As a hockey game winds down toward the end of the 3rd period, you might recall the announcer, typically, saying over the PA system something like: “One minute remaining…” or “Last minute of play…”

And we get really pumped.
A surge of excitement and anticipation suddenly wells up inside us.

If our team is...

Early in life, I grew up with this notion, this assumption, that the world was generally divided into two groups of people.

In one group were those who essentially “had it all together”, who seemed perfect in every respect, who were ethically, morally, spiritually solid, who somehow had it all figured out – the right decisions...

There’s a scene in last year’s animated film The Croods – have you seen it?
It’s a cute, funny film about a prehistoric family trying to survive in a long-ago, dangerous world of earthquakes, volcanoes, and climate change.

But there’s this one scene, right in the middle of a volcanic eruption, as the family is...

Were you watching “ The Amazing Race Canada”  over the summer?

The winners of the race, revealed last week, were very interesting characters: Mickey and Pete – best friends, “best buds,” from Muskoka.

...

Maybe this past summer, you’ve had opportunity to be around lots of people – crowds in public places…

… surrounded by sunbathers on the beach lounging and reading summer novels,
…or, bumping shoulders with other families doing “back to school shopping” in the malls,
…or, waiting in long lines...

I remember canoeing some years ago now on Big Mushamush Lake when we lived in Nova Scotia.

And while it was warm out, and the sun was shining, and it seemed like the perfect afternoon for nice canoe, it was also pretty windy.

And I remember wrestling mightily with the wind and choppy waves as I paddled out from shore into the middle of the large...

So, Jesus tells this parable – this story – of weeds and wheat growing together, as a picture of what the reign of God looks like.

Now, I know, that some of you have more tolerance for weeds than others. God bless you. I admire you.

But I know for me, there’s always something in me that bristles with annoyance at the sight of...

If the Bible is the Number One top bestseller of all time, it must also be – I’d guess – the Number One travel journal of all time.

So many of the stories contained in the Old and New Testaments are about a people on the move, and travelling.

The epic journey of Abraham and Sarah from Ur to Canaan…

The Hebrews escaping...

When couples come to me to plan their wedding, and in the conversation that follows, I always like to ask: “How did you two meet?”

To go back in time, and recall the unique circumstances, people and events – and sometimes even the drama – around two people meeting each other and “falling in love” – all...

In the Gospel text this morning, one word leaps out at me.

There are lots of words in the scripture readings this morning – interesting, thought-provoking, imagination-stirring, even uplifting words:

The description of God’s creation of the world and universe, in Genesis.
The Apostle Paul’s admonition to the Corinthians to...