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.
The Days are Surely Coming
For the first Sunday in Advent, we worshipped together as all ages, and Rev. Cari preached a short sermon on a short text: Jeremiah 33:14-16. Hope is feeling like a difficult thing for us to get a hold of right now. But hope is different from optimism… and our hope is grounded in the promise…
“Grace is My Kingdom”
For “Reign of Christ” Sunday (formerly known as Christ the King) Gabrielle preached on the dialogue between Jesus and Pilate found in John 18:33-37. She asks, “What if the Reign of God is a whole new way of looking at the world? A transformed awareness that literally turns this world into a different place?” Drawing…
Trees of Integrity
Today at Crossroads we focussed on the Ministry of First United Church Community Ministry Society. First is a United Church outreach ministry based in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. Rev. Cari preached on Isaiah 61:1-9, a text that is rooted in God’s vision of justice and peace for all. Rev. Cari told the story of…
Be Transformed
For this Stewardship Dedication Sunday, Rev. Cari preached on the entire chapter of Romans 12. She also reflected on an article in The Christian Century (thanks to mentor Tony Robinson for drawing her attention to it) sharing research about the health benefits of attending public worship. Having spent a lot of time circling round the…
The Saints
This morning, Rev. Cari preached on Revelation 21:1-6a, the vision of the new creation. This was the third Sunday in our stewardship season, and a day when we celebrated the gifts of many folks in the Crossroads faith community. We gave thanks for the witness of the “saints” in light — members of Crossroads who…
Manna
For our second Stewardship Sunday, Rev. Cari preached on II Corinthians 8:1-15, part of Paul’s “stewardship campaign” to the church in Corinth. She analyzes his stewardship methods, noting the places where Crossroads’ current practice lines up with Paul’s historic efforts (as well as the places where… not so much)! She also offers a robust introduction…
The Secret
For the first Sunday in our four week series for Stewardship, Rev. Cari preached on Philippians 4:10-18, a text that reveals the antidote to the discontentment that plagues North American society. Today was also the UN International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, a day on which the United Church of Canada is encouraging folks…
Do Not Worry
For Thanksgiving Sunday, Crossroads worshipped as an all ages community, which means that there wasn’t a “sermon” as usual. Instead, Rev. Cari introduced the text for the day and then invited the congregation into prayers of thanks and intercession. The recording this week is her exploration with the congregation of the day’s Scripture text, which…
Mega Thlipsis
For World Wide Communion Sunday, Rev. Cari preached on Revelation 7:9-17, a text she says is “comforting” in hard times. She spends much of the sermon unpacking one verse… the one that refers to the “mega thlipsis” or literally “immense crushing pressure” – the word that is typically translated “persecution.” What causes us to feel…
Who Do We Think We Are?
In this week’s reflection, Gabrielle invites us, as a people of faith, to take a look at who we understand ourselves to be. Following along in the series of “Identity Questions” sermons, Gabrielle’s text this morning is Mark 9:38-50. As beloved children of God we are invited to grow in mind, heart and spirit. In this time…