Will glass coffins be a success?  Remains to be seen.  That is a joke, by the way. It's interesting to see what comes up when you google "jokes about death." Perhaps a chuckle here and there can help us face the sober subject.  This past Sunday, our text from Revelation 10 & 11 brought up the important subject of death. In the context of faithfully shining a witness of Jesus to our world, the parable of Revelation 11 depicts the death of the two witnesses. We are confronted with the reality: You could die. In fact, you will. Which brings up the ques ..read more

What did the bald man say when he got a comb for Christmas?  I'll never part with it.  What could you never part with at Christmas time? (of course, we're not speaking of hair or combs now).  Family? A big meal together?   Carols? How about the real meaning and message of Christmas?  Or outreach?  For a few years now, our church family has been deliberate in articulating our Christmas Outreach priorities and plans annually. We do this because we never want to part with the real meaning and message of Christmas or part with the tremendous opportunity f ..read more

Talk to them in person… no shot Teens today get to know people at a faster rate than ever, who needs to even ask somebody where they are from? Thanks to social media and the internet most teenagers today are top-tier detectives and can figure out most things about someone in a couple searches. Not to mention texting and Snapchatting late at night. You can know someone so well without ever looking into their eyes. The big problem here is you learning about an online version of that person, and their learning about an online version of you. Talking to them in person puts you in a vulnerable pos ..read more

Confidential. Words are powerful, aren't they? Simply using the word "confidential" before writing my first sentences here probably caught some attention, created curiosity, or potentially even evoked some emotion of some kind. Words are powerful. Confidential is just one example. I'm sure you can think of many other single words or small phrases that cause enormous feelings or prompt significant actions. Do you find that there are some things we are discovering in our Revelation series that cause enormous feelings or have the potential to prompt significant actions? This past Sunday as we ..read more

Confidential. Words are powerful, aren't they? Simply using the word "confidential" before writing my first sentences here probably caught some attention, created curiosity, or potentially even evoked some emotion of some kind. Words are powerful. Confidential is just one example. I'm sure you can think of many other single words or small phrases that cause enormous feelings or prompt significant actions. Do you find that there are some things we are discovering in our Revelation series that cause enormous feelings or have the potential to prompt significant actions? This past Sunday as we ..read more

Imagine you’re at a much anticipated theatrical performance.   You are enjoying the sights and sounds of the lobby filled with people all there for the same reason as you, the show. The lights blink 3 times, the universal signal to return to your seats the show is about to begin. There’s chatter, the orchestra is beginning to warm up with their individual routines which makes for this lovely and chaotic non-song of music that continues to build the anticipation. The curtain closes. The lights dim. Silence. It’s beginning!    The conductor takes their post. Suddenly the tympany b ..read more

It's foggy in Victoria this morning.  I'm here for a conference this week, so I'm not sure if it's foggy at home right now.  Fog and clouds have a way of covering everything with a grey gloom and make it seem like the sun is somehow further away. Have you ever taken a flight and had the fascinating experience of taking off in terrible weather and then emerging from the clouds up into the very sunny and beautiful reality reigning above?  Last week we re-entered our journey through the book of Revelation. As we talked about, Revelation 4 & 5 are kind of like putting on a ne ..read more

ag-ap-ay-tos  This is how you pronounce the Greek word used 62 times in the New Testament which is translated by many into the phrase "dearly beloved." It's repeated usage, especially in the letters of early Christian leaders like Paul, John and Peter, suggests it may have become a term of endearment when referring to brothers and sisters in Christ -the new family of faith formed around Jesus- the church.  The self-giving sacrifice of God's own life and blood placed an enormous value on the people of God, purchased and forgiven by Jesus at the cross. Truly, every follower of Jesus ..read more

Call 911!  That's what came to mind in 2.1 million occurrences in our province of BC in 2022. Almost every single one was a serious emergency that first responders needed to be deployed to. Almost every single one.  This week the BC Emergency Dispatch Centre released the 10 worst reasons people called 911 in BC in 2022. Here they are:  They had a flat tire  The nozzle wasn't working at the gas station Looking for an update on a nationwide telcom outage  People were playing basketball on a public court at night time Someone wasn't picking up after their dog Someone ..read more

Do you ever wish you were a kid again? I do, all the time! Imagine a life without paying mortgage payments, car payments, insurance, astronomical food and gas costs. I have to say,  over the last few years I have dealt with a bit of jealousy because as my kids have lived at home, they have accumulated a pretty nice bank account. No rent, no buying food, no phone payments, no rent, and the list goes on.   Man, what it would be like to be a kid again……   I loved being a kid.  I loved my memories of our family trips, sports, etc. Also, a lot of my good memories i ..read more