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Sermons from The Unitarian Universalist Church-Rockford, Illinois.
Episodes
Tuesday Dec 09, 2014
Tuesday Dec 09, 2014
I was taught that "grace" meant "undeserved love" but my thoughts and family legacy twisted the meaning until I believed that I was "undeserving." How is it that we self-sabotage or undermine grace-filled loving? And how is it that grace-filled loving redeems and transforms us?
Tuesday Dec 09, 2014
Tuesday Dec 09, 2014
We are generally not graceful when we disagree - we are either aggressive, or passively aggressive. How, in our social dialogue, intimate lives, work, and church, can we practice disagreement with a measure of grace and goodwill?
Tuesday Dec 09, 2014
Tuesday Dec 09, 2014
On this, All Soul's Day, we'll celebrate the power of memory to offer wisdom, solace, and purpose to our lives. Remembering those who have died, or who have been important to us in our pasts, is a kind of grace - for them and for us.
Tuesday Dec 09, 2014
Tuesday Dec 09, 2014
As we close out our month on renewal, we'll reflect on "self-improvement," or as it is sometimes known, how to "hack your life." What are the habits of the soul, mind, and body that might improve your spiritual well-being? Some of these habits are brand new, developed from insights into neurobiology; others are older than history.
Monday Oct 20, 2014
Monday Oct 20, 2014
It's seems that our economic and political system is deeply and profoundly broken, doesn't it? And though there are moments of hope here and there, the deck seems stacked against everybody but the most powerful. How might we renew our political and economic system? What can we do to bend the arc of justice in our time?
Wednesday Sep 24, 2014
Wednesday Sep 24, 2014
A Church of Risk, Part 2
Rev. Dr. Matthew Johnson The religious and demographic landscape is changing dramatically. What risks are required in our time, not to just survive but thrive in these times? How can our faith, our conscience, and our communal life inspire us to be generous risk-takers?
Monday Sep 15, 2014
Monday Sep 15, 2014
A Church of Risk, Part 1
Rev. Dr. Matthew Johnson Our ancestors took enormous spiritual, political, and mortal risks for their sake of their conscience and their ideals. Our identity as a religious movement and a congregation is to be a church that takes risks. What can we learn from these lives gone before, and happening now?
Tuesday Sep 09, 2014
Tuesday Sep 09, 2014
September 7, 2014
9:15 a.m. & 11 a.m.
Team Risk
Rev. Dr. Matthew Johnson
My former brothers-in-law would, when playing Bridge together, name themselves "team risk." They bid aggressively, played loosely, and had fun. The results were sometimes disastrous, but often winning. Bridge is just a game, and life is not at all a game, yet, what would it mean for you to be part of a "team risk?" What risks would you be willing to take if you were part of team that had your back? How would it feel to live a little more on the edge? How do we manage our anxiety when we're out there on the ledge?
Thursday Jun 19, 2014
Thursday Jun 19, 2014
June 15, 2014
10:00 a.m.
Are Atheists Still Welcome In This Church?
The Rev. Dr. Matthew Johnson
The title of this sermon reflects the topic posed by Rhonda Best and Troy Brown, who won the right to do so in last fall’s auction. I’ll speak about the place of atheists, agnosticism, and humanism(s) in our changing faith and congregation.
Tuesday Mar 11, 2014
Tuesday Mar 11, 2014
March 9, 2014
9:15 a.m. & 11 a.m.
From Heraclitus to Heisenberg
The Rev. Dr. Matthew Johnson-Doyle Over against those philosophers and scientists who believed that existence was best when it was eternal and stable, others have claimed that reality is always in flux. What does the philosophy and science of constant change mean for how we understand the universe we live in and our place in it?