Sermon Archive

Luke: 4:1-13 Firstly I want to say a special thank you to everyone who has joined us today in worship, as well as everyone who participated in this morning’s pancake breakfast. I’m grateful to Andrew in his assistance in the service today, especially for taking on so much, and being willing to step in to help in the event that my voice cuts out on me. I still wish to offer a short reflection because of how important Scouting has become to the life of this congregation. It has helped us re-connect with the life of the community in a way that I don’t think all of us fully understand. I hope and pray that this relationship continues because we are all better for it. For the past number of years, Baden-Powell Sunday has landed on Transfiguration Sunday. It has been a story that has worked well, about mountaintop experiences, about how they can prepare us for life out in the real world. However, because Lent and Easter move around from year to year, we celebrate Scouting and Guiding in Cana...

Luke 9:28-36 I remember that I once remarked rather flippantly that I could preach a sermon on the Transfiguration in my sleep. I have to admit that I really regret describing it that way… because it gives the implication that the text itself is boring and has nothing to offer. Nothing could be farther from the truth… I think I made the remark because in many ways this Biblical story preaches itself because of how the action unfolds. It is a powerful story, and with it being Transfiguration Sunday, it is always appropriate before head into the Season of Lent. But today I also have a rather unique “problem” in that today is Valentine’s Day… or more appropriately from within these church walls, it should be Saint Valentine’s Day. It’s one of those rare occurrences where a day of celebration that once had a church connection now falls on a Sunday… but get this, St. Valentine’s Day hasn’t even been a major feast day for the Roman Catholic church since 1969… the year I was born. Part of the...

Texts: Isaiah 6:1-8; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11 There is a common theme that runs throughout many stories from the Bible for those who are called into a unique ministry… but it’s an uncomfortable one for us because it doesn’t paint a particularly rosy picture the people we regard as the pillars of our faith. Normally we think of the story where Jesus walks up to some fishermen at the seaside, and says to them “come, follow me, and I will have you fish for people!” –Fishers of Men as many of us were raised with. As Mark tells it, they immediately leave their nets behind and follow Jesus. But Mark’s telling of the story is the rare exception, it is not the rule. What is far more typical is what we hear in all of the scripture readings we heard this morning. In every reading, including even the Psalm, there is a reluctance to follow God’s call… in all three of the readings there is this near-despair from ordinary people who realize that God is not only looking at them, but is call...