Wilderness Wanderings

Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" He showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone's sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgi...

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions...

Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according t...

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.  He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7...

In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy (Acts 2:17-18). Revived and filled with the breath of God, women and men, young and old dream dreams and see visions (Cont...

An extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is John 14:15-27 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:  immanuelministrie...

Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness. Why do the nations say, "Where is their God?" Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell. They have hands, but cannot fee...

"Why was it, O sea, that you fled, O Jordan, that you turned back, you mountains, that you skipped like rams, you hills like lambs? (Psalm 114:5-6). Let's begin with some things Pastor Anthony said yesterday about Psalm 113. That psalm asks: "Who is like the Lord our God?" Answer? No one. Nothing. Our God is utterly unique. And in his Son Jesus Christ, we get an even better look at him. He did not...

Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes, with the princes of his people. (Psalm 113:5-8)   There is something unique about Israel's God that sets him apart from any other human or deity.  Not only is he high above the hig...

"Hallelujah! Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands. Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous person. Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice" (Psalm 112:1,4,5). When I was young, I remember waking up on certain mornings to a world gone missing. Outsid...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Colossians 1:15-23 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:  immanuelministries.ca...

He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever—holy and awesome is his name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise. (Psalm 111:9-10)   Psalm 111 praises God for his great works—two of them mainly—God's work of fulfilling his covenant of promise to Abraham and God's work of giving...

The Lord says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: You are a priest forever…" (Psalm 110:1,4). If the New Testament had its way, Psalm 110 would be our favourite psalm, not the 23 rd . This is a song worth knowing. It may not be the easiest to understand or to pray, but it may be the most important...

Help me, Lord my God; save me according to your unfailing love. Let them know that it is your hand, that you, Lord, have done it. While they curse, may you bless; may those who attack me be put to shame, but may your servant rejoice. May my accusers be clothed with disgrace and wrapped in shame as in a cloak. (Psalm 109:26-29)   There was a song that came on the country radio a decade or so ago no...

"My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing and make music with all my soul. Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. Give us aid against the enemy, for human help is worthless. With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies" (Psalm 108:1, 2, 12, 13). This psalm offers us unique insight into the spiritual practices of ancient Israel and, as such, it ought to inform our...

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south. … Let the one who is wise heed these things and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord. (Psalm 107:1-3, 43)   Have you been saved by the Lord?  Redeemed in Jesus?  Then t...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Genesis 3:1-5, 21 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:  immanuelministries.ca W...

Praise the Lord (1). We have sinned, even as our fathers did (6). Therefore, the Lord was angry with His people (40). But he took note of their distress (44). Save us, O Lord our God (47) Praise the Lord! (48) (Psalm 106). It's a long song, a full 48 stanzas. But for all of that, it only makes one point. You see, the Hebrews of old understood that those who don't know their history are doomed to r...

Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced, you his servants, the descendants of Abraham, his chosen ones, the children of Jacob. He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth. He remembers his covenant forever…  For he remembered his holy promise given to his servant Abraham. He brought out his people with rejoicing, his chosen ones with shouts of...

How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time (Psalm 104:24, 27). Psalm 104 is a creation hymn weaving together several complimentary themes. Thus, it speaks into today's environmental fears. It may not dispel our fears, but it will challenge God's people to enter the conversation...

He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east...

My days are like the evening shadow; I wither away like grass. But you, O Lord, sit enthroned forever; your renown endures through all generations (Psalm 102:11-12). In New York City, in front of the RCA building on Fifth Avenue, stands a gigantic statue of a massively proportioned, magnificently muscled Atlas, the world resting on his shoulders. As powerfully built as he is, he is straining under...

An extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Genesis 3 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:  immanuelministries.ca...

I will sing of your love and justice; to you, Lord, I will sing praise. I will be careful to lead a blameless life—when will you come to me?  I will conduct the affairs of my house with a blameless heart. … The perverse of heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with what is evil. (Psalm 101:1-2,4)   It is supposed that this psalm of David was composed more or less as a formal declar...

"Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth…Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture" (Psalm 100:1, 3). All over the world (and through the ages) this psalm is used in Christian congregations to launch worship services. It's a good song and is rightly used. But it is also problematic. Let me explain. When we Christians gather for wo...