Point Grey Inter-Mennonite Fellowship

Sun. Jan. 22, 2012 (Janice Kreider)

2012-01-22T11:30:00.000-08:00

Janice Kreider noted that missionary work often brought a colonial mentality and culture along with the gospel. Missionary/anthropologist Jacob Loewen in Educating Tiger described three mission models: short term witnesses, replicating a missionary’s religion and culture, and a catalyst strategy. The latter strategy assumes God already at work and the missional approach is to develop “that of God” in a particular context, meaning the missionary’s role is less culturally bound. Janice cited several examples of the catalyst approach. In looking at some rather stringent statements Paul gave to the Corinthians, she noted that these are not hard and fast rules, but guidelines which can be understood better with fresh interpretations. For instance “those who buy as if they had no possessions” is better understood as ”don’t get engrossed in things.” Janice reminded us of Frederick Buechner’s comment that ‘vocation’ is where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet. (HN)

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, January 22nd, 2012 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Jan. 15, 2012 (Laura Eriksson)

2012-01-15T11:30:00.000-08:00

Laura Eriksson focused on God’s call to Samuel and on Jesus call to Nathaniel. Using the image of a film, Laura noted that a call comes in the context of a person’s life, and sometimes we need to rewind the film to get the whole picture; a film has many frames. Samuel, a child living out his mother’s promise, is called by God at a time when ”the word of the Lord was rare.” The child Samuel is called to bring a harsh message to his mentor, Eli. In Jesus time Nathaniel was skeptical about Philip’s claim to have found the one of whom the prophets wrote. Philip told Nathaniel to “come and see.” Jesus said he saw Nathaniel “under the fig tree” – a Jewish figure of speech – meaning he was studying the Torah. Samuel and Nathaniel are invited to participate in the work of God. Samuel and Nathaniel teach us to test the call, to make time to listen. We need each other to look through the lens of faith. Sometimes God’s call gets drowned out by the white noise around us. (HN)

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, January 15th, 2012 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Jan. 8, 2012 (Don Teichroeb)

2012-01-08T11:30:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, Don Teichroeb spoke on the Old Testament lectionary reading, Genesis 1.1-5 (and John 1.1-5). This wonderful creation story, however interpreted, places God at the center of everything. But that is where agreement often stops. Over the centuries, and increasingly so as our era approaches, there have been widespread debates about Genesis 1 and science generally. Francis Collins discusses this in some detail in his book, The Language of God. For centuries, people assumed the earth was flat, likely square with four corners, and that the heavens revolved around the earth, for that was what people could observe throughout the years. But when this understanding was challenged, people of faith did not understand, and lashed out, fearing that the very pillars of faith were being denied. When Galileo's telescope revealed that four moons circled around Jupiter and not the earth, again many Christians were aggressively defensive, largely because of misunderstandings and inadequate assumptions. Don then asked, "How will we be judged by history concerning things we believe about the world, largely because we do not yet understand?" Augustine argued that God is outside the boundaries of time, a view that is too often forgotten. The poetic account in Genesis says, so very wonderfully, "In the beginning", but we no longer even know whether there ever was a beginning, or what there was before there was a beginning! When did space appear? No matter where we turn, all known theories seem to require assumptions (faith). During discussion it was noted that the less we understand things, the more we speak about them with unshakable conviction, whereas, in all of this talk, we ought to see ourselves standing in the center of these questions--in awe and wonder. And someone once said, "I am not here to answer questions, only to arouse curiosity." [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, January 8th, 2012 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Jan. 1, 2012 (Henry Neufeld)

2012-01-01T11:30:00.000-08:00

Hauerwas once told of someone who prayed for forgiveness during prayer time in church, only to have the pastor tell him afterward that he was not forgiven. The pastor pointed out that the person first had to offer reparations and try to undo the wrong, even if the cost might be enormous. We often realize that we need to ask someone for forgiveness, yet we seldom ask; in fact, it is something that would be very difficulty to do, and we may not even have any models to follow since the asking is a private matter rather than public. The book, "Amish Grace" told of the Amish forgiving the man who murdered their school children, but someone in their community of faith noted that it is easier to forgive an outsider than to forgive a friend. Forgiveness and reparation are closely linked in scripture, yet this is seldom taught in evangelical circles. Instead, we hope that our offering but one sentence will somehow cover all the ongoing hurt we have caused someone. After the talk, some interesting questions were asked. How do forgiveness and reparation interrelate with grace? Is forgiveness like scar tissue--still there but having life under the scar tissue? Do Catholics feel forgiven if they only go to confession rather than to the hurt individual? When are we forgiven? [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, January 1st, 2012 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Dec. 11, 2011 (Karl Brown)

2011-12-11T11:30:00.000-08:00

On the Third Sunday of Advent, Karl Brown gave the second in his series of talks on faith. For Christians, faith concerns our belief in God and in salvation from sin. This is so important that in order to join most congregations, one must both profess having faith and have been living a life in which faith has somehow been in evidence. With December being the season for aggressive marketing, Karl asked us to reflect on whether marketing has ever been applied by Christians to promoting something as important, and yet as elusive as faith (e.g., tent revival campaigns, televangelism). Marketing seeks to send a message, often by telling/showing a story or scenario which is in tune with the targeted audience's s world view. In today's gospel lectionary (John 1.6-), John the Baptist was successful at promoting/marketing his faith views because what he had to say so perfectly fit the world view of many of his Jewish listeners, and because they sensed that he was trying to live according to his professed faith. His was the kind of faith they found possibly attractive for their daily living and present political dilemma. Does our society know about our faith enough to consider whether that kind of faith might be applicable to daily living and to society's pressing concerns? [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, December 11th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Dec. 4, 2011 (Santosh Ninan)

2011-12-04T11:30:00.000-08:00

On December 4th, Santosh Ninan (Regent graduate, former pastor, active speaker and writer, and presently a stay-at-home-Dad) spoke on "Love which surpasses all knowledge". During his years in prison, Paul had ample time to reflect, pray and write. During those times of confinement, he became particularly concerned that the new Christians in Ephesis be somehow corporately grounded in love, even as they faced brokenness in their personal and corporate lives. Every modern family, of course, carries it secrets, hurts and concerns, and too often individuals then construct protective barriers which distance them even from people they ostensibly love. At times, Santosh suggested, these mental barriers can unthinkingly be carried over into our relationship with God. Knowing this, Paul prayed that the Ephesians could both grasp and somehow know the love of God, a love that 'surpasses knowledge'. Santosh dramatically contrasted believers having a theoretical knowledge about God as opposed to them actually experiencing God's love: Think of the contrasts between meeting someone online via eHarmony and meeting them in person--two entirely different things. Santosh then made three suggestions: (1) Take an honest emotional audit on how well you receive love and accept forgiveness, (2) Spend time with God in quiet prayer and fasting, and (3) Dare to seek to create close 'soul friends'. A recent survey conducted by the Vancouver Foundation identified "isolation" as the number one concern for Vancouverites. Paul directly addressed this concern in his letter to the Ephesians. [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, December 4th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Nov. 20, 2011 (John Klassen)

2011-11-27T11:30:00.000-08:00

John Klassen (ex-Trinity Professor of Church History) drew inspiration from the lectionary texts Ezekiel 34, Matthew 25 and Ephesians 1 to characterize our lives as goats and sheep. John noted that these texts primarily dealt with our treatment of the poor, and drew strongly the link to Adam and Eve’s original fall from the garden in search of knowledge. John noted the poor often receive ill-treatment as “You pushed with flank and shoulder and butted the weak animals with your horns.” (Ez 34:21), but God Herself succors the poor by “welcoming the stranger” in that well-known passage from Matthew 25:31-46. John then broke from scripture and drew an important distinction between speaking scripture and speaking about scripture, and noted these are intimately tied up with works. Though grace is sufficient, the texts also call us to works, as do the poor everywhere around us, and John made special note of the Occupy movement as being worthy of help. John asked “how then are we to live?” He noted the moral system God created to help the poor is one rite of salvation, and drew on his experience in Pax in the 1960s as a guide to his emerging faith. Though societies have used force to enforce a just society, God entreats us with mercy to follow his path, and offers his empathy with our suffering by reminding us of the sacrifice of his Son to encourage us to return to the Garden. In the Ephesians passage, Paul notes we were given “the inward eye” to see the love God has for us. Let us look, not with the knowledge that comes of learning, but with the inward eye. [AP]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, November 20th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Nov. 6, 2011 (Michael Thomas)

2011-11-06T11:30:00.000-08:00

Michael Thomas spoke on Living the Stories, the memory of living and faith. The Book of Proverbs shows enormous respect to old people for their life wisdom they can pass to the next generation. Today's generation prefers to avoid attentive listening to the endlessly-repeated stories told by our old people. By contrast, the Book of Exodus orders the Jews to "tell the story", to keep it alive from one generation to the next. Since each generation inherits both the good and the bad from the earlier generation, we cannot understand ourselves if we do not know our ancestors' stories. The stories Jesus told were actually teaching tools, not simply entertainment. His story (Lectionary, Matt. 25.1-13) about the wise and foolish virgins reminds us that we have only one life to live, and we had better 'get it right' this time (there is no next time). During discussion, Michael added that singing hymns is essentially an act of collective memory as we review songs which were written learned, sung (memorized) generations before ours, and will exist long after our demise. Singing these songs is like ancestors telling stories, passing on the faith of our spiritual ancestors to the next generation. [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, November 6th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Oct. 30, 2011 (Charles Paris)

2011-10-30T11:30:00.000-07:00

On Reformation Sunday, Dr. Charles Paris (former Roman Catholic priest, theologian and teacher) reflected on ways in which Catholicism has changed during the five centuries following the Reformation. Last month, Pope Benedict XVI did the unthinkable by delivering a major address in the Chapter Hall of Martin Luther's former Augustinian monastery in Erfurt. Not one to mince words, a very frustrated Luther repeatedly called the papacy "asses" in 1531. Were he alive today, one might imagine Luther congratulating the papacy and calling the Pope his brother in Christ, for things have indeed changed, on both sides. Pope Benedict noted that, for Luther, theology was a struggle with God, and this struggle led him to find Christ. Pope Benedict then praised Luther, saying that his whole theology was centered on Christ, and that Luther had pointed out how Catholicism had strayed from the bible. Both the Reformation and Counter Reformation were primarily focused on what divided Christians, but now we are starting to appreciate all that unifies us. [While Pope Benedict praised Luther for his reforms, some at PGIMF praised Charlie for demonstrating another church reform--the 10 minute sermon. We then had ample time for a wonderful 20 minutes of lively discussion. [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, October 30th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Oct. 23, 2011 (Dave Diewert)

2011-10-23T11:30:00.000-07:00

Dave Diewert spoke about Jesus’ journey toward Jerusalem as his followers anticipated the setting up of a new kingdom. Along the way Jesus encountered Zacchaeus, dined with the tax collector, and paid attention to the weak, the ill and those with little social status. Zacchaeus, (a collaborator with the Roman rulers) as a result of Jesus visit, committed himself to justice. “That’s what conversion looks like for those with imperial power,” said Dave. The parable of the talents is told as they leave Zacchaeus’ home. The nobleman gave his servants money and went away to solidify his hold on power to much fear among the citizenry. On his return, he calls the servants to account for what they did with the money, and praises the first two. The third servant exposes the corrupt master, saying he’s a harsh and austere master who demands to reap what he did not sow. This servant exposes the master’s style of operation and refuses to play the game of abusive power. The master is not impressed, takes the money from the servant and gives it to the first servant. This is not about fairness, it’s about extending the master’s power. This parable is about power and shows how dissent is dealt with. In Jesus new kingdom Jesus is the victim, not the ruler. Salvation means defection from power; defection is possible but costly. We need to realize we are embedded in the systems of our kingdoms. The current Wall Street protests seek a redistribution of wealth, something Jesus called for. How do we embody a life of dissent? [HN]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, October 23rd, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Oct. 16, 2011 (Elsie Goerzen)

2011-10-16T11:30:00.000-07:00

Throughout her teaching and work concerning domestic violence in society and in the church, Elsie Goerzen (MCC-BC and CBI) has drawn inspiration from the life and teaching of Jesus, especially from how he related to women and the marginalized in his society. On Oct. 16th, Elsie focused on the story (Luke 13.10-17) about "the woman bent over" -- crippled and essentially a voiceless outcast. In synagogues, women sat behind screens during worship (so they did not 'bother' men), and they were to be silent. When out of the home, a woman was to be accompanied (thereby protecting the honour of her husband), and any man wishing to talk to her was to speak through her chaperone. Touching was out of the question. In Luke 13, an unnamed but crippled woman attended synagogue, possibly knowing Jesus would be there. At one point, Jesus began breaking one taboo after another. He called directly to the woman (not through someone else), contacting her over the dividing screen. He healed her, right then and there, on the Sabbath. She then broke the rules by praising God (rather than being silent). Today, too many women in church and society are marginalized by rules, social practices and legal practices which can be used against the poor (including women). Elsie reminded us that we have the opportunity to be like Jesus, or we can live with 'screens' in our lives. St Paul challenged believers to overturn the traditional prayer of male Jews (giving thanks he is not a Gentile, not a slave, and not a woman). Paul followed Jesus by arguing that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female. Easy words? [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, October 16th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Oct. 2, 2011 (Karl Brown)

2011-10-02T11:30:00.000-07:00

To review the history of Faith surely requires more than a single talk, so Karl Brown presented his first in his series on October 2nd, based on the lectionary texts for that day. Karl's opening premise is that you can only have faith in something you cannot prove to be true. According to the earliest legends in Genesis and Exodus, at least some Jews felt that they could indeed prove that God existed, therefore, they did not really need to have faith that there was a God, and instead only had to focus on following that God's ways. Those people are recorded as having heard God's voice, feeling God's presence being manifested by cloud and fire, manna, and improbable victories. But as time passed, so did these very personal and direct manifestations, and Faith entered a new phase. By the time of St Paul, religious fanatics not only had to have faith that this elusive and silent God existed, but also that an utterly strict observance of ritualistic actions effectively curried favour with this elusive God. Paul followed that life journey for years before concluding that ritualistic purity and actions were no longer desired by this God, but instead, one must simply have faith in God, and act accordingly. Jesus had already been developing this theory, synthesizing all the Jewish religious rituals, commandments and commentary to just two statements for the believer: Love God as much as is possible for you, and love your neighbour. Pascal viewed faith rather differently, as a way of hedging his bets. He argued that one is better off believing there is a God (even if this turns out to be incorrect) than in believing there is no God (and finding out upon death that you are dead wrong and have no further options). All of this (and more) led to a lively time of discussion and a most enjoyable gathering around coffee. [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, October 2nd, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Sep. 25, 2011 (Jim Neudorf)

2011-09-25T11:30:00.000-07:00

Our 25th anniversary service featured several reflections: one on the past of PGIMF and its founding members as seen through the minutes of an old congregational meeting read by Ed Hintz, a second from Don Teichroeb on the distinctives of our congregation in the present; a third from Jonathan Ehling, detailing the attractiveness this congregation holds for those seeking a future with God, and a fourth from Jim Neudorf, whose work with this congregation goes back very nearly to the beginning when he and Grace arrived from Edmonton, looking for a new church that would stand up to the rigorous inquiry he found at university in a survey course on Christianity. Jim realized his Bible-School education was inadequate to the task of explaining the many contradictions and questions the survey course had left him, and gently, through service to the church, relationship with its members, and studying and speaking to the congregation, he worked out a useful theology of living for himself. This extended his abilities to serve in two other churches in Squamish where he now lives, and with several examples from scripture, extended the same invitation to us to take the risk and follow a radical theology of living as God directs. [AP]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, September 25th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Sep. 18, 2011 (Kevin Hiebert)

2011-09-18T11:30:00.000-07:00

Kevin Hiebert’s message opened with Jonah despairing his failure as a prophet, resenting God’s mercy and ignoring God’s dominion over creation, as paralleled in Psalm 145. Kevin led us through the stories of scientists and mathematicians whose explorations of creation and faith informed later philosophers. Although the Aristotelian world-view of the Sun revolving around the earth seemed to harmonize nicely with Scriptural accounts, this geocentric model wasn’t consistent with motion of the heavens to Copernicus, whose heliocentric cosmology was confirmed by new evidence from Galileo’s telescopic observations. The Church had elevated its literal interpretations of natural phenomenon in Scripture to the same level as core doctrine and branded Galileo a heretic, but Pope John Paul II would later praise Galileo for not accepting a contradiction between science and faith: “both come from the same Source and are to be brought into relationship with the first Truth.”

