Episode

Rev. John Morrison _____________________________________________________________________________________   Reading          Matthew 21:33-46 (NRSV)   Introduction Jesus told many wonderful parables during his 3 years of public ministry. Today we are looking at one of them, often called the Parable of the Wicked Tenants. I’m inclined to call it the Parable of Contested Ownership though, Read more…

Philippians 2:1-13 This passage from Philippians invites us to reflect on the virtue of humility. But I have to confess I struggle with the actual living out of this virtue – at least in a consistent and deepening manner. Can I suggest that maybe we all experience the same. I Read more…

Matthew 20:1-16, Psalm 145:1-8 If there is one thing that my husband Aron most dislikes, it is standing in queues. He can tell you many traumatic stories of queues he has had to stand in. So, even before we get to the part in this parable where the landowner pays Read more…

Exodus 14: 19-31, Psalm 114 If you spent any time at all in Sunday School you probably know a song that posed the question, “How did Moses cross the Red Sea?” There’s a lot going for this song. It does that great thing for engaging an audience, especially a younger Read more…

 Reading               Exodus 12:1-14 (NRSV)   Background During most of the last 3 months we followed the O.T. lectionary readings in Genesis. We have looked at key events in the lives of 4 generations – Abraham and Sarah; their son Isaac and his wife Rebekah; then Jacob (or Israel to Read more…

 Exodus 1:8-22, Romans 12:1-8 Sometimes, writes poet Godfrey Rust, words are not enough for everything we have to say. Words can’t beat like a heart. A verb won’t sweat or bleed. A noun doesn’t get thirsty. An adjective cannot feel pain. Something gets lost in translation into words. So when Read more…

Reading               Genesis 45:1-15 (NRSV)   Introduction The church office had an answering machine to take messages when the office was unattended. It instructed callers to leave their name and address, and to spell any difficult words. Early one Monday, when the Office Manager was reviewing the weekend messages, she heard Read more…

Dream us forward – Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 Miriam and I have recently discovered that Google (or whatever search engine you use) has pretty much replaced Joseph and his famous ability to interpret dreams. The other morning, over breakfast, Miz told me she’d had a dream she was being chased by Read more…

People plus God – Matthew 14:13-21 I am starting the sermon this morning, following John’s lead last week, with a quick poll on the question – how many times do the gospels speak of Jesus feeding the multitudes? (While that poll question is appearing on your screens – for those Read more…