SERMONS & LITURGIES
Sunday September 6th
2020-08-23 Pentecost 12 FINAL
2020-08-16 Pentecost 11 FINAL
2020-08-09 Pentecost 10 FINALChris, me, will be on vacation from July 17th for a month. I plan to publish sermons for the next 5 Sundays before I start my vacation.
June 28th, Pentecost
Preamble:I am frustrated when I go to church and the preacher doesn’t help me understand the most difficult bible passage. I think they are being ‘chicken’. Which is what I did this week! I am sorry. I did make notes for a sermon on the Romans reading but my attention kept turning to Psalm 13.
The message of Romans chapter 6 verses 12-23 is straightforward.
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There are sins like unloving actions and words. And there is SIN, which is a power against love in your life. Paul is talking about “SIN” as a power exerted against you and against love.
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You can stop sinning because of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. You died with him and you rose with him. I cannot answer the question “How?”. You are dead to the power of SIN, so you can say, “NO!”, and hold Christ in your attention and He will start you thinking of something else. verse 14, 22 etc.
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You have the power to be good, do good, say and think good things, because Jesus rose from death and took you with him on the cross, and Jesus took you with him into death and into resurrection – I cannot answer the question “How?”. But I know that God can live in you and give you power to be good. verse 14
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You can choose to be loving or not. You have many opportunities in daily life. What Paul wants us to know is that we can be good, we can be loving – just trust Jesus and he will transform you from the inside out.
June 21st Pentecost 3
Hi Emmanuel, Friends and Family,
Some people are using the bulletin with the video so that they can join in with the service. That is the only way that the video is actively church, and you reap the benefits. Otherwise, you are just watching a movie, you are just an audience. The word “liturgy” means the work of the people. I understand our services as being my work and yours. I prepare a liturgy with lots of places for you to join in. We do liturgy together as the body of Christ. I leave it to God to put together the variety of times we use the liturgy video each week.
This week the readings are all full of good things and I had trouble finding a sermon. That is what sermon preparation is, finding, hopefully, what God wants to say to you each Sunday. This week I couldn’t find the wood for the trees. So I am giving you a forest of God’s grace and purpose God has for his people.
I am including a letter from Bishop Andrew, sent to clergy and Churchwardens, concerning the COVID-10 and church. Although the Province is permitting churches to meet but the conditions are hard. To summarize the bishops, they are exercising an abundance of caution because they care for us and don’t want to take the risk of opening while COVID-19 cases continue to rise. September 6th is the earliest the bishops will permit the return of worship in our church buildings.
Your wardens and I are beginning to plan for the re-opening of Emmanuel. Our priority is to keep you safe at church. Details will follow; if you have suggestions please forward them to me.
This Sunday we celebrate together apart; together in spirit, apart in body. The day is National Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Bishop Andrew will be commenting at St. James Cathedral, a service you can join using this link livestream
Full Liturgy
Pentecost 3A Readings and sermon
Chris and Sasha for Pent. 3 June 21st
June 14th 2020
Hi Emmanuel and Friends, This week the sermon is based on Romans chapter 5 verses 1-11, in particular verses 3-4. These verses and passage give us a fresh way of thinking about our suffering and trials and that we endure them with Jesus, who understands our troubled hearts.
Hi everyone on Trinity Sunday,
Here we are again, together apart. Together in Christ, apart in body.
Ephesians 3:6 (NIV) 6 ‘This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus’. That’s us, Gentile and Jew, together in Christ and nothing can change that. Our past was redeemed in Christ dying on the cross; our present lived with Christ in our heart and in the Spirit; our future guaranteed by Christ’s Resurrection and Ascension. How can we be sure that we are in Christ – believe. Believe in Jesus and all that he did and said. How I wish that everyone knew that.
This Sunday we celebrate the mystery that is the Trinity, One God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our Creed, Athanasian, today attempts to make sense of that. But, who can make sense of the infinite, who can make sense of the supernatural, who can make sense of our God? Greater than any words, more powerful than anything on earth, more loving than the gentlest mother. The definition of the Trinity is not what’s important. What matters is believing, not understanding. Believing matters because Jesus said it was. John 11:25-26 (NIV) 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
With love and prayer,
Chris
P.S. Would you like to do a reading (anyone) or the prayers (Lay Readers only) in our service? Can you record a video of you doing that? If you can do this please let me know. I can use your videos in the service as long as they are in Mp4 format. I would like to do that. Here’s how it would work: you agree to participate, I will send you the information, you record your video and send it to me by Thursday, I will then review it and stitch your video into the service on Friday. Pray about this and let me know. We would all like to see more people as this COVID-19 isolation continues.