Thoughtful Reflections on Faith and Life
When I say that I am reflecting on the past, do not interpret that as thinking about retirement. I am still a ways off from that. But for some reason I have been thinking about my experience as a pastor. I was hired by my first church, Queensway Baptist Church, as a youth pastor back … Read More “Good News: Reflecting on My Career as a Pastor” »
I have been involved in apologetics almost as long as I have had an adult faith. Apologetics is simply providing reasons for belief. Since I came out of a number of years as an atheist, it was natural for me to become an apologist. I was actually doing apologetics before I had ever heard the … Read More “Top Five Experiences as an Apologist” »
My good news for the week is that I had the opportunity to preach at First Baptist Church Meaford’s 131st anniversary service. Preaching at any anniversary service is an honour, but I especially appreciated this opportunity as I pastored this church for nine years. One of the things that Meaford is known for is the … Read More “Memories in Meaford” »
A sermon preached at First Baptist Church based on Acts 4:32-35. Introduction Sometimes we have preconceived ideas about what something looks like. I remember the first time I met Mike Allen, the former padre in Meaford. He had read Unmasking the Pagan Christ before we met. The first thing he said to me was that … Read More “How Do You Recognize a Good Church?” »
A sermon based on Numbers 13:1-3, 25-33 preached at First Baptist Church Meaford. Introduction Can you remember doing something for the first time and feeling inadequate? There are so many times that I can’t even count them. Getting married. How would Amanda and I blend our personalities to make a healthy family? The birth of Logan. What … Read More “Beware the Grasshoppers” »
Today was a fun day. We drove up to Meaford so that I could preach at First Baptist Church. I was the pastor at First Baptist Church for nine years. It has now been a year and half since I left. I really enjoyed my time pastoring at Woodford and Meaford and so it was … Read More “Back to the Pulpit” »
This is my final sermon a pastor of First Baptist Church Meaford. Romans 15 Introduction The time has come for my last message to the church. I wanted to share something that would be helpful for the church as you look to the future and at the same time remain faithful to the passage we … Read More “A Vision For a Healthy Church” »
Romans 14 Introduction In John 17, Jesus prays a prayer for the future church, a prayer that is aimed at us. In his prayer, Jesus prays for something very specific. It is not for beautiful buildings or healthy budgets. Jesus prays that the church would be one as the Father and Son are one. Jesus … Read More “How to Disagree” »
Romans 13 Introduction There are a number of moments in my life that were turning points. One of them was when I got my eyes checked for the first time. After being encouraged to get my eyes checked by a high school teacher, I finally went to an optometrist. I had my eyes checked and … Read More “I Can See Clearly Now” »
Romans 12 Introduction There are many things that people of different religions and philosophies disagree on but there is one thing that almost everyone agrees on: the importance of love. It doesn’t matter of you are a Christian or an atheist or any other belief system, people instinctively know that love is important. We see … Read More “The Power of Love” »
Romans 11 Introduction Know your place! Have you ever heard someone say such a thing? Such a concept could be terribly abused. In more innocent forms, it could be used by parents to try and control their children. In harsher forms, it could be used to promote racism or sexism. The idea of knowing our … Read More “Knowing Our Place” »
Romans 10 Introduction Pastors are well aware that there are certain subjects that congregations do not like to hear sermons on. One of those topics is that of hell. The entire concept of hell is extremely unpleasant and few people want to hear about it. That does not mean it should not be preached on, … Read More “Preach the Gospel” »
Romans 9 Introduction It is very interesting for me to see the change in perspective from being a son to being a father. This is especially true with regard to ideas of fairness. Now things were a bit different for me growing up as an only child. There never were questions about what I received … Read More “Let God Be God” »
Romans 8 Introduction What is Christianity all about? Is Christianity all about bad news or about good news? I have seen descriptions of churches that were completely about what they were against and not at all about what they are for. It is easy to tear things down and much harder to build things back … Read More “Abundance of Blessings” »
Romans 7 Introduction Look at your life. Is it the way you want it to be? I do not mean do you have the possessions you want or have you accomplished what you want. I mean, how is your inner self? Are you the kind of person that you want to be? Do you find … Read More “Trapped” »
Romans 6:15-23 Introduction How do you understand your relationship with God? Do you see yourself primarily as a worshipper? That would mean that your main role would be to praise God. Do you see yourself as a follower? That would mean that you try to figure out the rules and follow them to the best … Read More “Being a Slave” »
