St. Peter's Fireside

On a quiet night, when shepherds were fighting to stay awake as they watched over their sheep, their understanding and lived experience of reality seismically shifted when an angel appeared to them. At the start of this new year, we return our series in the Gospel of Luke as Rob Collis preaches from Luke 2.1-21, and helps us to hear the good news of the angels.

Roughly 2000 years ago, a town crier arrived in a small backwater town named Nazareth. An envoy of Rome, he unrolled his scroll and pronounced the decree of the Emperor – on that day, at the sound of those words, everyone’s life was put on hold. This Christmas Eve, Alastair Sterne preaches from Luke 2.1-7, and shows us how the measures in place for our collective well-being during this pandemic ca...

In the fourth week of Advent we light the candle of love. We are people redeemed and sustained by God’s unfailing love. As we receive this love from Christ, his love in us, by the power of his Spirit, spills over to light a dark world. On the last Sunday before Christmas, Alastair Sterne preaches from John 1.1-9, and invites us to reflect upon light and darkness. As he draws our attention to the d...

In the third week of Advent we light the candle of joy. In the midst of a weary world, God has planted the seed of joy in our hearts. Our vision for the future, our hope for coming peace promised through Christ’s return, causes this joy to grow and flourish and spill over to bring beauty to the world around us. As we continue in Advent, Rob Collis takes us on a journey through Genesis, Acts, and R...

In the second week of Advent we light the candle of peace. But our world is not peaceful – it’s full of conflict, shattered relationships, and discord. How can we delight in peace when our world and our lives are so broken? As we continue in Advent, Preston Gordon preaches from Matthew 2.1-23. As he considers the brutal account of Herod’s atrocities, he explores why Matthew would choose to include...

In the first week of Advent we light the candle of hope, and dare to express our longing for peace, for healing, and the well-being of all creation. We long for Jesus’ return so desperately because we recognize that all is not right with the world—we live in a world of difficulty and darkness, of pain and hardship, of affliction and tears. As we enter the season of Advent, Lloyd Lee preaches from...

The New Testament is politically surprising. Ancient political leaders wielded their power in messy and brutal ways as they sought to civilize the world, build cities, and even declare themselves gods. But Luke’s gospel makes it clear that this wasn’t how God chose to work in his world. As we continue in our series in the Gospel of Luke, Alastair Sterne takes us on a tour of some of the ancient le...

Zechariah hadn't been able to speak for nine months - but suddenly his lips were opened and he could speak! Not having been able to speak for so long, what would he finally say? As we continue in our series in Luke 1.67-80, Preston Gordon invites us to consider Zechariah's words, and helps unpack the story which is giving him so much hope.

It’s been nine months since Zechariah went into the temple. Now as Elizabeth gives birth to their son, it’s time to give him a name. The neighbours and family want to name him after his father, but Elizabeth wants to call him John. Everyone turns to Zechariah to see what he thinks – and how he responds amazes them all! As we continue in our series in Luke 1.57-66, Lloyd Lee explores how we can ope...

In response to the news of what God was getting ready to do, Mary burst into song! But the news she heard wasn’t normal news – so why would she burst into a song? As we continue in our series in Luke 1.46-56, Alastair Sterne considers how Mary’s song shows us how she cultivated her faith, and invites us to sing with Mary.

After her visit from Gabriel, Mary rushed to see Elizabeth. But before she could even take off her shoes and coat to tell her about what the angel said, Elizabeth burst into song! But how could Elizabeth already know that Mary is pregnant? As we continue in our Luke series in Luke 1.39-56, Lloyd Lee considers the role of the Holy Spirit, and invites us to see ourselves within the five-act drama of...

Six months after Gabriel first appeared in the temple, God summoned him again for a very different assignment. This time, he was delivering a message to a young woman in a small town out in the countryside - and his news was unlike any other. As we continue in our series in Luke, Preston Gordon preaches from Luke 1.26-38 and invites us into the story of how Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel, a...

Luke’s gospel begins with Elizabeth: a woman who was stigmatized because she was barren. In the ancient world not having children was a sign of someone who God had overlooked. And is where Luke’s gospel starts. This is the gospel for the stigmatized, the barren, the supposedly overlooked. As we continue in our series in Luke, Alastair Sterne preaches from Luke 1.5-25, and considers how the Gospel...

Zechariah had waited on God for his whole life. He had waited with his wife, Elizabeth, praying for a child. He had waited with all of Israel, praying for God to move. And after a lifetime of waiting, an angel appeared. As we continue in our series in Luke, Lloyd Lee preaches through Luke 1.5-25, and considers what it looks like for us to wait faithfully on God.

The four gospels in the New Testament are the primary source of information we have about who Jesus was and what he did. But what exactly is a gospel, and why can we trust it? As we continue in our series going through the Gospel of Luke, Rob Collis considers the nature of Luke’s Gospel, the claim that Luke “carefully investigated everything from the beginning,” and why we can trust his account ab...

Luke's Gospel is addressed to Theophilus. Who was he? And why did he ask Luke to write him a whole gospel? As we continue in our new series going through the Luke's Gospel, Alastair Sterne considers what we know about Theophilus, and how his desire to explore the claims about Jesus can inform how we live today.

Luke wrote 25% of the New Testament! But who was Luke? As we launch our new series going through the Luke's Gospel, Alastair Sterne considers who the details of Luke's life, and why the Gospel of Luke is exactly what we need at a time like this.

What does Psalm 133 tell us about Christian life together? How do we make sense of that during a pandemic?   Associate Pastor Preston Gordon speaks on Christian unity and community life together during the pandemic, beyond our normal gathering for Sunday worship. "We must be this holy priesthood: praying over one another, confessing to one another, sharing God’s life with one another, in a pandemi...

What is the kingdom of heaven like? In Matthew 13:44-46 Jesus told two parables to answer this question: The Parable of the Treasure and the Parable of the Pearl. In this sermon guest preacher Phill considers the similarities and differences between these two parables, the paradoxes in the passage, and what they tell us about the kingdom of heaven. St. Peter's Fireside is a church in Vancouver, BC...

Worshipping God together is an essential mark of the church. In this sermon Alastair Sterne preaches from Psalm 122 and considers how we should relate to technology as it becomes a part of our worship experience. If you've disengaged from online worship because the virtual experience just fosters a deeper sense of disconnection and it's painful or you just don't like it, it's okay. We understand....

This week we explore the topic of contentment, as Alastair Sterne preaches from Philippians 4.10-20

This week Alastair Sterne preaches from Psalm 46 and Luke 5.12-16 on the topic of solitude and being in the presence of God.

This week Thea preaches on Matthew 14:22-33, the story of Jesus walking on water. In this passage we'll look at: Jesus' presence, Peter's response, and Jesus' response to Peter.

This week Preston Gordon preaches from Psalm 23.

This week Alastair Sterne preaches from Luke 7:36-50 on what Jesus teaches us about hospitality and forgiveness.