St. James Presbyterian Church Harlem
Easter Day & Easter Evening Bible Study  Companion Guide
Year A
 
This year’s Easter readings arrive not as a single proclamation, but as a chorus of resurrection voices. Rather than telling one story, the lectionary gathers multiple witnesses—prophets, psalms, apostles, and gospel storytellers—each offering a different window into what resurrection means. And perhaps that is the first surprise. Easter is not presented as one moment alone. Easter is presented as an unfolding reality. Morning begins at the empty tomb, and evening ends on the road to Emmaus. Between them, Scripture teaches us that resurrection is not only an event, it is a way of seeing, a way of living, and a way of becoming.
 
The Surprising Threads in This Year's Easter Readings
1.Resurrection Begins in the Dark — Not in Certainty
 
One of the most striking features of this year’s readings is that resurrection begins in the dark, not in certainty. John’s Gospel tells us that Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb while it is still dark. She does not come expecting resurrection. She comes expecting death. And yet resurrection is already happening. This pattern echoes throughout the readings. Jeremiah speaks of restoration while exile still lingers. Isaiah imagines a feast before victory is fully seen. The travelers on the road to Emmaus walk with Jesus without recognizing him. Again and again, resurrection is present before it is understood. The surprising witness of these texts is that resurrection often begins before we recognize it.
 
      2. Resurrection Is Recognized in Relationship
Another thread woven through these readings is that resurrection is recognized in relationship. Mary recognizes Jesus when he speaks her name. The disciples on the road to Emmaus recognize Jesus in the breaking of bread. Peter, in Acts, comes to understand resurrection through testimony and community. In each case, resurrection is not proven through argument. It is recognized through encounter. Mary hears her name. Travelers share bread. Communities listen to testimony. Isaiah envisions a feast for all peoples. Resurrection, in this lectionary gathering, is not solitary. Resurrection is communal. It is discovered in relationship, conversation, and shared life.
 
     3. Resurrection Is About the World — Not Just the Tomb
These readings also expand resurrection beyond the tomb and into the world. Acts 10 offers one of the most radical Easter proclamations in Scripture when Peter declares that God shows no partiality. Resurrection is not simply about Jesus rising from the dead. Resurrection is about boundaries falling. Jeremiah speaks of rebuilding vineyards and returning home. Isaiah envisions a feast prepared for all peoples. Psalm 118 celebrates communal deliverance and joy. Colossians calls believers to set their minds on new life and to live differently now. The surprise of this collection of texts is that Easter is not only about life after death. Easter is about life transformed in the present.
When these readings are gathered together, they create a remarkable resurrection arc. The morning begins with the empty tomb in John or Matthew, followed by new identity in Colossians, new community in Acts, and renewed hope in Jeremiah and Psalm 118. As the day moves toward evening, the readings shift toward recognition and transformation. Isaiah speaks of a feast where tears are wiped away. Psalm 114 recalls liberation and movement into freedom. First Corinthians calls for a new way of living, like fresh bread without old leaven. The Gospel of Luke ends the day on the road to Emmaus, where hearts burn and eyes open as Christ is recognized in the journey.
 
Together, these readings move us from surprise to recognition, from recognition to transformation, and from transformation to sending. This is not simply Easter Day. This is Easter formation. Resurrection unfolds in stages. It begins in darkness, grows in relationship, expands into community, and finally sends us into the world as witnesses to new life.
 
Three Reflective Questions for the Week
1.Where might resurrection already be happening in your life — even if you do not yet recognize it?
2. Who has spoken your name, broken bread with you, or walked with you — helping you see resurrection more clearly?
3. What boundaries in your life, your community, or your world might resurrection be inviting you to cross?
 
Three Practices for the Week
1. Practice Seeing Resurrection in the Ordinary
Each day this week, notice one small sign of life, hope, or renewal. Write it down. Let resurrection become something you learn to recognize.
2. Practice Naming Others
Mary recognized Jesus when he spoke her name. This week, intentionally speak encouragement, affirmation, or gratitude to someone by name. Let resurrection be heard in your voice.
3. Practice Walking with Others
Like the Emmaus travelers, resurrection appears on the road. Walk with someone this week — literally or figuratively. Listen deeply. Share stories. Watch for Christ revealed in the journey.
 
