(716)741-3481 | Worship every Sunday @ 10:30 AM
(716)741-3481 | Worship every Sunday @ 10:30 AM
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St. Stephen’s UCC September 13, 2026
A Reflection on the Rock, the Rescue, and the Restoration
Today, our being here together carries a deep and sacred purpose. We join in collective memory, pausing to look back twenty-five years to September 11, 2001—a day that shook the foundations of our world and broke our hearts with unimaginable loss
We come here to honor the thousands of lives cut short, to wrap the grieving in our prayers, and to revere the 343 brave firefighters and first responders who ran toward the fire so that others might live.Let us lift our voices, quiet our minds, and open our hearts to our God who is our shelter and our eternal strength. As St. Augustine once remarked:
“God loves each of us as though there were only one of us.”
When earthly towers crumble down to dust,
And everything we built begins to shake,
We look to where we place our deepest trust,
And find the promise God will never break.
Through heavy smoke, three hundred forty-three
Stepped straight into the fire, calm and brave.
For people they would never live to see,
They gave up everything they had to save.
Though pain and empty chairs remain behind,
And grief can feel too heavy to endure,
A deeper hope is what we’re meant to find,
The promise of His healing love is sure.
So let us stand upon the Rock above,
And walk together in this fearless love.
In the love of Christ,
Ned
St. Stephen’s UCC August 2, 2026
Lamb of God and the Table of Grace
John 1:29-34; 1 Peter 1:18, 19; 2: 24, 25.
The apostle Peter draws us close. He reminds us that we were ransomed, with the precious blood of Christ—like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. This is the gospel-the good news: a perfect life given for imperfect people. A spotless Lamb for a stained humanity.
Jesus, the Lamb, Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree. By His wounds you have been healed. This is personal mercy. Your sin borne. Your wounds addressed. Your soul restored.
Our merciful God gives us a gift – a way to witness and receive it.
That gift is Holy Communion. At this Table, the Lamb of God is set before us—not crucified again, but remembered, proclaimed, and truly given to us in grace. And Christ says, “This is my body, given for you. This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of sin.” What was accomplished once for all on the cross is now placed into your hands as a promise. Not repeated. But received. God takes what is ordinary—bread and cup—and fills it with extraordinary grace. Communion is not for the perfect; it is for the ransomed—that is, for you and for me.
Witness the Lamb of God—not just to be seen, but to be received.
Taste and see that the Lord is good!
Witness the Lamb in silent mercy given,
Whose wounded side pours grace upon the earth;
The spotless Son, the sacrifice of heaven,
Through death bestows a sinner’s second birth.
Our griefs He bears, our wandering souls he claims,
The weight of sin upon His shoulders laid;
Love writes redemption in eternal flames,
And darkness trembles at the price He paid.
Yet still He calls us to His sacred feast,
Where broken bread reveals His living grace,
The cup declares the covenant increased,
And mercy meets us, face to wounded face.
O Lamb of God, our hearts in awe proclaim:
Through bread and cup, we know your saving name.
Ned Holderby August 02, 2026 Lamb and communion
In the love of Christ,
Ned
St. Stephen’s UCC Our Covenant Keeper-Turn to Him July 19, 2026
Deuteronomy 7:9; Luke 22:20
In Jesus Christ, the covenant Keeper, our Father, God, fulfills His promise in a way that defies human expectation. The Son of God steps into our place, bearing the fullness of sin that we could never overcome on our own. This is not earned. It is not achieved. It is a gift—costly beyond measure, yet freely given.
Redemption, then, is not simply rescue from consequence; it is a grace-filled gift flowing directly from the heart of our heavenly Father. The covenant is not only maintained—it is fulfilled, secured, and sealed through Christ. What we could not carry, He has carried. What we could not repair, He has restored.
God’s desire, therefore, is not that we turn to Him only when everything else fails. He calls us to something deeper—to make Him our first response, not our last resort.
