Sun. April 27, 2008 (Jon Nofziger)

Jon Nofziger (MCC-BC, Peace and Development Desk) spoke on MCC's Day of Prayer and Action for Colombia, a day when we can pray for sustainable peace in that war-torn country in which some 4 million people have been displaced. MCC is interested in helping individuals to achieve reconciliation and understanding on all sides of the various conflicts and in praying for the victims of conflict. King Pilate washed his hands when confronted with a situation he found impossible to solve (Matthew 27.15-26), but Jon asked that we not wash (or wring) our hands, imagining there is nothing we can do. We hear our own inherited stories of our ancestors being persecuted and retell them from the safety of the distance of time and geography, but today's stories of Christians suffering make us uneasy, so, like Pilate, we helplessly wash our hand (at least mentally). Jon then paused to wash his hands on our behalf-the sanctuary was very quiet indeed. After a prayer of forgiveness, we watched a video on Christians attempting to live in Colombia, despite being surrounded by a culture of organized violence. During discussion, we asked whether we, as Mennonites, hold investments in companies which devote even as little as 2% in armaments or support oppressive regimes, or do we look the other way and wash our hands? As we left the sanctuary, we were invited by Jon to approach the front, in twos, to wash each others' hands as a symbol of servant hood and repentance. [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday April 27th using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. April 20, 2008 (Kevin Hiebert)

Kevin Hiebert spoke on the fascinating theme of "Mennonite Sc-Fi". Kevin has been reading science fiction for most of his life, appreciating the ways this genre of literature looks at how technology might possibly affect our society, our world and even the galaxy. This speculative type of fiction at times also considers how technology might affect personal morality. As for looking ahead, when Stephen was stoned (Acts 7), he 'saw' (foresaw) heaven opening, and speculated on what lay ahead for him personally. Romans 12.18 asks that 'insofar as it is possible, be at peace with everybody'. One Mennonite Sc-Fi author, Karl Schroeder, recently published a work in which he imagined how this might be possible, and what problems might be encountered. Naturally, we no longer assume that technology will inevitably make life better for everyone, but technology certainly has helped us, touching even aspects of our faith world. We can now track people down almost instantly by cell phone, or communicate rapidly by computer. We can archive enormous quantities of information with minimal effort (sharing it even more easily), rank amateurs can blog on all sorts of topics, and talks given Sunday mornings to our small fellowship can now be heard the same day by Kevin in Virginia or by friends in Europe. Technology also has its inevitable downside, such as e-mail chaining individuals to their desks without breaks. In this regard, Jesus often retreated from the crowds in order to find peace and quiet, but do we ever declare a day or even an evening as being computer-free? Interestingly, before an Amish community adopts any new technology, it first asks how this might affect their community and possibly their faith. The bible starts in a garden and ends in a city, an interesting metaphor for our increasingly complicated lives. [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday April 20th using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. April 13, 2008 (Bruce Hiebert)

Dr. Bruce Hiebert’s talk posed the question, “How do we help our church’s young men (15-25) develop a concept of masculinity which leads to a peaceful, nonviolent world?” How can we possibly help our young men be both ‘men’ (masculine) and nonviolent? Young men in this age group form society’s most violent group, are most likely to be serving in the military, are most likely to be in prison, and are generally distancing themselves from a church which fails to speak to their real world pressures. Society’s ideal is that of masculine power, which (TV assures us) leads to greater opportunities for sex.... Bruce suggested that we possibly need a new definition of Christian power, articulating what it is like and how it can be used. This power would not be a brutal conquering force, forcing the world to be the way we want. It would rather be a quiet serving power, one which purposefully works at changing tiny aspects of the world, bit by bit.... Christians developing this type of ‘power’ find that people in governments occasionally listen (even if only politely) when they sense that our willingness to devote serious time and energy to a cause represents a very real determination to change things and that some element of change may consequently be inevitable.... Bruce also challenged the church not to assume that we can teach young men solely by example, influential as this may be. We, like Jesus, also need to articulate why we live the way we do, what our ideals are and why. If we made these changes, would our young men feel more comfortable in the church (most attend now because of parental pressure and will soon leave the church), would our young men learn how to confront threats effectively with relationships and even friendships, would our young women learn to admire (and thereby encourage) a different type of masculinity in our young men, thereby reinforcing good behaviour? [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday April 13th using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. April 6, 2008 (Dave McCue)

Dave McCue spoke to us in a very conversational way about the importance of the suffering servant of Isaiah based on texts from Joshua 9. Dave began with the people of Gibeon, who, differently from the peoples around them, went to the Jews and begged to join or confederate with them, but in a sly and sneaky way. God, knowing their secrets, desired their obedience more than punishing their morality. Dave uses this story to show how the faithful of Israel demonstrate God’s call to obedience, leading to the inclusion of the alien in the assembly of God. This is not usually how we look at Joshua , where we usually focus on the genocidal aspects, with considerable discomfort. Dave insists that in Joshua, God does not set up ethnic lines, only to destroy them in the New Testament, but rather this is a witness to God’s welcoming presence Further, the stories told of Israelites that are unfaithful, such as Akin in Joshua 7, are followed by God’s witness of exclusion from the assembly. This story continues through the Torah, over and over again, faithfulness leads to inclusion, and disobedience leads to exclusion, regardless of ethnicity. This reaches its summit in Isaiah 53, often referred to as God’s court case against his people, where the numbers of the faithful shrink more and more until at last, the vision is of one single suffering servant, foretold long before, reaching its acme in Jesus Christ, who then provides the way for a tremendous opening, a welcoming, a continual call to obedience. With many stories and a vivid conversation after the message, Dave’s inclusive message of Christ’s plea to join him struck home with many people. [AP] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday April 6th using your browser's preferred media player.