Sermons
It’s a new year!
It is the first Sunday in the new calendar year and it seemed like a good idea to take a look at beginning things. This time of the year is when we, and by “we” I mean lots of people if not necessarily me, make resolutions; we begin something new. For some it is all about health, for others personal development, the list is limited only by our collective creativity…
Hey! It fits!
There is something almost universal in the experience of getting a gift, Christmas or otherwise, that doesn’t fit. Sometimes the lack of fit is physical, such as when the giver forgets that you are no longer 12 but are actually 15 and quite a lot larger than you were. Sometimes the problem of fit is wrapped up (see what I did there) in what you do or do not like,…
Love
The fourth Sunday in Advent is the Sunday of Love. There is so much to say about love that is can be a challenge to know what to say this year but as I have found with other “large” topic Sundays, if I am patient and willing to listen to the Holy Spirit everything seems to work out in the end. What struck me this year was the aspect of…
Do we want joy or happiness?
This Sunday’s sermons about joy and happiness and what the difference, if any, is between them. I made the point, which I would be happy to have anyone challenge me on, that happiness is dependent on external circumstances and joy is internal and independent of external circumstances. I also did my best to draw a link between the first and third Sundays of Advent, namely Hope and Joy, which I…
Waiting. No one likes it
The title says it all, no one likes waiting. Now I’m sure if we look long enough we will find someone who actually does like it but I am prepared to suggest that they are statistically insignificant. We don’t like waiting. We do not enjoy delaying our gratification. We are especially irritated when we are waiting for something or someone unnecessarily. This is the second Sunday of Advent, Peace Sunday,…
Happy New (Church) Year
It is the first Sunday of Advent which means it is the first Sunday of a new church year. As I have mentioned enough times to make you tired of it, I really like the church year. I am glad that I get two New Year’s Days instead of just one. I am glad that I get to think about the year ahead from two different but very complementary perspectives….
Christ the King
This Sunday is called either Reign of Christ or Christ the King and it is the last Sunday in the Liturgical year. Next Sunday we begin a new Liturgical year with the First Sunday of Advent. I think it makes a lot of sense to end the church year with a Sunday devoted to the reign of Christ just to ensure that we think about and put in the work…
Remembrance Day is coming
Remembrance Day is on its way and, as it the pattern with the two churches I preach at, that makes today Remembrance Sunday. I can imagine some of you wondering why I, of all people, would do anything special or different for the last Sunday before Remembrance Day. I can imagine the questions: “Wait. Aren’t you the guy who doesn’t do anything for Mothers’ or Fathers’ Day? What’s up?” Well…
All Saints’ Day
Today is All Saints’ Day. This is another one of those Liturgical days that is a bit of a challenge for a Protestant. When I was growing up we had lots of things around Halloween (or Hallowe’en for the purists) but precious little about All Saints’ or saints at all for that matter. I heard frequently that other people in other religions worshiped saints but we didn’t and that was…
What do you do when you want something?
One of the ongoing themes in my life lately has been the problem of “wanting.” In my case the problem isn’t simply wanting, because that is easy, everyone wants something at virtually every time. No, the problem is facing the reality of “wanting” and then being willing to articulate what I want to the right people at the right time. The irony is that frequently when I am asked what…