Photo taken by Rev. Karen Bridges 1 Kings 3: 16-28; 6:1-14 Solomon ruled in a time of relative peace which was good for him, because unlike David, he was not a warrior. Solomon was humbled that God chose him to rule, and in his early reign he prayed to God
Continue reading2 Samuel 5: 1-5, 9-10Mark 6: 1-13 How we can love the shiny, the new, the expensive, the’over the top’! In slang this is called “bling” and some people have it in the form of jewelry or hats, others in their home or church decor, others in their car or
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Picture taken by Rev. Karen Bridges at The Banksy Exhibit in Toronto June 2018. 2 Samuel 5: 1-6; 7:11-17 Though David may not at first have seemed destined for Kingship, he was the man! He has been described as faithful, courageous, smart, sincere and competent. He was a good warrior
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Talk about a set up! Imagine being offered a job you have not trained for, no one has held before in a time and land never having experienced this type of leadership! Oh, did I say offered? Saul was not given a choice but rather an anointing and a throne.
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Francis Cleyn’s Samuel’s Reproach to Saul, c. 1630-1635. Copyright and used with permission from http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/cleyn-samuels-reproach-to-saul-t05745. CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0 Unported 1 Samuel 12:1-25 When one is set aside to lead others it is both a frightening and empowering thing. When people seek our guidance, our hearts can swell and we can be
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Ephesians 4: 1-16 The Gifts of the Spirit Psalm 100 We are called by God to share our gifts of the Spirit to build up the body of Christ. Paul explains to the Ephesians that we do this by leading a life worthy of the calling, with humility, gentleness, patience
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Romans 14: 1-23 Do not judge another Psalm 15 Paul spent a lot of his ministry reminding people of the new commandment that we are to love one another as I would love you. Jesus served God and not himself. In this passage from Romans, Paul reminds the people who
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Acts 8: 26-40 and Psalm 145 Evangelism: what does that even mean? (and celebrating 93 years of the United Church of Canada) How can we share our experience of God’s love without negating others’ experiences? The debate about how to “do” evangelism is almost as fiery as what the word
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Galatians 3:23-29 and Psalm 148 In Christ, there is no East or West…or is there? Paul’s teaching was focused on the amazing Grace of God to unite all – no matter what religious traditions they followed…or did not follow! After he died though his message was watered down or contradicted
Continue readingHebrews 11: 1-3 Faith is… Psalm 33 The United Church of Canada has several statements of faith – the Twenty Articles of Faith (1925), the Statement of Faith (1940), A New Creed (1968), and the most current A Song of Faith (2006). Each statement has been written to reflect the
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