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.
Hidden in Christ
Rev. Cari’s Easter morning sermon was based on the story of the Resurrection morning, as told in John’s Gospel (John 20:1-18). It’s a complex and meaning-laden story, as John’s gospel always is, and gives us an Easter “pattern” or “rhythm” rather than a happy ending. Easter is a moment when God reveals God’s great love…
Who is This?
For Palm Sunday, Rev. Cari preached on Matthew 21:1-11, referring also to the quoted material in that text from Zechariah 9:9-10. The sermon launched from the all-too-familiar feeling of dread that humans of every age feel … whether related to personal circumstances, or social or political ones. She then spent some time in the text…
Trust in God Even in Time of Death
For the 5th Sunday in Lent, Rev. Cari returned to the pulpit to preach on the 11th chapter of John’s Gospel. This traditional Lenten narrative about the raising of Lazarus has long lived in the hearts and imaginations of Christians as we prepare for the mystery of Easter. Not the least of which because it…
Trust God in Time of Confusion
For the fourth Sunday in the season of Lent, guest preacher the Rev. Jim Short opens up the story of the healing of the blind person in John 9. After introducing the idea of a “critical incident debrief,” Jim portrays all the characters in the story to invite the congregation to name 1) what is…
Trust God in time of change and renewal
Is it a universal tendency to resist change as we age? What’s the difference between “comfort” and “salvation?” What does Jesus say when my “comfort” gets in the way of someone else’s (or the whole world’s) salvation? These are all questions that weave in this morning’s sermon from Rev. Cari for Lent 2, on John…
Trust in God
Preaching on Matthew 4:1-11 for the first Sunday of Lent, Rev. Cari started by acknowledging the announcement this past Tuesday from the Tseshaht Nation. She invited the congregation to pause, to hold the reality with respect and sorrow. She then proceeded to lift up the voices of Judith Sayers, Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council president, the Rt….
A Mountain-top Experience
This morning, for Transfiguration Sunday, we worshipped together with all ages. After the Godly Play story, Rev. Anita Spiller shared a short story about her recent “mountain-top experience” in the Dominican Republic. Listen to hear more!
Collaborating with God
For the 6th Sunday after Epiphany, Rev. Cari preached on I Corinthians 3:1-9. In this text, Paul takes the Corinthians to task for being “ordinary humans!” Since “ordinary humanity” has been visited by divinity in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, and the people in Corinth belong to God, Paul has hope of them eventually becoming…
Salt and Light
For the 5th Sunday after Epiphany, Rev. Cari preached a sermon that jumped from the prophetic text, Isaiah 58:1-12, to the Gospel, Matthew 5:13-20. The prophet poses the question “Why should we practice our faith, if God doesn’t seem to be paying attention and everything remains the same?” And though Rev. Cari spent a bit…
Blessed Community
This is the sermon from January 29, 2023, VST Sunday at Crossroads United Church. The Vancouver School of Theology provided our preacher for the day, the Rev. Dr. Steven Chambers, who preached on Micah 6:1-8 and Matthew 5:1-12. Steven’s sermon was an exploration of the “blessed” of the Beatitudes, and he offered hints to us…