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.
Peace and Release
On the second Sunday in Advent, Rev. Cari began with a focus on the (newly named by Amnesty International) genocide in Gaza. She spoke of the movie “Where Olive Trees Weep,” distinguished between Judaism and Zionism, observed the role of trauma in the atrocities, then (finally) got to the texts for the day. Malachi 3:1-4…
Time for Hope
What time is it? It’s the first Sunday in a new church year… the Sunday of Hope in the season of Advent, here at Crossroads, and Rev. Cari preached on Jeremiah 33:14-16 (and dabbled a bit in the apocalyptic materials from Luke 21:25-36 as well). All in service of rooting ourselves in the present, this…
The Emperor has no clothes
Reign of Christ Sunday is the final Sunday in the liturgical year… a Sunday Rev. Cari often refers to as the “hinge” in the Christian Year. And this year, she preached on a text from John 18:33-37, and referred to another from Revelation 1:4b-8… but she really built the sermon around the folk story, “The…
The Witness of the Widows
On Sunday, November 10, 2024, Rev. Cari pulled the thread through from the previous Sunday’s story sermon, featuring ‘Tilly Lambis’ (the widow who watched God move into the neighbourhood) and continued on with two more Biblical narratives involving widows. I Kings 17:8-16 and Mark 12:38-44 were the two texts she opened on behalf of the…
God has moved into the neighbourhood
For All Saints Sunday, Rev. Cari preached in story form. Her text was Revelation 21:1-6a, and the story can speak for itself.
What do you want me to do for you?
It’s stewardship season at Crossroads, and Rev. Cari was pleased to sit with the congregation under the authority of the story of the healing of Bartimaeus today. The story is found in Mark 10:46-52. The question Jesus asks the blind beggar, “What do you want me to do for you?” is where she starts, contrasting…
Food Sovereignty Drama (for World Food Day)
Not a sermon, this week, but a drama, on the topic of Food Security, the Sunday after World Food Day. You’ll hear three voices, eventually, two are sitting at their local coffee shop (introduced by Rev. Cari as “Crossbucks”) and a third person joins their conversation. Listen for the seeds planted in this conversation! (Our…
How we do Anything…
On World Wide Communion Sunday Rev. Cari decided to set the lectionary texts aside (they were about divorce!) and turned instead to John 17. This text contains Jesus’ prayer for himself, his followers, and everyone they will encounter… and is the longest prayer in the Bible. Rev. Cari thought, “What better text on World Wide…
Strong and Stern Words
This morning, Rev. Jim was preaching on Mark 9:38-50. Mark ends Jesus’ time teaching his disciples in Galilee with some strong and stern words. Cutting off pieces of the body if they sin should (thankfully) not be taken literally! Jesus is saying, “Pay attention! This is very important!” Like us, the disciples struggle to hear…
Who do you think you are?
For the 18th Sunday after Pentecost, Rev. Cari picked up where she left off last week, and carried on with Jesus and the disciples in the identity conversation they are having. The text was Mark 9:30-37 and Jesus’ followers are still struggling to understand “greatness.” So Jesus introduces the concept of service, and also turns…