but as a truth we can stake our lives on. In Matthew's Gospel, the women arrive at the tomb carrying grief, fear, and uncertainty only to be met by an empty grave and a message that sounds almost too good to be true, he is not here, for he has been raised. They do not respond with instant certainty. They run with fear and great joy tangled together, and maybe that is where many of us are too, caught between doubt and hope, longing to believe that death does not get the final word. This Easter, we will face the question head on, what if the resurrection is real, what if God truly has the power to bring life out of death, hope out of despair, and purpose out of our deepest pain, because if it is real then everything changes, not just for Jesus, but for us too.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol || PastorScripture: Psalm 22:1-24 & John 19:14-22Holy Week continues on Friday when we remember Jesus' crucifixion on a cross. Join us for this episode during which we will spend time with some of Jesus' final words and ponder part of the meaning of the cross for us today.

Preacher: Lee Schriber Aber || Minister of Engagement & DiscipleshipScripture: John 13:1-17, 31-35At the table on Maundy Thursday, love moves from idea to action in the quiet, disruptive act of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet. This message takes an honest look at a phrase that can feel overused and asks what it really means to receive a love we cannot control. As Jesus lays aside what separates and steps into proximity, we are invited to examine the layers we hold onto and the ways we keep distance from one another. This is not sentimental love, but a love that confronts, reshapes, and calls us deeper. In the midst of a world marked by distortion and division, we are invited to imagine and begin to live a life where love goes all the way to the end.

This week’s episode opens with a compelling monologue that vividly explores the passion narrative, inviting listeners into the depth and drama of the story. Based on Matthew 26:14–27:66, this piece was written by Rev. McKennon Shea and was performed by one of our gifted members.A Dramatic Presentation of the Passion NarrativeDrew Kopas || PerformingSERMON:We Need a King Who Will Save UsMatthew 21:1-11 & Philippians 2:5-11Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Pastor || PreachingHoly Week begins on this Sunday as we remember Jesus entering the city of Jerusalem bouncing on the back of a borrowed donkey while the crowds shouted "Hosanna," declaring their belief that Jesus was the one who would save them. It was a public witness that stood in stark contrast to what was happening on the other side of the city. Palm Sunday presents us with an opportunity to ponder who we believe will save us and how we live in a way that puts our trust in Jesus.

Psalm 130What do you do when you are in the depths—the deep places where it feels like you are treading water, engulfed in sadness, suffocated by shame, or filled with regret?To whom to do you call or depend on in these moments or chapters of life?Psalm 130 not only grants permission, but teaches us how to cry out to God from the depths—before anchoring ourselves in hope that enables us to wait without saying another word. It's a Psalm of trust, of hope, and of sheer honesty about our need for mercy.

Preacher: Grace Rogers || Howard & Mary Martin Ministry InternJohn 11:1-45Are you hopeful?Or...are you having a hard time believing that things can ever be better than they are now? We want to believe people can change, wrongs can be made right, and life can come from death. We all want to believe the dead can rise again, but that is much easier said than done. However, what if that belief, that hope, cannot be found in isolation? What if Jesus' love and his tears for Lazarus reveal a greater truth?Join us this week as we encounter the miracle of empathy and compassion at the tomb of Lazarus.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb SokolScripture: John 9:1-40How well do you see?Is your sight becoming clearer? Or do you see the world around you through a lens that is a little hazy?What if we were to answer these questions not through the lens of our recent eye exam but through a theological lens?How well do you see? Is your capacity to see Jesus at work in your life and the world around you becoming clearer? Or are you instead choosing to remain where you are—even if your sight is a little blurry?Join us this week as we encounter a man who is given the gift of sight after being blind from birth and watch as those who think they can see have their sight diminished through how they respond. Let's be honest...we may all find it harder to see than we care to admit.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol || PastorScripture: John 4:5-30How thirsty are you—really?Where do you go to quench that thirst?If we’re honest, we’re all thirsty. And we’ve all drawn from wells that promise satisfaction but leave us coming back for more.But what if there was a different kind of well—one from a source that doesn’t run dry.This week we meet an unnamed woman who walks to a well at noon where she expects to find herself alone as she draws water from a familiar source. But Jesus finds her there and changes everything when he speaks to her thirst, exposes her truth, and offers her living water.What if Jesus is waiting for us at the wells we hope will satisfy us and offering something better?This week our Lenten journey continues with "Let's be Honest...We're All Thirsty."

