Sun. Oct. 27, 2013 (Janet Boldt)

On Reformation/Heritage Sunday, Janet Boldt spoke on "Clasping of Hands" based on the lectionary texts of Joel 2:23-32, Psalm 65, 2 Timothy 4:6-8 & 16-18, and Luke 18:9-14. The scriptures tell us that God simultaneously transcends time and space, yet is very present with humanity and sustains creation. Current events make it hard to understand God's immanence when human violence is repeated so often. The poetry of George Herbert (1633) included "Clasping of hands" which plays with the possession relationships between us and the LORD in terms of 'I/mine' and 'Thee/thine'. The interlacing of humanity's actions with those of God's are like a dance that begs the question: what is the balance between God's responsibilities and ours? The humble prayer of the tax collector in Luke 18 is story of reversal: re-creation and re-formation as a result of justification by faith. Across the human/divine divide, God reaches towards us in grace, yet we must reach back and grasp that gift -- we cannot be justified by our own initiative. Spiritual disciplines are a way to place ourselves before God and trust in order to be transformed. In conclusion, we heard Ernie Doerksen play guitar and sing Gene MacLennan's "Put your hand in the hand" [of the man from Galilee]. [KH]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, October 27th, 2013 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Oct. 20, 2013 (Peter Nosco)

Dr. Peter Nosco spoke about 'Talking and Listening to God' based on The Parable of the Persistent Widow from Luke 18:1-8 and the importance of divinely-inspired Scripture from 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5.  Prayer is talking to God, who hears and responds in one of at least 4 ways:  'Yes', 'No', 'Ask Again' or 'Wait'. When we pray for miracles, the answer may be that God's grace should be sufficient, but we sometimes perceive this as God not listening. Are there prayers that we can expect to always be answered with a "yes" (send us the Holy Spirit, or help us resist temptation)? Like a loving parent never tires of hearing respectful questions from a child, God is pleased by our perseverance in the faith. Peter related two of his experiences of answered prayer -- one for safety on a dark road in the snow, and another for being led through his career path. Don't be afraid to ask for something small and personal, but don't put God to the test; consider it the beginning of a dialog. Surrender to God's will, and compare your requests to the Scripture. Reading the Scripture is an excellent way to hear what God is saying to us and to the church. [KH]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, October 20th, 2013 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Oct. 6, 2013 (Johannes Stolz)

Johannes Stolz spoke on "Three Key Words We Tend to Love or Hate" based on Matthew 22:15-22 after interacting with the congregation about the differences between a Christian lecture and a sermon. The first word -- trap -- was illustrated in the one set by the Pharisees and the Herodians, after baiting Jesus with flattery and then posing a trick question: did he support the Roman occupation or advocate rebellion? Jesus' wisdom was in pausing, asking a question in return, and then escaping the cage of the leading question. The second word -- taxes -- provided the opportunity to point out the reality that we owe governments for their services, but that duty is not to encroach on God's domain. Johannes gave his testimony of choosing between military service and Bible school in Europe. The third word -- trade -- reminds us that rather than stubbornly take our own way, we are called on to trade ourselves back in to God, to whom we rightfully belong, and continue to daily follow the way of Jesus so that circumstances don't dominate us when life is difficult. Johannes exhorted us to give homage to the one whose image we bear. [KH]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, October 6th, 2013 using your browser's preferred media player.