Thoughtful Reflections on Faith and Life
One of my favourite times of the year is Easter. I am a Christian and the message of the death and resurrection of Jesus is very important to me. Of course as a pastor, Holy Week is a hectic week, but it is also a good time. On Good Friday, we welcomed Wittenburg Baptist Church … Read More “Easter Weekend” »
1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Introduction There are two kinds of news that are worth sharing, there is the bad news and the good news. Think about the various new outlets, whether television, internet, or newspaper. How do they decide what news to share? A big part of it is relevance, but if you look at the … Read More “Standing on the Resurrection” »
Millions of Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Is this a sign of a widespread delusion or is such a belief rational? No doubt, there are skeptics who see belief in the resurrection as irrational. That is fine. I respect their right to believe that. It is true that it is not common for people … Read More “Is It Rational to Believe in the Resurrection of Jesus?” »
Some conservative Christians recently expressed outrage that President Biden proclaimed a Trans Day of Visibility to coincide with Easter. For some, this felt like a direct attack on Christianity. But was it? It is important to note that the Trans Day of Visibility has existed on March 31 since 2009 and was not created by … Read More “Did President Biden Tie the Trans Day of Visibility to Easter?” »
I generally enjoy Easter, although there have been a few Easters that were not so great. However, this Easter was very nice. On Good Friday, we had a combined service with Lifepoint Church, Wittenburg Baptist Church, and Brookfield Baptist Church. We always enjoy gathering together and Amanda and I look forward to working with our … Read More “Good News: A Nice Easter” »
As a Christian, one of the most important days for me is Easter Sunday. This is not just a cultural observance, but something that reflects my belief in the actual resurrection of Jesus. Last year, we were not able to have an in-person church service for Easter Sunday. That was a strange feeling. It was … Read More “Good News: Easter” »
Matthew 28:1-10 A Frightening Morning I want you to imagine that first Easter morning, specifically from the perspective of the women. Perhaps you think of an early morning stroll through a garden with a few friends. That was not really what was happening. It was very early in the morning, so early that it was … Read More “Do Not Be Afraid” »
In online etiquette, all caps is considered shouting. And this is why I have in the title, HAPPY EASTER! Is that because I’m excited about Easter? Yes but there is more. Yesterday was Easter Sunday and it was a beautiful day weatherwise. We were driving to Amanda’s parents’ house to give them Easter greetings by … Read More “Good News: HAPPY EASTER!” »
Luke 24:1-12 Introduction Have you ever heard that saying, “If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is”? This is a good general rule of thumb. For example, if you receive an email saying that someone from another country, who you don’t know, has left you one million dollars, you should be … Read More “Is the Resurrection Too Good to Be True?” »
Christians believe that Jesus’ death was more than just a terrible miscarriage of justice. The death of Jesus is the means by which we receive salvation. But how exactly does that work? What does his death on the cross do? In theological terms, what is the correct atonement theory? There are those who would suggest … Read More “What Atonement Theory Should We Hold?” »
The purpose of my personal blog is to talk about things such as my family, my health and my regular experiences. I usually talk about matters of faith elsewhere. However, my faith is an extremely important part of me. I have studied theology for a long time but there is much that I don’t know. … Read More “Good News: Jesus is Alive” »
My Good News is that Easter is one of my favourite days. This is on a number of levels. The first is about my faith. I understand that not everyone who reads my personal blog is a Christian but my faith is real. I truly believe that Jesus died for our sins and rose from … Read More “Good News: I Love Easter” »
Some pastors may dread Easter because of the extra services but I love it. This entire weekend has been great. We had a very meaningful Maundy Thursday service at our church that included foot washing and communion. I was planning on going by myself but I was shocked when the children asked to go. I’m … Read More “Good News: A Blessed Easter” »
I have had a number of people ask me why Good Friday is Good. Even explaining that it is the day that we remember that Jesus died on a cross doesn’t immediately make things clear. How can the painful death of an innocent man be good? That is one of the most important questions we … Read More “4 Things That Are Good About Good Friday” »
Beginning with the time of the Enlightenment, people have attempted to understand Jesus outside of the supernatural. There is much that is good in Jesus’ teachings and Christianity has shaped the morality of western civilization. It would be nice, so it was supposed, if we could have just a natural Jesus. Perhaps Jesus’ healings (or … Read More “Does It Matter If Jesus Didn’t Physically Rise From the Dead?” »
