Lord Jesus Come Soon! If there is any prayer, other than the Lord’s Prayer, that I have heard uttered from the lips of Christians over the last couple of years, Lord Jesus Come Soon, probably tops the list. It is often uttered in response to some terrible calamity – every natural disaster, terrorist attack, school shooting, or even personal troubles like the loss of a loved one or a challenging cancer diagnosis elicits the prayer “Lord Jesus come soon.” I feel like these prayers have … [Read more...]
What is a Saint? – All Saints Day 2020
What is a saint? I think that our culture has an unhealthy and extreme view of what a saint is. On one hand, we use the word saint to describe someone, anyone who is kind hearted and good to us. When someone helps us we say ‘Oh they’re such a saint’. In this use of the word, a saint becomes a common thing something, or rather someone, you might encounter on a daily or at least a regular basis. On the other hand, the word saint is used to describe someone of great holiness and power, … [Read more...]
If Love is the Law – Sermon for Oct 25
"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" Matthew 22:36 If you were to think about the most important part of Christianity what would it be? Maybe you’d say God, or Jesus, or the Holy Spirit – perfectly, true and acceptable answers for sure. Or maybe you’d pick an event, like the Crucifixion or Resurrection – after all, some Christian scholars have called these events the hinge of history or Pentecost since that’s why we’re here. Or if you were more theologically … [Read more...]
Sing for Life – Sermon for Oct 18
Our psalm today might be a little hard to hear in this strange time and place we live in ravaged as we are by the COVID-19 pandemic, with its emphasis on singing – something we are unable to do safely together at this moment. Three times in the first 2 verses we hear the imperative to sing! O Sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to Lord all the earth. Sing to the Lord and bless his name. We all want to sing O Lord, but alas we cannot for the sake and safety of others. While the psalm might be … [Read more...]
Invited to the Feast – Sermon for October 11th 2020
Later in the service after communion we will say together: Glory to God, whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. Glory to God from generation to generation in the Church and in Christ Jesus, for ever and ever. Amen We say this doxology, together every Sunday at the close of our service of Holy Communion, and what a way to end our services it is. In it we collectively affirm, celebrate and proclaim God’s glory and power working in us, through the … [Read more...]
God’s Plan – Sermon for October 4th
God has a plan for your life! Doesn’t that just sound wonderful? The all-knowing, all-loving God who created everything around you has a plan for your life, no matter how small or insignificant you may feel. So what might those plans be? Maybe you’ve heard famous televangelists tell you that God’s plan is for you to be happy and blessed with material possessions – sounds nice enough but it usually comes with a catch: you need to show your immense faith and trust in God (and the … [Read more...]
Don’t Judge a Book – Sermon for September 27th 2020
“Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you.” ~ Matthew 21:31 Don’t judge a book by its cover. This piece of timeless wisdom is about as clichéd as you can get, but it’s clichéd because we were all probably taught it in some variation as a child and more often than not it rings true. While making snap judgements can be important in intense situations, often we need to look beyond the surface and first … [Read more...]
God’s Justice – September 20th 2020
“So the last will be first, and the first will be last." ~ Matthew 20:16 Fairness and equality are hot topics these days. Don’t get me wrong for the most part this is great news for society – a greater emphasis on fairness and equality can mean wonders for a world that so often skews to the rich, the privileged and those already in power. But the problem is that a lot of our conversations around fairness and equality come from a place of privilege. If you benefit from privilege in society … [Read more...]
Seventy Times Seven – Sermon for Sunday September 13 2020
If there was one word to describe 2020 so far what would you choose? Perhaps most of us would choose pandemic, or crisis, or isolation or some other word related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the large scale changes that have rocked our world over the past 6 months. Perhaps some would choose negative emotions or descriptors like terrible, challenging, topsy-turvy. While all those words would be appropriate and true, I think that the word which resonates with me over the course of 2020 is: … [Read more...]
Mr./Mrs. Beatitudes – Sermon for Epiphany 4
Audio of Sermon: Mr./Mrs. Beatitudes found below! ”Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 5:10 Ever since I was a child I have loved both fantasy and science fiction as a genre. Whether it was devouring Tolkien, laughing hysterically at the Hitchhikers Guide Series, or watching Star Trek with my parents – I couldn’t get enough of the stories weaved in the two literary genres. A common enough story in both fantasy and … [Read more...]
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