encrusted words

Tag: sermon

  • urban landscape – the face of longing

    The Apostle Paul has arrived in the city of Athens. Athens – the intellectual capital of the ancient world; a city in which ideas are born. Athens, the city of Socrates and Plato and Aristotle. In Paul’s day, of course, the three great philosophers are long dead, but Athens is still defined by a rigorous…

  • full and free

    Let me begin this morning with something a little unusual, perhaps – let me begin by asking about the difference between a thief and a robber. An unusual place to begin, yes, but as good a place as any, as we’ll soon see. As we think about the thief and the robber, we realize pretty…

  • listening for God’s voice…

    Most of you will know Summit Park in Westmount. Westmount itself, of course, is one of the three small peaks that make up Mount Royal, such a defining feature of our city. And at the top of the third small peak of Westmount is Summit Park – a 57-acre urban woodland, a nature preserve, with…

  • david – last words

    Well, we come finally to the conclusion of our series on the life of David. Over the past number of weeks we’ve looked at some of the key events in his life and have begun to understand the significance of David in the narrative of the Old Testament. There have been some spectacular failures in…

  • David speaks – from the wilderness

    O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. My life has been full – there have been moments of joy and fulfillment. I can think of moments in my life that I…

  • the problem of recognition…

    It is a peculiar thing that Jesus’ followers don’t recognize him after his resurrection. In the narrative of John’s gospel, think of Mary Magdalene, who comes first to the empty tomb – she turns around and there is Jesus. But she doesn’t recognize him. She mistakes him for the gardener: “Sir, if you have carried…

  • david and bathsheba…

    Well, we come this morning to another of the well-known stories of David – it is the story of David and Bathsheba. The story of David and Bathsheba is one of those stories that has all the compelling elements that makes it stick in our mind. There is a beautiful woman bathing, and a king…

  • the house god builds

    Again, following Brueggemann’s basic interpretation of the passage. ______________________ For over 2000 years, the Tuareg people of West Africa have wandered in the Sahara desert, driving herds of sheep and cattle as they went. They have lived in portable tents made of animal skins. Spending much of their time through the regions of Mali, in…

  • david, spirit, music

    This past week B and I had S and S Jenvey as guests in our home. Of course many of you know them since S served as student minister here a number of years ago. They were back in town so S could attend the continuing education program at the Presbyterian College. A special part…

  • Michelangelo’s David?

    When you hear the name Michelangelo, different things might come to mind. Michelangelo was a towering figure of the Renaissance period. He was a poet, a sculptor, a painter, an engineer – history has been very kind to the memory of Michelangelo. When you think of Michelangelo the artist, you might think first of the…