Sun. Sep. 30, 2012 (Connie Siedler)

On September 30th, Connie Siedler presented the fourth and final meditation on the year's seasons and how they might be seen as reflecting aspects of our spiritual life. Strangely, many (well, those who forget about November) think of fall as their favourite season of the year. They remember that early fall is still warm without being sweltering, they admire its colours and think of fall as a season for concluding things, especially gardens. Esther 7 (lectionary reading) tells of the beautiful Jewish queen saving her people from Haman's evil order that all the Jews be killed. She and her maidens prepared for her unannounced and dangerous the visit to the king by fasting and praying for days. Their sowing/fasting/praying bore fruit. When reflecting on how we can store our spiritual harvests, Connie told of the 'encouragement box' in which she saves all the notes of encouragement she receives over the years. Then when facing a 'winter' in her life, she can turn to her encouragement box for sustenance. Finally, Connie reminded us that scripture frequently mentions giving thanks, and encourages us to give thanks. This is a form part of our national celebration of fall, and it should also become a continual part of our thinking and living. [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, September 30th, 2012 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Sep. 23, 2012 (Kevin Hiebert)

On the first day of fall, Kevin Hiebert spoke on ideas from James 3-4, the epistle reading from the day’s lectionary. James, in his customary straight-forward manner, asked his readers to face the problems of “greed, envy and wrath” (three of the seven deadly sins) and “lying, cheating and stealing”. His point is that these bad behaviours are driven by our selfish desires, and that by contrast, God asks that we bless others through acts of selfless respect. Dan Ariely (Duke University) recently published an interesting book entitled, The (Honest) Truth about Dishonesty: How we lie to everyone -- especially ourselves (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2012). Kevin drew on the book’s examples and tentative conclusions to give illustrations of people being urged by greed (for example) to tell lies in the hope of gaining personal benefit. One interesting phrase in James (3.17) is that we should be “willing to yield”. This is ideally the art of politics, as well as the art of living in community, in family, at work. Being “willing to yield” is the opposite of trying to get ahead at all costs. James reminds us to scrutinize our actions and motives. How do others see us (especially when they find out the truth) and how does God see us? [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, September 23rd, 2012 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Sep. 16, 2012 (Mike Yankoski)

Inspirational speaker Mike Yankoski, celebrating the end of his sabbatical at PGIMF with his first talk in some months, launched from Matthew 25:31-46 and other passages to encourage everyone to respond to those who are in need in our midst. Re-translating the Hebrew word “shalom” (often translated as peace) as “flourishing” or “fulfillment” better suits a calling to be actively fulfilling God’s cause, not passively awaiting it. Awakened by a message on the Good Samaritan and by his own actions, Mike and a friend sought to live as a homeless people for some months and found himself confronted with the question “Who is my neighbour?” From church campuses to Union Station, Mike found that few other people were engaged in the question either, not when Mike was dishevelled, dirty, smelly and hungry. Where does one go to the bathroom when awoken at 3:00 am from food-borne illness and all public buildings are closed? Mike found some churches responded with enormous compassion and kindness, but others didn’t. Recognizing that we “compartmentalize” the situations we find ourselves in simply to survive emotionally, Mike nevertheless called us to be shalom-makers, being willing to be more uncomfortable in our lives. Noting Jesus too led a ministry of interruptions, Mike found that children often responded most appropriately, stopping to engage, and recognizing need in their simply ways. Mike told stories of people who cared more about others, and found their own lives becoming full, in the tradition of Mark 8:35-36 “...whoever seeks to lose his life will save it” and invited everyone to allow the gospel to turn their lives upside down. Be willing to be interrupted, to engage, to be a “shalom-maker” and to have an impact. [AP]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, September 16th, 2012 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Sep. 9, 2012 (Walter Bergen)

Walter Bergen used Psalm 146 primarily to encourage the students attending UBC, Regent College, and Emily Carr to consider received wisdom, whether from university, from society or from church, with the same skepticism they should reserve for all things not borne of God. Noting that the received wisdom of 25 years ago said that an Asian should not be the pastor of a Mennonite congregation, Walter said that his own pastor, April Yamasaki, is now the longest-serving pastor in the BC conference. Encouraging boldness and commitment in the listeners, Walter noted one must take a step forward toward God, and only then can God guide your path. Those who never try, God cannot help. Walter retold the story of the founding of the Menno Simons Centre, of the five couples who committed financially to be missionaries to the academic world of UBC in a new way. Since then, hundreds have benefitted from their wisdom and boldness, and now the world is full of Christian leaders who are as capable of rigorous inquiry as any academic. Walter noted that the students, an intelligent and committed group, would be called on to be leaders in their careers, communities and churches within a decade.

Walter encouraged them to consider how they wanted to be used by God right now, because their training has already begun, and there is little time. Their path may be bumpy, they will be insulted or taken advantage of, but they are not to give up their morals or ideals. By example, Walter reviewed the challenges faced by Charles Darwin in his discovery of bioturbation, revolutionizing soil science in the process. He also pointed out how received wisdom and self aggrandizement can be so malicious it can cost peoples lives, in the story of Trofim Lysenko, a Soviet scientist whose work was so worthless it caused terrible famine, but whose attachment to the Soviet “princes” made his influence so powerful, even over genuine far-seeing biologists like Sergei Vavilov, one whose identification of genetic centres of origin assured the world’s genetic diversity, and founded the largest seed bank in the world in St Petersburg. Walter encourage the students not to put their trust in princes, but in God, for only the truth remains when people of imagination and conviction stand firm, and permit God to guide them. [AP].

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, September 9th, 2012 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Sep. 2, 2012 (Carl Friesen)

“I am what I love, not what I think.” Carl Friesen challenged the Descartes dictum “I think therefore I am” which gave birth to the idea that humans are primarily thinking beings. Carl said our identity is not tied to what we think; conscious rational thought is only a tiny bit of our brain’s work. We are primarily lovers – what we desire, what we long for defines who we are. Jesus calls this the “heart.” Ultimate love constitutes our identity; that which we desire above all else. What we love and desire shapes rather than our thoughts. The Pharisees ultimate love of themselves resulted in Jesus criticism of them in Matthew 23. Our ultimate love is shaped by our practices and habits. The practices (liturgies) of our society help define who we are. Carl sees a shopping mall as a space with liturgies that are formative for us. The mall is a secular cathedral that seeks to reconfigure space and time. Malls often have few windows, a labyrinth of hallways, and no clocks. Malls follow a liturgical calendar: Valentines day, mother’s day, father’s day, etc. Malls have icons – mannequins – and they have outreach - advertising. Malls shape our desires to be consumers. In contrast Jesus, in the beatitudes, calls us to be transformed, to become a certain kind of people. Being made in the image of God is a calling, not a statement of fact. Our mission is to live in the image of God; to refuse to buy into the culture, to be transformed. [HN]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, September 2nd, 2012 using your browser's preferred media player.