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.
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…
Forgive
It was the fourth Sunday in Lent, year C, this week, so must be time for the every-three-years sermon on the Prodigal Son! Rev. Cari actually looked back in her records and, yup! she’s preached on Luke 15 every single opportunity since 2004. So she had to encourage the congregation to “hear the text as…
Zarar and Yasha
On the second Sunday in the season of Lent, Rev. Cari addressed the state of the world, through the lens of two Hebrew words found in Psalm 27. Zarar (literally, “narrow space”) gets translated “distress” or “dismay.” Who among us is not familiar with that concept these days? Yasha (literally, “open space”) gets translated “salvation”…
Transfiguration — Transformation
Today for Transfiguration Sunday, Rev. Cari preached on the story of Jesus’ transfiguration as it is found in Luke 9:28-36. She opened a conversation with the congregation not just about transfiguration, and the text itself, but also about personal (and corporate) transformation. This story heralds Jesus’ movement toward Jerusalem, and his “exodus” (the word Luke…
Deep Spirituality 2
For the final Sunday of this sermon series on the new Mission and Vision statements of The United Church of Canada, Rev. Cari preached on Genesis 45:3-11,15. It’s the “Hollywood ending” of the Joseph saga, in which he reveals himself to his brothers and weeps over them. Rev. Cari contends that Joseph’s behavior at that…
Daring Justice 2
For this second sermon on the Mission theme of “Daring Justice” Rev. Cari preached on Luke 6:17-26. This text is Luke’s version of the beatitudes, and it is both more “practical” than “spiritual” as it blesses “you who are poor now.” It also includes a section of “woes” directed at “you who are rich now”…
Bold Discipleship (2)
For this second sermon on The United Church’s mission theme of “bold discipleship,” Rev. Cari preached on Luke 5:1-11. (She also had Isaiah 6:1-13 in the background.) The events in Ottawa were not far from her mind, as she examined both “boldness” and “discipleship” with the help of these two call stories featuring Simon Peter…
God’s Company
In this sermon for VST Sunday, a regular Sunday in which we feature leadership in worship from the Vancouver School of Theology, Dr. Mari Joerstad preaches on the call of Jeremiah. Dr. Joerstad opens by declaring that this text, from Jeremiah 1:4-10, is one we often have “warm” feelings about. It seems like a comforting…
Daring Justice
For the third sermon in the series on the new Mission and Vision statements of the United Church of Canada, Rev. Cari preached on Luke 4:14-21. The text is itself a “self-definition” statement from Jesus, proclaimed in public, in the synagogue in Nazareth. So how appropriate that it forms the basis of this sermon, on…