Romans 6:1-14 Introduction I believe that there is one question that is essential for all of us to ask: So what? You say you love your children? So, what does that look like in reality? You say that you care about the poor? So what does that look like in practice? There should be some … Read More “Living in Grace Land” »
Romans 5:12-21 Introduction Why do things happen to us? Why do we experience some good things and some bad things? In our society, we pride ourselves in personal autonomy. We want to believe that things are within our control. Do you want to get ahead in life? Roll up your sleeves and get to work. … Read More “Two Men and a Sin Baby” »
Romans 5:1-11 Introduction I like it when things make sense. I enjoy it when things are logical and reasonable. This is the challenge of being a parent. Amanda and I look at some of the bad things our kids do and instead of getting mad, we look at each other and ask: “why?!” It is … Read More “Peace and Joy” »
Romans 4 Introduction I find family resemblances to be very fascinating. Physically, I do not look much like my dad. However, I am now at the age that my dad was when I have some of my earliest memories. I find myself looking in the mirror and trying to see my dad. How do I … Read More “Father Abraham” »
Romans 3:21-31 Introduction What do you want first? The good news or the bad news? Whenever I am asked that question, the answer is very easy. I want the bad news first. There are a number of reasons why. Sometimes the good news is the solution to the problem of the bad news. Sometimes the … Read More “Now, the Good News” »
Romans 3:9-20 Introduction So, how bad are we? Now that is a dangerous question. Do we really want to ask that? Imagine putting yourself out there, taking a risk, and doing something outside your comfort zone. Then you turn to someone, someone who is really good at what you just tried and ask them that … Read More “So, How Bad Are We?” »
Romans 3:1-8 Introduction Think about the people you know, your family and friends and acquaintances. What are the virtues that you value and admire most? There would be things like politeness and kindness and intelligence and humour. All of these things are good and should be appreciated. What about faithfulness? How important is that? It … Read More “Faithfulness of God” »
Romans 2:17-29 Introduction How do people feel about religion? My experience is that people are quick to dismiss “organized religion.” They don’t mind faith in God or even spirituality but they hate organized religion. There are all kinds of problems with this attitude, common as it is. What is the God that one has faith … Read More “Unmasking Religion” »
Romans 2:1-16 Introduction “Judge not, lest you also be judged.” These are very well known words, even by people who do not know Jesus spoke them or that they are found in the Bible. Well known, but at the same time very much misunderstood. What is it that Jesus is telling us here? Does this … Read More “The Problem With Judging” »
Romans 1:18-32 Introduction Paul’s letter to the Romans is very much about being in right relationship with God. No matter what subject he is looking at, he connects it to our relationship with God and how it can be restored. But why? Why is this so important? Why not just live our nice, happy and … Read More “A Bad Exchange Rate” »
Romans 1:8-17 Introduction What is it that you are really passionate about? For many people, it would be family. We love our spouse, our children and grand children. Nothing makes us happier than to be with them and to see them enjoying life. For other people, it is their career. Their career is not just … Read More “A Gospel of Hope and Power” »
Romans 1:1-7 Introduction What is it that is essential for us to get right? Do we need to get the style of our worship music right? Do we need to get the balance of liturgy and spontaneity exact? What about the architecture of our churches or the translation of our Bibles or the length of … Read More “Miracle of the Incarnation” »
James 5:13-20 Introduction Each Sunday, we have an opportunity to share our prayer requests. Very often people share requests for physical healing, either for themselves or for their sick loved ones. Have you ever thought about what we expect to happen? Is saying a prayer for a sick person, simply a show of solidarity, like … Read More “Does God Still Heal?” »
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” »
James 5:7-12 Introduction I want you to imagine the perfect life, the life of comfort and ease where everything goes according to plan and you always get your way. I want you to take that image and I want you to wake up. It is never going to happen. I am not a pessimist, I … Read More “Patience in Suffering” »
James 5:1-6 Introduction What is the purpose of life? According to one bumper sticker: “The one who dies with the most toys wins.” Look at almost every area of life and it would seem to point in that direction. Education is not just to broaden the mind or create well rounded people but to train … Read More “You Poor Rich People” »
James 4:13-17 Introduction I am a person who always likes a plan. By a plan, I don’t mean just some general hopes to one day do such and such. I like timelines and concrete goals. Having studied leadership, I know that there is wisdom in this. It is good to have a short-term plan and … Read More “You Want to Do What?” »
