Sunday December 22, 2019

Speaker: Ian Campbell

Psalm 41

As we walk through the journey of sorrow in our lives we face intense loneliness as a result of our losses and disappointment. Comfort is the severe mercy that we grasp perhaps tentatively. God is called the God of all comfort. We are comforted so that we can comfort others. As we emerge from the intensity of our sorrow we can look up and around.

December 15, 2019

Speaker - Ian Campbell

Psalm 40

The pink candle in the midst of the purple/blue advent wreath is called “Gaudete,” a Latin word that means “rejoice” and specifically refers to a 16th Century carol with the exact exhortation in song. It is placed well into the season that has a growing sense of desperation amidst our sorrow as we long for Advent.

December 8, 2019

Speaker: Ian Campbell

Psalm 22

Lament is an uncommon term for today. It implies a mixture of sadness, complaint and helplessness. It speaks out of the depth of our sorrow with only the faintest hint of hope that we glimpse and need the power of Advent to manage.

December 1, 2019

Speaker: Ian Campbell

Psalm 39

Hope’s presence in the midst of sorrow has a subtle persistence to it. It has the character of resilience which allows us to take a “deep dive” into our sorrow. It is empowered by the strength of Advent’s promise.

November 24, 2019

Speaker: Ian Campbell

Rev 20.11-15

"Abandon hope, all ye who enter here." So we find in Dante's Inferno from the 14th Century where he describes an inscription at the entrance to Hell. Is Hell a real place? Who is destined for Hell? Is it about conscious, eternal punishment as many doctrinal statements of evangelicalism state?

November 17, 2019

Speaker: Ian Campbell

John 14.6

Jesus was very plain about His claim to be the only way to the Father. So is it just that plain and simple, come to Jesus and you're given a ticket to heaven and the Father? Or is it more complicated somehow? Do you find yourself with some "but.." questions that don't seem easily resolved? Are they "who.." questions that poke at the "us" and "them" sorting that we might have grown up with? Is there any other way? What if you don't know about Jesus?

November 10, 2019

Speaker: Ian Campbell

Genesis 50.20

Last week we established that God knows and loves us individually and personally. The follow up question is why then doesn’t He intervene in our lives when we are in trouble of some kind? Perhaps the greatest objection people raise is about the relationship between God and suffering. Is there a reasonable response?

November 3, 2019

Speaker: Ian Campbell

Psalm 139

This question might be followed by a "why" sort of question which is perhaps the harder one to figure out. But it's a very important one to ask first. Then we might be able to discuss possibilities for the "why" follow ups!

October 27, 2019

Speaker: Ian Campbell

John 20.29

On the other end of our discussion about the value of questions and doubt we are faced with a statement Jesus made to Thomas calling those who believe without seeing "blessed." How do we make sense of this? Wouldn't it be better to know God's existence for sure and then deal with what implications that has? What is the added value of faith?

October 20, 2019

Speaker: Ian Campbell

2 Timothy 3.16

What kind of book is the Bible? How are we supposed to read it and understand it? The National Post posed that question a few years ago and proposed that there are four views on this question: 1. supernatural revelation of God's eternal will; 2. inspiring moral guide; 3. sacred literature like all sacred literature or 4. faithful confessions and family album. What does the Bible claim about itself? What has your experience of the Bible been?