In joy, we are to thank Him; in sorrow, to trust Him; in all things, to walk with Him.
For the same God who gave His Son to bear our sin is the God who walks with us daily in covenant love. This is the invitation before us: to live in constant awareness of His grace, to respond in every season by turning first toward the One who has already given us everything: Our covenant-keeping God has already proven His love in Christ; so whatever season we face, let Him be our first response.
We drift from God when everything feels right,
And call His name when life begins to break;
We rest in ease and slowly lose our sight,
Then question Him with every step we take.
Yet who can grasp the love He chose to give?
Our sin, passed down through every soul and line,
Was placed on Christ, that we in Him might live—
A burden lifted by God’s love divine.
The covenant stands firm, though we fall short;
Fulfilled in Christ, who took our place in grace;
Redemption flows—not earned, but freely brought,
A gift no human effort could replace.
So turn to Him in all, not last but first—
For grace has met our need, our sin, our thirst.
Ned Holderby Sunday July 19, 2026 covenant keeper
In the love of Christ,
Ned
St. Stephen’s UCC July 26, 2026
Jesus, the Lamb of God
Who Takes Away the Sin of the World
In the Old Testament, we see the pattern again and again. In Abraham’s story, God provides the lamb. In the Passover, God provides protection. In Isaiah, God shows us a servant who suffers for others. All of this prepares us to understand Jesus. He is not just another teacher, and He is not only a moral example. He is the one God sends to deal with our hereditary sin at its root.
The heart of the Gospel is wonderfully simple and deeply holy:
Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, takes away our sin.
That is not just a theme for theology;
it is good news for ordinary life. It is the heart of the good news!
O Lamb of God, before the world began,
You stood in love, prepared to bear our grief;
When sin had marred the heart of every man,
You came to bring the broken soul relief.
O Lamb of God, we bless Your holy name,
For You have borne the burden of our sin;
The guilt that bound us, You have put to shame,
And opened wide the door of life within.
We sheep astray, You sought us in our night;
The wounded heart, You touched with gentle grace;
You called us from the shadows into light,
And taught our souls to live before Your face.
Now may our lives reflect Your love anew,
Till every tongue in earth and heaven above
With humble hearts that serve and follow You;
Proclaims the triumph of redeeming love.
Be praised, O Christ, the Lamb upon the throne;
In You we live, and You are ours alone.
Ned Holderby July 26, 2026 Lamb of God
In the love of Christ,
Ned
You never know which goodbye is the last ordinary one. So
treat every goodbye like it deserves your full attention.
Jeremiah 29:4–7; Matthew 5:1-12
As this 250th anniversary celebration echoes across the land, what should Christians do? We can pray with hope.
We can celebrate with gratitude. We can reflect with honesty. We can engage with humility. We can remember that our deepest identity is not American, or British, or anything else—our deepest identity is beloved children of God, citizens of a kingdom that cannot be shaken.
The United States is 250 years old. The Church is 2,000 years old. The kingdom of God is eternal. So, we stand in this moment with perspective. We honor the good. We lament the harm. We commit ourselves to the work of peace. And we trust that Christ, the Prince of Peace, is still guiding His people to be salt and light in the land where we live.
May God bless this nation—not with triumph, but with wisdom. Not with pride, but with humility. Not with comfort, but with courage. Not with nostalgia, but with justice. Not with self‑interest, but with compassion. And may God bless us, the Church, with the grace to be peacemakers in a world that desperately needs peace.
O Christ, whose kingdom does not rise by war,
You call us from the noise of nations’ pride;
You teach us how to see our land once more
With grateful hearts, yet truth we cannot hide.
For every blessing woven through these years,
For freedoms cherished, voices lifted high—
We offer thanks. Yet still we name with tears
The wounds of history we cannot deny.
So, shape our love with mercy’s steady hand;
And guide us in the way our feet should move.
