Living Stones Church, Red Deer, Alberta

In 1951, Eberhard Bethge published ‘Letters and Papers from Prison,’ the correspondence Bonhoeffer wrote to the world outside of prison, where he was imprisoned for his part in the attempted assassination of Adolf Hitler. One of the texts of Scripture that Bonhoeffer found solace and challenge came from Jeremiah 45. The struggle of Baruch, the scribe of Jeremiah, his anguish and complaint, and God...

So, how do we overcome our sinful past to have a new future? How can we learn the lessons from our past mistakes to avoid making devastating and destructive decisions in the days ahead? This will become evident as we see an example of a group of people who learned nothing from their past experience. God’s word is unchanging, and his ways remain the same. He is constantly calling us away from sin i...

There are many reasons why people disobey God, but one of them is fear. It could be that a person is afraid to fail, or what others will think, or possibly the negative things that might happen if we fully trust God. Fear is a powerful motivator that moves us to action. While we all have an instinctual desire to protect our lives, fear can also be a paralyzing element that keeps us from experienci...

J. Gresham Machen once wrote: “False ideas are the greatest obstacles to the reception of the gospel.” Many people deny the existence of the devil. Jesus, certainly, was not one of them. In teaching us as disciples how we ought to pray, Jesus concludes the prayer with this petition. “And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.” (Matthew 6:13). Here, we see that evil is reveal...

In Jeremiah 39, we find the destruction of Jerusalem and many leaders being taken into captivity to Babylon, but not all are left. Some remained behind. We now pick up the story of the remnant and their response to the destruction of their nation. How could they move forward? How can we move forward after experiencing a devastating change of circumstances in our lives? We can have one of two respo...

On Tuesday, Shelley Kozakevich’s daughter, Kelly, was about to land in Los Angeles, unaware of the inferno engulfing the city. The Pilot explained that there were incredible winds ahead and that they needed to brace for a rough landing, so she texted her mother for prayer. Later, after landing, she texted back. ‘I’m coming back to evil. As I looked out the window being tossed around, the ground be...

There are people today drowning in despair, hopelessness, and distress. The pressures come from both within the human heart, adverse circumstances, and the constant messaging of bad news. It was certainly true in Israel as Jesus burst on the scene. Roman occupation was now nearly a century old when Jesus’ ministry began. The people's state of mind was mixed, with some accommodating, others resisti...

Psalms 119:1-16 How to live a life with no regret.

How often is it that things aren’t always what they appear to be? Events have no meaning apart from revelation. The word revelation means ‘an unveiling.’  What was it about Mary and Joseph that brought attention to them in the little town of Bethlehem during that first Christmas season?  Absolutely nothing. They were just a poor couple looking for a place to stay, struggling with a baby about to b...

In a world filled with oppression and despair, God broke in after four hundred years of silence. The ultimate hope for humanity comes to us in an unassuming and unexpected way. God invaded earth in a miraculous but quiet and gentle way to conquer the greed, insecurities, and fears of people. Where God’s kingdom is rejected, we find despair and hopelessness. Real joy is absent! How often the one ti...

Love is the most powerful motivating factor in bringing grace to our world. John is writing to explain the true nature of being a child of God. He writes in 1 John that God’s children not only renounce sin and become obedient to His Word but reject the ways and values of a society devoid of God’s motivating love in their lives. The greatest identity marker of a genuine follower of Jesus Christ is...

Job 38-42:1

Many saints have come to a place called ‘the dark night of the soul.’ It is a time of great testing, struggle, and doubt. Others refer to it as a Gethsemane experience, from Jesus’ agony experience in the garden before His crucifixion, where he asked his disciples to pray, but they fell asleep. It was at Gethsemane that Jesus agonized over his impending death. The dark night of the soul is a place...

What is the true measure of success? It depends. While we often think about popularity, financial prosperity, status, and achievements, God has a different measurement. Have we been obedient to what God has asked each of us to do according to where He has placed us and the gifts He has entrusted to us? Erwin Lutzer’s book, Failure the Back Door To Success , explains, “Often the doorway to success...

Death stalks all of our lives. How can we have hope in the times of our greatest grief?  How can we keep going when we feel most like giving up? Life’s darkest hours can only be understood by someone who has walked in that place and come to the other side. The most powerful truths of God are often told in story form. God gave us the most powerful story when he wanted to communicate the greatest tr...

Be prepared for a shock. What we may think is the best life may be disastrous. Conversely, many may think a life of self-giving, done for the right reasons, is generally the most rewarding and fulfilling life possible. The most joyful people focus not on themselves but on a cause or person greater than themselves. Consider the irony that the greatest symbol of Christianity is the cross, which spea...

HOW TO OVERCOME THE PRESSURES OF MAKING WRONG DECISIONS The earliest form of a confessional statement of faith was in the second century, known as ‘the Apostles Creed.’ In describing the person and work of Jesus Christ, the Apostle’s Creed states it this way: I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,  who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,  born of the Virgin Mary,  suffered under Pontiu...

In his book ‘A Mind for God’, James Emery White explains ideas' significance and impact on behaviour. As he points out in Historian Richard Weikart’s book, ‘ From Darwin to Hitler’ in which he examines the revolutionary impact Darwinism had on the ethics and morality of social thinkers in Nazi Germany. Believing that Darwinism had overturned any sense of the sanctity of life, an evolutionary ‘fitn...

We all come to those moments where we wonder how to handle some of life’s greatest challenges. What does God require of us? What is His will in this moment? What direction do we need to take at this point in our lives? Decisions are demanded of us. We may have a rough idea of what we should be doing, but we don’t know how the specifics will work out.  Even someone who knew our Lord Jesus Christ as...

John 18:1-27 HOW TO ADDRESS CONFRONTATION IN A POSITIVE MANNER The most challenging aspect of life, particularly in a leadership capacity, is addressing confrontation positively. I can think of no better model of dealing with adversarial issues than seeing Jesus deal with the most challenging situation in his earthly life. Throughout the gospel of John, there is tension between what Jesus is teach...

PART 2 Nicolaus Zinzendorf grew up in a devout Pietist Lutheran home in Germany in the 1700's. He came to know Jesus at six years of age, and during a trip through Western Europe, he went to an art museum where he experienced a powerful moment with God, the Holy Spirit, while viewing Domencia Feti's portrait of Christ crucified, entitled ‘Behold the Man.’ Zinzendorf was convicted noting, I have lo...

Dennis Rainey, director of Family Life Today, a ministry to families, explained two decades ago, “...that of the top ten personal needs for which respondents said they want help from the church, six involve marriage and family issues.” What does this mean for us? It means that many relationships are in a state of crisis. People do not relate in a healthy way. If we can’t make it in our most signif...

In life, we will deal with all kinds of challenges. We struggle with time pressures, deadlines, and disappointments, as things often don’t happen as quickly or the in way we want them to. God’s timetable seems so different than our own. We are limited, affected by time, dealing with painful, uncontrollable circumstances and deep disappointments—shattered dreams, loss of loved ones, and aging with...