Sermons
What to do with “stuff” and what is “stuff” anyway?
The sermon title this week is a couple of things. First, it is intentionally provocative and ambiguous. Second, it is a conscious homage to the noted political scientist and philosopher George Carlin. “Stuff.” We all have it. Some of us have too much, some too little. Some stuff is physical, some is metaphysical. It doesn’t matter how old you are or how rich you are; you got stuff. It never…
Don’t get captured?
A word of warning about today’s sermon: it is long compared to most of my sermons. That being said, it is less than eighteen minutes long, so hopefully not too long for anyone. I also talk about politics a bit in this sermon for which I do not apologize. The Bible contains no prohibition against talking/preaching about politics; or money, sexuality, justice, racism, or any other so-called hot topic. The…
The good . . .
I have frequently spoken about the value of revisiting passages of scripture we know well. This Sunday, we are revisiting one of the best-known of Jesus’ parables, usually called the Parable of the Good Samaritan. I’m hoping this sermon will help us feel in a visceral way, the impact this parable must have had on Jesus’ hearers. It is difficult for us to understand the level of prejudice Jesus is…
Sometimes we might be weary
I don’t know about anyone else b,ut sometimes I get tired of doing the right thing. I suspect other people might feel this sort of thing too. It isn’t that I want to do bad things, but it seems so much work to do the good thing, the right thing. It was these thoughts that led to this week’s sermon. In Galatians, Paul says, “So let us not grow weary…
Fruit for everyone!
I am publicly saying I am well aware Canada Day is a couple of days from now. I am also aware this Sunday was publicized on this very website/blog as our Canada Day service. I am also saying I felt no leading to preach about Canada, and quite a lot of leading to preach about the fruit of the Spirit. I bow to no one regarding love for Canada, but…
Things don’t have to be loud
The sermon title doesn’t relate as well to the sermon as I would like it to so I’ll get it out of my system now. The things that don’t have to be loud are the acts we do that demonstrate we actually believe Paul when he writes there is no slave nor free, Jew nor gentile, etc. As sermons go this is atypical for me. As I make clear right…
It isn’t about the math
Trinity Sunday can be a difficult Sunday to plan and preach. It is impossibly difficult if the preaching person feels a responsibility to explain the Trinity, which so far has been beyond us as humans. Our Trinity Sunday was more of a challenge, not because of the Liturgical calendar but rather the presence of a large group of people having an enjoyable breakfast right outside our chapel. It was more…
Is it only about languages?
Today is Pentecost Sunday and as I type the wind is putting on a real display, even by Saskatchewan standards. It is almost too bad I didn’t preach about the “sound like the rush of a violent wind” that kicks off the Pentecost story. What I did preach about was the connection between the Old Testament, New Testament, and Gospel lessons. The connection between the first two is pretty straightforward…
He went but is he gone?
Today was my last Sunday at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Grenfell. It felt odd in a way. It’s not that I’ve been there so long; rather, it’s that the times I’ve been there have been memorable. Sometimes they’ve been memorable, because I’ve made a mistake, which isn’t too surprising,what it’s a different church with a different service setup, easy to make an error or two. So what do I do…
Where does peace come from?
Peace is like the weather, everyone talks about it but no one does anything about it. That’s a bit of an overstatement but not too much. I have met very few people who don’t want peace; in their lives, their relationships, their world. So if we all want it, or at least many of us, why is it so elusive? I think it could very well be another instance of…