Albert Einstein appreciated the mysteries of creation while subscribing to a view of God closest to that of Spinoza, a 17th Century Dutch philosopher who believed that creation exists in God as a subset of His infinite attributes. While Einstein is famously quoted as saying, “science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind”, he always maintained humility about his theology, corresponding to the weakness of our understanding of nature and the human condition.

The difficulty of reconciling scientific discoveries with Christian theology also challenged Georg Cantor, a mathematician whose writings in the 1880s on infinity and set theory inspired Benoit Mandelbrot, a recently deceased mathematician best known for his work since the 1980s on fractal geometry in fields as diverse as biology, economics and climatology. Kevin described how Mandelbrot’s work has been used in Theosophy, a combination of theology & philosophy which attempts to reconcile scientific and religious disciplines. A mesmerizing video of Michael Hogg’s deep zoom into the never-ending Mandelbrot set illustrated Kevin’s point that our search for knowledge doesn’t have to preclude our search for God, such as when physicists search for the Higgs boson, also known as the “the God particle”. [AP & KH]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, September 18th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Sep. 11, 2011 (J. Evan Kreider)

2011-09-11T11:30:00.000-07:00

Evan Kreider spoke on the Romans 14 text about those “weak in the faith,” noting that all religious groups have someone who fits this category. Paul uses the example of not eating meat to discuss Christian behaviour and sin. The key point is not to judge: we are servants of God and of one another; it is God who will do the judging. Paul stresses thinking things through carefully and respecting others: debate the idea, don’t judge the person. As the new student community is being formed at MSC, there will be differing points of view on issues like money, sexuality, etc. It is important to listen to other points of view, and sometimes to agree to disagree. Issues (like gender orientation) tear churches and conferences apart; in Paul’s day it was the meat-eating issue. Eating non-kosher meat was elevated to the realm of sin. The meat/circumcision issues were brought to the Jerusalem council – both sides thought they were right – and there was no middle ground. They agreed to disagree and to not divide the church. Evan noted that our understanding of human behaviour has changed - 200 years ago slavery was accepted by many churches. Church leaders do not have good record when judging others. The body of Christ is a living organism that demands diversity, love and unity. Strong believers are those open to discussion, willing to discuss differing points of view, and to keep the discussion going. Fundamentalists are convinced there is nothing to discuss. We need to practice listening to other points of view and to take off our judge’s robes and leave them at the cross. (HN)

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, September 11th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Sep. 4, 2011 (Andre Pekovich)

2011-09-04T11:30:00.000-07:00

Andre Pekovich concluded the summer's series of sermons on Women in the Bible with one story about the prophet Deborah (Judges 4.1-16). Deborah was yet another woman viewed as a paradigm of faithfulness in Judges (whereas some male judges were seriously flawed, such as Samson). Deborah held court under her palm tree, from which she gave her judgments, thereby helping to keep the peace within Israel. When the time was propitious for Israel's 12 tribes to challenge King Jabin in battle, she summoned warriors from the 12 tribes to gather under the military leadership of Barak (who agreed to take on this risky venture only if Deborah came along). Only 6 tribes sent soldiers, so the army was less substantial than hoped. King Jabin sent his General Sisera to subdue Israel's disorganized men, providing them superior weapons, including chariots made of iron (not just wood). The military odds were against the Jews, but an unexpected blinding rain and ensuing flash flood mired the heavy chariots in mud, Baal (their god of storms) had let them down, and the army fled in disorder. General Sisera fled on foot, not to Heber, but rather Heber's wife Jael (Heber worshiped local gods but Jael still feared Yahweh). Jael provided Sisera a place to sleep in her tent, but then drove a tent peg through his temples. Andre then spoke on a second woman, Pilate's unnamed wife (Matthew 27.19) who frequently traveled with Pilate and served as his political adviser. When Jesus was brought before Pilate, his wife most unexpectedly sent him an urgent message, advising that he free Jesus because she felt he was innocent. This sage advice was ignored, and the consequences were considerable. Although this series has now concluded, there are still more than 100 women cited in the bible for their contributions to the development of Jewish culture, nationhood, and religious development, both in the Old Testament and New. The ministry of Jesus was unthinkable without the logistical and financial support of women who remained, as society then dictated, in the background. Historians now understand that the early church surely would have ceased to exist had women not championed the new religion. [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, September 4th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Aug. 28, 2011 (Jo White)

2011-08-28T11:30:00.000-07:00

Jo White (Regent College graduate from New Zealand) spoke on two seemingly unrelated texts, John 20.1-18 and Song of Songs 3.1-5. Mary Magdalene was deeply involved with Jesus' life as one of his followers (possibly even traveling with the group), a witness to his death, burial and resurrection, and most likely as a financial and logistical supporter. Her nickname was Magdala, or "watchtower", and she certainly did keep watch over Jesus, with the gospels repeatedly recording her watchfulness and citing her first in lists of women. The Song of Songs, by contrast, is a book of erotic poetry which has been interpreted in a wide variety of ways over the centuries. In addition to eroticism, it explores themes of yearning and longing, loss and searching, discovery and joy. Jo suggests that the writer of the Gospel according to John possibly followed the literary model in the Song of Songs when writing the 20th chapter. In scripture, gardens are a motif for meeting and for intimacy; both stories are set in a garden, both have a woman searching, both women found watchmen/angels instead of the beloved, and both finally found the beloved. But then the stories purposefully diverge. Mary M. names Jesus as "teacher" (rather than "beloved"), she is not allowed to embrace Jesus (unlike her counterpart in the Song of Songs), and she is told to talk to the disciples (rather than to the daughters of Jerusalem). Jo then asked us, whom are we seeking? Who is seeking you? Are you a watchtower? [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, August 28th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Aug. 21, 2011 (Janice Kreider)

2011-08-21T11:30:00.000-07:00

A visit to Janice Kreider’s by idealistic students excited about food security led her to contemplate the perils to our food supply, from ‘food deserts’ in major cities to radiation contamination. Noting that we’re never too far from hunger in our carefully-balanced society, we take food for granted where our ancestors fleeing Europe and Russia couldn’t afford to. In the time of Judges and early kings of Israel, awareness of hunger was acute, and proxy confrontations between Baal and the God of all things formed the foundation of the story of Elijah and the Widow of Arephath. During a drought and famine like today’s in Africa, Elijah’s needs were supplied by God - first by the ravens, and then by the widow whose inexhaustible store of basic foodstuffs never dried up, and last by the raising of her son from the dead - leading the widow to a perhaps-tentative faith in the God of all things. Of this (and other) Biblical miracles, Wendell Berry wrote “I don’t think it’s enough appreciated how much an outdoor book the Bible is. It is best read and understood outdoors... Passages that, within walls seem improbably or incredible, seem outdoors [to be] merely natural.” Janice raised a number of points to consider as we ponder the precariousness of our existence. In famine, the community failed to care for the widow, but God cared when Baal could not. How will our own society meet the same evil? Will we learn the same lesson of salvation through faithfulness? Such evil has consequences that ricochet for decades longer than we expect, and in the past, the church has often proved itself inadequate to meet the test of faithfulness. What will be different next time? Will we act consonant with “The Word of The Lord”, risk what the widow risked in trusting a God most of us know no better than she did, or will we sell our souls to avarice and look out only for our own? The opportunity is here every day, right now; if we forget, Jesus encourages us to remind ourselves, as Janice did, with communal prayer from Matthew 6; “Our Father, who art in heaven... give us this day our bread for tomorrow...” [AP]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, August 21st, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Aug. 14, 2011 (Lydia Cruttwell)

2011-08-14T11:30:00.000-07:00

Regent student Lydia Cruttwell focused on Luke’s brief account of the well known Mary/Martha story: two single women living with their brother. Drawing on her experience working in a bakery, Lydia talked about the amount of work involved in meal preparation. Even if Martha wanted to prepare a simply meal, the complexities at the time were enormous compared to our day: no refrigeration meant meat had to be freshly slaughtered, no yeast, and wheat had to be ground before baking bread. Martha, steeped in expectations to be good hostess, chose to welcome Jesus and his disciples. Martha publicly shames her sister in front of her guests. Jesus sweeps away her concerns and says Mary made the right choice. “If I were Martha I’d be angry,” said Lydia. Lydia then posed three questions about the story: Who is the host? Who is the guest? What is being served? When Jesus comes, he welcomes us – he is the host. Mary found this truth; Martha could not see beyond the literal food. If we pay attention to the guests we’ll begin to see Christ. (HN)

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, August 14th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Aug. 7, 2011 (Henry Neufeld)

2011-08-07T11:30:00.000-07:00

Henry Neufeld continued our summer's series on Women in the Bible by talking on Puah and Shiphrah (who?) As midwives to the Israelites in Egypt (Exodus 1.5-2.8), these gals were ordered to control the Jewish population by killing all the newborn males. While this bizzare strategy would hardly have curtailed the population, it does follow the genre of story in which a powerful personality attempts to stave off rivalry by killing off babies of the ruler's sex (e.g., Herod). In this particular story, the baby Moses was hidden in a special basket, rescued by one of Pharaoh's daughters, and nursed by his very own mother. Puah and Shiphrah defied national law, possibly committing the first act of civil disobedience recorded in scripture [Jesus later broke the law by breaking the federal seal on his tomb when rising from death]. This civil disobedience made the eventual Exodus possible. These two women are still honoured by some Jews today. So this is a story about subversive women--Puah and Shiphrah, also a story about the subversive actions of the mother of Moses and her daughter, to say nothing of Pharaoh's daughter. Each of these women used 'creative thinking', sometimes lying, in order to oppose unethical laws. Thoreau once argued that Christians should not allow governments to alter their consciences. Where are the Puahs and Shiphrahs today? For example, why did none of our churches speak out against the war in the last election? [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, August 7th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. July 31, 2011 (Walter Bergen)

2011-07-31T11:30:00.000-07:00

We were delighted to have Walter and Janet Bergen with us again, members from our very earliest days 25 years ago. Walter continued our summer series of talks on women in the bible by recalling the stories about Hagar (Genesis 16 and 21). Abraham obtained the slave girl he called "Hagar" during one of his visit to Egypt. Sarah and Abraham are portrayed as believing God's promise that they would conceive a son, but as time passed, they took matters into their own hands by using Hagar the slave-girl as a concubine [she is called "wife" in Genesis 16.3, but still referred to as "your slave-girl" three verses later; concubines could be used as surrogate wombs and their children could be fully adopted if the master so decided]. However, Hagar's success as a surrogate womb only made matters more difficult, for Hagar is not portrayed as being loved or rewarded by either Abraham or Sarah, nor as loving in return. She had merely been a tool to be used for their purposes. Hagar and Ishmael were unexpectedly expelled from the protection and support of the camp--against all local customs and practices--and left to die, being somehow sustained by God. Walter portrayed Hagar's life as a story of sexual abuse, of treating a woman as an object rather than someone to be respected, and of a woman being discarded when she was no longer useful to the 'real' family. How would the story have differed if either Abraham or Sarah had ever shown love to Hagar? This sordid tale shows "Father Abraham" and Sarah as spiritual and ethical failures before they finally developed into people of faith. Are there any Sarahs in our lives, any Abrahams who need to be guided, or any Hagars or Ishmaels needing love and protection? [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, July 31st, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. July 24, 2011 (Rosie Perera)

2011-07-24T11:30:00.000-07:00

Rosie Perera continued our summer series on Women in the Bible by speaking on Joshua chapters 2 and 6 which tell the fascinating story of "Rahab the prostitute". Moses had recently passed away and Joshua had emerged as the new military strategist. He decided that his first conquest would be the fortified city of Jericho. Rahab openly ran a brothel/inn, possibly as its madame, possibly as a retired former concubine of the king, and possibly because her family had rejected her and would not support her. She most certainly was not merely your ordinary inn keeper. She lived "in" the city's wall, which placed her on the edge of Jericho's society, protected yet vulnerable as a prostitute. We surmise that she was wealthy because she had enough flax drying on her roof to hide grown men from the king's police investigation. Hers is a story of deception, which was considered acceptable in war then, as now. Yet her story is also one of an emerging faith in this Yahweh, whose followers were enjoying unusual success. The writer of The Book of Judges concluded that Rahab was saved physically because of her open expressions of faith, and notes that she saved all of her family (even if they likely had possibly not helped her because of her work) and that she saved all of the working women in her establishment. Rahab through her daughter-in-law Ruth, became the great grandmother of King David, and therefore an ancestor of Jesus. [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, July 24th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. July 17, 2011 (Chelle Stearns)

