St George's Sermon Blog

  Jeremiah 17:5-10 L uke 6:17-26 So we are getting close to the end of the Epiphany Season, and it is particularly long season this year so this week and next we are getting into a rare part of the lectionary.   We have read these lessons from Luke’s Sermon on the Plain exactly once in my career and by my calculations they won’t be back until 2049.   And sometimes I suspect this was intentional.   You see the lectionary was written by pastors and so sometimes I secretly think they did this on purpose because they didn’t want to have to preach on these texts very often.   It’s is much easier to just tuck them away in a deep dark corner, because while this sermon that Jesus gives in Luke is full of some of the Gospel’s most quotable bits, it also delivers a very difficult message.   One that perhaps we would rather not have to think too hard about. We tend to like Matthew’s recollection of this sermon a lot better.   It is longer, much less abrasive ...

  Luke 5:1-11 So this week is all about call stories in the church.   And this always presents a bit of a challenge.   Because professional ministers are always really good at understanding and telling our call stories.   It’s a big part of our formation process for ministry.   But is also creates a problem because I am the only one here today who decided to make a living out of doing ministry, but everyone here is called by God.   Everyone.   And when we hear these big dramatic bible stories and professional ministers talk about life changing experiences, it really easy to decide that they must be all about someone else.   But they’re not.   They’re about you too.   So today we are going to take a close look at the trio of call stories we heard today.   And they all come from very different times and places but they all end up having a surprisingly large amount in common.   Isaiah, Paul and Peter all experience powerful ca...

  Luke 2:22-40 Today, Feb 2 is exactly 40 days after Christmas and so we are celebrating the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord at the Temple in Jerusalem, Candlemas or Groundhog Day.   It is also what is called a cross-quarter day, which means it is exactly half way between the winter solstice and the equinox, start of winter and start of spring, so winter is half over today, but unfortunately that means we still have half to go.   For me this is always a rather difficult time of year.   The fun and joy of Christmas are long gone and all we have left are the bills.   January has been cold, gloomy and snowy, and spring is far away.   The news has been heart-wrenching lately. These are the doldrums of the year with many of our days filled with little more than the mundane tasks of everyday life. It is also a time of year when our faith can feel stretched thin.   It is easy to feel close to Jesus holding a candle on Christmas Eve, easy to see Go...