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...

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. ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...