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Read Sermons & Prayers Christmas Past, Present, Future: The Specter of Christmas Past Isaiah 9:1-7 One of my absolute favorite things every December was to watch A Christmas Carol. I was absolutely enthralled by the three ghosts. And the character Ebenezer Scrooge, that miserly, skin-flinted sort, was on the one hand pathetic and sad, and yet somehow endearing. When he finally transformed, he represented something joyful—triumphant even. This year, during Advent, we’re going to look at Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future. For the people Sermons & Prayers Rev. Dr. Thomas Evans 2 hours ago 5 min read Advent Reflection: Christmas Past, Present, and Future And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. - Luke 2:10-11 This year during Advent, we will look together at Christmas past, Christmas present, and Christmas future . Many of you will remember the beloved tale by Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, in which the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, is a miserly and bitter Sermons & Prayers Rev. Dr. Thomas Evans Nov 24 3 min read The Operatic Drama of Scripture The music we are about to hear is an oratorio from Rome in the 1640s. The word “oratorio” really means a sacred opera. There may not be costumes or stage machinery, but the music and emotions are genuinely operatic, and they are uniquely suited to express the operatic qualities of this story from the Old Testament. The story comes from the Book of Judges, Chapter 11. Jephte, or Jephthah, was a judge: a leader of Israel in the years before Saul became Israel’s first king. Now Sermons & Prayers Dr. Raymond Nagem Nov 23 3 min read Prayers of Thanksgiving, Intercession, and Petition Shared during Sunday Worship on November 16, 2025. Almighty and all vulnerable God, Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer We come to you in prayer today, turning towards you to learn how we might become stewards of your mysteries. In this stewardship season, we have reflected upon your calling upon all of our lives, to commit not just a portion of our wealth, but instead our entire lives to you. As we contemplate how we may recommit ourselves to you, we pray for this church’s m Sermons & Prayers Rev. Caroline Unzaga Nov 16 2 min read Stewards of the Mysteries of God 1 Corinthians 4:1 This is Stewardship Sunday, you are deciding what your financial gift to the Church is for the next year. And clearly, this is a part of what Stewardship Sunday is about. But this morning, I hope we will all discover that it's something much more profound, important to your faith, to Brick's mission, and the call of Jesus. Stewardship obviously comes from the word steward. For a moment, let's erase the word stewardship from our minds. And imagine that we h Sermons & Prayers Rev. Dr. Thomas Evans Nov 13 8 min read Love One Another John 13:34–35 Near the end of the Last Supper, after Jesus has washed the disciples’ feet, he tells them, “ Love one another as I have loved you .” The Greek word here, allelon , means “one-anothering.” This word appears over a hundred times in the New Testament. Jesus tells us to: Wash one another’s feet. Greet one another with a holy kiss. Do not judge one another. Be at peace with one another. Build up one another. Be devoted to one another. All this is to be done in the Sermons & Prayers Rev. Dr. Thomas Evans Nov 6 3 min read Servants in Action John 13:1-9 Jesus is facing the most difficult time of His life. The religious authorities have not only rejected His interpretation of the Scriptures but have viewed Him as a fundamental threat to their power. The people have seen His miracles, but John tells us they did not believe Him, and even the ones that did refused to profess it openly for fear of retribution. He knows not only will one of His disciples betray Him, but the others will scatter, and His most trusted d Sermons & Prayers Rev. Dr. Thomas Evans Oct 30 5 min read Worship in the Presbyterian Tradition: A Holy Priesthood I Peter 2:1-10 We are a holy priesthood, Peter tells us. An extremely lofty honorific which we are sure does not fit us. In fact, I imagine we simply dismiss this statement out of hand. Peter is wrong. There is nothing especially holy about any of us compared to anyone else in this world, and certainly you and I are not performing priestly, cultic duties. Mesopotamian ancient priests would sacrifice a sheep and take a close look at its liver to reveal God’s will. The oracle Sermons & Prayers Rev. Dr. Thomas Evans Oct 24 5 min read Worship in the Presbyterian Tradition: The Majesty of Music Revelation 4:1-11 During seminary, Wendy and I spent one summer in Tupper Lake, New York, where I served as an intern at a country... Sermons & Prayers Rev. Dr. Thomas Evans Oct 10 7 min read 1 2 3 4 5 More Transcripts

