Text: Acts 8:26-40 (Philip baptizes an Ethiopian Eunuch) Hospitality is risky. The act of welcoming guests, visitors, and newcomers into our homes can get us in trouble. When we open your hearts to somebody new, we risk being changed by their perspectives. We risk altering the path of our life. The University of Alberta is … [Read more…]
Text: Acts 2:14-41 (Peter preaches in Jerusalem) If someone says you’re being preachy, that’s not a complement. If they say you tend to sermonize, that’s a complaint. Preaching used to be held in high esteem. Preachers were wise elders to whom the community turned for guidance. Now, we are often put in the same category … [Read more…]
Text: Acts 2:42-47 and Acts 4:32-37 (sharing everything in common) When I was a child, I was fascinated by Hippies. Starting at age 11 in 1968, I let my hair grow long. I was trying to emulate the long hairs I had seen on the news during the 1967 “Summer of Love” in San Francisco … [Read more…]
Text: Acts 17:16-33 (“To an unknown god”) “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” This is how a 1647 Catechism of the Presbyterian church begins; and this phrase has been a touchstone for Presbyterians ever since, including in the United Church of Canada. Presbyterians were the largest group that formed … [Read more…]
Text: Mark 16:1-8 (the empty tomb) “The women fled from the tomb in terror and amazement and said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” What kind of a way is this for Mark to end his Gospel? If the three women flee from the tomb and tell no one, then how does Mark ever … [Read more…]
Text: Mark 14 and 15 (the trials and crucifixion of Jesus) “We are an Easter people living in a Good Friday world” – or so say the Eeyore’s among us. Every week in church, we proclaim love and new life even as wars rage around us, scoundrels rule the nations, and poverty blights the world. … [Read more…]
The following is not a sermon, but the preamble to Worship on March 25, 2018. There was no sermon on that date as we spent an hour singing through the communion prayers — Ian Today is Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week. During its seven days, the church reflects on Jesus’ last week … [Read more…]
Text: Mark 14: 43-53; 66-72 (Peter denies Jesus) Four weeks ago on the first Sunday in Lent, we heard Jesus describe a path to healing. Before he began his journey to Jerusalem, he said that those who tried to save their lives would lose them, but that those who gave their lives up for the … [Read more…]
Text: Mark 14:26-42 (Jesus prays in Gethsemane) Video of this sermon posted to Facebook I got the idea for this reflection when I woke up last Sunday afternoon from a nap. I was glad to have slept for an hour, and it felt like I could sleep a lot longer. But dimly, I realized this … [Read more…]
Text: Mark 14:1-9 (Jesus is anointed for burial) The journey of Lent is called “the narrow path” because Jesus says “the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life” (Matthew 7:13). But is there one path or many? In today’s reading, Jesus describes an act of oil being poured on his … [Read more…]