Tag: Hope

Podcast

Hope When God’s Way Leads to Trouble (Podcast)

Chris

It’s Thanksgiving weekend in Canada, but without hope our season of thanks will be short-lived. We face the real world when the turkey and pies are gone. To believe in Jesus means we step into that world living Jesus’ way.

Some of us have tried to walk that road and been hurt. God clearly led the way but trouble or pain resulted. We’ve lost hope in God’s path. But God says it has to be this way. He doesn’t make mistakes. We have to look for hope when God’s way leads to trouble.

http://www.audiomack.com/embed4/chrismackinnon/hope-when-gods-way-leads-to-trouble

[If you can’t see the audio player, CLICK HERE to listen.]

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Podcast

Hope When It’s All Your Fault (Podcast)

Chris

It’s good to know we can have hope when the world’s mess surrounds us. But what about when the mess is our fault? We aren’t perfect. So sooner or later we are going to be the cause of the trouble and pain in our lives and even for those close to us.

The instant we recognize the mess is our fault, we face a moment of decision. There are two options. Will we surrender our hope, dooming ourselves to the darkness of despair? It’s a dark fate and it never ends well. Or will we hold on to the faintest glimmer of hope, believing good is still possible?

http://www.audiomack.com/embed4/chrismackinnon/when-its-all-our-fault

Podcast

Hope When the World is Falling Apart (Podcast)

Chris

When you woke this morning, was hope on your mind? Maybe your mental checklist of everything you expected was already written when you slid out of bed. But was it hopeful? We expect a bunch of predictable things for our day. Hope is believing in the possibility to actually receive something good.

We need hope. Without it, life is feels less worth living. There is power in hope, yet we have come to believe it is dangerous to hope. Our lives are under attack, and if our hope is short-circuited we will stop dreaming.

Continue reading “Hope When the World is Falling Apart (Podcast)” →

Christian Living

The Right to Die?: How to respond to the Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling

Chris

Late last week the Supreme Court of Canada made a monumental ruling. It will put Canada and its people under a microscope. Though it does not take effect for the next twelve months, those months will be filled with debate, concern, and the drafting of interpretations and regulations on national and provincial levels.

If you didn’t hear about it, the Court’s decision lifts the ban on doctor-assisted suicide. (CBC News article; CTV News article; Global News article). The ruling brought cheers and concerns. Though the ruling was very specific, it isn’t freely accepted and triumphed.

empty hospital bed

As Christians we can be loud when issues like this hit the spotlight. We consider ourselves champions of life. I found it interesting that the Court used the Charter of Canada to explain how their decision puts them on the same side, defending life. Before we start banging on doors and shouting through megaphones, we should stop and consider what drives a people to desire such a law. You might be surprised at how your response will change.

Continue reading “The Right to Die?: How to respond to the Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling” →

Christian Living

A Fresh Start

Chris

It is January 1st. Happy New Year! Whether you stayed up to watch a ball drop or two, or you went to bed early because you aren’t much of a night owl, you woke up to the first day of 2014.

january-calendar

Today isn’t too much different from yesterday, though. The sun still rose in the East and will set in the West. The bills you had to pay are still waiting for you. Your job still needs to be done, even if you get to enjoy a day off today.

When we get to New Year’s we talk a lot about starting over, starting fresh. We look forward to all of the good that is coming during the next twelve months while we try to forget all of the difficult trials of those past. But January 1st isn’t as magical as we would all like to be.

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Bible

Exploring Hope – 6

Chris

If you’ve been following through our Exploring Hope posts, you might be glad to hear that this will be our last one. Some might have felt like we were going through a course to learn Klingon (a comment I received when preaching this sermon a few weeks ago). But these are the words from the Hebrew that we translate to “hope” in the Old Testament. Here is one last word that delivers an intense picture of our hope.

Continue reading “Exploring Hope – 6” →