Good morning. Today I have been tasked with our final teaching on Epiphany with an emphasis on the inclusion of outsiders. And if I’m being honest, this has been the hardest teaching to write for me so far – and it’s not because the topic isn’t interesting, or because I’m not particularly passionate about what I’m going to speak to, but because it feels so enormous that I’m nervous I won’t get it right, or that I’m going to miss big chunks of this important story because ther

I offered to share at one of the Advent readings, and I probably should have paid more attention to the selection process, because if I had picked one, it would not have been a meditation on God’s love. Perhaps this seems strange as it must be the commonest component of Sunday school lessons. But it is precisely the depth and breadth of the topic which feels overwhelming to me. Where to start? However, as with many things, the hardest things are often the most rewarding. I am

Luke 1: 5-17  5 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. 7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.  8 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before Go

Before we begin unpacking this encounter with Jesus, I’d like to share a little bit about me. I am, and have always been, a curious person. I am deeply invested in learning, which is perhaps why I chose education as a career. Amongst friends, I have been teased relentlessly about starting many conversations with the phrases “I just read an interesting article” or “listened to an interesting podcast.” I voraciously sponge as much knowledge and understanding as I can. However,

We have really been enjoying these messages about encounters with Jesus!  It's been good to reflect on things we share with people who encountered Jesus when he walked on earth and so interesting to hear one another's personal stories, We'd like to open with a familiar little episode -- just a few verses long.  Mark chapter 10:13-16.  The NIV translation uses somewhat old-fashioned words, but I'm sure it will make sense to you. 13  People were bringing little children to Jesu

Today I’d like to share with you some of my thoughts on Paul’s encounter with Jesus. Paul is also known as Saul to the Aramaic-speaking community but most people use the Roman form of his name so you just a heads up that you might hear both today. I chose Paul because I feel like his encounter with Jesus is closer to an encounter we might have, and I was hoping to get some clarity on how he was so confident in his beliefs. I mean he didn’t walk with Jesus or spend time with h

We've been talking about "Sabbath" in church for 4 weeks now!  (No one here planned this... maybe the Lord did?)   When we were children,...

We're going to talk more about prayer today. In particular, we're going to talk more about some of the instructions that Jesus gave for...

Last Sunday, Andreas opened our summer series on prayer saying that prayer is a challenging topic. And he's right, isn't he? Neil & I...

Good morning, Telkwa Community Church. It’s a privilege to be with you all today. For those who don’t know me, my name is Kevin Lobert,...