Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Matthew 4:8-11
The service at Newton Highlands Congregational Church, UCC, on February 22, 2026, the first Sunday of Lent, opened with the choral introit “Hear My Prayer,” sung by the church choir.
The choir also sang the Lenten anthem “Turn Thy Face From My Sins.”
The Reverend Dr. Ken Baily discussed Jesus’ admonition to choose God’s way, not the devil’s way. Positing that people may spread evil with “just a touch,” the Reverend Baily asked that instead we “touch each other with endurance and morality.”
For the postlude, organist Yevgenia Semeina played Lenten Recessional in “Llangloffan” (F. Ashdown).