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 »

December 24, 2024

Luke 2:1-20
Luke 4:14-22

“Fulfilled in Your Hearing”

If you’ve been with us for worship over the last month as we’ve been making our way through the Season of Advent, you know that we’ve been talking and singing a lot about the manger – the feed trough into which Jesus was placed by his mother after he was born. More than just being the only safe and warm spot that Mary could lay down her infant to sleep, we have considered the symbolic relevance of Jesus – “The Bread of Life” starting his life in a bread box in the little town of Bethlehem, which literally means “House of Bread.”

Over the past four Sundays, we have proclaimed the message in word and song that “From the manger… hope, peace, joy, and love are born in the Child Jesus.” Then they grow in the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Saviour, and finally they are multiplied again and again whenever Jesus’ followers throughout time and space follow his teachings and embody his love.

The reality is that we live in a world that is hungry. There are people in our community and around the world that are hungry for food, shelter, safety, … Read more »

December 22, 2024

Luke 2:21-35
Matthew 9:35-37

“Love Grows”

After I was born, my parents brought me to church for a special ceremony of infant dedication. Our family attended a Baptist Church at that time, so I wasn’t baptized until I was old enough to decide for myself, but I expect that my dedication felt quite similar for my parents who brought me there to be blessed and prayed for, and for the congregation as they welcomed the newest member of their community with joy and love.

I don’t know the date when that happened (likely some time in the Fall of 1974) and I don’t remember what it felt like either. I suppose that’s similar to Jesus’ experience of going up to the Temple when he was only eight days old. There’s a blessing in that, because Jesus was also circumcised on that day, which is probably not something you want to remember! But neither would he remember what it felt like when his parents put him into Simeon’s arms or the look of joy and love that spread across the old man’s face when he looked at the child.

But even if most people cannot recall specific memories from earlier than age 3 or 4, research … Read more »

December 15, 2024

Luke 2:8-20
Luke 19:1-10

“Joy Grows”

As I begin my sermon this morning, I want to give a shout-out to Stephen’s father in India. I don’t know what time it is where you live, or whether you are worshipping with us live or a little later on. But I know that you are enjoying the “From the Manger” theme that we are exploring during this Advent season, and I am too.

Thanks are due to “Illustrated Ministry” for the theme material that we are using this year, drawing our attention to the manger where the baby Jesus was laid. It’s meaningful and hopeful to think about the significance of the manger. It wasn’t just a young mother’s strategy for a safe and warm place to put her sleeping baby.

More than that, the manger is a powerful metaphor reminding us that Jesus came to be the Bread of Life for the world. Lying in a manger, a feeding trough, in the little town of Bethlehem, literally the “House of Bread,” Jesus came to feed our spiritual hunger, to fill us with hope, peace, joy, and love, and to transform the world into the kind of place where all people are fed – physically, emotionally, and … Read more »

December 8, 2024

Luke 2:8-16
Luke 10:1-6

“Peace Grows”

Many of you know that I spent a couple of days in Toronto this week. I was there in my role with the Canadian Council of Churches as we celebrated the CCC’s 80th Anniversary, and as we hosted a visit from the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches to Canada.

The itinerary on Thursday and Friday was packed full of special events, visits with particular denominational groups and ecumenical organizations. The topics of conversation were diverse, including ecumenical dialogue on faith and theology, as well as common concern and work for justice, reconciliation, and peace in the world.

But one topic that stood out, and to which we returned again and again was the war in Israel and Gaza. We met with representatives from a group called “Kairos Palestine” who told us about the suffering and struggle of Christians and others in Palestine, and how they felt abandoned by the world, and particularly by the churches worldwide. They called upon the churches to speak and act more clearly and strongly for peace.

Later we met with staff from Project Ploughshares, the peace and justice arm of The Canadian Council of Churches. They were very clear that the churches … Read more »

December 1, 2024

Luke 2:1-7
Matthew 14:13-21

“Hope Grows”

We are doing something a bit unusual on this First Sunday of Advent. Instead of starting the season of waiting and anticipating the birth of Jesus with prophetic texts of longing and promise, we are starting with the birth narrative. We often don’t read those lovely words from Luke’s Gospel until Christmas Eve: “While they were there (in Bethlehem), the time came for Mary to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place in the guestroom.”

We’re used to hearing about there being no place “in the inn” – imagining the couple desperately going from one hotel to the next, looking for a room to rent. In Christmas pageants, we often add the possibility that one innkeeper is kind-hearted and finds a warm place for the young couple to stay in his stable with the animals.

