“The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:31 The myth of ‘good people’ can be a damaging one that allows for terrible things to happen. Most of us probably would consider ourselves good people, we care for others, we aren’t entirely selfish, we attend worship, pray, confess our sins and all in all we would probably be deemed ‘good’ people, well-meaning and well-intentioned people. And for the most part, we are, I would hazard … [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...]
Who do you love? – Sermon for February 24th
*Audio available at bottom of the page* “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.” ~ Luke 6:27 If there was ever a time for us to hear Jesus’ words in the passage, we heard this morning from the Gospel of Luke it is now. Like no time in our lifetime, or at least my lifetime, has our society been so fractured and divided. We need only look at the complete polarization of the political landscapes across the globe: the rise of Trumpism in the US, the … [Read more...]
The Spirit Carries On
“Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh… the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Galatians 5:16, 5:22-23 As a Canadian, I have always looked with interest when it comes time for American Election season. We might have complained about the length of our last federal election, but the American process seems like it kicks off almost immediately following the last election, with … [Read more...]
Reckless and Relentless
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a work filled with memorable and quotable lines that have permeated throughout our cultural imaginations, and perhaps one of the most famous among them is “What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." So what’s in a name? I remember when Bethany and I first found out we were expecting our first child; we were quickly able to settle on names for our coming child: one for a girl and one for a boy. As the pregnancy … [Read more...]
All You Need is Love
"Love is Patient; Love is Kind..." This beautiful and majestic passage of Scripture is so often read at weddings between men and women, because of it's subject matter: Love. … [Read more...]
A Song for a Son
Today as we continue our series on "What do we believe?" as part of our "Knowing the Story" theme, we explore what the Creeds have to say about Jesus, the Son of God and about the fullness of his humanity and divinity and why it is important for us week in and week out to proclaim this and remind ourselves of this. … [Read more...]
You’ve Got a Friend in Me
A sermon exploring what the Bible tells us about why we need friendship and what friendship love is all about. May you find a friend in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, today and forever more. … [Read more...]
How much it changes you to be told that someone loves you
The story of Jesus' baptism isn't, I think, actually about getting wet in a river. It is about hearing that someone is saying, "I love YOU". … [Read more...]
Loving one another
This sermon is a pointer to a practice of loving. Not the vague warm feeling, but a decision about how, intentionally to see someone in the spirit of love. … [Read more...]