I’m on vacation in Cuba when you read this. I’m thinking through my future using a journal and pencil to capture fireworks, as I think and pray. I’m reading Douglas Coupland’s “Player One”. He is a imaginative futurist from Vancouver who stimulates creative thought about the future. That is what I want to do on the beach in Cuba…think about my future with imagination! See ya in a few weeks. 
What does Christ mean? Is it a swear word? Is it Jesus’ family name, like Smith or Lee or Sanchez?
What do we mean when we say we follow Jesus “Christ”? Is that what you mean?
If you understand this term, you get so many opther things correct about the Christian life.
If you get it wrong, you are way off track
Click here to listen to the message and comment freely.
Thanks to Brian Russell, of Footprints of Fatherhood, for leading me to this song by Sanctus Real.
All husbands and fathers will see how this video speak for itself.
Watch the story behind this song by clicking here.
Shereen is the lady in the green stripes to my right in the photo above:
She wrote the following to many of the people in the photo above:
I’ m sorry guys, I couldn’t resist. FINALLY a good email passed around at work and I thought of all of you
1. The fattest knight at King Arthur’s round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.
2. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class, because it was a weapon of math disruption.
3. No matter how much you push the envelope, it’ll still be stationery.
4. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.
5. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
6. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other: ‘You stay here; I’ll go on a head.’
7. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.
8. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: ‘Keep off the Grass.’
9. The soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.
10. When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.
11. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. One turns to the other and says ‘Dam!’
12. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can’t have your kayak and heat it too.
13. Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says, ‘I’ve lost my electron.’ The other says ‘Are you sure?’ The first replies, ‘Yes, I’m positive.’
14. There was the person who sent ten puns to friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in ten did.
Watch this rescue!
Any time I learn of a rescue mission, I think of Jesus Christ’s saving work on the cross which was varified and validated by the resurrection!
What the rescue team does for these miners is like what Jesus has done for the world on his saving mission.
Jesus explains the reason for his saving mission like this:
John 3:16-17: ”For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”.
Jesus explains his mission succintly in Luke 19:10 “1For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Have you been saved by the Savior who came on a rescue mission? What did he save you from?
This Saturday morning, October 16, current candidates will seek votes on the streets while Mayor David Miller will be signing books in the heart of his former constituency. You can meet him and get a copy of his book signed at the Roncesvalles bookstore called Another Story Bookshop. They helped me secure a signed copy in advance of the event. Here is what I think about it.
Why did I buy it? I bought it with the hopes of understanding the man who represented the neighbourhoods that I now Pastor so that I could learn to be a better civic leader and gospel worker here. I love the initial impact of the title, “A Witness to a City“, because of it’s (unintended?) religious theme. The mayor is a significant personality and the mayoral race (without Miller) is a current event.
What did I like about it? I found the first and final chapters helped me identify with him: his early years and entrance into politics. Also, his favorite spot in the city is mine too (see final chapter)! The dynamics and descriptions that he renders of key events in his work are very valuable for understanding his approach to our city. It is very descriptive of Toronto, but there is a twist.
Should you buy it? If you buy the book, however, you need to know that the heart of the book is not primarily about Mayor Miller himself. This is not a proud legacy declaration. He is not screaming “Remember me for….”. The heart of the book is 18 tributary biographical vignettes to Torontonians that represent the vision of Toronto. That may or may not be what you seek. I think it is a pleasant “parting gift“.
My witness to this book concludes with this summary. I enjoyed how it describes my neighbours from the perspective of an experienced local civil servant, yet I am left teased and wanting to know more of the man who was Mayor of the Greatest City in the World. Maybe he will write another book later. He is an interesting character to me. Perhaps a leadership consultation over lunch will be the next step. I think I’d sign the meal check, since he has signed my copy of his book.
The Deep Things of God addresses the problem of “Trinitarian forgetfulness” in the current climate of simplfication obsessed and shallow-minded Western world Christians. OUCH! Well, I certainly hadn’t forgotten the trinity, but after reading this, I will certainly celebrate it more explicitly in my teaching ministry. Sanders proves that the Trinitarian belief system is at our historical roots as a gospel movement. He shows how a trinitarian view of God supports and connects central practices of our faith, especially prayer and Bible reading. The best tool in this book is the diagrams so that I can try to explain a difficult concept that the Bible demands we affirm. If you cannot explain the Trinity over a meal with a loved one, then read this book.
Collected Writings on Scripture is a precious resource to a serious student who wants to find or deepen their accuracy of understand about “the Bible”. As a result of reading this, you will know what to believe about the Bible. Reading this is like being escorted through main street of scholarly debate by an expert analyst and theologian as he tells you what is inside every store from the window. That theologian is D.A. Carson. I have a life goal of reading his life’s work.
It is available from Crossways directly or from your favourite literature proprietor. I like A Good Read and Another Story Book Shop here in Roncesvalles Village.
My sermon from this past Sunday was on the nature and purpose of the Bible. Click here, if you want to hear that sermon: Sacred Seed#1 The Bible.
Who do you worship?
That is a good, relevant, open ended conversation starting question in Toronto. Imagine the range of answers once you define what worship is.
Once someone can think of who they worship then ask them to begin explaining who that person is.
It is a good exercise for anyone, even Christians…actually…especially Christians these days!
How do you describe whom you worship them to others? That is when the conversation gets very interesting and diversity emerges. This is when it gets personal and intimate discussion that requires safety happens.
For Oct 10, this thanksgiving weekend, I am prepping to teach the second week of my “12 sacred seeds” series on “God” to help you better understand an describe the God we worship.
The goal is to expose the overtly unique descriptions of the Triune, Holy Lover of the cross and resurrection in order to equip our church to have thoughtful interactions with the friends, family, neighbours and associates about their objects of worship.
Please comment as we lead up to the sermon, or after hearing the sermon.
Maybe you want to bring someone who needs to know more about the God you worship.
Let’s use this posting and the comments to talk about who you worship.
I am pleased to start this new sermon series called “12 Sacred Seeds”. The first message is about the Bible’s nature and purpose.
In the following audio sermon, I plant accurate thoughts about the Bible in your mind so that you can have an abundantly fruitful life.
Do you know and believe these thoughts? Do you live out of them?
I define the Bible and teach three verses about the nature and purpose of the Bible from the new testament.
All people are welcomed to comment! Let’s get the conversation started.
