2021 Sunday Sermons at Unity of Tallahassee

2021 Sunday Services

Last Sunday we began an exploration to better understand the relationships and dynamics in the group that formed with Jesus as the central force.  This group was a spiritual school whose purpose was to transform those within it and those who came into contact with it in the general population. The makeup of the school consisted of Jesus as Teacher (Rabbi), twelve designated messengers (Apostles), and those who directly followed Jesus as students (Disciples).   Jesus gave direct instruction in the form of teaching principles of living consciously.  Examples of this can be found in what is known as The Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5, 6, & 7).  There were also less direct teachings through various parables and sayings, as well as indirect teaching by example and demonstration.  Perhaps the most powerful transformer of the followers and students was being in the force field of the presence of the Teacher.  The teaching assisted the students through the following three stages of transformation:
1) Awakening (alertness to the present)
2) Dying to the acquired or conditioned self (surrendering)
3) Rebirth (embodying ones True Self).
This Sunday we will further acquaint ourselves with how all of this is not just an historical event in the past, but a present time reality to be entered into.

More School Work (Rev. Bill Williams, 9/12/21)

It can sometimes seem as if we’re part of random happenings that can knock us off our feet with no warning. The feeling of ‘life out of control’ is what many of us try so very hard to avoid. Indeed, the unpredictable nature of the world can tempt us to do everything we can think of to try to control events and outcomes. The Easy Jesus Tour is not about learning how to control life events, but how to recognize what is real and what is false in and around them. It is about knowing that all the events and circumstances are not destinations; they are places along the tour. This Sunday we will take a look at the itinerary and learn more about where we have been in a way that clarifies where we are going.

The Easy Jesus Tour: Part 2 (Rev. Bill Williams, 11/14/21)

How difficult is it to be filled with joy or to be in a state of gratitude when life around you has gone awry? It’s hard to be a peaceful presence while identified with the duties and demands of the day and feeling as if life has closed in on you. We can find scattered throughout the Gospels clues about one of the primary exhibits on the Easy Jesus Tour, namely, the transformation of the contracting darkness felt as negative and separating emotions into the expanding lightness of being experienced as what we are calling the Seven Sacred Emotions. As always, the guide on our tour is the Spirit of Truth. We will discover together if we can learn to hear the Voice of the Guide.

The Easy Jesus Tour: Part 3, The Seven Sacred Emotions (Rev. Bill Williams, 11/28/21)

Last Sunday we introduced the idea that our sense of who we are in a given moment, our sense of self, is experienced through our feeling or emotional nature. It is through the clear and unconditional felt sense of self that we connect most directly with who we are as a spiritual being, not just a body or as thoughts about God or Spirit. Negatively identified emotions are impediments to connecting with the higher, less cluttered dimensions of being we’re calling our Sacred Emotions. The demonstrations of Jesus that appear to be miraculous could be seen in a new way if they are understood to be natural and easy expressions of these Sacred Emotions. This Sunday we will look at Jesus’ teachings through the lens of understanding that he was offering keys to unlocking the presence and power of the Sacred Emotions as the essence of who we are.

The Easy Jesus Tour: Part 4, Accessing the Sacred Emotions (Rev. Bill Williams, 12/5/21)

The Christmas story is expressed in many ways; caroling, lights, colors, smells, children’s laughter, solemn ritual, family gatherings, meals and parties, parades, and giving of gifts. The original telling of the birth of Jesus is found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke as a kind of prologue to the narrative of his ministry. The Nativity story sounds certain notes, resounding clearly in hearts attuned to the possibility of a new direction in the course of human experience and expression. Or, maybe it is a kind of cosmic course correction in this obscure corner of the Universe we currently call home. If we can be still enough in the midst of the clatter and clamor, perhaps we can touch what it is about this yearly Birth Day celebration that draws us into a different place within us than the everyday ordinary; a reality that is always Peace, Joy, and Love. Join in as we open up the gift of the Christmas story.

A New Christmas Story (Rev. Bill Williams, 12/12/21)

As we return to our exploration of the "Easy Jesus Tour", let’s see if we can connect a little more consciously with some ways we can navigate life that enhances the potential for the realization of who we are created to be. One of those ways is by becoming more attuned to what may be called “the prompting of Spirit”. In the Gospel of John, chapter 16, it is reported that Jesus talked about the need for him as a physical presence to go away. It can be understood that the disciples could not take the next step in their spiritual development unless he did go away. They would then have the opportunity to grow in that part of themselves that could have ever-present access to what Jesus called, "the Spirit of Truth which would guide them in all things.” What if you could have a personalized tour guide to take you through all the many twists and turns of life? That may be what he was pointing out to the disciples and to you and me.

Your Tour Guide (Rev. Bill Williams, 12/26/21)

Unity has as its foundational Truth that there is only One, "One Presence and One Power". This teaching is rooted and grounded in the Principle of non-duality. There are many teachers and traditions that express this principle in ways that can serve to strengthen and expand our understanding of Unity and the practice of its principles. Non-duality is not a philosophy or a religion, it is the experience of no separation between me and the Universe; me and God.

Studies in Non-Duality: Week 15 (Rev. Bill Williams, 4/12/23)

Sunday Message by Rev. Bill Williams, December 31, 2017:  What if everything in your life were new? What would your life experience be like? Is there a new way of seeing and experiencing the limits, challenges, and obstacles that seem to be controlling how life unfolds? Let's explore what new beginnings really mean.

More School Work (Rev. Bill Williams, 9/12/21)

Unity of Tallahassee

Related tracks