Currie-Jesson

September 6, 2026

Amanda Currie — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 15:52:21 +0000

Genesis 2:4-25 “The Wonderful Things God Made” (A short message that was part of an interactive intergenerational service for Creation Sunday.) Well, that was fun, being God in the Bible story. I got to imagine myself forming a human being out of the dust of the ground, and then making all the plants and animals and creatures of the world. I don’t think I would have the imagination to come up with all the different things that God made. Of course, we know that God made cats and dogs and mice and maple trees and salmon and blue jays, and lots of other things that are pretty nice. But God also made some very strange and wonderful plants and animals. For example… Axolotl: A smiling salamander that never grows up! It keeps its feathery gills, lives underwater its whole life, and looks like it’s always happy. Why it’s fun: It reminds us that God makes creatures in all kinds of shapes and stages. Baobab Tree: A giant tree from Africa that kinda looks like it’s upside‑down— its branches look like roots reaching into the sky. Why it’s fun: It shows that God’s imagination can turn things upside‑down and still make them beautiful. Leafy Sea Dragon: A sea creature that looks exactly like floating seaweed. It has tiny fins that are almost invisible. Why it’s fun: It reminds us that God gives some animals amazing camouflage to stay safe. Shoebill Stork:A huge bird with a giant shoe‑shaped beak. It looks like a mix ... Read more »

August 30, 2026

Amanda Currie — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 12:46:51 +0000

Exodus 3:1-15 Romans 12:9-21 Matthew 16:21-28 “Costly Discipleship” This morning’s Scripture readings are difficult ones. It’s not that they are difficult to understand, but that they are difficult to embrace because they tell us that being a Christian is going to require us to do difficult things. These are probably not the texts that will convince your non-religious friend that they should become a Christian. Rather than elaborating all the blessings that come with the Christian faith and being a part of a Christian community, the Apostle Paul lists all the things that are required of us as disciples. Be patient in affliction, give generously to help others, bless people who persecute you, associate with lowly people, love your enemies and care for them. Or as Jesus put it: “If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Do not respond to evil with evil or to hatred with hatred, but respond with goodness, with grace, with love that has not been earned. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. I know that many of you have been learning to live in this way for many years. I say “learning” because no matter how old we are or how long we’ve been practicing this Christian life, it’s still hard. It’s hard to be patient with difficult people. It’s hard to be kind to someone who has been rude or cruel to you. It’s hard to keep ... Read more »

August 23, 2026

Amanda Currie — Sun, 23 Aug 2026 12:07:22 +0000

Exodus 1:8 – 2:10 Romans 12:1-8 “Faithful Resistance” I’ve found it quite interesting to reflect on the stories from the Book of Genesis this summer. We’ve read about Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar; and about Isaac and Ishmael. We have followed Isaac’s line, meeting Rebecca and their children Jacob and Esau. Jacob married Leah and worked for many years to marry Rachel as well. Altogether, they had 12 sons, including Joseph who was Abraham’s favourite, but hated by his brothers. Last Sunday, we heard the story in which Joseph, now in a powerful position in Egypt, receives his family during a terrible famine and helps them, leading to the whole family’s move to Egypt. As the Book of Exodus begins, the deaths of Joseph and his brothers are noted, but of course their descendants continue to live among the Egyptians. Verse 7 describes their presence this way: “The Israelites were fruitful and prolific; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.” So when a new king rises over Egypt who has no memory of Joseph or respect for him and his family, the situation of the Israelites begins to change. Over the course of likely 3 or 4 hundred years, the Israelites in Egypt go from neighbours to slaves as they are subjected to oppression and hard labour. By the end of this morning’s reading, we are introduced to the child Moses, who we already know will be the one to lead the Israelites out ... Read more »

August 16, 2026

Amanda Currie — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 12:30:32 +0000

