Year: 2025

March 30, 2025

Instead of a traditional sermon today, we had a dialogue reading of the Gospel passage, followed by a little skit in which a reporter interviews the narrator and characters in the Parable of the Prodigal Son.

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Narrator: Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. 2 This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them! 3 So Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. 12 The younger son told his father,

Younger: ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’

Narrator: So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.
13 “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. 15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 16 The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him … Read more »

March 23, 2025

1 Corinthians 10:1-13
Luke 13:1-9

“With Tender Loving Care”

When the Apostle Paul was writing to the Christian community at Corinth, trying to instruct them in the Way of Jesus and to help them to build a loving Christian community, he wrote to them in chapter 10 about the sins and failings of their ancestors.

He told them about how God had saved, protected, and guided the Hebrew people through the wilderness, giving them the spiritual and physical nourishment they needed to survive, and how the people nevertheless turned away from God and did wrong things.

The people worshipped idols instead of God. Their first concern was their own physical comfort and pleasure, and they complained against God again and again. They were impatient, and disobedient, and ungrateful.

And Paul says that the Corinthians should learn from their mistakes. He tells the Christians that nothing is happening to them that other generations have not had to deal with as well, and he warns them not to make the same poor selfish choices that were not pleasing to God.

It is a warning not to become complacent. It is a warning not to assume that we are good enough. It is a warning to “repent, and change our … Read more »

March 16, 2025

Psalm 27
Luke 13:31-35

“If My Parents Forsake Me”

Like a child rests in its mother’s arms, so will I rest in you.
Like a child rests in its mother’s arms, so will I rest in you.

I wonder if, like me, you still have memories of the care and comfort that were provided for you when you were a small child, perhaps many years ago. I wonder if you remember sitting on the lap of your mum or dad, auntie or grandparent, or another trusted adult, where you felt safe, and loved, and surrounded with care.

I don’t personally remember specific instances, but I do remember the feeling. I remember our whole family snuggled together under a blanket on the couch, reading stories out loud to each other. I remember that if I woke up in the night and felt scared, I would hop out of bed, go down the hall, and wiggle into my parents’ bed with them – in the monster-free zone, I guess. And I remember what that felt like – warm, peaceful, and most of all, safe.

Like a child rests in its mother’s arms, so will I rest in you.
Like a child rests in its mother’s arms, so will I rest … Read more »

March 9, 2025

Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
Luke 4:1-13

“Trusting God in the Wilderness”

On this first Sunday in the season of Lent, we are given the story of Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness being tempted by the devil. This story is probably the reason why the church chose to make the season of Lent last forty days. From Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday (the day before Easter), excluding the Sundays, Lent is forty days in which Christians are encouraged to pray, fast, and give.

And Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness before he began his ministry was likely intended to remind Jewish Christians of the forty years that their people spent in the wilderness, after escaping from Egypt, and before finding their way into the Promised Land.

Those wilderness times, whether measured in days or in years, had a lot in common. First of all, they both included struggle and hardship. Besides not having the usual comforts of home, there wasn’t much to eat, and finding essential things like water was very difficult.

You may remember that God provided the basics when they were needed, but the Hebrew People didn’t get anything extra to store up. They had to trust God day-by-day that they were going to … Read more »

March 2, 2025

Exodus 34:29-35
2 Corinthians 3:12 – 4:2
Luke 9:28-36

“A Shine That Never Fades”

The biblical texts set in the lectionary for this “Transfiguration Sunday” are very strange. They invite us to hear about two mysterious spiritual experiences of encounters with God on mountain-tops, and then to consider what these stories may mean for us today.

Most of us have probably heard the New Testament story about the Transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain-top with his disciples. We usually read one version or another of that story every year on the Sunday just before the Season of Lent – Transfiguration Sunday.

This year, the story about Jesus on a mountain-top is paired with one from the Book of Exodus about Moses on a mountain-top. In both cases, God is present and meets with them. And both men are transformed physically by the experience, with their faces (and in Jesus’ case, his clothing too) beginning to shine.

Moses has been on a mountain-top to meet God before, of course. Back when God first called to him out of a “burning bush” and sent him on a mission to get the Hebrew People out of Egypt, that was on a mountain-top. And after Moses does actually lead the people … Read more »

February 23, 2025

Genesis 45:3-11, 15
Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40
Luke 6:27-38

“Don’t Fret!”

On Sundays like today, I do appreciate the way that the Revised Common Lectionary has put Scripture passages together that relate to each other in interesting ways. It’s obvious, right of the bat, that today is all about loving our enemies. It’s not the easiest topic, by any means, but the theme of the day is certainly clear.

