St. Pete's on Repeat

Every once in a while God gives us glimpses of his glory. We saw it on Moses' face after he received the 10 Commandments. We see it even more fully on the Mount of Transfiguration when Jesus was changed in front of Peter, James, and John. This week's sermon explores the difference between the impact of seeing God's glory on each of those two mountains.

Do you ever treat Jesus like a genie in a bottle? You leave him tucked squarely away until you need him, and only then do you summon him? That's a common temptation. But in Capernaum Jesus shows us what his real reason for coming to earth was - not to solve all our earthly problems, but to show us undying care and compassion.

Jesus' authority is amazing, in both word and action.

What is one of your most recent or biggest regrets? What would you give for a second chance? When we score an all-too-elusive do-over, it changes the way we look at life. It puts a little pep in our step. It gives us a new lease on life. It can even help galvanize us to make sure that we don't make the same mistake twice. In this week's reading from Jonah chapter 3, we read about a couple second c...

You've probably heard the claims from Millennials like me, "Millennials have it tough! When we were kids we witnessed a traumatic act of terrorism. We graduated into a great recession. And by the time we entered our 30s we had to live through a global pandemic." Rather than arguing with us and kindly reminding us that every generation has its own struggles (like the threat of nuclear war during th...

Why do Christians sprinkle water on babies? At its root, baptism looks weird. But when we read God's Word, we find that it is the most wonderful promise from God - your sins have been forgiven. You may still need a bath, but all your guilt and shame has been washed away. Listen to this week's sermon to learn more about Jesus' baptism and yours.

There are so many unanswered and unanswerable questions about the Magi's visit to Jesus. Who were they? Where did they come from? What kind of star led them there? There are so many unknown and unknowable questions about our lives today? Why did God allow 2020 to unfold the way it did? What does 2021 have in store for us? How much longer will we have to deal with COVID? In both cases, God doesn't...

What does your house look like the day after Christmas? Is it as festive with a pile of dirty dishes waiting their turn for the dishwasher, or a bag or two of crinkled wrapping paper waiting to be taken to the trash bin? Once Christmas is over, it is easy to lose the Christmas spirit. Thankfully for Christians, the Christmas spirit doesn't live in the smell of freshly baked cookies, festively deco...

Have you ever looked at a Christmas present and, if not out loud, then at least in your mind, said, "That's it? That's all?" Sadly that happens at Christmas sometimes. Does that ever happen when you think about Jesus? For the almighty Son of God, he didn't look like much when he was born. For our infinitely good and loving Saviour, he sure seemed absent in 2020. After reading John 1 today, it's ou...

Preached at St. Peter on Dec. 20, 2020

In a recent Gallup poll it was revealed that in every statistical category there was a demonstrable decline in excellent mental health... with one exception. In fact, this one demographic of people even saw an increase in excellent mental health in the year 2020. Can you guess which demographic that was? People who worship weekly. At the conclusion to Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians he re...

You know the worst part of video conferencing? Seeing your own face. How can you ever look away? You start to notice all the weird ticks and mannerisms you have. You become hyper aware of your hygiene and style. It's so easy to become obsessed with achieving the proper lighting and finding the best backdrop. God's law can have that effect too, but it's not meant to inspire this endless search for...

If you could send a text message to everyone in your province, what would it say? How about, "Watch!"? That's what Jesus says he wants everyone to do: Watch. Keep watch. Be on guard. Be alert. The question is, "For what, and why?" That's really the Advent question. What should we be watching for? Sale prices to go down? Travel restrictions to be lifted? No, we should be watching for Jesus to retur...

What happens when you don't much feel like clapping or shouting for joy? Music has the power to alter your mood, just like we see in Psalm 47. If you sing through these words, you'll be reminded how awesome God is because he is (1) sovereign, and (2) your Saviour. When you combine God's power and love in song, you'd be amazed how quickly your tune can change. Listen to this week's sermon for more...

What do you think heaven is going to be like? Will there be pizza there? Will your pets be there? Ultimately, we don't know. But what we do know is that in heaven you won't face any of the things that bring you to tears here, because Jesus is your shield. In heaven, God will shine his favor on you forever, because Jesus is your sun.

How should you prepare to meet your Maker? Should you draw up a will? Maybe put post-it notes on all the things you want to leave to your children? Moses gives us 3 great tips in Psalm 90. Have your post-it notes handy and listen to this week's sermon for Last Judgment Sunday - November 8, 2020.

When it feels like the world is falling apart around you, God says, "Be still and know that I am God." God is in control, even if everything is out of our control. God is all-powerful. He can silence storms and muzzle lions. But even better, God is with you. That's his promise and that's your refuge even and especially in times of trouble.

You'd think that a man who ALWAYS prays with joy EVERY time he thinks about EVERY person in a specific church - you'd think that that church would be practically perfect in every way, right? What if I told you that was the same place where Paul was thrown into prison for saving a demon-possessed slave girl and then later run out of town for fear of his life just because he was preaching about Jesu...

God waited through 36 chapters of Job arguing with his friends before speaking up, but when he does, he silences everyone with wisdom too wonderful to understand and mercy that's even greater. Sometimes we need to be silenced so that we can finally give full attention to God. Listen to this week's sermon to remember who really is in control, and why that's a good thing.

Is a Christian allowed to question God? Is it really a function of faith to ask, "Why? Why me? Why this? Why now?" Job asked those questions, but he also made incredible confessions, and in the process Job shows us what it's like to be real, authentic Christians. Even in the midst of fear and anxiety, when we feel uncertain, we don't have to rely on our own ability to understand or stay grounded....

"I scratch your back. You scratch mine." It's a fine philosophy for living with your neighbours, but does it work with God? Job and his friends thought so -albeit from two very different perspectives. However, Elihu shows us how God breaks that paradigm and shows us an entirely different truth. Listen to this week's sermon to see how God is really in control.

Good friends are hard to come by. A recent study showed that nearly a quarter of those surveyed had no one they could confide in, and when it came to being able to talk about "important matters," the average person only had 2 people they could talk to. Good friends are hard to come by, which makes them precious and priceless blessings from God. Listen to this week's sermon, not only to know what t...

Is there anything more precious than your family? Is there anyone who can cause you more heartache? Is there anyone who can cause you more joy? God blesses us all with family, whether that's a spouse and kids or just mother and father. And this special relationship has a major impact on your and their eternal good. Listen to this week's sermon to see how faith and family are hard to separate.

Pain presents a problem with God. If there's pain in our lives, does that mean that God doesn't have the power to prevent it? Or does it mean that God doesn't care? Those are the thoughts that often go through our heads when we suffer. But they're not the only options. As we read about God's Suffering Servant, we will see God's love on display even in painful moments we can't understand.

There are many times in life when God's plan is unclear. Why would he allow this pandemic to happen? How can cancer be for my good? How can God tolerate the foolish decisions of sinful human beings? We may not always understand God's plans (especially while they're still unfolding) but we can still praise him for them. I pray that this sermon may help you to see why.