To watch Harry’s message, click on the title. You will be taken to our YouTube channel.
A Growing Boy
Sunday, December 30, 2018
Jesus was what we would call a ‘child prodigy’ when he was 12, at least in Jewish terms. He knew the Scriptures well and could stump and surprise the experts. Luke tells us that he continued to grow “in wisdom and stature and in favour with God and all people”. Is this not a pattern for Christian growth as well? – Harry
Wondrous Gift
Sunday, December 23, 2018
This is from the 4th Sunday in Advent and the theme is Love. Scripture tells us that “God is Love”. This is the attribute that best characterizes him. Mary, Jesus’ mother, was delighted with the love of God and her song, known as The Magnificat, is a celebration of that great love. – Harry
Join the Joy
Sunday, December 9, 2018
When the angels surprised the shepherds it was in order to issue an invitation: “Come on over to Bethlehem and see the baby and celebrate with us. Join the Joy!” The invitation stands today. – Harry
The Whole Story
Sunday, December 2, 2018
If Sesame Street taught me anything it’s that “every story has a beginning, a middle and an end”. This is something that I think God built into us and reflects something about his nature. That means there will be an end to human history (His Story!) and God, through Jesus, will wrap up all matters. This has to do with the ‘Second Coming ‘ of Jesus. – Harry
Our Liege Lord
Sunday, November 25, 2018
Jesus is the ultimate King – the one the human race has been longing for all through history. On trial before Pontius Pilate Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world”. That doesn’t mean his kingdom ways and values aren’t relevant in this world. They are and they’re transforming. “Thy kingdom come”. Based on John 18:33-37. – Harry
Widows
Sunday, November 18, 2018
Being a widow is tough. There is a deep sense of loss but often also of vulnerability. Jesus had some things to say about widows as does the Bible as a whole. God is clearly directing the rest of us to care for, support and protect widows. In this passage, Mark 12:38-44, Jesus is also pointing to a particular unnamed widow as an example of faith and generosity. – Harry
Remembrance Day Service
Sunday, November 11, 2018
Reverend Don Waterhouse delivered this message as guest minister for our congregations on Remembrance Day.
Priest and Priestlings
Sunday, October 28, 2018
Jesus is described as the ultimate ‘high priest’ in Hebrews 7:23-28. That meant more in the first century than it does today, so this requires some explanation. But who are the ‘low’ priests? It turns out that’s us – all Christians (1 Peter 2:9). I’ve nicknamed us ‘priestlings’, which I hope is not offensive. – Harry
The Server
Sunday, October 21, 2018
Over and over Jesus stresses that if we wish to be his followers we need to learn to serve. Jesus himself, who is God and also the King of kings, did not come to be served by others but to serve them and even die for them. – Harry
Time of Need
Sunday, October 14, 2018
Is it a time of need or do you have everything under control? I’m guessing the former. Even if our own life is on an even keel, others around us are struggling. Beyond that are the needs of our messed up world and the challenge of reaching it with the love and grace of Jesus. It’s overwhelming. Hebrews 4:12-16 was written to encourage us to pray: “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” – Harry
Countless Gifts
Sunday, October 7, 2018
The whole human race is showered with ‘countless gifts’ from our Father who makes rain to fall ‘on the just and on the unjust’. If we start counting we never come to an end. In addition, those who come to faith in Jesus have a whole new set of gifts – joy, forgiveness, eternal life, etc., which enable us to appreciate even more the gifts that all humanity enjoys. – Harry
For or Against
Sunday, September 30, 2018
“Whoever is not against us is for us” Jesus tells us. This brings to mind the whole range of human divisions and the ‘tribalism’ so rampant in our world. Jesus is constantly bringing reconciliation and unity into human affairs, even though his own people often say things like, “we told him to stop, because he was NOT ONE OF US.” (Mark 9:38-41) – Harry
Wiser Ways
Sunday, September 23, 2018
Wisdom is a pretty huge theme all through the Bible. It’s not the same as knowledge. It’s more like ‘the skill of living well’. In the Old Testament the books named Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and, arguably, Song of Solomon are ‘wisdom literature’. The book of James in the New Testament follows in that tradition. This passage talks about two kinds of wisdom. – Harry
The Taming of the Tongue
Sunday, September 16, 2018
Do you have your tongue completely under control? As adults we realize that the old saying, ‘sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me’, is simply not true. James says that the tongue “is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” (James 3:8) That’s pretty serious. The grace we find in Jesus not only gives us forgiveness for the ways we’ve hurt others but also a changed heart which issues in the proper use of language. – Harry
Outsiders
Sunday, September 9, 2018
It’s hard to break into a new group. Often there are unwritten rules or deep-seated prejudices which keep people on the outside. The story in Mark of Jesus and the Gentile woman is an amazing story of how Jesus brought an outsider into his circle of love – much to the shock of the other insiders, aka the disciples. In point of fact, the gospel can be boiled down to just that – God, through Jesus, wants to bring all the world into his circle. – Harry
Armour All
Sunday, September 2, 2018
We may be pacifists at heart, but if we are followers of Jesus, who is pure good, we are by necessity engaged in a war against evil. Paul, using Roman armour as an illustration, describes how we take our stand in this battle. This is from Ephesians 6:10-20. – Harry
Hungry
Sunday, August 12, 2018
Jesus had a marvelous way of using illustrations that are universal and timeless. We still get hungry and we still like bread. Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry.” (John 6:35) He wasn’t talking about food. – Harry
