by: Deacon Michelle Collins Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 Click here for the service There’s a difference between building something by following the directions correctly, and discovering something in the process of creating. Some things need a full and complete set of instructions—assembling a bicycle or fixing a machine. But other things are best created when the directions are set aside and the heart…

Sunday, August 9, 2020 Rev. Doug Reble Matthew 10:24-39 Click her for service I suspect most of you who are listening to or reading this sermon have never heard the name Kenneth Feinberg. He is the lawyer who chaired the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, which gave money to the family of each person who died in the 2001 terror attacks in the…

2 Corinthians 5:1-21July 26, 2020 Almost 50 years ago, I attended a week-long Boy Scout camp with scouts from across the state of Connecticut. Click here for service. One of the activities that we did one afternoon came to mind when I read today’s passage from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. One afternoon, the Scout leaders separated the members of our two…

July 19, 20202 Corinthians 2:1-10 Marge Piercy is a feminist writer and activist. Click here to view service Piercy has written 17 novels, including bestsellers Gone to Soldiers, Braided Lives and The Longings of Women, and 19 volumes of poetry. She is considered among the most significant feminist voices during the past half century. I’d like to share an excerpt from her poem, The Low Road. What…

2 Corinthians 1:1-11July 12, 2020 Click here to view service We will be spending some time with the Apostle Paul and the Corinthians during the coming weeks. Last week, we finished our time with Job … following his journey from prosperity to ruin and suffering and, finally, to restoration. Throughout the journey, Job remained faithful to God and rebuked his friends who…

July 5, 2020Job 41: 1-8; 42:1-17 Our time with Job comes to a conclusion this morning. Click here to view service We’ve journeyed with Job through his losses, through his health issues, through his friends’ attempts to console and help Job understand … rather poorly, I might add. We have seen Job’s relationship with God change. Job’s relationship becomes more direct ……

June 28, 2020Job 31:35-37; 38: 1-11 (25-27) Our journey with Job continues… Click here to watch service So far, after God has turned his life over to satan, Job has lost his children and possessions … he fights with his wife over his faith in God’s sense of justice … he’s received some pretty bad advice from three friends and … last…

June 21, 2020 Father’s Day Click here to see service Job 14: 7-15; 19: 23-27 Earlier this week, one of our church families stopped by to do a little landscaping. For the better part of a morning, the father and his daughter trimmed the hemlock bushes around the sanctuary portion of the building. He scaled a ladder with a hedge trimmer and…

June 14, 2020Job 3:1-10; 4:1-9; 7:11-21 There was a march in Owen Sound last week. Roughly a 1,000 people gathered at the Farmer’s Market on what one speaker called “the hottest day of the summer” to walk a couple of kilometres to the Black History Cairn in Harrison Park. The anti-racism march was sparked by the death of George Floyd under the…

June 7, 2020Job 1: 1-22Trinity Sunday We are going to journey with Job for the next few weeks. Job’s is a story of suffering that we know well … at least by reputation. It’s a book about how suffering can alter relationships … especially the relationship with God. Click here for service Today’s passage sets the stage … the context … of…