Valois United Church

Acts 4:5-12...13
Psalm 23
John 10:11-18
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This is Good Shepherd Sunday.
This is also one of those buffet Sundays, as there are several bits and pieces.

First, we are reminded today that Biblical imagery is not either-or.
Today, while we are talking about Jesus being the shepherd, we also remember elsewhere that Jesus speaks of being the sheep - or more specifically, being the lamb.

Just like we can have a lot of different scripturally based images for God - father, mother, mother hen, king, judge, shepherd - so we can have lots of images of Jesus as well - Prophet, Priest, King, lamb, shepherd, rabbi, friend.....
the more images that we can connect with, perhaps the richer our faith, the deeper our understanding.

Today the focus is the shepherd.
In previous years you may have heard myself or some other preacher talking about how a shepherd in the Middle East is far different from a cattle herder in Canada.

Mark 10:13-16, Matthew 18:1-5, 10 November 22, 2008

Today is Children’s Sabbath.
Two scripture readings today speak to us of children.
Of Jesus accepting children, of Jesus even setting children as a model for adults.

First, though, we need to remind ourselves of the status of children in Jesus’ day. It’s not like today when we have children’s bills of rights, and many laws that specifically protect children. No, the regulations and the philosophy behind them did not exist.

In fact, remember what Herod did to the two and under year olds when he felt that his kingship might be threatened!

Judges 4:1-7

Luke 7:36-50

This morning we have heard a part of the story of Deborah.  This story is startling...  But like many, sometimes we just let the words of scripture wash over us, instead of letting them surprise us, shock us, unsettle us, and move us.

This story is startling.

November 2, 2008
Note: this may be shortened or expanded during delivery.

“For me Revelation is a book of hope and not one of fear. Revelation is John's vision of God and heaven,” declares on preacher looking at this week’s reading from the book of Revelation.

We don’t spend much time on the book of Revelation in the United Church.  There are a few reasons for that - for one, it takes work to understand it reasonably well, work at understanding the historical context as well as the church context, as well as the theological context. 

October 26, 2008 :   Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18 & Matthew 22:34-46

19:1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
19:2 Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.

Those are the words from Leviticus.
Be holy.

Some congregations are used to an interactive sermon style, where it is a sort of discussion, thouch somewhat restricted.  It would be interesting to ask: How do we ‘be holy’?

October 19, 2008 - 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

There were a whole lot of problems in the early church.

There were schisms and divisions based on ethnic background, civil status, economic status....
There were divisions according to theology - those who thought that you could or should not eat meat that had been offered to idols and then brought to the market for sale,
those who turned communion into a drunken feast and those who ate meagrely in the other corner
those who thought circumcision was important, and those who thought it irrelevant,
those who had certain spiritual gifts, and others who didn’t.

The church had problems.
And they needed help.

OCTOBER 5, 2008 - WORLD WIDE COMMUNION

Galations 3:26-28 & Ephesians 4:1-6

Paul was faced with churches in the Roman Empire where the membership was made up of Greeks and Jews and other non-Greek residents of the regions - people from all over the world as they knew it.  And there was dissent and bickering amongst the different language and cultural and ethnic groups.

September 28, 2008 - Philippians 2:1-13 & Matthew 21:23-32

Jesus was busy turning the world upside down.  

Can you imagine that day when he is talking to the chief priests, to the elders.... heck, these are important people.
They KNOW they are important.  They’re the ones who tell others what to do.  
And everyone listens to them.
They are important people.

And Jesus turns to these important, high and mighty people and says to them, for all to hear:

 Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you.

September 21, 2008 - Matthew 20:1-16

This week’s Gospel certainly makes it clear that God’s way is not the same as the human way....

Ezekiel 33:7-11
Romans 13:8-14
Matthew 18:15-17 (NRSV)

18:15 "If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one.

18:16 But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses.

18:17 If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

Welcome back
Welcome for the first time

Whichever it is, we’re here today. If someone asks us this afternoon what we did this morning, we may naturally answer something like “I was at church” or “I went to church”