While sermons are best enjoyed live and in-person, you can view our archive here. Clicking the Facebook or YouTube links at the top of the site will also allow you to watch a recording of many of them.
Running Through a Field of Thorns – Marriage and Divorce
By The Very Rev. Sherry Crompton October 4, 2009 Read: Mark 10:2-16 Wow! Preaching about divorce and marriage is like running through a field of thorns, as my colleague Charles says. Why? Because any congregation today is likely to contain people who are married, people who are divorced, people who are divorced and remarried, people who may get divorced at some future time, people who have been treated shabbily by churches due to their marital difficulties, people whose lives and…
I Believe We Have Met Before
By The Very Rev. Sherry Crompton September 27, 2009 Read: Mark 9:38-50 “Whoever is not against us is for us”, Jesus tells us. Mark’s gospel then goes on to talk about what it means for us to be stumbling blocks to new believers. And the cutting off of a foot, the tearing out of an eye. Even though we are quite sure Jesus did not mean this literally, the words remain uncomfortable. And our gospel reading today ends with fire…
Keep your Dragon in the Snow
By The Very Rev. Sherry Crompton September 13, 2009 Read: Mark 8:27-38 “But who do you say that I am?” Jesus asks his disciples as they make their way to another village. “But who do you say that I am?”. When strangers meet, there is a fairly standard ritual followed as they seek to get acquainted. It begins with names, of course. Then follow the questions: where do you live? Are you married and do you have a family? Where…
Allow Time for Breathing Space
By The Very Rev. Sherry Crompton September 6, 2009 Read: Mark 7:24-37 and James 2:1-17 The story of the Syrophoenician woman is one of my favorites. I appreciate her “hutzpah,” her courage, in speaking boldly to Jesus. And this story is one that has no easy answers when it comes to interpreting the meaning. It involves assumptions about different cultural experiences, socio-economic experiences, etc. We aren’t sure if this was an instance of Jesus caught without compassion when he rudely…
Blessed are the Pure in Heart
By The Very Rev. Sherry Crompton August 30, 2009 Read: Mark 7:1-8,14-15,21-23 and James 1:17-27 So, this morning we hear Jesus calling the Pharisees and the scribes hypocrites. The word hypocrite originally comes from ancient Greek theatre. It meant to act a part in a play, to pretend, to display a mask. A good definition of a hypocrite is a person who is not, on the inside, what he or she is showing on the outside. In other words the…
The Whole Armor of God
By The Very Rev. Sherry Crompton August 23, 2009 Read: Ephesians 6:10-20 and John 6:56-69 Once again we hear Jesus speaking about eating his flesh and blood, which we understand in a spiritual sense. In today’s gospel, Jesus says that the words he has spoken are spirit and life. Spirit and life. Key words to living a life that is truly alive in Christ. We also hear today in Ephesians, Paul giving us an example of what it might look…
The Spiritual Life is a Process
By The Very Rev. Sherry Crompton August 16, 2009 Read: John 6:51-48 and Ephesians 5:15-20 Our gospel reading from John for today is a little disturbing. And it’s meant to be. The idea of eating Jesus’ flesh and blood conjures up thoughts of cannibalism. His words would have been equally offensive to the Jewish people that he was addressing at the time. So, we can be relatively sure that Jesus’ intent was to disturb us, to cause us to think…
Remember Whose Child You Are
By The Very Rev. Sherry Crompton August 9, 2009 Read: John 6:34, 41-51 Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty”. Bread and water. The basics for sustaining life – physical life. But we know that Jesus is referring to something deeper than a physical life, he is referring to our spiritual lives. That to taste of Jesus is to know life –…
Do Not Be Afraid
By The Very Rev. Sherry Crompton July 26, 2009 Read: Ephesians 3:14-21 and John 6:1-21 Miracles. Today we hear of two of Jesus’ miracles stories. The feeding of the 5000 and walking on water. The feeding of the 5000 is the only one of Jesus’ miracle stories that makes it into all four gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. That is significant. So what is the message or messages in this story. What do you think of? Oh, this…
Herod’s Dilemma
By The Very Rev. Sherry Crompton July 12, 2009 Read: Mark 6:14-29 So. John the Baptist’s head on a platter. This is an uncomfortable story. One that has been referred to as a ‘text of terror’. We are faced with the dark side of human life, in this case we are recounting Herod’s adultery with his brother’s wife and the imprisonment and execution of John the Baptist. Consider the personal and social dilemmas in which Herod finds himself in this…
Shake Off the Dust and Go On
By The Very Rev. Sherry Crompton July 5, 2009 Read: 2 Corinthians 12:2-10 and Mark 6:1-13 One of my favorite pieces of scriptures today is from 2 Corinthians – “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” Comforting words when I know that I have failed. Somehow God’s grace will be sufficient in the midst and God’s power made perfect in the weakness. And in Mark’s gospel today we hear about Jesus’ poor reception in…
Appearances Can Be Deceiving
By The Very Rev. Sherry Crompton June 14, 2009Read: 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13; 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 and Mark 4:26-34 Today we are hearing in our scripture stories about how appearances can be deceiving—that what we see on the outside may not necessarily be what lies within. We heard “for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” And, “We walk by faith and not by sight”. And then…