November 2, 2025
This All Saints’ Sunday sermon reflects on saints, not so much as heroes, but as faithful yet flawed human beings who are transformed by God’s love. Saints are not isolated individuals operating out of their own strength, but instead are chosen as agents of divine power, and who find hope in Christ by following his pattern of sacrificial love, often counter to the world’s expectations. Ultimately, we are reminded that we are part of the glorious, hope-filled company of saints.
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October 26, 2025
The Evensong service, and the readings assigned for today, are an antidote to the poison of anxiety.
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October 26, 2025
Entering deeply into the parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14) is akin to being dropped into a corn maze, uncertain of what is the proper exit. Both protagonists, are like us, “complicated”; with a mixture of attitudes and actions, some laudable and some reprehensible. Both have done a good thing in coming to the temple to pray. But their prayers do not align with their attitudes and actions. Our liturgy models a more robust prayer – rooted in God’s love, and our call to love God and neighbour.
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October 19, 2025
The parable of the widow and the unjust judge (Luke 18:1-8) and its following companion parable of the Pharisee and tax collector underline the importance and the place of perseverance and humility in prayer. But prayer doesn’t come easy. Prayer is ultimately a conversation, a relationship with God that lasts throughout our lives. Prayer should become something as natural as breathing. Something, surprisingly, as normal as daily life itself!
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October 12, 2025
Drawing on today’s scripture passages, modern science and longstanding traditions like the Anglican harvest thanksgiving feast, this Harvest Thanksgiving sermon reflects on how gratitude is central to our humanity. Practicing gratitude, as exemplified by Jesus in the Eucharist (which means “thanksgiving”), and the Jewish festival of Shavuot, magnifies life’s pleasures and prevents us from taking blessings for granted. We are invited to discover the “place where our deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet” by using your unique gifts to serve others, thereby cultivating greater gratitude for God’s blessings.
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October 7, 2025
Whether due to our own failings, others’ actions, or global factors — life rarely goes as planned. Jesus’ disciples reacted to the challenging command to forgive by asking for more faith, perhaps believing faith might give them control over life’s disruptions. In this sermon, I challenge the idea that faith is a means to control our circumstances; rather faith is a gift that enables us to detach from our self-centered hopes and attach ourselves to God’s plan of salvation through a life of servant ministry.
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September 28, 2025
On the 132nd anniversary of the dedication of the present church building, the sermon highlights the history and founding principles of St. Barnabas’, connects these principles to the gospel reading of the Rich Man and Lazarus, and discusses how the church continues to fulfill its mission to the wider community today.
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September 21, 2025
September 21 2025 Sermon One might think that with 20+ years of experience preaching would be easy, perhaps as easy as dusting off a previous sermon based on the same text. I’ve never felt comfortable doing that. Preaching is a listening together to God’s voice. The words of scripture are alive; they are preached into […]
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September 14, 2025
Holy Cross Day is a good day, apart from Good Friday, to give some thought to the cross and its place in our believing and in our lives. We take the cross for granted! Crosses are ubiquitous. Crosses are found everywhere, in unexpected places in addition to where we would most expect to find a cross. The cross is a sign of God’s power to save – a sign of love and life.
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September 7, 2025
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus warns his listeners of steep cost of following him. His parables about a preparing to build a house and preparing for battle, can help us understand that we cannot bear the steep cost on our own. But if the gospel leaves you feel the price is too high, you can find hope in trusting God, the potter, to reshape you as we learn in today’s reading from Jeremiah.
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