There was no trouble coming up with a Good News post today. This has been a tremendous day on so many levels. It began with our Easter Service at Queen Street Baptist Church. This was my first Easter as the pastor at QSBC. There was a great turnout for church and everything came together well. … Read More “Good News: A Fantastic Easter” »
This is the Easter sermon that I preached at Queen Street Baptist Church. Easter Sunday is by far my favourite Sunday of the entire year. Christmas is wonderful with all of the carols and nativities and everything else that goes with it. But it is Easter that really fills me with joy and gets me … Read More “4 Things You Need to Know About the Resurrection” »
While in some ways it is good that Christians use the cross as our symbol, in other ways it leads to a lack of shock at the horror of the cross. We have become comfortable with the cross. What we forget is that crucifixion was one of the worst ways to die. Stephen M. Miller … Read More “What the Romans Said About Crucifixion” »
Easter Sunday is the most important day for Christians. It is the day that we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Does this have anything to say about disabilities? When we think of the afterlife, we think about becoming perfect according to popular understandings of normal. All the things that we think make us stand out … Read More “Jesus’ Resurrection and Disabilities” »
The resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of Christianity There are a lot of topics that I have no interest in arguing about. There are certain biblical stories and events, while interesting and having something to say to us, that in the end will not make much difference to us. On our death bed, we will … Read More “5 Reasons Why the Resurrection of Jesus is Important” »
I have two very strong convictions. One is that apologetics is not just for academic discussion but for the church. Apologists should be seeking to equip congregations to understand their faith better. The other is that the most important topic in apologetics is the resurrection of Jesus. If Jesus is not risen from the dead, … Read More “Free Church Easter Resource” »
A number of years ago, I had the privilege of being able to speak at a conference in Belgium on the resurrection. One of the speakers was Gerd Ludemann.[i] Although I knew I had some different opinions than Ludemann, I was eager to learn from such a well-known scholar. Ludemann began his presentation with an … Read More “Seeing is Believing” »
As Christians will be celebrating the resurrection of Jesus on Sunday, I thought I would share the chapter from Experiencing God Without Losing Your Mind that deals with the resurrection. This will give you a sense of what this book is like. You can pick up this book in its entirety either as an e-book … Read More “Jesus Gets a Raise” »
Luke 25:13-35 Introduction Have you ever been really down in the dumps? Have you had your plans, your expectations and things went the complete wrong way? Have you ever been deeply disappointed? I think that it is okay to feel that way. This is one of the differences between Christianity and Buddhism. Buddhism sees the … Read More “Things Are Not What They Seem” »
Introduction Good Friday is about remembering Jesus’ death on the cross. The cross is central to the Christian hope. But why did Jesus die and why do we consider that death good? Many Christians would respond by saying that Jesus died so we can go to heaven. Well, that is fine as far as it … Read More “Cross of Suffering” »
As we approach Easter, we are drawn to the New Testament accounts of the crucifixion and the Old Testament texts that seem to point to the passion. One of the most frequent is Psalm 22, the first part of which Jesus quotes while on the cross (Mark 15:34). Many Christians look at Psalm 22 as … Read More “Psalm 22, Christ and Humanity” »
We had a wonderful worship service today at Woodford and First Baptist Church Meaford. It was a service like I had never been to before and I thought I would share about it here. We have been going through a series at church on worship and I thought I would experiment with something different. Normally … Read More “A Different Kind of Service” »
Is believing in the resurrection of Jesus reasonable? Since we have just come out of Easter, I thought I would share why I believe in the resurrection of Jesus. These are not “proofs.” If you have already decided you do not believe in the resurrection, these reasons are not likely to change your mind. But … Read More “Why I Believe in the Resurrection” »
Introduction Some surprises are good and some are bad. I remember some bad ones. I remember biting into what I thought was a chocolate donut and finding out it was a pumpernickel bagel or what I thought was a nice sweet grape and finding out it was a black olive. On the other hand, I … Read More “Six Surprises of Easter” »
1 Corinthians 2:1-2, 15:12-17 Introduction Have you ever been in some sort of sales transaction or contract? All sorts of details are being presented and the other person goes on and on and on. As you are listening to all the talking, you begin lose patience. What is the bottom line? Whether that is price … Read More “Did Jesus Die on the Cross and Rise Again?” »
