Get Behind Me.....

We sometimes forget that discipleship is not an out front, take charge, give direction, role. We sometimes forget that being disciples means following, being disciples means working toward someone else's goals, someone else's plan for the future, building someone else's kingdom.

Peter forgot that. He was riding a wave of exuberant certainty after Jesus had praised him for his testimony, and told him that the kingdom  would be build on the rock of his witness. He had done well, and now, he felt he had gained the standing to be able to question Jesus' mission, to be able to act as Jesus' adviser, set the course of the coming kingdom.

Jesus quickly, even harshly, puts Peter back in his place, reminds him that he is a follower, needs to be a follower, needs to be behind Jesus.

This Sunday, we'll spend some time thinking about how Jesus words to Peter might apply in our lives today. Are we willing to follow, to take up our crosses, to give up our lives, or are we chasing our own vision of what God's kingdom should look like?

Who Do You Say Jesus Is....

Its pretty easy to answer the question of who Jesus is when we are in church. The Apostles Creed likely gives us the most concise definition recognizing Jesus birth, his life, his death, resurrection and ascension. Its easy to agree on these things when we are in church, with other Christians, with people like us.

But what do we say in the workplace, at the mall, at the beach, at the campsite, at the block party, when we are not with, and among people with the same beliefs and understanding as we have? Is our profession the same? Do we say the same thing? Do we echo Peter's words: You are the Messiah, the son of the living God?

Join us this Sunday, as we look more closely at Peter's testimony, and at how we can, and should emulate it.

Crumbs for....

Racial tensions have been in the news a lot lately. The horror of Charlottesville is still very fresh in all of our minds even though we watch from the other side of the border. Words spoken, and left unspoken, fill our newscasts and our social media feeds. The words and actions of white supremacists and neo-Nazis show us that hate and sin are alive and well in our world.

The Lectionary, this week, brings us to the story of the Canaanite woman and her interaction with Jesus. Its a puzzling piece, because, initially anyway,  Jesus seems to support sense of superiority the Israelites held over the Canaanites, seems to join in with the culture of name calling, and division. Yet, by the end of the interaction, Jesus commends the woman for her "great" faith. Nowhere else in Matthew's gospel is this level of praise offered by Jesus. I wonder what Twitter would have had to say about that. 

This Sunday, we'll spend some time wondering about this narrative, wondering how it relates to our walk as Jesus disciples in a world that is very different, and yet, so much the same. 

Only Five Loaves and Two Fish

All of the gospels tell the story of Jesus feeding a huge crowd with a miserably small amount of food. It was a miracle. Jesus preformed many other miracles, some of which are not even recorded, but this one the gospel writers recognized as so important  all of them make it part of their gospel account.

Matthew records Jesus telling the disciples that they should feed the crowd of people. They are incredulous,  hold up the little bit that they have, five loads and two fish, not really even enough for themselves, and suggest that sending the people away was likely the best idea. They feel they just don't have the resources to carry out the task  put in front of them.

"Really Jesus? You must be kidding...we don't even have enough for ourselves!"

How often don't we look at the overwhelming needs around us, hear Jesus words: "Feed them" and react in the same way while holding what we feel are meager resources in our hands.

This Sunday we will continue to look at what discipleship looks like in a world where our resources and efforts seem too small to do anything to solve the problems around us.

The Kingdom is Like.....

If someone asked you to describe what the Kingdom of Heaven (or of God) was like, what would you say? Would the question set you back a bit on your heels? Would you actually be able to come up with some concrete ways to describe this kingdom, ways that your neighbour might be able to relate to?

Someone must have asked Jesus the question. In Matthew 13 we read a whole bunch of short parables that try to get at the answer. We seem to find out that the kingdom is hidden, but invasive; it's very valuable but also all encompassing; it's not easy to see, but once you do see it, you have to have it.

Jesus' examples may have worked for the people of his time, at least they used everyday pictures, but I suspect they still came away puzzled, and maybe that was Jesus point.

This Sunday, join us as we struggle with what the kingdom looks like in our world. Is it still hidden, still of great value, still all encompassing?

Koinonia

Koinonia is not a word that most of us would use every day. There's good reason for that. The word is Greek, not a language most of us use very often. It first appears in the New Testament in the book of Acts to describe the fellowship of Christians, the way they gathered together, took care of each other, loved each other, shared what they had as brothers and sisters in Christ. Its a word that says a lot about relationship and community, authentic community. 

This coming week, the Fruitland CRC, with assistance from neigbouring congregations, will be hosting a Special Needs SERVE. Young people from across the country will be coming to Fruitland to share the love of Christ by being his hands and feet in the community around us.  Participants and mentors  will work together, play together, laugh together and cry together. They will become a community together, a community that worships God together, and also supports each other in very intimate and special ways. 

Sunday morning we will look at how Jesus begins to form this sort of authentic community, the people he calls into it and the bond that hold it together. 

Come and join us as we celebrate the beginning of a week of SERVE and as we grow deeper as an authentic community. 

A Light Burden

We all try to find ways around hard work, don't we?Our homes are filled with labour saving devices, we travel with ease and in comfort, and many of the most labour intensive jobs have been automated to the point that they are not really hard work anymore. We sometimes find ourselves being more physically active on holiday than we are in our regular day to day lives.

When Jesus promises an easy yoke and a light burden, I don't think he is talking about the physical work. He is talking about the burden of being right with God, the burden of being good enough, checking off enough of the boxes, to be able to be in relationship with God.

The religious leaders of Jesus time made getting close to God difficult. Being good enough was hard work.

This Sunday we will discuss the ways that Jesus lifts the burden, gives us an easy load in our quest to be right with God.