| On Sunday,May 13,Brentwood expressed its thanks for the many ways in the Rev. Don Hill has contributed to its health and growth over the past 5 years. Don served as Interim Minister from 2007 until 2009. He remained active in the maintenance and renovations of the building from 2009 until the present. Don is moving to the US to continue his work in hospital chaplaincy and teach Clinical Pastoral Education. The congregation gave him a trivet/plaque representing West Coast First Nations salmon –a symbol of the feeding and nourishing that Don did for us over these past 5 years. Our prayers and best wishes go with him and we look forward to his next visit ‘home’.  Brian Fraser,Don Hill,and Pam Wong Christians witness to what God has done in Jesus Christ. They testify to the power of the love of God to restore the flourishing life God intends for human beings. In the midst of darkness and despair,the Christian community in churches like Brentwood Presbyterian offers light and hope. We welcome you to worship with us and experience that light and hope for yourselves. 44 Then he said to them,“These are the very things I told you about while I was still with you:everything written about me in the Law of Moses,the writings of the prophets,and the Psalms had to come true.”
45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,46 and said to them,“This is what is written:the Messiah must suffer and must rise from death three days later,47 and in his name the message about repentance and the forgiveness of sins must be preached to all nations,beginning in Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And I myself will send upon you what my Father has promised. But you must wait in the city until the power from above comes down upon you.
50 Then he led them out of the city as far as Bethany,where he raised his hands and blessed them. 51 As he was blessing them,he departed from them and was taken up into heaven. 52 They worshiped him and went back into Jerusalem,filled with great joy,53 and spent all their time in the Temple giving thanks to God. Join the conversation aobut the meaning you find in this text by leaving a comment. What does it mean to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ in this world? That’s what we are reflecting on this week and will explore further on Sunday. Leave a comment,follow the conversation,and join us on Sunday. 1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Messiah is a child of God;and whoever loves a father loves his child also. 2 This is how we know that we love God’s children:it is by loving God and obeying his commands. 3 For our love for God means that we obey his commands. And his commands are not too hard for us,4 because every child of God is able to defeat the world. And we win the victory over the world by means of our faith. 5 Who can defeat the world? Only the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. 6 Jesus Christ is the one who came with the water of his baptism and the blood of his death. He came not only with the water,but with both the water and the blood. And the Spirit himself testifies that this is true,because the Spirit is truth.
We continue to read through sections of 1 John. The theme is knowing what love is. The model is Jesus Christ giving his life for others. The invitation is to open our hearts to the same kind of love and then let that love flow through us to those in need. 16 This is how we know what love is:Christ gave his life for us. We too,then,ought to give our lives for others! 17 If we are rich and see others in need,yet close our hearts against them,how can we claim that we love God? 18 My children,our love should not be just words and talk;it must be true love,which shows itself in action. 19 This,then,is how we will know that we belong to the truth;this is how we will be confident in God’s presence. 20 If our conscience condemns us,we know that God is greater than our conscience and that he knows everything. 21 And so,my dear friends,if our conscience does not condemn us,we have courage in God’s presence. 22 We receive from him whatever we ask,because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. 23 What he commands is that we believe in his Son Jesus Christ and love one another,just as Christ commanded us. 24 Those who obey God’s commands live in union with God and God lives in union with them. And because of the Spirit that God has given us we know that God lives in union with us. Please share your insights on what the Spirit teaches you in this passage by leaving a comment. We look forward to the online conversaiton. The author of these letters is dealing with a conflicted congregation. As a loving pastor,he draws their attention back to the source of their unity –Jesus Christ and the light of God’s love that shines through him into all the world. God’s children are diverse,with different ideas and ways of being. But they come together in their service to Jesus Christ as blessings in the world. That is the way to dispel the darkness of sin. 1 See how much the Father has loved us! His love is so great that we are called God’s children—and so,in