Babies and Wildflowers May 25, 2008 Michele Rizoli Text: Matthew 6:24-34 Psalm 131 Isaiah 49:8-16a In the scripture readings for today we read about two wonderful images for our relationship to God: God as a landscaper and God as a Mother. On the one hand we have visions of a field of wildflowers glowing with colour and little birds chirping and flying carefree in all directions and on the other we have the Psalm that reminds us how…
Naming God May 18, 2008David Brubacher Text: Matthew 28:16-20 Psalm 8 Introduction: Based on your experience with God, how would you name God? How would you describe the God you know to someone who has never heard about God? According to the Christian calendar, today is Trinity Sunday. The Christian doctrine of the Trinity which formulates belief in God as triune: traditionally names God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, or as Creator, Saviour and Sustainer. Christians are…
New Life Unleashed May 11, 2008 David Brubacher Text: Acts 2:1-21 Psalm 104:24-34 Introduction: I did not hear the sound of a loud rushing wind. Nor did I see tongues of fire on people’s heads. As best as I could tell there was no extraordinary gift of language either. Yet I believe what I heard and saw is the very essence of what we celebrate today in Pentecost. I saw new life unleashed. At the annual gathering of MCEC…
A time to plant, a time to tend what is planted, and a time to let it all go to seed May 4, 2008 Marilyn Zehr Text: Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 I Peter 5:4-10 A time to plant a time to tend what is planted and a time to let it all go to seed. What could I possibly mean – especially that last part – is there ever a time to let it all go to seed? – The…
Wounded and Blessed April 20, 2008 Betty Pries Text: Genesis 32:22-32 Several years ago, I read a short snippet in a Globe & Mail article regarding personal transformation. The author was suggesting that there are two ways in life through which one can be transformed. One is to have a nervous breakdown. The other is to get married. While the author was trying to be humorous, the question of how we are transformed is an important one and in…
Come In! April 13, 2008 David Brubacher Text: John 10:1-10 Psalm 23 Introduction: There is a myth that suggests men do not like to ask for directions. Admittedly it might be more than a myth. In my carpentry work, installing doors and locksets is a specialty of mine. At one time I prided myself of not needing instructions to install a lockset. I argued that once I figured it out myself I would remember better for the next time.…
When our hearts burn April 6, 2008 David Brubacher Text: Luke 24:13-35 Psalm 116 Introduction: I sensed a burning in my heart. The young girl waiting on me in the local pharmacy looked familiar. The burning suggested I should know her. In the grocery store next door I remembered that I had done the finish carpentry in her family’s dream home. I was always intrigued by the way this girl and her younger siblings helped with odd jobs…
My Lord and My God March 30, 2008 Doug Johnson Hatlem Text: John 20:19-31 The Lord IS risen. Risen indeed. Jesus has emptied his tomb. His body revivified. Death conquered – death, that last enemy, which according to Paul, is now, and shall be, abolished. Here we are a week later. Christ is Risen! The regency of Israel’s Messiah is in its infancy. The world does not yet know that it has been conquered. Jesus has been lifted…
Resurrection Today March 23, 2008 David Brubacher Text: Matthew 28:1-10 Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 Introduction: If had been a chaotic week. Yet in the middle of everything, I experienced something profound. I think of it as the power of Jesus’ resurrection. It was the week my mother died. On a Saturday morning twenty-three months ago my mother was admitted to hospital with what seemed like routine gallbladder systems. On Monday she was diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer. She died Saturday…
With Jesus into Jerusalem March 16, 2008 Jonathan Slater Text: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 Matthew 21:1-11 Isaiah 50:4-9 Today we celebrate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem; we have seen a glimpse of what that day might have looked like from the perspective of a range of characters: There is Mary, Jesus’ Mother, worrying that her son has gone too far this time – That such a public, political statement, and in Jerusalem at the time of Passover, can bring…