Online Sermons

By Scott Phillips

The Greatest Gift You Can Give

The kindest thing that we can do, is to offer ourselves in prayer for someone else. It is our nature to pray for ourselves and the things that directly pertain to us. However we demonstrate spiritual maturity when our devotion reaches beyond our own concerns and questions.

When we can reach not just toward God, but as we reach toward God, to reach towards others being a reconciling force in the lives of people. This is the sign of spiritual significance. This is a level of maturity we must all realize. This is the calling of all.

If you have been born again, your eventual task is to see others experience this same miraculous experience.

Some like to keep this experience to themselves for fear of not being understood or sadly, often because a lack of understanding on our part of what is needed to help others experience this same joy.

This Joy of unspeakable peace.

A portion of the Holy Presence that is Christ.

My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you," Galatians 4:19 KJV

The Need for Spiritual Children. We need to see our need for children. The yearning in the heart of a mother is for children.

The heart of the church must be touched with a desire and hunger for offspring.

This offspring will come from intimacy with the Presence of the Lord. From this, a birthing will take place.

And then responsibility begins. We must transition from one level to the other, so that we are not just thinking of ourselves, but those who the Lord is about to bring into this place. They are going to come from this desire for children.

When they come, we must love them like they are our family, our children, our flesh. Wrap your arms around them, wrap your heart

around them and bear them up in our arms.

Arms of Faith,

Arms of Prayer,

Arms of Love,

Arms of Fellowship,

In Him, By Him, Through Him, To Him,

Scott Phillips

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more.

Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free,  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button.

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Becoming Ordained Online for Free

Become an Ordained minister with a single click

by JODY BARBER  

There has always been countless conflicts and bloodshed over religious matters.

These conflicts, or ‘Holy Wars,’ are a thing that I have always found both odd and sad.

For the most part, religions almost always promote love, understanding, peace, unity, and salvation on some level.

However, there have been more deaths as a result of differing beliefs and misunderstanding than casualties due to war.

I think that it’s time to find people who want to embrace religious tolerance and peace— so that’s exactly what I did.

After some time researching, I found the Universal Life Church.

Jody Barber


This church started in 1959 as a religious organization based on a central belief:

“Every person has the natural right (and the responsibility) to peacefully determine what is right as long as it does not infringe on the rights of others.”  

In more recent times, they have expanded past their original location of Modesto, California and moved to a primarily online organization.  There is still a church building in Modesto, however.

The ULC is a strong supporter for the freedom of religion, immediately stating that its members welcome and accept all faiths. Another ground-breaking achievement that the Universal Life Church has committed itself to is ‘free legal ordination for life.’

They believe that no outside force can determine if a person is to be ordained – only God. Therefore within minutes, you can become one of the ULC’s 20+ million legally ordained ministers.

I was elated at finding this church. All religious organizations seem to promote ‘religious tolerance’ until it’s no longer convenient, but this church was actually committed to not only religious tolerance, but religious love and understanding.

I was, however, instantly skeptical of the free ordination—I could not believe that someone would/could give it away so freely.

I have been a follower of a not-so-mainstream faith for many years, and was deeply interested in ministry.

Naturally, I did not believe that someone who was certified to license a minister would license me, due to my choice in faiths.

When I found the ULC, I immediately contacted various clerks of state in Georgia to validate that this type of organization was legitimate—it was! So I, too, became one of the ULC’s many ministers.

After my ordination, I further examined the ULC’s wide range of tools for their ministers.

The online church website is filled with tips on how to improve your ministry, information on perform weddings of different faiths, a collection of minister-submitted sermons, and prayer requests among many other things, including the ordination form.

The church really seems to take an interest in helping their clergy along their religious path.

So, if you’re interested in ministry and believe that all faiths can exist together in this world, the Universal Life Church might be the place for you.

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. 

Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free,  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button.We also offer many free wedding ceremonies for your use.

 

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary.  
 

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Online Sermons

So You Want to be Happy?
By Scott Phillips

As we walk down the road of life, we have a choice of how we approach life. I would like to give you how I try to approach to life. I see this same approach in scripture. If I may say, the approach of those I have considered in scripture, there was an attitude towards life that captured their minds and powered their life that is identifiable.

From Abel, to Noah, To Abraham, To Jacob, To Joseph, To Moses, To Joshua, To David, To Christ, To the disciples. They had a philosophy of life that if we can learn to follow it, we will find what the world and it's trinkets cannot supply. I will use the eleventh chapter of Ecclesiastes as my scriptural basis.

"Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days."

Take a risk, playing safe is for wimps.

"Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth."

Give. Live your life based on what you can offer and not what you can get. Let your motivation be, who can I help, how can I help, what can I do. Leave a Mark. A spirit of generosity should define

the character of God's people.

"If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be."

Everything is a product of something else. It rains because the Clouds are full of rain. A tree falls and where it falls there it is. Don't over-analyze things, take a deep breath, say a prayer and

chill out.

"He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap."

Don't be pessimistic.

When I was a teenager, I had a drive to do better than average in money. I was not content to work for minimum wage while I saw that my hard work was making money for the man that was my boss. So I saved my money and purchased lawn equipment that would help me buy the tools to do better. I remember when I had finally saved enough,

my Dad went and purchased what I needed with the money I had saved.

I ran an add in the classifieds that week and on that Friday and Saturday I had worked hard and made more money than I had to that point.

As time passed, many times I would get up in the morning and look at the weather and would make a decision based on what the

weather looked like, and often the forecast was wrong. I remember many times my dad would tell me, " He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap." So even when the clouds were dark in the morning, I found that as the sun rose it would burn the clouds off more often than it would rain.

If you're looking for the perfect day to do something, the perfect day will never come. Don't wait for the perfect scenario, work towards making your own scenario. Don't wait for someone to hand it to you, work towards it, work for it and you will find that it is not how hard you work, but can you plan to make things better.

I learned then as a young man, you got to be willing to work the minimum wage job, to save the money to buy the equipment to do better. Some think they are too good to work a low paying job. What happens, they never reach beyond a certain point because they are not willing to do the hard dirty work to get where they want to go.

"As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good."

Your not God. You don't know everything. So don't let it stop you from doing something. Be busy doing the good you can. Sow Baby Sow, because something good will come up.

Abel was bold enough to offer what he had. Cain stopped when the first time he failed.

Noah, saw coming destruction, but that just fueled him to believe, "I can build a boat and live to see another better day."

Daniel, was a slave. But he was the best slave, and his devotion to his position elevated him to a ruler of rulers.

If your looking for an excuse to quit, you already have. However if your looking for a reason to keep going, here it is.

Faith is my forecast. No matter what cloud may arise on the Horizon. It's not going to stop me from sowing or reaping. If the clouds get full of water, it will rain. If the wind blows, the tree will fall. However these are simply facts of our existence. I am not going to let a little rain dim my view of the future.

With God is My Guide, he knows where I am going. I don't worry about tomorrow. I can only take this day, time and season and make the most of it.

It is this philosophy of life that caused God's people to triumph.

We have hope. Hope for tomorrow. Hope for our children. Hope for the Church. And Beyond.

Will you have troubles? Will you face trials? Will you get sick?

Broke, disappointed, discouraged?

Yes.

But that is not the end. There is a Great Day Coming. Your First Day in heaven as you stroll down the golden avenue.

When you taste of that clear water, and eat that heavenly fruit,

When you see Paul and Bartholomew.

Oh, it will be worth it all. All your prayer, all your giving, all your sacrifice, all your trials, all your temptation.

"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. (19) For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God." Romans 8:18-19 KJV

It will be worth it all, when we see Jesus.

Live your life in Anticipation.

The Miracles, The Revival, The Healings, The Harvest, The Deliverance, The Joys.

In Him, By Him, Through Him,

Scott Phillips

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To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for free, for life, right now, click on the Free Online Ordination link.

Rev. Long created the ULC seminary site to help ministers learn and grow their ministries. The Seminary offers a huge catalog of materials for ministers of the Universal Life Church, as well as an online seminary program and a chaplaincy program.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Online Sermons

I've Been Thinking

By Scott Phillips

I have been thinking about something I would like to share with you.

It occurred to me the other day something that I have fallen prey to. We have started a new church here in Clinton, Ms. We have had limited number of visitors from Pentecostal background, so many are not sure what to expect exactly.

A benefit that I did not fully appreciate previously, I now understand. When you take an existing church, no matter it's

history, there are possibly hundreds and maybe thousands of people who have walked through the doors, many multitudes have prayed, been healed, worked with, been related to, backslid, raised around,

ect connected to an EXISTING Local church.

