The Pastor's Blog

*** Remember that the time “springs ahead” this Saturday evening and we lose an hour of sleep. The Scripture reading for this Sunday is Numbers 21:1-9. The first three verses are important to the “bronze snake” narrative in verses 4-9. In the first three verses the Israelites act toward God as they are expected to. After the Canaanite king of Arad attacked the Israelites and captured some of them, the Israelites cried out to God. They trusted, believed, and made a vow with God. And God came through for them big-time, so much so in fact they named the place...

The Scripture reading for this Sunday is Genesis 22:1-19. This may be the most difficult text to read in the Old Testament, and maybe even in all of Scripture. It makes us raise uncomfortable questions about God. It scares us. Maybe it even disgusts us. “How could God command such a thing?” many people wonder, “Who does that!?” If you have felt (or feel) uncomfortable with this text in any way (or disgusted, or angry, or scared by it) you are not alone. When Cheryl and I lived in northern New Brunswick for a little more than a year before...

The text for this Sunday’s sermon is Genesis 17:1-26. Perhaps most famously this text is known as the “Covenant of Circumcision” but, for this Sunday and the “Redemption Journey” series I invite you to look at this text in the light of what happened before. In Genesis 12 God called Abram, and after hearing God’s call Scripture simply states, “So Abram went as the Lord had told him.” So often what we remember of Abram/Abraham is his faithful response to God’s call. He was faithful, yes, but the whole narrative of Abram/Abraham in Genesis 11:10 – 25:11 tells the story...

The passage for this Sunday morning is Genesis 9:8-17, however, I encourage you now to read the whole of the Noah account in Genesis 6:1-9:17. If you are following the reading plan, it is coincidentally the reading for today. Today, this passage is one of the many focal points for the attack against the historicity of Christianity. Non-Christians argue that there is no geological evidence for the flood so therefore it didn’t happen, so therefore Scripture isn’t reliable, so therefore it isn’t true. And I don’t want to get into that argument right now because I don’t have the space...

The Scripture reading for this Sunday is Genesis 3:1-24. This text will serve as an introduction to our Lent Series – Redemption Journey. We will also come to the Lord’s table as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper.  In Genesis 2:15-17 – a text that must be understood in order to properly understand Genesis 3 according to Walter Bruggemann and many other scholars – God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden, instructed him to care for it, and permitted him to eat of any tree in the garden except from “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” That...

  The Scripture reading for this Sunday (unless we are having a baby) is John 2:1-11. (An introductory comment: In his gospel, John calls Jesus’ miracles “signs” because he sees the miracles of Jesus as something more than acts of power. As signs, they are something revelatory. They disclose something from God and they point to something more important than the miracle itself.) At first blush, this seems like a simple story of a wedding celebration, not enough wine, and Jesus first miracle, but there are hints that suggest John means to say much more in this story than simply...

The Scripture passage for this Sunday morning is Isaiah 43:1-7. There are many people who believe that God wants all people who believe in him to be happy and prosper. In fact, if we aren’t happy and prospering, it is very likely that we are doing something wrong. If we struggle with depression – the cause is our sin and nothing to do with biology. If we lost our job – we need to look at our relationship with God (who wants us to prosper) because the reason lies there. “God wants us to prosper, be happy, and be blessed,”...

The Scripture reading for Sunday is Genesis 28:10-22 – Jacob’s dream at Bethel. I’ve always had a hard time with Jacob. He rubs me the wrong way. In many ways, especially up to this point in Genesis, Jacob is everything that I hope I am not. He is a cheat, a liar, an opportunist, a crook. He doesn’t seem to care about others insofar as he is willing to take everything from his brother in order to get ahead. Yet, if we turn back a page or two in our Bible’s from Genesis 28 to the time just before Jacob...

When we gather together on Sunday, we will be gathering for a service called: “Remembering God’s Faithfulness in 2012.” It will be a service of lament and praise. During the worship service we will remember the hard times that we have gone through this year, both individually and corporately, offer lament to God, and praise God for his faithfulness throughout the year. The Scripture reading for Sunday is Psalm 146. Below you can read it as copied from “The Message” – often I find reading a passage in different Bible versions helps me understand the passage better. If you normally...

The Advent theme for this Tuesday, Christmas Day, is “Rejoice!” and the Scripture reading is Ruth 4:18-22 and Luke 2:1-20. Rejoice! It’s a word synonymous with Christmas. Christmas is a time of celebration and presents, a time of turkey dinners, sales, and advertising. Every year we hear the song telling us that Christmas is “the most magical time of the year.” It’s a time when even some of the crankiest people that we know will turn up the Christmas music and belt out, “Joy to the world!” or “Deck the Halls!” It’s a time when people think about doing good...

The theme for this Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Advent, is Love. The Scripture reading is Ruth 4:1-17. The story of the first Christmas morning is a story of love – God’s love. It’s a story of God’s love for a people that he made His own even though they didn’t always love him back. It’s a story of God doing for His people what they could never do for themselves. It’s a story of God giving of Himself because of love. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in...

  The Advent theme for this Sunday is “Joy,” and the Scripture reading is Ruth 3 (the whole chapter). At the end of chapter 2 we are left wondering what will come of Boaz’s status as Naomi and Ruth’s redeemer. Will he continue to show his HESED toward them? But, with the way Boaz was introduced in 2:1 and the way he provided for Ruth and Naomi, there is the hope for a greater redemption to come for them – one that goes beyond providing for their immediate need of food for survival. Boaz’s status as their “kinsman-redeemer” is an...

  The Advent theme for this Sunday is “Peace,” and the Scripture reading is Ruth 2:1-23 (the whole chapter). Peace, when understood in the sense of the Hebrew word for peace, “shalom,” carries a greater meaning than “an absence of war.” Shalom means “wholeness” or “completeness.” Therefore, we can have “peace” (shalom) even in the midst of trials and uncertainty because God’s peace – shalom – is a wholeness and completeness that comes only from a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. As we look at this new chapter, with a new ‘Advent theme’ in mind, we must also remember...

This Advent we will be studying the book of Ruth and letting it guide us through the Advent season. The title of our series is, "Under the Bethlehem Star." Please take some time to read through Ruth - especially the texts for the upcoming Sunday - as we journey through this time of remembering the birth of our Saviour and waiting expectantly for his return. Below are the themes and texts for each Advent worship service. Week 1: "Hope" - Ruth 1 Week 2: "Peace" - Ruth 2 Week 3: "Joy" - Ruth 3 Week 4: "Love" - Ruth 4:1-17...

If you received an email notification for this post, please reply to this email so that we know the email notifications are working. Thanks. A reminder about Vitamin Sunday this Sunday: If you are able, please bring a donation of prenatal vitamins, adult multivitamins, low-dose aspirin (81mg), powder baby formula, eye drops, or ear drops to church this Sunday. Finally, this blog will be a weekly post about the sermon text for the upcoming Sunday. It will officially begin next week but I am including a few thoughts for this Sunday. The sermon text for this Sunday is John 18:28-40....