Nothing To See Here

Canada is officially the second country in the world to legalize the recreational use of cannabis. How should followers of Jesus respond to this? Can Christians smoke weed? When and where and why and how much and to what end? Oh ya, we are in it now…

Here’s what you need to know before you listen to this sermon: We just had a wedding in the middle of our gathering.

Which provided a great opportunity to have a nuanced conversation about marriage.

Are small groups actually worth all the effort? How do they work in Eucharist? Are they for new people or committed participants? Are they church? Is it ok if we just keep talking about Drake and never get to the bible?

On this special mid-week, Kevin interviews Steve and Claire about small groups in Eucharist, why they matter, and what they've done in our lives.

Many topics in this sermon series Christians should probably argue less about. Today we tackle an absolutely massive issue that few churches are even addressing. How do we respond to the rapid changing of so many North American cities, especially when it has the potential of displacing the most vulnerable? As housing prices raise and yoga studios open, how should a Jesus follower live?

Our guest preacher this week is Jeff Neven, the Executive Director of Indwell, an incredible organization working to provide affordable, dignified housing to people in the Hamilton area. They’ve done dozens of award winning projects and are leading the way when it comes to affordable housing in Canada. Jeff is also a part of the founding team of New Hope Church.

While Jeff will offer his own definition, if you are interested in Websters definition of gentrification it is: the process of repairing and rebuilding homes and businesses in a deteriorating area (such as an urban neighbourhood) accompanied by an influx of middle-class or affluent people and that often results in the displacement of earlier, usually poorer residents.

Kevin and Jill sit down for a mid-week postscript around Sunday's sermon. Topics include the difference between practice and position, how these convictions are lived out in community, and why Kevin preaches so darn long.

If you enjoy these mid-week conversations let us know and we'll record more.

When it comes to conflicts in the church, there is perhaps no greater wall of hostility than the one between the church and gay/lesbian/bisexual people.

This week: A nuanced, biblical exploration of same-sex relationships.

There are too many helpful resources to count, but particularly relevant for this Sunday are:

Wendy Gritter’s book “Generous Spaciousness”

Brian Walsh and Sylvia Keesmaat’s “Romans Disarmed” (Yet to be released)

David Gushee’s “Changing Our Minds”

Ken Wilson’s “A Letter to My Congregation”

Matthew Vines “God and the Gay Christian”

Wesley Hill’s “Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality”

There are many more excellent resources, from both a “conservative” and “liberal” perspective, and I will aim to make a more comprehensive list of resources in future.

Now we're getting into the big stuff. Let's talk about sex... baby.

Is technology good or bad? Should Jesus followers have smartphones and social media? Should we create A.I. or upload our brains to the cloud?

Let’s jump into this nuance series with the drug everyones already on: Technology.

Following the podcast is the “Speakers Corner” where people from the Sunday gathering “added their nuance” to this weeks topic. Give it a listen and then carry on the conversation!

SOME RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

VIDEOS:

Phones are designed to be addicting

https://youtu.be/NUMa0QkPzns

Technology and the Biblical Story

https://youtu.be/_u6jdFKkWKs

Connected but Alone

https://youtu.be/t7Xr3AsBEK4

Confronting Our Technology Addiction

https://youtu.be/66qr-sRvFbc

ARTICLES: 

Has the Smartphone Destroyed a Generation?

https://bit.ly/2u3JDX6

Open letter to anyone who uses a phone

https://tmsnrt.rs/2xBm7Ua

Article about “The Tech Wise Family"

https://bit.ly/2DtrACM

BOOKS:

The Tech Wise Family

https://amzn.to/2QWH5WB

In an increasingly polarized culture we need to learn to think like Jesus so we can live like Jesus.

Let’s begin with an introduction.

This sermon is the first of a ten part series exploring "nuanced" Christian thinking. See the full list of sermon topics at www.eucharistchurch.ca/everything