March 15, 2009

Sermon by the Rev. Amanda Currie

Exodus 20:1-17
Psalm 19
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
John 2:13-22

Has anyone ever scoffed at your faith or laughed at your religion? Have you ever gotten into a debate over the existence of God or the usefulness of practicing your faith? Many of us Christians have engaged in those kinds of conversations or debates many times over the years. And sometimes we’ve left them feeling frustrated because we couldn’t think of many great arguments in favour of Christianity. Or we’ve left them feeling guilty because we got angry with a person who couldn’t seem to accept our perspective. Or perhaps, once in a while, we’ve finished those conversations feeling good about the experience because we got a chance to share our faith – not to defend it or to justify it, but simply to tell our neighbour what we believe about God and how our beliefs affect our lives.

I don’t know very many Presbyterians who aren’t scared to death of sharing their faith with their neighbours, co-workers, and friends. And one reason for that may be because of past negative experiences — when they seemed to lose the debate, when they left the conversation feeling angry, hurt, guilty, or like … Read more »

March 6, 2009 – World Day of Prayer

The following sermon was preached by the Rev. Amanda Currie at St. Andrew’s for the World Day of Prayer worship service on Friday, March 6th, 2009. The service for the downtown churches of Saskatoon was hosted by St. Andrew’s and organized by Adela MacDonald and Helen Foss, in cooperation with women from seven neighbourhood churches. The liturgy was prepared and adapted by the Women’s Inter-Church Council of Canada.

Scripture: Romans 12:4-21; Exodus 2:1-10; Acts 4:32-35

The earliest Christian church, described in the book of Acts, sounds so wonderful, doesn’t it? “Those who believed were of one heart and soul…” Doesn’t that sound lovely when you think about the disagreements and conflicts in our churches today? “With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus…” Doesn’t that kind of preaching sound inspiring? “There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned land or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold.” Wow! Not a needy person among them — no one left out — because they all committed … Read more »

March 1, 2009

Sermon by the Rev. Amanda Currie

Genesis 9:8-17
Psalm 25:1-10
Mark 1:9-15

Remembering is hard, isn’t it? I could give you numerous examples of things I forgot just during the last week… like when I forgot my church keys sitting on the desk in my office when I went home for the night, when I called a church member, didn’t find them home, and forgot to try again before the end of the afternoon, or when Gwen asked me the last name of another church member, and I had to scan through the directory before I could remember it.

These are just little things from my week, and perhaps you could make a similar list of failed remembrances from your week too. Forgetting things can be frustrating, and it can make us feel pretty bad about ourselves. It’s not uncommon to hear people scolding themselves for forgetting things — when we forget the birthday or anniversary of a loved one, when we miss an appointment because we just didn’t remember about it, or when we can’t recall the name of a new or an old friend.

I’ll never forget the story that I heard from another minister about … Read more »

February 15, 2009

Sermon by the Rev. Amanda Currie

2 Kings 5:1-14
Psalm 30
Mark 1:40-54

The following sermon has also been posted online in MP3 audio format.

The Sunday scripture readings over the last few weeks have been very focused on healing, and today is no exception. Back in the fall, when Gillian and I were working on selecting choir anthems for this season, I noticed the “healing” theme coming up again and again. We had just chosen a wonderful anthem for last Sunday (There is a balm in Gilead) and then we looked at the readings for this Sunday, and found we needed to look for another piece of music with a similar emphasis. I’m sure that you will enjoy “Your Gentle Touch” that the choir will share a little later in the worship today.

Healing is a pervasive theme within Christianity and within the scriptures. I think we could spend weeks and weeks on it with all the stories of Jesus healing people of various kinds of diseases, with all the psalms where the authors are crying out to God for healing or giving thanks for healing. And yes, there are even a few Old Testament stories about healing as well — though perhaps not … Read more »

February 1, 2009

Sermon by the Rev. Amanda Currie

Deuteronomy 18:15-20
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Mark 1:21-28

“Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty… perfect in power, in love, and purity.” There is an old tradition in many Presbyterian churches to begin Sunday worship each week by singing “Holy, holy, holy”, as we did this morning. It goes along with a Reformed Christian focus on the transcendence of God. God is holy. God is over all. God is almighty and powerful and wholly other.

Beginning the weekly worship service by singing “Holy, holy, holy” also keeps the focus of what we do together in this place. We don’t come here just to be together with friends. We don’t come here for a purely academic pursuit of learning about God. And we don’t come here simply to pray and ask God for what we need. No, we come to this place each week to worship God — to acknowledge God’s holiness, God’s power, and God’s love. We come to bow down before the Creator and Author of all that is, and to give glory to God.

