Selected Sermons Podcast Archive
The titles listed below are available on our earlier podcast feed.
Our Turn, Our Time (June 12, 2011)
The one constant is that the work of the Holy Spirit, if you will, is to empower individuals and groups to become more fully themselves and to let go of that self-centered, separate, fearful mentality that keeps people so earthbound, that keeps people from self awareness, that keeps people from each other.
19 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 17.2 MB
On A Path (June 5, 2011)
Rev. Rick Skidmore
Our task is to give ourselves to God in the moment that is right now and let the rest of creation react or respond or stay indifferent as it may. And then to do the same thing in the next momemt. And the one after that.
20 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 18.5 MB
United or Untied? (May 29, 2011)
Rev. Rick Skidmore
In our faith tradition, belonging is based on an understanding of a free heart and mind. A heart and a mind and a soul that is in possession of itself, and that can make real and powerful commitments nevertheless.
22 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 19.9 MB
Not Business as Usual (May 22, 2011)
Rev. Rick Skidmore
Resurrection is not simply something that happens in a linear time, a date that you mark on the calendar. Rather, resurrection is a reality that has existed in the world since the beginning of time.
25 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 23.2 MB
A Whispered Word (May 1, 2011)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
I believe that the reason that the Resurrection is more than just an impossible story, which maybe took place 2000 years ago and then was over and done with, is because Christ also sees you and and I just as he saw the disciples.
20 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 18.7 MB
Witness to the Resurrection (April 24, 2011)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
The thing that convinced the earlier friends and followers of Jesus that he had risen was not the absence of his corpse or stories about an empty tomb.
19 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 17.8 MB
Blessing (April 17, 2011)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
We need to pause, and step back a bit and remember that God's presence can be known and trusted in every aspect of life, in every circumstance of life.
27 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 24.6 MB
Breath of Hope (April 10, 2011)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
In my experience there are two ways to get drawn out of the depths. One is to live life attentive, mindful of the radiance and the love of God, in any and all circumstances. But, the other is to give your life to something greater than yourself.
33 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 30.5 MB
The Blind Side (April 3, 2011)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
What are the standards that we use, you and I, to judge what we see? What are the core truths that we depend upon?
23 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 20.8 MB
A Broken Hallelujah (March 27, 2011)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
This I believe is one the tasks before us in this journey of Lent, this season of Lent, this journey that we make toward a deeper self-awareness and a kind of spiritual stock taking; we don't need to be at war with reality... Our human task here is to always be singing. (This recording includes the Leonard Cohen song, Hallelujah, sung by member Mary Boehme accompanied by Rick Skidmore on guitar).
26 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 23.9 MB
Border Crossing (March 20, 2011)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
When it comes to the journey of faith you can look all you want before you leap. But it's no help really, no matter how earnest the gazing and the peering because you never know until you go.
23 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 20.6 MB
Desire (March 13, 2011)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
Our hunger for the bread of life is real. Our thirst for living water is real. Our restlessness and dissatisfaction and longing is all too real and it should be proof, all the proof that we need, that God is reaching out for us, that God it calling out to us...
24 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 22.2 MB
Be Dazzled (March 6, 2011)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
Every once in a while the light of God burns through the mist, the fog of our lives, and something so touching and tender, so incandescent, transfigures us.
22 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 19.7 MB
Expanding Boundaries (February 20, 2011)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
Jesus invites us to a new way of seeing and being together, compels us to act with compassion, and to love without discrimination, and to expand our boundaries from our own self concern into a more mature wholeness; to shatter the old, or at least open some well placed cracks in the old, so the new light can shine in and penetrate our lives.
20 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 18.0 MB
Hearts and Minds (February 13, 2011)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
Increasingly it seems that this religious dispute over how to read and interpret the Bible is really at the heart of so many of the the social and political divisions that we're experiencing: abortion, environment, end of life choices, the sanctity of marriage.
24 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 22.0 MB
Our New Selves (February 6, 2011)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
In every age, and in every circumstance, Jesus' followers are both mandated and empowered by Jesus to become our new selves, to build a new world where God's holy presence and reliable comfort and peace prevail in our lives.
17 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 15.2 MB
The Measure of Success (January 30, 2011)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
The truth is that our finest moments in life are most likely to occur when we are feeling particularly uncomfortable, and unsettled, and unhappy, and unfulfilled, because in these moments we're propelled by our own discomfort, and so more likely to step out of old ruts, and old habits, and old patterns, and search for truer ways to live.
19 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 17.1 MB
Fearlessly Human (January 23, 2011)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
We are called to see, no matter how ordinary life may seem to us as each of us live it, that life is extraordinarily rich, and abundant, and deep, and full of God.
20 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 18.2 MB
Martin in Tuscon (January 16, 2011)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
We keep wanting to believe that Christianity is this kind of leisurely stroll through candy land. This effortless exercise, this kind of sloppy religious sentiment: you put on a smiley face; you be nice to everybody; you know that God would never do anything to disturb your comfort zone. But I don't see that matching anything Jesus taught.
27 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 24.5 MB
In the New Beginning (January 2, 2011)
In the beginning and in the end, there is God. We can't prove that with science, or with objective verifiable facts... We can only know that, you and I, when we experience it.
16 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 15.0 MB
Face to Face (December 19, 2010)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
According to the apostle Paul, the face of Christ is finally our own face, the face that we will all come to look like a little bit when the kingdom finally comes and at last we truly become ourselves, truly brothers and sisters, the children of God, which is a haunting thought.
