The Pastor's Blog

Read 1 Kings 18:16-46. After King David came Solomon as King over all of Israel. Then then kingdom split with Israel to the north and Judah to the south. And once these kings stopped listening to God, God sent prophets to call the people back to Him, one being Elijah. Here, on Mount Carmel, Elijah stands against all the prophets of Baal to wake the people up to who the true God is. They shouldn't have needed this powerful reminder, though, since their ancestors were rescued out of Egypt through the Red Sea, sustained in the wilderness, and brought into...

Read 2 Samuel 15:1-12. There's a saying, "The heart wants what it wants." Often it's said in defense of something - a relationship that shouldn't be entered into, a job offer that shouldn't be accepted because of ethical conflicts, or a desire that shouldn't be fulfilled - in an attempt to pass it off as worthwhile.  The heart wants what it wants. But most of the time the heart just proves that it's a fickle thing.  All it took for Absalom to turn some of the people away from King David was a little flattery and a kiss. In doing...

Read 2 Samuel 11. For the most part, everything has been good for David up to this point. With each chapter we hear about God's promises to David, David's victories, and his military prowess. But then the first verse of chapter 11 hints at an upcoming problem. "In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army." David wasn't where he was supposed to be. And the story only gets worse. He sees Bathsheba, gets her brought to the palace, and he sleeps with her....

Read 1 Samuel 17. Goliath was a huge man. He stood about 9 1/2 feet (2.9 metres). Even from a distance he intimidated the Israelites and as they looked at him they wondered how they would ever win the battle against the Philistines.  In those days, battles were sometimes decided between champion fighters for each army. Rather than a huge bloody war, one person from each nation was selected to fight and through them the nations fought against each other (and one god against the other). This was Goliath's challenge day after day after day. And each day the Israelite...

Read 1 Samuel 8. The time of the Judges was a terrible time. The Israelites could never seem to stay faithful. As soon as the judge who rescued them on God's behalf died the people chased after other gods and forgot about God. And that happened over and over and over again. Then came Samuel, the last of the judges. And he wasn't the last one because God's people finally got it all together. No, he was the last one because by that point God's people had finally and completely given up on recognizing God as their king. In verse...

Read Judges 2:6-23. Throughout the time of Moses the people lived in the wilderness where they had nothing. Everything they needed to survive came from God's hand. Manna arrived in the morning, quail at night, and God even provided water from a rock. In a wilderness of rock and dirt and sand (and that's about it) there was no denying that they couldn't survive on their own. Everything around them was a reminder that their very existence depended upon the Lord.  But it wasn't so in the Promised Land. It was a land flowing with milk and honey. And as...

Read Exodus 2:1-10. Who would have thought, after Pharaoh commanded his people to throw all newborn Hebrew boys in the Nile, that one of those Hebrew boys would grow up in his own palace? Who would have thought that it would be Pharaoh's own daughter who would unwittingly bring the Hebrew boy into the palace that would lead the Hebrew people out of Egypt (which was Pharaoh's biggest fear AND the reason for ordering the death of all Hebrew baby boys)? It's an ironic turn of events (after the last verse of Exodus 1) for us who know who this...

Read Exodus 1. With verse 8, all the hope that was building at the end of Genesis seems to die. It seems to die in verse 8 when we read, "Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt." With that statement begins the forced slave labour of the Hebrew people. There are too many of them Pharaoh reasons, and if their enemies attack the Hebrew people will join with their enemies and leave the country. And they can't have that. Not with all the free labour available through them. And so slave masters are...

Read Genesis 28. Jacob was a cheat and a liar. A trickster. A scoundrel.  He took advantage of Esau's foolishness and stole his birthright for a bowl of stew and some bread. And then, with the help of his mother, Jacob the trickster stole his brother's blessing and took what rightfully belonged to his brother. And there's something unfair about it all that makes us wonder if Jacob will, at some point, get what he's due. If, at some point his trickery and lying will catch up with him. Maybe even God will punish him for his actions? Then comes...

Read Genesis 22:1-19 How do we find hope in something so cruel, so sickening? How do we find hope in this situation that makes us ask more questions of God than anything else? How could God ask such a thing? How could God make a promise to Abraham that he would have a son, Isaac, only to rip him from his hands? These are legitimate questions. But perhaps the most startling part of this story is those questions aren't asked. Abraham doesn't stop and ask God a list of questions, or even say that it's unfair. Abraham does what God...

Read: Genesis 16-17 Advent is a season of waiting and if there’s one thing that we know, it’s that it is hard to wait. We get impatient waiting for coffee to brew or water to boil or supper to finish cooking. As we wait, our minds get so consumed with what we are waiting for that every passing second feels like a minute, every minute an hour … Abram and Sarai knew the feeling. For 11 years they had waited on God’s promise to come true and by now they were tired of waiting. It’s just so hard to wait....

We started our Advent season with a sermon on Matthew 1:1-17 -- Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham -- and we noted that by giving us this list of names, Matthew is telling us (or reminding us) of the story of God’s faithfulness throughout the Old Testament to bring about His plan of salvation through Jesus. Each of these names tell a story and remind us of how God was faithful to His covenant promises. Throughout this Advent season, in addition to the passages we will look at on Sunday morning, I...