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb SokolScripture: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 & Matthew 4:1-11While we often pretend to have it all together, Lent calls us to name what hides behind the mask and to tell the truth about what is really happening in our hearts, minds, and lives. Our Lenten worship series, “Let’s Be Honest,” dares us to face the truths we often avoid but desperately need to admit.We need cleaner hearts.Temptation is real.We are thirsty for more than this world can give.Faith is hard when we cannot see clearly.We long for someone to save us.We struggle with the cross.And we need resurrection to be real.This journey does not demand certainty; it invites honesty.It does not require perfection; it offers grace.Come with your questions, your doubts, and your hope.Let’s be honest—and trust that God is already at work in our complicated, messy, and hopeful selves.

Preacher: Grace RogersScripture: Psalm 51:1-17While we often pretend to have it all together, Lent calls us to name what hides behind the mask and to tell the truth about what is really happening in our hearts, minds, and lives. Our Lenten worship series, “Let’s Be Honest,” dares us to face the truths we often avoid but desperately need to admit.We need cleaner hearts.Temptation is real.We are thirsty for more than this world can give.Faith is hard when we cannot see clearly.We long for someone to save us.We struggle with the cross.And we need resurrection to be real.This journey does not demand certainty; it invites honesty.It does not require perfection; it offers grace.Come with your questions, your doubts, and your hope.Let’s be honest—and trust that God is already at work in our complicated, messy, and hopeful selves.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb SokolScripture: Matthew 5:38-48Who do you love?How wide is the circle of your love?Is your love reserved for those who love you back, or at least agree with you?How do you respond to those who oppose you, frustrate you, or even despise you?Most of us are good at loving the neighbors and friends we have chosen. But loving our enemies? That's a different kind of call—one we often resist and avoid. And still, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus does not soften this teaching. He invites and challenges us to love anyway.This Sunday, we conclude our series on the Sermon on the Mount by wrestling with Jesus' call to love those we would rather ignore, resist, or even hate. What might it look like to love beyond comfort, beyond preference, and beyond self-protection?

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, PastorScripture: Matthew 5:21-26Most of us assume we’re doing just fine if we haven’t broken any of the Ten Commandments. But Jesus refuses to stop with such a low bar. He instead points straight to the anger, resentment, and fractured relationships that quietly shape our lives before calling his followers to something deeper.This week, we continue our journey through the Sermon on the Mount with a teaching on anger, reconciliation, and the difficult work of becoming people of peace. You're invited to come ready to reflect, be challenged, and imagine how transformed hearts can lead to a healthier, more faithful community and life.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, PastorScripture: Matthew 5:13-20“You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world.”We often hear these words from the Sermon on the Mount as suggestions, as if being salt or light is something we choose when it’s convenient or when we feel up to it. But Jesus offers no such option.Speaking to the community formed in his name, Jesus declares what is already true: you are salt, you are light. You are a people whose very life together is meant to reveal the new world God is bringing into being through Jesus.So the question is not whether we will make a difference, but what kind of difference we are making. Can people see Christ’s love in us? Do they encounter the urgency of his justice through our actions? Do they hear his teaching echoed in our shared life? Or has our witness lost its flavor—its bite, its brightness? Are we still a presence as unmistakable as salt on popcorn, pretzels, or potato chips? Join us this week as our journey through the Sermon on the Mount continues.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, PastorScripture: Matthew 5:1-12Years ago, when asked what brings him hope for the church today, theologian N.T. Wright pointed to something simple yet profound: ordinary believers living out the Sermon on the Mount in a world aching for healing. That everyday faithfulness, he said, is what first spread the gospel—and what still transforms communities today. This week, we will begin to dig deep into the Sermon on the Mount and ponder what it might mean for us to live it out today— bringing hope and healing to an aching world.

Preacher: Grace Rogers, Howard and Mary Martin Ministry InternScripture: Matthew 4:12-23Throughout the story of Christianity, ordinary people are called forward for extraordinary things. From the first disciples to the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we can attest to the power of those who step forward to walk in Jesus' way of peace and justice. Join us on Sunday as our new series begins with an exploration of the ways God is calling us to see a great light in this time and this place--just as God has done for all who have come before us. 

