Pearls From Peace

God’s will is that we love Him and love one another. Before we can do that we have to know what is meant by ‘love’. Today we are going to look at what real love is from God’s point of view.

Christ comes to fulfill prophecies of God in order to bring forgiveness and life to all people, but it wasn't easy.

Wise men come to worship the newborn king, not because they are worthy, but because He is worthy to be worshiped.

We all want our relationships to be better. They can be when we love others as God has loved us? We can’t do this on our own but when the character and love of Christ first rules in us and brings us His peace, we can. And that happens as the Word of Christ dwells in us. And that happens in worship. Who knew that worship can so profoundly affect our relationships with others? - Pastor Brad

St. Paul tells us in his letter to the Colossians to put on Christ. Just as we clothe our physical bodies so too are we to put on the righteousness of Christ and His character. Then we can really love others as He loved us. This supernatural love can especially be seen in forgiving others.

Before God tells us how to act, He tells us who we are: chosen, holy and beloved. All this because of Jesus Christ, who came to save us from sin, death, and hell, and give us a new nature. When we apply these truths to our relationships, as Paul does in Colossians 3, wow, God is good!

As we gather on Christmas we think about Christ coming to us, and for us, in the flesh, because He wants all of us to have His forgiveness and salvation.

We see miraculous babies with the conceptions of John the Baptist and Jesus. This final Sunday in Advent we see more of the miracles of Christmas.

Loneliness seems like an epidemic in our society. There may be more people living in proximity to each other but that does not automatically deal with the sense of isolation we all sometimes feel. Paul was in prison. He, of all people, should have felt lonely. Yet he shares with us the answer to loneliness in the first chapter of his letter to the Philippians.

The season of Advent focuses on coming. The coming of Christ into the world that first Christmas, and the second coming of Christ in glory. As we focus on the Christmas season, we want to keep the focus on Christ and what His coming means for us. - Pastor Glenn

Jesus Christ said He would return and that no one would know when. Here are five thoughts to help you live your life in a faith-strengthening, God-pleasing way whether He comes today or a thousand years from now.

The writer of Hebrews calls God's people to not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing. But why is meeting together even important in the first place? - Pastor Glenn

It’s the little things in life that seem to end up making a bid difference. God calls us to be faithful in the little things. We get two examples from Scripture, from two seemingly insignificant characters, yet what they do is a lesson for all of us. Nothing is unimportant or “little” when used by God.

“Can a Christian use recreational marijuana in good conscience?” This is part 2 of the podcast series. You can find Part 1 about medicinal marijuana on the website. Printed/email copies of the messages are available upon request from the office, office@peacelc.com

All Saints' Sunday is a celebration of the saints who are in paradise with God because of having died in the faith. We also don't want to forget ourselves in the word "all" because we too are saints now, on account of faith. - Pastor Glenn

Members are going to be asking me if it’s okay to use marijuana now that the government has made it legal. What should I say? So I did a bunch of reading and I’m going to answer the question “Can a Christian use medicinal marijuana in good conscience?” and later “Can a Christian use recreational marijuana in good conscience?”

Jesus tells us “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free”. Free from what? Sin that enslaves us and comes to us in the form of lies. Oh how important it is to combat the misbeliefs and lies that we so often hold on to with the truth from God’s Word! This frees us to live the life God wants for us.

This past weekend at the youth retreat we talked about who we are; what defines us; who we are called to be; what prevents us from being who we are called to be; and how can we live as God has called us to live. We share with you those questions and answers as we look deeper in God's Word.

What’s wrong with being rich? Nothing…..unless, of course, it keeps you from God’s will for your life, which is loving your neighbour and spending eternity in heaven with God. Jesus cuts to the heart of the matter when a rich young ruler ask Him about entrance into heaven. What you do with your wealth says a lot about who you are.

Jesus welcomes children. In the Gospel reading, He takes them in His arms, lays hands on them, and blesses them. Does He still do that for us today? - Pastor Glenn

I don’t want to cause little ones to sin, do you? Of course not. But we can, and we do. Jesus teaches us how we should deal with sin in our own life, and thus model that to our children.

We live in a complicated world and we also make things more complicated than they need to be. Maybe we can find some simplicities of our faith.

Right after the Transfiguration Jesus casts a demon out of a boy. Why? Because no one else could. The religious leaders couldn’t, the disciples couldn’t, the faithless generation couldn’t. This story reminds us the value of our children and the need to bring them to Jesus, their only Saviour. Pray for our children.

The phrase "don't judge a book by its cover" means that we judge things based on outward appearances. When we look at God's Word, we're not talking about judging books, we're talking about judging people. People with their own stories. We are called not to judge those people, but rather to love them, because we have first been loved by God.

Sometimes when really bad things happen, or they happen all at once, we look up and say “Where are you God?” But really we need to factor in something else, the possibility of the devil. St. Paul warns us in Ephesians 6 that our struggle is not against people, but against the schemes of the devil. We are fighting a spiritual battle, and it’s a doozy. But we don’t fight alone. In Christ we have vic...