“…We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand.” Isaiah 64:8 I have a set of pottery mugs I like to use for communion. The mugs are beautifully irregular. You can almost see the finger and thumbprints of the potter as they squeezed these mugs to create indents […]
I’m excited to be embarking on a new mini-series this Spring centring on the Beatitudes. God has been impressing the Sermon on the Mount on me for some time now and I’m excited and curious to begin to explore the beginning of this most famous of Jesus’ sermons. Excited because of what God will stir
Questions have a way of engaging the heart. Doctrinal statements, creeds, arguments and various proclamations don’t produce the kind and quality of engagement that a well placed question can. Jesus certainly knew this and often harnessed the power of the question – there are over 300 recorded in the bible. This winter we’re exploring a
One of my family’s favourite outings is to pack all six of us into the van and head down to Corydon Ave. We all eagerly race into Nucci’s gelati for a tasty frozen treat – we run because usually it’s raining when we all go – a weird quirk of this particular family tradition. Walking
Jesus’ resurrection was and is just the beginning. After Easter comes Pentecost, but those forty days is a journey. For Jesus’ disciples the time between the upper rooms was confusing, exhilarating, surprising and empowering. You remember both upper rooms, right? In one they gathered to hear Jesus talk about his betrayal and death. In the
This winter marks the return to our “Fixed on Jesus” series. We’re going to be exploring three Hot Button topics that you think the church should be talking about (thanks for participating in the survey). As mentioned previously, the point of this series is not to nail down where we stand (as a church or
For my birthday last year, Jennifer (my wife) bought me a lovely edition of the 1954 volume called “Lives of Saints.” One of my favourite accounts is of St.Perpetua, a twenty-two-year-old who was martyred for her faith in the year 203. Perpetua was married and had an infant; she was one of five catechumens (those
Diversity is Great but has Some Challenges We live in a time of immense diversity. Every subject imaginable has a myriad of opposing viewpoints – from politics, economics and science, to arts, religion, sports and more. As if that weren’t enough, adherents to virtually any opinion can find facts and figures to back up their
This Spring and Summer we’re going to be embarking on a new series called “Streams of Living Water: exploring unity and diversity in the church”. We’re going to be exploring the wondrous and varied expressions of the body of Christ – streams, if you will. There are many streams that comprise the whole body of
We’re embarking on a new series entitled, “Why On Earth?: David, calling and the pursuit of God”. No matter where we are in life we all need to grapple with the big questions like: Why on earth am I here? What’s my calling? What kind of person has God called me to become? And, how can I figure
Have you been baptized before? Can you recall what happened? Do you remember what was going on in your heart? Perhaps you haven’t been baptized yet. In this series called Diving In, we want to explore the sacrament of Baptism. For those who have been baptized, we want to help you recall what happened that moment
The real Jesus – the one we read about in the bible and not the one whose name is commonly invoked to justify all manner of violence, exclusion and judgement – the real Jesus is winsome. There is something about him that surprises, challenges, comforts and wins people. Even non-religious people love him and more often
As the pastoral staff and elders have been praying and seeking direction for the coming year, we’ve been drawn to the idea of knowing who we are and who we’ve been called to be as a Vineyard family. It’s important to tend the roots of a plant if you want to produce good fruit. So,