Welcome to Brick Church Many of you will remember the beloved tale by Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, in which the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, is a miserly and bitter man. For this Advent, we will explore Dickens’s story and the timeless Biblical themes he wove throughout it: our human brokenness, the power of God’s redemption, and the hope and joy we find in the birth of our Lord. Click here to read more about our new ministry theme, “Christmas Past, Present, and Future” from Senior Minister Thomas Evans. We are a community growing in love for God, one another, and the world. Please join us! SU N DAY Sunday Worship Service 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM The Sanctuary 1140 Park Avenue New York, NY 10128 07 DEC Park Avenue Tree Lighting 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM Sanctuary Steps 1140 Park Avenue New York, NY 10128 Prayer Service for Peace and Light immediately following. Click here for the song list. 14 DEC Service of Lessons & Carols 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM Reception to follow the Service of Lessons and Carols. The Sanctuary 1140 Park Avenue New York, NY 10128 21 DEC Children's Christmas Pageant 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM Watson Hall 62 East 92nd Street New York, NY 10128 24 DEC Christmas Eve + Day Services Dec 24 | 4:00 PM | Christmas Eve Family Service Dec 24 | 10:00 PM | Candlelight Communion Service Dec 25 | 11:00 AM | Christmas Day Service The Sanctuary 1140 Park Avenue New York, NY 10128 Announcements Share Your Voice with the APNC: Anonymous Feedback Share Your Voice - Anonymously As we continue our search for new Associate Pastors, the APNC wants to hear your perspective. Please take a few moments to share your thoughts, reflections, hopes or questions through our anonymous feedback form. Engage the APNC Directly The APNC is actively listening and we welcome your direct feedback and referrals. If you’d like to suggest a name for consideration or tell us what you believe is essential in our next Associate Pastor(s), plea Nov 23 Be An Angel this Christmas: Toy Drive Help make Christmas merry and bright for families who could use a little lift this year! Select an angel ornament from the tree, shop from the wish list, and tape the ornament to your wrapped gift. Please return gifts to the Garden Room by December 12 . You can also make an online donation via the link here , and we will do the heavy lifting! Nov 9 Audition for Disney's Mary Poppins Audition for Disney's Mary Poppins! CLICK HERE TO REGISTER TO AUDITION Join us for a SUPER (califragilisticexpialidocious) show at the Brick Church Community Theater. Calling adults, children, caregivers, and families to perform in this beloved classic musical. Auditions for Mary Poppins are being held on Saturday, December 6th from 12-5pm. Don't miss this unique opportunity to take part in a cross generational experience and play a role in our community's story. Step (bac Nov 6 Welcome Rev. Beth Putney! Rev. Beth Putney joins Brick Church as Interim Associate Minister, supporting Youth, General Pastoral, and Deacon Ministries. She comes to us from Pasadena, California, where she served as the inaugural Jeff & Lynn O’Grady Pastoral Resident for Theology and Culture at San Marino Community Church. The interdisciplinary nature of that residency deepened her understanding of ministry as an intergenerational calling. Rev. Putney is eager to journey with our congregation and to co Oct 27 Pickleball at The Brick Church Join us in Watson Hall for fun and fellowship on the court! Sessions are offered for all levels: Beginner & Intermediate on Mondays (4:00–6:00 PM) and Saturdays (10:00 AM–12:00 PM), Advanced play on Mondays (6:00–8:00 PM), and a Church Members-only session with instruction for beginners on Thursdays (4:00–5:30 PM). Oct 24 Prayer Shawl Ministry - Volunteers Needed With God’s helping hands, our Prayer Shawl Ministry has lovingly created more than 700 shawls since its inception — over 50 just this... Oct 8 Share Your Feedback: APNC Discussion Forums The Associate Pastor Nominating Committee (APNC) is eager to hear more from Brick members as we review Brick's current ministry and seek... Oct 7 Audition for the Christmas Pageant! Children 3-years-old through 7th grade are invited to celebrate Advent and Christmas by participating in the Brick Church... Oct 6 New York Common Pantry: Turkey Drive Brick Church and NY Common Pantry are working together to feed New York families this Thanksgiving. Your support is crucial! We are... Oct 5 1 2 3 4 5 Brick Links Login Watch Calendar Join Give We can't wait to greet you! 1/7 Learn More

Isaiah 9:1-7   One of my absolute favorite things every December was to watch  A Christmas Carol.  I was absolutely enthralled by the three ghosts. And the character Ebenezer Scrooge, that miserly, skin-flinted sort, was on the one hand pathetic and sad, and yet somehow endearing. When he finally transformed, he represented something joyful—triumphant even. This year, during Advent, we’re going to look at Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future. For the people in Jesus’ time, they were looking to—not Christmas past—but the ages past, especially the passages written by the prophet Isaiah: a hoped-for Messiah. And it’s because, as Isaiah tells us, the people walked in darkness. In fact, it was a land of deep darkness. Their primary foe, the Assyrian Empire, ruled by Tiglath-Pileser III, was seeking to make vassal states of any neighboring countries. He had already conquered parts of Israel and eventually destroyed them. King Ahaz was asked to join a coalition to stand against this threat, but he feared a diminution of his power and did not trust his neighbors. In the midst of this horrible socio-political context, Isaiah offers a resounding sense of hope while calling people to trust in God not political alliances. This was the hope that Mary and Joseph and all the Jewish people looked to—a time of endless peace brought by the Messiah. When the Ghost of Christmas Past transported Scrooge, he encountered some very fond and painful