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Know The Truth
I was privileged to be able to give another talk for the AWANA program. I called this one “Know The Truth” and it was given to a group of kids aged 5-12 and their leaders. I believe it has a message we all need to hear, no matter what age we are. Here’s the audio (11 minutes): Spot…
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Growing At Church: 8 Ways to Lean On Your Leaders
It is my deep desire to help you pursue your faith, fall in love with Jesus and His church, serve and make your church the place where you expect great things to happen. What happens in the Christian Church is what is going to last for eternity. What we do together is what we…
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What’s In A Name?
I’m a HUGE fan of the AWANA program and have been blessed with the opportunity to speak a couple of times. Last night I gave a talk called “What’s In a Name?” to a group of kids aged 5-12 and their leaders. It’s an adaptation of the sermon I gave on Sunday, but I…
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The Foundations: What is a Church?
For some, a “church” is simply a building. If you punch the word “church” into Google images that’s what you get – pictures of beautiful buildings. You’ve probably been asked the question, “Do you go to church?”, as though “church” was a destination to reach, or an address to be found. If it was the middle…
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The Foundations: What is a Christian?
There is no simple answer to this question because Christians are multifaceted: they believe certain truths, do amazing things, and they experience the power of God. I Want What They Have I’ve heard a lot of people’s testimonies and one common phrase that keeps coming up is: “I want what they have.” Many…
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The Five Solas: Sola Christus
(Sorry about the audio, we’re working on it!) One of my favourite preachers, Mark Driscoll, had a very good, insightful Facebook update this week. He said, “All theology is cat theology or dog theology. Let’s say two pets have an amazing, kind, generous owner. The cat thinks: ‘I must be an amazing and valuable…
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The Five Solas: Sola Fide
(If you would like to see the sermon video, click here.) I’ve talked previously about the importance of having foundational, fundamental, bedrock beliefs that every Christian can affirm, no matter where they are, what tradition they come from, and what language they speak. The central theme of this series I’m calling “The True Gospel”…
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From Shrove Tuesday to Mardi Gras
My nephew was asked to put together a report on Mardi Gras which reminded me of a reflection piece I had written that might be of help to him, and hopefully you too. Throwing the Baby Out With the Bath Water The traditional Christian season of Lent starts on February 13 this year. Christians…
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The Five Solas: Sola Gratia
(This is a follow-up post to The Foundations: The True Gospel) The Second is Sola Gratia, or Grace Alone, was the overarching theme of the Reformationists, not because the Roman Catholic Church was teaching that salvation isn’t from the Grace of God found in Jesus, but because they teach that other things must to be done as well.…
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The Five Solas: Sola Scriptura
(This is a follow-up post to The Foundations: The True Gospel) Sola Scriptura, or Scripture Alone, is the principal and belief that The Bible is the supreme authority in all spiritual matters. It is the acknowledgement that the Bible contains the very Words of God. They are not, as 2 Peter 1:16 puts it,…
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The Foundations: The True Gospel
Controversy & Division The church deals with a lot of issues, and there are a lot of controversies swirling around both inside and outside the body of believers. Moral questions, political affiliations, missional differences, a million stylistic opinions, global concerns and theological interpretations are only a part of the everyday life and conversation for…
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Equipping Yourself To Defend the Unborn
I want to start by welcoming all the new subscribers! If you didn’t receive your free e-book, contact me. Second, I want to apologize for the error I made yesterday that accidentally sent a message to everyone I have ever emailed in my entire life! I am very sorry and I’ve been working hard…
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The Foundations: An Introduction to Intentional Discipleship
A Daunting Task I have a deep and abiding passion for discipleship, which is probably why this series is has been hard to write – because I want to get it right. I don’t want to leave out anything important. I want to give you everything you need to be forgiven, know God, and…
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Two Sheets of Paper that have Captivated my Life
I have a deep and abiding passion for intentional discipleship and designing a path to take people from “unsaved” to “church elder” has been my preoccupation for a few years now. The intensity of this fixation has increased recently as I have worked through a re-visioning process with the church I’m currently serving, and then doubled…
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How to be a Christian Husband
As I was cleaning off my desk, I stumbled across a note I wrote during a counseling session a while back where a man asked me, “What does it mean to be a Christian husband?”. He didn’t grow up in a Christian home and didn’t know what scripture said, so he didn’t have much…
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Review of “Mondays with My Old Pastor” by José Luis Navajo
“Mondays with My Old Pastor” by Jose Luis Navajo Thomas Nelson Summary “Mondays with My Old Pastor” is a timely book written to give hope and encouragement to ministers who have burnt-out, or who are burning out. and can be of help to anyone who has ever felt they can’t do anything right, don’t…
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Two Podcasts I NEVER Miss
