Sermon Notes: July 19, 2026

From Confusion to Clarity, Rev. Sheryl Padgett, DDiv

Understanding is one of the Twelve Powers in Unity. It is more than intellectual knowledge or collecting spiritual ideas. True understanding is the awakening of wisdom in the heart. It moves us from information to transformation, from judgment to compassion, and from confusion to clarity.

Emile Cady reminds us:

"Man receives first an intellectual understanding of Truth which he transmits to his heart, where love is awakened."

The spiritual journey is the movement from the head to the heart.

Understanding and Love

The Buddha taught:

"True love is born from understanding."

The more deeply we understand ourselves, others, and the divine presence within all people, the more fully we can love. Spiritual maturity does not mean avoiding differences or difficult conversations. It means seeking to understand before judging.

Questions to consider:

• Am I listening to understand or simply preparing my response?

• Do I see people as labels and opinions, or as expressions of the Divine?

• How can I bring more compassion into my relationships?

The Seven Steps of Spiritual Understanding

1. Questioning

Healthy spirituality welcomes sincere questions.

Albert Einstein said:

"The important thing is not to stop questioning."

Thomas, often called "Doubting Thomas," was willing to ask deeper questions. His questioning opened the door to greater revelation.

Spiritual questions invite growth:

• Help me understand.

• What experiences shaped this belief?

• What is Spirit trying to teach me here?

Questions asked with humility create understanding rather than division.

2. Perception

We do not always see things as they are; we often see them as we are.

Eric Butterworth wrote:

"Our job is not to set things right but to see them right."

People and situations often mirror something within ourselves. Relationships become opportunities for healing and self-awareness.

Ask yourself:

• What is this situation revealing about me?

• Am I projecting my fears, wounds, or judgments onto others?

• Can I look beyond appearances and see the divine possibility?

Right seeing shifts us from judgment to compassion.

3. Deduction (Spirit-Guided Reasoning)

Spiritual reasoning goes beyond logic.

It invites us into prayer and silence:

• "Divine Wisdom, reveal what I need to know."

• "Show me the next right step."

Guidance may come through intuition, conversation, books, memories, or unexpected insights. Spirit is always communicating when we become willing to listen.

4. Prophecy (Spiritual Insight)

Prophecy is not merely predicting the future. It is developing spiritual insight and recognizing deeper truths.

As understanding grows, we begin to see:

• Fear contracts life.

• Love expands life.

• Resentment does not heal.

• Forgiveness liberates.

• Kindness and generosity create healing.

We begin recognizing spiritual patterns and seeing life through a higher perspective.

5. Compassion

Compassion is understanding expressed in action.

True understanding moves beyond ideas and becomes visible through service, kindness, and acceptance.

Compassion asks:

• How can I help?

• How can I serve?

• How can I express love here?

Love matters more than labels. Spiritual understanding sees beyond differences and recognizes our shared humanity.

6. Understanding

At this stage, our perspective changes.

We begin making decisions based on spiritual principles rather than emotional reactions.

Questions become:

• What serves the highest good?

• How can I be an instrument of peace?

• How can I live my values?

Understanding becomes embodied:

• We practice peace.

• We become generous.

• We live from oneness.

7. Illumination

Illumination is the realization of our oneness with God and all creation.

Jesus lived from this awareness, expressing divine life in every thought, word, and action.

William Warch wrote:

"Whenever you meet something that you can't understand, it simply means that you can't see the order, the good, or any purpose to it."

Even in difficult circumstances, spiritual understanding reminds us:

• God is present.

• Love is available.

• We are never alone.

• There is a divine order unfolding, even when we cannot yet see it.

Living the Power of Understanding

Spiritual understanding invites us to:

1. Ask deeper questions.

2. See beyond appearances.

3. Listen for divine guidance.

4. Develop spiritual insight.

5. Practice compassion.

6. Live from principle rather than reaction.

7. Trust the presence and wisdom of God in all things.

The journey is:

From intellect to revelation.
From judgment to compassion.
From information to transformation.
From confusion to clarity.