This is a benefit I realized pretty quick we did not have. We have been here in Clinton for about 18 months, in fact we started our "church in a day" a year ago November 12th and dedicated the Building about 10 months ago. Our location is on a major road. We have put out thousands of fliers, run adds in papers, had front page coverage in our paper, even made it on a couple of television stations in addition to being on the Radio for 12 of the 18 months we have been here. Honestly, the results from these efforts have been considerable less than I would desire. (I understand it is a sowing process.) We have had a fare number of visitors considering we are a New Pentecostal Church in a very Baptist town. I am guessing we have had somewhere around 200-250 people who have visited with us. Maybe more.

When we do have visitors, we try to put our best foot forward. Often I feel like the smallness of some of our crowds is a little off putting, like on a midweek we might have 10, and two or three visitors come in, they sometimes seem to feel a little awkward.

So what do we do, we try to present ourselves as loving, kind, intelligent, concerned and interesting. I confess in the back of my mind I have been concerned of what they thought about "US". It occurred to me the other day that I need to quit worrying about what they think about "US" and focus our efforts on helping them be impressed with our God.

That is the crux of my rumination here. It is a hole we can fall in when we are overly concerned about what they think about "US" and how we do things, when our focus of prayer is, "Lord, help me to help them see you and your wonderful lovely way! Help me to illuminate in their spirit the power of Faith and Healing in your Name." It does not matter if they become members of our church, but that they hear the Only Saving Message, Feel the Grace of God and know that there are people that love THEM.

People are not near as concerned about us, as they are themselves and how we and our Faith will impact them.

The word in fact states, "He uses the foolish things to confound the

wise and the weak things to confound the mighty." Our ability to reach our culture, both small and great, rich and poor will stem from our ability to let God flow through us. We can improve ourselves in learning, practice and pursuit of excellence. However all of these are simply disciplines, no matter how important, but at the end of the Day it is GOD that will draw people, save people,

deliver people and bring them, plant them and establish them in THE CHURCH. Pharaoh was not impressed with Daniels ability to speak or dress, but it was his obvious connection with God.

My prayer is simply this,

Empower me with Wisdom and the Ability to Reflect and Communicate the Glory and Power to those who we come in Contact.

It is about Him. I have purposed in my heart to quit worrying about what someone would think about us as a church and me as a

preacher. Sure we are going to continue to put our best foot forward, but our focus is to communicate and illuminate HIM.

The Answer to every problem and the source of salvation is,

In Him, By Him, Through Him.

Scott Phillips

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more.

Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free,  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button.

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Online Sermons

By Scott Phillips

What do dreams mean?

In Him By Him Through Him

I am not feeling well tonight. I took some Niqel and laid down to go to sleep and couldn't. I came over to the computer and a very loud thought came to me, "What do dreams mean?" So, here is the momentary inspiration that came to me. I believe this is for someone in particular, however maybe you will get inspired or encouraged from it.

What do dreams mean?

Have you ever wondered this? Sure we all have the dreams that make no sense. Others we have inspire fear, confusion, weeping and laughing. These are not the dreams that I speak of. In my opinion most of our dreams are a way our mind blows off steam and helps us start each day with a clean slate.

There are dreams that are inspired by evil. We live in a world of two realities: Physical that is experienced though our physical senses and spiritual that is experienced by our spiritual senses. It is important to be able to wash somethings from our mind and know that it is nothing but an attack and attempt to gain access to our thoughts to bring fear and confusion. These dreams, that leave you troubled -- pray over them, walk with caution and entrust it into the hands of God. Rebuke the Devil in Jesus Name, plead the Blood of Jesus and quote scriptures of praise and hope. Sometimes the Devil shows his cards when he attacks you in your dreams and you are able to walk with wisdom and no what ever he says, there is no reason to fear because he is a liar and the father of them.

Dreams that mean something, what do they mean?

I have over the years had a number of dreams that have stuck with me.

A few I can recall small details and they played out in my mind like a riddle that caused me to ponder over them and wonder, 'What does this dream mean?' I have met a few people that seemed to have some insight into dreams, however more often than not; I still was left a little unsettled, because I knew this was not the meaning of it.

In living for God, often a dream can be the source of confusion, because we grasp on to some detail of it, and when things don't pan out just like we anticipated our grip on where we are can be shaken.

An example of this is when I was in Bible School; I had a dream of my future wife and I. We were married and living in a house that we in time moved in when we got married. In this dream, I came in and found a little red headed girl greeting me. So, for the time that transpired from this dream, I always knew I would have a red-headed little girl. Over five years transpired and my wife and I got married, moved into this house that was in my dream and we were expecting our first child. We chose not to find out ahead of time, and I basically told everyone, I know it will be a red headed little girl. That day on delivery, I walk through the door and I am as much surprised as happy when I am carrying a silver haired little boy. I remember that moment in the delivery room, and the Doctor is holding it up by his little leg, and I see as he proclaims, Mr. Phillips you have a baby boy. I remember saying, "I thought it would be a girl."

