Sermons

25 Jul

Posted at 16:33h in Blog

Romans 8:28:  “And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” This week’s reading from Paul’s letter to the Romans is one of my favourite passages of scripture.  I quote it often.  God works for good in “all” things.  Not just in some things;  but in “all” things! It is the phrase “in all things” that sometimes gives me pause and wonder.  Really God, in all things?  Maybe that is where our faith is suppose to kick into action.  However, sometimes it is hard to see how...

19 Jul

Posted at 14:43h in Blog

Matthew 13:  24-30 & 36-43 This week’s Gospel reading from Matthew is the familiar passage about the wheat and the tares or as the newer Bible versions translate it:  the parable of the wheat and the weeds. Sue is the gardener in our family.  She tells me what to pull, what to leave;  especially in the early spring.  I am just as likely to pull the good stuff out.  In fact I did that this spring thinking I was pulling up weeds where in reality I was pulling out the new growth that was coming up.  I can identify with the first...

10 Jul

Posted at 17:45h in Blog

Romans 8:1-11      10 years ago I had heart surgery and leading up to the surgery I wore a Nitro Patch each day.  Well, I heard a story of a heart patient who had visited his cardiologist for his two-week follow-up appointment.  He informed the doctor that he was having trouble with one of his medications.  "Which one?" asked the doctor?  "The patch," the man replied, "the nurse told me to put on a new one every six hours and I’ve run out of places to put it”. The doctor was flabbergasted.  He had the patient quickly undress.  The man had...

10 Jul

Posted at 17:45h in Blog

Romans 8:1-11      10 years ago I had heart surgery and leading up to the surgery I wore a Nitro Patch each day.  Well, I heard a story of a heart patient who had visited his cardiologist for his two-week follow-up appointment.  He informed the doctor that he was having trouble with one of his medications.  "Which one?" asked the doctor?  "The patch," the man replied, "the nurse told me to put on a new one every six hours and I’ve run out of places to put it”. The doctor was flabbergasted.  He had the patient quickly undress.  The man had...

04 Jul

Posted at 17:52h in Blog

Merv's Musings Matthew 11:25-30 Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  For My Yoke is easy and my burden is light. A yoke might be considered a strange illustration for us in our 21st century mind set.  Though some of us may remember using wooden yokes.  A few years ago, a friend who grew up in Northwestern Ontario, told me of her experience with yokes when she was a child.  She would go down to the lake to get drinking water and carry two pails up to their house using a...

27 Jun

Posted at 14:27h in Blog

Merv's Musings Romans 5: 12 - 19 Paul writes in his letter to the Roman Church:  How much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! God’s Grace!  A word we Christians often use. It can be seen as a theological buzz word. A word that we use without thinking extensively of its meaning. The Apostle Paul exalts and dwells upon the riches of Grace. He magnified it in his own experience. He speaks of Grace in the calling of the Gentiles to Christianity and closes most of his epistles or...

13 Jun

Posted at 17:24h in Blog

Trust and Obey! We continue to journey through this pandemic that has disrupted our lives these past number of months.  We are encouraged to listen to those in authority.  In Manitoba we have not been hit as hard as those in other parts of the country.  I think we did a great job listening, trusting and obeying the directives brought down by our health experts.  Cable news continues to report of countries throughout the world where leaders take it upon themselves to be the expert and open their communities too quickly.  They don’t seem to be listening to the health experts...

06 Jun

Posted at 15:04h in Blog, Uncategorized

It is 8 minutes 46 seconds that has been seen around the world.  The death of George Floyd has played over and over on TV.  The protests, the demonstrations both violent and peaceful playing out each night.  The placard that spoke to me was the one that said: We may not know how you feel but we stand with you! Romans 12:15.  (Be happy with those who are happy.  Weep with those that weep.)  These past few weeks we weep as we look systemic racism right in the face. I had a strange thought this week as I was eating supper.  We had these real nice white buns...

30 May

Posted at 15:52h in Blog

                                    Rev. Merv LanctotSt. Andrews on the Red              St. Matthewsemail: pastor.standrewsonthered.gmail.comcell:  204- 880-7727 Merv’s Musings Friday, May 29, 2020 I love the story that we read this Sunday on The Feast of Pentecost.  It is an amazing story of the beginning of the church. It had been 50 days since the Resurrection, 10 days since Jesus had ascended into heaven and the disciples were waiting together in prayer for the promise of the comforter, the promise of the Holy Spirit. They were in...

24 May

Posted at 10:44h in Blog, Uncategorized

Rev. Merv LanctotSt. Andrews on the Red   St. Matthewsemail: pastor.standrewsonthered@gmail.comcell:  204 880-7727   Merv’s Musings This week we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension.  As Jesus ascends to the right hand of the Father, He says to his followers:  “Wait, I will send you the Holy Spirit who will give you Power from on High!”  So the disciples went up into the upper room and waited.  They waited 10 days for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Before the Resurrection, the disciples looked only at the problems they were faced with:  the death of their leader!  However after Pentecost, the disciples’ lives were...