SCRIPTURE: Mark 3:1-6 The ultra-conservative Pharisees hated the compromising Herodians. The former were devoted to obeying the Law, the latter to pandering to Herod. But here they have something in common, they both hate Jesus even more. Jesus did not share their devotion to legalism or liberalism, He was devoted to love. If the Pharisees truly…
If Jesus was God, why did He say ‘No one is good but God alone’?
In Mark 10:17-22, Jesus is addressed as ‘Good Teacher’ by a spiritual seeker. ‘Why do you call me good?’ Jesus answered. ‘No one is good – except God alone.’ (Mark 10:18) Christians claim that Jesus is God, so why did Jesus question His own goodness? Two possible reasons come to mind. First, Jesus is challenging a man…
Enjoying God’s gifts of work and rest!
SCRIPTURE: Mark 2:23-28 Imagine a family whose parents buy a cottage and raise their children with the tradition of spending one weekend a month relaxing at the cottage. The children grow up, and their own family situations change, they cannot keep up that tradition. Do the parents disown their kids because they refuse to follow the…
If God is good, should we be afraid?
C. S. Lewis once remarked, “What do people mean when they say that they’re not afraid of God because they know that He is good? Have they never even been to the dentist?”
Celebrating God’s goodness!
Yesterday as a church we reflected on the goodness of God. We got so excited about the goodness of God that we started celebrating in the streets! You can watch the video here (that’s me in the baseball cap and hoody). OK, well maybe we weren’t as energized as this, but we could have been!…
A relationship, not a religion!
SCRIPTURE: Mark 2:18-22 With Jesus, everything changes, for everyone, not just the Jews or Christians. Jesus represents a new reality, a new season, a new relationship with God. Religion says: ‘perform these rituals, practices or laws in order to acceptable to God’. But with Jesus, the new reality is that we do not need to follow…
“This is gonna shut your mouth!”
This is amazing, it’s definitely worth 10 minutes of your time, more! You have heard of Oprah Winfrey, and Pastor Rick Warren, but maybe not of Nick Vujicic. Well watch this video and you will know who he is, and his AMAZING message of hope! According to Oprah, ‘this is gonna shut your mouth!” The theme…
I choose to believe that…
As far as I can tell, these are the only options, and only the first one can inspire hope. If God is weak, or if God is not good, or if God does not exist at all, then how can there be hope? Some might say ‘what of it, so there’s no hope, suck it…
Struggling with God
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 43 This psalm seems to be a continuation of Psalm 42 (some Hebrew manuscripts combine them). The psalmist is continuing his battle with depression, wondering why God is taking so long! It is very important for us to see that God includes and inspires doubt and lament in the sacred text. If anyone challenges you…
Build your kingdom here!
Recently heard this song at the Port Perry Serve… loved it! I also love what they did with “Be Thou My Vision”.