encrusted words

Tag: sermon

  • Down by the Riverside – the rivers of creation

    Within the second creation narrative of Genesis there is a moment of pause – a kind of aside. Within the second creation narrative we have first of all the formation of the earth creature, the man, from dust of the earth. Then we have the garden established by God with trees and fruit that provide…

  • Searching the stars for meaning, against a backdrop of violence, in Epiphany

    In so many ways, we have lost the night’s sky – we have lost that canopy of stars and planets – we have lost that band of brightness we call the milky way. We have lost the nights sky because we live in urban centres where massive amounts of light fill the space around us…

  • holy laughter –

    Their laughter is not self-conscious. Their laughter is not artificial or forced. Their laughter is full and real. Their laughter comes from someplace deep inside. Their laughter flows as laughter does in our moments of real happiness, or those moments when we discover the wonderful incongruities of life, or when we find that the impossible…

  • advent, hope, judgment, hell

    My sermon from this past Sunday. I have in many ways followed the interpretation laid out by James Kay, and have quoted him directly toward the end of this sermon. See his article at: http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=677 ————————- In the Gospel of Luke we find the words “good news” on lips of many. The angel Gabriel says…

  • Christ the King Sunday – Joy, Gentleness, Peace (a sermon)

    This is a day of lasts. Not a day of firsts, but of lasts. Today is our last Sunday looking at Paul’s letter to the Philippians. And today is also the last Sunday of the church year. Each year we close out the liturgical calendar, we end the church year with the celebration of the…

  • nothing else matters: being found in Christ

    Have you ever gotten frustrated or angry? And in your frustration and anger, perhaps used strong language? Going a little further, have you ever expressed this anger or used strong language in a letter to someone? Today of course, we have to be careful when putting our anger in writing. An email sent in haste,…

  • as surely as…

    This morning we want to start out by saying a bit more about the city of Philippi. We’ve talked a little bit about the experiences of Paul – we’ve talked a little bit about Christian community in Philippi and about their experiences – but we want to say a little more about the city of…

  • getting personal – in a letter

    In a file at home, I have a stack of hand-written letters I received back in 1997 and 1998. From way that I’ve filed them, you can tell I was kind of neurotic about those letters – they’ve always been in a neat pile, and each letter has its original airmail envelope stapled neatly to…

  • testing…

    If you have been in a meaningful relationship – which is all of us, of course – if you have been in a meaningful relationship, you know that there is a kind of testing that happens in relationships. Sometimes it happens very intentionally – sometimes it unconsciously, no doubt – but there is always a…

  • becoming poor (4/4)

    The people of Israel wanted a king. To have a king was a sign of power. To have a king was a sign that you had arrived as a nation. To have a king meant that you were a people to be reckoned with. The prophet Samuel warned the people – you don’t want a…