Many of the things in this dream came true, but the ending of the dream and my interpretation was not true. I still don't know what that little girl means, however I know that God gave me the dream, but it did teach me a lesson way back then, Things are not always what they appear.

If you look back in scripture, the dreams God shares with us are an allegory of sorts and leave the dreamer in wonder. That is one thing that I pinpoint as a dream that has meaning in it, because there are facts in it that cause me to go hmmm. And I am able to recall it into the day and days later.

The next thing, is unless God wants you to know what it means, the dream serves as a confirmation for some future event that God has ordained and planned for you.

Example, I have a friend who a few years ago was assisting a large thriving church. In the dream he walks out, or sees out the doors of the Church he is at then and looks into row upon row of cornfields.

People begin to walk out of the field and find salvation. He thought, We are about to have a Revival here. They did and are having revival in that church. However ironically, He recently was reminded of this dream. He now pastors and lives in a town that as far as the eye can see surrounding this town is row upon row of corn. The other day in prayer or ministry, God reminded him of this dream and it served as a marker of confirmation, I am in the will of God.

It is my opinion, dreams are not meant to direct our lives, but later in life to bring confirmation of where we are and what we are doing.

Joseph, we don't see that he ever understood the meaning of his dreams. He only told the details of the dreams; he did not ever elucidate the meaning. However, in that moment, when his brethren were kneeling before him he had a revelation toward his brothers, he was able to exclaim without laying blame.

This is important to grasp, our lives experience pain and hardship, however God is able to take the most terrible things in our life and use them to place us in circumstances where we could not have gotten otherwise. We should follow Joseph's example and release the wrong and understand in faith, I can be thankful for this, because it is setting me up for a special blessing.

Joseph said it this way: But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.(KJV)

This is the purpose of most divinely inspired dreams. I would say this is the purpose of most things that come into our life from a spiritual source, prophecy, visions and Words from the Lord. Don't relegate your life to a dream or a prophecy.

Live your life, take everything one step at a time and be led by God. Just as Joseph could not have conspired his way into a position, if it is a God given dream or prophecy it will happen if you will just do what is right.

Don't second-guess where you are or what you are doing because of a dream you had years ago. There are some things we don't know and never will know. It could be that the dream helped you in some unforeseeable way, warned you or prepared you for something that was about to happen or will happen.

The steps of a good man are ordered of the Lord.

What God has for your life is a plan of goodness and grace. Who can know what God is doing and the why of it all? At times I consider the little girl in my dream. I wonder over it and laugh at myself. I have many things that I am anticipating that are a product of something that was inspired by God through dreams and impressions in prayer.

I have one dream that the whole dream is a picture of harmony and peace then everything goes haywire. In the end, I have killed this giant and from its decapitated head I am pulling souls that it devoured. There is simply no way for me to know what the allegory of all of it is, but I do go forward in caution and confidence, knowing in the End I win.

For whomever this is for, don't worry over the details of your dreams. Just keep doing what you know to do and one day it will all make sense. Until then, I am going to bed. Sweet Dreams,

In Him, By Him, Through Him,

Scott Phillips

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more.

Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free,  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button.

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Becoming An Ordained Minister

The Universal Life Church
from Issue #7 March 2004

This was written before the Universal Life Church Seminary was created.  Since then, the ULC offers a lot more in the way of courses, training and overall credibility.

