The Pastor's Blog

Humility is a virtue.  To not be humble is to sin.  Hypocrisy is a sin.  Hypocrites are not humble.  The word, hypocrite, is a first-century term for stage actors.  Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites because they were religious actors.  Their faith in God was hollywoodesque, a grand production for a viewing audience.  I believe thereRead more

A member of our church recently told a very personal story on his blog.  He’s struggled with same-sex-attraction.  Instead of indulging his flesh, he is seeking to live a life that honours Christ.  The blog is courageous, gentle, and biblical.  In response, he’s received hundreds of comments on social media and on the blog itself. Read more

Is being vague about sin an act of love?  Often people avoid condemning sin out of a desire to love.  Insinuating sin instead of naming sin; Generalizing instead of being specific; Apologizing for how embarrassing the very mention of sin can be; Fearing that being too specific might turn someone away from Jesus.  This allRead more

Too many think Christianity is only about “me, my Bible, and Jesus” to the exclusion of the church.  But, that attitude betrays an absence of the Bible because the Bible itself points to the importance of the church.  Not only that, it betrays an absence of Jesus.  He Himself is all about the church.  InRead more

On Monday, the Waterloo Region Record ran an insightful opinion piece, “Stable Marriages Good for Everyone,” by Andrew Mrozek and Peter Jon Mitchell.  The article laments the breakdown of the family and calls for a “recovery of the institution” of marriage. It opens with 2016 Canada census data and notes that family diversity is onRead more

Denying the Gospel seems to be the latest evangelistic strategy of many pastors and church spokesmen.  Penal substitutionary atonement is now dismissed as just one viable option of many ways to understand the cross, if it’s not dismissed outright.  Biblical inerrancy is under attack, derided as a hindrance to reaching modern sophisticates.  And if inerrancyRead more

Jesus died and suffered on the cross, but beyond that what did the crucifixion accomplish?  “Atonement” is the term used to describe what Christ accomplished through His crucifixion.  With millennia of church history behind us we should not be surprised by the vast attempts to explain the atonement.  Some call the many explanations, “atonement theories.”Read more

Marriages deteriorate.  Neighbours strive against each other.  Factions compete for power.  Nations war.  The world rages. A covenant is a binding agreement between two parties.  Typically, a stronger party covenants to protect a weaker party, and a weaker party covenants to help a stronger party.  In a marriage covenant, a husband covenants to protect hisRead more