Wilderness Wanderings

In this season of Lent, we invite you to listen attentively to the scriptures. Between readings there will be some music. Take that time to bring something of the scripture to the Lord in prayer. Carry one or two pieces of scripture with you into your day (or tomorrow) wondering why the Spirit nudged you to pay attention to it. Psalm 95 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord. Let us give a loud sho...

Hear my voice when I call, LORD; be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, LORD, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Savior. … I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong...

"Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful" (Joshua 1:8).         Once, while helping a college roommate make a pot of chili, we learned a valuable lesson. Having tasted the chili my roommate decided it needed more heat. So, he added another teaspoon of chili spi...

An extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!   The texts come from Matthew 2:1-12, from the New International Version of the Bible.   Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!   To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube .   Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: imma...

Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 10:38-39) Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25-26) These ve...

       BECAUSE YOUR LOVE IS BETTER THAN LIFE, MY LIPS WILL GLORIFY YOU (PSALM 63:3). We have finished our series on Ephesians. Next week Lent begins, and Wilderness Wanderings will have something special this year. Between now and then Pastor Anthony and I will Wander to various places in the scriptures. Today, we meander over to Psalm 63. Jack Benny was a beloved entertainer. Though in real life...

Peace to the brothers and sisters, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love. (Ephesians 6:23-24) Paul often ends his letters with these two words: grace and peace.  They come in a different order and a different way every time—but these are the two words that reliably offer the benediction at the close of Pa...

Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you (Ephesians 6:21-22) . Many of Paul's letters end with mention of people by name. There is only one here: Tychicus. He is first mentioned in Acts in co...

Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. (Ephesians 6:19-20) Paul has prayed for the Ephesians and invited them to be praying for all the saints.  Now he also invites them to pray for him.  For the first time since verse o...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text of Matthew 4:1-11. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection! To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it  here on YouTube .  Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC:  immanuelministries.ca   1.     Who do we learn about in this story? What tw...

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and pray with all perseverance for all the Lord's people (Ephesians 6:18) . Two words stand out in our text: pray and all – " pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests; being alert pray with all perseverance for all the Lord's people." We should not miss the...

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:17) Interestingly, the word at the beginning of this sentence has less the meaning of "take" and more the meaning of "welcome" or "receive," which is its usual translation.  We take the helmet and sword, therefore, as an act of obediently receiving—welcoming—what God is giving to us.  Namely, his own a...

Take the helmet of salvation (Ephesians 6:17) . The helmet protects us against false knowledge peddled by the devil. In particular, the helmet keeps three things about salvation firmly in our heads. First, the devil lures us into thinking that sin and its wages have not been taken care of. He constantly undermines the central message of salvation by making us feel inadequate; that some how we need...

In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. (Ephesians 6:16)  We are constantly being shot at, it seems.  In this case: by "flaming arrows of the evil one."  They seemingly come in many forms.  And this is a big part of what makes it difficult to "stand firm."   Just this morning, I had a passing conversation with anot...

***Our apologies for the delay in posting this past Sunday's sermon: here it is!*** An extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!   The texts come from Matthew 3:13-17, from the New International Version of the Bible.   Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!   To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube .   O...

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:14-15) . Imagine a soldier with the best weapons, the warmest clothing, and the safest helmet. Now you look down…barefoot! How effective will she be in battle? How many miles can he march? In...

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place… (Ephesians 6:14) In Isaiah 59, an important background to Ephesians 6 emerges.  The whole chapter is worth a read (and is, I think, an excellent description of the "powers and principalities" of evil Paul has in mind in this section).  Here's an excerpt—this is Isaiah describing the s...

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist… (Ephesians 6:14) . Having planted our feet firmly on the ground, aware that we are in Christ, the Lord—surrounded and guarded not by our own might, but by His mighty power, let us get dressed up in the armour that our Father so gracious provides for us. And let us stand against the attacks of our enemy. The first piece armour is th...

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (Ephesians 6:12-13) As Pastor Michael m...

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes (Ephesians 6:11-12) . We come now to the ending of Paul's little letter to the Ephesians. There is one more major topic he wants to address. It's a passage that often comes up in conversations and sermons on 'spiritual warfare'. Since the term remains la...

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether t...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text of Matthew 3:1-12.  Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection! To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it  here on YouTube .  Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC:  immanuelministries.ca What images do you have of 'rolling out the red carp...

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ… Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise— "so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 5:21, 6:1-...

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.  In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.  Af...

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave...