Believe: The Faith to Get into Position | Pastor Courtney Clayton Jenkins | January 4, 2026

About this sermon

January 4, 2025 Series: On Your Mark Title: Believe: The Faith to Get into Position Text: Mark 9: 14-29 (NLT) Preacher: Pastor Courtney Clayton Jenkins A new year does not begin with movement. It begins with readiness. This January, South Euclid United Church of Christ begins the year with a powerful new sermon series, On Your Mark. This four-week journey is a sacred invitation to slow down, set our pace, and prepare our hearts for what God is unfolding in 2026. Before we run, before we build, before we commit, God invites us to get into position. Across the month, we will explore what it means to Believe courageously, Belong deeply, and Become fully, so that when we step into this year, we are not rushing ahead or falling behind, but moving in rhythm with God’s vision for our lives and our sacred community. This series culminates in Declaration Sunday (1.25.26), where each worshipper will claim a guiding word for the year ahead, anchoring them for months of intentional, faithful motion. What if faith is not about having it all figured out, but about being willing to show up honestly? Join Courtney Clayton Jenkins as she opens the new year with a liberating word from Mark chapter 9, where a desperate parent prays one of the most honest prayers in scripture: “I believe. Help my unbelief.” This sermon is for anyone starting the year with hope and hesitation at the same time. This is not a message about perfect belief. It is about positioning yourself before God with what you actually have. Questions. Fear. Courage. Desire. Fatigue. Faith that feels unfinished. In this opening sermon of On Your Mark, you will discover that before God moves through us, God positions us. Faith is not performance. Faith is readiness. You will leave this worship experience with permission to begin again without pretending, clarity about what it means to stand in faith even when doubt is present, and a grounded understanding of how God meets us not at the finish line, but right where we are.

Topics

• Faith
• Leadership