An Uncle, A Book, and Encouragement

I went to a book release party on the weekend. (At least I think it was a book release party, it felt more like a cross between a family reunion and a memorial service.) The book is about my Uncle David who was... well... a lot of things: a missionary, historian, teacher, army chaplain, husband, dad.... But for me an Uncle that I only met on a few occasions but heard lots of stories about. These stories encouraged me to pursue God's call in my life and now they are in a book. Who knows they may encourage you too. Look it up- you can find it on amazon.ca "The Life and Thought of David Craig" by Jason Zuidema

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Why Do Church As Family?

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. - Ephesians 5:15–21 ESV What is the big purpose of your earthly life now that you belong to Jesus Christ? The New Testament reveals that God's explicit will for your life involves serving Christ by pursuing his way of life and joining him in making disciples. All of which brings glory to his name. (Col 2:6-8, 5:17, Matt 28:18-20, Acts 1:6-8) How are you going to do this? Well, that's the million-dollar questi...

Back to Church

It is pretty clear now that the impact of the 2020 global pandemic will be felt for a long time. As restrictions change we are beginning to think about going back to meeting in person but things will still be quite different for some time. We need to ask what is God teaching us through all of this? For months now, God has allowed church buildings and services to be shut down, forcing us to find different ways to gather and minister. I believe God is giving us an opportunity to take a fresh look at the scriptures and rethink church in light of New Testament principles. If all we had was the New Testament, no church tradition or experience, what would our gatherings be like? How would we go about being the church? The writer of Hebrews gives us the reasoning behind the church gathering together regularly: "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to s...

Wearing a Mask for the Sake of the Gospel?

This week the city of Toronto, in response to COVID-19, made wearing a mask mandatory in any public building, no sooner did the bylaw go into effect and there were people protesting their rights and refusing to wear a mask. This seems to be the typical response of a number of people, many of whom are Christians. I can sympathize with the concerns about government restrictions yet I wonder if our response is really any different from those who have no knowledge of Christ. I've been studying Luke chapter twenty and looking closely at how Jesus responds to the religious authorities who oppose him which has raised a couple of important questions: How should followers of Jesus respond to the authorities in this world? And how are we responding to God’s authority in our lives? The question the spies bring to Jesus in Luke 20:20-26 is meant to be an impossible question. Should we pay taxes to Caesar? (This question is very...

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