2011-07-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

On July 17th, Chelle Stearns (Theology Professor) spoke on "The Un-named Woman" (Matthew 26.6-13), the second in our summer series on women in the bible. It had been a busy week for Jesus, with the 'triumphal entry' into Jerusalem got things rolling. The morning's s story took place while Jesus and students were being hosted at the house of "Simon the leper", who is otherwise unknown to us. Chelle approached the story through a painting by "Arcabas" (Jean-Marie Pirot) who has been working primarily in Saint-Hugues-de-Chartreuse but also in Ottawa. His paintings are often inspired by biblical stories, as is true for "L'Onction de Nard" ('The Nard Ointment', but Catholics would also read "extreme-onction" into the title, as in Last Rites). In this work we see the faces of Jesus and the woman at the moment at which she is pouring out the costly nard perfume (from the Himalayas) on the head of Jesus. Jesus is portrayed as accepting this unusual gesture or "anointing". The woman is shown wearing the garb of an early-20th-c. nun, suggesting that she is declaring herself to be celibate, possibly (like nuns) being 'married' instead to Christ, and that the very expensive perfume represented the marriage dowry which she was forgoing in order to work with the poor (an interpretation added by later tradition). Her otherwise ridiculous act is portrayed by the gospel writer as being a prophetic anointing which proclaims the Jesus is the Messiah, something she was possibly led to do by the Holy Spirit. We, too, are called to be like this woman and name Jesus. [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, July 17th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. July 3, 2011 (Laura Eriksson)

2011-07-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

Laura Ericsson began our series on Women of the Bible. As she researched her message, conversations with other women she knew about “what makes a good story?” inspired Laura to see in the story of Ruth and Naomi many reflections of her own experience, and evoked an inquiry into God’s moving in mysterious ways. Her curiosity is piqued by Ruth’s inclusion in Jesus’ lineage rom Matthew - how did she, a Moabite woman, get into Jesus’ background? The four hundred years of the judges were dark days for Israel, and the death of Naomi’s husband and two sons made her sojourn in Moab fleeing famine in Israel, an unhappy one. Her decision to return home to Israel to Bethlehem, to be redeemed by family relations and feel closer to God was sensible. So too was her daughter-in-law Orpah’s decision to remain in Moab. Ruth’s decision, however is magic, and rewards Naomi’s grace and blessing of her daughters-in-law with Ruth’s loyalty. Did Ruth see in Naomi’s love for her God a blessing for her own life too? We are not told. Her return to her hometown as the barley harvest was beginning evoked in Laura of the times of harvest on the farm on which she grew up. Ruth fits right in and contributes to the community, the extended family; and God and Naomi begin to bring about a future for her. As Boaz’s attention is drawn to Ruth, his obligation to “redeem” must be properly done, and celebrated in land and covenant. Thus through Boaz, a son to Ruth - Obed - became a father to David in the line of Jesus. Laura identified three themes. God’s kindness overshadows our bitterness, seen in Ruth’s loyalty, Naomi’s blessing and chesed to her daughters, and in Boaz’s treatment of the foreigner Ruth. Two: A kind of dignity is present in distress, and Laura told stories from her own past about the kindness of strangers giving her dignity. Three: Grief turns into gratitude. God’s mercy gives us the grace to go on in our grief, and gives us a chance to redeem our lives in gratitude, and Laura read from Psalm 116, which she noted could be Naomi’s Psalm. This great story of redemption and grace and chesed rejuvenates our faith in God, who asks us to do the same. [AP]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, July 3rd, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. June 26, 2011 (John Neufeld)

2011-06-26T11:30:00.000-07:00

John Neufeld’s experience as a senior led him to offer advice in his fresh look at John 10:1-20, a familiar passage to all of us. He noted that every senior needs a reason to get up in the morning; to practice curiosity as long as they can; and they need a sense of humour “because if you don’t laugh, you have to take medicine.” So John 10 made John curious about the obvious conflict raised for the Pharisees in Jesus’ words. The Pharisees had codified the law for so long that no new knowledge could disturb them, and the people themselves had lived a long time under that interpretation of the law - that is, until this new rabbi came along with God’s spirit upon him. John noted that the source of the controversial phrase “I am the good shepherd” (vs 11) came from Ezekiel 34 where Ezekiel speaks against the rulers of Israel saying “You shepherds [rulers] have not strengthened the weak, you have not bound up the injured, you have not healed the sick, you have not sought the lost....” Their apathetic self-seeking was a rich target for Ezekiel, who then says on God’s behalf, that he [God] would instead strengthen the weak, bind up the injured, and heal the sick, because the rulers had failed to do so. The Jews of the day would have known this passage well. When Jesus further says in vs 7 “I am the gate for the sheep”, the people would have known (a) Jesus was one with Yahweh, and (b) that God has returned to usurp the leaders of their power and irresponsibility because they have failed. So difficult was this thought for people that Jesus had to repeat himself. Third, Jesus notes in vs. 16 that “I have other sheep...” One can only imagine how the Chosen People would have reacted to the thought of one world, one flock, and one shepherd. This went completely against their assumptions - no wonder they thought him out of his mind. Though these words seem comfortable to us now, we should not forget their revolutionary intent, for they apply to us too. We are always invited to undertake a radical reexamination of our beliefs and practices. [AP]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, June 26th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. June 12, 2011 (Mariam Kamell)

2011-06-12T11:30:00.000-07:00

In her second message from the book of James (Jm 1:19-27), Miriam Kammell noted that this letter was written by the brother of Jesus. James emphasizes that how we behave reflects how we feel about God. James was the one who welcomed Paul into the Christian family and he mediated the council sessions described in Acts 15. James had a towering reputation in the early church. Being quick to listen, slow to speak and even slower to anger requires humility and sometimes it means letting go of our right to be heard. It is in doing the "word" that the blessings are pronounced. Miriam said moral purity and concern for the poor go hand in hand; in doing the "word" we receive the blessings as we are forged into God. Encouraging us to be compassionate and merciful, she called for a return to the prophetic function of the church. What are our prophetic issues and where are our prophets? [HN]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, June 12th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. June 5, 2011 (Mariam Kamell)

2011-06-05T11:30:00.000-07:00

Mariam Kamell, speaking on James 1:7-12, noted how we view God has serious implications for how we act, just as how we view our friends and coworkers affects how we relate to them. James does not present theology so much as a manual for living. It’s both wisdom literature in the line of Proverbs, with its theology, partly hiddne behind a presription for life; and it’s also in apocalyptic tradition as James presents God’s judgment at every turn. James bears warning as prophetic literature - if you do not choose God’s ways, you will be destroyed, so choose life and live. This is in line with Jesus’ commandment to the people “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” God is a covenant-making God (vs 12) who responds to faithfulness. Therefore we should submit to our trials with God’s promise of relief to us in our ears. We should resist temptation - to blame someone else, to succumb to our desires - (vs 13-15) for the outcome is death. It’s not God’s requests of us that cause us to sin, it’s our own resistance. When we act out of love for God, and obey his commands, we are assured of mercy from God. We are not told to judge each other nor God. He is above all a good and giving God, (vs. 16-18) especially when we approach God in our lack, giving us good and perfect gifts. The ethics in James become dos and don’t s if we do not love God. Let us love God instead. [AP]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, June 5th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. May 22, 2011 (Morgan Tipton)

2011-05-22T11:30:00.000-07:00

Morgan Tipton spoke about Stephen, the first Christian martyr. She noted that there are days when we do everything right (Stephen preached the gospel) and yet feel victimized. This feeling is likely based on thinking that we are the centre of the universe. “When things go well, I can see God in my neighbour,” she said. Things went well for Stephen when he preached the first Christian apologetic sermon and was stoned to death by the zealous Pharisees. Morgan acknowledged the Pharisees good intentions – to bring in God’s reign by intense study of the Torah. Saul, an observer at the stoning, subsequently developed a new relationship with God through his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. He then stepped aside from his Pharisaical ministry for 13 years and came back as the Paul we know in the New Testament. The story of Stephen reminds us that our faith will also be tested, perhaps not in such an extreme way, but when we challenge authorities, face hostile people, or how we treat people who anger us. (HN)

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, May 22nd, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. May 15, 2011 (Veronica Dyck)

2011-05-15T11:30:00.000-07:00

Each of the three cycles of the liturgical year has the fourth Sunday of Easter focus on the Good Shepherd. Veronica Dyck noted that while we know about 'racks of lamb' in restaurants, we never observe the actual raising of sheep, particularly in the wilderness and mountains. In the day's text (John 10), Jesus referred to himself as being the gate. Traditionally, the shepherd provided pastures for his sheep (who could not find them independently), protected the sheep (who were defenseless), and named each sheep (being able to account for each throughout the day). Shepherds frequently shared sheep enclosures for the night with other flocks and shepherds, sometimes even in caves where the sheep could be safe. Sometimes the shepherd actually lay across the doorless gateway to an enclosure in order to waken if predators approached and tried to enter. In the morning, each shepherd would call his sheep and only his sheep would follow. Jesus therefore spoke to his rural sheep-raising audience by referring to himself both as "the gate", and as the good shepherd, saying that "my sheep know my voice" and "I know them by name." By contrast, Jesus said that men who did not enter the enclosure through the gate were surely thieves (as his listeners would have readily agreed). His reference to thieves possibly referred to the wealthy temple class which freely fleeced worshipers without nurturing or assisting them. The worst fate some prophets could predict for Judah was that they would become like a scattered flock without good leadership. Psalm 23 suggests that even when our lives take us through valleys we never wished to travel, Jesus, our Good Shepherd, will be with us. [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, May 15th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. May 8, 2011 (Karl Brown)

2011-05-08T11:30:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, Karl Brown asked us, "What if we're all wrong?" Our lectionary readings for the day retold the death and resurrection of Jesus (Acts 2), how we are therefore to live (1 Peter 1), and that if we do those things we will go to heaven (Luke 24). However, the Koran tells its readers to do certain righteous works and they too will go to heaven. But what if everybody is wrong? Thomas Paine, for example, published a criticism of religions generally. He believed there was a caring, loving God, but in his "The Age of Reason" argued that religion was not reflecting this God. He saw that contemporary religion in his day was evil, for none of us has a special connection with God or influence over God. He wanted worship without formalized religion, so he proposed "Deism". He did not recognize any miracles some have attributed to God, nor did he ever see God intervening in history or appearing in visions. All of those would break God's laws of physics, nature, etc. Instead, Paine wrote that God gave us our powers of reasons and we can learn to use it. As for Jesus, Paine concluded that God would never create a man just to kill him. By contrast, one modern (and very popular) preacher teaches that it is misguided to think that a few of us will go to heaven and all the others will suffer. Studies suggest that, in spite of what specific churches teach, most members believe that most people will go to heaven. In fact, institutionalized religion tends to focus on small current issues of the day (e.g., mode or timing of baptism, sexuality) and overlook ethical essentials. How do we know who is right? [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, May 8th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. May 1, 2011 (Joseph Dutko)

2011-05-01T11:30:00.000-07:00

On May 1st, Joseph Dutko spoke about replacing anxiety and worry with awe and wonder. A man asks Jesus to "tell my brother to share the inheritance with me" and Jesus criticizes him for his selfishness. This is the context for Jesus comments about not worrying. Jesus warns about covetousness and selfishness; the best way to avoid these sins by faith. Joseph said we should fear God's displeasure and trust his care; God's cares for the sparrows is indicative of his concern for us... consider the lilies and the birds. We are not to be controlled by things, rather to seek the kingdom and these things will be given us. Did Albert Scweitzer, by leaving a successful life to provide medical care for the needy in Africa, find the kingdom? (HN) NOTE: no audio recording of this service was made.

Sun. Apr. 24, 2011 (Easter Sunday)

2011-04-24T11:30:00.000-07:00

We held our annual service of worship and prayer and singing to celebrate the risen Lord at Easter. Evan Kreider designed and led the service which followed the path of the Easter story through scripture, and we joined voices with songleading by Eric Hannan, and accompaniment by Ruth Enns. All this followed our usual Easter Sunday potluck breakfast which was delicious and well attended. [AP] NOTE: the audio recording of the service is available for borrowing on CD.

Sun. Apr. 17, 2011 (Phil Schafran)

2011-04-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

Phil Schafran (MCC) spoke on "Interfaith Bridge-Building: engaging religious viewpoints that are not our own". Each of us has a tendency toward religious toleration, and a tendency toward religious intolerance. MCC sees this wherever it works around the world, and tries to start with its workers having a strong inner personal faith, which provides a firm foundation for a wide variety of challenges. From that foundation, its workers can cooperate with believers of other faiths on projects in which both faiths have a common interest, such as peace making and service. MCC assumes that by working with people of other faiths on common projects, we can learn from each other, learn what makes each of us serve, for faith reasons. When the government in Somalia decreed that Islam had to be taught in all schools, most Protestant missionaries closed their schools and left. But some Mennonites decided to stay and let Islam be taught in their school, because by staying, they could continue serving the students and community and quietly witness through their lives. Somalians later revealed that this proved to be a crucial turning point in their thinking about Christianity. In Acts 17, Paul participated in an inter-faith dialogue with Athenians. Paul knew enough about their various religions that he could find points of commonality, and from there he attempted to draw them into serious conversations about faith, including his new faith. In all inter-faith dialogues there will be understanding and misunderstanding, tolerance and intolerance. Paul did not emphasize differences which divided the faiths but instead identified where their beliefs coincided. Paul had mixed results, and we can expect the same, but this never deterred Paul from entering into still new cross-faith discussions. [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, April 17th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Apr. 10, 2011 (Janice Kreider)

2011-04-10T11:30:00.000-07:00

Janice Kreider focussed on two passages from Psalm 23: “you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies,” and “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” This is an unusual idea, eating a sumptuous meal while your enemies watch. Maybe the enemies were invited but declined, maybe they weren’t invited, maybe they excluded themselves. It is surprising that no emotion is expressed here; no fear or hatred is directed toward the enemy who watches you eat. This reminded Janice of Eleanor Kreider's response when asked what mission might look like in look in a post-Christendom world. “It looks like neighbours and strangers gazing in the windows of the Christian community, longing for the invitation to join the bounteous meal spread on the generous table. “Dwell in the house of the Lord” should read “I shall return to the house of the Lord,” which reflects the reality of our journey and the fact that we can return to the house of the Lord at any time. The 23rd psalm is a reminder of God's goodness and the comforting theme that God is with us and cares for us. [HN]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, April 10th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Apr. 3, 2011 (Joe Heikman)

2011-04-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

Joe Heikman, associate pastor at FUMC, has come a long way from his Pennsylvania Mennonite roots. His talk on Ezekiel 37's valley of dry bones left us with many striking images of a prophet whose life was hard so that God might be glorified. Lying in the street on his side, cutting his hair with a sword, peaching doom and gloom to a population who didn’t want to hear him made the message only that much more powerful. Our call to hear the prophets of our own day may be similarly impaired - how can we distinguish the voice of God among the cacophony of voices - some reasonable and some raving? Joe suggested we pray for wisdom. [AP]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, April 3rd, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Mar. 27, 2011 (Ajay Caleb)

