Sermons

06 Aug

Posted at 09:26h in Blog

When I worked for Imperial Oil as a Power Engineer back in the 1970’s a popular phrase we used was:  all things are subject to change or cancellation without further notice.  This was the sentiment felt by many employees as management were making changes at the time. However this may be an accurate description of today’s environment with Covid-19.  Each day there seems to be news that changes or cancels different ways we do things.  So too with St Andrews.  The Corporation and Vestry has worked hard at designing and implementing protocols so that we might open safely.  The protocols were presented...

01 Aug

Posted at 16:50h in Blog

Feeding of the 5000 (Matthew 14:13-21) Our Grand-daughter Cara, when she was much younger, was caught up with the life of a princess.  She would want to say Grace at the supper table and upon completion she would lift her hands and pronounce: “Let the Royal Feast begin.” Jesus turns to his disciples and says let the “Feast Begin”.  However, the disciples didn’t know how to react.  Close to ten thousand men, women and children and you say let the Feast Begin?  How would you suggest this occur?  Jesus - you are obviously seeing something here that we do not see! The setting...

25 Jul

Posted at 16:33h in Blog

Romans 8:28:  “And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” This week’s reading from Paul’s letter to the Romans is one of my favourite passages of scripture.  I quote it often.  God works for good in “all” things.  Not just in some things;  but in “all” things! It is the phrase “in all things” that sometimes gives me pause and wonder.  Really God, in all things?  Maybe that is where our faith is suppose to kick into action.  However, sometimes it is hard to see how...

19 Jul

Posted at 14:43h in Blog

Matthew 13:  24-30 & 36-43 This week’s Gospel reading from Matthew is the familiar passage about the wheat and the tares or as the newer Bible versions translate it:  the parable of the wheat and the weeds. Sue is the gardener in our family.  She tells me what to pull, what to leave;  especially in the early spring.  I am just as likely to pull the good stuff out.  In fact I did that this spring thinking I was pulling up weeds where in reality I was pulling out the new growth that was coming up.  I can identify with the first...

10 Jul

Posted at 17:45h in Blog

Romans 8:1-11      10 years ago I had heart surgery and leading up to the surgery I wore a Nitro Patch each day.  Well, I heard a story of a heart patient who had visited his cardiologist for his two-week follow-up appointment.  He informed the doctor that he was having trouble with one of his medications.  "Which one?" asked the doctor?  "The patch," the man replied, "the nurse told me to put on a new one every six hours and I’ve run out of places to put it”. The doctor was flabbergasted.  He had the patient quickly undress.  The man had...

10 Jul

Posted at 17:45h in Blog

Romans 8:1-11      10 years ago I had heart surgery and leading up to the surgery I wore a Nitro Patch each day.  Well, I heard a story of a heart patient who had visited his cardiologist for his two-week follow-up appointment.  He informed the doctor that he was having trouble with one of his medications.  "Which one?" asked the doctor?  "The patch," the man replied, "the nurse told me to put on a new one every six hours and I’ve run out of places to put it”. The doctor was flabbergasted.  He had the patient quickly undress.  The man had...

04 Jul

Posted at 17:52h in Blog

Merv's Musings Matthew 11:25-30 Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  For My Yoke is easy and my burden is light. A yoke might be considered a strange illustration for us in our 21st century mind set.  Though some of us may remember using wooden yokes.  A few years ago, a friend who grew up in Northwestern Ontario, told me of her experience with yokes when she was a child.  She would go down to the lake to get drinking water and carry two pails up to their house using a...

27 Jun

Posted at 14:27h in Blog

Merv's Musings Romans 5: 12 - 19 Paul writes in his letter to the Roman Church:  How much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! God’s Grace!  A word we Christians often use. It can be seen as a theological buzz word. A word that we use without thinking extensively of its meaning. The Apostle Paul exalts and dwells upon the riches of Grace. He magnified it in his own experience. He speaks of Grace in the calling of the Gentiles to Christianity and closes most of his epistles or...

13 Jun

Posted at 17:24h in Blog

Trust and Obey! We continue to journey through this pandemic that has disrupted our lives these past number of months.  We are encouraged to listen to those in authority.  In Manitoba we have not been hit as hard as those in other parts of the country.  I think we did a great job listening, trusting and obeying the directives brought down by our health experts.  Cable news continues to report of countries throughout the world where leaders take it upon themselves to be the expert and open their communities too quickly.  They don’t seem to be listening to the health experts...

06 Jun

Posted at 15:04h in Blog, Uncategorized

It is 8 minutes 46 seconds that has been seen around the world.  The death of George Floyd has played over and over on TV.  The protests, the demonstrations both violent and peaceful playing out each night.  The placard that spoke to me was the one that said: We may not know how you feel but we stand with you! Romans 12:15.  (Be happy with those who are happy.  Weep with those that weep.)  These past few weeks we weep as we look systemic racism right in the face. I had a strange thought this week as I was eating supper.  We had these real nice white buns...