This week’s lesson – the Parable of the Prodigal Son…or sons – or maybe even the Father who does not seem to act like a stern patriarch of a family in Jesus’ day. To unpack the power of the parable and the power in which Jesus uses it we need to understand something of ancient…
Who wouldn’t like Isaiah much…
Rev. Jim’s sermon for the third Sunday in the season of Lent is based on Isaiah 55, a text in which the prophet gives away food and drink to everyone who is “hungry and thirsty.” The focus is on grace, that free gift of God that rejects profitability, and makes space for healing. After catching…
Love Your Enemies
Today, Crossroads had the distinct honour of welcoming Amanda Burrows to worship. Amanda is the Executive Director of First United Church on the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. She and Rev. Cari shared the sermon on the Gospel reading for the day, Luke 6:27-38. Alternating between story, theological reflection, and close examination of a couple of…
VST Sunday
This Sunday, our guest preacher was Rabbi Dr. Laura Duhan Kaplan, Director of Inter-Religious Studies, Professor of Jewish Studies and Interim Academic Dean at the Vancouver School of Theology. Rabbi Laura chanted Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 and Psalm 19 in Hebrew during the service, then read Nehemiah and preached (in English) on both those texts….
Food Sovereignty Drama (for World Food Day)
Not a sermon, this week, but a drama, on the topic of Food Security, the Sunday after World Food Day. You’ll hear three voices, eventually, two are sitting at their local coffee shop (introduced by Rev. Cari as “Crossbucks”) and a third person joins their conversation. Listen for the seeds planted in this conversation! (Our…
Strong and Stern Words
This morning, Rev. Jim was preaching on Mark 9:38-50. Mark ends Jesus’ time teaching his disciples in Galilee with some strong and stern words. Cutting off pieces of the body if they sin should (thankfully) not be taken literally! Jesus is saying, “Pay attention! This is very important!” Like us, the disciples struggle to hear…
The Gospel in Chairs
This was another sermon from the Rev. Jim Short, reflecting on Psalm 130 and Ephesians 4:25-5:2. The audio version may not do it justice, because Jim did one of his “many chairs” extravaganza sermons. The basic question is “How does God see us?”
Aug 4, 2024
The Rev. Jim Short preached at Crossroads this morning, and his texts were Psalm 145 and John 6:1-21. He asks, “Does reading our Bible give you that ‘loaves and fishes’ kind of feeling? What does reading the Bible do for you? Is it like stone soup without the extras?”
July 28, 2024
The Rev. Jim Short preached at Crossroads this morning, and his texts were Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 and Psalm 23. Jim looks way back in history and asks, “How and where, after the Emperor Constantine was baptized and Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, did we lose our way?” Buckle up for a…
July 21, 2024
The Rev. Jim Short preached at Crossroads this morning. His texts were Ephesians 2:11-22 and Psalm 89, and in the sermon, he suggests a bit of composting! “What do you need to let go of in terms of things you learned along the way about faith and life? And how challenging is that for you?”