Sermons (Page 2)
Special Collection: Read USA
Our speaker is Terrence Freeman, newly appointed CEO of READ USA. UUCJ has done a special collection to sponsor a READ USA book fair for the students of Arlington Heights Elementary School for the past 5 years. The book fairs allow each student to choose three new books for summer reading. The book fairs will be conducted in person or virtually this year depending on how the students are attending school. UUCJ is the only faith-based organization that has sponsored…
It’s Not Fair Jesus, Or Is It?
May 1 is International Worker’s Day throughout much of the world. It was first celebrated in Paris in 1889 to demand justice for the world’s laborers and to commemorate the killing of workers by police at the Haymarket labor strike demonstration in Chicago in 1886. As a starting point to honor the world’s laborers I’m going to present Jesus’ parable “Laborers in the Vineyard” which has fascinated me since I first heard it in Sunday School. – Rev. Paul
Easter: A Celebration of Joy
Each year as I prepare an Easter sermon I have in mind the words of Rev Dr. Frederick May Eliot, president of the American Unitarian Association from 1937 until his death in 1958. “When I go to church on Easter I expect to be reminded of the elemental truth that in this universe of ours with all its hesitancies and timidities and tragedy, the tides of life are flowing fresh, manifold, and free. I expect to find myself swept into…
The Thrill of Victory & The Agony of Defeat
For several years these words were the lead-in for ABC’s Wide World of Sports, but they have application to our entire national life. On this Super Bowl Sunday Rev. Paul Johnson looks at the positive and negative features of our national mania for competition.
The Courage of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Perhaps the most outstanding and challenging aspect of MLK’s legacy is his courage. What does it say about this important virtue in general and how does it apply to us?
Practice Random Acts of Kindness in 2021
I’ve long been impressed with this simple statement which came to Ann Herbert in a Sausalito restaurant in the early 1980’s. She wrote it on her placemat and shared it with a fellow sitting nearby who in turn shared it with others. It spread throughout the land. A book was written. Oprah did a program on it. A foundation was started. It’s due for a revival. – Rev. Paul
Deep Listening
Pinchos Kurinsky talks about the art of deep listening and our need to be heard.
Marks of Maturity
Our UU principle calling us to encourage each other in our spiritual growth draws on the tradition of “self- culture” and “salvation by character” established by such forebears as Margaret Fuller, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and James Freeman Clarke. Rev. Paul Johnson develops his personal, contemporary take on this worthy tradition.
Beginnings
Chaim Potok begins his insightful novel In the Beginning with the words “All beginnings are Hard.” Indeed, they are. Rev. Paul Johnson deals with some of these hardships but also points out the keen anticipation, even exhilaration, of the beginnings in our lives.