Affirmation

I am open to spiritual understanding.
I see with clarity, I love with compassion, and I trust God's wisdom in all things.

Sermon Notes: July 11, 2026

Beyond Appearances: The Power of Divine Imagination - Rev. Sheryl Padgett, DDiv

We often become so focused on present conditions that we forget there is a greater reality seeking expression in our lives. The faculty of imagination is one of God’s gifts within us, enabling us to look beyond limitations, challenges, and appearances to envision new possibilities. Divine imagination invites us to see with spiritual eyes and to participate consciously in the creative process of transformation.

This message explores how the images we hold in mind influence our experiences and how faith and imagination work together to open the way for healing, abundance, and greater joy. By changing our inner vision, we begin to change our outer experience. When we align our thoughts with divine possibilities rather than worldly appearances, we create space for Spirit to reveal new pathways and unexpected blessings.

Key Points:

• Appearances are temporary; spiritual truth is eternal.

• Imagination is a divine power that allows us to envision greater possibilities.

• The pictures we hold in consciousness help shape our experiences.

• Faith and imagination work together to bring forth transformation.

• We can choose to see obstacles as opportunities for spiritual growth.

• God is always creating something new through us and within us.

• By seeing beyond current conditions, we become open to healing, abundance, and new beginnings.

Affirmation I activate my power of imagination. Divine ideas flow easily to me and I see good unfolding in every area of my life.

Sermon Notes: July 5, 2026

Sermon Notes: Rev. Sheryl Padgett
How much of your life is shaped by what is actually happening—and how much is shaped by the stories your mind tells about what is happening?

In Part 4 of our Living Untethered series, based on Chapters 17–20 of Michael Singer’s book, we’ll explore the fascinating relationship between our thoughts, dreams, memories, and emotional patterns. Together we’ll discover how unconscious preferences and stored experiences influence our daily lives, why the mind generates automatic thoughts, and how those thoughts often keep us trapped in cycles of worry, fear, and resistance.

Drawing from Unity teachings, Buddhist wisdom, and practical spiritual insights, we’ll learn that true freedom doesn’t come from controlling our circumstances—it comes from observing the mind without becoming imprisoned by it. As we celebrate Independence Day, we’ll also celebrate a deeper kind of freedom: the spiritual freedom that comes from living fully present in the Presence of God rather than in the endless commentary of the mind.

Key Takeaway: When we stop believing every thought and begin witnessing them with awareness, we discover the peace, wisdom, and freedom that have been within us all along

Sermon Notes: June 27, 2026

Living Untethered – Part 3: The Mind

Where does suffering really begin?

Michael Singer reminds us that life unfolds in three realms simultaneously—the outer world, our thoughts, and our emotions. Freedom begins when we stop confusing these three experiences.

Thoughts are not our identity. They are temporary visitors moving through the field of the mind. Our challenge is not to eliminate thoughts but to stop becoming attached to every one of them.

Using the metaphysical interpretation of Adam and Eve, Unity teaches that humanity “falls from the Garden” whenever we become attached to our judgments, preferences, fears, and memories. We leave the present moment and begin living through old mental images instead of experiencing reality directly.

Richard Rohr’s image of watching thoughts like boats floating down a river reminds us that healing comes through observing rather than identifying with our thoughts. We can acknowledge them, bless them, and allow them to move on.

Michael Singer compares these stored mental impressions to images burned into an old plasma television screen. When we cling to the past or resist painful experiences, those mental images distort how we experience every new moment.

The spiritual path is not about controlling life. It is about allowing life to move freely through us without resistance. As we release our attachment to old stories, we rediscover what has always been present—the peace, joy, and unity of the Divine.

The Garden of Eden is not a place we lost long ago.

It is a state of consciousness we can enter again every moment by simply being fully present.

