What happens when we disagree about sin?

Sin 

noun

an offense against religious or moral law (Merriam-Webster)

transgression of divine law (Dictionary.com)

an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law (Google Search – Sin)

These quickly gathered definitions give us a good sense of what sin is – a transgression, immoral, contrary to divine or religious law. Sin is bad. Sin is contrary to what God wants us to do. Most (all?) Christians I think can agree on these definitions of sin. But what happens to the Church when we disagree about what counts as sin?

A call and an answer

Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.’” 1 Samuel 3:9 (NKJV)

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 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:

“Whom shall I send,
And who will go for Us?”

Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” Isaiah 6:8 (NKJV)

In November of 2013 we answered a call to the New Church Westville, in Durban, South Africa.

A covering Christian woman’s reaction to Québec’s proposed Charter of Values

Note: I wrote the first draft of this post more than four weeks ago, when reporting on the Charter was heavy and front page news. It’s mostly a rant – a random outpouring of my feelings and thoughts about the whole thing. I set it aside, meaning to come back, edit and post it within a couple of days, but life happened and I didn’t get back to it right away. Writing it was cathartic and let me work out my frustrations, so I didn’t have a pressing need to get back to it and post it. Since I’m a non-resident of Québec and as the majority of commentary coming out condemned the proposal I also didn’t feel a need to post it in order to defend someone/anyone else. I’ve decided to go ahead and post it now, because a) the Charter is still proposed and supported, b) the deeper issues behind the Charter and what’s wrong with it certainly haven’t gone away, and c) the post really is about me, and my reaction to the whole thing. I figured my blog is a way of letting people get to know me, and this post shares a few pieces of me and who I am and how I think and rant and write. So, please forgive the lack of polish, and if you’re curious to know what I think about the whole mess, read on.

My favourite verse in Scripture… and we were made to be butterflies

Coleman’s text for his sermon this past week was from John 11; the raising of Lazarus from the dead. You can find his sermon over on his blog. This passage contains my favourite verse in all of Scripture, and I had the pleasure of being able to read Coleman’s message as he wrote it, hear him preach in the morning service in Dawson Creek and then teach a Sunday School lesson on the text at the evening service in Grande Prairie. I woke up this morning still thinking about this story and the lessons, so I thought I’d type up some of my reflections and thoughts on my favourite verse and our Sunday School project and share them.

Pregnancy: it’s a Strange, Strange Miracle – Part One

Ashlee and I in our younger days

In our younger, unmarried days, Ashlee and I sat around musing about what kind of pregnant ladies we might be. I believe, if I remember correctly,that I decided she would keep right on going with life and just… be pregnant! Now a mother, during her pregnancy Ashlee fundraised for the mission she and her husband had joined, planned and executed a cross-continental move, established her household in a new country where she did not speak the language, and began teaching high school (something she’d never done before!). It certainly wasn’t easy, but she definitely ploughed on with life! As for me… Ashlee predicted that I’d be the sickest pregnant lady you’ve ever seen, but insist that I was fine, and that it’s all such a miracle! I have a bit of a confession – she was kind of right!

I’m not the sickest pregnant lady ever. I know sicker. But I was in denial a bit about how sick I’ve been and the toll this pregnancy has taken on me. And it is a miracle!