Closing Prayer of Thanksgiving
Risen Christ, you meet us in the dark before we understand. You call our names before we recognize you. You walk beside us before we see clearly. You are alive in quiet gardens, on dusty roads, and at shared tables where hearts begin to open.
We give you thanks for hope that rises before certainty, for joy that appears in unexpected places, and for love that crosses every boundary. You roll stones from our fears, open doors we thought were closed, and call us into resurrection living.
And so ,we rejoice with Mary in the garden, with travelers on the road, with prophets who dreamed, and with all creation singing: Christ is risen. Christ is alive. Christ is among us still.
 
Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.
 

Our Bible Study this week not only focus on the scriptures for Palm Sunday.  They will lead us into the Holy Week Season through to Holy Saturday.  Each year Pastor McQueen prepares a daily devotional to foster our sense of being in the moments with Jesus as we move towards the cross.  In this Lectionary Year A, we are rushed through the week as if we are watching headlines unfold right before our eyes, our television screens, our social media outlets!  Included here is a link to the Holy Week Scripture Guide with commentary by Dr. McQueen.

St. James invites you to join us in devotions and worship.  Please support our ministry by donating to our PayPal site on our home page.

Blessings on your journey,

​Rev. Derrick

St. James Presbyterian Church
Bible Study Companion Guide
Fifth Sunday in Lent — March 22, 2026
Theme: Unbind
 
Scriptures for the Week
Psalm 130            Ezekiel 37:1–14    Romans 8:6–11     John 11:1–45
 
Our Lenten Journey
Throughout Lent we have followed a spiritual path through the Gospel stories, guided by verbs that describe how Christ restores life.
                             *Standing * Lifting *Rising *Seeing

Now, in this final week before Holy Week, we arrive at the last movement of the season: *Unbinding.*

In the story of Lazarus, Jesus does not simply raise a man from the dead. He calls a community to participate in restoring someone to life by removing the grave clothes that still bind him. The scriptures this week explore how God meets people in places that feel exhausted, buried, or overwhelmed—and breathes life again.
 
Psalm 130 — Crying from the Depths
The Psalm for this week begins with a deeply human prayer: “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.”
Many people know what those depths feel like. They are the moments when life becomes heavy with grief, guilt, uncertainty, or exhaustion. Yet the psalm does not remain in despair. Instead, it slowly moves toward hope.

The writer speaks of waiting for God “more than watchmen wait for the morning.” Imagine someone standing through the long darkness of night, watching the horizon for the first light of dawn. Faith, the psalm suggests, often looks like this kind of waiting—trusting that light will come even when it cannot yet be seen.
 
Ezekiel 37:1–14 — When Hope Feels Lost
In Ezekiel’s vision, the prophet stands in a valley filled with dry bones. These bones represent a people who feel defeated and scattered. Israel is in exile, far from home, and many believe their future is finished.

God asks Ezekiel a haunting question: “Can these bones live?” The bones begin to come together. Flesh returns. But it is not until God’s breath—the Spirit—enters them that life truly returns. What once looked like the end becomes the beginning of restoration.

This vision reminds us that God is not intimidated by what appears lifeless or beyond repair. Where people see only dryness and loss, God sees the possibility of breath.
 
Romans 8:6–11 — The Spirit That Gives Life
In his letter to the church in Rome, Paul reflects on two ways of living. One way is shaped by fear, anxiety, and self‑protection. The other is shaped by the Spirit of God.

Paul’s message is hopeful: the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is already at work within believers. Resurrection is not only a promise for the future—it is a reality that begins now whenever God’s Spirit renews our hearts and imaginations. Life in the Spirit does not remove hardship, but it does open the possibility of peace, courage, and new beginnings.
 
John 11:1–45 — “Unbind Him”
The Gospel tells the story of Lazarus, a beloved friend of Jesus who has died. When Jesus arrives in Bethany, Martha and Mary are grieving deeply. In the midst of their sorrow, Jesus speaks a powerful truth: “I am the resurrection and the life.”

Standing before the tomb, Jesus calls out, “Lazarus, come out!” To everyone’s astonishment, Lazarus emerges alive. But he is still wrapped in burial cloths, the garments of the grave. Then Jesus turns to the people gathered there and gives them an instruction: “Unbind him, and let him go.”

The miracle does not end with Lazarus walking out of the tomb. It continues as the community helps remove what still holds him captive. In this way the story reminds us that resurrection is not only God’s work—it also calls us to help free one another from whatever keeps life from flourishing.
 
Reflection for the Week
Across these scriptures we see a common movement:
·      A cry from the depths.
·      Dry bones receiving breath.
·      The Spirit bringing life.
·      A community unbinding what death tried to hold.
 
Again and again the message is the same: God’s life is stronger than the places that feel final.
 
