Come Down, Lord!

The following sermon was preached on February 14.  The previous week I had been charged for gathering God's people for worship.  I would later be charged for gathering that week as well.  Since that time I have been charged four more times. Seems like a waste doesn't it? I face a maximum of 6 years in prison (and $600,000 in fines). Seems like a terrible waste...   Was it?

Introduction God has not only furnished us with a world that speaks of His power and majesty, but a world also which is full of what Jonathan Edwards called “divine images”. Because of the Bible, these things which God has created bear witness of Him. With a Bible in our hands the world is - in a sense - transformed, so that everywhere we go we cannot help but think of Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. Think about the sun for a moment.  You look at the sun and see evidence of God’s power. He made it! But with the Bible you have more. The Bible teaches us to look at the sun and remember - among other things - the Sun of righteousness who against the dark backdrop of our sin rises with healing in his wings (Malachi 4:2). That is but one example. Now that I know that I can never look at the sun the same again. I can't watch a sunrise without thinking about Jesus rising on my sin with healing in His wings. Or consider the hills and mountains.  They are beautiful...

It is often assumed that numbers and growth are a mark of success in the ministry; which I suppose explains why pastors are so often heard asking one another what size of church they serve.  That also likely explains why ministers are inclined to exaggerate. But by that standard we would be forced to judge Joel Osteen, TD Jakes and Andy Stanley enormous successes.  And by that standard we would similarly be forced to judge the ministry of our Lord an abysmal failure.   I have had to think this through recently from two separate angles.  Just weeks ago I was pastoring a church that was growing.  Our growth wasn’t explosive but it was unlike anything we had ever seen before.  Still a relatively small church but growing!   Now all of a sudden I am faced with something altogether different.  I am no longer the pastor of the church I planted, the congregation is divided, and what remains going forward is at best small, 'insignificant' and irregula...

  I do not know Wyatt Graham, and until recently I had never heard of him. That is probably simply because I have never followed TGC.  More recently I have taken an interest in him because of his position on covid.  He represents the other side and I am one that likes to know what the other side is thinking.   Here I would like to respond to his recent article titled Our Views of the Virus Affects Our View of Persecution .  It is a gracious article, but the author is saying what he and others and TGC Canada have been saying for a while: that what James Coates, Jacob Reaume, Tim Stephens, Michael Thiessen, Aaron Rock, myself and others have experienced isn’t persecution.    The problem begins with the premise.  Graham says “If I view the pandemic as severely harming society and if I see restrictions as preventing that harm, then fining someone for breaking health regulations generally makes sense.”  He adds, “On the other hand, if ...