2011-03-27T11:30:00.000-07:00

Ajay Caleb, a man with a heart for mission to those in the world with less opportunity, both to care for themselves, or to meet the Lord, led us on a journey to several places in the world where people in their daily living are hurt by lack of opportunity and breadth of vision, including himself. Of himself: a sea of black heads bobbing along the road on their way to work in India, gave him pause, and he asked “Lord, how will I help all these people?” And the answer: “One at a time.” Our task is not to meet the needs of the masses, but only those we meet. In north-east India, near the Bhutan border, Ajay met villagers realizing their vision for education and business possibilities while at war with Marxist guerrillas, and while on a morning walk, met the guerrillas themselves, realizing that though there was war, relationship of clan still held them together. The faith of others also sustains them, but may leave them empty of possibility, as told in a story of a woman whose womb remained childless. We should also not prejudge the results we get, as reminded in the story of meeting a risen Jesus along the road to Emmaus. We should not limit our vision by expecting the results we have always gotten - we should have faith and expect a new result. But we cannot start a fire in another’s heart without it burning in our own. What is our role in mission today? Do we have a burning to bring to others? Are we willing to serve as the Samaritan woman at the well did to Jesus? And will we, like Jesus, serve those deemed less deserving? We have an opportunity to minister here at home. Let us begin it now. [AP]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, March 27th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Mar. 20, 2011 (J. Evan Kreider)

2011-03-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

J. Evan Kreider spoke on John 3:1-17 enhancing our understanding of the tradition and the situation behind the story of Nicodemus’ relationship to Jesus in our touchstone passage in the Christian church “for God so loved the world...” Evan’s distinction between being “born from above” (rather than “born again,”) was an old Jewish tradition to emphasize a closer relationship with God without referring to God directly, as they were loath to do. Nicodemus also knew Gentile converts to Judaism were baptised with water, symbolizing starting over again as if being born like a child, but he never imagined that he, an observant Jew raised in the tradition, would have to do the same. It is difficult for us all to think outside our own spiritual traditions. But Jesus insisted God’s spirit washes impurities away, producing a new heart, rather than a newborn life. Jesus’ birth from above was tacitly agreed to by Nicodemus by acknowledgement of his miracle-working; thus could Nicodemus be reasonably asked to believe Jesus spoke with some authority about heaven. As Moses raised a serpent on high to save the wandering Jews who had been bitten by snakes from dying, so to was Jesus raised on the cross to save not just the righteous people of Israel, but all humanity, including Nicodemus. Mozart’s Requiem repeats this lesson as an artistic miniature; that despite obeying the law and the prophets, the young voice of a boy soprano asks how we are to face God alone with our sins along with us. John’s gospel, no matter how hard to believe, is no harder than believing a snake raised on high in the desert could save us. Give us the grace to believe. [AP]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, March 20th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Mar. 13, 2011 (Hannah Dutko)

2011-03-13T11:30:00.000-07:00

Hannah Dutko focused her message on the life of Julian of Norwich, (1342 – 1416) a medieval woman, a mystic, and a religious writer. A recluse, she lived in a small cell in as an anchoress, a type of hermit who lives in a cell attached to the church and engages in contemplative prayer. At age 30, suffering from a severe illness and believing she was on her deathbed, she had a series of intense visions of Jesus, God and the devil. She transcribed these visions in what is considered the first known autobiography by a woman. Twenty years later she wrote another series of reflections on her visions. She wrote so that people might understand the love and revelation of God. The times were difficult: the black death, the Roman church was in chaos (two popes) and Wycliffe and Hus were emerging activists. Julian, in exploring the meaning of suffering, rejects the idea of suffering caused by the devil; the devil seeks to promote despair and doubt; but Christ’s passion has overcome evil. Further, suffering is not punishment from God; Julian suggests a merciful theology and hope in God’s power. Her writings suggest confidence that God is at work. God answered her prayers by saying “I will make all things well; and you will see that yourself, that all things will be well.” The comment was made that it might be difficult to reassure people (“that all things will be well”) when they are angry or seriously ill. It is a message that should given in hope, to someone we know well. [HN] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, March 13th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Mar. 6, 2011 (Sven Eriksson)

2011-03-06T11:30:00.000-08:00

Sven Eriksson spoke on the gospel lectionary text, Matthew 17.1-9. So much in the story of the Transfiguration is beyond our comprehension, but it celebrates the great transition from the three years of ministry to the final week of difficulties, trials and death. (Peter reported his recollections very modestly in 2 Peter 1.16-18.) Jesus went to a "mountain" (not by B.C. standards) to pray with Peter, James and John--the same three men who would accompany him for prayer in Gethsemane (falling asleep both times). Nevertheless, the experience became a beacon for them, for God had entered their lives in an unexpected way. Are we ever aware that God enters our space at specific times and places? We, too, may have had our "Holy Mountain" experiences, answered prayers, meaningful dreams, thoughts or unexpected insights, but do we--should we--tell these extraordinary experiences to each other? What are we supposed to do with them? Dismiss the unexpected? Deny that transcendence ever happened, even when experiencing it? The three disciples were not prompted to do anything, only to be there, experience the event, and it was assumed that the event would somehow transform their lives. We, like Peter, want to take action, but the profound awareness of God entering our lives may best be understood as our being granted a glimpse of God's glory which may then, somehow, become a beacon in our lives. [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, March 6th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Feb. 20, 2011 (Steve Heinrichs)

2011-02-20T11:30:00.000-08:00

Steve Heinrichs spoke on a variety of subjects, such as (1) Jesus calming the sea (Mark 4.35-41), (2) the history of European Canadians taking over British Columbia, and (3) Mennonites attempting to relate to indigenous neighbours. This summary will focus on the gospel lectionary reading for the morning. Some travelers have the gift of sleep. Jesus slept right through the heart of a storm until awakened by friends. But the way this story is told in Mark draws interesting parallels to the story of Jonah. We first sense the deliberateness of these parallels when noticing that the teller refers to the tiny Lake of Galilee as a "sea". This helps listeners recall that Jonah was also asleep on a boat while traveling through a storm on the sea. Both Jesus and Jonah were awakened by frightened fellow travelers, and both men found unusual and even supernatural ways to calm their storms. Both men were on a mission to the Gentiles, Jonah to Ninevah (to save them from certain destruction) and Jesus to Decapolis on the east of the Jordan, where he went to a Gentile cemetery (doubly unclean) and cast out demons (bringing salvation to the man and witness to the area). The 'possessed' man was obviously on the margins of his society. Steve then challenged us to leave the comforts of our church world and consider relating in meaningful ways to those marginalized in our society, especially indigenous peoples. [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, February 20th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Feb. 13, 2011 (Aaron Roberts)

2011-02-13T11:30:00.000-08:00

Aaron Roberts (MCS Regent 2008; now in ministry at St. John's Anglican) spoke on Faith about Romans 4:13-21. This dense, theologically-rich passage analyzed Abraham's faith in light of his righteousness, acts, and observance of God's words. First, Aaron reviewed God's attempts to redeem humanity from its fall as He started over and over again, through different men such as Noah, through Abraham and Sarah, whose faith exacted from God promise of a nation, through giving of the Law, and finally through the living sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Then Aaron dissected the passage to show what faith can do by discussing what faith is not: It is not a leap in the dark - it is rational and trusting, as a young child has faith that father will catch it when thrown up in the air. Faith only considers the things God has promised, not things God has not spoken about, such as how to get more prestige. It is not person-centered, but God-centered, and growing faith inevitably sees one turning more to consider how God would want the faithful person to act. God will not be manipulated by faith - we cannot add to our faith by training ourselves to think and believe only the positive. Nor is faith a skill you can learn or a task you can accomplish or something you can accumulate more of. We can only receive it as we hear and believe the promises of God, just as Abraham did, who did not flinch when promised a son, as he considered the failings of his or Sarah's bodies in old age. Faith does not close its eyes to the realities of life, but considers them and leaves it to God to work the way of his world. Nor is it true that if one believes something strongly enough, that it will occur - that is idolatry. Faith is not magic, and scripture cannot be used as an incantation. But with faith, God will restore humanity to its rightful place in God's creation. A lively discussion time considered blaming God when tests reveal the limits of faith; that faith cannot be passive but acts decisively; that children model growing in faith as they turn from I-centredness to consideration of others; and the idolatry of prosperity gospel. Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, February 13th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Feb. 6, 2011 (Paul Thiessen)

2011-02-06T11:30:00.000-08:00

Paul Thiessen spoke on the day's gospel reading, Matthew 5.13-20, "You are the salt of the earth." Even though many of us worry about consuming too much of the stuff, salt is essential to our health. Salt was so vital to ancient civilizations that it was often used as currency, included with food offerings to God, or even associated with covenants (called "salt covenants"). For centuries, drying and salting were the only known ways to preserve food. Right after giving the beatitudes, Jesus asked that we be the 'salt of the earth', that we be the ones to enact the beatitudes, fighting against the decay in society by being peacemakers and the children of God. Countless individuals have shown how we can, in small ways, be the 'salt of the earth'. Villagers in France quietly hid Jewish refugees and helped them to escape to Switzerland, nothing earth-shaking as far as the war was concerned, but they were simply being 'the salt of the earth'. Those who persuaded victorious Allied soldiers not to slaughter German prisoners of war were also enacting the beatitudes. The book, "I shall not hate", exemplifies how one man's peaceful stance and spirit of forgiveness, even when three of his daughters were killed by Israel's missiles, momentarily changed the thinking of thousands. Peterson paraphrased the gospel reading nicely: "You are to be the salt seasoning which brings out the God flavours." [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, February 6th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Jan. 30, 2011 (Andre Pekovich)

2011-01-30T11:30:00.000-08:00

Andre Pekovich presented a review of the history of Zionism. 17th-century Europe saw religious persecution which resulted in multiple massive religious migrations, including Mennonites and Jews. As difficulties persisted to surface, publications in the 19th century eventually gave ethnic Jews a new way of thinking about themselves. Secular Jews in Austria (1897) lobbied governments to obtain safe land somewhere (anywhere, not just in Palestine). None of these early Jewish leaders were viewed as religious figures, only as pragmatic nationalists. (Christian Zionism began in the 1820's, but that is an entirely different story.) Zionism was not created out of the holocaust, but predates it, and the so-called "holy land" was not all that important to early Zionists. However, as inexpensive land was purchased in Palestine from absentee Arab landlords, Jews started to migrate. By 1948 Jews owned and occupied about 6% of what they thought of as "traditional" Jewish land (though few would agree on specific borders for those lands). Palestinians were forced out of their traditional lands, in spite of inhabiting them for (presumably) centuries and possibly millennia. By 1948, with relatively little land under their ownership, a State of Israel was proclaimed, and citizenship was offered to all Jews regardless of country of origin and it was ostensibly to be denied to all non-Jews, even those legally inhabiting the land. In the context of the day's lectionary readings, our allegiance is not to a particular nationalism but to God. God owns the land and allows peoples to use it, 'if' God's covenant is kept in its entirety. Although no new lands were to be occupied after Joshua's military triumphs, Jews repeatedly ignored this condition. Although the Prophet Samuel warned the Jews that God did not want a monarch to be established, they created a king anyway, and with the secular king came the secular notion of expanding the kingdom's borders. Andre updated present thinking about the 'promised land' by reminding us that "the land we have been promised is Eternal Life." Palestinian Christians have been in Palestine since St Paul went to Damascus. Why do Christians not decry their brothers' and sisters' loss of land, jobs and rights when they are persecuted by the State of Israel? The bible is not a manual for occupation, and certainly does not speak a language of subjugation and oppression, yet there are those in Christ's church who are highly militarized, both ideologically and in reality. [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, January 30th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Jan. 23, 2011 (J. Evan Kreider)

2011-01-23T11:30:00.000-08:00

J. Evan Kreider led the group in a study of worship with the Psalter, an in-depth study of the history and meaning behind the Psalms, and the particular ways in which modern hymns bring the ancient texts to life, particularly in the rhythm of modern music, which is an exceedingly difficult thing to do well. Yet many writers have mastered it, and we heard some of the best. Evan lined up side-by-side the texts of eight hymns, such as #556; Lord Thou Has Searched Me; with the words of the appropriate Psalm - in this case, Ps 139 - and showed how the writers traced a path of imagery through the hymn just as it was in the Psalm, in some cases, line for line. Evan’s vast storehouse of historical knowledge brought out hidden detail in each hymn, and each of the arrangements had so much more meaning when the group finally sang in parts. The closing hymn’s gentle repetition of Scripture evoked the beauty and care of God in everyone who sang it. [AP] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, January 23rd, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Jan. 16, 2011 (Kevin Hiebert)

2011-01-16T11:30:00.000-08:00

Kevin spoke on "God's plan for you", looking at ways in which God has been portrayed in history, but seeing all of this through the eyes of modern office workers accustomed to Project Management. Kevin spoke of God "assembling the team" when creating the Trinity. God is often portrayed as "defining the project objectives", the next typical stage in project management, and also as "defining the project's scope", which is finally seen as being global. God is at times portrayed as "constructing an initial plan and schedule", for Jer 29 has God revealing that "I know the plans I have for you", including 70 years in captivity. Even Jesus (Luke 14) spoke of "identifying resources, costs, risks" before undertaking a project. There are many instances in scripture in which God tried to get "stake holder buy-in" (Ps. 40.7-8: I delight to do your will). Next, one must publish the plan so people know about it, a plan with a series of decision gates which offer options, something often encountered in the prophets (buy in by repenting, or get out of the project). One then collects information, monitoring and analyzing the progress, often looking at it both with a wide-angle and with a telephoto lens. Next, one often needs to adjust the plan, hence the difference in revelation between the New and Old Testaments, and the expansion to include those not Jewish. Finally one closes the project and celebrates (Revelation 20). [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, January 16th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Jan. 9, 2011 (Gareth Brandt)

2011-01-09T11:30:00.000-08:00

Gareth Brandt (Columbia Bible College professor of practical theology) spoke on "The Baptism of our Lord" (Matthew 3.13-17). We have only one story telling us anything of the life of Jesus between his infancy and baptism--the story of his lingering in the Temple at age 12. Consequently, Jesus suddenly emerges in this narrative as having been baptized, and in 3.16 we are given a rare allusion to what later has been thought of as the Trinity: the voice of God, the Spirit appearing "like" a dove, and the man Jesus. God's voice proclaimed Jesus as a "Beloved son" even before he had done anything of significance in the gospel narratives. But in a sense, this is typical of the gospel accounts, for they often describe unconditional love being given. Gareth asked whether we have experienced being beloved, suggesting that only by our experiencing being loved can we, in turn, truly and deeply love others. The next chapter in Matthew concerns the temptations in the wilderness; what was Jesus, God's "beloved son", now supposed to do with this unconditional love? The gospels proceed, each in their own way, to record stories of how Jesus proclaimed the primacy of God's love and how it can be expressed in our lives. [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, January 9th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Jan. 2, 2011 (Henry Neufeld)

