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            As a society we seem to have lost the art of saying a simple, “hello,” and the power within these 5 letters. We have a younger generation that would rather use digital technology to say these 5 letters. While the older generation has lost its own ability to say these 5 letters from a genuine heart that desires to start up a conversation. Our lifestyles continue to move at a faster pass and we are unaware of how to slow things down. We all seem to be longing for the power within the word, hello, which can create a conversation full of connection in any environment. 

            Instead, we say, “hello,” while not caring or waiting for a response. We no longer follow up these 5 letters with, “how are you going?”, or, “my name is Matt, what is yours?” This follow up is key to the art of saying, “hello,” from a genuine place that creates true connections. May we at church on a Sunday redevelop the art of saying, “hello,” by following up these 5 letters. Join me in in undertaking this challenge so we can be a welcoming place, and live up to the signage we put at our entrance. 

Last Sunday, we looked at the Simplicity of the Lord’s Table and how when the early followers of Christ celebrated communion they were all equal around the table.

This still means there were people in positions of authority because it is important to have leaders carry the responsibility of leadership. In the early movement of Christ followers, called the Way, there was clear leaders in the apostles and those entrusted to lead these various communities. We can see this clearly from the Epistles in the New Testament.  

In the Christ model of Leadership, we do not squash our equality with authority. Instead, we honour the fact we all bear a divine fingerprint, with a Servant Leadership approach. This is the leadership approach we see demonstrated by Christ which prioritises the growth and well-being of others.

We see this clearly in Matthew 20:24-28b MSG

“You’ve observed how godless rulers throw their weight around, how quickly a little power goes to their heads. It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage.”

May we follow the Jesus Way in our here and now.

This coming month we are doing a series called Simplicity: Letting Go of Overcomplication. I am excited about this series and diving into the beauty of simplicity.

 We too often as humans tend to overcomplicate things. This is especially true when it comes to being a Christian and can lead to a very legalistic faith. Where we overcomplicate God’s love, Communion, and being a Christ follower.

In our series we will explore the simplicity of God and let go of some overcomplication which leads to a legalistic faith. As Christ followers our faith should always be rooted in the grace, mercy, and love of God.

We have been doing a series at our church called, Sermon Suggestion Series. Now while the title isn’t that creative, it has been a wonderful time for our church. Our church has been getting involved by putting in several suggestions throughout the month of July. The fruitfulness of this month has shown us we need to continue doing series like this, which allow our church to share their wrestles with God. This is why the Suggest a Sermon Box will remain in our church and this series will happen again in the future.

         I pray we will remember that series like these are vital because it encourages us to wrestle with God. Too often we tend to not wrestle with God. We avoid taking our doubts, concerns, and questions to God and instead we hide them. It is important we break this cycle if we desire to go deeper with God because doubt is a sign of genuine faith. A faith that follows the examples left by our forefathers. We need to remember that Jacob wrestled with God in the desert, and afterwards he earns the name Israel which means to wrestle with God (Genesis 32:24-29).

         May we be brave enough to never stop wrestling with God on this side of eternity. Knowing this is what produces genuine faith and allows us to go deeper with God. As a wise man once told me, “A god that can’t handle your question, isn’t a god worth following.”

We sit pondering about God…

about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Our 1 God who is 3 persons…

We develop analogies that all fall short,

and concepts that are always imperfect.

All while missing the ‘I am who I am,’ that spoke to Moses.

The God who is all around us, waiting for us to get lost in their mystery.

Learning to be okay with analogies that all fall short,

and concepts that are always imperfect.

Learning to celebrate that our God is 1 being in 3 persons.

Revealed to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Then we will get up and walk with them…… into the unknown.

Have you ever been through a hard time and had someone say to you, “Just trust God.”? I know I have heard this at times and this response will often make my blood pressure rise. It is not that this statement is untrue but it is often a hard thing to do. How do we trust God when in the middle of a storm, with no control, and in an age of scepticism? This month in March at church we are going to explore this together and discover the tools needed to trust God in all seasons of life.

Please understand this doesn’t mean we won’t get it wrong or have times of doubt. It simply means we will know the tools to use so we can sit in front of Jesus and have him hold us, repeating to us, “I Know.”

Because while the storms rage, with no control, and in an age of scepticism, Jesus holds us every step of the way. We must practice and discover the art of trusting God. This involves us letting go of our idea of perfection, control, and wanting all the answers. When we do this we are meet by a God of pure love, who knows.

My world feels heavy and I can’t not bring myself to keep moving forward.

I go outside to look at the trees and take off my shoes so I can feel the earth.

“Jesus Have Mercy on Me.” I pray as my feet connect with the soil.

Looking around I notice some birds attempting to claim my leftover lunch, that missed my mouth when eating earlier.

The breeze blows through my hair providing some relief from the heat.

“Jesus Have Mercy on Me.” I pray again as I continue to centre myself.

The world seems a little bit lighter and I feel I can take the next step.

One step at a time seems to make life more manageable and less heavy.

“Jesus Have Mercy on Me.” I say as I got back inside.

There is a story in the Gospel of Matthew found in chapter 20 in verses 29 to 34. In this story Jesus’s ministry is growing and this story takes place before he cleanses the temple in Jerusalem.

          In this story he is leaving Jericho on his way to Jerusalem, where he will suffer the incredibly painful death of crucifixion.  On his way leaving Jericho, there are two blind man who hear that he is coming. They scream out to him and get told to be quiet, which leads them to scream out louder until Jesus hears. Then Jesus stops in the middle of this massive following and calls for them. The blindmen approach nervously and then are asked what they want… I imagine time would have stood still why they worked up the courage to ask, “LORD let our eyes be open.” This moment moves Jesus with compassion and leads to Christ healing them. These two men who are healed decide to follow Jesus and live a truly transformed life.