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, PastorScripture: Isaiah 42:1-9 and Matthew 3:13-17Join us this week as we hear God proclaim Jesus as God's son, the beloved, and imagine God saying the same to us before pondering how we might live if we fully embraced the gifts and expectations that come with baptism. We'll also have the opportunity to touch the waters of baptism as we remember our baptism.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, PastorScripture: Matthew 2:1-12, 16-18As the new year begins, the world can still feel shadowed by fear. On Epiphany, we follow the magi—who refuse to let fear or power have the final word—and discover a hope that leads us forward by another way. Join us for worship as we celebrate Epiphany, receive a star word for the year ahead, and gather at Christ’s table for Holy Communion. Our journey continues, and fear will not have the last word!

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, PastorScripture: Luke 2:1-20Join us in worship this Christmas Eve as we meditate on how the good news of Christmas can drown out the noise of fear, in light of how God has entered our fear-filled world not from a distance, but up close: to live, to die, and to rise again, freeing us from all that holds us captive.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, PastorScriptures: Matthew 1:18-25 and Isaiah 41:5-10Join us in worship this week as we explore a theology of proximity--one that walks with people in danger, lightens loads, and plays a real role in cultivating new life.

Preacher: Grace Rogers, Howard and Mary Martin Ministry InternScriptures: Jeremiah 1:4-10 and Luke 1:26-39Join us in worship this third week of Advent as we explore the ways God has called and used the "little guys" in the past before imagining where God may be calling us now. 

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, PastorScriptures: Isaiah 43:19-21 and Matthew 11:1-11Join us this week on the second Sunday of Advent as we explore how trembling hope can still carry us, and how God is still moving even when we cannot see the fruits of our labor.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Pastor Scriptures: Lamentations 3:55-57 and Luke 1:5-13Join us this week as we seek to step into their stories and discover why God’s silence is never absence, and why our deepest ache may be the very place God regularly chooses to break in with hope.Don’t miss it. This might be the word your heart has been waiting for.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, PastorScripture:Philippians 4:4-9 and John 6:25-35Join us this week as we wrestle with these questions and more in the conclusion of our sermon series, “This is Us: The Heart of MVP.” Together, we’ll lean into our core value of cultivating spiritual depth in hopes of discovering a faith that doesn’t bargain, but abides; a faith that doesn’t demand, but endures.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, PastorScripture: Ephesians 4:1-16 How might we help others experience a sense of belonging? Join us this week as we explore these questions alongside the invitation found in Ephesians 4 to be formed into one body that builds itself up in love.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, PastorScripture: Psalm 139:1-18At Mount Vernon Place, we believe God speaks these words about every single person. Not only are we all made in God’s image, we are also the reason God’s heart beats and sometimes skips a beat. And we believe that living into our belovedness can change everything."

Preacher: Grace Rogers, Howard & Mary Martin Ministry InternScripture: Ephesians 1:11-23The Heart of MVP, in which we will be exploring and celebrating who we are as a congregation and how we seek to live out our core values. As we begin our new series, we will be invited to consider the bounty of our faith inheritance in celebration of All Saints Day, the liturgical day of the year on which we remember the great cloud of witnesses on whose shoulders we stand

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, PastorScripture: ⁠John 21:1-19⁠Join us this week as we read the final chapter of John's Gospel, one we often read during Eastertide, about Jesus' third post-resurrection appearance. The disciples have gotten into a boat to go fishing. But on "that night" they caught nothing.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, PastorScripture: Leviticus 19:9-10 and 25:8-12 and Luke 18:1-8Join us this week as we explore an early policy of ensuring hungry people could be fed before pondering how we might work together in similarly creative ways. How might "reimagining" be a spiritual practice that strengthens the entire community?

Preacher: Donna Claycomb Sokol, PastorScripture: Matthew 19:16-22 and Deuteronomy 15:1-11Join us this week as we explore what Scripture says about debt—not just as a personal struggle, but as a force that impacts entire communities—and then meet a man desperate to live a life that truly matters, yet paralyzed by his unwillingness to part with his wealth.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, PastorScripture: Exodus 16:1-18Our series begins this week with a familiar story of God providing manna in the wilderness with specific instructions to take enough for each day. What is enough? How do you discern how much you need? Are you able to faithfully name when you have too much or too little?Please make plans to join us as we ponder these questions and begin to uncover how our money stories are spiritual stories—opportunities for God to rewrite the narrative.

