Love and Leviticus
Today’s reading from Leviticus 19 is a good example of the way the editors of the Revised Common Lectionary presume to know what’s best for us. They cut six verses of theo-politically incorrect stuff.
Faith
What I Learned at Camp
I learned that the teens who attended camp come back year after year and that most do not attend church on a regular basis and some never do. I heard that they like to come because this is the only place they learn about God.
Remember and Be Renewed
The word “remember” appears in the Bible hundreds of times. In studying the various occurrences, I began to see a deep connection to the spiritual renewal of God’s people, corporately and individually.
Living Hope in the Present Tense
When reading Living Faith, I can’t help but wonder how these words relate to faith that is alive in the day-todayness of the believer’s life. In many ways it seems so lofty, so distant.
We Are the Church
When we talk about the church and social media, we’re not usually thinking about individual Christians who use social media. Yet don’t we like to say that the church is the people?
Listening to God
Somehow, as pastors, we can get caught up in the busyness of ministry and can neglect our own spiritual faith lives. You would think just […]
Mission Dualism
Living Faith’s treatment of mission seems to suggest a dualistic relation between evangelism and service, with no suggestion of any areas of overlap.
Faith Sharing
Pinawa Christian Fellowship is a unique congregation. Located in Pinawa, Man., the congregation was formed with the blessing of six mainline denominations: Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran, Mennonite, Presbyterian and United.
Called to Faithfulness
Worldwide Communion Sunday this year found us in Amkhut, India, celebrating the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.
Incarnation
Two boys read a dialogue narration for the silent miming of the Christmas story. My pride turned to horror when one boy read the question, “Why was Jesus born?” The answer: “So he could die for our sins.” Period.
Think Slavery No Longer Exists?
Around the world, there are likely nearly 30 million slaves. Almost all of them are trafficked—forcibly taken
from their homes and exploited to provide labour or sexual services somewhere else.¬¬
Playing God
If Canadians hadn’t been sidetracked by the shenanigans of senators and the mayor of Toronto we might have been having a long-overdue debate on euthanasia.
A Simple Joy
We are home from India now, with minds full of potent new images of life. One of those images is of a simple joy.
A Good Social Network
Rev. Dr. Chinchai Wang, noticed that Taiwanese seniors were isolated. They complained that Canada was a beautiful country but they were blind, mute, deaf and crippled. Their eyes did not understand English, their mouths could not speak English and they could not drive or get directions.
Powerful Love
Joseph’s love for Jesus was different. Not less, just a different kind of love. Mary carried Jesus inside her for nine months. She knew he was as much her flesh as he was God’s Son. Joseph’s love, however, is the tremendous, powerful love of adoption.
Not Just Baby Jesus
My two rural churches will open their doors to a good number of visitors this Christmas Eve. As our context becomes more and more secular and un-churched, there is a growing challenge for us to convey more than a partial story of the greatest event in history.
Pray for Peace
Somehow we expect God’s justice to always be fair. And, in turn, we expect that we should be fair as well.
The Question is Coming
We rarely stop and give thanks to John Calvin, one of the founding theologians in the Presbyterian tradition, for the gift of divorce. We should.
Francis’s Big Heart
What surprised not only Roman Catholics but the whole world were Pope Francis’s comments that the church needs to pay less attention to rules and morals and focus more on pastoral and social justice issues.
Jesus Finds Us
Repentance is not a prerequisite to being found and loved and valued and accepted by Jesus.