I’m currently on a “staycation”. I was starting to feel tired and distracted, and I know what happens when I travel down that road too far, so I scheduled some time off. I’m not going anywhere, but I get to sleep in some, hang out with the family, and do some fun things around…
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2012 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: 600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 2,600 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 4 years to…
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Waiting & Preparing
I shared this devotional at a Christmas Eve Service last night: Over the past month both our churches have been celebrating the season of Christmas by using Advent candles. They are a wonderful tool to remind us that the story of Christmas doesn’t just surround the baby in the manger, but encompasses the whole…
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My Boys' Testimonies and Baptisms
On October 14th I had the amazing privilege of baptising my sons Ethan and Edison. It was such a wonderful day, and my wife and I are so proud of them. I’ve finally uploaded their testimony and baptism video to youtube and want to share it with you. The audio isn’t that great, so here’s a…
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"Making Room" ~ The Meaning of Christmas / Life
That’s a cool video. The reason I like it so much is because it expands our understanding of Christmas. It gives meaning to the simple Christmas story we have just seen acted out for us. It takes us far beyond the nativity scene, the baby in the manger, the shepherds and the wise men……
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What to Do with Bad News
In light of current events I put together this handout to give to my church tomorrow. I thought it might be helpful to give you some things to do when you hear or experience bad news. This is by no means a comprehensive guide, but is what is on my heart to share right…
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My Sermon Archive
Hello and Merry Christmas! I’ve been having too wonderful of a time with my family and church and haven’t been posting much, so I wanted to point you to where you can read some of my sermons. (I know you’ve been sitting in front of your computer, just waiting for someone to send you…
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Pretending To Be F.I.N.E.
How are you? – Fine. Really? – Yup, Fine. Are you sure, ’cause you don’t sound fine? – Totally fine. Ok. Have you had that conversation with someone? Someone once told me that F.I.N.E. stands for “Feelings I’m Not Expressing”, and while I agree that there are times and places to keep things to yourself…
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Spiritual Lostness
I preached this sermon on Sunday and wanted to share it with you. Introduction Do you ever feel lost? I suppose there are lots of ways to get lost. You can get geographically lost. Like whenever you go to a new mall, or a big store, and are trying to find your way around.…
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Map of Pilgrim's Progress
UPDATE: Hey, if you’re seeing this, you’d probably enjoy the Pilgrim’s Progress Study I’ve been doing on my “Of Interest” Podcast too. Check it out! I’m almost done reading John Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress” and hope to begin posting some insights from it soon (I could probably devote the next year of blogging to it!).…
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7 Things Your Pastor Wants You to Know but Probably Won’t Tell You
I have a question for you. How well do you know your pastor – really? What comes to mind when you think of your pastor? Some people treat us like we are another species – rare and peculiar, unlike anything else in the world – and that creates some unique challenges. This article was first published…
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Review of "The Purpose Driven Life: Expanded Edition" by Rick Warren
“The Purpose Driven Life: Expanded Edition” by Rick Warren Zondervan Summary Have you ever wondered why you are here, why God created you the way He did, in the place you are at, among the people that surround you? Have you ever felt like you were made for something, but couldn’t put a handle…
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Gossip Defined
Gossip is… uh… Last night at small group study we had a surprising discovery. Everyone around the table was absolutely agreed that gossip is a bad thing, and that we should confront it, but when I asked the group to define gossip, we couldn’t do it. We danced around a lot of ideas like…
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Review of "Thirty Days in the Land with Jesus" by Charles H. Dyer
Thirty Days in the Land with Jesus A Holy Land Devotional* by Charles H. Dyer Moody Press Summary Charles H. Dyer invites us to take a guided tour of the life, ministry and homeland of Jesus Christ. His passion for making scripture come alive by contextualizing the events in the life of Christ gives…
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Jesus, Cold & Wet
I don’t know why this never occurred to me before, but it wasn’t always hot and sunny while Jesus walked the earth. Maybe I’ve seen too many pictures of Jesus standing in a sunbeam or walking along a desert road, but it never really crossed my mind that Jesus would have been cold. I tried to…
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Going Dark
I went dark recently — in a bunch of ways. I bought some dark coffee — Starbucks Christmas Blend (super yummy!) and Muskoka Roastery’s Black Bear (which is so dark it’s like drinking ink… delicious, delicious, ink. It even seems to argue with the milk saying, “No, we won’t be turning mocha-coloured today. We’re shooting for…
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Recent Highlights on the Blog
Recent Highlights Why I am Reformed https://calltoprayerministries.wordpress.com/2012/11/02/why-i-am-reformed/ Review of “Twelve Unlikely Heroes” by John Macarthur https://calltoprayerministries.wordpress.com/2012/10/31/review-of-twelve-unlikely-heroes-by-john-macarthur/ *Own your “Why?” – A Christian Response to Halloween http://calltoprayerministries.wordpress.com/2012/10/11/own-your-why-a-christians-response-to-halloween/ ** Grafting Dead Branches on a Fruit Salad Tree http://calltoprayerministries.wordpress.com/2012/09/28/grafting-dead-branches-on-a-fruit-salad-tree/ * This is my most most read recent article. ** This is my most read article — ever!
