Wilderness Wanderings

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." (Deuteronomy 31:8)   Pastor Michael has been speaking about the journey of life and faith this past while.  Starting well, finishing well, and navigating mid-life course corrections as Christ is formed in us.  All this talk of the journey has made me think of an...

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:1-3). Last week, I offered a devotion on finishing well and this past Monday on starting well. I ended by alluding to the possibili...

The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:5b-7)   A strange thing can happen when we know we should talk to someone, but don't.  Maybe we need to talk to them beca...

How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you" (Psalm 119:9-11). Last Friday, pastor Anthony offered us a devotion on the value getting into the Word. This topic also come up in the sermon I preached yesterday. I had plann...

A special, extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Acts 2:42-47 from the New International Version of the Bible.  Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection or discussion! 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 CR...

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. (Psalm 119:105)   As I reflect on my life and even our church life together right now objectively, I see some great things.  We've begun a time of prayer for one another together over Zoom.  We're gathering around the Lord's Table with some intentionality and curiosity.  We're still caring for and supporting one another as a church family, and s...

"Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come" (Psalm 71:18). I read about a Christian leader whose office walls are covered with pictures of those who, as he put it, "have finished strong". He has pictures of Mother Teresa, C.S. Lewis, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Francis Schaeffer. When I took a course on le...

Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you.  For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Messiah,' and will deceive many.  You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.  Such things must happen, but the end is still to come."  (Matthew 24:4-6)   This month, I have been struck, through the assault on the US Capitol, the protests against lockdowns,...

But the following morning when they got up, they saw the statue of Dagon. There it was, lying on the ground again! It had fallen on its face in front of the ark of the Lord. Its head and hands had been broken off. Only the body of the statue was left. Its head and hands were lying in the doorway of the temple (1 Samuel 5:4). These were some of the darkest days for this new fledging nation called I...

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Revelation 21:3-4)   Yesterday's sermon tal...

A special, extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Song of Songs 1:1-2:13 from the New International Version of the Bible.  Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection or discussion! 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 I...

As God's co-workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For he says, 'In the time of my favour I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you'. I tell you, now is the time of God's favour, now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:1-2). Today, I invite you back to 2 Corinthians and follow on the heals of what Pastor Anthony brought to us yesterday. He spoke about reconciliati...

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconcil...

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old had gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17-19). It used to be...

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name's sake. (Psalm 23:1-3)   This Psalm holds forth promises that many a Christian has held onto in life and in death.  We picture it as our art does: the good shepherd gazing on as we, his sheep lie in lush, abundant ro...

"Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero? Why do you boast all day long, you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God? Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living. But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever (Psalm 52:1,5,8). D...

A special, extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Matthew 26:14-31 from the New International Version of the Bible.  Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection or discussion! 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 Immanue...

First off, a thank you to all of you who have sent a note to Pastor Michael or myself this past week with your suggestions for how we can best encourage one another through these devotions! You might just start seeing those themes in these next days and weeks.  And please, do keep reaching out as we wander this wilderness together!  Now, on to Proverbs. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and le...

Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established…Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law (Romans 13:1, 8). Last March, when the Ontario Government announced the first lockdown, our church's executive met to work out our response. Today's text p...

Today's text is a reworking of Psalm 44, spoken into our lives last March in a sermon during the first lockdown.  But as we sit in the second lockdown with more restrictions announced, it still seems pretty relevant in naming our lament.  So, Psalm 44, in our own words... We have heard it with our own ears, O God.  Our ancestors and elder saints have told us what you did in their days, in days lon...

"How lovely is your dwelling place O Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God" (Psalm 84:1-2). Yesterday, Pastor Anthony mentioned that we had been considering spending some time with the Old Testament prophets. Our idea was to dig around in some interesting but unfamiliar passages. We made these plans in mid-December....

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:23-25)   Pastor Michael and I are thinking of heading into the Old Testament prophe...

A special, extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Exodus 12:1-14 from the New International Version of the Bible.  Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection or discussion! 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...

The Priestly blessing consists of three blessings, representing God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. What is the purpose of a three-part blessing? The three blessings are quite different from each other. But together, they not only represent the Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, they provide a 'complete' blessing. By this I mean all three together are everything we need and there is no...

This is day 4 with Rick Verkerk and his series on Blessing for Wilderness Wanderings. 'The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.'  - Numbers 6:25 The second blessing goes a little deeper than the first blessing.   Shining His face upon us indicates acceptance and favour. God blesses us so that we will shine brightly and beautifully for all the world to see. He does this by illu...