memories. He saw his sister, who came to him at school to take him back home and said, “Father is so much better now.” We are given a clear sense that Scrooge’s was not a happy childhood and that the death of his sister scarred him deeply. There was Fezziwig, his old boss, who brought a tremendous sense of joy to all those around him. Even Scrooge admitted that his was a talent that money couldn’t replace. And then, of course, we are enchanted by his fiancée, Belle, who was all sweetness and light. We are treated to scenes of great happiness between the two. But as his career ambitions grow, his love of money replaces his love for Belle. And she tells him the hard truth:“You fear the world too much,” she answered gently. “All your other hopes have merged into the hope of being beyond the chance of its sordid reproach. I have seen your nobler aspirations fall off one by one, until the master-passion, Gain, engrosses you.” There are dozens of fond memories many of us have of Christmases past—of Clement C. Moore’s  The Night Before Christmas ,  Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer , and candlelight services singing  Silent Night. But do you remember what you hoped for? What you ached for? For me, as a teenager, it was a world without a nuclear arms race. That’s what was pressing upon my mind—the threat of annihilation—and a wish in my heart that such technology had never been discovered. And following on the heels of the Civil Rights Movement, it was a hope that our world could find a way to take hold of the joy and light of Christmas that perhaps might spill over into the whole year. That sense of brotherhood and sisterhood that made every encounter something holy and hopeful. It is easy to take hold of nostalgia, admittedly, when we look at the past. Even the authors of the Bible did it. They yearned for the days of old, when God spoke to people like Moses face-to-face and when God’s miracles were as common as the dew on the morning grass. They felt robbed of God’s presence, of God’s wisdom and God’s guidance. Of course it was there all along; they simply ignored it. The role of the prophet in ancient Israel was not truly about telling the future; rather it was to offer warnings. If the people failed to heed God’s word disaster would come. The fifth chapter of Isaiah is a lament which gives us a wonderful glimpse of how deep God’s love for Israel was, and the broken heart that ensues from the lack of faithfulness. God had planted this wonderful vineyard of Israel, and it begins,  I will sing for my beloved, my love song concerning his vineyard: For God blessed them with so much: The law. The Ten Commandments. Instructions on how to worship God properly. Guidance to care for and love their neighbor. How to be a host of refugees in their land—the list goes on and on. And instead, they were filled with moral corruption and idol worship and kings who drew them even further away. And so, the people are warned  Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes  (Isa. 5:20). This is the sense we have of Scrooge. Without his beloved Belle, there was nobody to serve as his conscience, nobody to check his greed, nobody to calm his anger. And his wretched character festered with duplicitous degenerated depravity. Thus, Dickens described him as “a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone; a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner.” And as a result, Scrooge was alone in the world. As Dickens wrote, “Even the blind men’s dogs appeared to know him; and when they saw him coming on, would tug their owners into doorways and up courts.” This is what the people in Isaiah’s time lacked—a benevolent presence to guide and direct. King Ahaz, instead of trusting in the Lord, looking for support and guidance, direction and strength and courage looked to the Assyrian Empire of all places (like being in league with Darth Vader)! He formed an alliance with their greatest enemy! And it not only doomed Ahaz but doomed the people as well. There are things about our past, as a country, that we might do well to return to: A slower pace that lacked rampant commercialism A greater sense of safety Community that cooperated and cared Those mom-and-pop stores that made shopping a time to meet friends The absence of social media which gives a megaphone to cynicism and vitriol Dinner at the table as a family! A greater devotion to God. But we should not be too trapped in returning to the past. For we know that there were many people left out in the cold literally and figuratively. Isaiah too lived in such a time; he tells us the leaders “grind the face of the poor” and that widows and orphans were neglected and unjust laws crushed the needy. The failure to care for the poor and the outcast always goes hand in hand with the failure to properly worship God. It was true in Mary’s time as well. And I believe it is true in ours as well. Our land has too many resources to have so many people struggling. Isaiah reminded the people that their hope would not spring from political alliances but from godly devotion and trust. This would lead to a flourishing not only for Israel but for all people. He showed us that trust in God expands the circle of compassion beyond our borders and tribes. The greatest lesson perhaps we can draw from Isaiah is that there is always hope when we have the courage to look to God. So let us be guided not by our own devices but by a Wonderful Counselor, a Mighty God, an Everlasting Father and a Prince of Peace. Amen.

