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In this Easter season reflection from John 20:19–31, the risen Jesus appears to his disciples—not by erasing suffering, but by revealing it. Even in resurrection, the wounds remain. This sermon explores how Christ is recognized through his scars, and what that means for us. Rather than hiding pain, the gospel invites us to see how love, loss, and sacrifice are taken up and transformed. From Thomas’ doubt to the call to live as people marked by love, this message considers how resurrection reshapes our past, present, and future. The risen Christ still speaks peace—and still sends us into the world bearing that same costly, redemptive love.

On Easter morning, the story begins in the dark. With grief, confusion, and a tomb that does not hold what was expected. In this message, we follow Mary Magdalene’s encounter with the risen Christ and consider a God who works not through power as we imagine it, but through a persistent, surprising love. When the world feels overwhelming and hope feels thin, the resurrection points us toward a different way. The slow, steady work of love that does not mirror empire, but quietly outlasts it. This is the love that calls our name, meets us where we are, and sends us out to live it with our lives. Because in the end, it is this: nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

On Palm Sunday, what looks like a simple parade takes on deeper meaning. Set against the backdrop of Roman military power entering Jerusalem, Jesus’ arrival on a donkey becomes a quiet but pointed counter-procession—an embodied contrast between domination and humility, fear and love. This message explores the political and theological tension within Matthew 21 and invites us to see Palm Sunday not as a detached celebration, but as a call to courage. What does it mean to follow Jesus’ way in a world shaped by competing powers—and what might we be crying out to be saved from today?

In this Lenten message from John 11, we enter the story of Lazarus and the raw reality of grief. Rather than rushing past loss, the sermon reflects on how grief can cloud our vision—and how Jesus meets us within it. Holding together the imagery of dry bones in Ezekiel and the tomb in Bethany, this episode considers a different understanding of resurrection: not as escape from suffering, but as the presence of life and breath in the midst of it. The central question remains—when faced with loss, do we believe that Christ is already at work, even here?

In this sermon from the Gospel of John, the healing of the man born blind shifts the focus from blame to revelation—what God is showing us through the moment. Drawing on insights from My Body Is Not a Prayer Request by Amy Kenny, the message reframes healing as wholeness rather than cure, and examines how fear and discomfort shape our responses to others’ pain. Where might fear be limiting your ability to see clearly—and how is God still at work there?

In this sermon from John 4, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at a well in the heat of the day—a place where isolation, shame, and daily survival intersect. Rather than condemning or ignoring her, Jesus offers something unexpected: living water that restores dignity and opens the possibility of a different life. Reflecting on the biblical story alongside other “well” moments in history—places where people briefly reclaimed their humanity in the midst of hardship—this message explores how trauma, loss, and the pressures of the world can shape our sense of identity. Yet the encounter at the well reminds us that Christ already knows our stories and still offers renewal. Worship becomes a kind of well for the community of faith: a place where the dominant narratives of fear, division, and worthlessness are challenged by a different story—the promise that in Christ we are known, loved, and invited into new life.

What if the very things we were taught about God are the things keeping us from seeing clearly? In this week’s Blinded series, we encounter Nicodemus — a deeply educated religious leader, formed by tradition and confident in what he knows. Yet when he comes to Jesus under the cover of night, he is invited into a new way of seeing: to be “born from above,” to loosen his grip on certainty, and to recognize that the Spirit moves more freely than he imagined. Together, we consider the assumptions we have inherited — about God, Scripture, and even ourselves — and how the Wesleyan Quadrilateral (Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience) can help us discern what is true. What might need to be unlearned so that we can see again?

At the beginning of Lent, we turn to Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness. Immediately after his baptism—after the voice from heaven names him “beloved”—Jesus is led into a season of testing. This sermon explores how the temptation narrative is less about spectacle and more about identity: Who is Jesus, and what kind of Messiah will he be? Drawing on Deuteronomy, the Exodus story, and Philippians 2, we consider how Jesus resists coercive power, refuses to exploit divine authority, and chooses the path of humility and love. His responses in the wilderness reveal a Messiah grounded in tradition, shaped by Scripture, and committed to abundant life for others. As we begin our Lenten series Blinded, we reflect on what keeps us from seeing clearly—decision fatigue, cultural pressures, the lure of power, and the noise that drowns out the quieter way of Christ. Like hikers watching for blazes on the trail, we are invited to remember who we are and to act accordingly: beloved people called to walk the path of mercy,