James 4:1-12 Introduction How to become a Muslim? Did you come to the right place? I want to reassure you that I am not preaching a form of Chrislam. Chrislam is a view that puts Christianity and Islam on the same level, seeing them as equal paths to God and suggesting that they have pretty … Read More “How to Become a Muslim” »
James 3:13-18 Introduction If you could have any of the God-given abilities of people in the Old Testament, who would you want to be like? You could be like Abraham and Sarah and be able to have children at a very old age. That does not sound good. You could be like Moses and part … Read More “So You Want to Be a Wise Guy?” »
James 2:14-26 Introduction One of the distinctives of Christianity is that we believe that salvation is by faith alone. There is no religious ritual or level of good deeds that will bring about our salvation. The thief who died on the cross hours after meeting Jesus for the first time is just as saved as … Read More “Dead Faith” »
James 2:1-13 Introduction I want you to imagine the perfect church. New people would come in and the church would be completely oblivious to their outward appearance or circumstances. I don’t mean we wouldn’t care if someone was in need. I mean there would be no judgment as to value, there would be zero partiality. … Read More “For Richer and Poorer” »
James 1:19-27 Introduction A long time ago there was a man who was very active in church. He had a great desire to live a life pleasing to God. There was only one problem. He was all too aware that he was sinful and that he was unworthy of God’s love. He tried everything, from … Read More “Hearing and Doing” »
James 1:1-18 Introduction Why do bad things happen to good people? It is a question that has crossed most of our minds. We have all seen people, that from our perspective, deserve an easier life than they experience. Where is God in all of this? There are a few options. One is that God cares … Read More “Trial by Fire” »
Galatians 5:16-26 Introduction What should the Christian life look like? That is not an easy question to answer and every tradition has struggled with it. I can see this in my own church background. I grew up in a church where there were no expectations about lifestyle or behavior. There were no sermons about what … Read More “The Fruit of the Spirit” »
Jeremiah 31:31-34 Introduction I want you to imagine that you were in some serious legal difficulty. You hire a lawyer and you discover that he is an expert in Canadian law and he has read every law and every related court case… up to 1920. How would you feel? Pretty good if you were living … Read More “The New Covenant” »
Luke 19:1-10 Introduction New Years is a time for people to think of new beginnings. People think about losing weight, working out, quitting smoking, picking up a hobby and so on. That is a good thing. It is very good that we want to make positive changes in our life. Unfortunately, we know too well … Read More “A New Start” »
John 1:1-13 Introduction One of the things that I find very interesting is the near universal fear of darkness, at least at some point in our life. We do not teach children to fear darkness, they figure it out on their own. My children will ask to have their light left on or their door … Read More “You Light Up My Life” »
Luke 1:5-20, 26-35 Introduction Growing up, I did not realize how easy my parents had it at Christmas. Since I was an only child, not only was it cheaper to buy presents for only one child, it was also lacking in dangers of jealousy or competition. As a father of five children, I have to … Read More “Have Some Faith” »
Mark 1:1-8 Introduction What are the images that we have of Christmas? Probably the typical nativity scene. We see a proud Joseph and Mary with adoring shepherds and wise men and submissive animals, all surrounding the Christ child sleeping peacefully in the manger. We are left wondering what the purpose of all this is for? … Read More “Sin is the Reason for the Season” »
Matthew 1:1-18 Introduction Communicators know very well that how you begin greatly affects how people listen to everything else you say. That is true for how we speak and how we write. People are looking for clues in your introduction that will indicate where you are going and will help them to interpret the rest … Read More “Notice the Women” »
Acts 16:25-34 Introduction There are things about church that you just do not need to know. You do not need to know why churches started using pews or organs or why other churches have stopped using them. You do not need to know all the differences between all the different denominations. You do not need … Read More “Which Way to Heaven?” »
Hebrews 11:1-6 Introduction As a child, I was always someone who was unsure of myself. It is not that I could not do anything, I just lacked the confidence to try. The people I envied were not the people who could do everything but those confident enough to try things without anxiety of possible failure. … Read More “Being a Confident Christian” »
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” »
Nehemiah 8:1-3 Introduction Imagine if I announced today that we were going to radically change the style of worship in the church. I don’t just mean a change of songs, moving from traditional hymns to newer songs. I mean a complete change. We would remove all musical instruments from the sanctuary. Not only that, we … Read More “A New Kind of Worship” »
