Sermons & Worship (Page 26)

A Short Reflection on Rally Day

Scripture: Jeremiah 31:2-9, 33-34 Traditionally Rally Day has been the start of our Sunday School year when we not only launch our program year but dedicate our Sunday School teachers. Because of Covid, we were unable to have Sunday School last year and this year is still undecided but just because we haven’t had a formal Sunday School program in a while doesn’t mean that no teaching has been going on. In fact, I believe that when a congregation is…

David and Goliath

Scripture: I Samuel 17 I am preaching through the historical periods of the Hebrew scriptures and the lessons we are supposed to draw from each of them. In the stories of the father and mother of our faith — Abraham and Sarah — we learn that what seems impossible to people is possible with God. In the story of the Exodus, the Bible tells us that God hears and knows our suffering and will be with us until we are…

The Fable of the Trees

Scripture: Judges 9:1-21 The Bible is a book for all ages.  For the tender young ears of our littlest ones there is the story of Noah with his floating zoo or the story of Jonah swallowed by a whale like Pinocchio.  For the graying seniors, there are the psalms of comfort to sustain them, knowing that the Lord, their shepherd will guide them beside the still waters.  And for the pre-teen crowd, there is the book of Judges.  11 years…

The Oaks of Mamre

Genesis 18:1-15; Isaiah 61:1-3   The story of Abraham and Sarah’s visitation by angels begins with this sentence:  “God appeared to Abraham at the oaks of Mamre.”  God appeared at the oaks of Mamre; not God appeared at the crabapples of Mamre; or God appeared at the buckthorns of Mamre or at the honeysuckles or the weeping willows or the poplars or at the spiny hawthornes of Mamre, but “God appeared to Abraham at the oaks of Mamre.”  When those first listeners of…

Change

by Rick Stephens, a member of UUC who preaches from time to time. Isaiah 43:18-19; Romans 12:1-2 Years ago I was sitting at the kitchen table with my in-laws—Deb’s family—and some neighbors, on their farm in Southern Illinois. I don’t really recall the specific ongoing conversation, but there had been news about space flights. At some point I asked those at the table, both family and neighbors, if they might think about the most significant technological advance of their lifetimes.…

Everything I Need to Know about the Art of Persuasion I Learned from My Dogs

Paul’s Letter to Philemon     The Bible says that, as Christians, we are called to spread the gospel. While conservative Christians believe that that means winning souls to Christ, as progressive Christians we accept the legitimacy of other religions and we believe that Christianity is not the only pathway to God so what does spreading the gospel mean for us? I believe that it means that we are called to create a society grounded in justice; that we are called to convince…

Parsing God

Galatians 4:1-9 Let’s begin with an exercise.  I want you to close your eyes for a minute and visualize the scene I am about to describe to you.  It’s just a one sentence description so listen carefully: “The girl ate the cake and her mother came in and said, ‘What are you doing?’”  In your mind’s eye, visualize that scene.  There isn’t a right or wrong way of imagining this; I just want you to take a second to create…

Discomfort and Moral Decision Making

Galatians 3:27-29 Some time ago, in the pre-pandemic years when people went out to eat, I was at a fancy restaurant for a family celebration of some sort when the couple at the next table ordered Sannakji.  A few minutes later, the server brought out a dish of raw baby octopus, their tiny tentacles spilling out over a plate doused in sesame oil, and as I watched, the couple popped those fleshy heads into their mouths with glee.  I cringed…

Phytoliths

II Corinthians 4:7-11; I Corinthians 15:51-54     Today is the longest day of the year and today summer officially begins.  It is finally safe to put away your snow shovels, to switch out your long johns for shorts, and enjoy the outdoors.  When I was a child, before the days of ticks and Lyme disease, summer was also the time to put away shoes and socks and run barefoot through the grass picking wildflowers, chasing butterflies, tasting the clover, and chewing…