December 5, 2008

Digital Opportunities challenge the church (1 of 3) Jesus said he came not to do his own will, but the will of his Father who sent him.

The church and family reconfiguration (1 of 2) INTO the cultural context of family breakdown, divorce, and remarriage, our faith speaks a word of hope and consistency...

Know Your People I'M SURE those listening to Rabbi Jesus teach on that warm January day in Judea were shocked by what he said.

December 11, 2008

Digital Opportunities challenge the church (2 of 3) Most churches now have web sites, however although useful in many ways, with the exception of information about service times, staff, history etc along with occasional sermon audio feeds...

Family reconfiguration (2 of 2) Into the cultural context of family breakdown, divorce, and remarriage, our faith speaks a word of hope and consistency: that God is love, that forgiveness and mercy are foundational values in the journey of following Christ, and that community is to be treasured.

Drugs, street & Christ I started using drugs and alcohol at age sixteen. I lied to my parents and began to steal from them in order to pay for the marijuana, LSD, mushrooms and liquor.

December 18, 2008

Silent Night, Holy War Day 60 of my experiment in joy happened to fall on Christmas. In all ninety days I had only four thoroughly unhappy ones - an astonishing record for me.

The Surprise of Christmas MY daughter and two sons, and many of their friends, seem to have developed a rather disconcerting approach to buying each other gifts at Christmas.

Digital opportunities (3 of 3) - challenge the church The spread of the gospel in the first century was greatly enhanced by the stable, safe and well designed infrastructure that the Roman dominated world enjoyed, referred to as the Pax Romana of its time.

December 22, 2008

Adoption - more than trendy Adoption has become almost trendy in Hollywood today. As a result of this trend, the plight of orphans in our world has been highlighted...

Broken vows: Death and resurrection of a marriage This article, remarkable for it's candor and humility, was first published over ten years ago in The Presbyterian Record. Today both Karen and Bruce are continuing in ministry to men and women who deal with issues of abuse.

The circle of history Last week I wrote about the 3 views of time and history - chaotic, linear, and cyclical. We all hold one view, and the way we see the flow of history will affect how we approach our future.

December 31, 2008

Church response to the mentally ill Are people of faith with a mental illness different from those who have a physical illness? Much about mental illness still remains a mystery.

Broken vows: Death and resurrection of a marriage (2) The first few weeks of group counselling were wonderful for me. It was like hearing the gospel. I began to understand that virtually all Bruce's behaviour towards me was abusive.

The Secret of Happiness I am the beneficiary of my great-grandfather's Bible. His name was Edward Buzza. The inscription in my great-grandfather's Bible simply reads: "Edward Buzza, Owen Sound, 1904".