Posts from November 2025
Sermon Note: The Annunciation
Introduction As we begin our Advent series based on Adam Hamilton’s book The Journey, we start with a story set in an overlooked village in Galilee. Nazareth is not a town with status or influence, yet this is where God’s messenger steps into an ordinary day with news that changes Mary’s world forever. The moment is both unexpected and intimate. Mary asks practical questions, faces a future she doesn’t fully grasp, and then responds with openness and courage to God’s…
Sermon Note: Anticipation
Introduction This Sunday we conclude The Days are Surely Coming with Week Three: Anticipation. Jeremiah points toward a promised shepherd-king who will lead with wisdom, gather the scattered, and make daily life secure. This is anticipation with substance—rooted in God’s commitment to justice and the care of people who have been harmed by poor leadership. It honors the ache of the present and leans into God’s promised future, trusting that righteousness belongs in public life as much as in prayer.…
Christian Community Service Association Christmas Baskets
The Community Christian Service Agency (CCSA) is collecting Christmas food baskets to be provided to families in need. This is an opportunity for families or groups at La Jolla UMC to provide support for a family during the Christmas season. Information about the program can be downloaded from this link:https://www.ccsasandiego.org/christmas-gift-basket Each food basket may be as festive as you decide, but it should be filled with non-perishable foods and a $50 gift card ($75 for larger families) from Target or…
Sermon Note: Celebration
Introduction This Sunday we continue our series, The Days are Surely Coming with Celebration. In our reading this week, Isaiah sketches joy that is more than a mood: it is a community where tears are quieted, houses are built and lived in, gardens feed their planters, children start strong, and elders finish well. This is celebration that carries significance—tied to workbenches and dinner tables, neighborhoods and long-term commitments. It is celebration that acknowledges pain, and trusts that God is bringing…
Sermon Note: Nostalgia
Introduction This Sunday we begin a new three-week series, The Days are Surely Coming. We’re starting with Nostalgia, that pull toward the way things used to be—family traditions, music, sanctuaries, even church calendars that feel like home. Nostalgia can comfort and connect us, and it can also make the present feel smaller than it really is. In Haggai’s day, a community stood in the rubble of yesterday’s glory and wondered whether anything new could possibly measure up. We carry similar…
Shoreline Community Service Emergency Food Drive
Shoreline Community Services has reached out to local churches for assistance during the current suspension of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Although Shoreline’s mission does not include food services, they are seeing first-hand the crisis being faced by our unsheltered neighbors. They have started an Amazon Wishlist that people can order specific items from or use the list as a guideline for shopping and delivering themselves. Use the button below for the Amazon Wishlist, and items will be delivered to…