by Dan Shaurette daniel@acrimony.org http://www.ShauretteNet.com

"Every day, people are straying away from the church and going back to God." - Lenny Bruce Hello there, I'm a religious zealot. No, really. I mean, I may not carry my propaganda with me, and I certainly will not thump you with anything, but I don't mind a little pulpit action now and then. What religion do I preach? None in particular, actually. I just enjoy the subject, and I love seeing people either squirm away from the subject, or join in with enthusiasm. If I preach anything, it's tolerance. I love learning about not only the different religions people practice, but also how people actually practice their religions. America is a funny country. It is one of few nations that does not have an officially recognized or sanctioned religion. This has a lot of great perks; of which my favorite is there's no such crime as "heresy". Think about it. Isn't it liberating to know that you cannot be hanged or burned at the stake.. at least not by the government? I know it helps me sleep at night. Not only that, we work really hard to keep it that way. There's always some argument going on about the "separation of Church and State" or "the establishment clause". This all boils down to what the Constitution of the United States has to say on the subject. Well, actually, the first Amendment of the Constitution. See the framers of the Constitution took a few things for granted, believing we had certain inalienable rights. They eventually decided to write ten of those rights down, calling them the Bill of Rights, and added them to the Constitution in 1791. In any case, the First Amendment says the following: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Now if you ask me, truly, the First Amendment says all of the really important stuff that governs the freedoms we all enjoy. I can worship whomever I want, or no one at all if I should choose. I can say whatever I want, and write whatever I want, criticizing or praising anybody I choose. I can hang out with a bunch of my close personal friends who share my beliefs. Finally, I can register my complaints about anything to the government, when other people, including the government, try to mess with my rights. What a country. What blows my mind, though, is the fact that it isn't the free speech part, or the petition of grievances part that comes first. It's the free exercise of religion. This was a pretty revolutionary idea at the time, literally. Sometimes, it still seems to be a radical concept to this day. This brings me to my whole zealot status I mentioned. I love religion. All of 'em. Old, new, reformed or orthodox. Pick a god, any god. They're pretty cool by me (and the goddesses too). Wow. Love 'em. Problem was, I use to think they were all mutually exclusive. This belief of mine coming from my upbringing, as I'm sure is similar to yours, especially if you belonged to one of The Big Three religions; Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The First Commandment says, "You shall have no other gods before Me." Again, amazing how the biggies are listed first to get the most attention. My point being, in my youth I took this to mean that all other religions were false. As I grew older, and perhaps more cynical, I realized this is a statement of jealousy. More over, it acknowledges other gods exist; this one just wants to be praised first. Well more power to Him, I say. So I started wondering, are there churches, or other religions, out there that broadly embrace all religions, or at least as many as they can list. The answer, it seems, is a big fat YES! The biggest, or at least, the most readily available and accessible, is the Universal Life Church. You may or may not have heard of this church before. What you may have heard may also be positive or negative about it. I'm all for listing the good and bad sides of everything, because I personally want to know all sides of an issue and want to help everyone make their own decision. Free exercise. Gotta love it. The Universal Life Church, or ULC, was started in 1959 by Kirby Hensley in Modesto, California. The ULC is a non-denominational and interfaith church. Its goal was and still is to legally ordain anyone as a minister of the ULC regardless of sex, race, age, creed, or religious belief. That's right, no matter what your personal religious beliefs are. The idea being that not only do you not have to shed your beliefs and ties to your current church, but you could legally preach and administer your beliefs. The practical purpose of this is to legally ordain a person to be able to perform marriage ceremonies. For anyone, no matter his or her beliefs. This ordination is legal in all 50 states because an organized church has decreed it. Many county and state governments have regulations that require the minister to be 18 or older, or that they be licensed in that state. However some states do not. Arizona, for example, states that "any licensed or ordained clergy" must perform the ceremony. Put simply, if you are ordained by the ULC, that is good enough for them. Nevada on the other hand, which is famous for its weddings, has stricter rules. A minister wishing to perform a marriage must have a congregation or church established in the state of Nevada, and they have a complex set of forms to file in advance. This should not be considered a setback of course, because as an ordained member of the ULC clergy, you can set up your own congregation. In fact, as a ULC minister, you can officiate one wedding ceremony or make it your business. You can minister at funerals, baptisms, and house blessings, whatever. You can form your own church, hear confessions, offer counseling, grant absolution, and even ordain others. They only ask that you promote the freedom of religion and that as a minister you "do that which is right." So long as you believe it is right, it is not illegal, and does not infringe another's rights, then you can do what you will. Essentially they follow a legal version of the Golden Rule. So what's the catch, right? How much does an ordination cost and what do you have to do to get one? Time was, when the church started, it was a mail order organization, and they did ask a small fee for the Certificate of Ordination. Now, thanks to the internet, anyone can get online, visit www.ulcseminary.org, fill out a form, and  voila you are an ordained minister of the Universal Life Church. Heh, it can't really be that easy, I thought. Fact is this is both the blessing and the damnation of the ULC. It is just that easy. There is no formal indoctrination, no schooling, no anointing, and no swearing