Most weeks, our worship leader offers a 15–20 minute sermon based on the Scripture texts for the day.
Our regular preacher is pretty versatile. She’ll tell stories, pull together different ideas, lead a meditation, give the congregation an “assignment” to talk about in twos or threes, show a slide show or video, or sometimes even sing to the congregation. The sermon functions to deepen our reflection on the Scripture themes of the day, and often leaves us with a challenge or a question.
Scripture texts are outlined in the Revised Common Lectionary.
All My Relations
For the second Sunday after Pentecost, Rev. Cari preached on Mark 3:20-35, an “origin story” in Mark’s Gospel, to the extent that it talks about Jesus’ home and his family. It also challenges several cherished notions we may be carrying: That the Scribes (who accuse Jesus of being “possessed” in this story) are the “bad…
“How Long, O God?”
It was Trinity Sunday at Crossroads, but after the announcement on Friday of the discovery of the remains of 215 children in the grounds of the Kamloops (Tk’emlups) Indian Residential School, our focus moved. Rev. Cari preached on the 6th chapter of the prophet Isaiah. This text is typically called the “call of Isaiah” but…
Pentecost – A Deep Breath
For Pentecost Sunday, Rev. Cari shared the story of the Day of Pentecost from Acts 2:1-21, then our three puppet friends, Jasmine, Joy and Jonathan, and their human companions, reflected together on the story. We worshipped as an all-ages community for Pentecost. See if you can hear the invitations from our puppet friends, to join…
Being the Church
For Ascension Sunday, Rev. Cari referred to the story of the day as told in both Luke 24:44-53 and Acts 1:1-11 (which, after all, are by the same person). The topic is the passing of the baton from Jesus to the disciples, just before the gift of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the…
Friends in Christ
This morning was “Mama’s Day” at Crossroads, a service dedicated to the ministry of our mission partner in Busia, Kenya. The Mama Orphans Children’s Home has provided shelter, food, and education to children orphaned by AIDS for more than 20 years. Today Rev. Cari preached for Mama’s Day, which is unusual. More often, she privileges…
Nothing Hinders
This week, for the fifth Sunday in the season of Easter, Rev. Cari preached a sermon that pulled together Acts 8:26-40 with her recent reading of Andrew Solomon’s 2001 book The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression. Today is the threshold of “Mental Health Awareness Week” which caused her to make this choice. The story of the conversion…
The True Shepherd and the Other Sheep
The fourth Sunday of the Great Fifty Days of Easter is always “Shepherding Sunday,” so today our texts were Psalm 23, and John 10:11-18. Rev. Cari preached on the text from John, pulling out the Easter themes of 1) making sense of the apparent “failure” of the crucifixion, and 2) recognition of the presence of…
Doubting our Doubts
For the third Sunday of Easter, Rev. Cari preaches on Luke 24:36b-48, the story following that of last Sunday. It is still Easter evening, and the Risen Christ appears to his followers, who still are not expecting to see him, and so don’t recognize him. “Peace be with you,” is his greeting, a greeting that…
The Moment of Recognition
For the Sunday after Easter, Dr. Bruce Harding reflects on the text from Luke 24:13-35, the story of “the road to Emmaus.” He first lifts up the moment of recognition, when the Risen Christ breaks the bread and the two disciples know that it is Jesus with them. Then he notes how early sharing food…
Jesus is going ahead
Preaching on Mark 16:1-8, Rev. Cari opened with a direct acknowledgment of this, our second COVID Easter, amid the brokenness of our world. Then she shared references from two articles she received in her inbox during the week, before fully leaping into the text. When grief lies as heavily upon our flesh as a stone…