2011-01-02T11:30:00.000-08:00

Henry Neufeld told of Jeremiah being imprisoned by his government for not being patriotic and for continually criticizing government, even going so far as to declare that God was surely on the enemy's side, not that of the Jews. When Jeremiah's cousin offered to sell land to the prophet--land that was already under enemy control and was inaccessible to Jeremiah, he bought it anyway, a seemingly hopeless gesture which was intended to make a point: One should look ahead, with faith in God, and act accordingly. Hope can be merely a thought or it can be expressed concretely as an act. Jeremiah hoped that, in spite of the impending crisis, his future descendants would eventually live on this new parcel of land. In a similar way, he also looked ahead, in hope, to the time when God would be able to make a new covenant with people, one not extolling external regulations but rather one which internalizes moral and ethical values. Do we look ahead and act, in hope, in ways that will possibly benefit future generations long after we are gone? [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, January 2nd, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Dec. 19, 2010 (Don Teichroeb)

2010-12-19T11:30:00.000-08:00

Don Teichroeb used the liturgical texts for that Sunday to examine who Joseph the Carpenter was as father to Jesus and husband to Mary, how the Holy Spirit featured in his life, and how the hope and promise we see in Christmas resists perversion from its origins in faith, truth and respect. We know little about Joseph, except that he was a man of integrity and character who, despite strictures of Mosaic law that would allow, even require him to divorce Mary when she was found pregnant with Jesus, instead demonstrated kindness, love and mercy. Don wondered at what Joseph’s misgivings must have been. But the Holy Spirit is seen at work, coming to Joseph as “reassurer”, as bearer of truth, that his son Jesus would bring God’s truth to all men, that Jesus was partner with the Spirit that was there at the Creation of the world, and that he who saw Jesus, also saw the Father, something never seen before in the world. Don pointed out that despite the world’s best attempts to debase Christmas with excessive feasting, gluttony and other sins, the sign of the Lord, as foretold in Isaiah 7:14 remains sufficient to fulfill not only the hope of meeting God in the everyday lives of ancient Jewry of that time, of Jesus’ own time, those of the early church, but also our own time where the sins of commercialism threaten to erase the enjoyment of the miracle of Christ’s birth and life. Like Joseph, we are called to patience and faithfulness. [AP] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, December 19th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Dec. 5, 2010 (Karl Brown)

2010-12-05T11:30:00.000-08:00

On the Second Sunday of Advent, Karl Brown encouraged us to take a moment each day to think about the meaning of Christmas, using the day's lectionary readings to guide us. The theme in the reading from Isaiah, for example, speaks of the wolf and lamb living in a type of peace which is too good to be true (and likely would not work for long throughout the animal kingdom which requires predators to control large populations of smaller animals). Psalm 72 speaks of a Utopia in which peace and justice combine to produce abundance for all. Romans 14 is about welcoming and encouraging, about the gospel being made available to Gentiles, and about harmony between all peoples. Unfortunately, the Gentiles did indeed receive the gospel but they then proceeded to persecute the Jews for centuries to come. But back to the central question: What makes Christmas be Christmas? Although peace is a central theme, believers certainly have observed Christmas when there was no peace, when they were in the midst of military conflict and stress--and yet it was still Christmas. Since societies are only rarely truly fully just, poor people continue to abound, yet some of them really do experience Christmas, in spite of living within societies which make their lives difficult. Lacking family harmony will spoil many Christmas gatherings, yet it is nevertheless Christmas in their minds. Of course most people would not miss repentance as part of Advent because it is no longer mentioned as an integral part of our fasting and preparation for the Feast of Christmas. The bottom lines suggests that Christ's salvation is absolutely crucial to the concept of Christmas. Take that element away and the church's glorious feast deteriorates into one long lavish series of secular December indulgences. Ideally, Christmas is seen as springing forth from our being people of peace, a people promoting true justice, living in harmony with each other, and being truly repentant and thankful for Christ's salvation. [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, December 5th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Nov. 28, 2010 (Veronica Dyck)

2010-11-28T11:30:00.000-08:00

Veronica Dyck spoke on the First Sunday of Advent, noting two very different perceptions of time at this time of year. Parents may well think, "Oh no, is it already time to get ready for Christmas?" while some children wonder "Will Christmas ever come?" Our culture has lost so much of its capacity to wait patiently, yet scripture repeatedly asks that we both watch and wait, and that we fully engage our imaginations in the process. The Book of Isaiah opens most discouragingly, but the day's reading from the second chapter (2.1-6) is very positive, having ideas and phrases which are also found in Micah 4.1-5. These texts anticipate--and wait for--the time when Yahweh will be truly worshiped everywhere, when weapons will no longer be stockpiled, and when people will once again climb up to Zion and seek to follow Torah faithfully. The writer then imagines ideals and faith flowing down from this exemplar to all peoples, utterly transforming them. These passages spoke directly to the writers' contemporaries, to early Christians and to us, though each group had a different appreciation for the ideas. The morning's gospel reading (Matthew 24.36-) gives us our way of understanding Isaiah 2/Micah 4, underlining the inherent tension of this 'time of waiting', of not knowing when the Son of Man might return. Many of our Advent hymns of waiting and anticipation have verbs in the present tense, and although Jesus had come on earth, we have much more for which we are to wait, actively wait. [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, November 28th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Nov. 21, 2010 (J. Evan Kreider)

2010-11-21T11:30:00.000-08:00

Evan Kreider spoke on the text from the letter to the Christians at Colosse, a letter which provides a glimpse into how people in this small house church were thinking about Jesus. It addresses issues of the worship of angels and the fear of spirits. The writer points out that access to God is through Jesus, not thorough spiritual beings. Jesus - the image of the invisible God. We are reminded that no one has ever seen God, but Jesus life and action help us envisage an invisible God. While other powers exist, Christ is the king of all. No words can adequately describe God, so we use images like “father,” “light,” “judge,” “king” - all of which have limitations. Jesus best exemplifies God’s qualities and we are limited by language in attempting to describe God. Discussion time included comments on the need for contemporary images of God and of seeing God as “integrator.”(HN) Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, November 21st, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Nov. 14, 2010 (Andre Pekovich)

2010-11-14T11:30:00.000-08:00

Andre Pekovich organized a Remembrance Sunday service around scriptures relating to war, conflict and the Christian ideals. "We are at war, we have always been at war," and thus is has been since the beginning of written history. The essential causes for war seem constant: attempted to get what we want, and then ensuring that we keep it. Other religions address this human condition, more often than not by extolling respect and peace, and by noting there are ways to settle difference other than by violence. The story of Cain and Able (Genesis 4) illustrates severe family conflict (leading to fratricide) at the beginning of time, and efforts control the spread of that violence. The Book of Joshua tells of war at more of a national level as the various Jewish groups sought to "share" land already occupied and cultivated by others, but the writers of that book clearly portray Yahweh as the warrior in ways that suggest this was a one-time series, not a paradigm for future generations. The Roman Empire's Pax Romana was imposed militarily with unsurpassed harshness and enormous armies which became so extended they could not longer be adequately supplied. As the church became increasingly centered in Rome, some of its leaders grappled intellectually and theologically with their empire's militarism. Augustine argued that war should be conducted on a very limited scale and only to the extent necessary to bring peace--an ideal never followed, even by armies from Christian countries. By contrast, Matthew 5.38- gives a much loftier and revolutionary theory, that one should not seek revenge but instead turn the other cheek. In Romans 12, we are given similar counsel, to live peacefully with all, to hate that which is evil, to bless our persecutors, and to refrain from repaying evil with evil. Each of the morning's songs beautifully addressed these themes. [JEK] NOTE: the recording of this service is available for borrowing but is not available for download.

Sun. Nov. 7, 2010 (Rosie Perera)

2010-11-07T11:30:00.000-08:00

Rosie Perera spoke about All Saint's Day. Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, November 7th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Oct. 31, 2010 (John Klassen)

2010-10-31T11:30:00.000-07:00

John Klassen spoke on "Surviving Sin" from Psalm 32:1-7 and Luke 19:1-10. Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, October 31st, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Oct. 24, 2010 (Kevin Hiebert)

2010-10-24T11:30:00.000-07:00

Kevin Hiebert used a parable (the Pharisee and the tax collector) and the awe-inspiring miracles of the known universe to encourage us to be humble in our attitude towards God. The Pharisees thought themselves to be beyond reproach, and made a big show of their fasting and prayer so they would be noticed. As religious teachers the Pharisees were rigid and unforgiving. Thievery would have been the sin of the tax collector: artificially inflating the value of the goods. Jesus used this parable to highlight the contrast between the arrogant and prideful who will not be saved by their heartless deeds, and those who admit their failures in true humility and are rewarded with forgiveness. The hymn “How Wondrous Great” provides a sense of humility and praise for God’s incredible creation in the heavens. The connection between our awe-inspiring universe and a deep call to repent is a common theme in biblical poetry. Our response to “fearful and glorious things” should be to praise God. We would do well to recall the publican’s prayer: Lord have mercy on me, a sinner. (HN) Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, October 24th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Oct. 17, 2010 (Janice Kreider)

2010-10-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

Janice Kreider first talked about Amos (8.1-3), which includes a pun on words for "figs" and "the end", words which sounded similar when spoken by people in Northern Israel. Amos was asked, "What do you see", he replied "figs", yet people would have wondered whether he meant 'the end'. Amos suggested that God was also going to withdraw from the people both as a provider and protector, and that there would also be a spiritual withdrawal (8:11) causing a famine of the Word. Luke 10:38 gives the story of Martha and Mary, which also focuses on the importance of the Word. However, this enigmatic story also raises all sorts of questions about hospitality, work and servanthood, and how to balance them with reflection and intellectual/spiritual growth. Jesus acknowledged that Martha had a lot to do, yet he concluded by appearing to criticize her for labouring on his behalf instead of listening to his teaching in her home. The bottom line was that the kingdom of God is what matters most. Was she distracting Jesus from his teaching (kingdom work) by interrupting, or even by publicly putting him in conflict with Mary? But what about that much praised kingdom notion of Servanthood? Was Jesus ungrateful concerning his being fed, likely including a number of his followers? The two passages remind us that if we have a famine of the Word, nothing else really matters. But we must also realize that life, even in the kingdom, somehow requires special balance between working and reflecting. [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, October 17th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Oct. 3, 2010 (Christine Broesamle)

2010-10-11T00:36:00.000-07:00

Christine Broesamle, launching from Jeremiah 1, drew a large number of parallels between the ancient kingdom of Judah beset on all sides and abandoned by God, and the people of Rwanda of not much more than a decade ago. The slaughter in Rwanda, so thoroughly documented at the time, has progressed little in reconciliation until recently, when finally, returning refugees from the Congo were met not with calls for retribution, but reconciliation. The Rwandese were an oral culture, and this meant than lies held equal weight and power as did truth. This did peaceable neighbours turn into killers within a matter of days or even hours, between clans and groups between whom there is no genetic or cultural difference. Christine showed us a slice of the life and thinking of the people there as they struggle to come to grips not with “an eye for an eye” theology, but the theology of Christ’s forgiveness. Evangelicals are in the forefront of this movement, and Christine served with them until her calling to become a Catholic in 2008. At this time, the importance of bringing the message of reconciliation to the large Catholic majority which had stayed aloof from the process. Through amazing coincidences that Christine attributes directly to God’s leading, the way was opened for her to bring that message to the Catholics at the highest levels of government and church. A lively discussion fleshed out the details of her mission. [AP] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, October 3rd, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Oct. 10, 2010 (Thanksgiving)

2010-10-10T11:30:00.000-07:00

We held our annual Thanksgiving worship service of prayers, singing and communion, for which the chapel was beautifully decorated with all manner of flowers and produce. Many thanks to all who brought things for the service, and to J. Evan Kreider who designed and conducted the service complete with readings and programs for all! NOTE: Although the service was recorded on a CD that is available to be borrowed, no audio file will be posted here.

Sun. Sept. 26, 2010 (Laura Eriksson)

2010-09-26T11:30:00.000-07:00

Laura Eriksson spoke on the theme, "When is enough, enough?" Even though a very wise Arab proverb says "Enough is a feast", humans seem to be wired so that they always desire more. For centuries, most people have assumed one can never have enough/too much money. In this context, 1 Tim. 6 contains Paul's advice to a young pastor on how to deal with the wealthy members of his congregation. His observation, "The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil" really does sum up much why so many of the teachings of the prophets and Jesus were necessary. Since money only has power if there is not enough to go around, believers with money have to ask themselves continually how to cultivate godliness while living in a materialistic world driven by the power of money. How can we strive for contentment (rather than focusing solely on pursuing money), learning to live with the kind of gratitude which can give us a greater reverence for life and open us to increased sharing. Paul advises pastors to flee from the lust of money and warns about being obligated to listen to the advice of the wealthy families--not because of their wisdom but because of their wealth (power). Instead, Paul encourages people to be extravagantly generous. [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, September 26th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Sept. 19, 2010 (Connie Siedler)

2010-09-19T11:30:00.000-07:00

Connie Siedler (graduate of Regent College) spoke on "The Praying Community". During her visits to PGIMF, she has observed how very important prayer is to our time of worship, and she encouraged us to continue this tradition. The stories in Acts tell how God's spirit was seen as working in the lives of a variety of new believers, first in Jerusalem, then in Samaria, and finally during Paul's journey toward Rome. Today's story (Acts 12.9-19) was another about Peter. Herod Agrippa I had killed James (brother of John) for various reasons, and when he saw how this pleased some key people, he imprisoned Peter in order to kill him. But some new believers met to pray "fervently". Even though their prayers concerning James were quite possibly not answered as they had hoped, they apparently believed that God either could be more powerful than the many guards surrounding Peter (all of whom later died unfairly) or that God could possibly change Herod's mind. The story mentions these prayers just before telling how an angel delivered Peter from prison, implying there may have been a connection. We can see in the story, and in our lives, that (whether answered as we anticipate or not) prayer can unite us as a community of faith. Eugene Peterson wrote that all prayer, spread over a life of prayer, eventually becomes praise. We have experienced this. [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, September 19th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Sep. 12, 2010 (J. Evan Kreider)

2010-09-12T11:30:00.000-07:00

J. Evan Kreider offered from the lectionary, a history of early Israel as Jeremiah tried to reconcile how wealthy Jews practiced religion with their lack of care for the poor. Through a time of upheaval in Judah, Jeremiah saw King Josiah fall in battle and be succeeded by less competent or fortunate offspring Jehoiachim and Jehoiachin, ending in the plunder of the temple and the reign of the exilarch. Such terrible and important national and international events were attributed to God as His acts of justice, not the political machinations of man. So upset is Jeremiah with this ‘auto-immune’ turn of history that he asks hearers to imagine God uncreating the world, in a manner just the opposite of his Genesis-creation. With this as background, Evan then turned to Psalm 14 and 53 to give voice to this kind of despair. Both psalms are very similar, though written at different times by different writers. In #14, the Psalmist bemoans individuals who “mess up” their communities, through corruption and foolishness, concluding God doesn’t see or care enough to bring them to justice. One interpretation is that with wealth comes a rejection of God’s sovereign power, and such a message as this could be aimed at us in wealthy Point Grey, which Evan notes has fewer people that attend church than elsewhere. Evan suggested every community needs its voices that consistently call out for us to do better, to protect the poor, promote justice. Our parliamentary system may serve similar ends, where ancient Judah had no such, so prophets such as Jeremiah performed this task. Thus, clearly does Jesus’ restatement of the first two commandments “Love your God ...” and “Love your neighbour...” fulfill God’s law. Like Jeremiah, the Psalmist uses strong words such as ”fools” to get our attention “eating the people like so much bread”. But in hope, just as individuals can mess up their communities, so too can just one individual be a blessing to that community, just as a single wonderful student could make one of Evan’s classes unforgettable. Thus, we each of us can make a big difference, wherever we are. [AP] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, September 12th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Sep. 5, 2010 (Deb Cameron Fawkes)

