Who should take the initiative to repair a relationship when a person is wronged? The one who did the wrong? Or the one who was wronged? The answer is yes.   I have had people share with me how they have been hurt by someone they love. They want the other to come and repair what they did. They want the other to confess, to apologize, and to ask forgiveness. Sometimes the other doesn’t come. The relationship remains broken.   There are relationships all around in need of repair. You may be at odds with someone you love. Often the other person feels as hurt by you, as you ..read more

I don't always know how to feel on Good Friday.  How about you?  I think there is a healthy tension that we can find ourselves in in between giving worthy remembrance to the gruesomeness of Christ's death upon the cross for our sin and the resurrection-reality (with its hope & joy and so much more!) we live in 365 days a year. I think the tension we feel today is a good thing. Something wouldn't be right if we only gave attention to resurrection today. And, something wouldn't be right if we gave all our attention to manufacturing absolute somberness by trying to forget that 'Su ..read more

Do you think I have a religious spirit?  The word 'religion' isn't all that popular. And the term 'religious spirit' has come to mean legalism.  Contrast this with the words of James 1.27:  "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." In the last several weeks 8 people from our church family (including myself!) were privileged to be part of two teams that went on missions trips to Guatemala. What all 8 of us were able to witness was James ..read more

For Children and Teens to Love Reading the Bible  It's the year 2024, you're in grade seven and you just got home from school where you were forced to read and write for hours on hours. You finally sit down and look for something to do, you can always go play with friends, you can play on your PlayStation, you can watch Netflix, or you can grab the iPad. For many you get Netflix on the TV, youtube on the iPad all while you're playing on the PlayStation, 3 screens at once.  Teenagers on average in 2024 are spending 7 hours and 22 minutes on screens consuming content, sadly this num ..read more

What's 1x4?  It's four.  What's 2x4? 8 What's 3x4? 12 What's 4x4? A TRUCK.  Please forgive sad attempt at humour. Dad jokes, eh?  This does bring up the important subject of multiplication.  We are in the middle of profiling one of our 2024 Prayer Priorities each week and our third prayer priority for this year is: for the Multiplication of God's work in CPC.  Multiplication is an important concept.  Not everything that multiplies is healthy. Think: cancer. And when something that is intended to multiply doesn't, it is a signal that something isn ..read more

Have you ever tried to fit through a dog door?   Less than 2 years ago Kim and I became proud owners of a part dachshund/black lab puppy, who we eventually named Wally. Yes, you read that right, only God knows how the creation of Wally happened. After 2 years, Wally has now become a well-known part of our neighborhood. Wally had made such a huge impact on our closest neighbour George and his dog Reilly, that I was asked if it was alright to put a Wally-sized hole in the fence so our dog could visit them anytime. A DOG DOOR!! I’m very thankful for my friend George, it is like having my par ..read more

Dearly Beloved, What are you asking for? What are your big wishes for this year? People sometimes ponder what they would request if they were given the opportunity to ask for anything. The fact is, we may ask God for anything, anything, that is, in Jesus’ name, anything according to God’s will. Therefore, we want to ask God for the things, the big things, He wants for us and our world. With that in mind, our church leaders have identified five prayer priorities for 2024. In the next five weeks, we will share them in the “Dearly Beloved.” Please ask God to work powerfully this year. There a ..read more

What is an Executive Pastor?  This past Sunday we had a wonderful moment in our service to welcome Pastor Lorne & Heather Willms and pray over them as Lorne begins his new role here at CPC.  Some might wonder, 'What is an Executive Pastor?' I am happy to recap some important highlights from our discussion at our December Town Hall and share the focus of this new position in CPC.  CPC has been experiencing ongoing growth as a result of Jesus' work in our church and community. Each year we report the number of people who belong to our church to our denominational head offic ..read more

God is scary. Right?  That's what the Bible must want us to believe because of the many references to the "fear of God" and "fearing God," right?  Or?  Although not directly related to this past Sunday's message on loving well in the relationships that matter most, the mention of 'fearing God' was part of one of the scriptures we read. Let's look at that passage again before I share a great illustration that will help you to better understand (and enjoy!) the fear of God.  Speaking of a coming new covenant with His people, God says:  "I will give them single ..read more

Does spitting in someone’s face ever help?    No. The answer is absolutely no….unless you’re Jesus. (Seriously, please don’t go spitting in anyone’s face, ok?!)   This past Sunday we continued our series on being Healthy, WELLTHY, and Wise with our second message on emotional health. In the book of John, we read the story of the man born blind. In Jewish culture it was believed that if you were born with an affliction of any kind it was an indication that either you or your parents had sinned in a grievous way, deserving of life-long punishment. You were considered an abominatio ..read more