More likely, Joseph and Mary went to stay with relatives in his hometown, but it was a full house. There was no room in the kataluma – that’s the Greek word best translated as “guest room.” It reminds me of visiting my … Read more »

November 24, 2024

2 Samuel 23:1-7
Revelation 1:4b-8
John 18:33-37

“Hope for the Reign of God”

Today is the last day of the year – not in the Gregorian calendar that we follow along with the most of the world, running from January 1st through to December 31st. But today is the last day in the Church Year – the special calendar that many Christian Churches began to follow as part of the liturgical reform of the last 30-40 years.

The Church Year begins with Advent, four Sundays leading up to our celebration of the Birth of Jesus at Christmas. Then there is a short Christmas season, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, and ordinary time which comes in between.

The Church Year is the reason that we mark different Sundays and seasons with symbolic colours like purple for Lent, red for Pentecost, and white for Easter and Christmas. And the Church Year provides the framework for the lectionary cycle of Scripture readings that we read and reflect on Sunday-by-Sunday.

The special Sunday that we mark today is called “Reign of Christ” or “Christ the King” Sunday, and it is the culmination of the Church Year before we begin a New Year with the Season of Advent next week.

It was Pope Pius … Read more »

November 17, 2024

Hebrews 10:11-25
Mark 13:1-8

“The Beginning of the Birth Pangs”

This week I read through a collection of devotionals on racism. It was an ecumenical resource being put together by the Commission on Justice and Peace of the Canadian Council of Churches, and it’s currently in the final stages of editing and lay-out. The reason I got to read it early is because the folks putting it together asked me to write a foreword for it.

The authors are an amazingly diverse collection of church folk, with the vast majority being Black, Indigenous, or People of Colour from various denominations of the Christian Church in Canada, including two Presbyterian ministers.

Their reflections are personal, pointed, and deeply theological. They sometimes gently, but persistently, and often eloquently challenge the church and society to recognize, acknowledge, and seek to abolish the racism that continues to exist in our faith communities in spite of our strong desires to believe that such dynamics are things of the past.

I was aware, as I was reading through quickly, that I will need to read them again – one at a time, with time to reflect, consider, and ponder my own participation in the cultures, patterns, structures, and systems that perpetuate discrimination. … Read more »

November 10, 2024

Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17
Mark 12:38-44

“Two Small Coins”

When I shared with the children this morning about how I used to bring a quarter to church on Sundays for my offering, and I held that 25 cents in the palm of my hand, it felt so small. I rarely use change anymore – partly because I more often use a debit or credit card than cash, and partly because coins are worth so little. They seem almost useless.

You can’t use a quarter to make a phone call anymore, and even a grocery cart at the store requires a loonie these days. Perhaps in some places, quarters are still helpful if you need to go to a laundromat. But even there, you’d need an awful lot of quarters to get the job done.

But when Jesus was sitting across from the collection box for the temple treasury and observed the people giving their money, he pointed out that the poor widow who put in two small copper coins had given a lot. She’d given more than all the rich people with their large gifts.

In practical terms for the temple budget, Jesus’ statement simply isn’t true. The widow’s two coins wouldn’t have made much difference at … Read more »

November 3, 2024

Isaiah 25:6-9
Psalm 24
Revelation 21:1-6a
John 11:32-44

“Life and Death”

We cancelled the church choir practice this week because it fell on Halloween night, and a number of singers wanted to be home to hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters. Once again this year, there weren’t a lot of kids out on my block, but I did hand out some candy and see some interesting costumes, and now I’ve got leftovers that you can share if you come down to the gym for lunch and the mission exercise we are going to do today.

It’s interesting to think about our society’s general celebration of Halloween in our time, and the ways that it has changed and been adapted over the centuries. There’s still a connection with ghosts and ghouls and scary things, but it’s mostly about kids (and sometimes adults too) dressing up as something else. You don’t have to put a sheet over your head and become a ghost, but you can dress up as Elsa from “Frozen”, as Ironman or a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, as a cute little black cat, or a big orange pumpkin.

It’s difficult to sort out the long history of Halloween customs in various countries, understanding its original connection … Read more »

October 27, 2024

Matthew 5:1-12

“Take the Blessing and Put it in Your Heart”

Over the last few months, I’ve participated in three “Preaching Refresher” sessions with the Rev. Dr. Sarah Travis from Knox College. Each one was an interesting and lively conversation about homiletics (the art of preaching) with a group of Presbyterian preachers from across the country.

The session this week focused on thinking ahead to the Season of Advent, and Sarah invited us to consider what is the one message of good news that our congregations most need to hear right now. In the context of all the conflict, division, hatred, and violence of our world; and in the context of the daily struggles and difficulties of our particular lives, what good news from God in Jesus Christ is needed?

And with that question in mind, I began to consider the Gospel text for today from Matthew 5 – which was not a text set by the lectionary for this date, but the focus text of the Saskatchewan Presbyterian Youth program this weekend.

The Preaching Refresher pointed out that it is common for preachers to default to looking in the Bible just for what God wants us to do or how Jesus teaches us to … Read more »