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.
Exodus 33: 1 – 14 – Jill A. Kirchner-Rose, MDIV, DMIN – Today we begin our Lenten sermon series entitled, “Naming the Unnameable.” It is based on a book by Matthew Fox with the same title. Matthew Fox asks, “How many names for Divinity are there? Do the names for God change? Do we have permission – and may be a serious…
Isaiah 55:12 Jill A. Kirchner-Rose, MDIV, DMIN Last year at this time, our Lenten devotional was entitled, “The Poetry of Lent: A Lenten Companion to Mary Oliver’s Devotions.” It was then that many of us immersed ourselves deeply into Mary Oliver’s writings, opening our hearts to wonder and mystery. Little did we know that between last Lent and this Lent, Mary Oliver…
Exodus 15: 20 – 21 – Jill A. Kirchner-Rose, MDIV, DMIN February is Black History month. This morning I would like for us to transcend the ages and begin our celebration in Africa, two thousand years before the birth of Jesus. Two thousand years before the birth of Jesus, Moses traveled to Midian, in the southern part of the fertile crescent. There,…
Ephesians 2:10 – Jill A. Kirchner-Rose, MDIV, DMIN How many of you attended the Beyoncé Mass last Monday night at the University of Redlands? About 600 people turned out for the Beyoncé Mass and the reviews are in. Karen Rose called it “Powerful! Evocative! Thought-provoking!” Loring Fiske-Phillips said, “It was like the best concert and church service you ever went to.” Barbie…
Luke 4: 14 – 21 Jill A. Kirchner-Rose, MDIV, DMIN January 20, 2019 A few years back, a friend said to me, “I don’t understand how you can still be a Christian.” I replied by saying, “I am a follower of Jesus. Jesus teaches about God’s radically inclusive love. And I believe in radically inclusive love.” She said, “Well, I don’t have…
Members of the Border Immersion Team January 13, 2018 In 2018, the Board of RUCC voted to become an “Immigrant Welcoming Congregation.” After adopting that resolution, we wondered what are the next steps for us as a congregation? When Jules Rattray came to Wider Ministries and shared that Good Shepherd UCC in Sahuarita, Arizona leaders Border Immersion experiences, we knew that was…
These Wise Guys Got It Matthew 2:1-12 January 6, 2019, Epiphany Bill Maury-Holmes epiphany – noun: 2) an appearance or manifestation especially of a divine being; 3) a (1) : a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something; (2) : an intuitive grasp of reality through something (such as an event) usually simple and striking…
Genesis 3: 1 – 3, 6 Jill A. Kirchner-Rose, MDIV, DMIN December 23, 2018 As we near the end of the year and as we reflect on this Advent season of love, I find myself thinking about that hit song from Rent: 525,600 minutes. Do you know the song? Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes. Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so…
“All I Really Want for Christmas: Hope” Isaiah 9: 2, 5-7 Jill A. Kirchner-Rose, MDIV, DMIN December 2, 2018 Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Today, also, is the first day of Hanukkah. I think it is significant that this year of all years these two religious observances land on the same day. They both speak of how hope delivers light.…
The Politics of Jesus Rev. 19:16; Mt 2: 13-15 November 25, 2018 Jill A. Kirchner-Rose, MDIV, DMIN We just returned from the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida. The Magic Kingdom is truly a magical place especially when seen through the eyes of a 4 year old experiencing the world of Disney for the very first time – seeing the smile on her…