Embracing New Life February 17, 2008 David Brubacher Text: Genesis 12:1-4a John 3:1-17 Introduction: Learning to ride a bicycle was not easy for me. I was about eleven by the time I finally learned to ride and had my own bike. Part of the problem was that there were no bikes around our place other than the old one in the back of my grandfather’s shed that had not been ridden for years. Not having a bike, however,…
Embracing the Wilderness February 10, 2008 Aldred Neufeldt Text: Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7 Psalm 32 Romans 5:12-19 Matthew 4:1-11 Introduction Through much of my life I have had some discomfort with Lent. In this, I’ve discovered, I’m not alone. It seems this phenomenon is not peculiarly Mennonite, nor recent. It probably dates back to post-reformation times when newly emerging churches were anxious to get away from ‘high church’ liturgical worship. More recently, such antipathy no doubt has been reinforced by…
Praising God in all Things February 3, 2008 Gerry Doerksen Text: Psalm 150 It is October 20, 1988 – game 5 of the World Series of baseball. It’s an all-California series: Los Angeles Dodgers versus the mighty Oakland Athletics. The Athletics are heavily favoured to take the series. But somehow, the Dodgers have managed to win 3 games to Oakland’s 1. With one more victory the Dodgers will win the pennant, but they are playing in their opponent’s…
A Powerful Relinquishment February 3, 2008 Jeff Taylor Text: Proverbs 3:3, 5-6 I don’t like change. Ask anyone who has lived with me how much I like a sudden change of plans. I can’t manage to change my socks without whining if it hasn’t been on my calendar for a week. Aren’t we all a little like that? Change is unsettling, isn’t it? Frightening? When we don’t know what will happen next we can become anxious – knocked off…
A Sacred Place of Meeting January 27, 2008 David Brubacher Text: Psalm 27:1, 4-9 I Corinthians 1:10-17 Introduction: When I began ministry at the St. Jacobs Mennonite Church, my home church, I was as green as they come. As Youth Minister I related mostly to the youth in the early years. While in the first months it felt like I did little more than get the hot dogs and roasting sticks for youth events, I did develop significant…
Still Lookin’ Into Jesus January 20, 2008 Tim Schmucker Text: Luke 10:25-37 Mark 2:13-17; 10:17-22; 8:27-30 Sipping whiskey from a paper cup, You drown your sorrows till you can’t get up, You think rock and roll will set you free, You’ll be deaf before you’re thirty-three, Shooting junk till you’re half insane, Broken needle in your purple vein, Why don’t you look into Jesus, He’s got the answer. Why don’t you look into Jesus, He’s got…
Loved and Called January 13, 2008 Sue C. Steiner Text: Isaiah 42:1-9 Matthew 3:13-17 How easy it would be if the sky opened FOR US. How easy it would be if God’s Spirit conveyed with a fluttering of wings in audible voice: AYou are my beloved daughter. You are my beloved son. With you I am well pleased.” We long for signs of God=s love and acceptance – or at least I do. We long at the…
God’s Mystery Revealed January 6, 2008 David Brubacher Text: Isaiah 60:1-6 Matthew 2:1-12 Introduction: Much of what we know and experience of God is shrouded in mystery. Occasionally we catch a momentary glimpse that connects something of God with our external world. It is a profound moment when the deep longings of our being connect with the divine. We are transformed. We are empowered to journey into the deep recesses of our being – maybe even our darkness.…
Repenting in the Wilderness December 9, 2007 Jeremy Bergen Text: Isaiah 11:1-10 Matthew 3:1-12 John Chivington grew up on an Ohio farm in the early 19th century, and in his 20s heard a call to become a minister. He was ordained by the Methodist church, and sent west, to serve in the frontier towns of Missouri. This was prior to the American Civil War, and slavery was still a reality in many states. Chivington was opposed to slavery,…
Waiting for a Miracle December 2, 2007 Jonathan Slater Text: Isaiah 2:1-5 Matthew 24:36-44 Romans 13:11-14 I. Evan Baxter is an ambitious and successful man: A former TV news anchor, newly elected to the US congress, now settled with his wife and three sons in a huge home in a newly developed suburb of Washington. Immediately upon arriving in Washington, he is asked to co-sponsor an important piece of legislation – the Citizen Integration of Public Land act …