Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ~ Ephesians 6:10-11 During the first lockdown last year it was a challenge to keep our children engaged and active. As we struggled to deal with the changing landscape of school, work and daily life we had to find new ways to entertain and engage with our children as we balanced work on top of all of that. Our youngest daughter … [Read more...]
Bread of Life – Sermon for August 15th 2021
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." John 6:51 The last two decades have seen the incredible rise of Comedy News shows – shows like the Daily Show and the Colbert Report have thrived the news-entertainment complex that has arisen. Although they are strictly for entertainment during the early 2000s people under 30 reported getting their news from these shows than … [Read more...]
Culture Shock – Sermon for August 8, 2021
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2 As the child of a foreign service officer, I travelled a lot. Before the age of 18, I had lived in 7 countries and visited countless more. One of the realities of travelling to different countries is navigating the vast cultural differences between those countries. Whether it is eating customs, or how one greets one … [Read more...]
Gifted Hands – Sermon for August 1, 2021
“The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” ~ Ephesians 4:11-12 Just before I entered grade 7 my family moved from Paris, France to Buffalo New York. As if the culture shock of that move wasn’t enough I got to go into a new school for Middle School as both a Canadian (hated by many Buffalonians) and a foreigner (I had developed a slight British … [Read more...]
The Church’s Calling Card – Sermon for Sunday July 25th
I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:18-19 A number of my friends have had babies through the pandemic. This means that my social media feeds are filled with all things baby. Which is lovely. Babies are wonderful, aren’t they? (especially when they’re keeping someone else up at … [Read more...]
Unity in Diversity – Sermon For July 18th 2021
“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility” ~ Ephesians 2:14 Although I know you’ll probably say I am starting to sound like a broken record, the world seems to be hurtling more and more towards division than in previous eras, but our epistle lesson for today from the Letter to the Ephesians brings the topic of division to centre stage once again and because of the severity, I think it is an essential … [Read more...]
All about Grace – November 15th 2020
“For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.” ~ Matthew 25:29 Now I don’t know about you, but if I weren’t in church and heard that verse quoted out of context, I might just think it was something that came out of the mouth of some giant of Wall Street or Bay Street. It sounds like something wealthy western business people might say, as they benefit from the capitalist system at the … [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...]
Sermon for Pentecost 18 – Mark 9:30-37
In Round 1 of this year’s World Cup, Spain and Portugal played to a 3-3 draw. The game was one of the most entertaining of the whole tournament. One highlight was Portugal’s superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo, scoring all three of his team’s goals. His third goal was the most impressive, tying the game in the final few minutes by just clearing the wall of Spanish defenders before tucking under the crossbar out of reach of the Spanish keeper. But it was the celebration after his first goal that … [Read more...]
The Spirit Carries On – Sermon for Easter 6
"Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" – Acts 10:47 As the father of two girls, even as young as they are, I am intimately aware of the lingering inequalities and injustices that exist in this world even as white middle class Canadians we enjoy many, many privileges. When my eldest daughter first became enthralled with the Blue Jays three years ago, she quickly decided that she wanted to play for them when she grew up, and … [Read more...]