Sermon transcript: Sometimes when I look at or listen to my oldest child Calvin, I swear I am seeing and hearing my late father-in-law, Jim Saunders. Calvin is tall like his grandfather, has the same quiet, unassuming personality, the same logical, mathematical mind, and even the same turn of phrase, “I suppose.” And they say it the exact same way. You know,…
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Sermon transcript: Sometimes I read Scripture and it’s just one simple word or phrase that sticks with me—like a burr on a dog’s fur. “So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy…” Does that resonate with you? Fear and joy at the same time? I thought about this, and three moments from my own life came rushing back: the…
Sermon transcript: What are we to make of this oddly named day? Where is the grace? It’s hard to see. And we have to be careful—careful not to hold up someone’s torture and execution as somehow redemptive. That’s one of the dangers of orthodox belief: the idea that God sent Jesus solely or mostly to die for the forgiveness of sins. The…
Sermon transcript: There’s a tiny haiku poem that’s been living in my head lately:“My barn having burned down, I can see the moon.”1 On first hearing, it sounds like a story of simple resilience — something collapses, and beauty appears. But if we stay with it a little longer, we realize it’s both harder and truer than that. The poet, Mizuta Masahide,…
Sermon transcript: Good morning. I want to thank Rev. Gaspar and you, the congregation of Parkminster, for this opportunity to share a little about my faith journey, relate it to where I stand now, and reflect on how it has empowered me. Before I can share my faith journey, I need to share a little bit about Waterloo Wayside. This approach feels…
Sermon transcript: I’m sure you’ve had the experience of walking into a dark room at night. At first, you can’t see anything. You slow down. Your hands reach out. You listen for the hum of a fridge, the sound of the cat’s paws, the scrape of a chair. When your sight is limited, you pay attention differently. You notice things you might…
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Sermon transcript:1 Adam, Eve, the serpent and the apple—ask someone that’s never set foot in a church to name a story from scripture; it’s likely they’ll name this one. It’s central to the Christian tradition. It’s interesting, though, that to our Jewish siblings, this story isn’t that important. It certainly is not on par with the exodus from Egypt, the rise of…
Sermon transcript: When we picture Lent, joy might not be the first word that comes to mind. We often think of Lent as solemn, quiet, disciplined — a time for fasting, repentance, and restraint. Yet, here at the beginning of our Lenten journey, the story of Jesus’ temptation invites us not only into honest struggle but also into unexpected joy — the…