The unbreakable unshakable covenant
Matthew 3: 13-17 New Ark United Church of Christ, Newark, DE January 11, 2026 Photo of two White children wearing denim and black t-shirts, holding a sign that reads "My Black friends matter". When I was doing sermon prep earlier this week, this question was asked in reference to the scripture in Matthew: Is there any form of sin you believe is inescapable in our current shared life? It’s a really good question, considering that we human beings keep repeating the same harmful patterns with one another. Greed, hubris, and the seemingly inevitable violence that follows readily come to mind even more so these days. We know that when fear and control are weaponized a bully is made, and bullies make more bullies. It is a pattern that continues to plague us because it is so difficult to interrupt, partly because we try to separate ourselves from those who bully and for good reason. But in the time that Jesus was preaching and teaching, there was no separating the individua...
