Sermons

Preaching on the third Sunday after Easter, Rev. Cari invites us to take a walk with the two disciples down the road to Emmaus. Along the way, yes, a stranger joins us on the road, and we get into the “storying” process, as well as hearing some testimony (second-hand) from the late Rev. Dr. Ross…

On Easter Sunday, Rev. Cari touches on both texts for the day: Jeremiah 31:1-6 and John 20:1-18. Noting how “hungry” we all are for good news… well, for a “happy ending” really, she then proceeds to unpack how Easter is not an invitation to magical thinking, but truly reason for gratitude and joy. If you…

For Palm Sunday, Rev. Cari preaches on the story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem from Matthew’s gospel: Matthew 21:1-11. In the sermon, she reviews the “echoes” of the Hebrew Bible throughout the narrative, focussing in the end on the question of the city dwellers, “Who is this?” and the dual answers of the Christian Tradition….

Rev. Cari preached on Jeremiah 31:31-34, and also touched on John 12:20-33 for this final sermon of the “Theological Banquet” series. She was preaching on her “home” stream in the banquet, the Ecclesial stream, and invited the congregation to consider (during this time of sheltering at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic) living from the…

Our first “streamed” service included this sermon on one of the most beloved Scripture verses of all time. It just happened to coincide with the “Evangelical” stream of the Theological Banquet, too. This provided Rev. Cari an opportunity to take a look at the verse and the evangelical stream, as well as reflecting with the…

Today’s sermon was to be third in the series of explorations of Rev. Janet Gear’s Theological Banquet. Preaching on John 2:13-22, Rev. Cari was all set to engage with the congregation around the “ecumenical” stream of the banquet. However, the tables were turned significantly in our world this past week, as the Coronavirus was declared…

For the second Sunday in Lent, Rev. Cari preached in response to Mark 8:31-38. The stream of the Theological Banquet that she’s focussed on today is the “Missional” stream. So she tries to embody the missional identity as she dialogues with Jesus. She imagines herself standing right by his side, responding to his call.  

For the first Sunday in Lent, Rev. Cari preached on Matthew 4:1-11, the story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. She preached in the style of the “Spiritual” stream of the Theological Banquet, because the text itself is so consonant with the “Spiritual” themes of prayer, struggle with temptation, inner sorting, and intimacy with God….

For Transfiguration Sunday, the last Sunday before the season of Lent begins, Rev. Cari preached on Matthew 17:1-9. She followed this story of Jesus on the mountaintop with his three disciples, Moses (the Torah) and Elijah (the Nevi’im). She marked the “opaqueness” of Jesus’ identity as “Messiah” to his followers, who certainly wouldn’t be expecting the Messiah…