“The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” ~ Mark 1:1 What is the most important part of the Advent and Christmas seasons? For some people it is probably all the opportunities to celebrate with family and friends, the exchange of gifts and the delicious food – holidays, after all, is the perfect time to spend with family after all. Others may find it is the familiar music which wafts through the air: the carols and holiday classics that remind us of years past and … [Read more...]
All about Grace – November 15th 2020
“For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.” ~ Matthew 25:29 Now I don’t know about you, but if I weren’t in church and heard that verse quoted out of context, I might just think it was something that came out of the mouth of some giant of Wall Street or Bay Street. It sounds like something wealthy western business people might say, as they benefit from the capitalist system at the … [Read more...]
Lord Jesus Come Soon – November 8th
Lord Jesus Come Soon! If there is any prayer, other than the Lord’s Prayer, that I have heard uttered from the lips of Christians over the last couple of years, Lord Jesus Come Soon, probably tops the list. It is often uttered in response to some terrible calamity – every natural disaster, terrorist attack, school shooting, or even personal troubles like the loss of a loved one or a challenging cancer diagnosis elicits the prayer “Lord Jesus come soon.” I feel like these prayers have … [Read more...]
God’s Plan – Sermon for October 4th
God has a plan for your life! Doesn’t that just sound wonderful? The all-knowing, all-loving God who created everything around you has a plan for your life, no matter how small or insignificant you may feel. So what might those plans be? Maybe you’ve heard famous televangelists tell you that God’s plan is for you to be happy and blessed with material possessions – sounds nice enough but it usually comes with a catch: you need to show your immense faith and trust in God (and the … [Read more...]
Gift from God – Sabbath Week 4
Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” ~ Luke 6:5 I remember as a child one of the worst things you could hear was a new set of rules or especially for a new gift, game or toy that you just picked up – don’t do this, don’t do that, you can’t do that here and what not. Now don’t get me wrong rules are important, most games wouldn’t be any fun without them but if rules suffocate and eclipse everything than there is no joy or delight. The same is true as we grow older, … [Read more...]
Cross to Bear – Sermon for September 8th
Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. ~ Luke 14:27 One of the most important parts of growing up to be an adult is learning how to prioritize. Typically, as a child and even as a teenager, your parents make many of the biggest decisions in your life – what to eat, what to buy, how much time to spend doing x, y or z. As you get older you certainly need to improve your time management skills but it isn’t until you are out on your own, whether that be at … [Read more...]
No More Mr. Nice Guy – Sermon for August 18th
"I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! ~ Luke 12:49 If there is one characteristic that stereotypically describes Canadians as a whole it is probably that we are ‘nice’. We’ll say sorry if you bump into us, we celebrate our diverse and ‘tolerant’ nation and we have a stellar reputation on the world stage with regards to human rights. It is a pretty big part of our national identity… but in reality it is an elaborate lie we tell ourselves. I say that it … [Read more...]
The Right Stuff – Sermon for August 4th
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. – Colossians 3:9-10 Have you ever tried to do something wearing completely the wrong clothes for the occasion? I remember when I was a kid I went to a school where we had to wear uniforms, which meant polo shirts, dress pants, dress shoes and a tie every day. One of the first … [Read more...]
Return to Me: Sermon on Hosea
“Return, Israel, to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall!” – Hosea 14:1 As a father of two young girls who love books, and love to be read to – I read a lot. Bedtime, morning, afternoon, you name the time and there is a good chance a book is being read in the house. There are undoubtedly a lot of cringe-worthy books in publication (books I eventually need to hide for my own sanity), and there are a lot of cute or funny books that we love to read, but it really is remarkable how … [Read more...]
Sermon for Pentecost 18 – Mark 9:30-37
In Round 1 of this year’s World Cup, Spain and Portugal played to a 3-3 draw. The game was one of the most entertaining of the whole tournament. One highlight was Portugal’s superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo, scoring all three of his team’s goals. His third goal was the most impressive, tying the game in the final few minutes by just clearing the wall of Spanish defenders before tucking under the crossbar out of reach of the Spanish keeper. But it was the celebration after his first goal that … [Read more...]