What’s in a name? We all can likely remember times when our parents or our friends have called out our name with a deep sense of affection and love bottled up – perhaps after a long period of absence, or a parent calling a child over to offer a hug or a comforting shoulder to cry on. Our names are powerful. Just ask any child the power of a name, when their parent uses it to chastise them! When I was a child I would go around saying ‘I am not an Edddin! I am not an Eddin!’ because when I was … [Read more...]
Humble Service – Sermon for Maundy Thursday 2019
*Audio available at the bottom of the page* “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” ~ John 13:1 Before becoming a father, it is unlikely that you would have ever got me excited at the prospect of feeding time or bath time for an infant. The idea of trying to force a young child to try food that they are not going to like, or to subject an infant to the potential for screaming and torture of a bath. Obviously some children love food and others love baths, … [Read more...]
Sermon for Lent 5 – April 7th 2019
Are you an “Early Adopter?” It’s a term that describes someone who is one of the first to buy and try some new piece of technology. Early Adopters are the first customers. They are always eager and willing to try new things, especially new gadgets. On a bell-curve of who buys a new tech gadget, first there are the Innovators, the people who create and market the items. Then come the Early Adopters, the first people in town to own one. If you have a “Smart speaker” like an Amazon Alexa … [Read more...]
Come and See me – Sermon for Epiphany 2
When we think about discipleship, about following Jesus, we probably begin to think about learning. After all, much of the Christian life is about learning from Jesus, learning about Jesus and learning to live the life that God is growing in our lives. We make a big deal about learning. Jesus is described in the Bible as a teacher, as a Rabbi a great religious instructor; we think of the disciples as students taking in their lessons at the feet of Jesus. And they were. And so it is important … [Read more...]
Just a Fool – Sermon for Holy Cross Day
“For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” – 1 Corinthians 1:18 Today we are celebrating the feast of the Holy Cross, a day that is linked to the dedication of the Church Constantine dedicated, purportedly on the site where Jesus had been crucified 300 years before, and where according to legend Helena (Constantine’s mother), had discovered a piece of the true Cross during the excavation of the church, the … [Read more...]
Sermon for Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost – John 6:56-69
“Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, ‘Do you also wish to go away?’” – John 6:66-67 In the age of constant media, social media, 24/7 connectivity to one another via the internet, information is constantly at our fingerprints. We can learn about news from across the world just moments after it happens. Amidst all of this information there is a glut of advice, information and wisdom concerning just about any question, any … [Read more...]
What Feeds You? – Sermon for the Eleventh Week after Pentecost
“They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’" – John 6:34 What feeds you? What are you hungry for? Before I started running I never really thought about nutrition. Food was something I enjoyed, especially sweet and spicy things, but never something I really thought much about. I didn’t think about calories or macro-nutrients or anything like that, food was just something I enjoyed, something that comforted me, something that I often consumed mindlessly. This obviously led to some … [Read more...]
Sermon for Tenth Sunday of Pentecost – John 6:1-21
Superman. The Lone Ranger. Wonder Woman. Who has never heard of these characters? If you're over the age of 60, I'd bet my bottom dollar you were influenced by the early superheros, like Superman. Similarly, the Jews at the feeding of the five thousand would have noticed Jesus' likeness to their own version of superheros: the prophets with miraculous signs. Moses. Elijah. Elisha. Those watching and listening to Jesus in the Gospel of John we heard today would have remembered a … [Read more...]
Invited Preaching Series Week 2 – John 1:43-51
Nathaniel said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him “Come and see.” – John 1:46 How many of you like icebreaker games? You know the games that are designed to get people out of their comfort zone and introduce themselves to a group of strangers. Often ice breakers can revolve around your name, or around what you’d bring to a desert island and one of the most common ones is where you are invited to think about which person from history, dead or alive, that you … [Read more...]
In the Garden – Sermon for Easter 2018
"Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." – John 20:15 Two days before Mary had stood at the foot of the Cross, as her teacher, her friend and Lord had suffered the full force of the Roman Empire’s brutal power – death upon the twisted, torturous tree. The whole earth seemingly mourned Jesus’ death as the sky was darkened, bruised by … [Read more...]