2021 Sunday Sermons at Unity of Tallahassee

2021 Sunday Services

The Sixth Precept in our ongoing series is: Return to God. No aim but to attain Reality.

This Sunday we come to Precept No. 6 in our journey through the eight guidelines that assist us along the way to recognition and realization of who we have been created to be. This precept suggests that the return to God includes expanded understanding of three things: establishing an aim, working to attain it, and connecting with what is Real. Growing the understanding of these three things will be the focus of our lesson this Sunday.

Eight Precepts: 6. Return to God (Rev. Bill Williams, 8/1/21)

The Seventh Precept in our ongoing series is: Struggle with all alien thoughts. Keep your mind on what you are doing whether outwardly or inwardly.  Jesus said, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow…”  (Matt. 6:34 KJV).  Certainly, he was advising against worrying and fretting about what might be coming up, but beyond that obvious point is an idea even more basic. The spiritual journey begins with a thought leading to right thinking.  By the same token, the journey can be, and often is, sidetracked by a thought leading to wrong thinking. Herein lies the struggle this precept is pointing to.  This Sunday we will see if we can uncover some useful pointers about this key part of our journey of Self-realization.

Eight Precepts: 7. Observation (Rev. Bill Williams, 8/8/21)

The Eighth Precept in our ongoing series is: God is Present. Be constantly aware of the quality of the Divine Presence. Become used to recognizing the Presence of God in your heart.

This Sunday we conclude the series of eight precepts that are guidelines to assist in the awakening to who we have been created to be. This Precept represents both the beginning and the end steps of our journey.  When we encounter all events from the awareness of the presence of God, everything changes as we change.  Join us Sunday in the Sanctuary or by Zoom.

Eight Precepts: 8. God is Present (Rev. Bill Williams, 8/15/21)

Do you have family members or friends you have lost touch with and then tried to reconnect?  It is easy to get out of touch if we don’t make special efforts to stay connected.  It is also easy to lose touch with your essential Self, that sense of who you are beyond all thoughts of past and future.  It is perhaps the deeper meaning of the phrase in the old Gospel song, “Amazing Grace,” that says “I once was lost, but now am found.”  Let’s spend a few minutes this Sunday strengthening our ability to get in touch and stay in touch.

Staying in Touch (Rev. Bill Williams, 8/22/21)

One of the key threads woven throughout the tapestry of Jesus’ teaching is that transformation happens from the inside out, not the outside in. This Sunday we will explore how the realization of this truth changes everything we think, feel, say, and do and how we experience life itself. A certain and clear understanding of the reality of this concept is the birth into a new heaven and a new earth that Jesus kept pointing toward; a new inside and a new outside.

Inside Outside (Rev. Bill Williams, 8/29/21)

The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist marked the beginning of a remarkable three-year transformational experience that the disciples were called into. They and other closely involved members of the group constituted a School, established by Jesus, where he gave an intense course in awakening to a new dimension of possibilities. These people were not obviously remarkable in any way one would notice. They were ordinary people initiated into an extraordinary way of seeing and being. Let’s see if we can extract from the Gospel narrative a better understanding of what was taught in that School and what were some of the methods Jesus used that we can practice.

Moments of Awakening (Rev. Bill Williams, 9/5/21)

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)

This Sunday we continue to delve into the workings of the School that was established by Jesus.  Charles Fillmore, co-founder of Unity, was asked to define Unity.  He began his answer by saying, “Unity is a link in the great educational movement inaugurated by Jesus Christ…”  Since the founding of Unity it has been common to hear the participants in services and classes referred to as students, particularly in the early days and even up until fairly recently.  What is it like to be in this School, to be a student in a school with a transcendental point of view?

A Transcendental Point of View (Rev. Bill Williams, 9/19/21)

The narrative depicting Jesus’ work as given in the Gospel of John begins with an account of the supernatural transformation of water into wine that we are all familiar with.  What is the significance of this incident being the first attention-getting act of his ministry?  How does it tie into the teachings that follow, and what understanding does it lay the groundwork for?  What is the universal principle exemplified by this act?

Changing Water Into Wine (Rev. Bill Williams, 9/26/21)

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear…” 1 John 4:18
There is a thread weaving throughout the transformational teaching of Jesus reiterating the idea of turning the lower into the higher.  Last Sunday we looked at this pattern as illustrated by the story of turning water into wine.  All beliefs, perceptions, and experiences of life that are lower and separating in their nature are fear-based and result in ever increasing suffering.  We can attempt to defeat our fears one-by-one or we can see if it is possible to meet life from a new, higher baseline of thinking, perceiving, and being that connects rather than separates.  Let’s explore how this might be made a reality in our lives.

The Defeat of Fear (Rev. Bill Williams, 10/3/21)

The disciples were initiates with access to different levels of understanding about who they really were.  Jesus guided them into a new awareness of how they could turn all the various life circumstances and events into the energy necessary for a change in level of being.  We will continue this Sunday to explore the nature of some of the instructions in the Gospel narrative that we can use as a guide for a change in our own realization of who we really are.

Instructions in the Kingdom of Heaven (Rev. Bill Williams, 10/10/21)

More than likely you have made a decision at some point to approach a difficult life situation differently after what you had been doing wasn't working out well.  You had a change of mind about the well-worn approach, but for some reason, the old way of doing things may have crept back into control of your experience. Is this a familiar pattern for you? If so, perhaps you not only need a change of mind, but also a change of heart. Let’s see if we can find some helpful ways to bring about real and lasting change; a complete attitude overhaul.

It's an Attitude Thing (Rev. Bill Williams, 10/17/21)

Among all the sayings of Jesus we find recorded in the Gospels, there is one that if heard and understood in the right way, encapsulates the direction and purpose of our spiritual work.  He said, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Who doesn’t long for peace and happiness in this lifetime? Maybe the possibility seems far away. Let’s see if we can discover how peace and good cheer is more accessible than most think is possible.

An Overcoming (Rev. Bill Williams, 10/24/21)

We will gather this Sunday on the grounds at the picnic tables near the Fellowship Hall for a special healing and renewal service.  Before our community can move forward with clarity and on a firm foundation, we must first acknowledge and be lovingly present with the feeling of loss.  Supporting one another in this experience is what will strengthen the bonds needed to move our community through the creative steps that must follow.  We will come together on our beautiful grounds that have been the setting for an amazing spiritual journey of the community we cherish deeply. It will be the beginning of the first step into the next phase of the continuation of that journey.  Bring a lawn chair, a warm sweater, and an open heart and together we will see through the haze of any sense of loss into what we truly have that is even greater.

Remembering, Honoring and Moving Forward (Rev. Bill Williams, 10/31/21)

You have often heard it said that life is a journey. And it sure seems that’s what it is. There are twists and turns, and bends in the road that reveal shocks and surprises. There is also a rather cynical saying that life is hard, then you die. What if there is another way to not only see, but to experience, life as a guided tour; that life is not a grind, but a revelation. Each event and encounter is encapsulated information revealing a little more of what the tour is all about. It doesn’t get harder. It becomes easier to take life in a new and expansive way. We’ll call it the Easy Jesus Tour. You’re invited to get on board.

The Easy Jesus Tour (Rev. Bill Williams, 11/7/21)

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.