The first day of a new year brings so much to mind - the memories of last year, the hopes for the coming year and where we are right now.

“When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him."

The Christmas story is a clear example of how God chooses to use improbable, ordinary people to accomplish his plans. This has always been God’s way.

Change is difficult for most of us. We tend to like things predictable and without surprises so we get into a routine that’s familiar and comfortable.

When you think about Christmas, what comes to mind? If you’re like me, my first thoughts are often about all of the extra events that I will have to attend, the presents I need to buy for the people on my list,,,

How do you define humility? Perhaps it's "a modest view of one's own importance." Or, "not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less."

Surprising joy in the midst of suffering, eh? Surprise, indeed!

What does God think about…..? You can fill in the blanks with every possible issue of life. God does have an opinion on any subject and his is the one that matters above anyone else’s.

How long do you think that the world is going to last? Is that something you’ve ever wondered about?

It takes courage to be different when you know it’s the right thing to do. Most people don’t want to stick out from the crowd and be made fun of or even worse, ridiculed for what’s considered by others to be pretentious or self-righteous behaviour.

The scripture this week, 1 Peter 3:13-17, in the ‘Decidedly Different’ series makes me think of a survival or crisis preparedness kit.  

Every day we make choices that reveal our allegiance to Jesus and his ways. Often our decisions are not what we would have made before we cared about what God thought of our actions.

Did you remember that this weekend is Thanksgiving? How are you planning on spending it?

Don’t apologize for being different. Those are words that all of us as followers of Jesus need to hear. We are different because we are transformed by Christ and we have a whole new way of looking at life.

As followers of Christ we are called to make a difference in our everyday world. Most often that means right in our own community and then sometimes it means making a difference in other parts of the world.

‘Transformed – Decidedly Different’ - Last Sunday Pastor Tracy introduced this as our theme for the fall. As a follower of Jesus you have chosen to be different in a good way.

Romans 12:1 is such a familiar passage of scripture. The Message paraphrase takes the familiar words and reminds us again what the heart of the matter is.

I think the problem is that words today hold little value to people. We throw them out without thought;

One of the most common questions I’ve heard as a pastor – and just simply as a Christ-follower! – is, “What is God’s will for my life?”

Have you ever felt a little foolish for something that you did or said? Perhaps it was a simple matter of acting before thinking it through, or speaking before you had all the facts...