We believe that God is the Author of all that is. That’s an interesting way of … Read more »

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, 2009

Sermon by the Rev. Amanda Currie

The following sermon was preached on Sunday, January 25, 2009 at 3:00 p.m. at McClure United Church in Saskatoon. The occasion was the concluding service for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Organized by the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism, Christians from many churches throughout the city of Saskatoon gathered to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the calling of the Second Vatican Council and 50 years of ecumenical ministry by Father Bernard de Margerie. The service also included a covenant signing by the sponsoring churches of the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism. Audio recordings of the sermon and other parts of the service are available.

Ezekiel 37:15-28

The theme and scriptures and reflections for this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity were prepared for Christians throughout the world by the churches of Korea. And it’s interesting that Saskatoon has ended up with a Presbyterian minister preaching at the concluding worship because Korea has lots and lots of Presbyterians.

Christianity is strong and growing in South Korea, and there are more Protestants than Catholics there, and more Presbyterians than any other Protestant denomination. That’s a … Read more »

January 25, 2009

A sermon on the 3rd Sunday after Epiphany, Year B, given on the concluding Sunday of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

Jonah 3: 1-5, 10
I Corinthians 7: 29-31
Mark 1: 14-20

I am not a preacher! I think that I am more comfortable when Amanda stands up here. And by the time I’m finished, maybe you will be too. Preaching is not my natural gift. I teach. I lead my students through their studies, and help them with their questions. But I don’t normally stand at the front of a worshipping congregation to preach the Word of God. I’m much more comfortable with my own words.

But today, I’m preaching because it is the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. This is a special Week in the Christian year for me and for Amanda, because we are what has come to be called an “interchurch couple.” We share together in each other’s churches. Perhaps some of you do not know this already. I am Roman Catholic. Amanda and I met when she was at seminary, and I was beginning my graduate work in ecumenical theology. We share together in an ecumenical vocation.

Here, … Read more »

January 11, 2009

Mark 1:4-11

It is wonderful to be able to conduct a baptism on this particular Sunday in the church year. Today is the day that we celebrate the “Baptism of the Lord”. The baptism of Jesus was such an important and pivotal moment in his life and ministry, and reflecting on that moment in Jesus’ life can help us to understand and to celebrate the meaning of baptism in our lives as Jesus’ followers.

In some ways, what we do when we gather to baptize an infant seems pretty far removed from what John the Baptizer was doing at the Jordan River so many years ago. The baptism this morning was marked by family, friends, and Christian community gathered in the warmth of a comfortable church, promises made, water poured, and words of blessing spoken for a child.

John’s baptism took place outside, down in the muddy waters of the Jordan. And it wasn’t so much about joining a community of faith or about receiving God’s blessing. They were adults who came to get baptized, and they did so because they wanted a fresh start, to confess their sins, and turn their lives in a new direction … Read more »

Christmas Memorial Sermon – December 10, 2008

The following sermon was preached at the annual Christmas Memorial Service for St. John’s Columbarium on December 10, 2008. The service took place at St. John’s Cathedral in Saskatoon, SK.

Matthew 1:18-23
Psalm 91
John 1:1-5, 14, 18

Many years ago, before the time of Jesus, God’s People, Israel, were struggling with their circumstances as an occupied People, and they were struggling in their relationship with God. The Roman occupiers had control of their land. And though the Jews were allowed to live there and practice their religion, they had to pay taxes to Caesar, deal with the Roman soldiers, and cope with the fact that they were not really free.

Of course, this was not the first time that God’s People had experienced being conquered by a foreign power, it was not the first time that they had been controlled and oppressed by a more powerful nation, and it was not the first time that their difficulties led many among them to doubt God’s presence and love and to turn away from God.

Through the Season of Advent, in particular, the bible readings that we hear each Sunday in church remind us of other … Read more »

December 7, 2008

Isaiah 40:1-11
Mark 1:1-8

A voice cries out: “In the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.”

When we hear those familiar words from the prophet Isaiah, or when we hear them repeated in the story of John the Baptist’s work, we automatically think about Jesus and his coming. The Lord we are waiting for is Jesus the Christ, his coming is into our world as an infant born to a young woman in small-town Israel many years ago. And the preparation that we are all called to do is something to do with confession and repentance. But, just for now, let’s remember the things that were happening back when the prophet Isaiah spoke these words the people of his own time.

