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.
Living Bread, but it’s messy!
In this week’s reflecting on the scripture from John 6:51-58, we explore how being followers of Jesus can fill us up while also perhaps getting us messy.
Christian Living 101
Ephesians 4:25-5:2, our lectionary epistle lesson for the day, outlines the basics for how we are to live in community with each other. Four seemingly simple elements: being truthful with ourselves and others, learning not to hold onto anger unnecessarily, practising forgiveness, and living with compassion and kindness. It sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Not!
And I will give you rest
In today’s text, Micah 6:8, we are reminded that when we are about the ministry of caring for others and seeking justice in the world, we also need to care for ourselves. Jesus says “come to me all you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest”. He reminds…
God Doesn’t Work That Way
Today on the 9th Sunday after Pentecost, guest preacher Cathy Merchant based her sermon on John 6:1-21 and Psalm 14. After Jesus feeds the multitude with the loaves and fishes, the crowd chases after him, trying to force him to become king. Yet he slips away into the mountains, before reappearing later out of nowhere to save his disciples from the storm…
Godly Play – The Loaves and Fishes
Today was our first hybrid worship service, with some folks in person in the sanctuary and some folks worshipping online. We celebrated our week of children’s ministry, KidVenture, and there was no sermon. However, there was a Godly Play story — the miracle of the Loaves and Fishes — which was told on Friday to the children.
Rebuilding
The sermon for July 11, the 7th Sunday after Pentecost, jumped off both 2 Samuel 7:1-14a and Ephesians 2:11-22. It’s the last week before Crossroads moves to a fully “hybrid” worship, with some folks continuing on Zoom, and others returning to in-person worship in our sanctuary. How fitting that the texts offer us a chance…
Sufficient Grace
For the 6th Sunday after Pentecost, Rev. Cari preached in proximity to both the Gospel text (Mark 6:1-13) and the Epistle for the day (2 Corinthians 12:2-10). She detected a similarity of themes between those two texts, and with the events of our week, as we have endured the worst heat-wave ever experienced in these…
Faith Healing
Today’s text, Mark 5:21-43, inspired a sermon on the theme of healing. Rev. Cari opens up all the emotional responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, and recent discoveries at sites of former Indian Residential Schools. She asks, “How can our faith help us at this time?” She begins with an extended reflection on neuroscientific learnings about…
A Perfect Storm
Today was Indigenous Day of Prayer, the Sunday before National Indigenous Peoples Day. It was also the fourth Sunday after Pentecost, when the texts given were 2 Corinthians 6:1-13 and Mark 4:35-41. Rev. Cari chose to preach on the latter, a story of Jesus, asleep in the boat of the disciples when a huge storm…
Transitions – A Time for Everything
Today’s service was completely led by members of our Youth Group: Jada, Mary, Rebecca, Kiera, Maddy and Paige, with support from their leaders. Their theme was transitions, and the Scripture text they chose to reflect on was Ecclesiastes 3:1-13. This recording includes the reading of the text, their reflections on it, their sharing of a…