Margin
Wilderness Wanderings
Then [Jesus] said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Matthew 9:37-38). Years ago, on a flight to Los Angelos, I read a book called Margin. The author, Richard Swenson, M.D., argued that we fill our lives too full. He used the image of the old blue lined paper used for writing. It also had pink lines creating margins. One did not write in the margins. He urged his readers to maintain margins in their lives. If this was a needed reminder in 2002, surely it is as...
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Don't Grab the heavy Yoke
Wilderness Wanderings
A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is Galatians 5:1-12. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection! To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it . Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: Dive In What things have you added to Christ? Things you thought you needed to do t win God’s favour or stay in his favour? What yokes have you grabbed? What effects have they had on your life? What difference does your future hope make to your life now?...
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Why Rest?
Wilderness Wanderings
[Israel] has not acknowledged that I was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, who lavished on her the silver and gold—which they used for Baal,” [says the Lord God Almighty] (Hosea 2:8). Like last Friday’s, this text ought to make us uncomfortable. At the very least, it should make us do some serious self-examination. A thing that Christians ought to do regularly under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Again, Israel has been practicing all her religious rituals: the celebrations, festivals, Sabbaths, New Moons, etc. (2:11). From the outside, God’s people look very...
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Humble Hearts
Wilderness Wanderings
I trust in you with all my heart. Don’t let me wander away from your commands (Psalm 119:10). “A man after my own heart”, God said of David. Is your heart healthy? Do our hearts align with God’s? A week ago, we explored one answer, David’s desire to be obedient to God’s law. On its surface, Psalm 119 is boring. It’s repetitive. But I think we miss the point. Its goal is not content but enchantment with the Word of God. It’s a carefully crafted poem which oozes with delight in how God has created and ordered the world. There is nothing better for the psalmist than to follow...
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An Invitation to the Depleted
Wilderness Wanderings
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live (Isaiah 55:1-3). Many things are expected and demanded of us. We have family obligations. Many of us are required to work for a living; this makes significant demands on us. When we don’t have such work, the demands are...
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Be Free!
Wilderness Wanderings
A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is Galatians 5:1, 13-14. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection! To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it . Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: Dive In! What were the three things about freedom mentioned in the previous sermon? Relationship with _________. The result of the ___________ of _________ __________. Life in the ____________ of _________. These three are from whose...
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Sabbath Fruit
Wilderness Wanderings
When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood! Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow (Isaiah 1:15-17). Do you know who made the clothes you are wearing? Do you know how much the server makes at your favourite restaurant? Do you know where the components of your cellphone come from? Do you know any of the people who were...
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Obedience as Thanksgiving
Wilderness Wanderings
My heart is filled with longing for your laws at all times (Psalm 119:20). I remember a group exercise, probably some ice breaker, in which we were asked what we would like on our tombstone. How is that a good icebreaker? Probably, to get into a conversation about legacy. I didn’t like it then and I still don’t. A more interesting question to ask is “What do people say about me right now?” but not as an icebreaker. David, the shepherd boy turned king, is introduced in the Bible not by name, but by what God says about him, ‘a man after my own heart’ or...
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Who are God's Missionaries?
Wilderness Wanderings
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light (1 Peter 2:9). There is hymn that begins with: “The church is not a building; the church is not a steeple; the church is not a resting place; the church is a people.” And the refrain: “I am the church! You are the church! We are the church together! All who follow Jesus, all around the world! Yes, we're the church together!” Intuitively, many Christians recognize that these lyrics are true. But...
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A Sabbath Keepers Welcome
Wilderness Wanderings
The Sovereign Lord declares—he who gathers the exiles of Israel: “I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered” (Isaiah 56:8). In Deuteronomy, Moses prepares Israel to enter the land of promise. As they settle in, they will finally be able to develop the habits enabling them to be God’s holy people. Part of the preparation is defining who is in and who is out. Access to this holy people, and consequently to their God, is quite limited. All folks with mutilated genitalia and many foreigners are excluded (cf. Deuteronomy 23:1-8). Interactions with non-Israelites...
info_outlineA Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is Galatians 5:1-12. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!
To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca
Dive In
- What things have you added to Christ? Things you thought you needed to do t win God’s favour or stay in his favour? What yokes have you grabbed? What effects have they had on your life?
- What difference does your future hope make to your life now? How can you make sure you meditate on your glorious future more often? What practical steps will you take?
- What does it mean to be truly human? What are we freed from? What are we freed for?
- Why do we lose our ability to love? What should we do when our love wanes?