University Christian Church Sermons

Megan continues our sermon series as Paul continues his letter to the Galatians. In this sermon, she helps us to think through what a life lived in connection with God's Spirit looks like.

As Paul continues the defense of his gospel, we engage with one of the things that gospel produces - an authentic freedom in Christ.

The beginning of a new series through the book of Galatians during Eastertide (the season from Easter to Pentecost). In week 1, Jeremiah shares how we often fall into the trap of believing false gospels and how we can hang on to the good gospel we've received.

What is the good news about Easter? In a brief homily, Jeremiah shares the gospel according to the book of Acts as Peter speaks at the home of Cornelius the Centurion.

What stories are people telling about Jesus? More importantly, what story is Jesus telling about himself. On Palm Sunday, Jeremiah explores the stories being told during the “triumphal entry.”

Our Lenten series concludes with the anointing of Jesus at Bethany. Katie Ranum shares from John 12 about what discipleship looks like in the lives of both Mary and Judas.

Jeremiah continues our Lenten series by taking a look at the parable of the Prodigal Son. Even though it's one of Jesus' most well-known stories, is is possible that there are new things here to learn?

Marty Solomon picks up our Lenten series where Megan left off last week. Working backwards through Luke 13, Marty helps us keep our focus on what God is doing instead of what's going on around us.

Megan continues our Lenten series by looking at a story from John 13. What it is that get's in the way of us following God?

Our Lenten series follows the story of Jesus' life in order to explore themes of temptation, rejection, repentance, reconciliation, and worship. For the first Sunday of Lent, Jeremiah dives into the temptation and testing of Jesus in the wilderness.

Megan wraps up our series on discipleships. This week, she takes a look at Paul's relationship with Timothy and what it means to invest in making disciples.

In a confessional message, Marty continues our teaching on discipleship. As we examine the story of Paul's friend Epaphroditus, we discover the importance of being needy.

Guest preacher Daniel Hickman, seminary student and UCC member, continues our series on discipleship. In this message, Daniel looks at Paul's relationship with Apollos and what it can teach us about conflict, growth, and building up the church.

Jeremiah continues our series on discipleship by examining Silas, Paul's traveling companion. We might be tempted to think we can do everything all by ourselves, but that's not the case. Discipleship requires partnership.

Megan continues our series on discipleship with a look at Paul's mentor, Barnabas. What does it mean to see God at work in someone else and take a chance on them? Barnabas helps us understand that no one remains a disciple alone.

Our first series of 2025 takes a look at discipleship through the lens of seven relationships in the life of Paul. Jeremiah begins our series by taking a look at Ananias, the person who helped Paul become a disciple.

While we didn't meet in person on January 5th, Jeremiah recorded a short video for our social media feeds to share some thoughts about what Epiphany Sunday means. This is the audio of that recording.

Our Advent series concludes with a look at love through the eyes of Mary. Mary's song in Luke 1 reveals the love of God to us and encourages us to be people who love like God. This sermon begins with a testimony from UCC member Caitlin Snyder.

Katie Ranum continues our Advent series. Advent reminds us that we live in a world full of chaos. Sometimes that chaos threatens to sweep us away. What can we do in the face of such darkness? We rebel against it by being people of peace.

What does it mean to wait in hope? Waiting during the season of Advent is not a passive thing. Jeremiah shares with us how waiting in hope can be a rebellion against despair. This sermon begins with a testimony from UCC member Hannah Walker.

Mitch Lavender shares a message from James 2 with us. Mitch is the lead campus pastor with Impact Campus Ministries at University of Cincinnati and a parter of UCC. Today, Mitch helps us work through what it means to care for vulnerable and marginalized.

Our series on worship continues. Jeremiah shares from 1 Corinthians 11 on the Lord's Supper, or communion. What does it mean to come to the table together? How does the table help us overcome divisions and learn to live in unity?

Jeremiah continues our series on worship. On the Sunday before election day we wrestle with being a confessional people. What does it mean to confess Jesus as Lord when we gather together, and how should we keep that confession Monday through Saturday?

Our series on worship continues with a look at the Apostles' teaching. Marty Solomon takes us beyond just “Bible teaching” to examine what makes the teaching of the Apostles so special and why we want to hold tightly to it today.

Marty Solomon continues our series on the worship practices of the church by looking at giving. Marty examines why we give and deals with some of the church trauma we may have experienced around giving, helping us let go of a destructive “tithing” mentality and helping us move toward true generosity.

Megan continues our series on worship. What does it mean to welcome others as Christ has welcomed us? And how do we do that while we are sent out into the world?

This week we begin a new series on worship. Each week we'll explore a different element of the Sunday worship gathering to find out why we do what we do and how we can continue worshiping throughout the week. This week, Jeremiah starts our series by looking at why we sing.

Our series on hospitality concludes this week. As we examine what it means to be people of hospitality, Jeremiah shares what to means to make room for God.