A long time ago, more than five hundred years before the birth of Jesus, God’s people, the people of Israel were in exile in a place called Babylon. You see, the powerful kingdom of the Babylonians … Read more »

November 30, 2008

Isaiah 64:1-9
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19

On this first Sunday of Advent, our scripture texts reflect both the struggle and longing of the people of God, and their undying hope. The prophet Isaiah observed the people around him, the marketplace, the leaders, and the culture, and he cried out in frustration, despair, and unrelenting hope for God to do something about it. His people had finally returned from exile in Babylon, but Jerusalem was no longer the place they had once known. The people had changed. Things had changed. They wondered whether God was still with them or not.

“O that you would tear open the heavens and come down!” Isaiah lamented to God. He speaks almost as if God has abandoned him and his people. He speaks as if God is some far-off, distant being that has not been paying attention for some time. And perhaps that is exactly how he is feeling about God.

In Ralph Milton’s Story Bible version of this passage from Isaiah, he imagines that the prophet has just returned from a visit to the marketplace. His young friend, Rebekah, comes for a visit, and notices that he is looking very sad. … Read more »

November 16, 2008

Matthew 25:14-30
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

I didn’t want to preach on the parable of the talents this week. I figured that I’d preached on this text before, and I wouldn’t have anything new or different to say about it. I fully intended to preach on the text from Thessalonians about being children of light.

I thought that since we have a baptism today, that would be a good theme. We would celebrate the fact that we belong to the light and to the day, not to the darkness and night. We would rejoice over the fact that God has destined us, including this child baptized this morning, for salvation. Not because we have managed through our own goodness and effort to earn salvation, but because in Jesus Christ, God has reached out to us in grace and love.

I think it would have been a very encouraging sermon, if I had preached it today. But I’m not going to preach that sermon, because I couldn’t get the parable of the talents out of my head this week.

You’ve likely all heard the parable many times before. It’s another one of Jesus’ powerful stories. In our Sunday … Read more »

November 2, 2008

Matthew 23:1-12
1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

Those poor old scribes and Pharisees! The Gospel writers sure give them a hard time! It’s easy to start thinking of the Pharisees in Jesus’ day as really terrible people — as hypocrites, as stuck-up, high & mighty, selfish people who enjoyed lording their knowledge and authority over everyone else.

The Pharisees really do get a bad reputation in the Gospels as the people who were too concerned with the letter of the religious law, and not enough concerned with the spirit of it. Matthew’s Gospel has Jesus pointing to the scribes and Pharisees and saying, “do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach.”

Now, the Pharisees aren’t ALL bad. Jesus is acknowledging that most of their teachings are okay. The problem is that they’re not following their own teachings. They’re not really living by them. They’re talking the talk, but not really walking the walk.

I feel for the Pharisees though, because walking the walk can be tough. Most of the time, it’s not too hard to figure out what would be the right … Read more »

October 19, 2008 – Calvin-Goforth Presbyterian Church

The following sermon, based on 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10, was preached by the Rev. Amanda Currie at Calvin-Goforth Presbyterian Church, Saskatoon, on Sunday, October 19th. Worship at St. Andrew’s was led by the Stewardship Committee using resources for Presbyterians Sharing Sunday.

Written in about the year 50 CE, some 20 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus and 20 years before the Gospel of Mark was written, Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians is the oldest piece of Christian literature that we have. Early on during his second missionary journey, Paul, accompanied by Silas (sometimes called Silvanus) visited Thessalonica, the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia. They preached in the Jewish synagogue, with the result that some Jews and a larger number of pious Gentiles became Christians. In the book of Acts it is suggested that Paul spent only a short time in Thessalonica before difficulties occurred and he and his companions left the city.

The letter shows that in the relatively short time he was with them, Paul developed a deep familial affection for the Thessalonians. He cared so much for them and he was so concerned for these newly evangelized Christians that he had … Read more »

October 5, 2008 – Parkview Presbyterian Church

The following sermon, based on Luke 24:13-35 and Ezekiel 37:1-14, was preached by the Rev. Amanda Currie for the closing worship service of Parkview Presbyterian Church, Saskatoon. The service was conducted by the Presbytery of Northern Saskatchewan on Sunday, October 5th at 4:00 p.m.

“Jesus came near and went with us”

This is not the first time I have attended a final worship service for a Presbyterian church that was closing. I remember being at the closing service for a little church in Hull, Quebec — Cushman Memorial Presbyterian Church — when they decided to close and their few remaining members joined with my home congregation in Ottawa. Many of us attended that service to sing in the choir and to welcome the folk from Cushman into the fellowship, service, and mission of our church.