fact,we are. This is why the world does not know us:it has not known God. 2 My dear friends,we are now God’s children,but it is not yet clear what we shall become. But we know that when Christ appears,we shall be like him,because we shall see him as he really is. 3 Everyone who has this hope in Christ keeps himself pure,just as Christ is pure. 4 Whoever sins is guilty of breaking God’s law,because sin is a breaking of the law. 5 You know that Christ appeared in order to take away sins,and that there is no sin in him. 6 So everyone who lives in union with Christ does not continue to sin;but whoever continues to sin has never seen him or known him. 7 Let no one deceive you,my children! Whoever does what is right is righteous,just as Christ is righteous. Read and relfect along with us this week and post your comments. We invite you to explore this text with us in person at worship on Sunday,Apr 22,at 9:45AM at the church at 1600 Delta Ave,Burnaby,BC. Living in harmony with Jesus Christ,in the light of his love,is the foundation for living together in harmony for human beings. The church,when it is faithful,models and spreads that quality of flourishing. That’s what we explore this week in our reading and reflecting on this text. Please join the conversation with your comments. And join us on Friday evening at 5:30PM for Bible study and on Sunday morning at 9:45AM for worship to continue the conversation. 1 1 We write to you about the Word of life,which has existed from the very beginning. We have heard it,and we have seen it with our eyes;yes,we have seen it,and our hands have touched it. 2 When this life became visible,we saw it;so we speak of it and tell you about the eternal life which was with the Father and was made known to us. 3 What we have seen and heard we announce to you also,so that you will join with us in the fellowship that we have with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 We write this in order that our joy may be complete. 5 Now the message that we have heard from his Son and announce is this:God is light,and there is no darkness at all in him. 6 If,then,we say that we have fellowship with him,yet at the same time live in the darkness,we are lying both in our words and in our actions. 7 But if we live in the light—just as he is in the light—then we have fellowship with one another,and the blood of Jesus,his Son,purifies us from every sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin,we deceive ourselves,and there is no truth in us. 9 But if we confess our sins to God,he will keep his promise and do what is right:he will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing. 10 If we say that we have not sinned,we make a liar out of God,and his word is not in us. 2 1 I am writing this to you,my children,so that you will not sin;but if anyone does sin,we have someone who pleads with the Father on our behalf—Jesus Christ,the righteous one. 2 And Christ himself is the means by which our sins are forgiven,and not our sins only,but also the sins of everyone. We celebrate the mystery and the marvel of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday morning at 9:45AM. Filled with joy and wonder,Christians around the world gather in worship to greet the risen Christ and remember God’s victory over every form of darkness imaginable. Join with us in celebrating the light of the Gospel yet again this year. Join with us at 10:00AM on Good Friday for a service of lessons,hymns,prayers,and reflections as we follow Jesus into the darkness of death on the cross and burial in the tomb. In this act of self-sacrifice,God in Jesus Christ identifies with every dimension of our human condition in order to redeem it for his service. Christians believe that in Jesus Christ,the Creator,Redeemer,and Sustainer of the world fulfilled the promises that he made to Israel in the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament). Here is the promise as Jeremiah saw it: 31 The Lord says,The time is coming when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 32 It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. Although I was like a husband to them,they did not keep that covenant. 33 The new covenant that I will make with the people of Israel will be this:I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God,and they will be my people. 34 None of them will have to teach a neighbor to know the Lord,because all will know me,from the least to the greatest. I will forgive their sins and I will no longer remember their wrongs. I,the Lord,have spoken. We encourage you to read and reflect daily upon this passage that will be the focus of our attention next Sunday. As we explore together what it means to be the church at Brentwood Presbyterian, remember that the wisdom and resilience that comes through the written Word of God is an important part of our life together. Be open to what the Spirit might be saying to you that will nourish us to flourish in the grace of the Jesus Christ. And share a comment with us on what the Spirit is saying to you about this passage. | |
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