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.
What is Preventing Us?
In this sermon on Acts 8:26-39, guest preacher the Rev. Dr. Anthony Bailey offers both the good news of a boundary-breaking Gospel, and an invitation and challenge to Crossroads United Church, to stand firmly in that good news as allies with racialized Black peoples. He walks the congregation through this story of the encounter between…
Jesus’ Peace
In this morning’s text, John 14:23-39, Jesus tells his disciples that “his peace” is different than the peace the world gives them. So Rev. Cari picks up that distinction in this sermon, and explores it. Thanks to Kate Bowler, she describes two North American “cultural scripts” that Jesus’ peace contradicts: the American insistence on Independence,…
The Limit of our Limits
Guest preacher the Rev. Maggie Enwright, Coordinating Minister at Pacific Spirit United Church in Vancouver, preached on Acts 16:9-15 at Crossroads this morning. Her sermon raises the “heretical” question of whether we in the United Church of Canada have turned the concept of inclusion into a sacred cow. Through personal story-telling, exploration of the text…
News from Mama Orphans Children’s Home
Listen in as Leslie Myers (MOCH enthusiast), Bobby Odhiambo (Mama’s son) and Rev. Cari share news from Bobby’s sister Betty, from the Mama Orphans Children’s Home in Busia, Kenya. Leslie and Cari are reading from a letter Betty Oduor sent recently, to update the Crossroads congregation on events at the orphanage. Then Bobby speaks from…
Healing for Goats
For Sunday, May 1, Rev. Cari preached on Matthew 25:31-46, the story of the sheep and the goats at the moment of judgment. This is not typically an Easter season text! But there’s a good reason she chose it. Crossroads is participating in a capital campaign to support the redevelopment of First United Community Ministry…
Thomas Came Back
For this first Sunday after Easter, Gabrielle opens up the story of “Doubting Thomas” as found in John 20:19-31. She draws the connection between the community of Jesus’ disciples on Easter evening, and us, now, in a chaotic world. When they were fearful, the Risen Christ breathed and spoke peace to them. She also walks…
What are You Looking For?
Rev. Cari reflected with the grown-ups on Luke’s version of the Easter morning narrative (Luke 24:1-12) after sharing it as Godly Play with the children. The unique element in Luke’s telling is the question the “shining ones” ask the women at the tomb: “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” What happens…
Caught in the Ambiguity
In this sermon on Good Friday, Rev. Cari picked up the passion narrative from Luke’s gospel just as it got “political” and walked the congregation through to his death. This is not “easy” material to engage, for any of us. The injustice of Jesus’ condemnation to death reflects the injustice of our world, still, now….
Song of Peace; Song of Solidarity
It’s Palm Sunday, and Luke’s version of the story (found at Luke 19:28-40) has no palms and no “hosanna!” either. But it does have lots of allusions to Hebrew Bible texts, all of which point at the Messiah as a humble person of peace. So it may be “palmless” Sunday but Jesus is the personification…
Belonging to Christ
On the fifth Sunday of Lent, Rev. Cari preached on Philippians 3:4b-14. She opens with a reference to Paul’s metaphor of “running the race” (and a confession that she is no runner, herself). But soon she jumps into the meat of the text, sharing a perspective from Fr. Richard Rohr: Paul says Jesus offers the…