Questions for Prayer and Reflection
When have you experienced a season that felt like “the depths” described in Psalm 130?
1. Where in your life or community do things feel like “dry bones”?
2. What might it mean for you to participate in God’s work of unbinding others?
 
Practice for the Week
• Notice where life feels heavy or buried. Bring that place honestly before God in prayer.
• Offer encouragement to someone who may feel bound by grief, worry, or isolation.
• Spend a few moments each day in quiet waiting, allowing space for hope to rise.
 
Closing Prayer
God of breath and new life, when we cry from the depths, you hear us.
When hope feels scattered like dry bones, your Spirit moves again.
Teach us to trust your life at work within us and give us courage to help unbind one another from all that diminishes life.
Through Christ, the resurrection and the life. Amen.

​ST. JAMES PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Bible Study Companion Guide
Fourth Sunday in Lent – Year A
March 15, 2026
 
Opening Frame
We arrive now in the middle of Lent. The season has stretched long enough that its quiet questions begin to deepen. Scripture meets us again with stories that invite us to pause and look again — at the world, at one another, and at the ways God may be moving among us.
Across these readings we encounter shepherds and kings, darkness and light, questions and discovery. Some people in these stories believe they understand what they are seeing. Others slowly come to recognize that understanding takes time.
Lent often places us in that same space — between certainty and discovery, between what we assume and what we begin to perceive more clearly. These passages invite us to read slowly, listen carefully, and remain open to what may be revealed along the way.
1 Samuel 16:1–13
David Anointed
The prophet Samuel arrives in Bethlehem carrying both grief and uncertainty. Saul’s leadership has faltered, and Samuel has been sent to anoint a new king.
Jesse presents his sons one by one. Each seems strong and capable. Yet the one chosen is not among those first presented. David, the youngest, is still out in the field tending sheep.
When David is called in, Samuel anoints him with oil. It is a quiet moment within the household, not a public ceremony. Yet from that moment forward, something in David’s life begins to change.
Reflection
·      What details in this story stand out to you as you read it?
·      Why do you think the story pauses to describe each son before David appears?
·      Where do you see moments in life when something important begins quietly rather than publicly?
Psalm 23
The Shepherd’s Presence
Psalm 23 is one of the most familiar passages in Scripture. Its language speaks of care, rest, and guidance. Yet the psalm also acknowledges valleys of deep shadow and moments of uncertainty.
The psalm does not avoid difficult places. Instead, it speaks of companionship and presence while moving through them. The imagery shifts from green pastures to dark valleys to a table prepared in the presence of others.
Throughout the psalm, the voice of trust remains steady.
Reflection
·      Which images from this psalm speak most strongly to you today?
·      What do you notice about how the psalm moves between peaceful places and more difficult ones?
·      How does the idea of being guided or accompanied appear in your own life?
Ephesians 5:8–14
Living as Children of Light
This passage speaks about the way people grow into new ways of living together. The writer contrasts darkness and light and encourages the community to pay attention to what leads toward goodness, justice, and truth.
There is also an invitation to awaken — to notice things that may have been hidden or overlooked.
Many early Christians heard these words as a reminder that faith continues to shape how people live with one another day by day.
Reflection
·      What does the image of light suggest to you in this passage?
·      Where do you see goodness and truth being practiced in everyday life?
·      What might it mean for a community to encourage one another toward what brings life?
John 9:1–41
The Man Born Blind
This Gospel story unfolds over many conversations. It begins with a question from the disciples about suffering and responsibility. Jesus responds by shifting the conversation away from blame and toward what may be revealed through what happens next.
A man who has been blind receives his sight. Yet the story does not end there. Neighbors ask questions. Religious leaders investigate what has happened. Even the man’s parents are brought into the conversation.
As the story continues, people respond in different ways. Some are curious. Some are skeptical. Others begin to reconsider what they thought they understood.
The man at the center of the story tells what he experienced. The community around him wrestles with what it might mean.
Reflection
·      What moments in this story catch your attention?
·      How do different people respond to what has happened?
·      Why do you think the story includes so many conversations about the event?
A Thread Through the Readings
Across these passages we meet people trying to understand what is happening around them. Some arrive with confidence. Others are unsure. In each story, something unfolds that invites a second look.
A shepherd boy is chosen in a place where no one expected it. A familiar psalm speaks of guidance in both peaceful and difficult moments. A letter invites people to live with greater awareness and honesty. And in the Gospel story, one person’s experience leads an entire community into conversation about what they believe they see.
These stories remind us that faith often grows through questions, conversation, and careful attention to what is unfolding in our lives and communities.
Reading Together
Scripture has long been read in community. People gather, listen, ask questions, and share what they notice. Different voices bring different insights, and together those perspectives deepen understanding.
As you read these passages this week, notice what stands out to you, pay attention to the questions that arise, and listen to how others hear the story.
Practice for the Week
·      Notice moments when your first understanding of a situation changes after listening more carefully.
·      Pay attention to conversations that open the door to deeper understanding.
·      Reflect on where guidance or clarity may be appearing in unexpected ways.
Closing Prayer
Holy One, you meet us in our questions as well as in our moments of clarity. As we walk this Lenten path, teach us patience in our learning and generosity in our listening. Help us remain open to the voices and experiences that broaden our understanding. Guide us gently as we continue this journey together. Amen.


