Writings and Sermons
I preached my way into the realization that one of my bedrock beliefs is that God honours our struggle. And I don’t know if I remembered to say that during this sermon, but I wanted to talk about some of the struggles we tend to forget existed in the times Scripture tells us about. You […]
Read MoreRules aren’t always my favourite. I can rankle against being told to just do a thing. (Understanding the reasoning why often helps this.) But community is one of my favourite things. Which means, as Jesus talks about, figuring out how to live with people who do things that I wouldn’t do. All this, plus some […]
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With the pandemic and all the new important safety precautions, this Gospel really hit me differently this year. I’m now much more understanding of Peter. Also, wear a mask, distance, and wash your hands. I worked most closely with Matthew 16.21-28.
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I don’t know that I’ve ever preached on Shiphrah and Puah. But this year their refusal to go along with Pharoah’s death plan, their instance on doing the right thing in hard and dangerous circumstances, their bravery, seemed not only important, but like the first in the series of dominos. I could imagine Moses’s mother […]
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I have long loved this Psalm. But my food oriented youtube rabbit hole had me wondering where the oil comes from. And that got me thinking about the community and theology behind this. Listen to what I said: I worked with Psalm 133 (link).
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I love Peter trying and failing to walk on water. I do. But this year it wasn’t preaching for me. Instead I kept hearing this joke that’s sometimes funny and that I’ve never really liked. The work of holding it in conversation and prayer with this passage brought me to a question: Do I believe […]
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Jacob is the hustler who probably doesn’t need to hustle. I worked most closely with Genesis 32.22-31.
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Today’s Gospel is the collection of all of the short parables from Matthew 13. I have never enjoyed preaching on these parables as much as this year. Because, after ten years of ordained life, I finally feel like I began to understand some of what Jesus is teaching in here. I worked most closely with […]
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St Paul can be a difficult theologian for me. His writings about women and leadership aside, I’ve often struggled when Paul veers into interpretations that have been harmfully used and contrary to historic understandings of Scripture. After this week, I think I need to trust Paul’s theological thinking more. I worked with Matthew 13.24-30 36-43, […]
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Even though this is the parable that Jesus explains, I love all the ways it remains open to interpretation. This year, especially with the lack of appropriate treatments and healthcare and social contact, the freedom the sower has to use so much seed was especially intriguing. Here’s what I said: I worked most closely with […]
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Theologybird Writes 