Sermon Notes June 21, 2026

Fathers, Mentors, and the Power of Example: Rev. Sheryl Padgett

Key Message:
The greatest gift we can offer others is not advice but example. Through courage, compassion, integrity, and service, we help others find hope, purpose, and belonging.

Main Points:

• We honor fathers, mentors, coaches, teachers, sponsors, and all who have helped guide us through their example.

• The highest expression of the divine masculine is not domination or control, but integrity, responsibility, courage, compassion, and service.

• Many people today, especially young men, struggle with loneliness, isolation, and a lack of purpose.

• Healing begins through connection—with God, with ourselves, and with one another.

• A powerful example from an AA meeting demonstrated how community, mentorship, and service can transform lives.

• Recovery and growth happen through relationships. No one heals alone. No one thrives alone.

• Spiritual community provides belonging, encouragement, accountability, and support during life’s challenges.

• Charles Fillmore taught that the Christ Presence within us often appears through ordinary people offering wisdom, strength, and compassion.

• True leadership is demonstrated through presence, service, and walking alongside others on the journey.

• We all have the capacity to mentor, encourage, and inspire someone through the way we live our lives.

Spiritual Takeaways:

• Show up with courage.
• Lead with compassion.
• Serve with integrity.
• Be willing to support others on their journey.
• Remember that your example may be guiding someone you don’t even know is watching.

Questions for Reflection:

1. Who has been a mentor or guide in my life?

2. How can I embody courage, compassion, and integrity more fully?

3. Whose path am I helping illuminate through my example?

Affirmation:

I am guided by divine wisdom and strengthened by divine love. I show up with courage, compassion, and integrity. Through my example, I help create a world where all people know they belong, they matter, and they never walk alone.

Sermon Notes: June 14, 2026

Sermon Notes: One Light, Many Colors Rev. Sheryl Padgett

• Opening image: sunlight streaming through the windows became a beautiful symbol of diversity when special film revealed the colors hidden within one beam of light.

• Big idea: the light is one, but the colors are many—just like Spirit is one, while humanity expresses through many identities, backgrounds, cultures, and life experiences.

• Diversity does not diminish unity; it reveals it.

• Charles Fillmore taught that “God is Spirit, the Principle of creative life, the moving force in the universe, the omnipotent, omnipresent essence from which all things proceed. God is life. God is in the universe as its constant ‘breath.’”

• If all things proceed from Spirit, then every person carries sacred value and divine worth.

• Unity’s diversity statement reflects this truth: all people are welcome and celebrated as expressions of the Divine.

• This is not just a social position; it is a spiritual commitment.

• If God is everywhere present, then God is present in every person, every identity, and every story.

• Wayne Dyer said, “We are not human beings in search of a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings immersed in a human experience.”

• Human experiences are not all the same.

• Some lives are marked by ease and acceptance, while others include struggle, misunderstanding, and exclusion.

• Living Unity principles means we do not ignore that reality; we respond with compassion and dignity.

• The sermon focuses especially on the LGBTQ community and asks one spiritual question: are we willing to see every person as a sacred expression of God?

• Jesus crossed social boundaries, welcomed the rejected, and recognized divine worth where others saw difference.

• As followers of the Christ Way, we are called to do the same.

• The guest speaker shared practical ways to support LGBTQ people in rural communities.

• Fear of displaying a Pride flag often comes from fear of harassment, retaliation, or being treated differently.

• A welcoming sign, flag, or message can say, “You are not alone.”

• Education matters.

• Understanding LGBTQ history, experiences, and challenges helps cultivate compassion.

• Access to books, support groups, and resources matters because people deserve to see their lives reflected and respected.

• Community strength grows when no one is left behind.

• Support LGBTQ organizations, businesses, artists, youth, and seniors.

• Every volunteer hour, donation, and act of kindness strengthens the whole community.

• LGBTQ youth often face high rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation.

• LGBTQ seniors may carry decades of fear, isolation, and past discrimination.

• Welcoming communities, safe spaces, and affirming relationships lower isolation and save lives.

