Sermons
One of my less likely pastimes is preaching sermons at the UU Fellowship I attend, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of San Dieguito. I've been invited to the pulpit a surprising number of times, and I've had several people ask me for copies of my sermons. So here they are!
As Time Goes By (12/31/00) My congregation has a long tradition of holding a New Year's service where members give brief talks on the theme "As Time Goes By". This was my first experience of speaking from our pulpit, and it obviously hooked me.
This I Give My Heart To (11/28/04) We have an even longer tradition of having members give "This I Believe" sermons where they talk about their own spiritual journeys. This was my contribution to the series, where I shared the path that had led me to simultaneously consider myself a Buddhist, a Christian, and a UU.
(I have been invited to reprise this sermon at the UU Fellowships in Laguna Beach and Mission Viejo, which gave me the chance to write a new ending for it.)
A Christmas Story (12/18/06) This is where I stood up in front of a whole congregation of UU's and told them that the Christmas story in the Bible was true. And Evel Knievel thought he was a daredevil...
As Time Goes By (12/31/06) After six years they invited me back for New Year's, and this time I led a guided meditation. Since I'd preached Christianity to them two weeks earlier, I went with Buddhism this time.
Religious Myth Conceptions (2/10/08) Originally titled These I Believe, this is a follow-on to my original sermon from 2004 and describes my continuing search for meaning in my poly-religious path. As with that original sermon, I was invited to reprise this at the Laguna Beach Fellowship, which gave me a chance to revise it. The text here is that revised version. (MP3)
Faith is Not a Four-Letter Word (8/1/10) I have long been intrigued by the difference between faith and belief, and this sermon is an examination of that distinction and of how faith can serve as a bridge between different belief-based religions and can be the basis for our non-creedal UU religion. (MP3) The Laguna Beach Fellowship seems to be working their way through my sermons; they invited me to give this one on 5/19/13, which gave me the chance to revise it a little and to re-title it Keep the Faith!
Letting Go (1/23/11) The Buddhist groups that meet at our Fellowship put on a Sunday service every year or so, and at this year's service on "Letting Go" both I and my friend Christie Turner were asked to speak. My talk is here, and Christie's is here.
Because God Loves Stories (6/26/11) We can't really know whether or not God exists, but stories about God certainly do; they appear almost everywhere in human culture. Here I look at how we shape and are shaped by these stories, and how our religious history can be seen as a series of ever-improving stories about the highest ideals the tellers could imagine.
All in the Family (4/15/12) How is it possible for UU’s to respect other religions as sources of wisdom and partners in social action when we don’t accept their core beliefs? In this sermon I explore how, despite our differences, UU-ism is still part of its extended religious family. I was later invited to give this sermon at the UU Church of Long Beach, and that version can be found here. And in 2022 I was invited to give it at Summit UU Fellowship in Santee; the text was almost identical to the Long Beach version except for updating some topical references.
Conservatively Speaking (8/26/12) We may find it easy to stand with people from other liberal religions, but how about those who don’t share our values? This sermon looks at understanding and finding common ground with our religiously conservative brethren and sistren.
Who Is My Neighbor? Widening the Circle of Compassion (3/3/13) We are called to love our neighbors as ourselves, but who, exactly, are these neighbors? This sermon looks at two Bible stories that shed light on the question and explores what they might mean to us as UU's.
Religion Is a Team Sport (8/11/13) This sermon explores a paradox of religion – that the ways in which we come together as a religious community can sometimes undermine the very faith we come together to practice.
State of the Art (12/29/13) This is a re-working of my Religious Myth Conceptions sermon from 2008, suggesting that when we talk about the "truth" of a religion we think more of the emotional truths of art and myths rather than the rational truth of science and logic.
One Wild and Precious Human Birth (10/26/14) In this sermon I describe the Buddhist concept of a precious human birth and explore how it can still be meaningful to those of us who don't literally accept the ideas of karma and reincarnation.
The Love That Will Not Die (6/28/15) This service explores the Bodhisattva ideal in Buddhism and how it can inspire people of all spiritual paths to respond to a suffering world with a heart of compassion.
Good Dogma! (11/26/17) We UU's are proud not to be bound by any creed or dogma, but is that a virtue or just a preference? This sermon looks at why people are drawn to the powerful stories that other religions tell.
Welcoming Congregations (4/7/19) Who we choose to welcome into our congregations says a lot about who we are and how we see our mission. This sermon describes the current controversy in the Methodist church about LGBTQ+ inclusiveness and the broader lessons this debate can have outside that church.
Holy Envy (11/3/19) Based on Barbara Brown Taylor's book of the same name, this sermon explores what it's like to look at other faiths and find things that seem better than what your own faith offers.
The Language of Contempt (2/6/22) It is very easy to fall into what Barbara Brown Taylor calls "the language of contempt" when talking about people who differ from us religiously or politically. This sermon is about times I have personally fallen into this and some practices that I have found helpful in rising to the language of love and respect instead.
Hearts on Fire (4/24/22) A follow-on to the previous sermon, this one looks at some Old Testament stories to illustrate how, and more importantly why, we can read old scriptural stories with modern eyes, respectful minds, and hearts that are open to inspiration.
It's a Miracle! (8/13/23) This sermon looks at the stories of Jesus’ miracles as an example of the tension between our respect for our religious sources and our commitment to rationality. Is there a way to read them with modern eyes and still see them as sources of hope and wonder?
The Story of Us (7/21/24) My friend Rich Macdonald and I got together to do a shared sermon on the history of American UU-ism, the stories and ideals of the UU pioneers who came before us.
FLASH!!! My friends can write sermons too!
This I Believe (07/08/07) My friend and finance cohort Kathryn Sturch gave a wonderful sermon on the Buddhist concept of "The Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind to the Dharma" and how they express and support her own spiritual understanding. (MP3)