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…]
Text: Mark 10:32-45 (the greatness of service) February has been a busy month for televised sports. It began with curling at the Tournament of Hearts, and it includes the Winter Olympics, which closed yesterday in South Korea. In-between was the Super Bowl, which is the most popular televised event in the United States and Canada. … [Read more…]
Text: Mark 8:37-45 (“take up your cross”) Peter gets a bad rap in the gospels. He is the first person Jesus calls as a disciple. He has more conversations with Jesus than anyone else. He is present at every turn in the story, from the mission in Galilee, to the Transfiguration that Bruce preached about … [Read more…]
Text: Mark 2 (Jesus bends the rules) One of my work colleagues in the 1990’s was a man named Aubrey from Trinidad. One day at lunch, he compared driving in Trinidad with driving in Toronto. In Trinidad, he said, there were virtually no rules, while in Toronto there seemed to be nothing but rules. The … [Read more…]