But this is the first time that I have had the task of preaching at the dissolution of a congregation. It was up to me to choose the scripture texts for today (none being prescribed or even suggested for an occasion such as this). But surprisingly, as I reflected on this point in Parkview’s journey, the texts I … Read more »

October 5, 2008

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 11-20
Matthew 21:33-46

A few weeks ago, I caught an episode of The Simpsons on TV. Some of you likely watch The Simpsons (an animated program for adults), and others of you may find the show annoying or even rude. But those of you who do enjoy The Simpsons probably appreciate it as a humorous social commentary. If you want to have a good discussion about politics, education, the environment, family life, or religion, an episode of The Simpsons can often be a good discussion starter.

Anyway, the episode that I watched a few weeks ago began with a scene about the Hebrews camping out in the wilderness. While Moses is up on the mountain talking to God, we meet some of the Hebrew men down below.

First, there is an artist — a sculptor. He’s working on his latest creation (a beautiful golden calf) and he’s already praising it as if it were a god. Then there’s his friend who’s obviously a player. He just isn’t a “one woman man,” you might say. And then there’s the character represented by Homer Simpson. His pockets are full of other people’s stuff. He’s a pick … Read more »

September 21, 2008

Exodus 16:2-15
Philippians 1:21-30

I go back and forth in my feelings about the ministry that I am called to be involved in within the church. Some days I am hopeful and excited and optimistic. Some days I am discouraged and disillusioned. Some days I have the sense that my work is making a real difference in people’s lives. And other days I feel like the world is so lost and misguided that we don’t have a chance of making any significant difference to anyone. In fact, I would say that most of my days in ministry are filled with a mixture of hopefulness because I am engaged in meaningful and important work, and discouragement because the needs I see around me are so great and I can’t imagine being able to respond to them all.

Let me give you a few examples from my week.

On Sunday evening, I made sandwiches with the youth group for Saskatoon Native Circle Ministry. I thought it was a worthwhile way to spend part of our evening for a couple of reasons… our young people would be learning to give their time and effort for others, and people who were … Read more »

September 7, 2008

The following message was presented by Harold, Suzy, and Angie (the St. Andrew’s puppet characters) by Iain Ireland, Melissa Tate, and Allyssa deBruijn. Amanda and Gwen are the ministers of St. Andrew’s, and this was Gwen’s first Sunday in our congregation.

I’m sorry that I can’t put the expression and ad libs of the puppeteers in print for you here. Oh well! Thanks to the puppeteers for bringing this script to life on Sunday, September 7th, 2008.

Harold: Welcome back, Suzy and Angie! I haven’t seen either of you around here much this summer. Where have you been?

Angie: I spent the summer at Camp Christopher, Harold. I had a great time with all the kids and youth each week, worshipping together and enjoying God’s good creation.

Suzy: … Read more »

August 31, 2008

Exodus 3:1-15
Romans 12:9-21
Matthew 16:21-28

The concept of being called by God or called by God in Jesus Christ is one that runs all the way through the Hebrew and Greek scriptures — our bible.

God called Abram to leave his family and his country, and to go to a new land where God would make him and his descendants into a blessing to the world.

God called the boy Samuel to be a prophet to the people. God called him to speak words of judgement against those who were not living in God’s ways so that they would turn and follow God.

Another prophet, Isaiah, explained that God called him even before he was born. He believed that his whole identity and nature was to be one who gathered Israel back to their God. That was his call.

Jeremiah too was a prophet appointed by God to speak God’s words. When God called him, Jeremiah said, “O God, I don’t know how to speak! I’m only a boy!” But God said, “Do not be afraid, because I am with you.”

In the Greek scriptures, God’s call was heard in the voice of … Read more »

July 13, 2008

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

You may have noticed, as Jim was reading today’s Gospel passage, that it came in two sections. The first part was the parable that Jesus told to the crowds about a sower who scatters seeds liberally across the ground, and the results that follow. And the second part was an explanation or interpretation of the parable.

The Gospel writer frames the explanation as “Jesus explaining to his disciples what he meant by this confusing story.” But most biblical scholars agree that while the parable itself is probably one that Jesus actually told (or at least, something very much like it), the interpretation is likely the product of Matthew’s community near the end of the first century.

Jesus was, indeed, a Jewish teacher — a rabbi. And he brought not only a new message to the people, but he also used a new form of communication. Jesus’ method of teaching in parables was not the typical practice of contemporary rabbis, but a new and unsettling departure in religious communication.

Without the helpful little explanation that Matthew’s Gospel provides, we can imagine that both the crowds and the disciples would have been confused, or perhaps … Read more »