Today we come to the end of our series on Sabbath, and you may ask yourselves ‘now what?’ What does the practice of Sabbath have to do with my daily life? What hope can resting and pausing offer me in a world that moves so quickly that if you stop and pause you’ll be left in the dust? What can we possibly hope to accomplish as a congregation by intentionally resting for one whole year? To begin to answer those questions, I want to talk to you about a park. Some of the most enduring and … [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...]
City of Light
“Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.” Revelation 22:3-4 The book of Revelation is in some serious need of image rehabilitation. If I would venture a guess, I would bet that the Book of Revelation doesn’t sit atop any of your lists as your favourite book of the Bible, probably not even close. It’s a book filled with cryptic … [Read more...]
Sermon for the Second Sunday of Advent
If you missed this Sunday's sermon, here it is! It was prepared and preached by Ryan Ramsden, one of our lay leaders at Grace Church. It explores the themes of repentance, hope, and hospitality, as found in this week's readings, and helps us to connect together and connect with those themes as we continue our journey through Advent, and prepare for Christmas. … [Read more...]