To watch Harry’s message, click on the title. You will be taken to our YouTube channel.
A CONTRAST OF KINGS
Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019
The writer of the first gospel, Matthew, was intent on contrasting two kings, namely, the wicked and murderous Herod and the gentle and life-giving Jesus. A conflict of sorts begins when magi come to Jerusalem (Herod’s headquarters) and naively ask, “Where is the one who is born king of the Jews”? – Harry
LOVE ACTUALIZED
Sunday, Dec. 22, 2019
Paul talks about 3 kinds of groaning in Romans 8: creation as a whole, we ourselves and the Holy Spirit’s intercession through us. All of this groaning has to do with what we hope and expect will come to pass according to the promises of God – but has not yet fully materialized. – Harry
GROANS
Sunday, Dec. 1, 2019
Paul talks about 3 kinds of groaning in Romans 8: creation as a whole, we ourselves and the Holy Spirit’s intercession through us. All of this groaning has to do with what we hope and expect will come to pass according to the promises of God – but has not yet fully materialized. – Harry
LIKE THE ANGELS
Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019
There’s a popular belief that people turn into angels when they die. This is not at all biblical. Humans and angels are entirely different creatures. Jesus does say that in the age to come “they will be like the angels”. Here are some thoughts about what that might mean. – Harry
HUMBLE OR STUMBLE
Sunday, Nov. 17, 2019
This is based on the sweet story of the Pharisee and the tax collector, from Luke 18. This is a truly loaded and insightful story. It’s very telling of the human condition – as in the Pharisee’s prayer, “I thank you that I am not like other people”. – Harry
THE END OF RELIGION
Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019
Scripture tells us that if we have come to faith in Jesus, “we are no longer under the supervision of the law”. IF we equate ‘the law’ with what is commonly thought of as ‘religion’, then Christ has brought about the end of religion! That might be a big ‘IF’. – Harry
SOWING AND REAPING
Sunday, Oct. 13, 2019
How do we ‘sow to the Spirit’, as Paul recommends in Galatians chapter 6? It’s a good thing to work out since the ‘fruit’ of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, meekness, temperance, goodness and faith. That’s a good harvest. – Harry
FREE FOR FREEDOM
Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019
Some equate democracy with freedom and some think freedom comes with lack of responsibility. Neither of these is what scripture means by freedom. Real freedom is within the human soul and comes through forgiveness, grace and the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit. All of this is experienced through Jesus and his cross. He sets us free that we might become more and more experientially free. – Harry
JUSTIFIED
Sunday, Sept. 22, 2019
The idea of ‘justifying yourself’ (which we all do a lot), is closely related to the biblical idea of ‘justification’. However, rather than excusing ourselves or explaining ourselves for what we do or fail to do, we claim Christ and his cross. We are justified then, not by our action or inaction, but by grace through faith. “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” – Harry
IMPORTANT PEOPLE
Sunday, Sept. 15, 2019
There are those who seem to be ‘important people’. Perhaps we should revere, honour and respect them more than others. After all, they are famous, or wealthy or powerful. You’d think, especially for Christians, that the earliest apostles would fall into this category. Paul, however, writes this: “As for those who seemed to be important – whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance.” – Harry
ANOTHER GOSPEL?
Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019
Paul’s letter to the Galatians is quite emotional. He’s incensed that people have gone after new Christians and twisted and confused the message. In that sense and many others Galatians is timeless. This is an introduction. – Harry
YOU’RE SURROUNDED
Sunday, Sept. 1, 2019
It’s a healthy habit to review the lives of people of faith. In the Hebrew Bible these included Noah, Abraham and Sarah, David, Samson, Rahab, Elisha and many more. As history unfolds the list goes on: Augustine, Luther, Calvin, King, Tutu, your grandparents and now you. We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. – Harry
THE FAITH DIMENSION
Sunday, Aug. 25, 2019
Every once in a while the Bible gives us a clear definition of something. In this case, it’s a definition of ‘faith’, and it’s found in Hebrews 11. Here it is presented as a way of ascertaining things from the unseen world and with certainty expecting things yet to come. – Harry
WORRIES AND DISTRACTIONS
Sunday, July 28, 2019
If Martha is preparing dinner and her sister Mary is sitting and listening to Jesus, should she not be upset? What does Jesus mean by “Mary has chosen what is better”? – Harry
TEACH US TO PRAY
Sunday, July 21, 2019
The disciples asked Jesus, “Teach Us To Pray”. That’s actually a pretty great prayer! – Harry
THE GOOD SAMARITAN
Sunday, July 14, 2019
The story of The Good Samaritan is so embedded in Western culture that most governments seem to have a ‘Good Samaritan’ law that protects those who attempt to help others by giving them immunity from liability. Jesus tells us a story about someone from a despised people group showing mercy sacrificially to his despiser. That’s a neighbour. – Harry
LAMBS AMONG WOLVES
Sunday, July 7, 2019
Jesus said to us, “Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.” That’s a very vivid and somewhat scary picture of the Christian life. What is the difference between a lamb and a wolf? – Harry
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Sunday, June 30, 2019
When Jesus headed for Jerusalem his disciples headed with him. They did not know what awaited Him. Some other people thought they might follow but Jesus actually seems to discourage them. He wants them to count the cost. “No one who puts their hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” – Harry
LEGION
Sunday, June 23, 2019
Jesus was and is the master of ‘going with the flow’. In the passage where Jesus encounters a guy with a ‘legion’ of demons in him Jesus does a lot of adapting on the fly. – Harry
TONGUES
Sunday, June 9, 2019
Pentecost represents the reversal of the Babel ‘curse’. As humanity was split apart because they couldn’t understand each other’s languages (Genesis 11:1-9), so we are brought back together by the Holy Spirit through our shared rescue by Jesus Christ. ‘Speaking in Tongues’ at Pentecost was a sign of this. – Harry
PEACE OR PANIC
Sunday, June 2, 2019
Stephen Livingstone was our guest speaker.
DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE
Sunday, May 26, 2019
The last couple of chapters of the Bible re-visit the first couple of chapters. We find a river, the tree of life and a new source of light. Eden is back but it’s bigger and better than the first one. We are to draw hope and courage from these promises. – Harry
WATER
Sunday, May 19, 2019
One of the many incredible things about the Bible is how it uses (God uses) illustrations and symbols that are easily recognizable by the whole human race. Take water for instance. It’s universally recognized, dreaded and enjoyed. This is reflected in Scripture and especially in this little passage in the second last chapter of the Bible: Revelation 21:1-6. – Harry
SHEEPISH SHEPHERDS
Sunday, May 5, 2019
At the end of the gospel of John there is a scene where Jesus is having a heart to heart with Peter. Three times he asks Peter “Do you love me?” Three times Peter insists that he does and three times Jesus says something like “Feed my sheep”. Clearly one of the chief ways we can show our love for Jesus is by taking care of (mentoring, shepherding, teaching, discipling, comforting etc.) his sheep. – Harry
CONVINCED
Sunday, April 28, 2019
‘Doubting’ Thomas became convinced of the resurrection when he saw Jesus for himself and touched him – but not before. Similarly, we too are skeptical. What does it take for us to be convinced? – Harry
FIRST FRUITS
Sunday, April 21, 2019
The first parts of a crop to ripen and be harvested are the ‘firstfruits’. In the ancient world, where there were neither grocery stores nor social safety nets, they represented the promise of food and, therefore, life. When St. Paul tells us that the resurrected Jesus is “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (died)”, he is telling us that we, too, will be resurrected as Jesus was. – Harry
Extravagance
Sunday, April 7, 2019
An important thing to note about God: He is super-extra-uber-extravagant. Everything he does is way over the top generous. For instance, He didn’t just make a few million stars – he made about a billion trillion of them, by recent estimates. Jesus commends Mary (sister of Lazarus and Martha) for pouring very expensive perfume on his feet – an act of extraordinary extravagance. We too are called to live life extravagantly. – Harry
NEW CREATURE
Sunday, March 31, 2019
It could be said that butterflies are ‘born again’, could it not? They start out as caterpillars but become something quite different. The same is true for those who put their trust in Jesus. “If anyone is in Christ” declares St. Paul, “they are a new creature.” He goes on to say that “the old has passed away; all things have become new.” The challenge is realizing this and holding fast to the truth of it. – Harry
INSTRUCTIONS
Sunday, March 17, 2019
This is about the significance and importance of the Bible for Christian life. – Harry
SHORTCUTS
Sunday, March 10, 2019
When we hear about Jesus being tempted by the devil, we’re inclined to think he was tempted to do something horrible. Well, he was, but it actually doesn’t look like that at first. He was tempted to: 1. Feed himself; 2. Demonstrate his ‘Messiah-ness’; 3. Become the king of kings. All of these were things he would do. It’s how he would do them that matters. Satan was trying to get him to take ‘evil shortcuts’. – Harry
BEHIND THE CURTAIN
Sunday, March 3, 2019
We may well wonder why people don’t believe in, love and follow Jesus. Paul partly explains it by telling us that a veil or a curtain is over their hearts. A few verses later he writes that “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the good news of the glory of Christ.” (2 Cor. 4:4) But whenever someone turns to Christ the veil is removed, inner eyes are opened and there is genuine freedom. – Harry
KINGDOM COMING
Sunday, February 24, 2019
Jesus taught us to pray “Thy kingdom come”, and he meant it. It’s been coming since that day. Some of the values of his kingdom: equality, reconciliation, generosity. These were not highly regarded before Jesus came along. – Harry
SEEDS OF CHANGE
Sunday, February 17, 2019
Jesus told a parable about a farmer who sows seeds. When asked, he explained that he’s the farmer and the seed is the Word of God. His word has been sown into hearts and, on a larger scale, into society, where it has gradually brought about immense change. The scripture here is from the ‘Sermon on the Plain’ in the gospel of Luke. It has changed the world – and many hearts. – Harry
EYES, EARS, MOUTH AND NOSE
Sunday, January 27, 2019
Everyone who believes in Jesus Christ is part of the ‘body of Christ’ on earth. As our body has a lot of different parts and they all need each other, so Christ’s body needs all its parts – namely, each one of us. – Harry
ACTIVATION
Sunday, January 20, 2019
Just as we activate computers and credit cards, God ‘activates’ spiritual gifts in Christ’s followers. They are given to enable us to serve one another. Some of these gifts are listed in I Corinthians 12, where Paul emphasizes that they are distributed and inspired by the Holy Spirit. They are essential for healthy communities of faith. – Harry
BAPTISMS
Sunday, January 13, 2019
Jesus was baptized. We get baptized. Jesus himself baptizes with fire and the Holy Spirit. Here’s some thinking about what these baptisms are all about.. – Harry
GENTILE APPROACH
Sunday, January 6, 2019
There are some pretty amazing stories about how God is breaking into the non-Christian world with the good news of Jesus. Here are some of them. Light shining in the darkness is what ‘Epiphany’ is all about. – Harry
Haliburton United Church 