allegiance to uphold an ancient dogma, which has served as the instrument of persecution.. ahem, I mean, no oaths. And no nice red uniforms, oh damn. Sorry. Since it is an automatic process, it is therefore quite easy to take advantage of the ordination process. People have been ordained as a practical joke, using false, profane, or silly names; people have ordained their pets, dead people, famous people, fictional characters, etc. The ULC lost credibility in the past because of this, but has instituted controls in filing their ordination requests. Legal names must be used in order to be valid, and people actually go through each request and only record those that are not suspicious. Even though these processes are in place, and the ordinations are legal, there are still those who deride the church and its members. Granted, the idea of going online to become a priest so you can perform a marriage ceremony is humorous. It makes for great comedy material. For example, on the NBC show Friends, when Chandler and Monica were engaged, Joey went online and got ordained so he could be the one to marry his best friends. While this is funny, I personally also think it is very sweet. The fact that this is legal, and most people don't believe it is, is what makes it funny to me. The idea appealed to me back in October of 2001. Sorry, I just had to stop and realize that was over two years ago. So much has happened since then. For me, I did it, believe it or not, in response to the September 11 attacks. I personally suffered a crisis of Faith, as I think many people in this country did. A holy war brought about the deaths of many innocent people on American soil. Things like this happened all the time in other countries. But now it was personal. Until that day, I considered myself unofficially to be an apathetic agnostic. But even I had the question cross my mind, "How could God let this happen?" This question either shored up or decimated the faith of many people. At first, I wobbled unsteadily upon the picket fence I had until then balanced effortlessly along. After the attack, I saw and heard things that made me feel the gamut of negative emotions. Horror, Fear, Anger, Sadness, and Confusion in the beginning as my TV witnessed the destruction in NY and DC. Then I had begun to feel Pride, Charity and Love again as I watched the bravery and humbleness of those at Ground Zero, NY. Then I watched the negative sides of my fellow Americans emerge -- Hate, Intolerance, Pain, Ignorance, and Prejudice. To hear stories of violence and persecution against Arabian or Muslim Americans disgusted me beyond words. Then, when I honestly thought things couldn't have seemed worse, Jerry Falwell came onto the scene. At a time of our darkest hour, when what we needed to see was the light at the end of a tunnel somewhere, his words caused a cave in. He said, "The pagans and the abortionists and the feminists and the gays and the lesbians... the ACLU, People for the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America, I point the finger in their face and say, 'You helped this happen'." To put it politely, I snapped. I wanted to do something, anything, to affirm my personal belief that in this country, people had the right to say and believe anything they liked. I found the ULC online, became ordained, and decided to form my own "church". I created a website where anyone could come if they chose, to speak their minds, share their ideas and ideals, their hopes, dreams, and prayers. Where all gods and goddesses could be worshiped, discussed, and analyzed. A place where questions about rituals, beliefs, doctrines could be answered. I don't have all the answers, so the more people who visit and communicate, the better. It's my personal effort to snub the Religious Reich.. er, Right, and proof that I finally shed my apathy. I do believe in the Divine. Those internal and external forces that elude our five senses that make us fail to prove their existence. But proof does not deny faith as far as I'm concerned, neither does lack of proof. I agree and disagree with the tenets of many religions, so I do not consider myself a follower of any particular path. But the path I am on is one of enlightenment. Enlightenment is not a destination, but a journey. A "minister" is not the same as a "preacher". Many times the terms are interchanged, and sometimes people may take what I do as preaching. I call it "rambling". I'm espousing my own beliefs. You may share them or not. I am not hurt if you choose not to agree with my points of view. In contrast, the goal of a preacher is to encourage you to do more than share their beliefs. They tell you what is right and wrong, and what the consequences of your choices are. I am an advisor, or counselor, by my nature. I am happy to give advice and help to those who ask me for it. But I do not tell people that they have to do what I say. The Universal Life Church granted me the opportunity to be recognized for what I have been all my life: a Minister. Ordained and recorded by their Registry in Modesto, California. Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. Chartered by the Divine on a special quest: Life. In my mind, the ULC represents the great alternative religion. It has stood up to even the playing field for everyone. This is what ultimately upsets the established religions that have made their churches into exclusive clubs. Or perhaps, more accurately, have turned the Afterlife into the Ultimate exclusive club. We all pay the same admission fee to get there. Pick one, pick none, pick all of the above. If you like, take a peek at my website, www.AquariusChurch.org, the Aquarius Church of Enlightenment. I'll end this with one of my favorite quotes by Thomas Jefferson. "Difference of opinion is advantageous in religion. The several sects perform the office of a Censor morum over each other. Is uniformity attainable? Millions of innocent men, women, and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined, imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity. What has been the effect of coercion? To make one half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites. To support roguery and error all over the earth." - Thomas Jefferson   *******************************   The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more.  Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free,  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button.We also offer many free wedding ceremonies for your use.   The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary.     Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Online Sermons