Genesis 45:1-15 Psalm 133 Matthew 15:10-28 “We are Kindred” I recently came across a YouTube channel called “Man Explains Everything.” It describes itself as “an educational channel about human history, natural history, and the four billion years of absolute chaos sitting directly underneath your feet, which you have never once stopped to think about.” The videos are quite humorous, with a cartoon “grumpy old man” explaining everything. But they’re also well-researched, quite interesting, and the references are available if you want to check their validity. Anyway, I watched one video about how there used to be more than one species of human on the Earth. If you go back a hundred thousand years, there were at least four, walking around at the same time. Homo erectus. Homo floresiensis. The Neanderthals. The Denisovans. Possibly more. But now there’s only one species of humans: Homo Sapiens. That’s us. Of course, the video goes on to explain the various species of humans, when scientists think they lived, how they disappeared, and other interesting details. But the point that stuck with me was the message that all of us human beings today (and for the last 40,000 years) belong to the same species. Even with our various diversities of colour, size, features, abilities, languages, religions, and cultures, we are really just one big family. We are kindred. It’s not unusual for family members to become divided from one another. Animosities and conflicts may arise, especially where there is competition or where differences are seen ... Read more »

July 19, 2026

Amanda Currie — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 20:37:23 +0000

Genesis 28:10-19a Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24 Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 “Thin Places” Are any of you old enough to remember the Sunday School song, “We are climbing Jacob’s ladder”? It’s a little before my time, but I looked it up out of curiosity the other day. It picks up on the imagery from the text about a ladder (or stairway) set up between earth and heaven. In Jacob’s dream, he sees angels going up and down the stairway; while in the song, Christians become the ones climbing up the ladder, perhaps with Jesus’ help, to find our way to heaven one day. I found it odd because Jacob doesn’t climb the ladder in the story. Nor does he get told that he should climb a ladder or strive in some way to make it to heaven. I don’t think it’s a story about the afterlife at all, but rather it’s a moment in time when Jacob suddenly becomes aware of the presence of God on earth. God is no longer a distant Creator who is not involved in human life. The staircase or ladder seems to represent the connection between God and humanity, and when Jacob (in his dream) sees God standing beside him and hears God’s voice speaking, he is amazed and astounded. While he already knew about God’s promises to his father Isaac and to his grandfather Abraham, now God is speaking directly to Jacob, promising him many offspring, blessing, and land. Interestingly, Jacob gives credit for the vision to ... Read more »

July 12, 2026

Amanda Currie — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 20:34:42 +0000

Genesis 25:19-34 Romans 8:1-11 Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 “Broadcast Sowing” A friend of mine shared recently about a question that his six-year-old daughter asked him. “Who do you love the most, daddy? Me, or mummy, or yourself?” He was caught off guard by the unexpected question, and he managed to avoid giving her an answer until he could think it through carefully. He asked for some advice from friends on Facebook: How would you answer that question from a child? Who do you love the most in your family? There were lots of funny answers and some serious ones too. But the ones that seemed the most true to me were the ones that emphasized that you can’t really measure love. Love is infinite. You can never run out of it. There’s no cap on how much you can give. Love grows in a family to include all with no favourites. Love is love expanding day by day. I don’t know if an answer like that would have satisfied a small child, but it fit with my understanding of the love of God and the love that we are made to embody for one another. Love is meant to be shared freely and abundantly, without any fear of misusing it or of it running out. I think there are two basic ways that Jesus’ Parable of the Sower can be interpreted. The one that people tend to see first is focused on the soil. We notice that the Sower scatters seeds ... Read more »

July 5, 2026

Amanda Currie — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 20:30:48 +0000

Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67 Romans 7:15-25a Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 “I Will Give You Rest” The summer lectionary readings are often a strange mix of passages that leave the preacher wondering, “What is the connection between these texts?” This morning we have a long story about how Isaac got a wife; a kind of confession from the Apostle Paul about how he wants to be good, but struggles with sin; and finally, a lament from Jesus about the people who are rejecting his message and ministry for a number of reasons, combined with a renewed invitation to everyone to come to him. I think that when I’ve preached on this 6th Sunday after Pentecost in the past, I’ve often focussed on Jesus’ invitation to rest. Coming across the Gospel text just as summer is beginning has felt like a good opportunity to encourage self-care. As I mentioned to the children, at First Church we take a break in the summer from some of the things that keep us busy throughout the year. I plan to take three weeks of holidays a couple of weeks from now. And I hope that many of you will choose to change up the pace of your life and work this summer. Take some time to rest. Spend some time with the people you love, doing some things that you enjoy. And dedicate some unhurried time and attention to your faith practices – to worship and Bible reading, to prayer and reflection. Think of these things, ... Read more »

