Sermons
We’re children of God?
I missed an opportunity in this Sunday’s sermon to make a joke or two about us being childish but in retrospect I don’t think the sermon was diminished by the lack. It is a bit odd for us to think about ourselves as children though, at least once we make it into adulthood. Particularly when we reach the stage of adulthood where our parents are no longer with us. Because…
Sowing isn’t a one-time thing
Today I had the opportunity to re-visit another thing I got wrong about the Bible when I was younger. I have said it before, but it bears repeating, to the best of my knowledge I was never intentionally misled into falsehood, poor hermeneutics or heresy by someone who knew they were teaching me error(s). However, the fact remains, my early Bible teaching, to say nothing of theology in a broad sense,…
There’s always a burden
I have been in a position to reflect on the inescapable reality of burdens. There are many different kinds of burdens people carry. The burden of expectations is a tricky and very heavy one for many of us. The burden of family traditions. The burden of education. The burden of unfulfilled potential (my personal (least) favourite). We might each use different language to describe what I’m calling a burden but…
What are you working for?
Bob Dylan had a song a long time ago called “You gotta serve somebody” or something similar. It is a binary I’m inclined to accept. At least when I think of it the terms or our Romans passage for today (Romans 6:12-23), especially the last verse, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 6:23 NRSV)…
What and where is grace?
This Sunday is Fathers Day (or Father’s Day or Fathers’ Day, I’m never sure). It will come as no surprise to anyone who has been following this blog for any length of time that Fathe… Day didn’t come up. I’m not opposed to celebrating mothers and fathers, or grandparents, aunties, unties, uncles, or any other group I just don’t see them falling in with the Lectionary very often. This Sunday…
Laughter . . . always a good thing?
I think most people are in favour of laughter. Most of the time we say laughing is a good thing. But, there are some times when it isn’t. What kind of laughter isn’t good? derisive laughter sarcastic laughter laughter at other’s misfortune I’m sure you can add a few more. Anyone who has been laughed at for failing when they were honestly trying knows how destructive and painful it can…
Trinity Sunday in light of BLM & MMIWG2S & too many more
I thought of titling this post, “Trinity Sunday in light of systemic oppression” but it seemed too academic and distant from what is going on all over the world these days. The pain and suffering of our BIPOC* neighbours and friends is unavoidable in these days of protest. It is simply not possible to miss what is happening in the US and the ripple effects we are seeing all over…
What does Pentecost have to do with today?
Pentecost is one of those days that can be tricky to handle. What is there to say about Pentecost that hasn’t been said a thousand times before. Is there anything to say about it other than maybe it is the birthday of the church, or tongues of fire are pretty cool, or even back then folks were accused of morning drinking? Thankfully there is a lot to say about Pentecost…
Does knowing the future matter?
We all think we want to know the future. We think if we knew the future we could avoid unpleasant experiences, prepare for things better, win lotteries, etc., etc., etc. But do we really want to know the future? Do we really want that much responsibility? For that matter, would knowing the future really help? Many of us know not brushing and flossing leads to a future which includes dental…
How do we talk well?
I preface all of this by noting we are not talking about diction today. If I would have more creativity at my fingertips when I needed a sermon title I would have probably said something about conversation rather than talking but sometimes we do all we can and subsequently wish we could have done more. St. Paul is often mis-characterized as an argumentative, even obnoxious, person. Our Acts reading from…