Sun. May 26, 2013 (Jenna Veenbaas)

The worship service at the Church Retreat at Camp Luther was enlivened by the reappearance of Jenna Veenbaas acting out the story of the woman caught in adultery from John 8:1-11. The worship service contrasted this story with the apocryphal story from Daniel 13 about the woman of Judah, Susanna who was falsely accused of adultery and condemned to death. The timely inspiration of God in the words of the young man Daniel redeemed both the life of Susanna and the honour of the community which had condemned her on false testimony. This ultimately unsatisfying story was redeemed by the vivid dramatization of the unnamed woman in John’s story, who battled loneliness and powerlessness, and when caught up in the vicissitudes of sexuality in the ancient Near East, found nothing and no-one to rely on but a mysterious stranger who refused to condemn her. “Neither do I condemn you” he said. Shall we all go forth and sin no more. [AP]

NOTE: no audio recording is available. 

Sun. May 19, 2013 (Sermon on the Mount)

Henry Neufeld led a worship service that featured a reading of the Sermon on the Mount. Three readers (Edward, Catherine and Hannelore) read the texts from Matthew 5, 6 and 7. Dense and provocative, each line of the text gave food for thought and inspired whole sermons. A lively question period followed, indicating the message spoke clearly to each person in the room.

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, May 19th, 2013 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. May 12, 2013 (J. Evan Kreider)

Evan Kreider focused on Jesus’ ascension, noting that there are eight appearances of Jesus recorded since his resurrection. Following the resurrection the disciples were told to stay in Jerusalem; normally they would have returned to Galiliee where Jesus had done most of his teaching. Rome was important as the centre of power for the Jews (the temple) and the ruling Romans. Staying in Jerusalem implied that the teachings of Jesus were to be taken to the centre of political and religious power. The ascension account presents some challenges; some were later additions to the gospels. Evan noted that this is not surprising since at the time the belief was that Jesus came from God, returned to God and was now with God. From this time on Christians would think of God only through the “Jesus filter,” and that’s how they would read the Old Testament. Reading all of Scripture through the teachings of Jesus keeps the focus on Jesus and not on worshiping the Bible. (HN)

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, May 12th, 2013 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. May 5, 2013 (Henry Neufeld)

Henry Neufeld told the story of a man who allowed modern social media to substitute for, or take over, the place of advice formerly given by friends and community. In this example, Henry noted the man turned the important decisions in his life over to a group of people he didn’t know but who “purchased shares” in an organization dedicated to telling him how to run his life. Through this lens, Henry examined Acts 12, noting Paul invested in Lydia’s life with her teaching, who returned to him her gift of hospitality - an investment in Paul’s life. The cripple at the Pool of Siloam had nobody to invest in his life, and remained crippled. Others today remain crippled with no desire to get well for they cannot imagine a life of accomplishment - their investment in their own misfortune is too high. Our church, with its committed members, invests in each others lives. Henry wonders if we could extend that by forming small groups connected by the Internet? Would we permit such an engagement in the decisions of our lives? What are our boundaries? [AP]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, May 5th, 2013 using your browser's preferred media player.