An Unexpected Christmas
A church in New Zealand shares a video they made with their youth.
2012 Year in Review
Lots going on in 2012, and while I may not have been able to blog as often as I would have liked, I thank all of you for reading and conversing with me over the year.
The blog has been busy, despite my lack of posting (especially in the final quarter) and here are some fun stats from 2012.
Most Viewed Posts
A fun post highlighting the April Fools Day bulletin from this past year
9 – Should We Stay or Should We Go?
A video I found asking about the work and mission of the church.
8 – What Am I Doing?
Reflecting on a public meeting hosted by a group I am now on the board of.
A sermon from 2011 which shows a couple of Calvin & Hobbes comics
Reflecting after a meeting where I was told the language of a doctrinal statement no one knows about is keeping young people from coming to our churches.
5 – The First
My Easter sermon from 2011
4 – State of Shock
It was a hard summer for the United Church of Canada following our 41st General Council
3 – Keeping Watch
This anniversary sermon from 2010 still gathers a lot of hits as people search for “anniversary sermons”
2 – An Open Letter to the Church
Early in 2012 I felt a strong need to say something to the church as a frustrated young clergy. This gathered lots of attention, even from our head offices in Toronto.
And finally, my most popular post in 2012
Another old sermon, this time from 2011. Again lots of search engine hits on a variety of search terms.
And for fun, I thought I would throw in some interesting search terms from 2012
(*not necessarily the most popular, just ones I randomly picked)
– “valley of dry bones” (leading to my top post from 2012)
– “calvin and hobbes dad”
– “why me”
– “post theism”
– “batman begins ninja”
– “why are young people leaving cape breton”
– “rev nick philips bus tour”
– “i want to know more about you”
– “blowing thing up”
– “emo on facebook fanzy” (I have NO idea what this means)
Again, thank you for being part of my year. I appreciate your readership and feedback.
God bless and I pray you have a blessed 2013.
-revnick
See The Shepherds
“See The Shepherds”
Luke 2:1-20
There are so many characters in the Christmas story. Names we hear this time of year. Mary and Joseph. Elizabeth and Zechariah. Angels. John the Baptist.
All of whom play a very important part in the time before the first Christmas. All have very important parts in this reason why we celebrate. The gift of God’s Son coming to earth as a baby.
You see, God decided it was time for Him to come into the world Himself. Jesus is God among us. Jesus is the one who came so we would know God better. But not just better, so we could know Him as a teacher, a healer, a brother, a friend.
His coming to the earth was the next step in His plan to reveal Himself to us. It was to show that it means so much more than the rules and the vision of the angry God so many take from reading the Old Testament.
It’s not supposed to be like that at all. God comes to show us how it really ought to be. That is, a relationship built on love. And love can only happen when a relationship is formed. So God comes. read more…
Advent Devotional
This Advent, Cruxifusion has been posting videos by church leaders from across the country. Short videos that are devotional messages for people to reflect on in this busy season.
One day I lugged the camera down to the church and recorded mine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFow_9ZqgqQ
Merry Christmas my friends.
God bless.
Christmas Characters: Mary and Joseph
This sermon is part of my Advent series for 2012, but my original theme changed with the tragic shootings in Newtown, CT on Friday. Our service and prayers we’re reflecting of our lament and our desire for God to heal broken hearts and crushed dreams.
“Christmas Characters: Mary and Joseph”
Matthew 1:18-25
It’s an interesting day to be preaching. The world is full of pain in the aftermath of the school shooting in Newtown, CT. The news is full of pictures of children and parents. It’s full of talk around guns and violence. It’s full of how to protect the innocent from similar incidents. It’s so hard to process.
To think of this town, how it has gone from celebrating Christmas joy to deep pain in just minutes. It’s really something we just cannot imagine, nor do we want to. Yet there are families living in this pain and despair right now.
At a time of year when we have been talking about hope, peace and, just today, joy, how can we find these things in a world that seems intent on causing pain and suffering?
How can we continue to wear a smile on our faces? How can we continue to want to party and be around people? How can we celebrate Christmas knowing there are people out there who have their hope and joy crushed senselessly?
It’s not easy. read more…