2010-09-05T11:30:00.000-07:00

On Labour Day weekend, Deb Cameron Fawkes was invited to be our guest speaker. She is currently at VST studying how our political and spiritual lives intersect. Both an active member of organized labour and a ‘supply’ preacher for her denomination, her talk focused on social justice as articulated in scriptures and put into practice by Tommy Douglas. Whatever work/labour we do, whether at home, at school, in the store, etc., it has an impact on our “village life”. Even our smallest tasks somehow help society function, and hopefully as Christians we do it with joy (“Love one another”, “as you do this to the least of these”). The prophet Amos—and the main figures in the Old Testament generally—sought to work out a new and more equitable social arrangement. Jesus stood firmly in this tradition. We prefer to think of ourselves as being responsible for ourselves individually, both economically and spiritually, and we therefore tend to read all scriptures solely as guidelines for us as individuals. But the bible repeatedly makes it clear that the ethical and economic issues it discusses are to be followed by society generally, not just a handful of devoted radicals. Amos, for example (5:6-), was exasperated by the ways the wealthy class in Israel misused their land, kicking off the poor who had depended on it for generations, and instead raising cash crops which had to be sold abroad but would bring wealth to the wealthy merchants and landowners. Other landlords rented out essential but expensive farm utensils at high rates, and loaned essential money for farmers needing to buy seed for new crops, but charged interest rates of 100% and even 170%, loans which could never be repaid. The bible was also deeply concerned that the able-bodied were so often unemployed, in spite of doing all they could to find work. These biblical issues were similar to issues Tommy Douglas sought to alleviate as a minister of God, and then as a politician, ultimately bequeathing ideas to Canadian society which have put into action at least some of the principles laid out for society in scripture. [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, September 5th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Aug. 29, 2010 (Karl Brown)

2010-08-29T11:30:00.000-07:00

Karl Brown concluded our summer series on the Book of Job. So much of this extensive poem is predicated on the theory that God punishes the wicked and blesses the righteous. However, God's response in the poem (chapter 38) gives another point of view, that the actions of God are far more complex than the simplistic black and white images of our theology. The poem then raises rhetorical questions which are almost sarcastic, showing how very little humans know about the most common things in nature, about animal life or life itself, let alone God the creator and sustainer. Karl then suggested five ways we might view the Book of Job: (1) it is poetry intended to be heard (PGIMF found it almost better hear Job read than be analyzed); (2) it is poetry focusing on one important part of life, suffering; (3) it is a courtroom in which God is put on trial for allowing evil to flourish; (4) it offers proof of God's existence, somewhat along the lines of the theory of Intelligent Design; (5) it is an odyssey which seeks to justify the existence of evil, though God's arguments do not address the whole question of evil other than to say that this question is beyond human comprehension. In a sense, Job is a hero in that he kept his faith, even through severe suffering. Job may have raged against God but he never rejected God. [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, August 29th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Aug. 22, 2010 (Ruth Enns)

2010-08-22T11:30:00.000-07:00

Ruth Enns continued our study of the book of Job with the passages spoken by the young man Elihu and how his arguments affected the tenor of the discussion between Job and his friends. Ruth pointed out how much more striking the poetry of these passages is when read aloud, particularly the paean to the Earth (Job 36:22-37:24). Ruth noted that, despite the emotion and vehemence in Elihu’s arguments, that really they were no more effective than that of Job’s friends, yet the arguments prepared the way to the last passage in which God speaks to Job and the friends of how little they know. Youth, despite the scorn often visited on it for how little it knows, here teaches more than the wisdom of the three friends; yet youth too is ultimately not wise enough either to comfort Job or describe God’s world. [AP] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, August 22nd, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Aug. 15, 2010 (Andre Pekovich)

2010-08-15T11:30:00.000-07:00

Andre Pekovich continued our series on Job by tackling the middle 16 chapters (from 15 - 31) noting that they are largely extensions of the previous arguments made in chapters 4 - 14. Each of the friends, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar has three opportunities to make arguments to Job, and Job denies them all, continually noting that his real argument is not with his friends, but with God, who he cannot find to make his case to. Though the friends argue for a “cause and effect” God as most other biblical literature speaks of, Andre noted that this book seems written to counter that view. That’s not to say that Job himself does not believe in a “cause-and-effect” God; he expects that his faithfulness and righteousness will be repaid with God’s loyalty and justice. Andre introduced Martin Buber’s I - Thou distinction in our relationship with God, noting we tend to simplify the world in an I - It fashion, making other people, including God, simple machines that do work when properly requested. Buber insisted that the relationship between people or between God and man is more balanced, more I - Thou, and not based on cause and effect. This inspires humans to a deeper level of worship and faithfulness to God. Thus is God invited to return righteousness with his blessing, without expectation, always leaving room for choice and evil to deepen the bond. [AP] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, August 15th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Aug. 8, 2010 (Henry Neufeld)

2010-08-08T11:30:00.000-07:00

Henry Neufeld continued our series on Job with a vivid and entertaining summary of the dialogue of the ten chapters of Job (Chs 4 - 14). Drawing from Peterson’s The Message, Henry had four readers act the parts of Job, and his three friends, showing Job’s despair as even his friends seemed to leave him in undeserved guilt and sin. Henry noted a distinction between pain and suffering - suffering happens in the mind and the mind decides what the pain means, and whether it is deserved. Job suffers because he can make no sense of the pain he is in. Henry further noted that traditional theology falls down flat when it comes to Job - he was doing everything right when he began to suffer. What is he to do to end the suffering? Human reasoning can give no satisfactory answer to this. There are lessons for us in this story - what do we do when bad things happen to good people? Do we assume that because people we meet have had bad things happen, that they must themselves be bad? Are we fixers, looking for sufferers to fix? Or are we humans, walking alongside? [AP] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, August 8th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Aug. 1, 2010 (Kevin Hiebert)

2010-08-01T11:30:00.000-07:00

Kevin introduced our four-Sunday series on the Book of Job. This is essentially an lengthy ancient poem addressing the realities of life (e.g., good and evil, the strained relationship between humans and God). Anonymous writers provided a mythological context by composing a fascinating parable (story) to surround the various sections of the poem like bookends. Grouped with the other poetic and wisdom writings in the Old Testament, this ancient poem asks questions such as, "Why does a good God allow suffering and evil?" At the beginning of the story, Job is portrayed as being so utterly God-fearing that he even offers sacrifices and prayers on behalf of his ten children after their parties, just in case any had fleeting 'thought sins' (a concept Jesus still needed to explain centuries later). The poem then asks, if God is all-powerful, why is there suffering, even for the truly righteous? If God is all-knowing, why are we (especially the righteous) not sufficiently warned? If God is truly all-benevolent, why is there so much evil in the world? The disasters, falling one after another in a miraculous succession, provide a literary device designed to portray supernatural intervention in the story. The stage is now set for us to explore the themes of this poetry. [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, August 1st, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. July 25, 2010 (Erna Friesen)

2010-07-25T11:30:00.000-07:00

Erna spoke on a difficult series of texts from the lectionary, including the outrageous charge by the Lord to Hosea to take a prostitute as a wife. Erna used that story as a launching point for a discussion on both the faithfulness of Israel and of our society today. Hosea, despite being from the southern kingdom of Judah, was called to preach to the northern kingdom and against the followers of Baal. He excorated Israel for its unfaithfulness to God, so much so taht his own children were named after God’s punishments to the people (Lo-Anni - “not my people” etc.), and made no other comment about justice issues that were the staple of earlier books. He further preached on marriage and unfaithfulness in a world where temple prostitution was culturally accepted. Erna noted unfaithfulness to God has similar consequence to unfaithfulness in a marriage - betrayal and anger, as opposed to romance and lifelong commitment in sickness and health. Hosea’s and Gomer’s children were victims in the choices made, where a wife with no conception of faithfulness was asked for same. Though it is understandable in a “logical” sense - worship of a pantheistic Baal invoked fertility itself - of land, of females - as a supreme deity. Yet we, (and perhaps they too) knew no assurances could be given, and Hosea merely hammered the lesson home. In spiritualizing such sensations as hunger and sex and aggression, Satan-worship enters easily as a hedonistic and orgiastic tendency. Violent religious intoxication became the norm, and child sacrifice was only one depraved way in which this worship led to abuses of the human condition. Yet God offers redemption, even has he holds the plumb-line up against us. God will have compassion, if only Israel will turn from Baal, as Hosea offers to Gomer a change from her life of prostitution. Today, too, we are offered an escape from scientism and humanism, which has caused great suffering. The consequences of this sin cannot be evaded - the inner soul knows the brokenness that results. And so does God. [AP] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, July 25th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. July 18, 2010 (J. Evan Kreider)

2010-07-18T11:30:00.000-07:00

Evan Kreider spoke about Amos, a poor farmer who was called by God to be a prophet. After two years in the northern kingdom of Israel, he returned to his farm in the southern kingdom. The northern kingdom, under king Jeroboam, had become wealthy and was at a political and economic high point. King Jeroboam believed that worshiping God was all that God required. Using the image of a plumb line, Amos pointed out that things were out of kilter, that people trusted the king rather than God. Amos pointed out that true faith involves right living and creating a just society. Amos wanted economic justice. Amos saw morals becoming lax and money reaching only those who already had money. Amos did not like what he saw when church and state were closely aligned – this would cause trouble for the church. Amos’s words were not welcome and he was told to go home, but he said he was driven by God to do this prophetic thing. The response time discussion included comments about problems of prosperity, tithing was partially intended to support the poor, gambling expansion in BC, charitable giving, and the benefits of our government’s “social safety net.” [HN] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, July 18th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. July 11, 2010 (Joseph Dutko)

2010-07-11T11:30:00.000-07:00

Joseph Dutko returned to speak to the church on Pentecostalism - from the Ghetto to the World. Despite various fanciful representations of Pentecostals as “holy rollers” or people who handle snakes, this tradition goes back to the turn of the twentieth century with an emphasis on 1st century living. This is no fringe group - one respected authority notes that Pentecostalism has had a greater impact on Christianity than the Reformation. Globally, about ½ billion people are Pentecostal or Charismatic, and Philip Jenkins notes much of its growth since the Second World War trends away from Euro-American Christianity and toward a Southern hemisphere expression. All branches originate with the theology of Charles Parham who, in a Topeka, KS, bible school in 1901 taught that glossalalia evidenced presence of the Holy Spirit, and his student, freed slave William Seymour founded the Azusa St revival in 1906 in LA. The movement gained strength as others flocked to the church of “heavenly tongues”. Various schisms have divided the church along theological lines, including a Canadian branch, the 1919 Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada with Mennonite George A. Chambers as the first leader of the church. Pentecostal theology stands primarily on baptising in the holy spirit, gifts bestowed include tongues, bodily healing, and eschatology - belief in the return of Christ as the end of time. Joseph insists many ties bind Mennonites and Pentecostals - both saw themselves as standing outside ordinary society, pressures to conform are common to both, and the blood of Christ has washed away not only the colour barrier, but also the gender barrier. Though the pacifist stance has become a matter of personal choice in Pentecostalism, its underpinning and rejection of nationalism still echo for Mennonites. A lively response time indicated a desire for open dialogue between the two traditions. [AP] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, July 11th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Jul. 4, 2010 (J. Evan Kreider)

2010-07-04T11:30:00.000-07:00

Evan Kreider, speaking on the lectionary passage 2 Ki 5:1-19, began with the history of the state of war that existed between Aram and Judah. These long-standing and devastating wars, made the arrival of Naaman at Ahab’s (?) court for healing a suspected ruse for another war. However, Elisha, reassures the king that God is still in charge, and Naaman is sent to him. Seemingly snubbing him, Elisha’s servant is sent with directions for healing. As a skeptical and angry Naaman is healed by God (and not Elisha), Naaman is converted to Jahweh’s rule; and asks two interesting gifts of God - soil to worship God on, and permission to continue a pagan practice. Elisha blesses both requests with “Go in peace.” Evan notes several things; that Elisha saw Naaman as a human being with leprosy, not a general to be feared; that God continues His work not through the kings, but through small people - the Jewish slave girl who advises Naaman to go to Elisha, the servant who encourages obedience. Third - God’s healing was a gift, without conditions, not even to give up warring against the Jewish people. Jews, hearing this story, might well wonder why this gift was bestowed without circumcision or dietary requirements, not to mention acceptance of Naaman’s duty in bowing to a foreign idol. Evan commemorated J. Lawrence Burkholder’s recent passing a few days ago, a former colleague of Evan’s father’s in Goshen. Burkholder noted that radical Anabaptist dissent doesn’t always work in the secular world as people are forced to make what he called “tragic decisions”. As with Naaman’s duty, the ambiguous nature of the secular world requires compromise. Are there two standards - one for Jews, the other for converts? St. Paul seemed to think so, in that his new Greek converts were not required to observe Jewish practice gain faith in the risen Christ. Evan’s Amish forebears’ desire to obey God was compromised by the demands of society and interpretation. Evan suggests, in our struggle to remain relevant in the modern world, we keep in mind the tension between the fresh, new faith of Naaman and wisdom of Elisha, and hope for God’s blessing on us all. [AP] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, July 4th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Jun. 27, 2010 (Don Teichroeb)

2010-06-27T11:30:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we acknowledged three recent graduates from our congregation and Don Teichroeb noted that graduation is seen as a rite of passage for the young. Don said life usually proceeds in small steps in life’s journey and these steps lead to what seems like a major transition. The Elijah story raises the question of how one retires from a position of prominence as a major prophet. Elijah’s retirement strategy was a chariot ride to heaven. In the Luke passage Jesus tells people to count the cost of following him and he hears excuses of future obligations, like burying one’s still not deceased father. Having started on a path it is not always helpful to look to the past. The Galatians passage provides a list vices and virtues and Don noted the importance of focusing on the positive, on “love your neighbour as you love yourself.” Life is full of many gradual steps (like graduation), count the cost, don’t look back as you move forward, and focus on the positive. [HN] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, June 27th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Jun. 13, 2010 (Henry Neufeld)

