Friends, last week I was privileged to give a short talk based on a current research project at the Wesley Symposium at Tyndale Seminary. Here is a link to audio from all the talks, including mine. (BONUS!).
Why are you here? Take a moment. Think about that question. Be honest. Why are you here? Maybe you’re here to check out the new guy. Maybe you’re here because your kids are here, or because you brought your grandkids here. Maybe you’re here because your spouse made you. Do any of these reasons speak to where you’re at this morning? I’m sure not. I’m sure all of you here this morning are much more holy than the man who once complained to his wife saying, “I don’t want to go to church this morning!” To which his wife replied, “You’re the minister. You have to be there.” And lest you think that story is an urban legend, I can tell you that at least on one occasion, it actually happened. But of course, there are more noble reasons to be here in church on the August long weekend, aren’t there? You’ve come to meet with family and friends. You’ve come to meet with Jesus. You’ve come to give thanks for his Word and to feed on Him in your heart by faith and with th...
Click here for audio. When will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming? These are the questions that provoke what scholars call “The Olivet Discourse,” found in Mark 13, Luke 21, and the passage that we jumped into last week, Matthew 24-25. The questions are occasioned by the disciples’ awe at the grandeur of Herod’s Temple, and of Jesus’s warning that a time was coming when they would be utterly and irreparably destroyed. Imagine sitting in front of the Parliament buildings with Jesus, having a sandwich on the grounds in late June. You’ve just watched the changing of the guard and now you’ve moved over to the eternal flame and from there, you are admiring the Center Block and the Peace Tower. And you say to Jesus, “Look at these magnificent buildings! And consider all the good they represent!” And he catches your gaze and replies gravely, “I tell you the truth, the time is soon coming when not one stone will be left upon another.” Of course, you’d want t...
Audio is available here This past Wednesday some of us might have commemorated the 74 th anniversary of D-Day—the day when American infantry stormed Omaha and Utah beaches, while English soldiers waded ashore on ones named Gold and Sword, and Canadians took one of their own, named Juno. It was the turning point of the war. German forces were bogged down in Russia, the German/Italian army had been retreating since 1942 in North Africa. But this was the day when the tide turned. Once the beachheads established, the end of the war was not in doubt. The Axis powers would lose in Europe; it was only a question of time. In fact, we could say, the Axis powers lost the war on June 6; what remained was pressing the victory to its end. Keep that image of inevitability in mind today as we come to our Gospel lesson. When we pick up the story, Jesus has returned home—that is, his home base in Capernaum, probably Peter’s house —and he is tired. He has...
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