Sermon Archive

Text : 2 Corinthians 9:1-15 It has been said that religion and politics are the two major topics that one should stay away from in polite dinner conversation. Given that historical politics and religion are the subject of both of my degrees, I often find myself wondering if I should say anything at all. Part of the so-called injunction comes from the experience that those who know the least will often say the most. Religion and politics can often lead to heated discussions that may make polite discussions, well… not so polite. But there is another topic that really should be added to the list… we always seem to get a bit uncomfortable when it comes to talking about money. Sure… we can talk about how businesses spend money without too much trouble… there are financial reports every half-hour on 680 News! Yet when was the last time you had a conversation around the same dinner table about your own T4 slip? I’m thinking it probably doesn’t come up. It’s a private matter… really…...

Text: Psalm 46 In Flanders' Fields In Flanders’ fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place, and in the sky The larks still bravely singing fly, Scarce heard amidst the guns below. We are the dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Love and were loved, and now we lie in Flanders’ fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe, To you from falling hands we throw The Torch –be yours to hold it high; If ye break faith with us who die, We shall not sleep though poppies grow in Flanders’ fields. At risk of repeating what John read earlier in the service, there is a power to this poem that has endured far beyond those with a living memory of the conflict from which it came. We now only have one veteran from the First World War still living. At one hundred seven years old, John Babcock resides at a nursing home in Spokane, Washington… and even he never saw action on the fields of Dr. John McCrae’s poem. Yet even so, it has achieved a near-myth...

Text: Jeremiah 31:27-34 Jeremiah is a prophet of contrasts. In one moment, he proclaims doom and gloom, while in the next, he preaches hope whilst standing on the brink of disaster. His words are powerful. Jeremiah has an intimate sense of where and how God was working in the life of Israel, even in the face of the greatest disaster that nation had yet known. He preached and proclaimed, and yet it seemed as if no one would listen to him. He was discouraged that no one paid attention… sure they paid lip service to their faith, but when it came down to it, everything he said seemed to go in one ear and out the other. Jeremiah wondered if anything would ever stick with these people. Would anyone hear what he had to say? Did anything he do ever amount to anything? Only history would vindicate him, and in spite of everything that happened, Jeremiah was still able to see and proclaim hope. It’s no wonder that preachers can relate well to this guy. When I was a student, I had my first real en...

Text : Romans 8:26-39 It is by all accounts one of the single most comforting passages in the New Testament. Sure, the 23rd Psalm is more familiar, but fewer passages have both the theological depth and comfort than this chapter from Paul’s letter to the Romans. It is often read at funerals as an encouragement to those who grieve. Even so, I am not necessarily sure if Paul originally intended it that way. Unlike his other letters, Paul’s exhaustive missive to the church in Rome seemed to be less about individual crises, and more about the big picture. We get more of a sense of what Paul knew and understood about his faith, because he was addressing a church that he did not found. If anything, this largest of all the letters is both a resume and a position paper on Paul’s understanding of the fledgling Christian faith. He was introducing himself to the church in Rome, because he wanted to use it as a launching point for the next stage of his life in ministry. After having founded church...

Text: Deuteronomy/Reflecting on the Day It only happens maybe once every seven years, where the first Sunday in October happens to be the day before the second Monday. Traditionally, the first Sunday in October has become World Communion Sunday, where Christians all over the world celebrate the sacrament of communion together as a sign of unity. In Canada, the Sunday before the second Monday of the month is Thanksgiving Sunday. So in a rare convergence of dates, today is both World Communion Sunday AND Thanksgiving Sunday. One would think that I would be pulled in two different directions as to what the theme of the service should really be. Yet having the two on the same day is not a bad thing at all. In fact, when combined together, there is something about the greater whole that both shine a light on each other. Our Thanksgiving holiday as we celebrate it in Canada has no real Biblical link. It was created by the government in the 19th Century. Given how cold the Canadian Winters c...

Presbyterians Sharing Sunday Text: Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15 A mentor of mine once described the Presbyterian Church in Canada as a “Congregationalist church with a Presbyterian system of government.” He said it with a sense of irony, but with a hope that individual congregations would be able to overcome that tendency and look beyond their own walls. I was a student at the time, so I don’t think I fully got what he was talking about. More than thirteen years later, I’ve learned that there is a certain degree of truth to what he said. The Presbyterian Church in Canada at its ideal is an organization that collectively thinks on a regional level. When the reformers first started developing the idea of a Presbyterian-style way of doing things, the focus was very much an over-arching, big-picture kind of approach. Have a central court or council of ministers and elders from the congregation who would be able to oversee a vision for the city or the region that they were in. Think regionally wa...

Text : Luke 16:1-13 It’s wrong. It’s all wrong… a crook is complemented for his crookedness? It doesn’t make sense! When we read the Bible, we expect neat, tidy little stories. We expect short little statements, brief guidelines of how to live our lives. No loose ends, no tangled threads. But here is a story about a dishonest manager, a story riddled with irony, apparent contradictions, combined with an outcome that just doesn’t make sense. What a mess! No matter what kind of approach we take to explain this parable, we invariably get stuck somewhere. There are no good guys, no happy endings, just a frustrating and confusing conclusion. This parable reminds us of how troubling the words of Jesus can be. Jesus, through the dishonest manager reveals something about God’s grace and love in a far more troubling —yet assuring— light. When faced with financial crisis, people will often do strange things. More than fifteen years ago, I worked for a small games store in Calgary. Hired just aft...