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 Paradox of Losing Life to Find it.
The disciple Peter whom Jesus says is the rock upon which his church will be founded understands clearly what others have not grasped — that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. Having given a right answer to the question he balks at Jesus’s teaching about what it will mean to follow Jesus to…
Who is Jesus for you?
Peter is asked by Jesus the question: “Who do you say I am?” It’s the central question of Christian faith through the centuries and still hotly debated. A internet search of the question that I did this week registered two billion hits along with 1.3 billion hits for images of Jesus. We will tackle the…
Faith into Action
On this summer Sunday, Craig Perry returned to Crossroads to share in worship leadership. He gave the congregation an introduction to his work in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver with the organization Mission Possible. Craig shared honestly and personally about his own learning and growth, and referred to the text for the day, Matthew 25:31-46, as…
Walking on the Water
On this summer Sunday, Pastor Carl Amouzou joined Crossroads to share in worship leadership. The text for the day is Matthew 14:22-33, and Pastor Carl introduces it – and himself – then invites the congregation to hear Jesus’ invitation to Peter to walk to him on the water with new ears.
Discernment, Struggle and Call
On this summer Sunday, the Rev. Cindy Terry joined the Crossroads congregation in worship leadership. Her text is the story of Jacob wrestling by the river Jabbok in Genesis 32:22-31, and she uses that story of struggle and discernment to invite the congregation to reflect on their own stories of discernment. She introduces the “backstory”…
The Goodness of Bodies
Rev. Cari’s third Stump the Preacher sermon is in response to a pointed question about the Christian tradition’s betrayal of the body. The follow-up question asks whether there are any resources in Scripture that move toward recovery of embodiment, and integration. So she addresses parts of Genesis 1, and John 1 (the prologue to the…
The New Thing
Rev. Cari received the question, “Why do Crossroads leaders use language like “stolen land” and “genocide” in the opening of our service? How does this language contribute to Reconciliation?” This sermon is her effort to clearly explain the choices that we have made at Crossroads regarding Indigenous justice, and to place those decisions in the…
Twenty Year Testimony
On July 2, 2023, Rev. Cari opened the Bible to Mark 6:30-44, the very first text from Scripture she ever preached on at this church, twenty years ago. Then she proceeded to lift stories from her journey of ministry with the congregation of Crossroads (and its predecessor congregation), and weave those stories together with the…
The Break Will Come
For the fourth Sunday after Pentecost, Rev. Cari preached on Matthew 10:24-39, a text full of “hard sayings” from Jesus. She started with a reference to a sermon by the Rev. Ha Na Park at the recent meeting of the Pacific Mountain Regional Council, called “Break.” Then, she reminded herself and the congregation of the…