Shared during Sunday Worship on November 16, 2025. Almighty and all vulnerable God, Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer We come to you in prayer today, turning towards you to learn how we might become stewards of your mysteries.  In this stewardship season, we have reflected upon your calling upon all of our lives, to commit not just a portion of our wealth, but instead our entire lives to you.   As we contemplate how we may recommit ourselves to you, we pray for this church’s ministries.  We give you thanks for the opportunities to enjoy and contribute to the music and worship ministries, the children’s and youth ministries, adult faith formation ministries, our student ministries, our outreach to the underserved here in the city of New York and in the world, and for the way that we also pray and provide congregational care for those who suffer within this community. We also thank you for all the opportunities for fellowship and growing as a community.  We thank you that you have called each one of us to join in the work.  We pray for the leadership of this congregation, who continue to shape the ways in which we become a beacon of light and hope for the city and the world. As stewards of your mysteries, we are called to turn towards the pain of the world.   We lift up to you in this time all those who are suffering.  We pray for those who lack their daily bread, for those who experience violence, for those who live in fear and uncertainty, for those who are sick, for those who are grieving, both here in our city and in our world.  Help us to respond with open hearts to those in need. Finally, we lift up our own personal petitions, for ourselves and for those we hold most dear, we lift up the material, emotional and spiritual needs that we carry in our hearts and we name them before you in this silence. We thank you, God, because you are the ultimate steward of your mysteries, and the most profound mystery is that you promise that you will never leave or forsake us.  We lift all these things to you, in your Son’s powerful name, Amen.

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. - Luke 2:10-11 This year during Advent, we will look together at  Christmas past, Christmas present, and Christmas future . Many of you will remember the beloved tale by Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, in which the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, is a miserly and bitter man. He has pushed everyone out of his life and becomes a profoundly broken person. Through the story, three ghosts visit him - from Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Yet to Come, - and his heart is transformed.   For this Advent, we will explore Dickens’s story and the timeless Biblical themes he wove throughout it: our human brokenness, the power of God’s redemption, and the hope and joy we find in the birth of our Lord.   Christmas Past   Christmas past points us to the very first Christmas when Jesus was born. The world then was marked by poverty, isolation, and judgment. Those same realities shaped Dickens’s own time, and they remain painfully visible in ours, where a vast divide in wealth means that those living on the margins continue to suffer deeply.   With the  Ghost of Christmas Past , we remember that Mary rejoiced at the coming of the Messiah because she believed with all her heart that Jesus would transform the world, especially for the neglected and forgotten.  Dickens sought to make the same point. You may recall Scrooge's cold response when he is asked to support the poor, suggesting that if they were to die, they should do so “and decrease the surplus population.” His spirit is frozen by a worldview that rejects compassion.   Christmas Present   Then we look at  Christmas Present . Scrooge sees the humble home of Bob Cratchit, his wife, and of course Tiny Tim. Though they live with very little, they discover joy in what they have: love, family, and gratitude. Their poverty does not diminish their hope.   Christmas present invites us to recognize the gifts God has placed in our lives today - family, church, community, and the presence of Christ among us. It also calls us to be mindful of those in need right now, to bring hope through feeding the hungry, clothing the cold, and living as Jesus lived in honor of his birth.   Christmas Future   Finally, the spirit of  Christmas future  is the specter Scrooge fears most. He sees that, because of his greed and hardness of heart, his life has become spiritually bankrupt. When he discovers that the un-mourned man whose death others are discussing is himself, he finally sees the truth: he must change.   So we ask: What do we want Christmas future to look like in New York City? Five years from now? Ten years? By the year 2033?   What do we desire for every child who wakes up on Christmas morning? A loving home? A safe place to live? Enough food? Joy? Belonging?   If we want that future, we must begin building it now.   The Joy of Christmas Morning   On Christmas Day, when Ebenezer awakes, he shocks the whole world. He has, indeed, fundamentally changed his character through repentance and redemption. The message is that we too can be changed from the inside out.   Whatever anger lives in our hearts, whatever hatred, brokenness, or cynicism keeps us from being people filled with the joy of Jesus, the hope of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit - whatever has wounded or hardened us - the joy of Christmas morning proclaims that Jesus is born into our lives. It is the joy of redemption through his life and the hope we can all experience as we sing,  “Joy to the world, the Lord has come.”  Amen.   Prayer of Confession:  Lord, You came into the world to bring good news of great joy for all people. But we have held onto the joy of Your grace, and we have failed to extend Your compassionate relief to the hungry, the alone, and the afraid. By Your powerful spirit, change our hearts to bring Christmas joy to the world. Amen.