Sunday Sermons from Trinity UMC Lincoln, Nebraska

Join us for a special guest: Lisa Maupin!

This week we don't have a typical “sermon,” but instead Pastor Jeff leads us in the ancient practice of Lectio Divina— a guided meditation on scripture. Come and allow John 1— what many consider the greatest Christmas poem ever written— to sink into the depths of your being.

The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it!

Are you longing for inner quiet on this last week before Christmas? Today we turn to the story of Mary, pregnant with Jesus, visiting her relative Elizabeth. It's a moment of peace, simplicity, and pure joy in the midst of the chaos of life both before and after it.

Join us as we celebrate musically the birth of Christ and experience the wonder and awe of the season! Dr. Michael Tully and Dr. Anne Gray are directing this yuletide presentation you won't want to miss.

The greatest power entrusted to us is the power to turn.

Join Laurel Cruisinberry for the fist Advent.

There's a teaching of Jesus that most people never "get." The Sermon on the Mount starts with the "why," a beautiful, inspiration picture of what life COULD look like. He spends time talking about the things we can do to live better, from moral behavior to the ways we connect with things beyond us, like God. But the end his teaching? He says straight out: not many will get it. Join us this morning...

I hate judgmental people. (See what I did there?)  That kind of hypocrisy— the kind that judges others— is something Jesus taught about in no uncertain terms. It’s the old “three fingers pointing back at yourself” syndrome. Join us as we fight off negativity andinvite Jesus to make us ALL whole!

Do you wrestle with worry? You’re not alone, parents, kids… we all worry— So much so that Jesus felt the need to talk about worry directly. Come this Sunday as we share Communion, All Saints, and try to worry a little less with God at our side!

When you pray, why do you do it? For most of us, if we’re honest, the answer might be “because I need help” or, in some cases, even, “so I can look or feel spiritual.” What did Jesus teach about prayer? Simply, that it should be God above all else. Join us this morning as we hear what Jesus said about religion in his "Sermon on the Mount" and we pray together— with honesty and with our hearts in t...

Even non-Christians lift Jesus up as a great moral teacher. But do you know what he said? This morning we continue our series: "When Jesus Spoke to Crowds, What Did He Say?” This week’s section dives into how we are to live. It’s about taking the right actions, but Jesus says it’s about more than just our actions: we must also cultivate a good heart. Join us for a challenge to see the humanity in...

When Jesus spoke to crowds, what did he say? Everyone knows Jesus is the central figure in Christianity and most know the story of the cross. But for much of Jesus’ ministry he went from place to place, healing, preforming miracles, and teaching. It is believed that what we now call the “Sermon on the Mount” is a compilation of usual topics, collected from those who were there.

Gratitude is a choice to focus on the good things, so it’s closely connected to how happy we are. What if there were a “trick” to make it happen more often? A feedback loop that would draw us constantly toward greater gratitude and greater joy? It turns out God gave us such a tool: it involves living life with a spirit not only of gratitude but of generosity. Give others something to be thankful f...

WHY should we be grateful? What fruit does it bear? Peace, happiness, contentment… that’s an awfully good start. Frankly, that’s enough. But something about gratitude also leads us to generosity. There’s something natural about recognizing the good in your life that makes you want to share it.

All this gratitude stuff is great. But what about when you just… can’t?  What about the woman who once tried to sing “It Is Well With My Soul,” only to realize it really WASN’T well with her soul? How do we give thanks then? Today we consider the thankfulness of Job, a man in the Bible who lost everything but still said “Bless the Lord!” Join us to see how we can live a life of gratitude even...

Jesus regularly took time away with his disciples. Part of it was rest and renewal, but breaking up the routines of the world also helped them to keep one foot in heaven.

Can you plan on being thankful even before something happens? Sometimes, sure, but can you always plan on gratitude? This week we start a new series that says “yes,” absolutely. Part of the reason is that God always brings good out of even the worst situations. But even beyond that, gratitude is an attitude— and it is always an option for us to choose. Doing so makes all the difference in our happ...

Do you long for awe? Does your heart yearn for wonder? Studies have shown that awe and wonder reduce our “mental chatter” and worry by pulling us out of ourselves. Yet, such experiences seem hard to come by these days. It’s a good thing God also longs to help us!

"You are special." When Mister Rogers said that, he didn’t mean that you are better than anyone else, but rather that you are unique: “There is nobody else in the whole wide world exactly like you, and you can be loved exactly the way you are.” But believing that, both about ourselves and about others, isn’t easy. In fact, it takes life-long work.

Whatever you’re doing, pause for a moment. Take a deep breath. Enjoy the moment. Enjoy the air you’re breathing in. Enjoy the sound, whether it be a bird outside your window or your dog snoring at your feet or even just the fan of your air conditioner. Enjoy the moment. Today we continue our Faith at the Movies series with a Pixar movie: Soul. Along with Ecclesiastes in the Bible, it makes the ver...

How did this world get so broken? That’s the question that starts the movie Raya and Last Dragon, and I’ll bet you’ve asked it, too! Today we start our Faith at the Movies series. Join us this morning for a fresh dose of hope in seeing how God speaks into brokenness—both our own brokenness and that of the world!

When was the last time you saw Jesus? This week's scripture says that we see Jesus in anyone who is hurting, anyone who is weak, anyone who is struggling. I'll bet you've seen Jesus more recently than you realize. I'll bet you've even been Jesus to someone else. So what can you do to help Jesus?

When you do something nice, why do you do it? If you hold a door for someone, do you do it because of social pressure, because you “should?” Or out of a sense of obligation because someone just held the door for you? Or, do you hold the door just because you want to be nice? Today we hear a story where Jesus’ disciples had… mixed… motives. But Jesus’ response is one that none of them saw coming. I...

What is God’s will for your life? There isn’t one of us who hasn’t asked that question at one time or another. It comes from good intentions: to be a faithful follower of God. But what if that question is coming from the wrong direction—upside down and inside out? This morning we hear the beginning of the story of Jeremiah the prophet. God tells him, “Before I created you in the womb I knew you; b...