It Takes Three
Scripture Reading: Acts 2:1-11
Way back in the Gospel of Mark, near the beginning, there was the story of John the Baptist. People flocked from all over the land to come to him to be baptized.
They would come and meet him at the Jordan River where they would confess their sins and then be baptized by John.
But John knew that his baptisms were simple acts he would perform to help people be cleansed of the sin in their lives. His baptisms were simply a way of people getting themselves ready for the next step.
John baptized with water, but he was always quick to point out there was something far greater coming. Someone was going to be coming who is far more powerful than he.
While John’s baptisms were important, they weren’t the final ritual. The one who is more powerful who is to come will baptize you too, but instead of with water, he will baptize with the Holy Spirit. read more…
come back
Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1-26, 51-57
I know a number of you heard me on CBC radio the other morning. I’ve been part of their rotating panel who are invited to come and be part of a discussion on the topics of the day. Funny thing is, it’s been two years since I was last on. I thought they had let me go after I turned 40!
Any way, this past week I was given the list of potential topics. We don’t always get to them all, but we were invited to share some thoughts on each topic so the host, Steve, could put together a plan as to how the discussion would flow.
Last week our topics were Mike Duffy and his return to the Senate, Assisted Dying legislation and the phenomenon of men sending misogynistic messages to female reporters and celebrities over social media.
Only one of these topics was one I was wondering about as I always go to these panels with the intent of letting my own understanding as a follower of Jesus Christ be seen by the wider community. read more…
United for, in and with…
Scripture Reading: Acts 18:1-4
I suppose you might like to hear a bit about my trip to Toronto this week.
I warned some of you I’d probably come back a little fired up… In a good way. Now did I or didn’t I? I’ll leave that for you to decide.
For those of you who don’t know I was in Toronto for an annual clergy conference called Cruxifusion. There were 75 ministers, leaders and students from across Canada and also one from Bermuda gathered together for 3 days to learn together and be renewed in each other’s company and in the company of God. I am also the chair of the board for this organization which has been a complete joy to be part of for the last 5 years.
As in previous years, this week was another powerful, powerful time together.
We had great speakers and preachers, including Tony Campolo from Philadelphia this year.
It was also a great time to connect with great friends and to continue to work on plans as to what the future of Cruxifusion would look like. read more…
there is power
Scripture Reading: Acts 3:1-10
Before this morning, did you know that there are miraculous healings in the Bible that Jesus didn’t do?
Today we read the story of Peter and John heading to the temple to pray one afternoon and they encounter a man who is described as being lame since he was born. Every day his friends would carry him to the temple so he could beg for money. This day was no different, because here he was at the temple gate looking for whatever Peter and John could spare.
It turns out they could spare a lot! Certainly much more than this man expected to receive! read more…
what’s next?
Scripture Reading: Acts 1:1-14
“What a great story! I wonder what happens next?”
Have you ever said those words at the end of a book or movie you’ve read or seen?
When you turn the final page and you finish the book and just want to know what happens next? You wonder what the character’s life continued to be like? You wonder if they were able to continue on the trajectory when you read those final words.
And for movies, you just want to know if there’s going to be a sequel and your start to picture what happens next?
In our family we’re big science fiction fans. Which means we went to see Star Wars when it came out in December. And yes we went on opening day. But because we know there are still 2 more movies being made, we couldn’t help but wonder what the characters would be up to in the next movie. We wondered how the plot would evolve. We speculated about their unknown histories which will surely be revealed as the movies come out and we tried see how the characters would be connected to each other. read more…