Sun. Sept. 29, 2013 (Thomas Bergen)

Thomas Bergen spoke on "The Metaphysics of Thankfulness" based on Psalm 104:1-30, 2 Corinthians 4:13-15, Psalm 69:30-36, and Romans 1:20-21. "Why does the world/universe exist?" is the age-old metaphysical question. We see how post-modern people use consumption and amusement as their 'soother' in response to the meaninglessness of an existence based on luck.  A Christian's response should be gratitude for the gift of creation. The Apostle Paul told us that Christ was involved in both creating and redeeming us. God gave us the gift of science to help us understand the miracle of balance in the created universe. In celebration of the church's 27th anniversary, Thomas expressed their thankfulness to members of PGIMF for their support of the Christian community of students at the Menno Simons Centre. Sharing food and fellowship isn't just an ethnic Mennonite cultural practice, but is also rooted in our theology. Thankfulness for our food reminds us of the gift of life that we receive daily from plants and animals. Like Neil Pasricha's book of 1,000 Awesome Things, what simple pleasures are you grateful for? The love of the triune God is the reason that there is 'something' rather than 'nothing' ... something for which we can be very thankful! [KH]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, September 29th, 2013 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Sept. 22, 2013 (Tony Tremblett)

Tony Tremblett spoke on "The Genealogy of Jesus Christ the Messiah" from Matthew 1:1-17. While it may be tempting to dismiss the long lists of whom begat whom as mundane trivia, tracing the lineage of Jesus back to Abraham helps us to understand God's love, judgment and mercy. In Jesus' day, one's pedigree was an important source of respect and privilege. Of the four mothers mentioned in the patriarchal line, three were notorious for their questionable morals and two were non-Jews. As the fulfillment of God's promises to Abraham and David to bless all peoples and all generations, Jesus came from mixed blood. The prophet Amos -- also in Jesus' family tree -- called on Israel to remember the poor and stop taking advantage of them in contradiction to our religiosity. In the fullness of time, God's faithfulness was revealed in Jesus to those waiting for the Messiah to come as the offspring of Abraham out of the House of David. Since then, Blood has been replaced by Faith in making us the Children of God. When we become forgotten names to our offspring, will we be remembered in the mind of God?

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, September 22nd, 2013 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Sept. 15, 2013 (Henry Neufeld)

Henry Neufeld spoke about Exodus 32:7-14, in which Moses argued with God not to destroy the Israelites for casting an idol of a golden calf. Fear motivated them to ask for an idol -- a substitute for God -- when Moses was absent. The second commandment applies to us too: the bronze sculpture of the charging bull on Wall Street has been called an idol of our capitalistic culture of nearly unregulated greed. What causes us to turn away from God and pursue an idol? Henry also tackled the challenging text in the Parable of the Shrewd Manager from Luke 16:1-13. As a competitor admires the competition, the rich man recognized the cleverness of the manager in marking down the debts to make friends who could help him later. Jewish peasants were subject to taxes from the Temple, Herod and Rome that they could scarcely bear. The manager isn't commended for cheating, but for wisely reducing the burden on the rich man's debtors. The Pharisees are condemned by Jesus for squandering the tithes & offerings as well as the teachings of God by imposing a strictness of endless rules that God will not own [see the hymn, There's a Wideness In God's Mercy]. Their church, their status and the law became their golden calf -- their idol. Can modern churches really justify spending millions on physical facilities and property? The shrewd manager isn't meant to encourage dishonesty, but points out the wisdom of using worldly resources to help others. If you are untrustworthy with your worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? Henry left us with two questions:

1. Can we get God to change his mind, like Moses did?
2. The wealth we have is the good news of a new Kingdom -- what are we doing with that wealth?

[KH]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, September 15th, 2013 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Sept. 8, 2013 (Evan Kreider)

When we welcomed the MSC residents for another school year, Evan Kreider spoke about the account of Naaman’s healing. Naaman, a general in the Aramean army, had leprosy. A Hebrew slave girl, working in Naaman’s household, suggested that Naaman visit a Jewish prophet in Samaria for a cure. Rather than receiving Naaman, Elisha sends a message to Naaman to cure his affliction by dipping himself seven times in the Jordan river. Naaman feels snubbed by the prophet, refuses and prepares to return home. His slaves beg him to try it, he does, and is healed. He returns to Elisha with gifts that are refused. No conditions were placed on Naaman; Elisha did not ask him to convert. He now accepts the God of the Hebrews. Naaamna asks Elisha to forgive him for having to worship at the temple of Rimmon as part of obligations to the king of Syria. Elisha’s parting words: go in peace. How do we allow our faith to interact with a post-Christian culture? [HN]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, September 8th, 2013 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Sept. 1, 2013 (Janice Kreider)

On the 27th anniversary of our Fellowship, Janice Kreider spoke on Jeremiah 2, focusing on verse 13 in which the prophet accuses Israel of relying on cracked cisterns which offered only stale water. Cisterns were often created from exposed rifts in rocks which filled when it rained but then became stagnant and eventually evaporated. Springs, on the other hand, offered the gift of pure water. Although springs were obviously preferred, cisterns were common in that arid landscape, even though they often went dry (Joseph and Jeremiah were both once held in dry cisterns.) Much of the writing attributed to Jeremiah is highly critical of the former temple, the arrogance of the religious leaders there and their belief that they were beyond God's judgement. The Sinai laws were not followed, resulting in the poor being bereft of support. Jeremiah accused the people of having as many gods as there were villages. Jeremiah also points out the pathos of God and the creation of a new covenant, God's love for the people despite their disobeying the old covenant. In what ways have we forsaken the ways of God? What cracked cisterns have we dug, patched up and relied upon for our national safety, especially as the G20 meets? Where are the artesian wells in our lives? [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, September 1st, 2013 using your browser's preferred media player.