Love God in all things

Jesus taught that the greatest commandment is, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and that the second is like it, Love your neighbor as yourself. The experience of love for self is experiencing God because God is love. Appreciating the frequencies, the energies, the textures of life is part of the experience of heaven. The sweetness of life is God; the wonderful flavor and richness of life is God. God's love is the only way that the richness of life is open to you. Your body is love with a physicality to it, so that you may play in the things you love. Every moment there is divine energy moving through you – you don't even have to be right! It's absolute love. God is everywhere and in everything. God is abundant. Let the love of God in.

The people in your life are God expressing, asking you to step up to be who you can really be. You are loved. There's not people and God, there is only God. The child falls, and gets up, it does something wonderful, it makes a mess. Regardless, the parent delights in the child. And God delights in us, messes and all. We are so blessed.

So let in that which fills your heart. You are loving yourself; you are feeling God. You don't have the power not to have it, only not to feel it. Let it in, fill you up, overflow in and through you, as you. You are the love.

from Mike McGuire, PrayerTeam
Summary of Rev. David's sermon

Experience gratitude for omnipresent goodness

“If you pour your words of faith into the omni-present substance, you will be prospered though all the banks in the world be closed.” --Charles Fillmore.

Our journey to prosperity thus far has outlined 6 steps. Today they are united in the 7th step.

The 6 steps are 1) be clear of your purpose, which is defined by your passion-- those things that are important to you. The Universe is as committed to your success as you are, providing all that you need to manifest it. 2) by healing and forgiveness, clear away that which blocks your success from coming to you. 3) jump into the flow of God's giving nature by your giving, your tithing. 4) Attune to God's goodness through the power of prayer. 5) since that which we affirm with our focus is manifested, strive to live complaint free. Use your powers for good. 6) our caring actions bring into manifestation the love of God in this 3D world.

The 7th step is to express your gratitude for God's goodness even in the face of challenges. Do not thank God as a victim, however, and bring on more of that. Instead, knowing that there is no thought of lack in God's mind, when we perceive a limitation, as Spritual beings, we know there is something good, something wonderful and whole coming. Often we can't see it, but we know it's got to be there. “Thank You, God, for the goodness that is there that must come forth.” Facing challenges, if you are willing to let God's goodness flow in and through your life, say, “Thank You, God!”

from Mike McGuire, Prayer Team
Summary of Rev. David's sermon

Care is applied Love

When we love, the One we are really loving is God. When love is present, the limits we normally see do not bind us. The state of love can change us from moment to moment. Commit to love and care.

Care is applied love. How powerfully we care expresses our love. Our first assignment is to be the love we are and care for ourselves and others.

The gift of love opens us to see others as they truly are. However, they do not need to choose to bring forth the truth we see. We often combine our vision with our expectations, but love need not return through the ones we love.

The gift of love frees us. Through the feeling and practice of care, we are being the instrument of love. The gift can come any way. Sometime it gives us time to be alone. The assignment is the same, to love and care for someone, even if it is yourself.

from Mike McGuire, Prayer Team
Summary of Rev. David's sermon

Be an Instrument

The angels of the Christmas story show God communicates with us directly, that we are connected with God and that it is a two way street. And the message in the Christmas story calls us each to be an instrument for bringing forth that which is greater. With our willingness and commitment to do so, and our moving on it, we need not know for what end. We might be an instrument of healing of body or heart. Or maybe we'll bring peace into a family. We likely will never know, but the world will change because of our faithful action.

So with each Christmas carol you hear this season, with every gift you choose and every cookie you bake, celebrate. Celebrate because you got the message, God is talking to you. If you listen, if you reply, "What is mine to do?", and open up to it, then, just as on that first Christmas night, the angels will sing “Glory to God in the highest; peace to all of good will”.

from Mike McGuire, Prayer Team
Summary of Rev. David's sermon

Attitude of Gratitude

This is a warm part of the year, despite the approaching winter season. I'm referring instead to the Holiday Season, when we take the time to warm up to those near and far from us. It is so appropriate that it begins in earnest with Thanksgiving. How important it is to recognize our gifts and give thanks. 

Being grateful is more than an obligation or an opportunity to repay kindnesses, however. It is an opportunity to re-align ourselves with God's grace. Of course, God's love is always flowing to us and through us, but so many times we are oblivious, even hostile. An attitude of gratitude keeps us turned to the light, open to participate fully in the flow of love and life around and in us. Rather than miss it, we are then aware of the good that is coming to us.

“Today is the perfect day to appreciate the many blessings in my life. I pray a prayer of thanksgiving, expressing gratitude... I stop for a moment to give thanks... I am blessed beyond measure.” Daily Word — November 26, 2009

So stop for a moment. Notice your heart beat is like the beat of the sacred drum which gives thanks for all that we have, for all that we are. Your heart beats out “thank you, thank you, thank you...” 

Mike McGuire, Prayer Team
Summary of Rev. David's sermon

The Power of Thanksgiving

You know this amazing power because you have used it many times. You have felt the transforming experience of your deep gratitude for something in your life. It may have been your heart recognizing the beauty in a moment with a special friend, or receiving the blessing of a break-through that you had long desired. It may have been as simple as feeling the warm sun on a crisp fall morning, or the touch of a little one’s hand in yours.

When your heart opened to that very special feeling of thanksgiving, you felt uplifted, blessed, renewed and filled with hope. Even if it was a dark rainy day, you felt an inner glow.