Make us Your peace within this restless land,
A people marked by grace, not fear, but love.
And as we come to share Your feast anew,
Bind us as one—our hope, our peace, in You.
Ned Holderby July 5, 2026 communion
As we gather on this turning of the year, the summer solstice,
we stand in awe that time itself moves at God the Father’s command,
and we are privileged to witness once again the faithful rhythms of His creation.”
Summer Solstice Sonnet
When sunlight lingers long upon the land,
we feel the quiet strength of God’s design—
the turning earth held gently in His hand,
the seasons moving to His faithful line.
The longest day leans wide into the light,
a witness to the One who never fades;
whose mercy rises fresh with every night,
whose love outshines the shadows we have made.
So let this day remind us as we stand:
our lives are kept within His changeless hand.
Ned Holderby June 21, 2026 Solstice Sunday
Galatians 4:4-7
“Abba” is intimate, yes — but it is also reverent, steady, and strong. It is the language of relationship, not dependency; of trust, not naïveté. And on Father’s Day, that reminds us that God is not a sentimental “Daddy” but a faithful Father who will not fail us.
The Father Who Delights
We chase the roles the world tells men to claim—
To stand as strong protectors, never weak;
To bear the weight of worth in work and name,
And hide the tender truths we dare not speak.
Yet Christ reveals a different kind of might:
A love that guards with mercy, not with fear;
A strength that provides presence more than height,
A leading born of listening hearts that hear.
So shape us, Abba, in Your wiser ways—
Where men find joy in love, not in control.
Make us Your sons who live to give You praise,
And learn delight is what makes fathers whole.
For in Your love, our truest manhood stands—
The Father who delights in His own hands.
Ned Holderby Father’s Day June 21, 2026
In the love of Christ,
Ned
May 17, 2026
Yahweh Sabaoth – The LORD of Hosts
Psalm 46:1-7, 10,11; Acts 1:9-11; Revelation 19:11-16
Matthew 26:23
When Psalm 46:10 commands us to “Be still, and know that I am God,”
it is not a call to casual relaxation.
In the original Hebrew, “Be still” means to “let our hands drop.”
It means surrender. It means to stop frantic, anxious striving.
Why can we let our hands drop today?
Why can we stop worrying?
Because the Christ who died for us has ascended to the throne.
Because He is currently ruling as the LORD of hosts.
Because He is returning in absolute power to set all things right.
The Commander of heaven’s armies has filled our refuge,
secured our future, and He is standing with us
right now in the midst of the storm.
The Throne of Sabaoth
The pillars of the world may shake and slide,
The raging oceans roar against the shore,
Yet in the high tower shall His church abide,
Secure within the fortress evermore.
The LORD of Hosts, who numbers every star,
Who rules the angel armies with a breath,
Has broken through our dark and earthly war,
To strip the crown from sin and vanquish death.
Behold Him now, ascended to the height,
Enthroned in glory, Captain of our peace;
He soon shall split the clouds in blinding light,
With heavenly hosts, whose triumphs never cease.
So drop our hands, be still, and fear no cost:
Our refuge stands—the King of kings is Host.
Ned Holderby May 17, 2026 Yahweh Sabaoth -The LORD of Hosts
In the love of Christ,
Ned
It has been said that the imitation of Christ is the mark of the true Christian. Join us in our seeking to imitate Christ in all aspects of our daily lives. Our lives are as varied as people are varied, yet our lives are bound together as one seeking to imitate Christ and to love as he has and does love us. We know that because of the Cross, death is in fact life eternal.
Imitate Christ — be a true Christian!
Even in a season of reflection, joy has a way of finding us. It slips in through a kind word, a remembered promise, or a moment of unexpected peace. This Sunday reminds us that joy is not the opposite of Lent — it is one of God’s gifts along the way.
Prayer: Giver of joy, open our hearts to the quiet gladness You place in our path. Let joy strengthen us for the journey. Amen.