• The solution is simple and spiritual: it is us.

• It is the choices we make, the spaces we create, the voices we elevate, and the compassion we practice.

• One conversation, one act of kindness, one decision to see another through spiritual eyes can change a life.

• Core message: this is not only about LGBTQ inclusion.

• It is about building a community where every person can live openly, safely, and authentically.

• Everyone is welcome here.

• Closing affirmation:

  • I honor the divine light within myself and within every person.

  • I celebrate the beauty of our differences and the truth of our oneness.

  • Guided by love, I help create a world of dignity, belonging, and freedom for all.

Sermon Notes June 7, 2026

Sermon Notes - Rev. Jill Campbell
“The moment in front of you right now has absolutely nothing to do with you.” Page 23

“One of the most amazing things you will ever realize is that the moment

in front of you is not bothering you—you are bothering yourself

about the moment in front of you.” Page 25

Step by step Singer relates how matter formed and reformed after the Big Bang. What we see

before us has been forming for over 13 Billion years. It is not about us.

“It is pretty silly to think, ‘It took 13.8 billion years for this moment to get here, and every single

thing had to happen exactly as it did—but I don’t like it.’ That’s funny. It’s like saying that you

don’t like that Saturn has rings.” Page 41

Discussion Questions:

● Do you believe that reality, as you know it, is independent of you? Do you think what

you see is personal? How and how much?

● What does it cost you to think that things are not as they should be?

● Have you ever been so overwhelmed with the idea that there’s something wrong with

the world that you were unable to process your response?

● Have you seen others “loose it” in response to the world as it is?

“This is our first encounter of what surrender and acceptance really mean.

You don't surrender the outside world—you totally accept it. What you surrender is your

personal, made-up judgment of it.”

Sermon Notes May 31, 2026

Conscious Awareness

Living Untethered – Part 1

Key Ideas

• We all experience an inner voice that worries, criticizes, judges, and replays the past.

• Most of us assume that because we hear these thoughts, they define who we are.

• Michael Singer’s central teaching: You are not the voice in your head; you are the awareness that hears the voice.

• If we can observe our thoughts, emotions, and reactions, there must be something deeper within us that is doing the observing.

Spiritual Truth

• Jesus taught that the Kingdom of God is within.

• The Buddha taught mindfulness and conscious awareness.

• Unity teaches Christ Consciousness—the divine awareness present within every person.

• Charles Fillmore wrote:

  • “This mind is incorporating and expressing through its thoughts and activity the great Omnipresent Mind of God.”

• Our awareness is not meant to be ruled by every passing thought or emotion.

• Freedom begins when we stop saying, “I am my thoughts,” and start saying, “I am aware of my thoughts.”

Science and Consciousness

• Researchers have identified the Default Mode Network, which becomes active when the mind wanders.

• Much of our mental activity involves:

  • Replaying the past

  • Worrying about the future

  • Creating stories about ourselves

• Studies suggest that a wandering mind is often an unhappy mind.

• We frequently miss the present moment because we are mentally living somewhere else.

The Practice of Presence

• Spirit says: “Be here.”

• The mind says: “What about yesterday?” or “What about tomorrow?”

• Ram Dass taught:

  • “Be here now.”

• The present moment is where life is actually happening.

• The present moment is where we experience God.

Why We Suffer

• Singer teaches that suffering often comes from our resistance to life.

• Events may last minutes, but our attachment to them can last years.

• We replay hurts, rehearse fears, and become identified with old stories.

• Spiritual growth happens when we learn to observe these patterns rather than become trapped by them.

Jesus as an Example

• Jesus lived from a centered awareness of God.

• He was not controlled by fear, public opinion, or circumstances.

• He regularly withdrew to pray and reconnect with Divine Presence.

• Prayer and meditation help us return to our spiritual center.

Living from Awareness

• The mind is a wonderful servant but a terrible master.

• Thoughts are not commands.

• Emotions are not identity.

