Living Stones Church, Red Deer, Alberta

Why am I here? What is the purpose of my life? For most people, it is simply about snatching moments of pleasure, trying to find happiness or meaning in various pursuits or relationships. Yet, there is a longing within the human heart for understanding, to be loved, and to find meaning and purpose in life.

If we are simply a cosmic accident, then life is reduced to surviving and trying t...

“In a certain pond on one of the farms in the East were two ducks and a frog. Now, these neighbours were the best of friends; all day long, they would play together. But as the hot summer days came, the pond began to dry up, and soon there was so little water that they all realized that they would have to move. Now the ducks could easily fly to another place, but what about their friend,...

In one of William Shakespeare’s great tragedies, Othello, one of the soldiers under his command, a man by the name of Iago, motivated by a wounded sense of injustice and jealous of his commander, plots to destroy Othello. He creates a misrepresentation that appears that Othello’s wife, Desdemona, is having an affair with another man under Othello’s command. While framing this innocent wi...

The hunger for freedom from oppression will drive people to rise in revolt against their oppressors. That has been the history of humanity over the centuries. We know that the Jewish people revolted militarily from Rome not once but twice. It was during the second revolt in 132-135 A. D., the Roman Emperor, Hadrian killed 580,000 Jews, destroyed 985 villages, forbid the Jewish people to ...

One of the great themes of the Bible is the concept of faith. We are told that ‘It is impossible to please God apart from faith (Heb. 11:6). When the disciples were struggling and unable to deliver a young boy from a demonic attack, Jesus told them it was because they had so little faith. Then he told the disciples that if they had faith as small as a mustard seed, they would have prevai...

A few weeks ago, Patty and I viewed a documentary on Ed Sullivan, the host of the Sunday Evening Hour, which was a variety show that he oversaw for 27 years. One of the things that Ed Sullivan was noted for was helping to integrate into his program African American entertainers during a time of deep segregation and prejudice, particularly in the deep south of the U. S. One of the reasons...

In his book, Beyond Personality, C. S. Lewis explains what it takes to become what God originally intended for us to be all along, like Him. “Give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you’ll save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favourite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fiber of your being, and you w...

DEEP INTO THE GARDEN where suffering, emotions and presence collide Matthew 26:36:45 We now enter the climax of Jesus’ story—Matthew 26:36—45— the moment just before the cross, where the Son of God faces His greatest test: surrendering fully to the Father’s will. In the Garden of Gethsemane, we witness Jesus in deep emotional anguish, wrestling with the weight of what is to come. His suf...

Life is filled with trouble, as I pointed out last week in our opening message on the letter of James. We learned that we could choose our attitude and learn the value that trials bring into our lives as a source of spiritual growth and development. One of those values is spiritual growth that comes through the trial if we persevere. James even expresses a beatitude or a blessing to thos...

It is amazing to me how many of God’s people have been imprisoned. The apostle Paul was persecuted, beaten, imprisoned, and left for years awaiting trial. Joseph was trapped in a prison while falsely accused, with no appeal, and forgotten by the one person who might be able to help him. We are reminded that Jesus was falsely accused, imprisoned, and crucified. John the Baptist was impris...

When we think of someone generous, we often think only about what they give financially, but true generosity is an attitude reflected in how a person treats others. Giving money is only one aspect of true generosity. Generosity is the giving of oneself for the good of others, which includes our time, our concern for others, our expertise, and above all, our prayers. 

The issue in our liv...

When life comes crashing in on us with trauma and tragedy, we as believers can question our faith. Why is God allowing this to happen? What are God’s purposes in this moment in our lives? We would all agree that life is not just an enjoyable trip with only amazing adventures. God works at shaping our inner lives to conform us into His image. Sometimes, the spiritual journey with twists a...