“Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each of you is to return to your family property and to your own clan.” – Leviticus 25:10 Years ago a man named Millard Fuller was living the height of the American dream. A millionaire by age twenty-nine (couldn’t we all be so lucky!), he was a high-powered corporate executive working 24/7 and making close to a million dollars year, adding to his fortune. By all … [Read more...]
I Can Only Imagine – Wk. 8 Biblical Imagination
Imagine there's no countries. It isn't hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for. And no religion, too. Imagine all the people. Living life in peace... You.. – Imagine by John Lennon Who recognizes those lyrics? They are from the second verse of John Lennon’s famous song ‘Imagine’ – where he waxes melodically about imagining the world a better place. When I was attending seminary, I lived near Sheppard Subway station and would take the subway into class. On many afternoons and evenings as I … [Read more...]
Sabbath and Jubilee – Wk. 7 Biblical Imagination
“It tastes awful. And it works.” Can anybody guess what that slogan is advertising? (Buckley’s Mixture cough syrup) Has anybody tried Buckley’s? Was it awful? And did it work? (Wait for response) Buckley’s thought up a pretty clever way to sell their cough syrup – a product that’s not glamourous, or even very interesting. They admitted how bad it tastes. But they also highlighted the most important thing that buyers would want to know – does it work? In other words, is it good for you? Sometimes … [Read more...]
Let’s Talk About Sex – Biblical Imagination Wk 5
This, and this alone, is Christianity, a universal holiness in every part of life, a heavenly wisdom in all our actions, not conforming to the spirit and temper of the world but turning all worldly enjoyments into means of piety and devotion to God. – William Law Do any of you remember music videos? I know that music videos still technically exist but their real heyday was in the 80s and 90’s. I remember when I was around 10 or 11 and there was nothing else on TV I would flip through the … [Read more...]
Sin, Confession and Reconciliation – Wk. 4 Biblical Imagination Series
Our purpose today is to draw inspiration from Leviticus and imagine what Confession, Forgiveness and Reconciliation could look like. We read a representative part of chapter 4, but the full picture goes all the way to Lev6:7. These verses describe the Sin Offerings and Guilt Offerings. Let me start with a confession: I have always struggled with Prayer. For some of you, it comes easily; you have a strong ability to talk and listen to God. I envy you; it has never been easy for me. So I was … [Read more...]
Worship You – Wk. 3 Biblical Imagination
“There is something powerful about singing to God as an act of worship, but it is time to reframe our perspective and our language to genuinely encompass all of life as worship.” – Erwin McManus I remember when I was a child, when my family and I were visiting England my parents as good Anglicans wanted to visit Canterbury Cathedral – the mothership so to speak. My parents were often very excited about visiting churches, but as an uncultured teenager I usually dreaded it. I had been to enough … [Read more...]
Sacrifice – Wk. 2 Biblical Imagination Series
Audio available at the bottom of the page You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving.” – Robert Louis Stevenson Sacrifice – if you think about the word sacrifice what comes to mind? Perhaps it’s the stories of heroic sacrifices we heard about on the news coming out of the Las Vegas shooting or other recent tragedies? Perhaps it is a portrayal of human sacrifice in a movie or television show? Or maybe if you really love the Old Testament, perhaps the image that … [Read more...]
Imagine! – Introduction to Biblical Imagination Series
““I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.” – Robert Fulghum I have a confession to make…. I am a terrible Canadian. I am a terrible Canadian because growing up I never read or watched the Canadian Classic ‘Anne of Green Gables’. Now in my defence I did spend most of … [Read more...]