January 10, 2021Luke 3: 1-22 There is a lot missing from today’s story about John the Baptist … at least when you compare Luke’s version to Matthew’s and Mark’s accounts. Click here for service In Luke, there’s no mention of John’s peculiar diet … there is no description of John’s clothing … no talk of his coat or his belt … Luke…
Dec. 24, 2020Christmas Eve Luke 2: 1-20 This is the moment we have been anticipating … an ending that comes in a beginning. For months, we’ve anticipated the end of the year and … with it … hoped-for changes in the restrictions that have shaped our lives. Well, we know how that went. During the season of Advent … we anticipated the…
Advent 4, Dec. 20, 2020 Luke 1:28-56 Before today’s passage from Luke, Mary is living her life … She goes about her daily routine in a small out-of-way town called Nazareth … She has a fiancée … there’s a marriage in her future and … as far as we know … children are expected to follow. Click here for service Then, God…
December 13, 2020Isaiah 61: 1-11Advent 3 In a refugee camp in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, three women die after giving birth at their homes … around the same time … a baby who’s on a ventilator dies because there is no oxygen. Click here for service A doctor in the camp says that the hospital where he works is “totally non-functional” due to…
December 6, 2020Joel 2:12-13, 28-29 Advent 2 It seems that whenever someone suffered a deeply personal loss in the Old Testament … when someone was grieving … that there is a public display of mourning. Click here for service This is when the person rends their clothes … when they rip their garments apart … letting loose their pain and emotions. The…
November 29, 2020Daniel 6: 6-27Advent 1 Our house in Northern Ontario backs onto hundreds of acres of Crown land. Click here for service The terrain is filled with various types of pine trees, birch and blueberry bushes. The landscape is marked with rock outcroppings and cliffs and is home to a variety of wildlife. Foxes, fishers, deer, moose and black bears have…
November 22, 2020Jeremiah 36: 1-8, 21-23,27-28; 31: 31-34Christ the King Sunday Last week, we heard the story from Isaiah about God’s call to the people to return to a faith-filled life that was in keeping with God’s call to serve and to love. Click here for service. At a time when the people feared of being conquered and enslaved by the Assyrians,…
During some downtime a week or so ago, I was scanning the television channels for something interesting to watch. Click here for service. I parked on the History Channel for a few moments … for once it wasn’t a show about pirate treasure off the coast of Nova Scotia … or a pawn shop in Las Vegas … or about a couple…
November 8, 2020 Worship service based on: Jonah 1: 1-17, 3: 1-10, 4:1-11; Psalm 105: 1-6, 37-45 and Matthew 18: 21-35. Guest preacher: Adam Snook, assistant to the bishop, Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada Click here for service No sermon text this week … due to guest preacher
November 1, 2020 1 Kings 17: 1-24Elijah served as prophet during a time of peace and prosperity in Israel. Click here for service Under King Ahab, the nation was a military and economic force. The royal house had brought a level of comfort to the people … but, as it turns out, the prosperity masked some serious problems … especially spiritual ones.…