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.
Cutting the Covenant
For the second Sunday in the season of Lent, Rev. Cari preached on an ancient text, the story of Abram (and Sarai’s) covenant with the Holy One from Genesis 15. As she mentions at the start, there is a part of her that wonders just “what to do” with a text like this one that…
The Lie
Every year, on the first Sunday in Lent, we move into the wilderness with Jesus, to contend with the Adversary, and this year is no exception. Our text is Luke 4:1-13, and it is relevant. On the surface it looks like a conversation between Jesus and the Devil. A series of “temptations” (as the Bible…
Love Your Enemies
Today, Crossroads had the distinct honour of welcoming Amanda Burrows to worship. Amanda is the Executive Director of First United Church on the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. She and Rev. Cari shared the sermon on the Gospel reading for the day, Luke 6:27-38. Alternating between story, theological reflection, and close examination of a couple of…
You Who…
On this 6th Sunday after Epiphany, Rev. Cari unpacked Luke’s version of The Beatitudes (found at Luke 6:17-26) which she renamed the “you who’s.” She began with the assertion (borrowed from Robert Reich) that greatness is a moral category, and that power is more than just being able to compel other people to do what…
Woe is Me!
For the fifth Sunday after Epiphany, Rev. Cari continued with her focus on God’s call, and preached on Isaiah 6:1-13 and Luke 5:1-11. In this sermon, she promised to share the story of her call to the Office of Vocation of The United Church of Canada, the ministry role she will move full-time to on…
Attending to Jesus
Rev. Cari played a bit with the lectionary texts this week, combining the two gospel readings (which are actually one story) from last week and this, to focus in the sermon on Luke 4:14-30. Rarely does a Scripture passage leap off the page in real life like this one did, last week. It was irresistible….
VST Sunday
This Sunday, our guest preacher was Rabbi Dr. Laura Duhan Kaplan, Director of Inter-Religious Studies, Professor of Jewish Studies and Interim Academic Dean at the Vancouver School of Theology. Rabbi Laura chanted Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 and Psalm 19 in Hebrew during the service, then read Nehemiah and preached (in English) on both those texts….
Love is Revealed
Or… What does Love look like? (part 2). For this sermon on the 2nd Sunday after the Epiphany, Rev. Cari took up two texts referencing weddings… Isaiah 62:1-5 and John 2:1-11. She dove right into the deep end with the temporary cease-fire called in Israel/Palestine and the fact that it was the day before the…
Epiphany
On this “Twelfth Night” Sunday, the eve of Epiphany itself, Crossroads hosted the story of the travellers from the East who visited the Christ child, found in Matthew 2:1-12. Rev. Cari set the scene as a time of intrigue and danger thanks to King Herod. She then introduced the Magi as “complex characters” — the…
The Resistance
For his annual sermon on “Five Gold Ring Day” (the Sunday after Christmas), Dr. Bruce Harding once again invites the congregation into the subversive practice of celebrating the Twelve Days of Christmas – continuing to wish others a “Merry Christmas” right up until 12th Night (January 5) and resisting the urge to discard all signs…