See below for sermons delivered at RUCC. If you’d like to see videos please return to the home page and scroll down, or visit us at youtube.com/RedlandsUCC.
Psalm 46 – As we honor the summer solstice, we celebrate the gifts of the season: amusement parks, water slides, summer camps, cruises, 4th of July parades, parties, crowded beaches, the Redlands Bowl, and baseball games to name a few. Summer is packed with activity; that is, unless there is a global pandemic. Rather than jumping on airplanes, trains, and cruise ships, many…
Luke 13: 10 – 17 – Jill A. Kirchner-Rose, MDIV, DMIN Many of us know the famous song from the Civil Rights Movement, “We Shall Overcome.” We shall overcome…someday. We’ll walk hand in hand…someday. The truth shall make us free…someday. Yes, we shall overcome…someday. My question this morning is, “When is someday?” The death of Ahmaud Arbery was heart wrenching. The death…
Communion Sunday, June 7 ~ “The Early Church: Breaking Bread” Acts 2: 43 – 47; Matthew 13:33 – Jill A. Kirchner-Rose, MDIV, DMIN We begin a new sermon series this month entitled, “The Early Church.” Last Sunday, we celebrated Pentecost, the birthday of the church. The Holy Spirit in the form of fire, wind, breath filled the frightened disciples, who were hiding in…
Ascension Day – Sunday, May 24 ~~ “Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder“ Ascension Day is the day that Jesus became absent, which may be why it is the most forgotten holy day of the church year. Who wants to celebrate being left behind? As the old adage goes, however, “absence makes the heart grow fonder.” Absence is heightened awareness, a sharpened appetite, a…
Psalm 23 – In the United Church of Christ, the third Sunday of May is Mental Health Sunday. Mental health is a timely topic these days. Social distancing and quarantining are negatively affecting the mental health of many. Older adults and single people may be experiencing increased feelings of loneliness and anxiety. Working parents with children experience increased anxiety as they homeschool…
Luke 15: 8 – 10 On this Mother’s Day, churches around the world will compare God’s love to the unconditional, nurturing, compassionate love of a mother. Many, however, find themselves asking these days, “Does God even care?” After all, the global COVID-19 epidemic is as horrific in the 21st century as the Black Death was throughout Eurasia in the 1300s and small…
Luke 24: 36 – 49 Peter Tupou provides our message today. This year, for some, the joy of Easter felt diminished. Families celebrated the holiday in smaller units separate from one another. Grandparents enjoyed their grandchildren from the other side of a computer screen, children searched for Easter eggs in their own homes, and congregations struggled to implement technology to replicate fellowship.…
Second Sunday after Easter, April 26 ~ “Back to Normal?” These days I often hear the phrase, “I can’t wait until life gets back to normal.” Likewise, in our scripture, Cleopas and his companion travel home to Emmaus to “go back to life as normal.” Along the way, however, they encounter the Risen Christ and they discover that their lives will never…
Last Sunday, we celebrated Easter, the most important holy day of the year. This Sunday, we celebrate Earth Day. At RUCC, Earth Day is as significant as Easter, Christmas, and Pentecost. After all, our first calling and our holiest vocation as people of faith is to be good stewards and care for our holy land. Earth Day 2020 is a special one;…