Sun. Jan. 26, 2014 (Tony Tremblett)

Tony Tremblett examined discouragement in our lives, particularly when we remember how things used to be. Tony said this is true for our church lives too. Some of us, who have journeyed with God for quite a while, remember times of extreme closeness, when the call to follow was strong. Perhaps this call has faded somewhat in our congregations in recent years, with declining and aging attendance, mission changes, confusion over interpretation and a simple wearing-out of our conviction. Haggai’s prophetic words to the people of Jerusalem who were similarly discouraged at the process of rebuilding the temple after the return from exile were not ordinary. The returned exiles remembered the majesty of the First Temple with its gold and precious materials, and saw that their effort to rebuild was but a poor copy. Haggai galvanized them back to action and reminded them that they were not called to build a magnificent temple, but one suitable to their circumstances in life. Tony reminded us that this is our lot too. Haggai calls us to tell the truth as we see it, so that we can see what ought to be, and can then step into the gap and work for God, for His work is still done even in reduced circumstances. Though the people Haggai called were dissatisfied with their temple, it was sufficient for Jesus to worship in, teach in and clear of moneychangers. Let us hear Haggai’s call ("O take courage, all you people of the land; work for I am with you"), come closer to God and feel his strength with you as you do his work. [AP]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, January 26th, 2014 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Jan. 19, 2014 (Jenna Veenbaas)

Jenna Veenbaas (graduate student at Regent) spoke on "Walking in Weakness". Scripture is filled with stories of people struggling with weakness, and of those, Paul's story is one of the most poignant. Paul founded a church in Corinth (Acts 18). Several years later, he asked Christians in Corinth to collect money to assist the starving Christians in Judea as an act of charity and also of thanksgiving for their new religion. But the church in Corinth was too riddled with its own problems (incest, immorality, pride, etc.) to think of helping others. Some men gifted in public speaking and rhetoric ridiculed Paul's inferior speaking ability. Paul decided it was necessary to return to Corinth to restore order and perspective, but the visit went so badly for everybody that he had to leave prematurely. In a now-lost letter, Paul criticized his friends, calling for repentance. Titus then visited Corinth, with more success. This resulted in a collection of writings we now call "2 Corinthians", and within that group is an unusual unit (chapters 10-12) addressing a new problem: men claiming super-apostolic status and wanting to be paid for their teaching (which was the typical Greek custom). Since they compared themselves to Paul, Paul reluctantly adds to their comparisons, but in a different way. Rather than playing up his own strengths and best attributes, Paul lists his weaknesses. For instance, Paul did not claim to be a hero; heroic soldiers were the first to scale city walls in battles, but Paul had himself let down over a wall in a basket, in order to escape. Rather than listing the number of churches founded, he lists all the physical suffering he endured for preaching. In response to men claiming to be super-apostles, Paul refers obliquely to being "caught up into Paradise", without ever explaining himself. He counters that experience with his mysterious reference to his "thorn in the flesh". Even though he had this extraordinary experience (the 'third heaven'), he also had some sort of problem or affliction ("thorn") that resisted repeated prayer. Even for one who was doing all he could for the Kingdom, there was to be no miracle healing, he just had to live with his 'thorn'. Paul, like others in scripture, had to face grief and unsolvable problems. This possibly recalls Isaiah's referring to the Messiah as "a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief". One-third of the Psalms are laments; there was apparently ample need for a repertoire of songs of that vein. Although we cannot explain them, we do often find that our troubles drive us to our knees more readily than do prosperity and good health. [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, January 19th, 2014 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Jan. 12, 2014 (Tim Tse)

Timothy Tse (graduate theology student at Regent) spoke on the day's lectionary text concerning the baptism of Jesus. Baptism originated with the ancient Jews as a symbolic cleansing from the impurities of sin. The contemporary Essenes could be baptised as often as 14 times a day, constantly repenting. John the Baptiser surely knew of them as he practiced his form of baptism at the Jordan River. Jesus asked for baptism for yet another reason, that of demonstrating his acceptance of and identity with John's mission and calls for repentance and change. Our baptism expresses our willingness to follow Jesus. To 16th-c. Anabaptists, being rebaptised symbolized accepting Christianity as an adult, there being more committed to God than to the state. To Anabaptists, baptism has never been a sacrament (which makes insistence on specific forms of baptism seem most unfortunate). One can of course repent, believe and follow Christ as a disciple without ever being baptised. But the symbolism of baptism is possibly similar to that of marriage -- public declaration of commitment, something to be followed with an on-going commitment.

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, January 12th, 2014 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Jan. 5, 2014 (Henry Neufeld)

[Following on a creation care story led by worship leader Diane Ehling, that had the whole congregation involved in physically representing the life of a great tree - ed] our fellowship's moderator, Henry Neufeld, spoke on the theme of Membership. (Unfortunately, severe snow storms elsewhere meant that not all the people wishing to join us this Sunday could return to Vancouver in time, so new members will be received next Sunday.) It is interesting to ponder what membership means to people over the centuries. Jack Suderman, in Naming the Sheep, lists more than 90 images for the church in scripture (e.g., flock, salt, aroma, light, etc.) but no single image dominates others. One other image might be added today: 'picking up the fallen ones'. In PGIMF, membership is not all that important because we encourage anyone (member or not) to participate as fully as they can, as they feel comfortable doing. Since the New Testament mentions leadership six times--and servanthood more than 200 times, maybe "membership happens whenever we act like Jesus." As we moved into the year's first communion, Henry reminded us that Jesus ate with everyone, especially outsiders; everyone was expected to join in eating and drinking with him; and our eating and drinking of the elements symbolizes our act of commitment to following the teachings of Jesus. [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, January 5th, 2014 using your browser's preferred media player.