2023 Small Group Lenten Bible Study

Rachel Wolf • February 8, 2023

Lent is a time to prayerfully reflect and reconnect with God. You are invited to join us on a Lenten journey to deepen our faith and deepen our community as we walk towards Jerusalem in search of new life and resurrection.

 

This year’s theme is The Currency of Christ: A Devotion Through Coins in the Bible . Using excerpts from Jill. J. Duffield’s book Lent in Plain Sight: A Devotion through Ten Objects , we will explore the ways the imagery of coins is used again and again in scripture. In the Bible, coins are precious items to be found when lost; they are sometimes given to God in offering or used as a means to cheat innocent victims. Coins were used to test Jesus and to betray Jesus. Coins symbolized more than just currency in Jesus’s day, and money (in the form of coins, cash, checks, credit cards, and NFTs) continue to play a large part in our own society. How might coins help us experience the holy in our everyday lives? How can these ordinary objects serve as a means of grace or a connection to the divine?

 

Our Lenten Small Groups begin on Sunday, February 26 with a Kick-Off Luncheon in Calvin Hall following worship and the Congregational Meeting. Whether you’re new to Bible study and small groups or whether it’s your favorite part of church, all are welcome to join us!

DOWNLOAD 2023 LENTEN BIBLE STUDY GUIDE
A city of a foggy SF skyline with the text ‘to give you a future with hope’ Jeremiah 29:4-11

Sermon 06.21.2026: A Particular Kind of Church

By Rev. Marci Glass • June 21, 2026
Before Pastor Marci leaves for Sabbatical, she'll share a vision the Session is dreaming for the church, and how we can use this sabbatical time to live into our vision. In our story from Paul's letter to the Romans, we're reminded that we're called to particular service when we follow Jesus. How can we be faithful?
A person wandering into a field, with the word ‘INHERITANCE’ boldly at the top

Sermon 06.14.2026: Inheritance

By Rev. Marci Glass • June 14, 2026
Today we hear the ending of the story of Ruth, and while it is a happy ending, of sorts, Ruth is still “acquired” in a transaction by Boaz at the city gates. As honorably as Boaz behaves in this story, he still buys her as property. At the end of the story, Boaz is still Boaz and Ruth is still a Moabite woman—being ac
A field of wheat with the text ‘gleaning grace’ at the top

Sermon 06.07.2026: Gleaning Grace

By Rev. Marci Glass • June 7, 2026
Who is the hero in a story of two women on the margin, looking to survive, praying for a break? What does the story of Ruth and Naomi teach us about the way we care for each other, about the way we structure our society? Where is grace to be gleaned in a story of famine?
Ruth and Naomi by He Qi - a colorful mass of shapes embracing each other

Sermon 05.31.2026: Famine, Foreign Lands, and Family

By Rev. Joann Lee • May 31, 2026
We begin a four-week series on the book of Ruth. In this first chapter we hear about how famine causes Naomi and her family to migrate to the land of Moab. There, they meet Ruth, who will forever change their lives as well as the very lineage of Christ. This story of personal loss and loyalty shows us how to welcome.
Saturated in Spirit (Acts 2:17) - 2020 Lauren Wright Pittman

Sermon 05.24.2026: Found In Translation

By Rev. Victor Floyd • May 24, 2026
God listens to our prayers. Our words? Not so much. God knows what's in our hearts, despite the words we choose. What if we, like the Holy Spirit, were to listen to what's underneath the noise? Perhaps then we could discover true common ground.
A large spacious sky, purple and pink, with the word EMPTY across it

Sermon 05.17.2026: Empty

By Rev. Marci Glass • May 17, 2026
Our passage from the Letter to the Philippians contains what is called the Christ Hymn. Perhaps they used it in worship. It is very poetic language about who Jesus was. Jesus is described in this hymn as someone who 'emptied himself'.

Sermon 05.10.2026: Yes, And I Will Rejoice

By Rev. Marci Glass • May 13, 2026
The apostle Paul experienced hardships for his preaching. He was imprisoned, kicked out of towns, and suffered harm. He was willing to talk about his struggles, but he never stopped there. It can be easy to see our struggles as the conclusion of a story. It can be more challenging to see them as a part of a bigger story. In Paul's letter to the Philippians, Paul reminds us to look for the bigger thread that weaves our stories together, and, in the midst of his suffering, he makes the decision to rejoice.
A vast purple mountain range covered in fog at dusk. The sun is setting a bright gold sunset behind.

Sermon 05.03.2026: Finding God in the Spaces We Do Not Yet Understand

By Guest Preacher Rev. Dr. Victor Aloyo • May 3, 2026
In a city crowded with idols and an altar dedicated to an unknown god, the Apostle Paul discovered that humanity's deepest restlessness is itself a longing for the One in whom we live, move, and have our being.
A colorful scene of Paul & Silas' prison encounter - © Paul Oman Fine Art

Sermon 04.26.2026: We Are All Here

By Rev. Victor Floyd • April 26, 2026
When the earthquake opens every door and every chain falls loose, Paul and Silas don’t run. That inexplicable refusal — we are all here — is what converts a jailer, and what might yet convert us.
Restored (The Conversion of Saul), Lisle Gwynn Garrity ] © A Sanctified Art

Sermon 04.19.2026: Second Acts

By Rev. Marci Glass • April 19, 2026
Paul’s conversion is one of the most dramatic stories in scripture. But if you had told 20 year old Paul that 2000 years later we would know him as the most prolific writer about Jesus, he would not have believed it. What a second act! Do we give people space to live their second acts?
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