Last Sunday we looked at the ascension of Jesus, which worked out quite well given that last Sunday was Ascension Sunday—the Sunday after Ascension Day. Since Easter is always on a Sunday and since Jesus ascended into heaven 40 days after his resurrection, Ascension Day is always on a Thursday, yet many churches celebrate the…

During our topical sermon series on the Apostles’ Creed, we end our gathered assembly by reciting the Creed together. Many of us come from a variety of traditions and in these different traditions the Creed may be recited differently, which has raised this question of the version we use: why does it say Jesus descended…

In perhaps the most quotable movie of all time, the character Vizzini frequently utters, “Inconceivable!”. When the Man in Black fails to fall while climbing a rope up the Cliffs of Insanity, he once again declares this to be inconceivable. It is then that Inigo Montoya utters his famous words: You keep using that word;…

In the Ancient Near East physical attributes were important for those who would rule others. Pharaoh Ramesses II, for example, was described as “a beautiful youth who was well developed”. He had muscular arms and was a gifted athlete who excelled at rowing and archery and horsemanship. When his mummy was discovered archaeologists saw that…

In our current sermon series we are looking at what we believe through the lens of the Apostles’ Creed, as well as certain distinctives that form who we are as a local church. Our faith is ancient, and we are a modern church. We trace our faith and doctrine back to the earliest church as…