18 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 16.8 MB
Strength of Women - Heartbeat of Justice (December 12, 2010)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
Advent is a time for prophets who come out of the wilderness speaking about world-shaking events, world-shaping events and exhorting us to turn our lives around in preparation, and in participation. And this week have, in a sense, four unlikely prophets gathered not from the wilderness but on the front porch...
18 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 16.1 MB
The New Normal (December 5, 2010)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
We've lived with the abnormal for so long that we've gotten used to thinking that it's normal.
16 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 14.8 MB
Hard Times, Not End Times (November 14, 2010)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
I've always been a kind of reluctant tourist when it comes to apocalyptic literature in the Bible. I'm happy to visit now and again, but there's no way I'm going to live there. And in the Gospels, Jesus doesn't seem to get much into it, if you look at the full sweep of his message and his ministry.
22 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 15.4 MB
Fear No Evil (October 31, 2010)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
I want to talk a little bit about the pathology of our fears and what we can maybe do about it.
25 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 23.1 MB
Handling Hubris (October 24, 2010)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
...and I haven't even begun with religious hubris, which I think is sort of threatening the entire planet. I mean, I'm talking about demonizing other faiths or groups that believe or act differently than we do. We come into this sanctuary each week to do what? To worship. And as we worship we are trying to step back from our lives from what we say and what we do and how we spend our time and money and where we put our attention to ask ourselves “am I living my life with authenticity? Am I living my life in harmony with those highest ideals that Jesus espoused? With the mandate of the gospel for justice and compassion and mercy and peace?”
22 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 19.7 MB
Hip for a Blessing (October 17, 2010)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
There's a difference between prayers and prayer... Prayer is more like waking up to God's presence in any and all circumstances, wherever you are, whatever you're doing. It's being fully alert to whatever is right in front of you. To be electrically aware of the tremendous blessing of just being alive. I think when you do that, you're in prayer. You don't have to be using any words. Prayer is happening then and there. Just as God is happening, whether we notice or not.
21 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 19.2 MB
Healing Encounters (October 10, 2010)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
The future, our future, the future of this planet depends on how we deal with these issues of identity and difference. We would do well to pay attention and to see with reverence those who are different from ourselves, who worship differently from us. To see them and to celebrate that the God who made others different from us is revealed in these others as well. This is undeniably the challenge of our times, to see God's image in the stranger.
27 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 25.0 MB
Divine Possibilities (October 3, 2010)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
I can't help but wonder, do we build houses for God so we can choose when to go see God? Do we build houses for God instead of having God come with us and stay with us? Plus what happens to the rest of the world when we build walls and a ceiling and designate that this is where God dwells? What happens to the people who never show up in houses like this, who wouldn't be caught dead in houses like this?
23 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 21.2 MB
Seeking Solid Ground (September 12, 2010)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
So what get's you up and out of bed in the morning? I think it's a question that gets asked in one form or another by lots of people... I'm not talking about the aroma of cofee or the need to get to work or get the kids off to school. I'm talking about the work that we all of us have to do in understanding the universe and how we are each of us alive in this particular time and place. I'm talking about the search that we are all of us engaged in for meaning and purpose.
25 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 22.8 MB
Prophetic Leadership (June 27, 2010)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
The waters of faith have been so polluted, so poisoned by reckless fundamentalism, religious extremism and polarized ideologies that you have to wonder if it's going to take a generation or two before life returns to the churches.
30 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 27.3 MB
The Broomtree Experience (June 20, 2010)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
Living in and for the realm of God is more than a spiritual fix or high. To know God is to be sent in some fashion. It's impossible to mix it up with God without in some way starting to see how your own life fits into something bigger and greater than your own immediate needs and desires and fears and concerns.
30 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 28.2 MB
Life Among the Trinitarians on the Third Planet from the Sun
(May 30, 2010)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
For any one of us not to do everything within our power to speak a language of faith in such a way that is affirming, inviting, inclusive and loving, is to miss the mark, and perpetuate a system of exclusion and rejection.
26 minutes approximately, MP3 audio file, 24.2 MB
Imagine (May 2, 2010)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
We may claim that God, of course, is in charge, but what's God's dream for us and for all of creation. What's the point of all of this?
20 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 11.9 MB
Intercessory Prayer (April 25, 2010)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
As we pray we become firmly grounded in our relationship with God and we are changed. That's why prayer is so dangerous. Because to be guided in prayer is to invite transformation of one's spirit.
24 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 13.9 MB
It’s Not Over Until It’s Over (April 4, 2010)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
When was the last time you were open to something new? When was the last time you let yourself be surprised by anything? How open are you to unexpected endings and surprise resolutions? How receptive are you to new information?
20 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 11.2 MB
Deadly Virtues (March 14, 2010)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
Consider the paradoxical nature of virtue, the aspects of virtue that can actually trip us up, the shadow side of it, which can be dangerous and hurtful to the spirit.
25 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 14.5 MB
Into the Deep (February 7, 2010)
by Rev. Rick Skidmore
Jesus built his movement out of human beings with more or less the same mixture in them of cowardice and guts and intelligence and stupidity and selfishness and generosity and openness and analness as you would like to find here.
17 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 10.0 MB
In Memory and Celebration of Phyllis Courtney (February 6, 2010)
Recording of the memorial service for our beloved, long-time member
Phyllis S. Courtney (1/6/1930 - 1/29/2010)
1 hour 10 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 39.4 MB
Affirmed by Love (January 10, 2010)
By Rev. Rick Skidmore
Whether we can remember our baptismal day or not is less important than whether we can remember that we too are God's beloved. In this Epiphany season let there be no doubt that we are blessed to be conduits of God's spirit in so many marvelous ways.
21 minutes (approximately), MP3 audio file, 12.2 MB
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