2 Chronicles 6:1-21 Introduction I was raised as a church-going kid. But even that statement says something about how we thought. The Bible speaks of the church as the Christian people but in my mind the church was the physical building. I do not want to go too far down that issue, except to say … Read More “The Big House” »
Genesis 12:1-7 Introduction Everything gets more complex over time. Even though technology improves and there are important advances, the fact is that things get more complicated. We often hear people talk fondly about the good old days. The truth is that the good old days were not necessarily better than today. But they were likely … Read More “Worship Before the Temple” »
Psalm 95:1-6 Introduction I remember being hired by my first church and being scared of one particular part of my job description. One of the things that I was expected to do was to be involved in worship leading. Why would that scare me? In my mind, a worship leader was a person with a … Read More “What is Worship?” »
Philippians 1:9-11 Introduction Most people would agree that love is one of, if not the greatest virtue. Television shows, movies and music are all drawn to the notion of love. But what is love? Is love the emotional excitement as two people feel attraction and take the first steps toward relationship? Is love a possessiveness … Read More “Love and Understanding” »
Ephesians 1:15-23 Introduction Who was the Apostle Paul? Well, he was the author of much of the New Testament. He was a church planter and missionary. He was a theologian and a deep thinker. But Paul was also a pastor. If you read Paul’s letters, you will see that he had a cranky side. He … Read More “A Pastor’s Prayer” »
Romans 15:5-7 Introduction Who a person is affects how they pray. The mother of a sick child will pray a certain way. A student nervous about an exam will pray a certain way. An evangelist about to speak before a stadium full of people will pray a certain way. A child hoping for a new … Read More “A Prayer For Unity” »
Nehemiah 1:4-11 Introduction In every area of life, but especially in trying to live the Christian life, people tend to extremes. It is either all this way or all that way. As we have been looking at prayer, this can be seen here as well. There are those who believe that everything is done by … Read More “Get Off Your Knees and Pray” »
I had a good day today. I got some important work done at Woodford and First Baptist Church, including getting a number of things ticked off on my to-do list. I did some work on my lecture notes for the course I am teaching at Tyndale on Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels. I got caught … Read More “Definition of Success” »
1 Samuel 2:1-10 Introduction Why bother praying? Have you ever wondered how the first person started praying? In Genesis 4:26, it says in the days of Enosh, son of Seth, son of Adam, that people began to call upon the name of the Lord. Was that the first prayer? If so, we are not told … Read More “Prayer of a Thankful Mother” »
Matthew 6:5-15 Introduction When someone is going through a hard time, I encourage them to pray. I stand by that advice as God can far better care for a person than I can with any words of pastoral care. I believe we must go to God in prayer at all times but especially when life … Read More “What is Prayer?” »
I love the Psalms. I love the Psalms for numerous reasons. There is the beauty of the language. I am not sure there is anything that is more beautiful than the 23rd Psalm. I love the raw expression of feeling. The Psalms do not hide emotion, when the Psalmist feels forsaken by God, he shouts … Read More “ABCs of the Bible” »
“To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found … Read More “What Does It Mean to Be Alive?” »
“To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. … Read More “Naked Souls and Minds” »
“To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a … Read More “Rich and Yet Poor” »
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands:I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim … Read More “Falling Out of Love” »
“Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the man who loves God is known by God. So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We … Read More “Tearing Down Stumbling Blocks” »
“It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this? Even though I … Read More “What About Sin?” »
“I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among … Read More “Divided We Fall” »
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as … Read More “A Church That Acts” »
“He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the … Read More “Twelve That Changed the World” »
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment.And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’All the Law and the Prophets hang on these … Read More “Keeping Our Vision Clear” »
This is the message I gave yesterday at my churches: First Baptist Church Meaford and Woodford Baptist Church. An Apologetic Church “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this … Read More “An Apologetic Church” »
This sermon was preached on Oct. 3 2010 at Woodford Baptist and First Baptist Church Meaford. A Unique Gospel Galatians 1:6-9 Introduction What would it take for you to want to curse someone? Perhaps for some people it would be as simple as getting stuck behind a slow driver when you are in a hurry. … Read More “A Unique Gospel” »
