Posts from 2026
Sermon Note: Feasting with the Found
Introduction As we continue our Lenten series The Last Supper: Conversations That Led to the Cross, we turn to one of the most familiar parables in the Gospels—and possibly the most misread. A young man takes his inheritance early, wastes it, ends up feeding pigs in a far country, and finally heads home with a prepared speech. His father sees him coming from a distance and runs. Before the son can finish his apology, the father is already calling for…
Sermon Note: Open Invitation
Introduction As we continue our Lenten series The Last Supper: Conversations That Led to the Cross, we turn from a field to a dinner table. A host has prepared a large feast and invited many people. When the time comes, the replies arrive one by one: a new farm to inspect, new oxen to check, a new marriage to tend. The excuses are completely reasonable, and the host sends his servant into the streets anyway. First to the busy streets,…
Sermon Note: Sowing, Seeking, Finding
Introduction As we begin our Lenten series The Last Supper: Conversations That Led to the Cross, we follow Jesus on his final journey toward Jerusalem—listening carefully to the parables he tells along the way. Bishop Will Willimon, in his book by the same name, calls these stories “riddles,” and insists they’re more about God’s character than our behavior. That’s a more interesting (and more difficult) claim than it sounds. Most of us were taught to read parables as instructions: be…
Sermon Note: Why Do the Innocent Suffer?
Introduction As we continue our worship series Wrestling with Doubt, Finding Faith, we come to the question that causes more doubt than perhaps any other: why do innocent people suffer? When tragedy strikes someone who has done nothing wrong—a child with cancer, a family killed in an accident, a community devastated by a natural disaster—we struggle to make sense of it. Where is God when bad things happen to good people? This question has shaken faith for centuries. It shows…
February, March & April Book Talk Info
For our February 4 meeting, we welcome back Dr. Diane Schneider, who will present a very popular bestseller, The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans. In this wonderful “epistolary novel” (one told through letters), the main character, a spiky retired attorney, reveals her life, conflicts, heartaches and discoveries through the letters she writes to everyone she knows – and many she doesn’t! This book has been a big hit with book clubs. For our March 4 meeting, we have had a change of presenters. …
Sermon Note: Is Heaven Real?
Introduction As we continue our worship series Wrestling with Doubt, Finding Faith, we turn to a question many of us struggle with: What happens when we die? Popular images of heaven—clouds, harps, angels in white—sometimes feel more like cartoons than images of hope. And when loss and grief hit close, when someone we love is gone, the questions become more urgent: Will I see them again? Is there something beyond this life, or is death simply the end? This week…
Sermon Note: The Gospel Truth
Introduction As we continue our worship series Wrestling with Doubt, Finding Faith, we turn to a question that underscores a lot of other questions: How do we approach the Bible? For some, scripture has been a source of comfort and clarity. For others, it has felt confusing, internally conflicted, or even used to keep score. And when that happens, it can be hard to know what to do with the Bible. This week we are exploring our sacred text critically…
February and March Book Talk Info
For our February 4 meeting, we welcome back Dr. Diane Schneider, who will present a very popular bestseller, The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans. In this wonderful “epistolary novel” (one told through letters), the main character, a spiky retired attorney, reveals her life, conflicts, heartaches and discoveries through the letters she writes to everyone she knows – and many she doesn’t! This book has been a big hit with book clubs. On March, Cindy Rushing will present the novel The Librarianist, by Patrick DeWitt. In…
Sermon Note: Doubt and the Existence of God
Introduction As we begin this five-week series based on Adam Hamilton’s book Wrestling with Doubt, Finding Faith, we start with the question that grounds all the others: Does God exist? Most of us have carried this question at some point—when prayers seem unanswered, when tragedy strikes, when the world feels too broken. This series empowers us to bring our hard questions out into the open and to wrestle honestly with what we believe and why. This week, we explore the…
La Jolla UMC Joins Pacific Beach UMC for Interfaith Shelter January 17 – January 31
The Interfaith Shelter Network is now providing shelter for the unhoused at churches throughout San Diego County. We are part of the Beaches branch, and we will be supporting the shelter to be held at Pacific Beach UMC beginning January 17th. We will be signing up volunteers for the two-week program. These are the opportunities that will be available: Dinner Host — Prepare a dinner ready to be served by 6 pm. The dinner needsto feed the 12 guests and…