Sermons on Andrew Gillies:

Sixth Sunday In Ordinary Time - 6th Sunday, Year A-- The Fence

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Jan 20, 2020

Jesus builds a shield around the law or Commandments in order to create more space and distance so that we won’t even bump up against the fence or sit on the fence, but rather keep a healthy distance.

There was a large group of people. On one side of the group stood a man, Jesus. On the other side of the group stood Satan. Separating them, running through the group, was a fence. The scene was set, both Jesus and Satan began calling to the people in the group and, one by one - each having made up ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:17-37

Denomination: Catholic

Seventh Sunday In Ordinary Time -- 7th Sunday, Year A

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Jan 27, 2020

Love your enemies

There is a sign in the Princeton University Store basement which cleverly suggests: "Love your enemies—it will drive them crazy." Jesus’ ethical teaching is higher than this example because love of enemies is not a consequentialist ethic, hoping that the other person will change. Love ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:38-48

Denomination: Catholic

First Sunday Of Lent - Lent 1 A

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Feb 3, 2020

Tactics of legal reasoning used by the devil

Here are some of the tactics of legal reasoning used by the devil on Eve-- The first question recorded in the Bible was asked by the serpent in the Garden of Eden. The snake misquotes the divine prohibition by applying it to all the fruit trees, over-stating God’s norm to enlarge its scope: “Did ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 4:1-11

Denomination: Catholic

Second Sunday Of Lent - 2nd Sunday Of Lent Year A

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Feb 10, 2020

Transfiguration: Jesus needed this hour. We need this hour.

Jesus needed this hour. We need this hour. In the valley below waited the sick; down below were the ceaseless problems; still farther on awaited the cross. But when we experience the Presence of the Lord in worship and in lectio divina, it has the power to affect all our days. 1. The goal ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 17:1-9

Denomination: Catholic

Intentional Commitment Series

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Feb 15, 2020

My first sermon in Fiji on my first Sunday in Fiji. A call to intentional commitment.

Commitment. Colossians 1:24-2:5. I am so excited about being in Fiji. (This is my first Sunday in Fiji of a three-year appointment at this stage.) This weekend that has just gone; the officers of the Fiji Division along with Territorial staff have engaged in teaching on the 'we commit ...read more

Denomination: Salvation Army

Third Sunday Of Lent, Year A--“Worn 5 Times By Mistake.”

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Feb 19, 2020

This woman faced her dragons. She is no longer hiding out.

An ad in the local newspaper read: “For sale, sleeveless wedding dress, white, size 8, veil included. Worn once, by mistake.” That woman of Samaria could have said “worn 5 times by mistake.” Her marriages could have been because of economic and social reasons rather than for lustful ones, ...read more

Scripture: John 4:5-42

Denomination: Catholic

United As One Body.

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Feb 22, 2020

Paul was concerned that some in the Church at Corinth thought they were less important in the Body than others. It is through our unity that the Church as seen as Jesus witness.

United as one body. 1 Corinthians 12:12-26 The joy and excitement I feel being in Fiji is great. I had the real pleasure this week of travelling around the country well, the island of Viti Lavu with Major’s Phillipa and Merika, visiting the Corps and spending some time with officers and seeing ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:29, 1 Corinthians 12:12-26

Denomination: Salvation Army

Fourth Sunday Of Lent, Year A

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Feb 24, 2020

You have a story to tell

Spiritual blindness often has ideological roots and rational presuppositions. The Pharisees were so sure of everything—that God did not heal someone on Sundays; that Moses was God’s only spokesman, that anyone born blind had to be a sinner. To illustrate: Two psychiatrists were talking and one ...read more

Scripture: John 9:1-41

Denomination: Catholic

Palm Sunday Of The Lord's Passion - Year A

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Mar 2, 2020

Jesus take my donkey's reins!!

Palm Sunday God's saving plan, "the mystery of his will" mentioned in Ephesians 1:9, teaches that all creation makes one big circular movement from God and back to God- to "recapitulate" all things in heaven and on earth in Christ (Ephesians 1:10)… ….Which is why Jesus ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 21:1-11

Denomination: Catholic

Good Friday Of The Lord’s Passion

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Mar 6, 2020

There is God in us, in our suffering.

God’s humiliation of himself from a survivor of Auschwitz: “The SS hanged two Jewish men and a youth in front of the whole camp [of Auschwitz]. The men died quickly, but the death throes of the youth lasted for half an hour. ‘Where is God? Where is he?’ someone asked behind me. As the youth still ...read more

Denomination: Catholic

Trip With Out A Map Series

Contributed by Andrew Hart on Mar 10, 2020

What happens when you do not have a map for your faith journey?

What if we viewed our faith journey like a road trip? A few weeks ago, I was busily preparing for my journey to North Carolina. I programmed the destination in my GPS, fueled up the truck (yes, I said truck), checked where construction delays were, and of course made sure I had snacks and ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 4:1-11

Fuel For The Road Series

Contributed by Andrew Hart on Mar 18, 2020

Have you ever felt like you are out of fuel? What are you putting in the tank??

We as a church, we as a town, we as a country, and we as a world find ourselves this morning in an uncharted wilderness. In this desert fact, fiction, and hysteria are mixed together in a stressful cocktail. Those things we took for granted such as running to the store to pick up some toilet ...read more

Easter Sunday The Resurrection Of The Lord

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Mar 20, 2020

Easter becomes an opportunity to imagine God would be present in our lives to roll away the stone from the graves in the darkest recesses of our souls.

There is a sign in Theo & Stacy’s Greek Restaurant in Kalamazoo, Michigan, that says, “People who believe the dead never come back to life should be here at quitting time.” Let me tell you an Easter story: A long time ago a Frenchman incurred the displeasure of the emperor Napoleon. He was ...read more

Scripture: John 20:1-9

Denomination: Catholic

Divine Mercy Sunday--Second Sunday Of Easter (Or Sunday Of Divine Mercy)

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Mar 30, 2020

Jesus really did rise from the dead and come back to harass the very people who betrayed him." …Harass your heart, that is, if you are withholding forgiveness from someone.

Jim Friedrich shared that at the entrance to Jerusalem’s Church of All Nations, next to the Garden of Gethsemane, there is a sign warning every visitor: “NO EXPLANATIONS INSIDE THE CHURCH.” The sign is intended to discourage over-talkative tour guides but it’s also what Jesus practiced after his ...read more

Scripture: John 20:19-31

Denomination: Catholic

Scattering And Gathering Series

Contributed by Andrew Hart on Apr 1, 2020

What happens when we hit a dead end? What happens when God hits a dead end?

Scattering and Gathering On this third Sunday of a virtual service, I come to you with a new sense of hope. I come to you with a new sense of determination. And, I come to you with a new sense of urgency. These feelings come from Ezekiel 37, a difficult passage, but one that is critical in ...read more

Scripture: Ezekiel 37:1-14