Thinking After

Tag: sermon

  • The Song of the Son

    With the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) appearing as a potential reading in the lectionary last Sunday and again this coming Sunday and with the Annunciation to Mary (Luke 1:26-38) standing as the Gospel reading for the fourth Sunday of Advent, it seems timely to share an excerpt from a sermon entitled, “Let Heav’n and Nature Sing!” from my book Leaps of Faith: (more…)

  • “Judgement”: A Sermon for the First Sunday of Advent

    The following is the text of a sermon I preached at Fallingbrook Presbyterian Church in Scarborough on the first Sunday of Advent.  The Scripture readings were Psalm 98 and Revelation 19:1-9.

    Advent is my favourite season of the Christian year, but it seems like the observation of the season of Advent is becoming an increasingly counter-cultural activity.  While Starbucks has been serving its Christmas blend in its signature Christmas cups for over a month and Swiss Chalet has been offering its festive meal for almost as long, Advent tells us we are still waiting.  While the music blaring in malls and on radios announces that it is the most wonderful time of the year, Advent says to us “Not yet.” (more…)

  • 95 at 500

    The following is an extract from a sermon I preached this past Sunday at St. John’s Presbyterian Church in Scarborough.  The service made use of some of the liturgical resources prepared conjointly by  the Presbyterian Church in Canada and the Christian Reformed Church to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.  It is not a scholarly treatment, nor does it exhaustively treat the complex and often ambiguous legacy of the Reformation.  Rather, it simply attempts to acquaint people with the person of Martin Luther and some of the early developments associated with the beginning of the Reformation in Germany. (more…)

  • Audio of Tyndale Chapel Sermon

    Earlier in the summer I had the privilege of preaching at the mid-week community chapel at Tyndale University College and Seminary.  The primary text for my sermon was the account of the apostle Paul’s visit to Athens found in Acts 17:16-34.  The sermon was entitled, “An Earthquake of Heaven, An Earthquake of Love.”  If you are interested in hearing the sermon, it is available for download or streaming through the Tyndale Chapel website.

  • “My Daddy Was a Pimp!” and Other Skeletons from the Closet

    A Guest Post by Ian Scott

    This is the first in a series of posts engaging with the sermons in Leaps of Faith: Sermons from the Edge.  This post is a reflection upon the first sermon in the book, entitled, “‘My Daddy Was a Pimp!’ and Other Skeletons from the Closet” (pp. 3-9).  The Scriptural text for the sermon was Genesis 12:10-20. (more…)

  • Fire is Still Coming!: Some Josh Ritter for Advent

    The one year anniversary of Thinking After is fast approaching.  Right around the time I started the blog, I preached an Advent sermon at Tyndale Seminary for the MDiv In-Ministry students.  The sermon was one of my first blog postings.  The theme of judgment sounds forth mightily from many of the traditional texts for the first week of Advent.  Having been encountered afresh by these Scriptures, it seemed like it might worthwhile to re-post last year’s sermon, both for those who may have missed it and those who might like to read it again.  I’m not sure I’ve ever heard a sermon on 2 Peter 3, much less one that includes appearances by the Toronto Blue Jays, Westboro Baptist Church, Karl Barth, Glen Soderholm, a Pizza Pizza theologian, and that has the music of Josh Ritter as its soundtrack. (more…)

  • A Matter of Life and Death: A Samson Sermon

    The following is the text of a sermon I preached this past Sunday as a guest speaker at Toronto Chinese Alliance Church.  The congregation has been working its way through a sermon series on the book of Judges.  I was assigned the daunting task of preaching on the Samson story (Judges 13-16).

    For the past week, my thoughts have been preoccupied by a single figure. A blustery and boisterous man, noted for his both his crudity and his cruelty. A man whose track record of troubled relationships with women is well-known. A man who is thought to stand as a paragon of strength and power, despite the strange coif of hair on his head. A bully, who always seems to be the last man standing. A man seemingly tasked with the responsibility of making his nation great again. (more…)

  • “Fire is Coming!”: An Advent Sermon

    The following is adapted from a sermon preached to pastoral ministry students at Tyndale Seminary near the beginning of the season of Advent this year.
    FireI didn’t come to ask how you’re doing these days
    Didn’t come to roll no stones away no
    I come to tell you the end is nigh
    I come to prophecy

    You wanted a messenger and I be he
    Your heebie jeebie man in ecstasy
    My eyes a blazin’ and my mantle dark
    You better hark

    (more…)