My reading of Scripture tells me that there is a civil war going on in the soul of every follower of Jesus. Here is how the Apostle Paul puts it to the Galatians: But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the…

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”] In case you were ever wondering, the reason the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday is earlier than the American celebration is a simple geographic one. Our harvest season starts earlier than our neighbours’ to the south. Plus, we need to give ourselves…

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”] (This is the continuation of last week’s blog about lessons learned at recent  funerals of Christian men of unwavering faith.) The second service I attended was for a local church pastor who also had a decades-long international itinerant speaking ministry.…

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”] As a local church pastor one of my least favourite tasks is conducting funerals. There are strong emotions expressed ranging from sadness to anger. There are sometimes, depending on how death occurred, those pain-filled “Why?!” questions. Since I avoid pat…

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”] I am fond of the letter to the Hebrews. It is written to Jews who have become followers of Jesus as Messiah. Consequently, they are under intense persecution for their new faith. The writer compares the old religious system to…

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”] Giving interviews to journalists was one of the “joys” I had when I was serving on the Advance Team of the “World’s Largest Floating Bookstore”, MV LOGOS II. We would go ahead of the ship into an upcoming port in…

Blind Bartimaeus is a beggar on the outskirts of Jericho. He hears that Jesus is passing by and begins to cry out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” He understands from the stories he had heard that Jesus is able to heal him. So even though the crowd tries to…

The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful…

  On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed…

A religious leader came to Jesus and asked him what the greatest commandment was. Jesus essentially said, love God with everything within you and love your neighbour as yourself. (See Matt 22:36-40 NIV) Our theme at Catch The Fire Scarborough for 2018 is: Loving Up, In and Out! And we are basing this on the…