University UMC Sermons

We continue our sermon series, Climate Justice and Creation Care. Pastor Earl preaches on Famine and Feeding.

We continue the sermon series “Creation Care and Climate Justice.” This week's sermon will center on the theme of climate migration. We will hear the account of disciples on the road to Emmaus from Luke’s Gospel and consider what it means to recognize and welcome those God sends our way. All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ, for he himself will say: “I was a stranger and...

We continue our Sermon Series on Creation Care and Climate Justice. This week the theme is on floods and we’ll hear part of the Noah’s Ark story in worship. Pastor Teresa will be exploring the theme of water in the physical world as well as our spiritual lives. “When you are working on something as challenging as climate change advocacy, it is important to find things to give you hope. That was th...

Join us for worship as we begin the sermon series “Creation Care and Climate Justice.” In this first sermon Pastor Teresa will consider the gift and challenge of fire both in our spiritual lives and in the natural world. The sanctuary choir will sing “A Blessing by Fire” Diana Macalintal at the in person service and the online service premiers at 11 am on our YouTube channel. “You are not Atlas ca...

Join us for Easter Sunday. We will hear the resurrection story from the Gospel of John and Pastor Teresa’s sermon is entitled, “Choosing Joy. Death is natural. Loss is natural. Grief is natural. But those stones have been rolled away this happy morning to reveal the highly unnatural truth. By the light of this day, God has planted a seed of life in us that cannot be killed, and if we can remember...

Join us as we celebrate Palm Sunday! Palm Sunday begins in celebration and transitions to the sorrow of Holy Week ahead. You can read more about our Holy Week services at uumc.org/easter.

We continue our Lenten sermon series “Hope is Here.” Pastor Earl preaches about the relationship between hope and faith. The scripture comes from the Book of Jeremiah and the Gospel of John. 

We continue our Lenten sermon series, “Hope is Here.” Pastor Teresa preaches about “Hope for the World.” The sermon text comes from John’s gospel featuring the famous words, 'For God so loved the world God sent God’s only son.’

This Sunday the sermon text is John 2:13-22 and Pastor Teresa’s sermon centers on hope for the future of the church. “The gospel doesn’t need a coalition devoted to keeping the wrong people out. It needs a family of sinners, saved by grace, committed to tearing down the walls, throwing open the doors, and shouting, “Welcome! There’s bread and wine. Come eat with us and talk.” This isn’t a kingdom...

as we continue our Lenten Journey. The sermons this season follow the lectionary Gospel readings and are inspired in part by the book “Hope is Here” by Luther Smith. In these next three Sundays, Pastor Teresa explores the theme of hope in our own personal lives, in the church, and in the world.

We begin the journey of Lent. Pastor Teresa will begin a new sermon series inspired by the book “Hope is Here: Spiritual Practices for Pursuing Justice and the Beloved Community” by Luther Smith, Jr. On this first Sunday, the Gospel lesson is Mark’s account of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness and the sermon title is “A Song of Hope.”

We welcome guest preacher Dr. Marlon Johnson and remember our church’s vote to affiliate with Reconciling Ministries Network. Dr. Johnson is Associate Professor of Counselor Education at Seminary of the Southwest. RMN is committed to intersectional justice across and beyond the United Methodist connection, working for the full participation of all LGBTQ+ people throughout the life and leadership o...

As we observe Transfiguration Sunday, we remember the glory of God revealed in Jesus before he begins his wilderness journey. “Each day holds a surprise. But only if we expect it can we see, hear, or feel it when it comes to us. Let's not be afraid to receive each day's surprise, whether it comes to us as sorrow or as joy, it will open a new place in our hearts, a place where we can welcome new fr...

We are thrilled to welcome guest preacher Dr. Diana Butler Bass to preach on Mark 1:21-28. “This year, I’m wondering: What it would be like to expect epiphanies? Not just in stars, but in the more normal course of things. What if we “attuned” ourselves to “sacred surprise”? – Diana Butler Bass, from “The Cottage” January 4, 2024 “Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell a...

Pastor Teresa preaches on the lesson from Mark’s Gospel when Jesus calls the disciples to follow Him. “We are safer and happier when we care for each other in community, when we do things for each other.” – Diana Butler Bass “Imagine if every church became a place where everyone is safe, but no one is comfortable. Imagine if every church became a place where we told one another the truth. We might...

We welcome guest preacher Dr. Marcus Freeman as we remember our baptism. Dr. Freeman is District Superintendent of the Capital and Crossroads Districts of The UMC.

Pastor Teresa preaches on the story of the Magi’s visit to the Christ Child from Matthew’s Gospel. “Look closely at the present you are constructing: it should look like the future you are dreaming.” – Alice Walker “Pick a star on the dark horizon and follow the light.” – Regina Spector, “The Call” “An epiphany is not an experience that we can create from within, but one that we can only be open t...

On New Years Eve before all the parties Megan Otto preached about endings, beginnings, and most importantly the wise church ladies.

Our theme for Advent this year at University UMC has been centered on dreams and the Christmas story reminds us that we are all dreamers. Like those gathered around the manger, we come to this night each year with awe, wonder, and holy imagination for what is possible. Like Mary, we treasure God’s dream in our hearts and commit to keeping it alive. Like the holy family, we believe and trust in a G...

Join us for worship as we celebrate the 3rd Sunday of Advent and light the candle of JOY! “Ultimately dreams sow joy, even if that joy doesn’t immediately spring forth. Sowing seeds into the soil always feels risky and feeble - how can something so small become something so beautiful, so big, and so nourishing? Like Mary, we are called to tend and nurture the dreams God has woven into us.” – A San...

Join us for worship as we celebrate the 2nd Sunday of Advent and light the candle of Peace. The sermon text is the story of John the Baptist and Pastor Teresa’s sermon is “Prepare the Way.” ”To prepare the way for just peace is a choice that we must make daily. Messengers know that what we see is not all there can, will, or should be. Messengers face the troubles of the world receptively, percepti...

On this First Sunday of Advent, Pastor Teresa will be preaching and the sermon text is Mark 13:24-37. The words from Psalm 126 “We were like those who dreamed” inspires our sermon series for this season. The Advent and Christmas season is filled with dreamers. The prophets and John the Baptist; Mary and Joseph; Simeon and Anna; the shepherds and the Magi. They all received and discovered dreams. I...

“If you’re grateful, you’re not fearful, and if you’re not fearful, you’re not violent. If you’re grateful, you act out of a sense of enough and not of a sense of scarcity, and you are willing to share. If you are grateful, you are enjoying the differences between people, and you are respectful to everybody, and that changes this power pyramid under which we live.” – David Steindl-Rast

Join us for our worship service this Sunday as we welcome our guest preacher, Rev. Nancy Frausto. Rev. Frausto immigrated to the U.S. as a child and is the first and only DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) beneficiary priest in the Episcopal Church. She is also a founding member of the Diocese of Los Angeles Sanctuary Task Force. As we listen to her story and her witness to God’s loving...

We celebrate All Saints’ Sunday and remember the members of UUMC who have died in this past year. “My culture does not honor the ancestors as a quaint spirituality of the past, but as a living source of strength for the present.” – Steven Charleston Suddenly all my ancestors are behind me. Be still, they say. Watch and listen. You are the result of the love of thousands. – Linda Hogan