          What I find amazing about this story is that before the healing, we read that Jesus ‘stood still.’ How often do we stand still to hear God’s direction for us? What miracles are we missing because we don’t get stil long enough for God? I want to encourage you to take time in the beginning of this year to be still with Christ, so you can partner with them in the healings they desire to bring their creation.

The following is from Richard Rohr Daily Meditation from the Centre for Action and Contemplation. We hope the following will encourage you to sit with God in quiet contemplation.

Theologian Karen Baker-Fletcher speaks to paradox—the goodness of God and creation do not cause us to avoid suffering in our world and daily life, but to seek to love even more:

[1] Karen Baker-Fletcher, Sisters of Dust, Sisters of Spirit: Womanist Wordings on God and Creation (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1998), 117–118, 120–121.

In the month of November, we will be doing a series called The Heart of a Psalmist. The goal of this series is to dive into the Psalms and develop an authentic heart for God like we read throughout this part of scripture. This book was put together in the Second Temple Period (around 5^th century B.C.E). The collection of this book is divided into 5 sections (1-41, 42-72, 73 – 89, 90 – 106, 107 – 150) which is indicated by a prose doxology of praise to God (except the 5^th book).

          Psalms is a book of poetry but not in a rhythm sense rather in its drawing of parallelism.  It is often hard to translate due to Biblical Hebrew being a synthetic language opposed to analytic languages like English. A synthetic language combines multiple concepts into each word, while an analytic language breaks up concepts into separate words. The poetry of this sacred book finds away to still speak to us regardless of the translating difficulties.

Psalms seems to speak to our hearts and is often a book we search in times of trouble, sadness, anger, and exhilaration. May we learn to speak to God in an authentic way and develop The Heart of a Psalmist. Knowing that, “If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.” – Psalms 139:8 NRSV

Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditations from the Center for Action and Contemplation – May 11th, 2022

In his poem “Glosa á lo Divino,” John of the Cross reveals his deep trust in the mystery of “not knowing,” confident that it will lead him into greater intimacy with God. We share with you Mirabai Starr’s translation.

I would not sacrifice my soul 
for all the beauty of this world. 

There is only one thing
for which I would risk everything: 
an I-don’t-know-what
that lies hidden
in the heart of the Mystery. 

The taste of finite pleasure
leads nowhere.
All it does is exhaust the appetite 
and ravage the palate.
And so, I would not sacrifice my soul 
for all the sweetness of this world. 

But I would risk everything 
for an I-don’t-know-what 
that lies hidden
in the heart of the Mystery. 

The generous heart
does not collapse into the easy things, 
but rises up in adversity.
It settles for nothing.
Faith lifts it higher and higher. 

Such a heart savors
an I-don’t-know-what
found only in the heart of the Mystery. 

The soul that God has touched 
burns with love-longing.
Her tastes have been transfigured. 
Ordinary pleasures sicken her. 
She is like a person with a fever; 
nothing tastes good anymore. 

All she wants
is an I-don’t-know-what 
locked in the heart of 
the Mystery. . . .

I will never lose myself
for anything the senses can taste, 
nor for anything the mind can grasp, 
no matter how sublime, 
    how delicious.
I will not pause for beauty,
I will not linger over grace.
I am bound for
an I-don’t-know-what
deep within the heart of the Mystery.

—John of the Cross, Glosa á lo Divino, trans. Mirabai Starr

In our final message we looked at the Domestication of the Cross and how the cross should launch us to action for those being persecuted and treated as outcasts today. Below you will find the Podcast of this message due to our Video Camera having issues.

In our upcoming series called Shining Star we are diving into the book of Esther. This is an incredible book where God is never mentioned but is constantly working. In this series we are going to explore four things from Esther.

First, we are going to look at Moral Ambiguity & God because this book is full of drinking, sex, and broken Torah commands. Which doesn’t allow us to stay and black & white thinking, with a God that is working throughout all these moments.

Next, we will look at how this story can help us find the Courage to Pivot the Narratives forced upon us by society. Esther finds the courage to pivot a narrative that was going to lead to the mass genocide of her people.

After covering these two things we will have a special Sunday where the Kids & Youth take over our Church service. In this service they will help us discover more about looking out for God in action.

To conclude this series, we will explore how The Movement of God is Seen if we are willing to go on the journey of discovery. The author of Esther invites us on this journey by working tirelessly to avoid mentioning God by name or using religious language.

Have you ever wondered about what it means to build true community? The Early Church was known for building true community that found favor among all people regardless of religious difference. We read this in Acts 2:42-47

⁴² And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. ⁴³ And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. ⁴⁴ And all who believed were together and had all things in common. ⁴⁵ And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶ And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

As Christians we should be known by the true communities we build. Communities that are inclusive, gracious, and supportive. Where people could disagree with our religious standpoint but be unable to fault our ability to build communities that holistically looks after individuals. Sadly, this is not what the Church and Christians are known for throughout our world.

We are doing a series diving into how we can build these kinds of communities like the Early Church. This would enable the church to become contagious again and help others connect with the love, grace, mercy, and peace of Christ that surpass all understanding. Our hearts as Christians should always be to remove any obstacle stopping others from connecting with the heart of God.

Check out our recent Midweek Devotional where we hear the Communion Message from Mal Spooner (August 1st, 2021).

Check out our Midweek Devotional about our upcoming series for the month of August.

Check out our recent Podcast that takes a deep dive into the story about the Good Samaritan.

Check out our Midweek Devotional on Encouragement by watching the YouTube video included in this post.