What’s in a Sermon
Sermons are this odd art form that is less and less known as our culture becomes more and more secular. I don’t keep track of such things, but I’ve likely preached upward of 750 sermons in my life. You never really know if a sermon has an impact, it’s a bit like planting seeds except that the garden is mobile so you can’t go back to it and see how things are growing.
Recently, a bold and wise, twenty-year-old looked me in the eye and asked: “When you preach a sermon, is your goal to move people or ground people?” I was a bit taken aback; where does a non-religious Gen Z kid come up with a question like that?! It also got me thinking, as if for the first time, about why I commit so much of my time to this antiquated practice.
Wherever he found that question, he really nailed it. Sermons endeavour, at once, to ground us in a tradition that is older than us, that has weathered the test of time, and to propel us toward a response. They aren’t just thoughts off the top of my head, they come from loads of reading and deep reflection on scripture, social media, news, and the lives of those I am in community with. They are one of the many ways I put my gifts to work for the sake of equipping people to live their most grounded, authentic, responsive lives.
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June 2023
1 Peter 2:4-12
This sermon was addressed to a group of people who are being recognized as new ministers. This makes it a bit different in scope than my usual offerings. Here, I am offering a message that seeks to speak to the individuals who are stepping into this new vocation, all of my clergy colleagues and the families of these “celebrants” who may or may not have any interest in faith. I had fun with this one, I especially love it when I can weave in the insights from an atheist scientist! Take a listen.
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February 13, 2022
Scripture 6:17-26
This sermon was preached soon after the church I was serving began to worship in person again after a long pandemic induced hiatus. The current event I address here was the Freedom Convoy, a massive protest in Canada related to vaccination mandates and other issues related to governmental pandemic response.
I use the news story of the day to invite people to slow down and listen for the holiness that is flowing through all of us all the time, to resist an us and them view of the world. This isn’t a sermon that goes in a straight line or contains a declarative message. Instead, it’s like an acknowledgement that life is hard sometimes and still there is beauty.
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May 31, 2020
This sermon was delivered in May of 2020, six days after the brutal death of George Floyd. We were still in the early days of the pandemic, and tears in the social fabric of society were beginning to be exposed. Floyd’s murder would spark the Black Lives Matter movement which would quickly sweep the continent.
I was still preaching to a virtual congregation. The church was empty and I wanted nothing more than to be in the physical presence of my faith community to process this event together. That wasn’t possible, instead I did my best to make some sense of events.
Here, I draw on my own experience of the insidious nature of system racism and I call myself out for my own places of blindness. Let me know if anything resonates with you, because this conversation is definitely not finished.
Artificial Intelligence Sermon Series
The intersection of AI and Religion is one of my key interests. In 2022 I preached a sermon series on the topic in hopes of sharing some of my insights, concerns and hopes for the future of AI. In this series I explain what exactly AI is and make a case for why people who care about the future of our world ought to be informed about its inner workings.
Religion, done right, is concerned with the big questions, about life and death and who is included and who is pushed aside. People who come to church don’t want to leave their concerns for the world at the door. This series brings big questions into the pews (even virtual pews) and promises to leave you asking big questions. I delve deep into the impacts AI is having on our lives and to ask hard questions about whether its secrets ought to be revealed for the sake of our common good.
Recently, a bold and wise, twenty-year-old looked me in the eye and asked: “When you preach a sermon, is your goal to move people or ground people?” I was a bit taken aback; where does a non-religious Gen Z kid come up with a question like that?! It also got me thinking, as if for the first time, about why I commit so much of my time to this antiquated practice.
Wherever he found that question, he really nailed it. Sermons endeavour, at once, to ground us in a tradition that is older than us, that has weathered the test of time, and to propel us toward a response. They aren’t just thoughts off the top of my head, they come from loads of reading and deep reflection on scripture, social media, news, and the lives of those I am in community with. They are one of the many ways I put my gifts to work for the sake of equipping people to live their most grounded, authentic, responsive lives.
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