So let’s start with the Gospel reading. Picking up where we left off last Sunday, today’s Gospel text is another section of Jesus’ famous “Sermon on the Plain.” And rather than telling stories or teaching through parables as he does in other places, Jesus is simply giving instructions.

“If you want to follow my way,” he tells the people, “If you’re still listening to me and you want my advice,” Jesus says: “Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; pray for those who mistreat you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who asks of you, and if anyone takes away what is yours, do not ask for it … Read more »

February 9, 2025

Isaiah 6:1-8
Psalm 138
Luke 5:1-11

“God’s Purpose for Us”

I am very often amazed by the ways that the Scriptures – the stories of God’s people thousands of years ago – still speak to us today. Whether we’re listening to one of Jesus’ timeless stories, like the Parable of the Prodigal Son, that was our focus at Messy Church yesterday… Or if we’re hearing a story about Jesus and his disciples or one of the old prophets like Isaiah… Regardless of the fact that they lived in a very different time and place, and had very different lives than we do today, still God speaks to us, guides us, and encourages us with these texts in the context where we live today.

For example, when we read the prayers of the psalmists, as we did today with Psalm 138, I am well aware that the troubles and worries that they were dealing with so long ago were not the same as mine. But when I hear about them feeling lowly, walking in the midst of trouble, and asking for protection against their enemies, I can relate.

Because we are living in troubling times as well. Like them, we may feel helpless against the powers of … Read more »

January 26, 2025 – Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

The following sermon was preached at an ecumenical service at Christ the King Roman Catholic Parish in Regina on Sunday, January 26, 2025 at 2:30 pm.

Thank you for the invitation to preach this afternoon at this special service for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. As was mentioned, I’m the minister at First Presbyterian Church here in Regina, and I’m currently also serving as the President of the Canadian Council of Churches.

I’ve been a Presbyterian representative on the CCC for almost 10 years. But long before I was connected with our national ecumenical body, I was involved in the work of the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism in Saskatoon. And the WPCU, celebrated in January every year, has always been on my agenda. It is a special time for Churches and Christians to come together in prayer and worship, to strengthen our relationships across denominations, and to encourage us towards greater unity, cooperation, and shared witness and mission throughout the year.

This year’s theme is quite unique. As always, we have a theme text and a title: “Do you believe this?” based on Jesus’ conversation with Martha of Bethany in the Gospel of John. But we also have a theme “Creed”, … Read more »

January 26, 2025

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-7, 8-10
Luke 4:14-21

“Do Not Weep”

We are gathered together this morning to do something that God’s people have done for millenia. We have come together, as we do every week, to read aloud from God’s Word and to interpret it for one another. There are other things that we do in our worship. We sing, we pray, we share Sacraments, and we make offerings. But the central part of worship in our Reformed tradition is the reading and preaching of God’s Word.

The Scripture passages that we read aloud today included two stories about God’s people doing something similar. First, there was the text from the Book of Nehemiah. After the Exile in Babylon, as the Israelites were re-settling in Jerusalem and Judah, the people gathered together in the square before the Water Gate.

They hadn’t yet rebuilt the Temple, and yet it seemed important to gather and listen for God’s voice. They met in one of the busy gathering places, where everyone went in and out of the city to get water for their households.

Ezra, the priest and scribe, took out the Book of the Law of Moses, and began to read. He didn’t read three or four short passages … Read more »

January 19, 2025

Isaiah 62:1-5
Song of Solomon 8:6-7
John 2:1-11

“Love is Stronger than Death”

Marriage is the theme that connects the Scripture readings suggested in the lectionary for today. We just heard the well-known story of Jesus’ first miracle according to the Gospel of John, in which he turns water into wine to keep the celebration going at a wedding in Cana.

Before that, we joined in the song of the Psalmist who praised God for God’s faithfulness and steadfast love for God’s people. And we heard the prophet Isaiah’s description of God as a loving spouse who makes vows, delights in their partner, lives in faithfulness, and never abandons God’s beloved people.

A couple of weeks ago, I outlined the marriage theme in the readings for our Music Director, Chloe Golden, and she selected the lovely song she sang for us as the Ministry of Music today. As I mentioned to the children, the song is based on a verse from the “Song of Solomon” or the “Song of Songs” as it is sometimes called. It’s part of a passage that is often chosen for one of the readings at weddings.

You should know that the “Song of Solomon” is a poetic book about a couple’s relationship. … Read more »