Sermons
This is harder
Today is Heritage Sunday. This is not a church year Sunday but something the Presbyterian Church in Canada does. It is a Sunday to spend at least a moment or two looking at where we came from so we have a better idea of why we are where we are. The two sermons are looking at Heritage Sunday through the lens of the Law . . . at least a…
Let’s talk “influence” shall we?
We talked about influence last week and we are continuing to do so this week. I don’t mind revisiting topics, I know I frequently profit from going over things again. I might have gone a different way if I hadn’t encountered an online advertisement for an opportunity to be certified as a “professional influencer.” If we have reached this stage of “development,” or regression, I think it might be worth…
Do the impossible?
Are we called to do the impossible? I have said more than once, God doesn’t ask us to do what we canNOT do. We are never asked to fly without assistance, we aren’t asked to walk on water or turn water into wine. We are frequently asked to do things that are very difficult for us but impossible? If I am so convinced we aren’t asked to do the impossible…
Better to light a candle than curse the darkness
The title of this post is a quotation that could be from William L. Watkinson* and regardless of who it came from, the sentiment is a useful one. This week, instead of just talking about anyone becoming a “fisher of people” whatever that might mean, I felt led to talk about light. The word “light” appears in a couple of our readings this week** and as a metaphor, it is…
Talking about grace
Grace, as I am sure I have mentioned before, is one of my favourite words and also one of my favourite things. It is one of the few theologically significant words in common use which has yet to be significantly debased. Grace, graceful, and gracious still retain their positive connotations in our culture. This Sunday’s epistle lesson, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9, got me thinking about grace and what it might mean…
Let’s talk about baptism
Baptism is one of those things that happens at church that doesn’t always get a lot of thought. Considering how important many people think getting baptized is, this is a bit odd. In my experience, most of the discussion around baptism is about the “how” rather than the “why” of baptism. The two main “hows” of baptism are immersion of adults or at least believers by some definition and sprinkling…
History. What is it good for?
No matter what some students might think, history was not invented to make middle and high school students crazy. It was George Santayana who said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This is sometimes rendered as “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” No matter how you phrase it, this aphorism, if true suggests the study of history is a…
Why aren’t you here?
For those of you who faithfully listen every week and are wondering what is going on, I have an explanation. The elders graciously granted me this Sunday, December 25, 2022. Christmas Day, off as a) many people in both congregations would be gone; and, b) it is very important to them that my family does not suffer unduly due to my being away every Sunday. I am extremely grateful for…
The Fourth Sunday of Advent
If it seems fitting to begin Advent with Hope, it seems equally fitting to finish Advent with Love. This is the Sunday of Love. One of the things I can forget about, if I’m not careful, is that while God acts in loving ways, we don’t have a God who is occasionally loving, we have a God who is Love. This Sunday I was trying to think about some of…
The Second Sunday of Advent
The Second Sunday of Advent is the Sunday of Peace. It seems almost in poor taste to talk about peace these days. We have another shooting war in Europe, the usual hot spots in the rest of the world are continuing to try to solve things by killing, political partisanship and populism seem to be taking over civil discourse, and we are all well aware of disputes in our various…