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Why I am Reformed
The above video spurred me to write this entry. It touched me deeply and reminded me of who God is creating me to be, where I have come from, and why I do what I do the way I do it. It is beautifully shot, and powerfully narrated by John Calvin. I encourage you…
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Review of "Twelve Unlikely Heroes" by John MacArthur
This is my first official book review, so I would love some feedback. Twelve Unlikely Heroes How God Commissioned Unexpected People in the Bible and What He Wants to Do with You By John MacArthur Summary If there’s one the success of The Avengers movie taught us, it’s that we love heroes — and the bigger,…
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Unity – A Powerful Witness
Last Friday I had a post called “We All Need A Good Church” where I talked about the importance of being around other believers. I mentioned in the introduction that I was going to be sharing a sermon I preached on a related topic – unity in the church. Here’s the link: “Unity – A…
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Giving & Receiving Criticism
“You can please some of the people, some of the time”, they say. I would add, “and some of the people who aren’t pleased have no problems telling you why.” Criticism is something we all have to deal with, isn’t it? None of us are perfect, and yet it surprises people when someone makes…
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We All Need A Good Church
I just paused my sermon prep for a moment so I could post this to the blog. I’m currently writing a sermon on The Powerful Witness of Unity in the Church and remembered that I had written in a Facebook Post earlier in the week. The two didn’t really connect in my mind until…
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Own Your "Why?" – How to Make Wise Decisions
I preached this sermon on Sunday, October 31 2010 as a way to help the congregation process Halloween, but it grew into something much bigger. It became a sermon about how to make all kinds of decisions. I repeat it here in hopes it will encourage you to make wiser choices, release you from…
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Own Your "Why?" – A Christian Response to Halloween
Own Your “Why?” Some time ago I came up with a phrase that I try to live by and give away as much as possible — “Own your ‘Why?’” What it means is that when you do something (anything), make sure that you own up to your motives and reasons for doing it. Don’t…
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Michael Jr. at Gateway Church
If you haven’t heard of Michael Jr. yet, you are seriously missing out on some funny and meaningful stuff. Here’s a sermon he recently gave at the Gateway Church. [Also, this is officially the first sermon I have ever watched that has a commercial!]
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I'm Now an Official Book Blogger!
Even though blogging has its downsides (carpal tunnel and trucker butt), there are some pretty great benefits to being a blogger. Check these out: 1. All the coffee I make I get to drink… after I offer my wife a cup. 2. A chair that goes up, down, round and round, and also reclines! 3.…
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Grafting Dead Branches on a Fruit Salad Tree
I started today confused. How can God love mankind while at the same time have complete hatred for sinners? Aren’t they the same people? And how does ordain the use of sinful people and sinful situations to accomplish His perfect, holy will without He Himself being the cause of the sin. The first place…
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Jehovah's Witnesses
During the “Ask The Pastor” meetings on Wednesday nights at the church I serve, many questions come up that I don’t have the time or equipment to be able to give a full answer to. I believe there are many who have similar concerns and questions, so for a little while I’m going to…
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Christian View of Suicide
During the “Ask The Pastor” meetings on Wednesday nights at the church I serve, many questions come up that I don’t have the time or equipment to be able to give a full answer to. I believe there are many who have similar concerns and questions, so for a little while I’m going to…
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The Doctrine of the Trinity
I love Wednesday nights at the church because we have been doing an “Ask The Pastor” time where people come and ask questions about life, church, theology, and everything else. Sometimes it feels more like ‘Stump the Pastor”, but I do my best to give a biblical, helpful and practical answer. It has…
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Inner Strength
I know that video has been around for a while, but it still amazes me how amazing God made people. And this video is only scratching the surface — consider the intellectual, artistic and psychological feats we can attain! When He was designing us, it wasn’t so that we wouldn’t be able to understand or participate…
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RC Sproul on Predestination
I’ll admit it — I have a man-crush on RC Sproul. What an awesome teacher! Last week RC took on a favourite hot-topic among Christians – predestination. Every time I have an Ask The Pastor night this question comes up over and over. It is clearly close to people’s hearts and people want a…
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Favourite Devotional Books
I’ve been sharing some of my favourite Christian content recently. I’ve shared Blogs & Podcasts, and now I’d like to share some of my favourite “Devotional Books” (by which I mean “books I use regularly during my quiet times”). Finding books that touch my heart, stir my mind, convict my spirit and bring me closer to…
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Favourite Podcasts
In my heart of hearts I’m a student. I loved school and now I love learning about Jesus and His Church. For me, being a teacher, preacher, leader, vision-caster, etc. isn’t a job but a natural expression of the things God built me to be interested in and impassioned by. I’m energized by reading books, articles,…