(231)-889-4081 | Worship every Sunday @ 10 a.m
(231)-889-4081 | Worship every Sunday @ 10 a.m
Engage with our most recent sermons.
“A Republic . . . Can We Keep It” A Sermon based on Isaiah 61:1-2a;8-9; Galatians 5:1;4-5; and Luke 4:16-21 delivered on July 5, 2026 for Independence Weekend at the Village Park with the First Congregational UCC of Onekama, Michigan by the Rev. Alison Dutton Jacobs.
I think it is pretty safe for me to say, in this particular group, that we all grew up placing our hands over our hearts and reciting the “Pledge of Allegiance” to the flag each morning to begin our school day. The closing hymn that Bruce Brooks wrote to the tune of Auld Lang Syne uses those familiar words in various ways to remind us of those foundational ideas.
On this 250th Birthday of our nation, the words feel comforting to us, like an old friend. You remember them, don’t you? The pledge starts out with these words, “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of and to the Republic for which it stands.” The pledge became so familiar by repetition, that I know I never really thought about our country as a Republic. We talked a lot about democracy in school but . . .
A Cup of Cold Water A sermon based on Proverbs 25:19-28, Romans 6:12-23 and Matthew 10:40-42 delivered on Sunday, June 28, 2026 by the Rev. Alison Dutton Jacobs at the First Congregational UCC 0f Onekama, Michigan.
“He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me…. And whoever gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.” (vv. 40 & 42) Whoever receives you receives me, Jesus reminds us. What an awesome thought! What a powerful call to practice hospitality! . . .
A Family Affair” a sermon based on Genesis 21:8-21, Psalm 86, Romans 6:1b-11 and Matthew 10:34-39 delivered by the Rev. Alison Dutton Jacobs on Sunday, June 21, 2026 at the Congregational UCC of Onekama, Michigan.
There are probably not two more difficult passages to preach on than our Hebrew scripture and our Gospel lesson this morning! When I saw the lectionary, I thought, “Aaagh! I think I’ll talk about something safe–say like Psalm 86.” But then I realized once again that sometimes it is important to grapple with the scriptures, no matter how difficult they seem.
So, here I go! In our Genesis passage we wince as we hear God instructing Abraham to follow Sarah’s wishes . . .
“Belly Laughs” A sermon based on Genesis 18:1-15; Psalm 116:1-2;12-19 and Romans 5 :1-8 delivered on Sunday, June 14, 2026 by the Rev. Alison Dutton Jacobs at The First Congregational UCC of Onekama, Michigan.
There is nothing more infectious than a baby when he or she learns to belly laugh. You know what I mean: that deep down heartfelt rich laugh that seems to come from someplace so far down in their bodies that it resonates and echoes like it has come from an ancient cavern. And, indeed, I believe it has.. . .
“Hearts to Heaven” A sermon based on Luke 24:44, John 17:20-26 and Acts 1:1-11 preached on Ascension Sunday, May 17, 2026 by the Rev. Alison Dutton Jacobs at the First Congregational UCC of Onekama, Michigan.
We know from John’s Gospel that the resurrected Jesus, who appeared in some kind of eventually recognizable bodily form, usually after naming names or breaking bread, plans to ascend into the realm of God soon. On Easter morning, when Mary Magdalene finally recognizes him as Jesus and not the gardener, he asks her not to try to hold on to him because he has not yet ascended to the Father” and then asks her to go to the disciples and to tell them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” (John 20:17) From this, we gain a picture of a process” of ascension beginning with the Resurrection, for Jesus says “I have not yet ascended,” but “I am ascending.”
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“Stabat Mater” A sermon based on Psalm 66:8-20, Acts 17:22-31 and John 14:15-
21 delivered on Mother’s Day, May 14, 2026 by the Rev. Alison Dutton Jacobs at
the First Congregational UCC of Onekama, Michigan.
We do not know what Antonin Dvorak’s relationship with his mother was
like, but we suspect that he had a special feeling for mothers and their role in the
world as two of his most famous works honor mothers. What we do know is that
he was the oldest of eight children and that oldest sons often hold a pivotal place in
the family in relationship to their mothers.. . .
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“The Cornerstone” A sermon based on Acts 4:5-12; Habakkuk 2:9-11 and 1 Peter
2:2-10. Delivered on May 5, 2026 by Rev. Alison Dutton Jacobs at the First
Congregational UCC of Onekama, MI.
Alas for you who get evil gain for your houses, setting your nest on high to
be safe from the reach of harm! You have devised shame for your house by
cutting off many peoples; you have forfeited your life. The very stones will
cry out from the wall and the plaster will respond from the woodwork. (Hab.
2:9-11)
In this extremely graphic architectural allusion to the plundering of an oppressor
nation which uses poignantly descriptive terms, the prophet Habakkuk indicts all
human tyranny—all human inhumanity and greed which abuses other human
beings. The prophet, writing during the height of Babylonian power, around 600
B.C. writes this descriptive metaphor as a part of a series of five “woe” sayings
directed against a nation that plunders peoples and obtains gain by violence, It is a
series of indictments against the oppressor nation of Babylon which was wreaking
havoc on the nation and peoples of Israel at that time. . . .
“Who is Blind?” A sermon based on John 9:1-41 and 1 Samuel 16:1-13 delivered on the Fourth Sunday in Lent, March 15, 2026, by the Rev. Alison Dutton Jacobs at the First Congregational UCC of Onekama, Michigan.
Today is the infamous “Ides of March.” A wise Seer is said to have warned Julius Caesar to beware of this date in 44 B.C.E. Caesar seemed “blind” to this warning and was assassinated by 60 Senators who stabbed him 23 times so that he collapsed at the feet of a statue of his rival Pompey. This happened a little less than a half century before the birth of Christ. . . .
“The Wilderness” A Sermon based on Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7; Matthew 4:1-11; and Romans 5:12-19 delivered by Rev. Alison Dutton Jacobs at the First Congregational UCC of Onekama, Michigan on Lent One, February 22, 2026
Jesus “full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.” The traditional forty days of fasting which were observed by the early church in the season before Easter, a season which we now call Lent, were meant to remember these forty days of Jesus in the wilderness. . . .
“Pointing Fingers” A sermon based on Isaiah 58:1-12, 1 Corinthians 2:1-16 and Matthew 5:13-20 delivered on February 8, 2023 at the First Congregational UCC of Onekama, Michigan by the Rev. Alison Andrea Young.
Take a good look at the picture in your bulletins this morning. Hold it out at arm’s length and look right at it unblinkingly. How does that pointed index finger make you feel? Are you squirming in your pew? Does it feel like you are being shamed and/or blamed for something? Do you feel like swatting it away and pointing your own index figure in a completely different direction altogether?!. . .
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