2010-06-13T11:30:00.000-07:00

Henry Neufeld jumped off from the previous week’s address on Ahab and Jezebel by Dr. Veronica Dyck and introduced the day’s metaphor of seeing differently through lenses and filters, as with a camera. Henry reviewed Ahab’s seizure of the ancestral land of Naboth’s ancestral land. Ahab saw the transaction as just business, through the lens of acquisitiveness, while Naboth (honoring God’s law, which said an inheritance of land could not be transferred from tribe to tribe, nor may the king take the land - Lev 25:24) refused the king’s wishes, seeing through the lens of faithfulness. The deceit and murder practiced on Naboth by Ahab to gain his land are still successfully used today. Then Henry moved to the story in Luke 7 of the woman who washed Jesus feet. Henry noted the debtors did not ask for forgiveness, and nor did the woman, who was called “sinner” - it was freely offered by Jesus without being asked .for. Why? Further, why did Jesus use a story of two debtors, not one? Was Simon encouraged to change lenses, to think about his behaviour compared to the woman’s? Though Simon the Pharisee’s consternation is understandable to Jesus, and to us, Jesus makes plain her sins are not the focus of the story because she showed great love. Key phrase: “Simon, do you see this woman?” Or do you, as Simon did, see only her sins? Jesus encourages us to change our lenses to see people in a different light. Don’t just look at our children through a parental lens, don’t just look at our fellow worshippers through a congregational lens, don’t just look at our career through a professional lens. If we changed lenses, might we see Jezebel in a different light? Or our neighbour? [AP] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, June 13th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Jun. 6, 2010 (Veronica Dyck)

2010-06-06T11:30:00.000-07:00

Veronica Dyck spoke about two miracles: Elijah raising a widow’s boy from the dead and Jesus calling a man to arise from his coffin. Elijah’s role as a prophet was to encourage people’s faithfulness to God (rather than to Baal), to keep the people unified, and to call people back to God. Conflict between the king and the prophet was common and King Ahab did not make thing easy for Elijah; he married Jezebel, served Baal and did evil in the sight of God. When Elijah restores the widow’s son to life, she changes her tune from blaming Elijah for the boy’s death to acknowledging him as a prophet. Similarly, when Jesus brought the widow’s son back to life in the small village of Nain, he was recognized as a prophet. Jesus is a Messiah who provides escape – not from the Romans, but from death. In these two stories, life is restored, based on compassion, and exemplified best by the widow and Jesus. [HN] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, June 6th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. May 23, 2010 (John Friesen)

2010-05-23T11:30:00.000-07:00

On Pentecost Sunday, John Friesen focused on the birth of the Christian church. Jesus had told his disciples “the kingdom of God is at hand.” The disciples, who wanted a political/religious kingdom, were told to wait in Jerusalem. Then, filled with the Holy Spirit, they were given the power to communicate in many languages. The Christian church, born at Pentecost, has been a dominant and constructive force in the world in the last 2000 years. Pentecost signifies the formation of a new social and religious movement, a new ideology, and new worldview. Today former Christian institutions (hospitals, schools, media, government) are increasingly secularized and no longer sympathetic to Christian teachings. Gerhard Lofink says the people of God always stand in sharp contrast to the world. He concludes that perhaps it is a blessing that the Christian faith is no longer is the dominant structure in our society. Jesus calls his followers to go into all the world; this has often been interpreted geographically – how do we do this in a secular society? [HN] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, May. 23rd, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. May 16, 2010 (Hannah Dutko)

2010-05-16T11:30:00.000-07:00

“Serving a crucified king” was Hannah Dutko’s topic last Sunday. The theme of kingship is strong throughout the Bible. Kings are often seen as strong, powerful, aloof and distant, but God is different, she said. The Lord is king; righteousness and justice are the foundations of his throne. Jesus, who in the form of God emptied himself, washed his disciple’s feet and spent a night talking with Nicodemus. His disciples kept asking Jesus when he was going to restore the kingdom of Israel and Jesus replied that his followers would have power through the Holy Spirit. Hannah said the Bible does not solve the problem of evil; rather we are called to ease suffering and thereby bring in the kingdom of God. We are challenged to become agents of change. Paul Thiessen quoted Mother Theresa: "We all have the duty to serve God where we are called to do so. I feel called to serve individuals, to love each human being. My calling is not to judge the institutions. I am not qualified to condemn anyone. I never think in terms of a crowd, but of individual persons. If I thought in terms of crowds, I would never begin my work.” [HN] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, May 16th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player. NOTE: the recording was started late, so only the latter portion of her talk is available.

Sun. May 9, 2010 (Kevin Hiebert)

2010-05-09T11:30:00.000-07:00

Jumping off from Henry Neufeld’s message last week that contrasted the world’s view of reciprocal love with God’s command to love without expectation of return, Kevin Hiebert used John 14:27 to flesh out the nature of God’s love in our business dealings with each other. Jesus does not give as the world gives, but instead gives unstintingly without regard for colour, class, creed or wealth. Kevin used that principle to examine the human construct of interest, something God permitted in certain circumstances, but also proscribed in others as harmful to the poor. This was no anti-wealth message - Kevin insisted wealth is an asset that the wealthy, as good stewards, are expected to lend for the benefit of the poor. Kevin used several OT references to interest to show both its beneficial and harmful nature, and also examined the keeping of security or pledges as collateral for loans, noting that God expected lenders to assume a certain measure of trust in creditors who lacked security. Kevin contrasted parallels of OT pledges of garments with today’s pledges of homes against the complex financial instruments that even lenders didn’t understand. Kevin then suggested that Christian lenders consider a radical revisioning of interest to make affordability a higher principle in living out God’s law. Though usury and taking interest in advance is prohibited by God and law, our society allows both from credit card companies and payday loan companies, and corruption is legalized when powerful corporations capture the interest of the state and make it their own, as US financial institutions did with “bailout” moneys. Corporate and national corruption are inevitable ends of this failure, and Kevin pointed out how damaging corruption becomes not only to the aims and interests of their people, but to the wealth of the corrupt nation as a whole. Kevin noted how many the calls for anti–corruption measures, and how frequently they are bypassed, and concluded that a careful rereading of John 14 in all our business dealings can only benefit ourselves and the world. A lively time of exchange after the message fleshed out additional points of contention between God’s law and our own greed. [AP] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, May 9th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. May 2, 2010 (Henry Neufeld)

2010-05-02T11:30:00.000-07:00

Henry Neufeld, in his talk entitled The New Commandment, redrew the distinction between practical Christianity and theoretical Christianity; the practice of getting the shoves out and doing something, or the habit of sitting around discussing what should be done. This is not new - Harvey Cox identified in the history of Christianity that early Christians focused on following the teachings of Jesus for about three centuries, then for the next few centuries, focused on adhering to a correct doctrine and creed. Only recently has Christianity changed once again to disregard dogma and explore barrier-free spirituality. Henry notes that the Sermon on the Mount says nothing about what to believe, but only about what to do. Yet the Nicene Creed three centuries later speaks only about what to believe, not what to do. This tension was evident in Jesus time. Peter, as disciple, got into hot water with Jewish elders over his disregard over eating unclean things with unclean people. And it is particularly because of his disregard for doctrine that salvation is extended to you and me today. Had Peter done what the Jewish elders directed him to do, Christianity would never have been more than an obscure and private Jewish sect. But Peter shared the gift of God’s love freely, without notion of reply or reciprocity, with all he came in contact with. There was no obligation to return that love only to the givers. There was indeed a free lunch. And if we choose to share freely with those around us, there is still a free lunch. It is up to us to do something, not just talk about it. [AP] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, May 2nd, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Apr. 25, 2010 (John Klassen)

2010-04-25T11:30:00.000-07:00

John Klassen (Professor Emeritus at Trinity Western and member of the Langley Mennonite Fellowship) spoke on the lectionary text from Rev. 7.9-17, "Salvation belongs to our God and to the Lamb." Psalm 100 tells of the whole earth embracing God, while the day's gospel reading (John 10.22-44) reports the considerable hostility Jesus experienced shortly before his assassination. By contrast, the author of Revelations returns to the theme of God (and now the Lamb) being victorious. St John's generation had experienced several volcanoes and earthquakes, a disastrous civil war, knew of the utter destruction of the temple, and may even have been directly affected by the subsequent disbursement of Jewish believers. All of this was disheartening, and not unlike what some of our older Mennonites have seen in their time. Although Rome never had a general persecution of Christians (contrary to what many non-historians like to think), there were occasional local persecutions of various ethnicities and persuasions. So St John was writing to the Christians of his day, essentially saying that, from time to time, you will seem to be powerless, but, the Lamb that was slain (offering a non-violent response to his troubles) is now victorious--as you will also be eventually. Although chapter 6 assumes the Lamb will bring destruction, chapter 7 offers the opposite stance, saying that an unlimited number of peoples drawn from across the entire world will be robed in white, victory palms in hand. For they too "came out of the great ordeal" and kept the faith by standing up to their particular 'Rome' (the world of political, economic, social, and military power). They were victorious not because they organized into armies but because they kept the faith, accepting the Lamb and his ways. [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, Apr. 25th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Apr. 18, 2010 (Walter Bergen)

2010-04-18T08:46:00.000-07:00

Walter Bergen spoke on the theme of Holy Labour. With Janet, Walter served as the very first Residence Coordinators of the Menno Simons Centre, establishing both the tone and practices which make it what it now is. Since their two years with the fledgling PGIMF, they served MCC in Russia for several years and then worked for a number of Mennonite organizations before Walter turned to organic farming in the Valley. Walter, a consummate storyteller, first told of Amish friends in Wayne County, OH, a farming family formerly facing financial disaster. They decided to turn to woodworking in creative ways which both honoured their beliefs in the simple lifestyle, family and God's earth. This was not just a way to get income, it was, as Walter described it, but a type of Holy Labour in which these believers lived out their faith while being businessmen. Walter then told of George Herbert (author of A Country Parson). Herbert realized that practicing proper husbandry was difficult in the 1700s, and that many work-related practices were not right. He then worked locally to invite farmers to share the excesses of their crops with the local needy and to spend profits on husbandry rather than drink (gin was the scourge of 18th century England). He advocated maintaining clearly-marked land boundaries so that those who were bullies would stop harvesting crops which others had planted. Genesis 2 admonishes people to take care of the earth and its life. Holy Labour happens when we combine this responsibility with our understanding of scriptures and faith. This is the best way to honour our God, our resources and our neighbours. [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, Apr. 18th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Apr. 11, 2010 (Dick Benner)

2010-04-11T11:30:00.000-07:00

We were pleased to have as our speaker Dick Benner, journalist, former columnist for the "Mennonite Weekly Review", journalism teacher at Eastern Mennonite University, and now the Editor of the "Canadian Mennonite". Dick spoke on "Holy Doubt", using the morning's gospel reading, John 20.19-31, the story of 'doubting' Thomas (whom Lutherans call 'believing' Thomas). We know little about this Thomas, one of the disparate loose group of 'disciples' whose personalities could not have been more varied. These guys didn't get it was Jesus was with them, so they were even more confused by the reappearances of Jesus. None of the men believed Mary's resurrection tale, and Thomas likewise did not believe the stories of his buddies. But to his credit, Thomas stayed with the group, despite the absence of tangible proof. Healthy faith requires healthy questioning, debate and the rethinking of our faith. This holds true today as Mennonites hold varied view of how we are to live our faith, whether to embrace nationalism and increasingly accept militarism and materialism. Jesus gave Thomas room for his doubts--because they were so important to his faith journey. Thomas later became a most remarkable believer, becoming a missionary to India, and his confession, "my Lord and my God" was the most profound anyone had yet articulated. [As someone once wrote, "the opposite of faith is not doubt, it is certainty". JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, Apr. 11th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Mar. 28, 2010 (Rosie Perera)

2010-03-28T11:30:00.000-07:00

Rosie Perera continue her series on Revelation with a message entitle Jesus Glorified based on a series of lectures she attended last year at Regent, in a bid to bring to life the wonder and majesty of this book in some understanding of its situation and poetry. Rosie noted the significance of all the symbolism in the passaged Rev 1:9-20, from the seven churches, lampstands, and stars; the symbolism of the description of the son of Man, and even the significance of his name. All these symbols would have been well known to Jews of that time as they were mentioned in earlier books of prophets and prophecy. Rosie contrasted this symbolism with the counter-symbolism of the John 12:12-16 where Jesus enters Jerusalem preceded by people waving palm branches, and enticed us to wait for the next installment of this series in the understanding of Revelation. [AP] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, Mar. 28th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Mar. 21, 2010 (Andre Pekovich reads Sarah Foulger)

2010-03-21T11:30:00.000-07:00

Andre Pekovich and Karl Brown teamed up to bring the thoughts of others to a traditional 5th Sunday of Lent service featuring readings and messages from Psalm 126, in a message of hope for restoration, a brief mention of Isaiah 43:16-21 in a passage through the desert with no water but God, and some interesting reflections on John’s Gospel from 12:1-8 about the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her hair and a year’s earnings’ worth of oil. This passage anticipates Jesus’ death and is prefaced by the raising of Lazarus, and appended to by the plot to kill Lazarus again. In this magical interlude, during a celebration dinner, this woman treats Jesus’ soon-to-die body as though it were already dead. Set within the larger story about Lazarus and the
priests, we are encouraged to prepare for the life and death questions that always swirl around Jesus. Her expensive perfume anoints him, and she thereby invests in the death of Jesus. Lent comes before Easter, suffering before new life; we invest our most precious possessions in order to gain new life. [AP] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, Mar. 21st, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Mar. 14, 2010 (Barbara Nickel)

2010-03-14T11:30:00.000-07:00

Barbara Nickel, a former attender at PGIMF, presented a diversity of provocative thoughts on a vital passage of servanthood beginning with Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. Drawing on parallels with the Parable of the Lost Son, Barb evoked a God of love who has boundless patience with us, even as we demonstrate every day the imperfection of our creation. Her poetry opened the boundaries of worship further to evoke texture and sensation to express love of God and creation, as well as that of Margaret Avison. It is always truly a treat to hear the author of a work speak the thoughts that led to the creation of the work, and this was especially so with Barb’s poetry, which opens clearly when the meaning behind the words is made clear. Special music by her sons set the mood of introspection, allowing the group to consider the aspects of God’s love as expressed in servanthood from many different viewpoints. Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, Mar. 14th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Mar. 7, 2010 (Janice Kreider)

2010-03-07T11:30:00.000-08:00

One of our gentle gardeners, Janice Kreider, talked about sometimes removing trees from their yard and the unproductive fig tree which produced no fruit. The owner wanted it cut down. (Luke 13) The gardener was reluctant to cut it down a three year old tree and pleaded for one more year, saying he’d like to dig the soil and fertilize it. If after a year the tree produced no fruit, it could be cut down. Janice referred to the yeast parable in the same chapter a small amount of yeast produces unexpected results. Where is God in the fig tree story – the landowner or the gardener? The landowner might represent an impatient absentee landlord. Janice noted that this is an unfinished story, there’s no sequel from a year later to tell us how things turned out. It is story of hope, even if faint hope. It’s also a story of patience and tolerance; sometimes we’re restless and want results now, when a bit of nurturing might eventually produce fruit. (HN) Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, Mar. 7th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Feb. 28, 2010 (Charis Weathers)

