University UMC Sermons

Palm Sunday begins in celebration and transitions to the sorrow of Holy Week ahead. The sermon is from Rev. Earl Kim, who concludes our series on Spiritual Practices with the theme of “Mourning.”

We continue our Lenten Sermon Series on Spiritual Practices. The scripture lesson is the story from John’s Gospel on the raising of Lazarus, and Pastor Teresa preaches about the spiritual practices of tending to the body and aging.

We continue our Lenten Sermon Series on Spiritual Practices, and Pastor Earl preaches. His sermon title is “Hospitality: A Place at the Table,” and we hear scripture readings from Leviticus and Luke’s account of the Last Supper.

We continue our Lenten Sermon Series on Spiritual Practices, and Pastor Earl preaches. His sermon title is “Hospitality: A Place at the Table,” and we hear scripture readings from Leviticus and Luke’s account of the Last Supper.

We continue our Lenten journey and sermon series on Spiritual Practices. We hear scripture readings from Deuteronomy 5:12-15 & Mark 2:23-28 and Pastor Teresa preaches on Sabbath Keeping.

We begin a new sermon series on Spiritual Practices based on the book Mudhouse Sabbath by Lauren Winner. Matthew 4:1-11 is the scripture reading and tells of Christ’s time in the wilderness. Pastor Teresa’s sermon “Fitting Food and Fasting” will explore our relationship with food impacts our relationship with others and with God.

We hear the reading from Matthew’s Gospel of the Transfiguration of Christ. In this story, three disciples go with Jesus to the top of a mountain where they see a vision that includes a radiant Jesus visiting with Moses and Elijah. This pivotal moment takes place just before Jesus enters the wilderness. Likewise, this scripture lesson is often shared in churches on the Sunday before we begin our L...

We hear a scripture reading from the Prophet Isaiah and welcome Rev. Dr. Stephen Ray to the pulpit. Rev. Dr. Ray is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ currently serving as the Black Religious Scholars Group’s Scholar-in-Residence at Seminary of the Southwest.

Pastor Teresa preaches and we hear a reading from the prophet Micah reminding us to “Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.”

We celebrate Laity Appreciation Sunday and Pastor Teresa preaches on John 15 which includes these words from Jesus: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”

We welcomed Pastor Ashley Valenzuela of St. Mark UMC, Austin as our guest preacher as we remember University UMC’s decision to affiliate with Reconciling Ministries Network. RMN is committed to working for the full participation of all LGBTQ+ people throughout the life and leadership of The UMC.

Pastor Earl preaches on the symbolism of the river in the Bible, and the way it inspires us to see how God created us to live in a network of love. Along with the symbol of the river, we will also reflect on the words of Dr. King.

Pastor Teresa preaches on the story of the Magi’s visit to the Christ Child from Matthew’s Gospel. The following quote from Vincent Van Gogh floated in her mind as she wrote this week’s sermon, "For my part, I know nothing with certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream." We will also receive “star words” as an invitation to a prayer practice for the new year.

Megan Otto preaches on Psalm 91. She will talk about perspectives for 2023 and our hopes for new beginnings.

We hear the lesson from Luke’s Gospel about Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth including the powerful words of the Magnificat.

We continue our Advent journey! Pastor Teresa will be preaches on the Gospel of Matthew’s account of an angel visiting Joseph in a dream.

Our Advent Sermon Series is “Generation to Generation” and we will explore together the gift of being connected across time to the great love story of God found in the gift of Jesus. Pastor Teresa’s sermon this week is centered on Isaiah 11:1-10.

Pastor Teresa preaches on Luke 21:25-36 and the call to hope.

It's the Sunday before Thanksgiving and Pastor Teresa preaches about "Giving Thanks for Such a Time as This.”

Pastor Earl preaches on the meaning of having faith in the divine compassion revealed in Jesus and the way his love becomes our hope for today.

Pastor Teresa shares a sermon as we remember those we have lost in the past year.

We conclude our Stewardship Sermon Series “This is Our Story.” Our commitment is a way of celebrating all God has done in and through us while looking to the future with hopeful anticipation of what God will continue to do.

Pastor Teresa will be preaches from the Gospel account of a poor widow who gave all she had and we discover this story is not all it seems to be on the surface.

What matters most in life? Pastor Earl invites you all to join him in navigating our priorities and searching for authentic answers to the question. You will hear about his own struggles with the question in his sharing of a story of his father as we continue our “This Is Our Story” sermon series

Pastor Teresa preaches on the miraculous feeding of the multitudes and we begin this year’s “This is Our Story” Stewardship Season.