The Practical Trinity
Sunday, July 8, 2018
The Christian experience is ‘Trinitarian’. In other words, we relate to God, as St. Paul says, like this: “For through him (Jesus) we both have access to the Father by one Spirit” (Eph 2:18). We put our trust in Jesus and are led by the Spirit into relationship with the Father. – Harry
Constructing Community
Sunday, July 1, 2018
“O Canada! We stand on guard for thee,” we passionately sing on July 1st and before every hockey game. But how do we actually do that? How do we ‘stand on guard’? I contend that it’s not so much with military might as with building strong community life – and that’s what Jesus came to make possible. – Harry
Creation Matters
Sunday, June 24, 2018
The scriptural teachings which tell us that God created the universe and everything in it are of critical importance. In other words, creation matters. Here are some of the reasons as to why this is so. – Harry
Clay Pots
Sunday, June 10, 2018
There isn’t much to a terracotta pot. It’s made of clay, fragile and breakable. In many ways we humans are like that. Nevertheless God uses our weakness to shine his light into the world and demonstrate his power. – Harry
Sabbath
Sunday, June 3, 2018
The Sabbath day rest was well established by Jesus’ time, but he got into no end of trouble with the authorities for healing (i.e. working) on Sabbaths. In our culture we’ve adopted Sunday as the Sabbath – well, at least, we used to – but there’s nothing in the Bible that instructs us to do that. – Harry
Conviction
Sunday, May 20, 2018
When evidence mounts in our lives and minds that something is amiss or something is missing, there’s a good chance that this is the Holy Spirit bringing us to a ‘conviction’. According to Jesus, that’s what He does. – Harry
10 Day Gap
Sunday, May 13, 2018
Between ‘Ascension Day’, when Jesus took away his visible presence, and Pentecost, there is a 10 day gap. In that 10 days Jesus’ disciples waited and prayed. They were being prepared for the ‘pouring out’ of the Holy Spirit. I believe we need a fresh pouring out today. – Harry
Power Source
Sunday, May 6, 2018
We’ve had a bunch of hydro outages already this year. When the lights go out we’re cut off from the power source. I think this is a great symbol or metaphor for the genuine Christian experience. Our power source is the ascended Jesus. When we ‘connect’ to him by faith his power flows to us via the Holy Spirit. – Harry
The Adventures of Phillip
Sunday, April 29, 2018
This Philip was one of the seven (see Acts 6:5), not one of the original twelve apostles. He had a lot of fun telling people about Jesus. God did miracles and healings through him and he received instruction from an angel. He was arguably the first to bring the good news to Samaria and, indirectly, to Africa. He even got whisked 20 kilometres or so instantaneously. Adventures every day in the Spirit! – Harry
Good Shepherd
Sunday, April 22, 2018
Everybody loves Psalm 23. I think this is because deep down we all want and need a Shepherd – someone to protect and guide and provide. There’s really only one who fills the bill and that One says, “I am the Good Shepherd….I know my sheep and my sheep know me”. – Harry
Eating Fish
Sunday, April 15, 2018
The point of Jesus eating fish with his friends was to show them that he wasn’t a ghost. He was embodied. As the first one to rise from the dead his body is the pattern for what ours will be. ‘This perishable will put on the imperishable and this mortal will put on immortality’. Jesus has and we will have ‘spiritual bodies’. – Harry
Doubts
Sunday, April 8, 2018
Over the centuries people have been taught to be aghast at the skepticism of ‘Doubting Thomas’. I don’t see it that way. He was the only one who hadn’t seen the risen Jesus yet, so of course he doubted. All of us would have doubted and do doubt, until we ‘see’ for ourselves. – Harry
Easter Everyday
Sunday, April 1, 2018
Some people think the resurrection of Jesus is a myth of hope invented to encourage all of us who are subject to death. I see it as an historical event which proves Christ’s victory over death – and the evidence is strong in support of this. Here are some of the implications. – Harry
Humble King
Sunday, March 25, 2018
A God who is absolutely humble is invisible to a humanity so infected with pride. He is hidden although he is evident in all creation. The humble, crucified king reveals this God. – Harry
Gethsemane
Sunday, March 18, 2018
Musings on Jesus’ final, brutally honest, prayer in Gethsemane the night before he died. In a way he gave up his life in that garden. – Harry
Cleaning House
Sunday, March 4, 2018
Soul Man
Sunday, February 11, 2018
Jesus speaks quite plainly about what it will mean to follow him – “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me…” He doesn’t sugar coat it and in our age of narcissism and comfort seeking that is perhaps not that appealing to many. But what good is it to gain the whole world and lose your soul? – Harry
Proclamation
Sunday, February 4, 2018
When Jesus started his public work, he simply ‘proclaimed’, “The time has come. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news.” This is a ‘proclamation’ or ‘announcement’ or ‘declaration’. Folks can do with it what they will. – Harry
Authentic Authority
Sunday, January 28, 2018
One of the key ways in which Jesus demonstrated his authority in the spiritual realm was through casting out evil spirits from those oppressed by them. Although our enlightened generation is skeptical about such beings, people remain fascinated with the possibility. The gospels (and all scripture for that matter) simply assume they’re for real. – Harry
Gone Fishin’
Sunday, January 21, 2018
People often talk about being ‘called’ by Jesus. We point to the story of 4 fishermen – Simon, Andrew, James and John. The first 2 left their nets and followed Jesus. The second 2 left their dad in the boat and followed. What will we leave? How can we leave? Is it worth it? – Harry
Recognition
Sunday, January 14, 2018
An important part of the Christian faith is ‘recognizing’ who God is, who Jesus is and that Jesus has called you personally. – Harry
Haliburton United Church 