“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely; they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”’” (Exodus 32:7–8) “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is ... Read more

Trashing God’s House: Parables, Orange Shirts, and the Harvest We Owe

Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if my brother or sister sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.”(Matthew 18:21–22) “And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”(Matthew 6:9–13) Step 4: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.Step 5: Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.Step 9: Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or ... Read more

  Back when I was a student, I had a part-time job working at a Mac’s Milk. It wasn’t what anyone would call a ‘good’ job. It was boring, it paid minimum wage, and I was required to wear an undeniably ugly red polyester smock. It was also a little weirdly unsafe because I had to work the overnight shift. Mac’s was staffed 24/7 back then, and the store where I worked was on Princess Street, situated directly across from a Timmies that served as the informal gathering spot for a local motorcycle club. Now, I know very little about ... Read more

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.” (Psalm 23:1–3) I’m about to take two weeks of vacation, which means that, for the next little while, I will not be answering emails, writing sermons, checking the church calendar, or wondering whether I’ve forgotten something important. At least, that’s the plan. I’m also aware that taking vacation is one thing. Actually resting while on vacation is something else entirely. I’m good at being away. I’m less good at stopping. There is always ... Read more

“So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and, beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’” (Matthew 14:29–31) I’ve been trying recently to set up a defined “office” space at home. It shouldn’t be a problem, right? Hugh and I are empty nesters in a three-bedroom family home. The kids have been grown and gone for quite a while. Well, ... Read more