Hell

I thought I'd start with something light, (I'm referring to the length of the book, not the topic!) reading Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle's, Erasing Hell: What God said about Eternity and the things we made up. 
The book has been described as "ground breaking."  While I have read larger tomes on the topic, the book is timely. With several references to Rob Bell's, Love Wins, the book serves as a needed counter-voice to our fingers-crossed hope that all will be saved.  Erasing Hell leaves us with no doubt that the bible takes hell seriously.
The line in the book that resonated with me most strongly was the reminder that "This is not just about doctrine; it's about destinies."  If we eliminate hell, or reduce it to some innocuous state of nothingness, we will be ignoring much biblical evidence to the contrary.  But perhaps even worse, if we deny hell, then we have minimized the work of Jesus.  Our alienation from God was so big, so all encompassing, and the destiny that awaited us was so horrific that God was prepared to pay the ultimate price to rescue his people from "that place."  Really, why would Jesus have willingly died such a torturous death if what awaited sinners was some nirvana-ish state of nothingness?

Hell - it is serious business. The Bible takes it seriously.  Jesus took it seriously.  So should we.

Reading break

I'm heading into a reading break followed by some vacation time.  While I'm away our Assistant Pastor, Ed Visser, and a few guest pastors will lead us in worship.

God's economy of order

In the wake of two tragic deaths this week, in Ottawa and Montreal, we recognize that in a fallen world we long to see greater evidence of God's justice.  What can we do to heal the brokenness?  God calls us to be holy people, but what does that look like?  While our immediate reaction is to withdraw, God calls us to demonstrate hospitality, not just to those whom we know or trust, but to the foreigner, the alien, the stranger.  It's risky, it's uncomfortable, but it is the means by which God's economy of order is established.
During the service we will pause to give tribute to the fallen, Corporal Nathan Cirillo ad Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent.  Sunday, October 26, 10:00 a.m.

Communion Sunday

This Sunday morning, Pastor Ed Visser leads us in worship.  And for the evening service, seminarian Courtney Mooney will be bringing the message.  During the evening service I will be leading our celebration of the Lord's Supper. October 19, 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

GOOD

I can still hear her - my grade 3 teacher telling us to use descriptive words when we write or tell a story.  Words like "nice" and "good" didn't make the list.  Yet, "good" is used often in the Bible.  And so, with apologies to my grade 3 teacher, this Thanksgiving Day we give thanks to the Lord for he is GOOD!  Psalm 100:5.  Join us as we gather for worship this Thanksgiving Day, at 10:00 a.m. - it's going to be good!

Freedom 55

Since the inception of the ad campaign back in 1989, Freedom 55 has become a catch phrase, signifying a vague and optimistic hope that we might be able to retire at 55.  But is that the only reason we work - to save enough to quit working?  God has another plan, a bigger plan, and we are part of it.  Our work fits into that plan.  And so, rather than work to live, we discover that we live to work.  This is the focus of the message for Sunday, Oct 12, 10:00 a.m.

Re-thinking love and family

“Multitudinous definitions for love, marriage, family and community pile up like options on a menu.  Is there an original design or purpose we have forgotten? Why did God create the family? Let’s explore a true and ancient source—the Bible.” This is our second message in a series which follows the dvd, For the Life of the World; Letters to the Exiles.  Sunday, Oct 5, 10 a.m.