Sun. Jan. 31, 2010 (Laura Ericsson)

Laura Eriksson spoke on the theme, “What do we know by heart?” Exploring the possibility that we may be profoundly influenced by our childhood memories, Laura recalled that her earliest memories included worshipping in church, prayer and a yearning for beauty. What are our articulated memories? What has shaped us since birth? Jeremiah, for example, wrote that his life’s purpose was known even before he was born (Jer. 1.4-) and that he had already been appointed by God to be a prophet. His was an affirmed beginning, even though it moved him well away from his comfort zone. . The N.T. lectionary, Luke 4.18 (quoting the Jeremiah passage) tells of Jesus claimed a similar early calling from God, something we surmise he had sensed among his very earliest memories. His call was that of discrediting Judaism’s practices which ignored the love of God and made some practicing Jews feel superior to others. In this context, Jesus reminded his hometown listeners in the synagogue that God’s love is for everyone, even non-Jews such as Naaman. Jesus quite possibly knew this by heart from childhood, for it seems to echo his mother’s poem, the Magnificat, which proclaims economic justice for all and God’s love extending beyond Jewish borders. The epistle reading from 1 Cor. 13, heard primarily at weddings, was actually addressed to a small congregation that was rife with personality conflicts and deep divisions on many seemingly insurmountable issues. Paul told these troubled believers that their religion is essentially about love. This recalls what Jesus once said: “By this will people know you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Many of us have likely known this teaching and others like it by heart since childhood. How does this shape our daily lives? [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, Jan. 31st, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Jan. 24, 2010 (Paul Thiessen)

Paul Thiessen spoke on the lectionary texts Nehemiah 8, Psalm 19 and Luke 4 to illustrate how Jesus’ teaching both followed in the footsteps of earlier wisdom that relied heavily not so much on adherence to the letter of scripture, but also to the interpretation of scripture, and fulfilled the needs of mystery and wisdom in worship. Paul contrasted modern worship with his time in Ukraine where it felt more like performance than teaching, yet satisfied the need for closeness with God. [AP] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, Jan. 24th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Jan. 17, 2010 (Rebecca Stanley)

Rebecca Stanley told of her vision for Urban Journey, an MB church plant which began in 2008 in their home before moving to the Dunbar Community Centre and (September 2009) then to the Menno Simons Centre Sunday evenings. They meet at 5:00 for a simple meal which is also open to students, and then for worship at about 6:00. Her husband Andrew has work on the worship team at Richmond Bethel Sunday mornings, and they both work as UBC chaplains under the auspices of the MB BC conference. Urban Journey has a number of goals, such as journeying together (recognizing that everyone is at a different place in their development), treating every-day life as an act of worship, loving neighbours as ourselves (Mark 12:33, one of the morning's texts), sacrificial living, and celebrating everyone's unique inner values. She concluded her story by asking how the church can get beyond being satisfied with today's burnt offerings and focus instead on enacting the values of Micah 6:6-8. [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, Jan. 17th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Jan. 10, 2010 (Jeanette Hanson)

Jeanette Hanson (a missionary in China) spoke on one theme which ran through the day's lectionary texts: "fear not". Luke reports that these words were spoken by the angel to the terrified shepherds, and Isaiah also uttered them, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you." By comparison, John the Baptist (Luke 3.15-) had a message to the wealthy and powerful (us) which can only induce fear. Even Mary's "Magnificat" should make Canadian Christians fearful because her triumphant prayer is utterly threatening to our wealth. If the weak are going to be raised up, it can only be at our expense; if all the hungry in the world are indeed to be fed, our daily diets will suffer enormously; if the mighty are to be brought down from their seats, laws in many places will change drastically and there could be a serious redistribution of resources that would hurt our life styles. Mary's message is inclusive, Jesus attempted to include everybody in his proposed kingdom and Isaiah portrayed God as calling out to all nations. In the context of this call being global, the message "fear not" reminds us that God really is with us, that we need not fear other peoples, other races, or new economic times. Truth is, however, most of us likely do fear a truly upside-down kingdom. [JEK]

Sun. Jan. 3, 2010 (Henry Neufeld)

Henry Neufeld spoke on the general theme of prophecy. Both the Jewish and Christian canons of scripture consider prophets and prophecy to be very important. For example, in Hebraic scriptures, Jeremiah is portrayed as a vociferous critic of government, of its economic and foreign policies and of institutionalized religion. Jeremiah felt led to make dramatic gestures which enlarged his audiences and got the attention of the wealthy who held the power in his society. He smashed earthen pots before officials, prophesying that a similar fate awaited those listening to him. Each of his actions is portrayed as a parable for his society, telling them about justice, peace, social ills and reminding them of their obligations to the poor. New Testament writers continued to revere prophets such as John the Baptizer, another critic of both the wealthy and those seeking to retain laws and political parties which would hopefully protect their privileged position and property holdings. Prophecy is listed as one of the truly important spiritual gifts, but where are the prophetic voices of today, voices which speak to the dominant culture, articulating ideas which will invariably upset middle class Christians and non-Christians alike? What voices are trying to arouse us to action over police violence, our military presence in Afghanistan, Vancouver’s forcefully relocating our homeless people for a sporting event, or churches spending vast sums of charitable donations on legal battles? Why do these voices come from outside the church rather than from believers? Is prophecy within the church now dead? [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, Jan. 3rd, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.