Sun. Feb. 24, 2013 (Karl Brown)

Karl Brown spoke on "Fear, Faith, and Firepower". Fear concerns fear for our lives and for all that is precious to us. Faith is that the Lord our God will protect us and keep us true to him. Firepower results from our fear and our lack of faith causing us to take things into our own hands and try to protect ourselves with weapons since we do not really believe in God's protection. Our lectionary reading (Genesis 15.1) told of Abram trusting God so much that he referred to God as his "shield". Luke 13:31- told of even the Pharisees warning Jesus that Herod would kill him, but Jesus had faith that this would not happen until God willed it. "The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid" (Psalm 27) has been a source of strength to many Christians. But not all. North Americans (Americans far more than Canadians) believe that guns are our ultimate protection, not God, even though more Americans have died from domestic gun violence than from all of the wars Americans ever fought anywhere! This faulty assumption has led to a plethora of private handguns in the States, with there being c. 71 guns for every 100 living Americans of any age. When we think of gun control, we seldom think of keeping guns away from Olympic champions or spouses, we think of "the bad guys". Gun control is ultimately about self control. For Christians, particularly of our persuasion, our faith is in God and in God's will for us and for our lives. [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, February 24th, 2013 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Feb. 17, 2013 (J. Evan Kreider)

On the first Sunday of the Lenten season, Evan Kreider focused on the three pillars which the Jewish people believed important: giving, praying and fasting. The Talmud describes three levels of giving: the highest is to give people work, the next, to give anonymously to the poor, and the last level is giving to the poor and letting others know what you've done. When giving alms don't blow your own horn – do it in secrecy. Giving to charity and then telling others - that's your reward. Pray in secret. The key is not to draw attention to oneself; offer prayers on behalf of all. When fasting, don't look dismal and don't make a display of it. Jesus assumes all believers will pray, give, and fast. In Jesus day money given to the temple would be redistributed to the poor. Today money going to churches might well go to hiring staff and/or buildings, not the poor. Are the three pillars – giving, praying and fasting valid today? Most of us are unfamiliar with personal fasting; it might well be an area needing further exploration. Whatever we do in these areas, do it in a way that will benefit others and God. (HN)

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, February 17th, 2013 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Feb. 10, 2013 (Thomas Bergen)

Thomas Bergen (resident of Menno and graduate student at Regent) spoke on "the Slavery of Death". As the church reflected on Christ's death, they initially associated sin with death and the devil, concluding that Jesus came to destroy the devil and all that is evil (Christus victor). St Paul talks of the body (soma), of Jesus becoming embodied, and also wrote about sary, or of our very "flesh" being equated with a sinful nature. Romans speaks of our inner conflict over good and evil, and Hebrews 2.14-16 of our fear of death. Many older people can recall how death and dying used to be completely integrated into family life--families caring for their elders at home, their homes eventually serving as a hospice where people died and remained in state, families even gathering to dig the grave near the church. With the professionalization of death (hospitals, hospices, funeral homes, cremation, cemeteries far removed from daily city life), death is being viewed very differently. Is this because we are no longer enslaved to death, or is it because we fear death, its messiness and finality. Is our modern society actually more fearful of death than earlier generations, leading us into another type of slavery of fear? What can deliver us from this growing fear? Thomas promised a sequel to this talk, leaving us with a final thought: "He who does not fear death is outside the tyranny of the devil." [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, February 10th, 2013 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Feb. 3, 2013 (Jenna Veenbass)

There are various ways of communicating the messages of the Bible: words, art, music, reading, dramatization, etc. Jenna Veenbass used her gifts as a dramatist to bring life to the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. Using a few simple props and a dramatic voice, Jenna described a marginalized lady widowed several times and childless. Jenna brought out many emotions within this story of a widow from a Samaritan village. This woman was surprised when, in the heat of the noonday sun with few people around, she sees a Jewish man sitting at the well where she comes to get water. Fully aware of the animosity between the Jews and Samaritans – Jews do not associate with Samaritans – she is astonished when he asks her for a drink of water. She complies and then he starts talking about “living water” and she wants to know where she can get it. Listening to him gives her energy (living water?) and she runs to her village and tells of the prophet who has come. [HN]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, February 3rd, 2013 using your browser's preferred media player.