Preacher:Thornton Muncher, Certified Candidate for Ordained Ministry in the North Alabama Conference of The United Methodist ChurchScripture:Luke 16:19-31“The Rich Man and Lazarus” is a complex story with themes of systemic injustice, classism, and eschatological consequences–but also, good news. As people of the crucified-and-resurrected Christ, we find hope in this parable that we are able to cross the “great chasm” in this life now, and we are invited to be co-creators of transformative justice with the Holy Spirit through our relationship both with God and with neighbor. Join us this week as we reflect together on this challenging text and discover what a “faith in action” might mean for us today, especially as Christians living in this current socio-political moment in our nation’s capital.

Preacher: Bishop LaTrelle EasterlingScripture: Luke 4:16-2This week we had the privilege of welcoming Bishop LaTrelle Easterling, Resident Bishop of the Baltimore-Washington and Peninsula-Delaware Annual Conferences, as our guest preacher. On this week's episode of the MVP Message, Bishop Easterling used her powerful and prophetic voice to lead us through Luke 4:16-21 and the holy truth to be found in Jesus’ proclamation from the Scroll of Isaiah.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, PastorScripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31Our series concludes this week with reminders of how Jesus regularly defies human expectations—in life, in death, and in life beyond death. Indeed, God's ways are not our ways—a truth we might be quick to accept with our lips while struggle to embody with our lives.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, PastorScripture: Luke 14:25-33This week, the gospel writer of Luke beckons us to ponder the question "Does Jesus Expect That Much?" as Jesus tells a large crowd of people following him that they must hate their parents, spouses, siblings, children and life itself; carry their cross, and give up all their possessions. It's a high bar for discipleship—one we often struggle to meet. What, then, is actually expected from us? Can we waver a bit and still be a faithful disciple? Join us on this week as we struggle with this text and the expectations of discipleship.

Preacher: Grace Rogers, Howard & Mary Martin Ministry InternScripture: Luke 14:1, 7-14This week, Jesus invites us to ponder the question "Why Do I Always Want the Best Seat?" as he literally turns the tables on societal expectations of hierarchy and power. We are invited to explore how true honor is found through a lens of abundance over scarcity and hospitality over exclusion. Join us in worship as we discover what it means to be exalted in humility.

Preacher:Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, PastorScripture:Luke 13:10-17While it might be easy to shake our heads at his response, Luke invites us to take a closer look at ourselves. Are there moments when our loyalty to rules, traditions, political affiliation, or preferences blinds us to the liberating work of God in our midst? Could it be that, sometimes, we, too, are standing in the way of the freedom God wants to bring?

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, PastorScripture: Luke 12:32-40Our series continues this week with Jesus inviting the disciples to be ready to receive the Kingdom of God as a present and future reality. What is the Kingdom of God? How do we get ready for such a place—now and in God's reign that is to come? Join us as we ponder these questions and more on Sunday. We'll also celebrate the sacrament of baptism and embrace the sweet gift of authentic, inclusive community.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, PastorScripture: Luke 12:22-31Our series continues this week with Jesus building upon the parable in which Jesus called a rich man a fool for wanting to build a bigger barn to store his grain instead of sharing it with others by asking the disciples not to worry about what they are to eat or drink but to seek God's kingdom.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Pastor Scripture:Luke 12:13-21Our series begins this week with a parable in which Jesus calls a rich man a fool. It is a story in which some of us may be able to see ourselves and/or our nation, one that begs the question, "When is enough, enough?"

Preacher: Lee Aber, Minister of Engagement & DiscipleshipScripture: Jeremiah 33:14-18; 31:31-34 Join us this week as we finish this series with hearts open to mystery—trusting in the God who releases us from the ruins of what was and calls us toward the justice, mercy, and belonging of what could yet be.

Preacher: Donna Claycomb Sokol, PastorScripture: Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15How might the dark and challenging moments through which we are living provide opportunities to plant and invest for the future? Join us this week, as we ponder these questions and again hear a message of hope—even on the eve of Jerusalem's destruction.

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Pastor Scripture: Jeremiah 29:1, 4-14Join us this week as our series on the book of Jeremiah continues with a deeper exploration of exile and God's call to be faithful no matter what.

Preacher: Donna Claycomb Sokol, PastorScripture: Jeremiah 36:1-8, 21-23, 27-31Join us this week as we ponder how God might be speaking truth to power in similar ways today, sing restorative and joyful songs, gather at the altar where all are welcome for the sacrament of Holy Communion and no one is turned away, and experience authentic community.