Love God, Love People
Love God, Love People Scripture: Matthew 22: 34-46Have you ever seen an image or a picture that if you stare at long enough you begin to see another shape? Perhaps there are faces embedded within the drawing or a series of circles. Others have you look at them and...
To Give Back
To Give Back Scripture: Matthew 22: 15-22In the famous words of Admiral Akbar, “It’s a trap!” The question we might ask is a trap for who? Welcome to our passage from Matthew this morning. As sure a trap as I’ve ever seen. It isn’t Jesus who is trying to trap us,...
Garments of Grace
Garments of Grace Scripture: Matthew 22: 1-14I know why this parable gives me a hard time and I wonder if perhaps you have same difficulty. It’s that individual who actually comes to the wedding, but doesn’t have the proper clothes. The one who gets bound hand and...
Authority
Authority Scripture: Matthew 21: 23-32There is an old Jewish witticism in which someone asks his rabbi, “Why do rabbis always answer a question with another question?” to which the rabbi replied, “Why shouldn’t a rabbi answer a question with another question?” Or...
Share the Blanket
Share the Blanket Scripture: Jonah 3:10 - 4:11 and Matthew 20: 1-16If you read the gospels, you will discover that people ask Jesus a lot of questions. If you read a little deeper and do a little bit of math you will discover that of all the questions Jesus is asked,...
Forgiveness
Forgiveness Scripture: Genesis 50: 15-21 and Matthew 18: 21-35Is there a harder commandment in all of scripture? Chelsey Harmon tells a story or paints a picture about forgiveness. She writes, “One of the complaints that student loan borrowers made about the lack of...
A Community of Faith
A Community of Faith Today's gospel lesson from Matthew talks about fogiveness and why that matters. This passage from Matthew forms the model for discipline that many churches use. However, it is less about discipline and more about how we live together as a...
Follow Jesus
Follow Jesus Scripture: Matthew 16: 21-28There is a struggle playing out in our gospel lesson today. The struggle isn’t new, in fact it is as old as time. If you pay attention to what Matthew has been writing in his gospel account so far this is a reoccurring theme....
Step to the Edge
Step to the Edge Scripture: Matthew 15: 10-28The Pharisees are concerned with issues of ritual purity and cleanliness. Don’t eat with dirty hands as it will defile you. Jesus is concerned with the words that come out of our mouths, as these words come from our hearts...
Choosing a Focus
Choosing a Focus Scripture: Matthew 14: 22-33Most sermons I’ve ever heard on this passage go like this. When Peter began to sink Jesus rescued him. If Peter, the individual who Jesus built his church on, can falter and have moments of doubt, it’s ok if I do too. And...
St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Cobourg is part of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. The congregation was established in 1833 and continues to serve the community.