Acts 7:54-8:3 This morning we’ll again be participating in the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.  When the early Christians had to choose a word to identify those who had suffered intensely and even given their lives for their faith, they chose to call them “martyrs”—a word which denotes not their victimhood but […]

Colossians 1:28-29 It’s natural if not unavoidable for kids to be interested in being more mature.  At a certain age, kids don’t want to be thought of as ‘little’ anymore but as blossoming young women and men. The Apostle Paul would identify this as a very good and healthy impulse.  He says in Colossians 1 […]

Matthew 5:17-20 The 10th commandment focusses on our desires…specifically the covetous desire for more than we have. By giving us a commandment that governs our desires, God reveals how deep the other 9 commandments really go…that they too were intended to govern not only our behaviour but our desires as well. This is precisely Jesus’ […]

Ephesians 5:15-25 God has given us as human beings an incredible capacity to communicate–not only sophisticated languages but also facial expressions, gestures, imagery, and music. With a tremendous capacity to communicate comes a tremendous responsibility, and that’s what the 9th commandment addresses. Most plainly it requires that we avoid deceit and speak the truth, but […]

Matthew 6:19-24 As he’s done with all the other commandments, so too with the command against stealing, Jesus addresses the heart issue; namely, greed. Jesus uses three metaphors to call us away from an inordinate love of material wealth—the metaphor of treasure (vv19-21), eye sight (vv.22-23), and serving a master (v24). With each metaphor we […]

Proverbs 5:1-21 The seventh commandment, as most of us know well, forbids far more than the physical act of adultery. It calls all of us–married or single–to a life of complete sexual purity. As Proverbs 5 articulates, sex within the proper confines of marriage is something to be enjoyed (see vv. 15-19), but the allure […]

Psalm 88 This Psalm has been noted to be one of the darkest corners of the Psalms.  It’s a lament like no other.  This Sunday we will explore this Psalm and its lament.  Has God really forsaken the author?  Has God forsaken us?  A day after Christmas, filled with hope, family, food, and fellowhsip, we […]