June 28, 2026

Amanda Currie — Sun, 28 Jun 2026 20:27:14 +0000

Genesis 22:1-14 Psalm 13 Matthew 10:40-42 “How Shall I Sing to God?” There’s a part of me that really doesn’t like this morning’s story from the Book of Genesis. Can you imagine Abraham… having waited and struggled and waited some more to have a child with Sarah to continue his line and grow the community of the People of God… being told by God that he should sacrifice his son, Isaac? The very idea of human sacrifice is abhorrent, and the notion that our loving God would ask for such a thing is confusing and baffling to me. But rather than skipping the text for this 5th Sunday after Pentecost, or trying to pretend that it’s not in the Scriptures, this week I pondered what God could be saying to us today through such a strange and unsettling story. And all I feel like I can conclude is that it’s all about TRUST. I don’t know if God really did tell Abraham to sacrifice his son in order to test how much he trusted God. Or perhaps Abraham misunderstood God’s intention, but still demonstrated that unflinching trust in God’s promises to him. God had promised to Abraham and Sarah that they would have many descendants, that they would have a land to call their own, and that they would be blessed by God so that they could be a blessing to all the families of the earth. And now, with Isaac’s life at risk, all of these promises could go ... Read more »

June 21, 2026

Amanda Currie — Sun, 21 Jun 2026 20:23:03 +0000

Genesis 21:8-21 Luke 10:25-28 National Indigenous Peoples’ Day: “Rejection, Resilience, and Renewal” I think it was six years ago on National Indigenous Peoples’ Sunday that we were honoured to have the Rev. Mary Fontaine as our guest preacher for an online COVID-era service. Mary grew up at Mistawasis Presbyterian Church here in Saskatchewan, and she is the founder and executive director of Hummingbird Ministries in Vancouver, one of our Presbyterian Indigenous Ministries. On the Sunday Mary preached for us, she had the text from Genesis 21 to consider as well. I don’t remember exactly what she said, but ever since that time when I come across this story about Hagar and Ishmael being cast out, almost dying from lack of water in the wilderness, I think about the Indigenous peoples of our country. The parallels are striking when you think about it – a trajectory that I want to summarize with three words this morning: Rejection, Resilience, and Renewal. Those with more power and privilege decide that others are not worthy of life and dignity and attempt to wipe them off the face of the earth. They are almost successful. Great harm is done, and they are very nearly wiped out. But with the help of the Creator, they are resilient. They open their eyes and find the water (the cultural practices, the spiritual truths, and the languages) that will sustain them again. And then comes the renewal through the presence and faithfulness of God who stays with them, and the ... Read more »

June 14, 2026

Amanda Currie — Sun, 14 Jun 2026 15:47:46 +0000

Genesis 18:1-15; 21:1-7 Matthew 9:35 – 10:23 “We Will Laugh Together!” I just love the way that Sarah’s laughter was transformed from the private scoffing laughter of disbelief to the shared, buoyant laughter of astonishment and joy. This week’s story from Genesis is a turning point in the story of Abraham and Sarah. God has promised to make them ancestors “of a multitude of nations” even though Sarah is childless and ninety years old. Abraham initially finds this unimaginable, even laughable – and in today’s story, so does Sarah. After showing three strangers some extravagant hospitality, Abraham and Sarah stand by – and from inside the tent, Sarah overhears the visitors (that may in fact be God who came to visit them) tell Abraham that she “shall have a son.” Sarah laughs to herself in disbelief – she’s ninety, after all! But not only does she eventually have a son (She names him “Isaac” which means “to laugh.”) But she ultimately declares these words: “God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.” I didn’t hear anyone telling jokes yesterday at the Queen City Pride Parade or at the OUT in the Park event that followed, but there were a lot of bright eyes, big beaming smiles, and laughter shared in our community. Of course, that hasn’t always been the case. Our society has changed a lot in my lifetime alone, including the raised status of women, greater acceptance of cultural and ethnic diversity, and much ... Read more »