Sermons & Worship from October 2021
Enriched by Christ
Scripture: I Corinthians 1:1-9 I want to talk to you today about salvation which I know will immediately make some of you squirm uncomfortably. We mainline Christians don’t like to talk about salvation much because the word has been so misused that it makes us uncomfortable. It reeks of the street corner evangelist who suggests that all you have to do is say the words, “I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior,” and you will get a free…
Humus and Humility
By John Buckwalter, a member of UUC who preaches from time to time. Scripture: Philippians 2:1-11 Those who know the Buckwalters well know that we love gardening. I focus on vegetables and trees; Laurel does the flowers. This week I planted garlic and wrapped some young tree trunks to prevent winter damage, and she pulled out dying annuals and trimmed exhausted perennial stalks. We love the rewards of cooperating with nature, working within its limits to nurture plants to produce…
Trips and Journeys
Scripture: Acts 11:19-26; Galatians 2:7-13 Introduction to scripture: I have been preaching this fall through the historical periods of the Hebrew scriptures, talking about the faith lessons the Bible wants us to learn from those periods and we are now going to turn to the Christian scriptures, the New Testament. While the Hebrew scriptures form 2/3 of our Bible and cover a period of about 2000 years, the New Testament, the last 1/3 of our Bible, covers only about 100…
If You Can’t Say Something Nice…
Scripture: Sirach 5:9-12; James 1:19-26 Introduction to scripture: I have been preaching through the Hebrew Scriptures and the historical periods of the Jewish people, and before we turn to the New Testament next week, I want to look briefly at a genre of biblical writings that don’t fit easily into a historical category and that is the genre of Wisdom writings. The biblical wisdom writings are those writings that are less concerned about sweeping theological arguments or historical events and…
The Blessing of the Animals
Scripture: Job 12:7-8 Tomorrow, October 4th, is the Feast of Saint Francis in the Catholic Church and so today around the globe many churches are participating in the ceremony of the Blessing of the Animals dedicated to his memory. St. Francis is one of those cross-over saints who has become popular among Protestants as well as Catholics because of his dedication to the other creatures with whom we share this planet. Born in Italy in 1181, Francis renounced his wealth…