Pondering with the Peters

In this episode, Brenden and Helena discuss strategies for balancing ministry duties with family responsibilities.

In this passage, Jesus declares, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." We live in a world that is increasingly dark and confusing. If we are stumbling in the darkness, we can embrace the light of the world in the person of Jesus Christ who alone can bring us out of darkness and into his marvelous light.

We come to a passage of Scripture that almost certainly is not in the Bible. But in this passage, we find the same good news that is found all throughout Scripture. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. We are free, not to keep on sinning, but to live a transformed life in Christ.

In this passage, Jesus invites all who are spiritually thirsty to come to him and drink. Do we know that we are thirsty? Many people realize that they are thirsty, but they try and quench their thirst in their own way. But we are invited to come to Jesus Christ, and to drink long and deep from the well of salvation, where we will find our soul's thirst truly satisfied.

In this passage, we see many different responses to Jesus. Whether we are opposed to Jesus, skeptical of Jesus, curious about Jesus, confused about Jesus, or indifferent towards Jesus, we are invited to respond in faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God who came into the world to save sinners. What is our response to Jesus?

In this passage, Jesus addresses the nature of true discipleship. Whereas a fan of Jesus will abandon Jesus when they are confronted with something about Him they don't like, a disciple of Jesus will stay with Jesus because there is no one else who can offer the hope and peace that Christ provides. Do you want to go away as well, or do you want to come to Jesus who alone has the words of etern...

In this passage, Jesus is willing to be misunderstood. His discourse on eating His flesh and drinking His blood is actually an invitation into an abiding relationship with Him. Just as we wouldn't normally go one day without earthly food, so also we must not go one day without Christ. If we're spiritually hungry, and we know that we're spiritually hungry, then we should come to Christ...

In this passage, Jesus confronts the crowd's misunderstanding of Him. They had asked for a daily dose of bread from heaven, but what Jesus came to give them was eternal life and the promise of resurrection from the dead. Is Jesus your bread of life? Is He your sustenance? Is He your eternal security? Only in Jesus will we find our fulfillment and satisfaction.

In this passage, we see two familiar miracles of Jesus - the feeding of the five thousand, and Jesus walking on water. We are being invited in these verses to trust in Jesus' sufficiency and sovereignty - how the One who fed the multitude and who calmed the storm is able to meet our needs and guide us through our storms. This is the kind of Saviour Jesus is - One who is more than enough. But d...

In this passage, Jesus calls a series of witnesses to testify to His claims of equality with God. Will we embrace these testimonies about Jesus and declare that Jesus is who He says He is, or will we refuse to listen to their testimonies and reject our only hope in life and death?

In this passage, Jesus makes three audacious claims that prove His equality with God. These are claims that we cannot simply ignore. If this is who Jesus is, then our response to Jesus matters, not just for this life only, but for all of eternity. What will you do with Jesus?

In this passage, Jesus heals a lame man on the Sabbath. There is much in this passage of Scripture that should shock us about Jesus. But Jesus continues to shock us today by rescuing us out of our sinful and hopeless state. Just like the lame man here in John 5, we too can take up our bed and walk in newness of life as we put our trust solely in Jesus Christ.

On Trinity Sunday, we celebrate the mystery of God's Being as three Persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In Psalm 8, David is encouraging us to praise the Lord for His majesty displayed in the heavens and the earth. Whether we look at the heavens or the earth, we see the glory of the Lord.

On Pentecost Sunday, we celebrate the outpouring and indwelling of the Holy Spirit. God's Spirit is not only involved in creating us and sustaining us and re-creating us as children of God and citizens of God's eternal kingdom, but God's Spirit is also involved in the restoration of all things that is to come. Therefore, "bless the Lord, O my soul!"

On Ascension Sunday, we celebrate that Jesus is King of the universe. All those who have acknowledged Jesus Christ as their sovereign King can rejoice that Christ has ascended to His heavenly throne and has empowered all who have put their trust in Him to be His witnesses to the end of the earth. With Jesus Christ as our King, the church cannot lose.

We learn from the healing of the royal official's son that Jesus must be more to us than any miracle. Our God is worthy of worship even when our request is not answered in the way we would like because He is the true sign and wonder. When we face trials of various kinds, we can trust in Jesus and Jesus alone.

In this passage, Jesus is urging us to lift up our eyes and see the many opportunities we have to share the good news of Jesus Christ with those around us. May God help us to be faithful labourers in the spiritual harvest awaiting us.

In this passage, the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman turns to the topic of worship. God is seeking true worshippers who will worship Him "in spirit and truth" (John 4:23). Regardless of who we are or what we've done, if we have put our trust in Jesus Christ and worship what is true about God, then we are the true worshippers God is seeking.

In this passage, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at a well, and He offers to quench her thirst forever. If we're thirsty for something more than what this world has given us, then we can come to Jesus who will give us abundant life in Him, so that we will never be thirsty again.

In this passage, we are encouraged to give thanks to the Lord for raising Jesus Christ from the dead. Because God acted to save Jesus from death, we can know that all those who put their trust in Jesus Christ will also be delivered from death on the last day. May we therefore joyfully celebrate the Lord's day, not just on Easter Sunday, but every Lord's day that we gather together to trium...

In this passage, we see the steadfast love of the Lord on display. When the psalmist was near death, the Lord responded to his distress and became his salvation. Unlike the psalmist, Jesus would actually die. But three days later, Jesus would be raised from the dead, later ascend into heaven, and will one day come again to raise His people from death to life. Because of Jesus' resurrection fro...

In this passage, we see the humility of John the Baptist in making much of Jesus. Because of where He comes from, because of what He speaks, and because of His authority, Jesus Christ is to be exalted "above all." For those who believe in the Son, there is the hope of life. For those who do not believe, there is the promise of death.

In this passage, we see the greatest Lover (God) give the greatest gift (His only Son) that leads to the greatest result (eternal life). But there is a choice before us. Which “whoever” are we – the one who believes in the only Son of God, or the one who doesn’t believe in the only Son of God? What we choose will decide whether we have come into the glorious light of Christ, or whether we are stil...

In this passage, Jesus highlights the importance of being born again - that is a entirely work of God, that it is transformational, and that all that is required to be born again is to look to Christ and believe.

Jesus is often pictured as being meek and mild, gentle and lowly. But in this passage, we see what Revelation 6:16 calls "the wrath of the Lamb." Jesus' anger is directed toward those who would use religiosity as a veneer for personal gain at the expense of God and others. Will we come to the true and better Temple - Jesus Christ - for forgiveness and grace?