Submitted By Tom Stewart

Obeying the Spirit of God

by Os Hillman

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road - the

desert road - that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." - Acts 8:26

Philip was conducting what we might today call a revival meeting. God was blessing the meeting, and many were being healed and delivered from demonic influence. Here is the scene:

Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. So there was great joy in that city (Acts 8:5-8).

And yet, in the midst of this great event, the Holy Spirit spoke to Philip and told him to remove himself and go to a completely different area to speak to one individual. Philip was so sensitive to the directive of the Holy Spirit that he left what would be deemed a successful event to go speak to another - an Ethiopian eunuch. The result of his obedience was that Philip led the eunuch to faith in Christ and baptized him. The Lord then took Philip away supernaturally to another region many miles away.

God's ways of determining where we invest our time and energy often have little to do with results. The danger for each of us is to determine that we are in the center of God's will simply by the success or failure of the events we are involved in. Our plumb line for determining success can be only one thing: obedience. Philip responded in obedience to the direction of the Holy Spirit.

Are you listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit? Has God prompted you to speak, go, or come alongside another? Ask God today to help you hear the Holy Spirit's voice so that you might be used mightily in your living.

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more.

Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free,  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button.

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Online Sermons

The Way God Works
By Rev. Scott Phillips

The sequence of God's creation is interesting thing ponder. To consider

the process that he works within to bring about his purpose. It seems to be a

universal law of process that God has confined himself to.

He first creates a void, a vessel, a vacuum to then fill it with his unfolding plan. In creating the Heaven and the earth notice the progression.

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Gen 1:1-2

We see this process duplicated again in his making man.

"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Gen 2:7

You see this throughout creation, he first created the vacuum of space and the area of earth and then he began to fill it with the progression of his plan. Much like building a building, you must first find the land, prepare the land,lay the foundation and so on. This may be simplistic, but it is

interesting to consider this when we survey the work of God in our own lives.

So much of what God does is preparatory for a future phase. Even in the purpose

of his incarnation what he left was the material that he would build his church with.

"And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ

himself being the chief corner stone;"

In surveying God's great love story with Israel we see that all of these were

but preparatory works for what would be realized in the Church. What we see as

a type and shadow in the Old Testament, we can see the realization in the New Covenant.

His purpose was to create a carrier of the continuing purpose of his will. Line up on line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little.

I believe that in the New Heaven and the New Earth we will see this continuing

purpose unfolding toward an infinite and eternal place that Only God knows.

So often it is our nature to become distracted by the details and fail to

understand God's overall purpose. There are so many characters in scripture that lived their whole lives and we find that they fulfilled some purpose in a time that they did not understand or foresee the consequences. Look at Boaz; he did not really understand that his great grandson would be the King of Israel. He did not understand that the compassion he showed a little handmaid was a part of God's ultimate purpose that we see an even more significant character spring from in the young man that became King David.

There is interconnectivity in God's creation and God's plan. When we yield

ourselves to that plan, we may not always understand what it is we are accomplishing at the particular moment, but if we can labor in hope, pray in faith and walk with an understanding that even our insignificant times are significant in God's economy. The investment of our faith and effort into God's plan can produce a ministry, a church and things that are hard for us to fathom even in those times we feel, see and hear very little that would confirm this reality.

It does not happen by accident on our part. It is my opinion that when we understand the ways of God we are able to walk and pray in faith that is not confirmed by the things we would discern with our natural senses. Like a farmer sowing, if he knows and believes in the seed he will with patience prepare sow and nurture the growth of the future fruit. It is our ability to see beyond a place of faith, a place of emptiness, a place of a vacuum, a place that is unfilled that God moves in and speaks in. God works within the environment of Faith. It may seem empty, unseen, unfelt, but it is nevertheless a place God created for his word and his breath to speak and breath miracles.

The bottom line is our lives, our bodies, our existence, our labor, our prayers, our words are containers, vessels, soil from which his work can come forth.

In prayer the other day I saw a young plant and on it was one single large fruit. I knew because I could see inside this that it was abundant with seed. It was as if the Lord spoke to me and said that within this single fruit were the seeds of many wonderful things.

I don't know if that fruit was something that is present or future. However the

real message of this picture is faith. Faith sees the potential, faith

sees beyond the present condition.