2010-02-28T11:30:00.000-08:00

Charis Weathers (now of Seattle) spoke on the Lenten theme "Where were you?" This was the question on the minds of all who loved Lazarus, because his sisters, friends and acquaintances were convinced that if Jesus, the miracle healer, had only come when called, Lazarus would not have died. The gospels do not indicate why Jesus postponed going for four days, but since his contemporaries assumed that one's soul hovers around the body for three days, waiting until after the fourth day would mean that nobody disagreed: Lazarus was truly deceased, buried and decomposing. The writer of the gospel of John portrays Jesus' miracle of resurrection as the 'final straw' which prompted the temple authorities to organize his execution, so it was no small matter on many levels. There are so many points to ponder in this story, and they often overshadow the very simple question, "Where were you?" This is a question some believers ask of God in private prayers, or turn over in their minds when their closest friends do not seem to notice their needs and suffering. Possibly one answer offered by this story is that God is indeed always present, but not in ways we expect or insist upon. [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, Feb. 28th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Feb. 21, 2010 (J. Evan Kreider)

2010-02-21T11:30:00.000-08:00

The first Sunday of Lent, Evan Kreider spoke about the temptations of Jesus. They were temptations to lead a way of life not pleasing to God. Following his baptism and the announcement that he was the son of God, Jesus goes to the wilderness for 40 days, the same length of time Jewish patriarchs – like Moses - needed to complete something significant. The key question Jesus faced was “How are you going to shape this sonship?” He was tempted by magic (turning bread into stone), by success and wealth (all the kingdoms of the world), and by misuse of Scripture (throwing himself from the pinnacle of the temple). What are the temptations we face in our minds? Giving in to temptations can become a way of life and we can become blinded by the veils of rationalization. In our 40 days of Lent, will we dare to enter the wilderness of our minds and face our temptations? Jesus prayed: Lead us not into temptation. (HN) Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, Feb. 21st, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Feb. 14, 2010 (Karl Brown)

2010-02-14T11:30:00.000-08:00

On St Valentine's Day, Karl Brown offered parables illustrating differing approaches to serious engineering problems. For example, why is it that something as commonplace as the household toilet ever fail to do its job properly? Everybody knows this happens, so why have so many engineer-designers overlooked these ubiquitous flaws? In order for any design to work flawlessly, engineers must discover and admit that mistakes have been made in their designs, isolate the flaws, repeatedly correcting and testing them. If the engineer-designer look the other way, the problems continue. By contrast, one of the inventors of the personal computer admitted his initial mistakes publicly rather than veiling them (he published and distributed them with the subsequent model). 2 Cor. 3.12- speaks of people having "veils" over their minds when reading scripture. Even today, our minds can be "veiled" when thinking about things. Who will lift our veils? How do we lift our own veils, see our flaws, accept where we are wrong, stop hiding behind our veils of denial and instead accept good criticism with much thought? Perhaps recent problems with cars can serve as metaphors for our lives -- refusing to admit there are serious problems until critics force the problem into the open. [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, Feb. 14th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Feb. 7, 2010 (John Konrad)

2010-02-07T11:30:00.000-08:00

John spoke about "God's grace working in and through us." NOTE: Most of this sermon summary has been redacted for privacy reasons. John assisted in setting up The Living Room, a ministry specifically to support mood-disorder-sufferers, in his Abbotsford area. [AP] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, Feb. 7th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Jan. 31, 2010 (Laura Ericsson)

2010-01-31T11:30:00.000-08:00

Laura Eriksson spoke on the theme, “What do we know by heart?” Exploring the possibility that we may be profoundly influenced by our childhood memories, Laura recalled that her earliest memories included worshipping in church, prayer and a yearning for beauty. What are our articulated memories? What has shaped us since birth? Jeremiah, for example, wrote that his life’s purpose was known even before he was born (Jer. 1.4-) and that he had already been appointed by God to be a prophet. His was an affirmed beginning, even though it moved him well away from his comfort zone. . The N.T. lectionary, Luke 4.18 (quoting the Jeremiah passage) tells of Jesus claimed a similar early calling from God, something we surmise he had sensed among his very earliest memories. His call was that of discrediting Judaism’s practices which ignored the love of God and made some practicing Jews feel superior to others. In this context, Jesus reminded his hometown listeners in the synagogue that God’s love is for everyone, even non-Jews such as Naaman. Jesus quite possibly knew this by heart from childhood, for it seems to echo his mother’s poem, the Magnificat, which proclaims economic justice for all and God’s love extending beyond Jewish borders. The epistle reading from 1 Cor. 13, heard primarily at weddings, was actually addressed to a small congregation that was rife with personality conflicts and deep divisions on many seemingly insurmountable issues. Paul told these troubled believers that their religion is essentially about love. This recalls what Jesus once said: “By this will people know you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Many of us have likely known this teaching and others like it by heart since childhood. How does this shape our daily lives? [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, Jan. 31st, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Jan. 24, 2010 (Paul Thiessen)

2010-01-24T11:30:00.000-08:00

Paul Thiessen spoke on the lectionary texts Nehemiah 8, Psalm 19 and Luke 4 to illustrate how Jesus’ teaching both followed in the footsteps of earlier wisdom that relied heavily not so much on adherence to the letter of scripture, but also to the interpretation of scripture, and fulfilled the needs of mystery and wisdom in worship. Paul contrasted modern worship with his time in Ukraine where it felt more like performance than teaching, yet satisfied the need for closeness with God. [AP] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, Jan. 24th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Jan. 17, 2010 (Rebecca Stanley)

2010-01-17T11:30:00.000-08:00

Rebecca Stanley told of her vision for Urban Journey, an MB church plant which began in 2008 in their home before moving to the Dunbar Community Centre and (September 2009) then to the Menno Simons Centre Sunday evenings. They meet at 5:00 for a simple meal which is also open to students, and then for worship at about 6:00. Her husband Andrew has work on the worship team at Richmond Bethel Sunday mornings, and they both work as UBC chaplains under the auspices of the MB BC conference. Urban Journey has a number of goals, such as journeying together (recognizing that everyone is at a different place in their development), treating every-day life as an act of worship, loving neighbours as ourselves (Mark 12:33, one of the morning's texts), sacrificial living, and celebrating everyone's unique inner values. She concluded her story by asking how the church can get beyond being satisfied with today's burnt offerings and focus instead on enacting the values of Micah 6:6-8. [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, Jan. 17th, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Jan. 10, 2010 (Jeanette Hanson)

2010-01-10T16:10:00.000-08:00

Jeanette Hanson (a missionary in China) spoke on one theme which ran through the day's lectionary texts: "fear not". Luke reports that these words were spoken by the angel to the terrified shepherds, and Isaiah also uttered them, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you." By comparison, John the Baptist (Luke 3.15-) had a message to the wealthy and powerful (us) which can only induce fear. Even Mary's "Magnificat" should make Canadian Christians fearful because her triumphant prayer is utterly threatening to our wealth. If the weak are going to be raised up, it can only be at our expense; if all the hungry in the world are indeed to be fed, our daily diets will suffer enormously; if the mighty are to be brought down from their seats, laws in many places will change drastically and there could be a serious redistribution of resources that would hurt our life styles. Mary's message is inclusive, Jesus attempted to include everybody in his proposed kingdom and Isaiah portrayed God as calling out to all nations. In the context of this call being global, the message "fear not" reminds us that God really is with us, that we need not fear other peoples, other races, or new economic times. Truth is, however, most of us likely do fear a truly upside-down kingdom. [JEK]

Sun. Jan. 3, 2010 (Henry Neufeld)

2010-01-03T11:30:00.000-08:00

Henry Neufeld spoke on the general theme of prophecy. Both the Jewish and Christian canons of scripture consider prophets and prophecy to be very important. For example, in Hebraic scriptures, Jeremiah is portrayed as a vociferous critic of government, of its economic and foreign policies and of institutionalized religion. Jeremiah felt led to make dramatic gestures which enlarged his audiences and got the attention of the wealthy who held the power in his society. He smashed earthen pots before officials, prophesying that a similar fate awaited those listening to him. Each of his actions is portrayed as a parable for his society, telling them about justice, peace, social ills and reminding them of their obligations to the poor. New Testament writers continued to revere prophets such as John the Baptizer, another critic of both the wealthy and those seeking to retain laws and political parties which would hopefully protect their privileged position and property holdings. Prophecy is listed as one of the truly important spiritual gifts, but where are the prophetic voices of today, voices which speak to the dominant culture, articulating ideas which will invariably upset middle class Christians and non-Christians alike? What voices are trying to arouse us to action over police violence, our military presence in Afghanistan, Vancouver’s forcefully relocating our homeless people for a sporting event, or churches spending vast sums of charitable donations on legal battles? Why do these voices come from outside the church rather than from believers? Is prophecy within the church now dead? [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, Jan. 3rd, 2010 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Dec. 27, 2009 (Kevin Hiebert)

2009-12-27T11:30:00.000-08:00

Kevin Hiebert used the Psalm 148 - a psalm calling us to praise God - to remind us of the marvels of God’s creation. Citing the “water above the heavens” (v.4) Kevin noted that at the time the belief was that the earth was covered with a water canopy, making the sky blue. In creating an immense universe, God commanded and it was done. Given the speed of light, it’s almost incomprehensible that the galaxy Andromeda is 2 million light years away. The account of Mary and Joseph finding Jesus in the temple makes us wonder what questions Jesus asked of the priests; did he ask why bad things sometimes happen to good people? Kevin concluded his message with the verses from Colossians where we are reminded that whatever we do, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus. (HN) Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, Dec. 27th, 2009 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Dec. 13, 2009 (Janice Kreider)

2009-12-13T11:30:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday Janice Kreider focused on the question “What should we do?” This was the question asked of John the Baptist in response to his calls for repentance. Politics, economics and religion were not working for the people. John told them that relying on their past and claiming Abraham as father was inadequate; his reply was similar to what Jesus taught later. (Jesus was a disciple of John) John demanded action: if you have two coats give one away, tax collectors are to collect no more than the amount prescribed, no extortion. Jesus enjoyed dinner invitations at the homes of some of these tax collectors where he told stories of joy. The good news is marked by joy – the joy of being part of a country where there are no poor. (HN) Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God. (Leon Bloy) Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, Dec. 13th, 2009 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Nov. 29, 2009 (Joseph Dutko)

2009-11-29T11:30:00.000-08:00

Joseph Dutko focused on passages from Ecclesiastes, specifically verse 6:9 “it is better to be satisfied with what is before your eyes than to give reign to desire.” The pleasures of life versus what our eyes see and desire. The writer – a teacher or preacher known as Qoholeth - asks a lot of questions that centre on his questions about the meaning of life. He was writing at a time of political and economic change. The book starts with “vanity” and ends with more futility and meaninglessness; can something of real value be found in this life? The writer tells us to be content with what we have. We’re rarely content and we seek what we don’t have, Joseph said, referring to Harold Kushner’s book When All You’ve Ever Wanted isn’t Enough. The writer’s advice is to not to seek pleasure but to live moment by moment and enjoy the pleasures that brings. Joseph suggested three things:
1) less is more, embrace simplicity and lower the level of what we want.
2) live in the moment; focus on the times that gratify us – enjoy leisurely meals, sit in the sun.
3) be content; we’re too busy… knowledge is good, to be content is better. (HN)
Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, Nov. 29th, 2009 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Nov. 22, 2009 (J. Evan Kreider)

2009-11-22T11:30:00.000-08:00

“Who do you say that I am?” and Pilate’s question: Are you the King of the Jews? was the focus of Evan Kreider’s sermon last Sunday. In our list of adjectives, describing Jesus as king is not common; we don‘t pray to King Jesus. Evan noted that Christ the king was a popular theme in the middle ages, a concept reflected in some older hymns. Officially Jesus died because he told Pilate he was king of the Jews. Pilate should have realized that Jesus provided no threat to the Roman empire. The inscription “INRI” on many crosses denotes “Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews.” “Kingdom” is a word denoting tremendous power, Jesus proclaimed a kingdom that has no soldiers, no real estate and no currency.Yet Christ the king demands absolute obedience. (HN) Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, Nov. 22nd, 2009 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Nov. 15, 2009 (Jack Suderman)

2009-11-15T11:30:00.000-08:00

Jack Suderman, Executive Secretary of the Mennonite Church Canada, spoke on Ephesians 3. Our commitment to peace and church are profoundly interwoven. As Mennonites envision transforming MCC world-wide, some have called for MCC undertaking mega-projects, such as building hydro dams to supply hydro power to an entire nation. Just as "Kleenex" is known for all facial tissues, some Mennonites wonder whether MCC could become known for peacemaking. Others of us feel more comfortable working on smaller, individual projects. Jack argued, however, that God has outlined a mega-project for the church. Part of God's plan that has been made known to us is that we are to gather "all things" (Eph. 1.10, all-encompassing) in heaven and on earth. This gathering agenda knows no bounds--ecology, finances, industry--a truly mega-concept, cutting edge beyond our imagination. The church is to become the fullness of everything (1.22-23) so that through the church the wisdom of God can be made known to all rulers (3.10). This is a project beyond belief. But all of this needs to be fleshed out with real people, real communities of faith, in which the Spirit has given each person special gifts. There are about 13,000 Mennonite communities of faith which can be involved in this project. If we aim to build a dam, our vision is too small. We need 13,000 communities involved in 13,000 projects for peace. In a sense, through MCC, we have done far more than any of us can imagine, yet there is so much more to do. [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, Nov. 15th, 2009 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Nov. 8, 2009 (Connie Siedler)

2009-11-08T11:30:00.000-08:00

Connie Siedler spoke to us on November 8th on Ruth 3: 1-5 and 4:13-17 from the lectionary texts for the week, which addressed the benefits loyalty to God. She encouraged us with stories not to race through the wisdom book or we’ll miss the value of the journey. Ruth’s losses are tremendous - of husband and sons, not to mention future, so the first part of the book is a lament. Though she does not see God’s hand working for her good, she maintains her loyalty, both to God and to Naomi. Naomi in turn honours Ruth and promises to God with her own loyalty. The unspoken question throughout the text is “Is God really good? Can he be trusted?” Connie found echoes in modern literature, where hating God for allowing suffering won’t make anything better. She also quoted Eugene Peterson in Psalms “If God’s people participate in extraordinary blessings, they also share in terrible sufferings. This makes the saving grace of Jesus Christ so much more important.” The last parts of the book, reconciliation and integrity, bring honour and purity to God’s name. The celebration at the birth of Obed, ancestor to Jesus, at the end of the book emphasizes how God restores everyone who is faithful. [AP] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, Nov. 8th, 2009 using your browser's preferred media player.