Sermons & Worship (Page 28)

I Corinthians 6:12     I want to begin by asking you a question.  It seems to be a simple question, but I want you to consider it carefully before you answer. “Is there a Christian ethic?”  In other words, is there a set of ethical principles that you must adhere to if you claim to be a follower of Christ? I would answer “yes” to that question because if there is no ethic, then your behaviors don’t matter: you do what…

Acts 2:1-6 I want you to imagine for a minute that you are an artist and someone has hired you to paint a picture of God.  Now, I know the Ten Commandments tell us not to make any images of God but I want you to imagine not only that you are an artist but that you are an artist who has no religious morals.  The patron is willing to pay you a lot of money to violate the commandment…

John 3:1-10    May 16, 2021Union University Church   Reverend Laurie DeMott Nicodemus, cloaked in the darkness of his own uncertainty, came to Jesus in the night seeking the light of understanding.   “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God,” he said, hoping to open a conversation with Jesus about spiritual matters but Jesus didn’t even wait for Nicodemus’ question.  He went…

Matthew 18:23-24May 9, 2021Union University ChurchReverend Laurie DeMott Before preaching today’s sermon, I want to make a note on the translation I used.  Most modern translations quote Jesus as saying that you should forgive seventy-seven times,” but as a child I learned seven times seventy times which is based on an alternative manuscript.  I’ve always preferred the alternative version because I think it sounds more poetic, but either translation boils down to the same thing — a lot! What is…

I Corinthians 11:23-26 In 2010, an Anglican minister in Toronto ignited a Canada-wide controversy when she gave communion bread to a German Shepherd named Trapper.  The dog’s owner had been harassed by the police earlier in the week for sitting on the church’s steps and when he called the church to complain, they apologized and in a gesture of reconciliation invited him to come to worship with them that Sunday.  He accepted their offer and when he came, he brought…

Matthew 6:7-13; Philippians 4:10-14 Spring is finally arriving here in western NY and the birds are returning to my property.  Although I put out seed all winter, I’ve had to increase my offerings in order to accommodate the additional traffic.  Over the winter, I hosted chickadees, nuthatches, and red polls, but the red polls have flown north and purple finches, gold finches, juncos, and mourning doves have taken their place.  The finches and juncos were actually here all winter but…

Matthew 20:1-15 Before I begin my sermon, we are going to have a pop quiz!  Pop quiz — those dreaded words.  I can hear the moans already, but pop quizzes keep you mentally agile so get out some paper and a pencil.  I will not be collecting your quiz — they will be self-graded — so you can use any scrap of paper at hand and those in the sanctuary can write on your bulletin if you’d like. Ready?  OK,…

1 Peter 1:3 Toward the end of the TV special, “Charlie Brown’s Christmas,” Charlie Brown, frustrated by the commercialization of the holiday, shouts out in frustration, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?”  Linus says that he can answer that question and then, in the quiet of an empty stage, he recites the nativity story.  He turns to Charlie Brown and says, “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.” We stand now at the other side…

Luke 9:7-9; 23:4-11     Today as we stand on the threshold of Holy Week, I want to ask a very simple question: who killed Jesus?   Every year on Palm Sunday, we reenact Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, waving our palms and singing our Hosannas knowing full well that the celebration will be short-lived because by the end of the week, we will be standing before the cross watching Jesus take his last breath.  The rhythms of Holy Week are very familiar…

Luke 16:19-31 When my daughter Stacy was on the Alfred-Almond Track team, she had a T-shirt that read, “You know Track and Field is not your sport if you stop at each hurdle waiting for someone to open the gate.” If we go by today’s Dexter Time, we would have to conclude that Dexter is not made for track and field.  (For those listening to this as a podcast, I refer you to our Youtube channel and the video of…