We are walking, working and praying and believing. It is through this action

that we allow ourselves to be vessels and conduits from which God's purpose; yea even his will is done on earth as it is in heaven.

This place of transcending our circumstance and feelings. We no longer speak words that are empty, but we speak his words. We no longer walk in our own strength, but we walk in his strength. We listen with our senses but we hear, see, perceive and understand things that only God can cause us to know.

Mmmmmm.. Just thinking about the way God works.

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To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for free, for life, right now, click on the Free Online Ordination link.

Rev. Long created the ULC seminary site to help ministers learn and grow their ministries. The Seminary offers a huge catalog of materials for ministers of the Universal Life Church, as well as an online seminary program and a chaplaincy program.

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Becoming a Reverend

by Diane Steinbach -- Staff Writer

Last month I talked about making life-lists to help solidify one’s goals and make sometimes abstract thoughts into concrete actions to be achieved. 

As I wrote that article, I included a long standing dream of mine of becoming ordained. Again, I don’t want the actual hassles that come with a life of servitude, but just something to hold over people’s heads and help me get a discounted rate at the Super 8 motels.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a spiritual person, having grown up in the Catholic church has however beaten the joy of creation out of me and replaced it with an aching feeling that all that kneeling and chanting was just the evidence of yet another cult. I believe in God, but am still not sure how to define him . . . or her. I believe in Jesus, but am not sure that he wasn’t just a really cool hippy with a lot of great ideas. Obviously I haven’t gotten it all figured out yet.

To complicate the issue, I am a psychic medium, (you heard me) and have long been able to peer through the veil of this world into the next one. What am I seeing? Experiencing? Is it heaven? Hell? Or just another layer of existence we don’t yet understand. Ok, maybe Rod Serling did, but not the rest of us.

So, as I sent off October’s Cynic column, I began to do the easiest thing on my life-list; get ordained online.

I began this adventure with a Google search of free instant online ordinations. If it ain't free and instant, it ain’t for me. I found lots of places that would ordain me for a price, ranging from 150 bucks to 250 for the "starter kit." Too rich for my blood! 150 bucks? That’s like 5 nights-worth of Chinese delivery! 

After a few hours searching (I was also doing laundry, so the total search time may be off) I came up with two instant online ordinations. 

The first site I found was ‘Compuchurch.com’ where I became a minister through their "Minister O Matic" page. Honest! You just can’t make up something that good! As a member of the cyberspace Universal Life church, I am sure I will be inundated with both snail mail and email regarding what a minister needs to buy in order to tend his flock.

I wasn’t really satisfied with the ‘Compuchurch’ deal though, as I am a God-fearing woman (no lie, I am scared sh**less!) and didn’t really want to reach the pearly gates to be sent to the cyber-heaven all of us internet minister get shoved into. Hence, I continued my search.

Next, I found the ‘Spiritual Humanism Church’ that would happily ordain me in an instant, but wouldn’t provide any kind of certificate that I could flaunt under the noses of the real religious muckity-mucks I wanted to piss off. Um, I mean... oh, never mind. I did kind of dig their philosophy of science and logic, but without the certificate, forget it.

So, finally, I found Universal Life Church (may or may not be affiliated with the cyberspace Universal Life Church) at ulcseminary.org. They had it all; instant ordination, a certificate I can print out at home and a philosophy based on love and kindness. Bingo. I filled out the information, and printed out my certificate, and voila!

Now I realize I still need to buy a few items in order to marry my lesbian friends and perform other rites of passage, but that’s okay. I kind of like being part of some kind of religious organization again, and I am holding my head a bit higher now that I am officially a Reverend. 

I am ordained now through two different sites, just to make sure it sticks. That makes me not only a Reverend, but a Reverend to the second power. R2. Granted, I am not a real religious scholar, but maybe that’s what religion needs. More real people and less sheltered hypocrites.

I am hoping the alumni organizations for my Catholic grammar, high school and college aren’t reading this, as I really enjoy getting asked for money and reading about the successful marriages and childbearing of old classmates. Really. I do. 

In any case, that’s my brief journey of enlightenment. Stay tuned for more information on a possible church I might start . . .  Perhaps the ‘Universal Church of Tofu,’ or ‘Reverend Diane’s 3-D house of God.' 

I will start working on the bumper stickers.

Universal Life Church Seminary

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. 

Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free,  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button.We also offer many free wedding ceremonies for your use.

 

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary.  
 

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar