Sermons by Rev. Dr. John Burton
In the beginning was the Word
In this final sermon of the series I have called a ‘helicopter level’ overview of the Bible we begin with John’s enigmatic, poetic, mysterious statement.
Letters to the early church
In seeking to understand the origin and meaning of our faith and its influence on our daily lives, we are engaged in an unceasing task.
The Gospels
We come now in our helicopter view of the Bible to the gospels – the four books that lie at the centre of our faith.
God teach us how to pray
The structure of the Protestant Old Testament places five books near the middle that are called Books of Wisdom. These five books close out the historical section of the Old Testament.
What does it prophet a man?
In the Christian Old Testament there are 15 books named after prophets.
The curious incident of the calf in the desert
At their heart these stories tell us that in order for humankind to prosper we need to live together in community.
In the beginning and in the second beginning
my hope is to give you a taste of some of the thinking of scholars about how and when the Bible was written, by whom and for what reasons.
Balcony View Bible
I want to spend the next seven Sundays revisiting our founding tradition as it is handed down in the Bible …
Haida Gwaii – Sabbath Space
Haida Gwaii is an example of a sabbath place.
What We Need is Here
What is required is not that we be rescued from above when we are in need, but that we share the strength and the resources that God has given us to care for each other.
Hagar and Ishmael, Sarah and Isaac
At the heart of this story is the question of who’s in and who’s out. How does any social group decide who’s part of ‘us’ and who belongs to ‘the other’.
Reversing Our Expectations
The exuberant parade of palms that marks the beginning of Holy Week is, when you stop and think about it, a strange episode in the story of Christ’s Passion.
Nothing except Christ, and him crucified
The crucified Christ draws me into the nearer presence of God.
Stranger in a Strange Land
Leviticus 19:33 When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. 34 The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. My wife Heather and I have three children, two; Julie and Chris, were products of Heather’s first marriage and the third, Aba, is a young…