Westwood UMC - Los Angeles, CA

Sunday, September 22, 2024

Scripture gives us examples of good, wise, compassionate, peaceable ways actions, and invites us to let our lives be a declaration of our faith. This Homecoming Sunday, we are invited to remember and share the stories of faithfulness that are a part of our community, that have shaped each of our lives, and that enable us to take action for the future of our planet.

Sunday, September 15, 2024

Our series, “Holy, Worldly Wisdom” continues, and asks us to consider why we are so resistant to heeding the voice of God. In Proverbs, Woman Wisdom speaks in a voice that cries out in the street. James names the dangerous power of the words we use, when we don’t “tame our tongues.” In an era of sound bites, zingers, and sick burns, how do we listen for holy wisdom? And how do we speak up for good, for our neighbors and our planet?

Sunday, September 08, 2024

The Bible is full of instruction–from the wisdom of Hebrew Proverbs to the advice of the Epistle of James. Also, we continue to learn, using contemporary aphorisms to pass along the moral advice needed in the present moment. In all of these forms, we find good advice that asks us to look beyond ourselves and pay attention to the needs of others. And, they remind us to act!

Sunday, September 01, 2024

This Sunday begins a five-week series that interprets lessons from the book of James and ancient wisdom from the Hebrew Bible — as we seek insight about how to respond to the ecological crisis we face in the 21st century. With poetry and practical faith, their lessons speak through the centuries, bringing a steady focus for an uncertain time. This week, we begin with love poetry from Song of Songs, and practical wisdom from James..

Sunday, August 25, 2024

In Ephesians, we are told how to prepare ourselves to face life’s battles: with righteousness, peace, and the word of God. This is an unconventional form of armor, but one that gives us an unexpected strength.

Sunday, August 18, 2024

In Ephesians, we are admonished to live as wise people, and not be foolish. But our scripture also invites us to live in distinct ways that are certainly in tension with conventional expectations. From Weird Barbie to our national politics, we have a rich diversity of weirdness on display. Jesus invites us to be attentive to which wisdom we follow, and how we are called to live with each other.

Sunday, August 11, 2024

In a culture that connects authenticity and originality, the directions in Ephesians that invite us to be “imitators of Christ” sound a bit strange. Nonetheless, we are invited to shape our lives in imitation of Christ-like love. What does that look like today?

Sunday, August 4, 2024

We are very pleased to welcome Rev. John Woodall to our pulpit this Sunday. Rev. Woodall served as our Senior Pastor from 2006-2019, and currently serves as the CEO and President of our California-Pacific United Methodist Foundation. He will preach on John 6:24-35, in which Jesus speaks about his miraculous feeding of multitudes, and then describes himself as the “bread of life.” We will also share in the sacrament of Holy Communion.

Sunday, July 28, 2024

This Sunday’s reading from Ephesians includes some of my favorite lines from the Bible–phrases that are embedded in my memory and my heart whenever I think about my life of faith. I seek to be “rooted and grounded in love,” to dwell on “the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge,” and a grace of God that is “far more than all we can ask or imagine.” These phrases have literal meanings, but also additional meaning that has been added by the people, places and contexts from which I have learned them. So, this Sunday, we get to revel in the goodness of Good news as it was proclaimed in ancient scripture, and repeated in the communities that came after.

Sunday, July 21, 2024

We continue to read wisdom from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, this week hearing an invitation to a new unity that reconciles us with God. This new belonging honors and remembers what was before, even as we are made new by what we are becoming.