Sermon Archive

Text: Isaiah 9:2-7 ; Luke 2:1-20 It’s Christmas eve, it’s time to sing, to celebrate, to raise your voices and let bells ring. We pull out all the stops, making thus and so, Getting it all ready, and wondering... “Will it snow?” And yes, tonight is one of those times, That I’ll preach a sermon… completely in Rhyme. It’s becoming a tradition, and something I’d share to be a little different, and to be aware to hear the Christmas message in a slightly new way, To have a little fun in making words play. We gather here tonight, perhaps to reclaim, a bit of our childhood, and fond memories remain. There’s a magic tonight, so we’d like to believe, that amidst all of our stresses we want to relieve. So we come here tonight, to hear the old story, Of shepherds, and angels, and of God’s wondrous glory. The child in the manger, a symbol filled with God’s power, Who comes to us in the midst of a truly dark hour. “In those days…” with familiar old words, Luke begins his story of angels and shepher...

Text : Luke 1:46-55 Well, we’re getting close… —The decorations are up, everything is set… Or at least so we hope. —Many of us have had our Christmas parties already, and all that’s left is the big celebration and service tonight. —However, we ARE still in Advent, technically Christmas does not start until tonight, and continues for 12 days after that… but since everything is looking like Christmas… well… I can keep it Advent-like and reflect on all of our Christmas preparations. So instead, I’ll tell you a bit of my own experiences: For five years during my post-secondary education, I worked in a retail store. For four of those years, I worked in a games specialty shop. You wanted Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit or a really difficult puzzle? You talk to me. For one of those years, I worked in a computer store —big surprise. Yet my experience from working in the retail business let me see the Christmas season in a very different light. There are some things that people buy all the time, that...

The following is the Bible Theatre script of the service as presented on December 10th, 2006. Written by Ande McDougall-Clumpus and led by the youth of Clarkson Road Presbyterian Church. This script is copyright (c) 2006 by its author. King David enters. He is dressed in a beautiful robe and has an air of superiority. Moses is backstage, Daniel is sitting on the minister’s bench, and everyone else is in the audience. David: Good evening , and welcome to the 1337th annual Old Testament Characters Meeting. I’m your host, King David, and yes, I am this amazing. (Big, artificial smile) Before we get things underway, I have a few announcements. First, following a hundred complaints after last year’s meeting, we have asked Elijah to not call down fire from heaven, even if there are prophets of Baal in the building. Second, we have separated Jacob from the angels so that they will not wrestle each other during the service. Finally, Adam and Eve have graciously accepted our pleas and are wea...

Text: Jeremiah 33:14-16 Every year, I look for ways to connect with the anticipation and hope that Advent instills. In recent years I’ve had something to look forward to around Christmas, being it as profound as the birth of my daughter last year, or as trivial as the first release of the Lord of the Rings back in 2001. In some ways, these personal experiences were reminders of the sense of waiting and hopefulness of Advent… but this year I have to do some things to remind me about what it is to wait. As of today, this is the Christian New Year. We begin with a time of preparation, anticipating the coming of Christ. As much as I want to draw parallels between my own past experiences, the waiting and hopefulness of Advent is on a much grander scale. We have visions expressed such as this from Jeremiah: 14The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfil the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous...