Sun. Aug. 31, 2014 (J. Evan Kreider)

Dr. J. Evan Kreider spoke on "Forty Years" based on Exodus 3:1-15. As a fitting sequel to the story of Elijah, of whom Evan spoke two Sundays ago, Moses also had to flee to the wilderness and encountered God in a life-changing way on Mount Horeb. A blazing bush that wasn't consumed by the fire certainly caught Moses' attention while tending livestock! When God called Moses to bring the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses questioned his own credibility to lead the people. But God answered those doubts by identifying himself in a way that the people would recognize as prophetic. The Chapel of the Burning Bush inside St. Catherine's Monastery in Egypt continues to protect the presumed site of that encounter.

Like Moses, we may feel unqualified or an outsider, but has there been a "burning bush" moment in your life? Has an unexpected opportunity or crisis allowed you to see how things can work out for the better, spiritually? When Evan heard his cousin preach at the Mennonite centre in London, those sermons showed Evan how to reconcile an academic perspective on history and his Mennonite beliefs. Moses encountered God during his daily routine at work, and the story of him changing careers at the age of 80 proves that God can provide "burning bush" moments for any of us, including our octogenarians! Basil of Caesarea (c.330-379) wrote (abridged), "… teach me … to ask … for the right things. Steer … the vessel of my life towards Thyself … to rejoice in thy glorious and gladdening presence." [KH]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, August 31st, 2014 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Aug. 24, 2014 (Gerald Neufeld)

Gerald Neufeld, pastor of the Mennonite Japanese Christian Fellowship (MJCF) in Surrey, who last spoke to us in April 2009, returned to speak on "Self-Improvement or God-Improved" based on Jeremiah 9:23-24 and 1 Corinthians 1:18-31. He challenged us to think about how we invest our God-given time and energy. If we focus on perfection, what else could we be doing with the extra time, beyond what's required? There may be virtue in pursuing excellence in what one believes is God's calling, but if we're always busy with worries and nit-picking, how can we build relationships and care for each other? To deny oneself and take up your cross daily means a life of sacrifice and service, even if it's thankless. To the early Anabaptists, the Baptism of Blood represented the daily struggle against temptation. God gave us our talents to be spent blessing others, like grapes squeezed to make wine. No one can boast about their own wisdom (intelligence, education), might (physical strength, power) or wealth. Rather, God calls us to demonstrate steadfast love, justice and righteousness -- love in action. Do we worry too much about how we look or how things will go? John the Baptist didn't get caught up competing with Jesus' ministry. As we focus on following Jesus, we'll be improved by God. Let us live lives of joyful service, using our gifts according to God's leading. Gerald closed with the prayer, Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace.

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, August 24th, 2014 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Aug. 17, 2014 (J. Evan Kreider)

Dr. Evan Kreider spoke on "God of Storms, God of Silences" based on the scriptures in 1 Kings 19:9-18 and Psalm 85:8-13. He addressed three of the most fabulous stories about Elijah found in scripture, to show the guidance God offers for direction in our own lives. In 1 Kings 18 and 19, Elijah defeats the prophets of Baal, but also offends Queen Jezebel and flees, hiding for a symbolic 40 days on Mt. Horeb, the sister mountain to the one where Israel received the law. In answer to the Lord's question, "What are you doing here?" Elijah answers that his faithfulness has left him alone. This, of course, is not correct - the Lord mentions another 7,000 faithful "who did not bow down to Baal" but even through windstorms, earthquakes and fire, Elijah has failed to keep faith and is to be replaced, along with Israel's leadership. Are there times today when we are incapable of keeping up with our changing world? Do we defend institutions that refuse to change? How do we know when we should change, and when it is time to be silent, or to annoint the next generation, no matter how wrong we may think they are? How does God come to us today - is His voice in disasters? Doe we hear God's voice in nature or in the impulses of our creative muses? Must we be in the wilderness for 40 days? When we are so distracted by our modern conveniences, how is God supposed to get through? Silence is when we set our agendas aside, still our minds and just listen. And if we are met with only more silence, let us rely on Psalm 46 and "Be still and know that I am God." [AP]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, August 17th, 2014 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Aug. 10, 2014 (John Longhurst)

John Longhurst spoke about the creative relief work being done by the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. Farming has changed during the past century, moving from some 80 acres being tilled and harvested with horses providing power, to massive cooperatives of thousands of acres of monocrops drilled (no-til) and then harvested by machines costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Although the times and methods have changed, the old problems remain, like those which prompted various ancient biblical mandates to stipulate that farmers (in an agrarian society) should (1) donate 1/10th of their crops so that the priests and the poor had provisions, (2) when harvesting, the reapers were to leave stalks and grain which could be gleaned by the poor, and (3) the Year of Jubilee sought to ensure the return of the use ofancestral land as a way to redistribute wealth. The first public talk by Jesus focused on feeding the poor. In the 1970s, Canadian farmers had bumper crops while parts of Asia and African faced starvation. Through MCC, some Mennonites creatively established a way to ship their surplus grain to needy people. Eventually the project matured. Instead of shipping Canadian grain abroad for free (thereby undercutting local foreign farmers), the Canadian grain is sold locally at market value and the proceeds are deposited with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (now independent of MCC). By now, the bank's millions of donors include Christians from all walks of life and many countries, as well as the Canadian federal government which provides substantial aid. Although this work is no longer under MCC, it remains one of the most tremendous gifts Mennonite believers have given to the cause of world relief, one of the guiding principles taught in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures. [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, August 10th, 2014 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Aug. 3, 2014 (Heinrich Walde)

Heinrich Walde, Principal of Forum Brussels International, a chaplaincy service to the elected representatives and bureaucrats of the European Union in Brussels, spoke to the group from Psalm 46. Here, Heinrich gave us the inspiration that Martin Luther also found, and asked is God the same for us as it was for Martin Luther who also found solace in this Psalm? Heinrich asked if God’s credentials are visible to us in the words of the Psalm. Heinrich encouraged us to believe that this was so, and that God is the same in every generation. Persecuted Christians are our instruction today - they cry out, the Lord hears and saves. “The Lord will fight for you - you have only to be still.” (Ex. 14). Like the belltower of ancient Bruges, God remains the direction-finder for us today. [AP]

NOTE: The audio recording of this sermon is not available online.