Sometimes we forget that the heart of God the Father is a heart of love. Sometimes we fear God (as in afraid) because of his holiness and our sinfulness. We hear words like “the wrath of God” and (shallowly) interpret this to be an angry Judge out to condemn and punish. Although we can’t fully… Read More »Shining Jesus’s Love in a Dark World (December 21, 2025)
The fourth Advent Candle represents ‘Love.’ This is the climax of the advent story; without knowing the Love of God through Jesus we can’t know what Hope, Peace and Joy are. God is Love, the Bible declares this as simply as possible. We need to rediscover God’s love in this world of division, aggression and… Read More »Advent 4: Love (December 22, 2024)
There is so much more to Peace than the absence of conflict. For me it might be the most elusive of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. For this service, let us consider Shalom, the Hebrew root word for biblical peace. sermon: Advent 2 – Peace (John 14:23 and Psalm 23) with Pastor David Donaldson
Advent has two different but related meanings: It means the anticipation of something big. And it is the arrival or introduction of something big. We live in the in-between age of Jesus’s first advent (our candles and trees and gifts and a baby born in a manger) and his second. We celebrate AND we anticipate. In… Read More »Advent-Hope (December 1, 2024)
On this Sunday before Advent begins, we are reminded advent is a time to prepare for Christ’s coming. But is it possible that we should also prepare for this time of preparation? We will look at a very familiar Christmas passage of Scripture, and perhaps see something new in it, to prepare our hearts for Advent. sermon:… Read More »Signs and Wonders (November 24, 2024)