Not What You Think: 

When the Story Turns… and So Do We

Worship Series October 5 - November 16


First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ in Randolph, MA invites the community into a seven-week worship series this fall that explores what happens when scripture takes a surprising turn… as well as how we, too, are called to turn.


Not What You Think engages stories from the Hebrew

Scriptures and the Gospel according to Luke where assumptions are overturned, villains become heroes, outsiders carry the blessing, and endings open into unexpected beginnings.


Each week invites us to reimagine faith not as static certainty, but as movement: shifting perspective, changing course, and embracing God’s future breaking into our present.


Sunday mornings at 10:00am EDT (onsite & online)

"Small Faith, Big Change" 

October 5

Not What You Think: 

When the Story Turns… and So Do We


What if faith doesn’t have to be enormous to be effective? What if even the smallest seed of faith can stir transformation?


This fall at First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ in Randolph, MA, we’re exploring scripture stories that don’t end the way we expect. Each week, we’ll look for God at work in ways that flip our assumptions upside-down - and open new possibilities for how we live, love, and act in the world.


Week One (Oct. 5)

Small Faith, Big Change

Habakkuk 1:1–4, 2:1–4 & Luke 17:5–10


This week, we’ll explore how even the smallest acts of courage and trust can spark transformation far bigger than we can imagine.


Worship begins at 10:00am EDT on Facebook, YouTube or here on our Website

"Healing Isn't the End" 

October 12

Not What You Think: 

When the Story Turns… and So Do We


What if the healing we seek doesn’t come from the sources we expect?


This fall at First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ in Randolph, MA, we’re exploring scripture stories that don’t end the way we expect. Each week, we’ll look for God at work in ways that flip our assumptions upside-down - and open new possibilities for how we live, love, and act in the world.


Week Two (Oct. 12)

Healing Isn’t the End

2 Kings 5:1–3, 7–15 & Luke 17:11–19


This week we’ll follow the story of Naaman, a powerful general humbled by a servant girl’s wisdom and a prophet’s strange command… and we’ll see how Jesus heals on the edges of community, reminding us that God’s love moves where we least expect.


Worship begins at 10:00am EDT  on Facebook, YouTube or here on our Website.

"Justice Looks Like Her" 

October 19

Not What You Think: 

When the Story Turns… and So Do We


Sometimes the most overlooked voices carry the deepest truth.


This fall at First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ in Randolph, MA, we’re exploring scripture stories that don’t end the way we expect. Each week, we’ll look for God at work in ways that flip our assumptions upside-down - and open new possibilities for how we live, love, and act in the world.


Week Three (Oct. 19)

Justice Looks Like Her

Genesis 32:22–31 & Luke 18:1–8


This week we’ll meet a widow who refuses to be ignored and Jacob who wrestles until blessing comes. Both show us that persistence in the struggle for justice is not weakness but holy strength.


Worship begins at 10:00am EDT on Facebook, YouTube or here on our Website.

"The Wrong One Was Right" 

October 26

Not What You Think: 

When the Story Turns… and So Do We


What if the hero of the story isn’t who we think it is?


This fall at First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ in Randolph, MA, we’re exploring scripture stories that don’t end the way we expect. Each week, we’ll look for God at work in ways that flip our assumptions upside-down - and open new possibilities for how we live, love, and act in the world.


Week Four (Oct. 26)

The Wrong One Was Right

Joel 2:23–32 & Luke 18:9–14


In Jesus’ parable, the religious leader gets it wrong, while the outcast gets it right. This week we’ll see how humility opens us to God — and how grace comes to those we least expect.


Worship begins at 10:00am EDT on Facebook, YouTube or here on our Website.

"He's the Villian... Or is he?

November 2

Not What You Think: 

When the Story Turns… and So Do We


Zacchaeus was a tax collector. A collaborator with empire. A villain, in the eyes of his community. And Jesus sees something else.


This fall at First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ in Randolph, MA, we’re exploring scripture stories that don’t end the way we expect. Each week, we’ll look for God at work in ways that flip our assumptions upside-down - and open new possibilities for how we live, love, and act in the world.


Week Five (Nov. 2)

He’s the Villain… Or Is He?

2 Thessalonians 1:1–4, 11–12 & Luke 19:1–10


This week we’ll discover how God’s love can transform even those we’ve written off, and how mercy makes room for redemption.


Worship begins at 10:00am EDT on Facebook, YouTube or here on our Website.

"What If Resurrection

Isn't the Point?"

November 9

Not What You Think: 

When the Story Turns… and So Do We


When religious leaders try to trap Jesus with questions about resurrection, he flips their assumptions upside-down.


This fall at First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ in Randolph, MA, we’re exploring scripture stories that don’t end the way we expect. Each week, we’ll look for God at work in ways that flip our assumptions upside-down - and open new possibilities for how we live, love, and act in the world.


Week Six (Nov. 9)

What If Resurrection Isn’t the Point?

Job 19:23–27a & Luke 20:27–38


This week we’ll wrestle with our own questions: What if resurrection is not only about life after death… but about living fully now in God’s presence?


Worship begins at 10:00am EDT on Facebook, YouTube or here on our Website.

"The Future Is Now"

November 16

Not What You Think: 

When the Story Turns… and So Do We


We often think of God’s promises as far off. But scripture points us to a new heaven and new earth breaking in already.


This fall at First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ in Randolph, MA, we’re exploring scripture stories that don’t end the way we expect. Each week, we’ll look for God at work in ways that flip our assumptions upside-down - and open new possibilities for how we live, love, and act in the world.


Week Seven (Nov. 16)

The Future Is Now

Isaiah 65:17–25 & Luke 21:5–19


On this Covenant Sunday, we’ll celebrate how God’s kin-dom is not what you think — it’s already unfolding here and now, in us and among us.


Worship begins at 10:00am EDT on Facebook, YouTube or here on our Website.