“Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.” Colossians 3:14 (NRSV)
Worship Link for January 4, 2026: https://youtu.be/hIYLXi3mA94
Worship: Sunday, January 11, 2026: 10:45 a.m.; Coffee Sunday
Scripture to Ponder & Prayer
First Week after Epiphany
Texts this Week:
Isaiah 42:1–9; Psalm 29; Acts 10:34–43; Matthew 3:13–17
To Ponder:
Isaiah 42:1–9; Matthew 3:13–17
A Brief Pondering: Isaiah 42:1–9; Matthew 3:13–17
We baptize with water because water is life. It sustains, cleanses, and renews. In the Jordan River, John called people to repent—not as a gesture of shame, but as an invitation to turn, to re-orient their lives toward God. The water did not simply wash away the past; it marked the beginning of something new—a life reshaped by grace.
In winter, life seems hidden. Beneath frozen ground and quiet snow, creation waits. We trust that spring will come, not because we see it, but because God has been faithful before. Our lives move through seasons like this too—times of growth and times of waiting, moments of clarity and stretches of doubt. Yet life remains, even when it feels buried.
When Jesus stepped into the water, he entered fully into the human story. He joined those who were struggling, uncertain, still learning how to turn their hearts toward God. How many others that day carried unfinished repentance, complicated lives, fragile hope? And how many later remembered that moment—remembered the water, remembered Jesus—and found courage to keep going?
Baptism becomes one of those faith memories we carry with us. It reminds us, again and again, that before we achieve or fail, before we understand or question, we are named and claimed as God’s beloved children.
Let us pray …
Remind us, O God, of our baptism—
of water touching skin, of grace flowing over us,
of your Spirit descending with quiet power.
Call us again into the way of discipleship,
especially when our faith feels weary or uncertain.
Your anointing has not faded.
Your touch still rests upon your people,
still naming us beloved,
still calling us into our vocation of love, justice, and hope.
Renew us in these waters, O God,
that we may rise again to live as your children
in the world you so deeply love. Amen.
Trinity United Church 