“Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each of you is to return to your family property and to your own clan.” – Leviticus 25:10 Years ago a man named Millard Fuller was living the height of the American dream. A millionaire by age twenty-nine (couldn’t we all be so lucky!), he was a high-powered corporate executive working 24/7 and making close to a million dollars year, adding to his fortune. By all … [Read more...]
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Sabbath as Rest – Sermon for September 29, 2019
** Audio version below ** Sermon: Sabbath as Rest * September 29, 2019 * Alice J Stewart Today we heard the 10 commandments. These are just the first 10. There are a total of 613 commandments for observant Jews. Of those 613, there are 33 commandments for various Sabbath times. As you might expect, there are more commandments relating to God himself. And you may be fascinated to know that there are a measly 3 for murder, 2 for adultery, 6 for stealing and coveting, and about 6 for lying. … [Read more...]
Sabbath: A Beginning – Sermon for September 22
“And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done.” ~ Genesis 2:2 When I was a child the Sabbath was a completely foreign concept – not because I didn’t enjoy rest and delight in play like any other child my age – but because as a millennial, for the majority of my life Sunday has not been a day of rest. By the time I was aware enough as a child, stores were open 7 days a week and activities like baseball, or … [Read more...]
Cross to Bear – Sermon for September 8th
Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. ~ Luke 14:27 One of the most important parts of growing up to be an adult is learning how to prioritize. Typically, as a child and even as a teenager, your parents make many of the biggest decisions in your life – what to eat, what to buy, how much time to spend doing x, y or z. As you get older you certainly need to improve your time management skills but it isn’t until you are out on your own, whether that be at … [Read more...]
Jesus and the Venn Diagram
**Audio file available below** Sermon for the 12th Sunday after Pentecost: Alice J Stewart I want you imagine a Venn diagram. You know, the kind with two circles that intersect. I want you to imagine in one circle the very human tendency to be socially stratified and competitive. We can symbolize this with the image of a monkey, since we get this trait from our evolutionary past. In the other circle, imagine the Kingdom of God as symbolized by a feast. Imagine that these two circles come … [Read more...]
No More Mr. Nice Guy – Sermon for August 18th
"I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! ~ Luke 12:49 If there is one characteristic that stereotypically describes Canadians as a whole it is probably that we are ‘nice’. We’ll say sorry if you bump into us, we celebrate our diverse and ‘tolerant’ nation and we have a stellar reputation on the world stage with regards to human rights. It is a pretty big part of our national identity… but in reality it is an elaborate lie we tell ourselves. I say that it … [Read more...]
Kingdom Come – Sermon for August 11th
"Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” – Luke 12:32 When I was in high school I was pretty convinced I was about as smart as you could get for a kid my age – I mean I knew I wasn’t a genius savant, but the next best thing. I did exceedingly well in school without too much effort – I didn’t study much, I waited to the last minute to get my assignments done, even when I hadn’t read something I was able to offer valuable insights on … [Read more...]
The Right Stuff – Sermon for August 4th
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. – Colossians 3:9-10 Have you ever tried to do something wearing completely the wrong clothes for the occasion? I remember when I was a kid I went to a school where we had to wear uniforms, which meant polo shirts, dress pants, dress shoes and a tie every day. One of the first … [Read more...]
The Good Samaritan, the Small Church, and Mercy
*Audio File Below* Sermon for the Fifth Sunday of Pentecost - July 14, 2019 - Alice J Stewart Our lawyer today in Luke is not the kind of lawyer you might find if you go downtown to the Department of Justice. He is an expert in Jewish law, and a really important fellow in Jewish life. This lawyer is a religious authority much like the Jewish priest and Levite we meet in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Knowing this, we can see some subtleties in our reading from Luke today. The expert … [Read more...]
Will You Come and Follow Me – Sermon for June 30th
Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." – Luke 9:58 When you are about to embark on some big life change, like getting married, or having your first child, or going to university, starting a new job or retiring from one – you will often be told by someone that your life will never be the same, it will change so tremendously that you’ll barely recognize it on the other side. People have a tendency to speak in … [Read more...]