Wilderness Wanderings

        Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" (1 Kings 19:13). Advent is all about waiting, waiting for Immanuel, God with us. The final word on Immanuel is at the end of Revelation when God makes his home on earth with us. Before that scene, the Bible is littered with stories of God with his people. This Advent we will explore some of those. One of my favourites is God's qu...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Genesis 28:10-22.  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 Take time to reflect on promises you made and prom...

"The king rejoices in your strength, Lord. How great is his joy in the victories you give! You have granted him the desire of his heart, and not withheld the request of his lips" (Psalm 21:1-2). Psalm 21 is obviously a song of victory. It is not difficult to imagine the people of Israel singing these words as David returned victorious from battle. The day is perfect for Israel: king and people are...

Love must be sincere…Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited (Romans 12:16). A student, having tea with her teacher, said, "I've learned all you have to teach me, except one thing. Please teach me about the ways of God." Taking the pot, the teacher poured tea into the student's cup. The cup filled and the tea sp...

Our scripture is from Matthew 9:37-38: Then [Jesus] said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." Life can feel like a hamster wheel of daily demands: work, school, relationships, home and church. Is it possible that these daily rhythms as moments filled with possibility for God's miss...

We had a guest preacher today at Immanuel. There is no podcast available. 

Our Scripture is Exodus 12:38: A mixed multitude also went up with [the Israelites], and flocks and herds—a very large number of cattle (NET) . Israel's Egyptian experience began with this, "They set a place for [Joseph], a separate place for his brothers, and another for the Egyptians who were eating with him. (The Egyptians cannot eat with Hebrews, for the Egyptians think it is disgusting to do...

Our text is Romans 12:15:      Love must be sincere…Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn . One of my professors warned, "There will be days when you do a funeral in the morning and a wedding in the afternoon. You will need to weep in the morning and rejoice in the afternoon. Your tears and your joy better be sincere." That advice comes directly from our text for today. Paul i...

Our scripture is from Colossians 3:12-14 : " Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience…Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." When are we involved in God's mission? Christians often think that only activity connected to th...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Acts 1:1-11.  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 Dive In Take a stab at defining Christian communal iden...

Our text is Deuteronomy 15:1, 4-5: "At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts…there need be no poor people among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, if only you fully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today. " Old Testament laws are not always easily applied to u...

Our text is Romans 12:14      " Love must be sincere…Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse .      Love has many colours. Having explored hospitality, Paul ups the ante. Love is no easy thing. It flies in the face of the normal human reaction to negative things: anger and revenge. Let's start with a brief story about revenge.      On a Friday early in 1982, Kevin got drunk, got into...

Our text comes from Romans 15:2,      " Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up." This verse is written for the church community. Yet, Paul uses the word neighbour, which is rarely used except in the commandment, " Love your neighbour as yourself ." So, we can apply this instruction to contexts outside the church. It a good word of wisdom for daily living. How might...

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Our text is Deuteronomy 5:15: "Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day. " Egypt is difficult to forget – for the Israelites; also for us, Egypt seeps back into our bones. Egypt is brick building. Quotas. Meet your quota. Exceed you...

Today our text is Romans 12:9a, 13 Love must be sincere…Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. We return to hospitality. Why? Because culturally, hospitality is mostly about the one hosting, whereas Christian hospitality is about the one being hosted. Let's flesh this out some more. Hotels and restaurants are part of the hospitality industry. They seek to impress custo...

Our text comes from Genesis 2:15, The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. and Ephesians 2:10, "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Well, its another Monday. Rumor has it that many of us do not like Mondays. We do not like the return to the grind of work. The weekend is...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is Colossians 1:15-23.  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 Dive In Questions What image of the resurrection...

Our text is Deuteronomy 6:12: " Do not forget the LORD. " Have you ever wondered why the book of Deuteronomy is so long? Why did Moses give such a long sermon to Israel as they were about to enter the promised land? Forty years wandering in the desert; they can smell the aromas of new land; they want to cross over; they want to finish the trip; to settle down; to build houses; to have homes. But M...

"The king rejoices in your strength, Lord. How great is his joy in the victories you give! You have granted him the desire of his heart, and not withheld the request of his lips" (Psalm 21:1, 2). Psalm 21 is a song of victory. It is not difficult to imagine the people of Israel singing these words as David returned victorious from battle. The day is perfect for Israel: king and people are followin...

Our text comes from 1 Timothy 6:6: But godliness with contentment is great gain. Gahazi's is a sad story. As Elisha's servant, he watched as Elisha refused payment for the healing of Naaman. Gahazi thought this was rubbish. He slipped out the back door to follow Naaman. Interrupting the commander's journey home, he lied about his purposes and came away with a sizable payment, which he hid. But of...

Our text is Exodus 34:21: Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest. In the shadows of Mount Sinai, Israel made a choice defining her values as a nation. She chose to trust the God who created heaven and earth and to trust the reliability of the creation. The people also chose to shun the anxiety that comes from a lack...

This archive edition is upon request from a listener. What follows is the original audio track from August 29, 2024. Our text comes from Philippians 3:         "He will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body" (Philippians 3:21). The gospel story sounds too good to be true. It is the story of sheep rescued from a dark and fearful wilderness by the strong arms of a fi...

Our text comes from Deuteronomy 25:15-16 : You must have accurate and honest weights and measures, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. For the Lord your God detests anyone who does these things, anyone who deals dishonestly. A few years ago, I spent some time in Brazil. A Christian businessman told me that when he took a client out for lunch, the restaurant norma...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text is John 15:9-17.  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 Dive In!  How would you explain friendship to someone?...