18th Sunday after Pentecost - September 30, 2012

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[00:00:09]  First Reading - Esther 7:1-6,9-10,9:20-22
[00:02:27]  Second Reading - James 5:13-20
[00:04:05]  Gospel Reading - Mark 9:38-50
[00:05:52]  Sermon - Rev. Chris Roth
[00:20:37]  Blessing and Dismissal

Questions based on Mark 9:38-50:
  1. Does the disciples' argument in verses 33-37 about who among them is the greatest have anything to tell us about verses 38-40?
  2. When have you noticed a tendency in yourself to draw a line dividing people who belong and those who don't? Do those lines exist? If they exist how do our lines compare to Jesus' lines?
  3. When have you experienced someone labeling you as belonging or not belonging?
  4. Compare verse 40 to Matthew 12:30. How can these both be true? How does the context of both verses help us answer that question?
  5. Consider what you believe about spiritual consequences for our actions. Are there consequences in this life and/or the afterlife? How does what you believe compare to what Jesus says in this passage?

    17th Sunday after Pentecost - September 23, 2012

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    [00:00:42]  First Reading - Proverbs 31:10-31
    [00:02:45]  Second Reading - James 3:13:4:3,7-8a
    [00:04:28]  Gospel Reading - Mark 9:30-37
    [00:05:56]  Sermon - Rev. Donald Gray
    [00:19:50]  Blessing and Dismissal

      16th Sunday after Pentecost - September 16, 2012

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      [00:00:33]  First Reading - Proverbs 1:20-33
      [00:02:01]  Second Reading - James 3:1-12
      [00:04:37]  Gospel Reading - Mark 8:27-38
      [00:06:37]  Sermon - Rev. Chris Roth
      [00:20:56]  Blessing and Dismissal

      Questions for reflecting on James 3:1-12
      1. Reflect on your use of your tongue. Do you use it more to build up and encourage or tear down and condemn? Do you often say things you later regret, or do people comment on how uplifted they are by your words?
      2. How does your use of your tongue affect the rest of your life?
      3. It has been said that "the tongue betrays the world that is in one's heart". What might your tongue tell you about your heart?
      4. Reflect on Peter's tongue in Mark 8:27-38 and Jesus' response. Who do you say that Jesus is?

        15th Sunday after Pentecost - September 09, 2012

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        First Reading - Proverbs 22:1-2,8-9,22-23
        Second Reading - James 2:1-17
        Gospel Reading - Mark 7:24-37
        Sermon - Rev. Donald Grey

        Questions for reflecting on  Mark 7:24-37
        1. Read Jesus' teaching about the clean and unclean from the beginning of chapter 7 (especially versus 14-23). This teaching comes immediately before today's passage about a gentile woman (unclean) who is asking for Jesus' help. How does this affect how we see Jesus' reaction?
        2. How would you hear Jesus' words as a) the woman asking for help b) the disciples and c) as those who are reading this passage in the modern world.
        3. Who might you consider to be "unclean" by the way they look or the community they come from? Whois "clean" to you?
        4. It was a deep tradition to separate gentiles and jews. What traditions do we hold onto that cause division in our cities and neighbourhoods? How does Jesus' teachings about the clean and unclean tear down those divisions?

          14th Sunday after Pentecost - September 02, 2012

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          [00:01:43]  First Reading - Solomon 2:8-13
          [00:03:04]  Second Reading - James 1:17-27
          [00:04:53]  Gospel Reading - Mark 7:1-8,14-15,21-23
          [00:04:54]  Sermon - Rev. Chris Roth
          [00:25:14]  Blessing and Dismissal

          Questions for reflection:
          1. What makes you most angry and why?
          2. What usually happens when you act out of anger (in that moment and in hours or days following)? 
          3. Why does James say that human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires? 
          4. What steps can you take to deal with anger in your life?