The power that lifts us, opens us and blesses us is the presence of Divine Love. When we experience true thankfulness, the power of Spirit flows into our lives. In that sacred moment we have opened to consciously perceive God’s goodness. That goodness desires to pour itself through our lives in every moment. The feelings of thanksgiving have the power to open our lives to this unlimited goodness.

Rev. David McArthur

Another Way!

Are you feeling like the economy, your job, health, or something else out there is controlling your life? There is another way! At Unity we share the freeing truth that as a child of God, you are the one creating your life, not someone else! That means that you have the power to create your heart’s desire regardless of what the world is choosing to do at the moment.

Not only are we teaching that truth, we are demonstrating it together. That is part of Spirit’s assignment to us—to break through the consciousness of lack and fear in the world and demonstrate abundance and joy. We have done that by saying yes to renovating our spiritual home through our Love in Action program. While the world is afraid to give, we are giving generously. While the world is afraid to step out in positive change, we are creating a place of beauty to nurture the growth of many people. While the world is affirming a banking system that is refusing to support projects of value in the society, we are about to draw through that same system abundance to support our project and bless them with abundance in return.

This is the step we are working on now. Some of you know that the bank that had committed to support our Love in Action project withdrew from making construction loans for churches. That halted our project while we do some consciousness raising. We know that when we raise our consciousness to the realization of God’s great love and provision for us, our good flows into our lives. Spirit will bring the abundance we seek into manifestation as we transform the fears of lack and express our faith in God’s flow of abundance.

What a wonderful opportunity for us to participate in transforming this belief in lack of money and lack of power to create our own good that is hampering so many people. We are actively, passionately, with faith and joy, joining together to know that God is opening for us a channel of abundance that will manifest fully this sacred project we have been guided to create. We are demonstrating another way. Thank you for knowing this truth with all your Unity friends. We are abundantly, joyfully prospered and empowered.

No wonder Unity is positive, joyous spirituality. We seek to live these wonderful truths that free us to manifest for the good of everyone.

Embracing Change

One of the great gifts of knowing that all is God, is that we do not need to fear change. Embracing change opens us to finding God’s gifts in what is taking place in our lives. It means we are attuning ourselves to a higher pattern that is unfolding. It does not mean that all change is easy or without pain. However, it does mean that we have Divine guidance through those changes to bring ease in difficulty and Divine healing to restore us to wholeness. Change involves the art of letting go, the activation of our faith, our attunement to guidance, and the awakening of our Spirit.

I invite you to look at the changes taking place in your life and embrace them, knowing that God is there, God is with you and God is loving you. Know that God is at the center of all change, and you are centered in God.

From my heart,

-- Rev. David McArthur

Appreciation

The second most powerful force in the earth… is “appreciation!” It is impossible to feel it or express it too much. The deeper you go into the consciousness of appreciation, the more you will behold the infinite life that right now is flowing into and through you.

Appreciate for a moment your body, with its amazing organs and systems, and your mind, with its miraculous capacity to perceive and understand life. Appreciate the constant provision for your material needs that are being met every moment.

You can appreciate the things in your life that bring deep fulfillment, your family and friends, the capacity to understand, heal hurt, comfort another and receive support. Yet there is more—even more amazing gifts: of your life itself, your eternal soul, your oneness with Divine life and intelligence, the amazing love that enfolds and lifts you every moment, every choice, every experience for eternity.

To appreciate is to reach into the infinite and find it is already in your own heart.
—Reverend David McArthur

Greater Goodness is Calling

A greater goodness is calling all of us. The caterpillar that is in the transformation process does not know that it will emerge from the cocoon as the beautiful butterfly. Yet within it is the divine pattern that guides it through the process because the result, the greater expression of its true self, is calling it into the process of change. The divine pattern within each of us is calling us to a new state of consciousness. Change is happening in our personal lives and in the world. This change is not caused by the failure of old systems; rather it is because the greater expression of our true selves is being called into being.

How do we attune to that greater presence and wisdom that is calling us to our next level of living? We attune by turning to that indwelling light, love and goodness that is who we really are. Prayer and love are the timeless tools of transformation. Let them open each of us to the greater expression of God’s goodness that is calling us forth.

--Rev. David McArthur

Christmas - Clebrating a new birth of Consciousness

Christmas is celebrating the birth of the baby Jesus, the birth of a new consciousness and the birth of the joy that is hope eternal in our hearts. We bring out the symbols of our new birth—the bells of celebration, the cheery red Christmas ribbon, the gaiety of presents, the warmth of the fireside, and the abundance of family feasts and presents. In the dark of wintertime, we light the candles of our hope, symbolizing our faith that the light of goodness is responding to our common humanity. Our hearts awaken in our new birth and we reach out to the poor, those struggling or in need. We affirm our love for family and friends and we are reborn to the radiant love that fills our hearts. Celebrate that wonderful love, that miraculous birth this Christmas Eve with your Unity family.

Our children will warm your hearts at our 5:30 pm family service, and at the 8:00 pm service, the beauty of the candlelight will rekindle the sacred flame of divine love in your heart.

—Rev. David McArthur

Happiness Choice

Make the "Happiness choice" -- regardless ouf your outer circumstances, choose to align your consciousness with the inner energy of God's ever present goodness.

I invite you to watch this video in which I explore the problems and suffering that arises when we pin our happiness on outer events. Instead, by cultivating a steady inner alignment with the creative energy of God within, we can achieve a reliable state of happiness regardless of outer challenges.