THE INDISPENSIBLE FACT
A certain politician was once taken to task for using inaccurate facts in some public statements. We can think of several who qualify. The politician responded by saying that accurate facts do not matter as much as having the right attitude and motivation. Now it’s important to have the right attitudes and motivations, but so too is being factually correct. Right…
JESUS’ PASSWORD
Anyone who uses a computer and the internet knows that you often need a password. Actually you need more than one, since different websites require different forms of passwords. I have about four and it can be a challenge to remember which one I have used for a given site, especially if I haven’t visited that site in a while. Often I have to make a request to create a new…
FILLED WITH THE FRAGRANCE OF NEW LIFE
It’s a bit too early yet, but soon the smell of spring will be all around us. It’s that fresh fragrance that floats through the air as the ground thaws. The newly formed buds on the trees give off their special scent. The soil starts to get soft, warmed by the sun. Even the mud gives off a fresh scent. The fragrance of new life will soon be all around us. …
RESTORING OUR JOY
Last week I told you about how I learned to skate. My first experience on the ice was not a happy one. But after a few more tries I got it. Today I want to tell you about a much more recent experience. Right after Christmas I bought myself a pair of new skates. It was the first new skates I’ve owned in 45 years. The old ones had served me well. But whenever I took…
STANDING, FALLING, STANDING AGAIN
The title of today’s sermon may lead you to think that it’s for people who are learning to skate or ski. Well, it’s not, but I certainly remember my first time on ice. My mother took me one afternoon to the local arena. I was six years old. She put my new skates on, took me out on the ice, and I’m sure she was doing her best to hold me up. But before I even reached…
WHERE WE SEE HIS GLORY
Sometimes we say about someone – “That person really in their glory.” We usually say it when we see someone doing exactly what they want to, or exactly what God intends them to do, using their God-given gifts to the fullest. For example, when we hear and watch John Shillingberg play one of his special organ pieces or when he’s conducting the choir we say, “John’s in his…
DELIVER US FROM EVIL
I read of something that happened a few years ago in Quebec. The story didn’t mention the town or city. Anyway, two brothers, Antony and Jerome, wandered off from their backyard and entered a local Toys R Us store. While amusing themselves Antony and Jerome slipped into a playhouse where they quickly fell asleep. When they woke up, the lights were out, and the store was…
MERCIFUL FATHER, MERCIFUL CHILDREN
Today we are going to speak about this quality called mercy. In Luke 6:36 Jesus said, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” But first let’s go right back to Genesis chapter 1. God said, ‘“Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness… and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air,…
THE QUIET AND POWERFUL SPIRIT
In my daily quiet time I have been reading through the minor prophets, and to my great benefit. Now some major prophets are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. But the minor prophets are those short books which are tucked away at the end of the Old Testament. If you need the Bible index to find them don’t feel badly about that. Even…
DISCOVERIES ALONG THE WAY
This year we are preaching through passages from Luke’s Gospel. Two of Jesus’ best-known parables are found only in Luke’s Gospel – the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan. Now Luke was a fine writer, very interested in detail and accuracy. Archeological discoveries over the past century have confirmed many historical details in Luke’s writings, which…