That All May Be One
Can we say for sure Jesus’s prayer is for all of us who call ourselves by his name to belong to one, big church? Can we say for sure Jesus prays just for people we would recognize as Christians?
Magazine
One Simple Rule
As Christians, as followers of Jesus Christ, there is one simple, golden, ironclad rule that will bring life and vitality for us as individuals and our churches as families of faith.
Christian Style
The website c28.com sells T-shirts with ‘Christianized’ pop culture slogans. Clothes Many years ago, I became more than a little annoyed with the way Christian […]
WMS Announces New Award
The Women’s Missionary Society plans to present a new award at next year’s National Presbyterian Women’s Gathering in Richmond Hill, Ont. The Presbyterian Woman of […]
Process Myopia
How did we end up pairing this vibrant institution with this provocative quotation? The embarrassing truth is, it was process myopia. We did this without realizing we did this.
Reading The Bible
How do we interpret Living Faith’s affirmations about the Bible, that it is “given to us by the inspiration of God to be the rule of faith and life?” How do we distinguish between the Bible as the word of God and Jesus Christ as the living Word of God?
Clean Hearts, Loyal Spirits
Renewal, like commitment, is not something that happens once and is done with. Sometimes we forget that.
Meeting or Partying?
What is the purpose of a congregation’s annual general meeting? Isn’t it to reflect on what God has been doing among us through the previous year and plan for the coming year?
Community News – April 2013
Women and men pray together at the Noor Cultural Centre and Mosque, Toronto. Pastor speaks at Mosque The Noor Cultural Centre and Mosque invited Rev. […]
The Great Continuous Conversion
In a wonderful little book called The Return of the Prodigal Son, the spiritual writer Henri Nouwen reminds us that the world often seduces us to claim a false identity. It’s an illusion that we find everywhere.
Can We Doubt?
Doubt has become a dirty word in church. As if to say, “I’m really not sure,” somehow derails the whole enterprise. The Record’s Andrew Faiz met with Tom Allen and Rev. Will Ingram to talk about this thing we church people don’t like to talk about.
Taking Risks
Within the church, it’s impossible to not take risks. With every day, every service and every event, there are uncertainties, likelihoods and probabilities that come into play that can result in positive or negative outcomes. Risk is inevitable. The negative outcomes it produces, however, are not.
Light From Underground
If Dad was a critter of habit he also leaned towards being a tad superstitious.
I suppose that at least partially explains his reaction.
A Different Kind of Strength
If we follow the statistics for the past several decades it would seem the Presbyterian Church in Canada is dying. But, perhaps there is something to be gained through our journey toward death. This is what I’d like to explore.
Walking With God – Mission
On Sept. 29, 2012, 90 participants from almost every pastoral charge in the presbytery came together to share how they planned to walk with God in their communities.
Unlikely Apostles
When did you last hear, or preach, a sermon on a story from the Acts of the Apostles? Other than on Pentecost? We don’t know what to do with these stories. Maybe the wildness of the Spirit and the confidence of the apostles trouble us.
Desiring Faith
Is it that as we make our way through life, with all its ups and downs, trials and joys, we look to certain people—perhaps to certain positions as much as anything—to help us measure where we are? To help us believe in our strength despite our weakness?
Trusting and Trying
Can we make any generalizations to explain why things are going in the right direction? Does some of the good have to do with introducing a strategic plan, or some praise songs, or different programs, or something else?
Courage & God’s Call
I can see why John Calvin wanted to come to Strasbourg. Calvin described himself as “a man of the country and a lover of shade and leisure.” He was seeking, he wrote, a place where he could enjoy, “unknown, in some corner, the quiet long denied me.”
Evergreen
On a tough strip of Yonge Street near a series of adult entertainment parlours, Maria found her way out of a lifestyle filled with uncertainty, street drugs and prostitution. She had walked past Evergreen many times. One day, she walked in.