Church Practices – Rules of Dialogue
Other Practices The last week of every month at theStory we are discussing the practices we do together as a community. We are trying to give some substance to why we do the things we…
Can We Really Assume God’s Action Every Time Something Good Happens To Us? A Sermon on 1 Samuel 23-24
This morning we tackle chapter 23-24. David has been fleeing from Saul in every direction and Saul has been making quite a mess in his tracks. So Saul just finished having his right hand man…
Religion Bridges Science and Art
“If science is the commitment to know the world objectively and art the means of expressing oneself subjectively, religion was and is a bridge between subject and object, a way of making meaningful connection between…
Consumerism, Property, Ownership, Community and the Eucharist
The link between property and freedom is a crucial one. Free-market advocates tend to be agnostic on the question of ownership: barring external interference, an exchange is formally free even if the only thing a…
Prophecies Come True and The City Of Priests Are Dead: A Sermon on 1 Samuel 21-22
It was a long time ago, so let’s read this little bit of 1 Samuel 2. So this comes up and God speaks to Eli basically cursing him because of the evil of his sons….
The Moral Landscape Challenge – My Essay
This essay is in response to Sam Harris’ challenge to give reason for why I think his case for a scientific understanding of morality is mistaken. My response is broken into four arguments. Thanks to…
Are Our Loyalties Just Hidden Agendas? A Sermon on 1 Samuel 18-20
People that speak before me always tend to not take the full two chapters, so I end up having to do three chapters in one week. Good thing I’m an expert preacher and I can…
The Music That Inspired Me In 2013
Last year was an exciting year. We had a house show with Zackary Lucky and just finished having another house show this year with The Grey Kingdom. I posted last year about two musicians you…
The Strained Relationship Between Prophet and King A Sermon on 1 Samuel 9
But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king…
The Federal Government Is Awesome
“The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) of 1996 cost Canadian taxpayers, which of course include Aboriginal peoples as well, $63 million and produced four hundred recommendations. As far as has been reported in the…
Special International Support Is What Exactly?
I’m taking a free course called “The Age of Sustainable Development” with Jeffery Sachs. We are just starting. So I’ll probably post some thoughts, struggles and questions on here while I go to think out…
Violence In The Bible Forces Us To Ask Where Our Faith Lies
So we are spending a full year in 1 & 2 Samuel as a church. Very quickly the violent stories of the Hebrew Bible start coming into play. Stories like when God tells Saul to…
All The Books I Read in 2013
At the beginning of last year I set for myself the what at the time seemed like the impossible goal of reading a book every ten days. Considering the years before I really only made…
Lucky Charm: A Sermon on 1 Samuel 3-4
I’m bursting with God-news! I’m walking on air. I’m laughing at my rivals. I’m dancing my salvation. Nothing and no one is holy like God, no rock mountain like our God. Don’t dare talk pretentiously-…
Sacrifice Creates Entitlement
“Sacrifice” usually leads to a well-hidden sense of entitlement and perpetuates the vicious circle of merit, a mind-set that leads most of us to assume that we are more deserving than others because of what…
Abandoning Reason In Favour Of Our Own Opinions Of What The Bible Says
Oh it’s nice to see that this was still a problem 500 years ago. I thought it was just recent. If I didn’t tell you who said this you’d think it was written last week….
Churches Should Run Themselves
As theStory transitions away from having anyone at the reigns it allows us to practice and experiment with different ways of allowing the church to take on a life of its own. I’ve only ever…
Why I’ll Never Act Like A Man
A response from someone who actually attended the conference. All the talks from Act Like Men? The initial idea to start a counter-conference. A Prayer that we read together. As you may know we ran…
Guarding Against Change
Propaganda doesn’t succeed because it is manipulative, it works because people WANT it, NEED it, it gives their life a direction and meaning and guards against change. – The Last Psychiatrist (How Does The Shutdown…
Not Just Another Sunday School Lesson: A Sermon on 1 Samuel 1-2
We started the service by reading Hannah’s Prayer Then Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I…