• Awareness creates space between us and our reactions.

• In that space, freedom becomes possible.

Fillmore’s Teaching

• Consciousness is where Spirit, soul, and body come into harmony.

• Our true nature is rooted in Divine Presence.

• Peace, love, and wisdom are not something we create.

• They already exist within us and are revealed when mental clutter falls away.

Key Takeaways

• You are not your thoughts.

• You are not your fears.

• You are not your old stories.

• You are the awareness that witnesses them all.

• The Divine Presence within you has never left.

• The untethered life begins when we stop identifying with every passing thought and begin living from conscious awareness.

Weekly Practice

This week, simply notice:

• Notice the voice.

• Notice the stories.

• Notice the worries.

• Notice the judgments.

Then ask:

Who is noticing?

The moment you ask that question, you begin stepping out of the noise and into the awareness of God’s presence within.

Sermon Notes May 24, 2026

Remembering with Reverence

• Memorial Day is a sacred invitation to remember with gratitude, compassion, and reverence.

• Remembrance is a spiritual practice that shapes how we live, love, and serve.

• Scripture and Jesus both teach us to remember what is holy, life-giving, and true.

• What we continually hold in consciousness influences our lives; memory can become healing.

• We honor not only those who gave their lives in service, but also the families and quiet heroes who carried the cost of sacrifice.

• Reverence does not glorify war; it calls us to become peacemakers, healers, and compassionate listeners.

• Grief and gratitude can live side by side, and mature spirituality makes room for both.

• Remembrance asks us to become what we honor: courageous, loving, and committed to peace.

• Every life leaves a spiritual imprint, and love continues through the memories we carry and the lives we touch.

• The highest form of remembrance is embodiment — living in a way that reflects the values we celebrate.

Affirmation: I remember with reverence, I live with gratitude, and I become a vessel of peace.

Sermon Notes May 17, 2026

Finding your Spiritual Voice Sermon Notes: Rev. Sheryl Padgett

• Truth has the power to liberate, heal, awaken, and transform our lives.

• Jesus taught: “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

• Speaking truth to power is a spiritual practice rooted in Divine Love, not anger or self-righteousness.

• Our words are creative and carry the power to either heal or harm.

• Peacekeeping avoids tension; peacemaking requires courage and spiritual integrity.

• Jesus modeled courageous truth-telling by confronting hypocrisy, defending the marginalized, and challenging injustice.

• From a Unity perspective, Truth aligns us with Divine Mind, love, compassion, and spiritual integrity.

• Charles Fillmore:
  “Truth is the absolute; that which accords with God as Divine principle…The basic principle of Truth is that the mind of each individual may be consciously unified with Divine Mind through the indwelling Christ. By affirming at-one-ment with God-Mind we eventually realize the perfect mind which was in Christ Jesus.”

• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:
  “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

• Desmond Tutu:
  “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”

• Howard Thurman:
  “Do not be silent; there is no limit to the power that may be released through you.”

• Marianne Williamson:
  “As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”

• Courage does not mean the absence of fear; it means choosing integrity even while afraid.

• Speaking truth effectively requires prayer, self-awareness, and grounding in wisdom rather than emotional reaction.

• Truth without love becomes brutality; love without truth becomes enabling.

• Compassion does not mean tolerating harmful behavior or abandoning healthy boundaries.

• Silence in the face of injustice can unintentionally support harm and oppression.

• Spiritually grounded truth-tellers remain centered in love while speaking clearly and courageously.

• Prayer, meditation, forgiveness, and spiritual community help us stay rooted in peace while confronting injustice.

• One voice, one conversation, and one act of courage can create meaningful change.

• When our words are aligned with Divine Love, they become instruments of healing and transformation.

Affirmation:
I speak my truth with wisdom, courage, and compassion.
My words are guided by Divine Love.
I stand firmly in spiritual integrity while remaining rooted in peace.
Through the power of Truth, I become an instrument of healing and transformation.