Please visit our YOUTUBE page for the Bible Study Discussion.

​ST. JAMES PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Bible Study Companion Guide
for March 08, 2026 Third Sunday in Lent – Year A
“When Thirst Speaks”
 
Opening FrameWe arrive at the middle of Lent in a season of holy disorientation. The days grow warmer. The clocks shift. The world trembles with uncertainty. Scripture meets us not in stability but in wilderness. Each text this week carries the language of thirst — physical thirst, spiritual thirst, communal thirst. Beneath them all is a deeper question: what do we do when thirst begins to speak?
Exodus 17:1–7 — Water From the RockIsrael has barely left Egypt when the wilderness exposes their fragility. Freedom has not erased vulnerability. They quarrel with Moses. They test the Holy One. They dare to ask the aching question: “Is the Lord among us or not?” Thirst does not make them evil; it makes them honest. The miracle is not only water from stone. The miracle is that provision appears in the very place of complaint. What felt like abandonment becomes encounter.
Reflection:
Where do you experience communal or personal dehydration?
What questions rise when resources feel scarce?
Psalm 95 — Hardened HeartsThe psalmist remembers the same wilderness and issues a warning: “Today, if you hear God’s voice, do not harden your hearts.” The danger in seasons of strain is not thirst alone; it is interior calcification. A hardened heart narrows compassion and resists possibility. This psalm invites responsiveness rather than certainty — a willingness to remain open even when answers are incomplete.
Reflection:
What might soften what has become rigid within you?
What voice are you being invited to hear today?
Romans 5:1–11 — The Architecture of HopePaul names a daring progression: suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope. Hope, he insists, does not disappoint. This is not denial of hardship; it is formation through it. Peace with God does not remove struggle but reframes it within relationship. Hardship becomes soil where something steadier can grow.
Reflection:
Where is endurance shaping you?
What kind of character is being formed in this season of tension?
John 4:5–42 — At the WellAt noon, under the weight of heat and exposure, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at a well. Boundaries are present — ethnic, gendered, theological — yet conversation begins. “Give me a drink.” What unfolds is not spectacle but recognition. She is seen. She is engaged. She is not shamed. Living water is spoken into ordinary space. Then something shifts. She leaves her water jar. She returns to the city. She speaks. The story does not end at the well; it expands outward. Encounter becomes movement, and movement reshapes community.
Reflection:
What jars are you carrying?
What might it mean to set something down in order to move differently?
Who in your life needs to hear what you have experienced?
Theological ThreadAcross these readings we notice a pattern: a community in need, a moment of encounter, and a movement beyond isolation. Water flows. Hope multiplies. Witness spreads. Provision is never meant to remain contained. The wilderness does not have the final word, nor does conflict, nor does fear. The Holy One meets thirst not only to quench it but to reshape a people through it.
Liberative LensIn times of geopolitical instability, public anxiety, and communal fatigue, thirst becomes collective. We thirst for safety, for truth, for trust between peoples, for moral clarity. John’s Gospel refuses to let revelation remain private. Encounter becomes testimony; testimony becomes communal transformation. Liberation is never solitary. The Samaritan woman is not removed from her context; she becomes a conduit within it. What begins as personal conversation ripples outward into shared awakening.
Practice for the Week1. Notice where you feel depleted — emotionally, spiritually, relationally.
2. Pay attention to moments of unexpected conversation or encounter.
3. Consider one concrete act that moves beyond private reflection into shared encouragement.
Small gestures matter. Listening matters. Presence matters.
Closing PrayerHoly One of wells and wilderness, You meet us in thirst and do not turn away from our questions. Soften what has hardened. Sustain what is weary. Shape endurance into hope. Guide us as we return to our communities bearing what we have received. Hold us steady in this Lenten journey until even the driest places become springs.