“Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So, she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb…

What is the most dangerous activity you have ever done? Ever been sky-diving? Bungee jumping? What about wing-suit flying?! That’s a sport where a human being tries to imitate a flying squirrel…after jumping off of a 6,000m cliff! Of course, all of the above are seriously frowned upon by life insurance companies but I haven’t yet named the most dangerous activity of…

When I was little, my two brothers and I came up with a game called Keep Up The Balloon. The basic idea was to keep an inflated balloon from hitting the playroom floor by tapping it up into the air. The rules were simple. No holding onto the balloon and no more than 2 taps in a row by 1 person. To…

Raise your hand if you like wind sprints. Raise your hand if you like military drills and marching in formation. Raise your hand if you enjoy being told you’re lost and confused. Anyone still raising their hand? If not, none of you are ready to read the book of Proverbs. The book of Proverbs teaches us how to live wisely in this…

Ornithorhynchus paradoxus. Let me say that again. Ornithorhynchus paradoxus. That’s the scientific name that Johann Blumenbach invented for the platypus when he saw a specimen in 1800. It literally means “bird-snout paradox”. We know what a bird-snout is but what’s a paradox? A paradox is a seemingly self-contradictory statement that upon further investigation proves true. You can see why an egg-laying creature with fur, webbed…

What is the most important thing you will do today? What was your biggest accomplishment this past week? Did you mow the lawn? Did you finally finish that house project? Maybe you began a new job or entered a new relationship. However, if you failed to keep what Jesus called the “great and first commandment” then your focus needs re-centred. Jesus says…

Public speakers are often at a loss in beginning a speech. Somehow, they‘ve got to get the attention of all those people! Many preachers use funny stories or bizarre statistics to make church folks sit up and notice. Probably, you know exactly what I mean. Strangely, the apostles began their sermons quite differently. In Acts chapter 3, after healing a lame man…

By Pastor Allen Beardmore All of us have occasionally told a lie but have you ever believed a lie? What happened when you found out? Maybe you enjoyed the lie and didn’t want to believe the truth. Maybe you did face the truth but still haven’t gotten over it. Right now, I’m going to unmask a big lie. You do not know what will…