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.
Holding Space
At Crossroads today, we hosted our own “Mental Health Sunday” and were pleased to welcome Cathy Bone to the pulpit. Her text was Mark 5:21-34, and she unpacked a very complex text, shared some of her own mental health journey, as well as imparting a bit of teaching about how our brains work. As we…
The Sower
This sermon for the fourth Sunday after Pentecost is on the pair of parables found in Mark 4:26-34. Both concern the Reign of God, and both feature green growing things. The question in Rev. Cari’s mind as she begins to look at these parables, is “What is the role of the human?” And by the…
Kinship Redefined
For the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost, Rev. Cari tackled quite a challenging text: Mark 3:20-35. A combination of narrative about Jesus’ family making an “intervention” in his life because they are concerned for him, and Jesus tangling with the Scribes, who say he is possessed of an evil spirit, it’s a thorny text to untangle….
The Call of Eli
This Sunday, guest lay preacher (and spouse of our Lead Minister) Rob Copeman-Haynes preached on the familiar text at I Samuel 3 known as “The Call of Samuel.” Only he didn’t focus our attention where preachers usually direct it. He focussed us on Eli’s role in the story. And he imagined Eli going to his…
Holy Trinity
On Trinity Sunday, Rev. Cari dives in with two texts: Isaiah 6:1-8, and John 3:1-8. Both texts invite a “more than literal” understanding of who God is and how God invites humans to be in relationship to the Holy. The sermon opens with a quote from theologian and psychologist Richard Beck, who speaks about “the…
The Reset Button
Pentecost Sunday, often referred to as the “Birthday of the Church” is a story of a radical reset for the followers of Jesus. This morning, we heard two texts: the Valley of the Dry bones in Ezekiel 37 and the story of the Day of Pentecost from Acts 2. We began in dryness, “doom” and…
The Gentiles, the Commandment and the Spirit
This week Rev. Cari does it again… she’s preaching on two texts: Acts 10:44-48 and John 15:9-17. The sermon is an exploration of the work of the Holy Spirit in creating communities of openness to God that bridge difference and deepen community. She revisits Crossroads’ purpose statement with the congregation, then explores both texts, eventually…
Life in the Spirit… and the Vine
For the 5th Sunday of Easter, Rev. Cari tried an experiment. She preached on two texts (for the price of one!). Acts 8:26-40, which is a story, and John 15:1-8, which is a discourse. She took the one (the story of the Ethiopian eunuch) and nested it inside the vocabulary of the other (John’s meditation…
The Noble Shepherd
The fourth Sunday after Easter is typically “Shepherding Sunday” – a focus on the metaphor of Jesus as “Good” or “Noble” or “True” Shepherd. Rev. Cari preached on John 10:11-18 (but she did cheat a bit, and include verse 10 in her pondering). On the threshold of Earth Week, this sermon wonders what “abundant life”…
Bystander to Witness
For the third Sunday after Easter, Rev. Cari opens up Luke 24:36b-48, another resurrection appearance of the Risen Christ. In this sermon, she is playing with the transformation of the disciples: from frightened bystanders who have witnessed a traumatic event, to active witnesses to the abundant grace of the living God.