Marty Solomon continues our series on hospitality. In this message, we explore how hospitality and theology intersect. How can we be hospitable to those who hold theology differently than we do?

Megan continues our series on hospitality by digging into one of Jesus' most famous teachings - the Parable of the Good Samaritan. As she reimagines this parable for our context today, Megan helps us name those things that prevent us from showing hospitality and pursuing mercy toward others.

First in a new series on hospitality. What does it mean to be hospitable? It is more than hostels and inviting friends over for dinner? How does Jesus' ability to make room for interruption reshape how we think about hospitality?

Katie Ranum shares a little bit about what "Ordinary Time" on the church calendar is and how we can learn from ordinary times in our own lives. How does faithfully following God in the ordinary, everyday stuff of life prepare us for when the big moments come?

What if we imagine the stories of Jesus as if they happened today? This week, we take a closer look at one of Jesus' well-known feeding stories, as told in John's Gospel, the feeding of the 5,000. Listen in as we consider what it means that our God is a God of abundance, a God of provision, a God of generosity.

Once more, we return to 2 Samuel to guide our learning this week. Alongside this story of David, we look at a passage from the prophet Jeremiah, a couple psalms, a passage from Ephesians 2, and a section of Mark's gospel to consider how God desires to use his leaders—his shepherds, his prophets, his apostles, his teachers—to care for his people.

Today we take a closer look at 2 Samuel 6, exploring another story from the early part of David's reign. Get ready to dance!

This weekend, our friend and Impact Campus Minister, Mitch Lavender, invites us to take a closer look at King David's story as shared in 2 Samuel. What can we learn from the life of one of God's key human partners? How might God be inviting us to partner with him today? What role does power play in advancing Kingdom? Listen in.

Today, we're in Mark 5 taking a closer look at a story (of great faith) within a story (of great faith). How might our faith drive us to act in a particular way in the world?

This week we kick off our summer journey through the weekly lectionary passages, beginning with Paul's words to the church in Corinth. What does it mean that we, the church, are reconciled to God in Christ? What does it mean that we, the church, are ambassadors of Christ in the world? Listen in.

This week, we look at a story from Acts 10/11 to explore the role experience plays in helping us know (1) how to form our faith, and (2) how to live our beliefs as contemporary followers of Jesus in the world today. Tune in as we round out our 3-part series on the Wesleyan Quadrilateral.

Why do we believe what we believe? How do we live because of what we believe? Jeremiah leads us in a teaching, looking at two stories from Acts, to explore how "reason" plays a role in the development of our faith, and our engagement with the world around us.

How do we live as Christians in our contemporary world—amid the rapid change, complexities, and cultural forces of our time and place? Today we begin a 3-part series looking closer at the Wesleyan Quadrilateral, a methodology for theological reflection and discernment that can help guide us through the moral questions and dilemmas faced in daily living. Katie kicks off our series by focusing on the role "tradition" plays in our life of faith.

On Trinity Sunday, Jeremiah seeks to help us understand the relationship between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—a relationship the church has been trying to comprehend for centuries. How might reckoning with the mystery of the Trinity deepen our discipleship? Listen in...

God moves when God's people come together. God moves when God's people wait. God moves when God's people surrender to the Spirit's movement. The Spirit's movement unites the unlikeliest of characters—living stones built-up together in God's house.

What's possible when we open ourselves to the leading of the Spirit as we engage the Scriptures? Anything! Everything. More than we can imagine. In today's sermon, Megan tells some stories, and shares what she's learning when it comes to engaging the Spirit in the reading of Scripture, and invites us to consider some practices we might explore to help us become better listeners.

Are there different kinds of truths? Are all facts truthful, all truths factual? How do you communicate truth that can only be seen through the eyes of the heart? In true Marty fashion, we ask questions, seeking to fill our toolbox with a few more tools for engaging the bible well.

Today, Marty invites us to consider how we posture ourselves towards the bible, suggesting that “asking better questions of the bible,” is one way we mature in our discipleship. Marty touches on many themes including: why it's important to understand the bible as a singular, cohesive narrative; the differences between the bible's distinct sections and why that matters in the work of interpretation; and what changes when Jesus enters the story.

In order to understand the bible well, apply the bible well, engage the bible well, and utilize the bible well, the bible must be (scary word) “interpreted.” In this second teaching in our, “How We Read the Bible” series, Jeremiah invites us to look closer at how we draw meaning from this collection of ancient voices—that which comes from the Spirit of God and the work of humans.

In this first of a six-part sermon series, Jeremiah invites us to explore how the bible came to be, and what difference the bible can make in our lives today as we learn to love it, absorb it, and allow it to form us.

Weird things happen in the Bible. Including in the story of Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem. On Palm Sunday, we look closer at Luke 19 and the bizarre events that transpire at the beginning of Jesus' passion.

A final reflection on Lamentations, guided by Marty Solomon. What needs to die in us? Who might we need to walk with in solidarity through suffering? What new perspective is God showing us? Can we embrace the dying and trust the new life to follow? Let us hope.