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Sermon Podcasts & Text

Sermon 2009 December 13th - Advent 3

Theme: Reflections on, and history of the hymn: "Joy To The World" 

Questions answered by this sermon:

1. Is "Joy to The World" an Advent or Christmas song?
2. Who wrote the words?
3. Did the authour set out to write a Christmas carol?
4. What else did the author write?
5. Is the song based on scripture?
6. Who wrote the tune?
7. Is there a link to Handel's Messiah?
8. What's with that opening line 'The Lord is come' ?

Sermon 2009 December 3rd - Advent 2

Seminarian Jennifer Famme's sermon
Theme: God works levelling and straightening - are you going to join in?

The sun beats down on his head. The sweat on his forehead evaporates even before it begins to drip down his face. His throat aches. His eyelids scrape over his pupils and his teeth are gritty with sand. A haze hovers on the horizon. As far as he can see, the Judean hills ripple and roll in waves and tones of brown. There are no trees to shade from the sun, no stream from which to drink or bathe. The man is John. His lineage is impressive; he is the son of an important priest in Jerusalem ... the story continues.

Reading:  Luke 3:1-6

Sermon 2009 November 22nd Christ the King

Theme: Marks of Citizenship of the Kingdom of God

The Lord’s prayer is probable the most said words by Christians - especially in worship. 
There is so much to think about within the Lord’s prayer. Taking the phrase: "Your Kingdom come" and the phrase from Revelation about Jesus making us be a kingdom - Is that prayer and revelation together showing us God’s will for us? What I think it saying is this: We are part of God’s Kingdom come to earth?

Reading:  Revelation 1:4b-8  & John 18:33-37  

Sermon 2009 November 1st All Saints

Theme: A new vision

Pastor Steve preached in tone reflecting the visions of John. This sermon also included some dramatic lighting of the "throne".

Reading:  Revelation 21:1-6a

Sermon 2009 October  25th Reformation Sunday

Theme: Change?

"I’ll take REFORMATION FOR 300 ALEX" Or may we should start with start with some definitions: Reformation – a Noun ... or maybe I should start again with a joke or two. You know the old light bulb jokes?

Reading:  Romans 3:19-28  & John 8:31-36  

Sermon 2009 May 31st  Day of Pentecost

Ezekiel - Dem Bones - the Spirit of the Lord - Baptism

How can the bones rise and walk and how can the Spirit of the Lord come through the waters of baptism?  Can there be new life created by the Lord?

Reading: Ezekiel 37:1-14 

Sermon 2009 May 24th 

Rev. Steve Johnston & Rev. Dan Walker Discuss "The Shack"

The Shack has become a very popular read. Not everybody agrees on the value of the book and a few claim there is heresy in it. It certainly has some challenging images of God and it tackles some really big questions, primarily, Where is God when we suffer? Dan and Steve work in different denominations and bring different theological traditions into this conversation.

Sermon 2009 April 26th 

Jesus brings us peace to calm our fears

The disciples sat in fear in that room on that first evening. The world they had known had changed and they didn’t know what to expect next. The disciples sat in fear… that is typically what people do when they are scared. They don’t move. They are stuck. They don’t know what to do next. Does that sound like fear to you?

Reading: Luke 24:36b-48 

Sermon 2009 April 5th  - Passion / Palm Sunday 

Jesus Entry Into Jerusalem - Then and Now

Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, in their book “The Last Week’, suggest that Jesus entry  into Jerusalem on a little donkey was not an accident.  It was a planned protest against the power that had turned Jerusalem into a less than Holy City. In contrast to Jesus’ simple procession, another procession, magnificent in its military splendour was arriving from the west.   Rev Dale took part in a Palm Sunday march in 2008 starting in Bethphage. The Israeli miltitary was there to meet them.   

Reading: Mark 11:1-11 

Sermon 2009 March 29th  - 5th  Sunday in Lent 

What will God say?

When you end up in heaven, and you tell your life story as you stand face to face with God, what will God say?

Reading: Jeremiah 31:31-34 

Sermon 2009 March 22th  - 4th  Sunday in Lent 

A Christian Apology to the Atheist Bus Campaign

Have you heard about that advertising campaign about atheism on the sides of buses and streetcars? “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”   This sermon is intended to explain my Christian response.

Note: "Christian apologetics is a field of Christian theology that aims to present a rational basis for the Christian faith, defend the faith against objections, and expose the perceived flaws of other world views."
Source:  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_apologetics

Reading: Matthew 22:33-40 

Sermon 2009 March 15th  - 3rd  Sunday in Lent 

Images of Baptism

Today we baptised two baby boys - cousins born a few weeks apart.  Pastor Steve shared images and reflections from Daniel Elander's "Let the Children Come - A Baptism Manual for Parent and Sponsors".  Parents receive a copy of this book to read and share as they prepare to bring their children for baptism.

Reading: Mark 10:13-16 

Sermon 2009 February 15th  - 5th Sunday after Epiphany

Jesus and the Infomercial

Can Jesus do more than than Shamwow, CLR and Dixie Ready To Go Coffee Cups put together? You betcha.  Now let Julie Ryan tell you why.

Reading: Mark 1:40-45 

Sermon 2009 February 1st  - 4th Sunday after Epiphany

PSALM 111 - An Acrostic Response to an Acrostic Psalm in 22 lines

In the original Hebrew, Psalm 111 is an acrostic text. Each line starts with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet from A to Z. This "signals that the psalm is a comprehensive, or A-Z, celebration of God's works".¹  Pastor Steve prepared this acrostic response to this acrostic psalm.

1. Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year B, Vol. 1 ; Essay by Christine Roy Yoder p.297

Reading: Psalm 111 

Sermon 2009 January 25th - 3rd Sunday after Epiphany

It is about time - Kairos/Chonos

This past week has been quite incredible. Some things that I have been thinking about and waiting for and praying for came to be. I guess it was the right time for these things to happen. In the Greek scriptures (our New Testament’s original language) – there are two words that we translate to the English word time: CHRONOS & KAIROS.  These words are very different. Jesus said “The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God has come near” (Mark 1:15). Which kind of TIME does he mean?

Reading: Mark 1:14-20 

Sermon 2009 January 18th - 2nd Sunday after Epiphany

Do you hear like the boy Samuel?

Samuel hears God's call - a beautiful image of an obedient and faithful child.  But the message Samuel hear was a difficult one to deliver.  We can be called to deliver difficult messages too.

I believe God is calling us to hold up this current violent action of Israel against the people in the Gaza strip and name it as an overt abuse of the power, and they should be held accountable for their actions in causing this humanitarian crisis. 
        Pastor Steve Johnston

Reading: 1 Samuel 3:1-20 

Sermon 2009 January 11th - Baptism of Our Lord

Baptism – An ordination to life in God’s Mission to the world

When stories are told around the supper table it is quite normal for others to add details. That process is what our Gospel accounts went through in those early days when our New Testament was being written down.  So what difference does all of this make? 

Matthew and Luke add questions. But with Mark – you get the teenager’s version of the stories of John the Baptism and Jesus' baptism.  Mark gets to the point  - and what is the point - an ordination into a God's mission for the world.

Reading: Mark 1:4-11