On Ash Wednesday, we begin Lent with a sober reminder: we are dust, and to dust we shall return. In light of that truth, Jesus’ words in Matthew 6 take on sharper meaning. This sermon explores Lent not as a season of public performance or ritualized guilt, but as a quiet return to what matters. Giving, praying, and fasting are not spiritual displays; they are practices meant to reshape the heart. The question is not what we can prove to others, but what God is doing in secret within us. Rather than simply giving up chocolate or Diet Coke, Lent becomes an invitation to honest self-examination. What has come between us and God? Where do pride, resentment, distraction, or avoidance need to be named? What practice might draw us closer to wholeness? “Dust to Dust” reminds us that our mortality clarifies our priorities. In these forty days, we are invited to release what diminishes life and take up what leads us toward deeper faith, reconciliation, and renewed devotion—so that when Easter arrives, we are not the

In the final week of our stewardship series, we turn to what may be our most limited and most revealing resource: time. Drawing from Acts 2:42–47, this sermon explores the early church’s intentional rhythms—worship, shared meals, prayer, generosity—and what they teach us about how we order our days. Time is not just something to manage; it is something to steward with purpose. We consider four invitations: growing deeper with God, investing in real community, serving through acts of mercy, and practicing Sabbath in a culture that resists rest. If we are mortal and cannot do everything, then our choices about time become spiritual decisions. What might change if we lived not as “human doings,” but as human beings—trusting that even of time, there is enough?

In this week’s message from our stewardship series, Abundant Life: Trusting God and One Another, we turn our attention to treasure—the financial resources we share to support life together in Christ. Drawing from Acts 2 and 2 Corinthians 9, this sermon explores how the earliest Christian communities practiced generosity not out of pressure or guilt, but out of deep commitment to one another. Giving was woven into daily life, sustaining community, meeting real needs, and making space for the work of God to flourish. This message invites us to see financial stewardship not as an obligation, but as a joyful and thoughtful response to God’s abundance. As we reflect on what we want to do together in the year ahead, we are reminded that generosity—offered freely and with intention—helps the church move from merely surviving to truly thriving.

This week we begin our stewardship series, Abundant Life: Trusting God and One Another, by reflecting on talent, the gifts, skills, perspectives, and experiences God has woven into the life of the church. Drawing from 1 Corinthians 12, this sermon explores the biblical vision of the body of Christ: many members, one body, each indispensable to the whole. From spreadsheets to music, teaching to hospitality, advocacy to prayer, we are reminded that no gift is insignificant and no person is unnecessary. In a moment marked by division, violence, and compassion fatigue, this message calls the church to respond not with fear or paralysis, but with love, grounded in community, shaped by Christ, and expressed through the particular talents God has entrusted to each of us. As Paul reminds us, love is not optional; it is the way we make our gifts matter for the common good.

On the 4th Sunday of Advent, Pastor LyAnna explores Joseph's story—the often-overlooked figure in the nativity who faced fear, scandal, and an impossible choice. When Mary showed up pregnant, Joseph's world turned upside down. But instead of going it alone, he chose to "go with"—to journey alongside Mary despite his fears. This sermon asks: Why do we so often choose isolation over reaching out when life gets hard? Pastor LyAnna reminds us that asking for help isn't weakness—it's brave. And being there for others isn't about saving them; it's about not looking away. Through practical tools (like the "sunflower emoji" hack for marking your trusted people in your phone) and a hands-on exercise in the service, this message invites us to practice what it means to truly bear witness to one another's stories and to remember: we're made for mutual interdependence, not isolation.

This week’s Westlake UMC sermon podcast shares Pastor LyAnna Johnson’s message titled When We Are Running Out of Hope, God Is at Work, reflecting on Matthew 11:1–11.

This week’s Westlake UMC sermon podcast shares Pastor LyAnna Johnson’s message from November 30, titled In the Time of Herod We Long for God to Break In, reflecting on Luke 1:5–13 and Lamentations 3:55–57.

This week’s Westlake UMC sermon podcast shares Pastor LyAnna Johnson’s Christ the King Sunday message from November 23, titled A Befitting Crown, reflecting on Matthew 27:27–31.

For Everything There is a Season (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) by Westlake United Methodist Church

From the sermon series "Preach"

From the sermon series "Preach"

From the sermon series "Preach"