Faith

Sunday Reflection – November 16, 2025

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Warnings and preparations

Luke 21 5 Some people were talking about the beautiful stones used to build the temple and about the gifts that had been placed in it. Jesus said, 6 “Do you see these stones? The time is coming when not one of them will be left in place. They will all be knocked down.”

7  Some people asked, “Teacher, when will all this happen? How can we know when these things are about to take place?”

8 Jesus replied:

Don’t be fooled by those who will come and claim to be me. They will say, “I am Christ!” and “Now is the time!” But don’t follow them. 9 When you hear about wars and riots, don’t be afraid. These things will have to happen first, but this isn’t the end.

10 Nations will go to war against one another, and kingdoms will attack each other. 11 There will be great earthquakes, and in many places people will starve to death and suffer terrible diseases. All sorts of frightening things will be seen in the sky.

12 Before all this happens, you will be arrested and punished. You will be tried in your synagogues and put in jail. Because of me you will be placed on trial before kings and governors. 13 But this will be your chance to tell about your faith.

14  Don’t worry about what you will say to defend yourselves. 15 I will give you the wisdom to know what to say. None of your enemies will be able to oppose you or to say that you are wrong. 16 You will be betrayed by your own parents, brothers, family, and friends. Some of you will even be killed. 17 Because of me, you will be hated by everyone. 18 But don’t worry! 19 You will be saved by being faithful to me.

Kids Korner: Preparation and faith (November 16th)

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Read Luke 21:5-19 with your family.

Sometimes it sounds like Jesus is predicting bad things, when in reality the writer of the story is remembering what already happened. When we hear the Gospel stories we have to remember three times in history, and think of what how the story would be heard in each time period.

  1. The time when Jesus was alive and was teaching everyone
  2. The time the writer was writing (in the case of Luke, that was around 80-90 CE, so after the Temple had been destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE)
  3. And our time so that the stories can make sense to us

This story was written after the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, and it is a memory of the time when Jesus had visited the Temple while it was still there.

We know because we live in the now times, that when Jesus talks about the Temple being rebuilt in three days, that he was really meaning he was the Temple, the place of worship, and he would be resurrected after three days.

But that isn’t the important part. The important part was Jesus telling his closest friends to prepare for God’s world, but don’t get distracted by the stories of disasters. Those are not signs of God doing anything, those are just things that happen in every place around the world.

What we have to prepare for is the new world, where people share what we have and take care of each other. That is what we have to be prepared for. Even if our families don’t agree with us, we have to have faith and remember Jesus’ promise of a different way of living.


Jesus makes a prediction word searchDownload

Watching the temple colouring pageDownload

Sunday Reflection – Thanksgiving Sunday, October 12, 2025

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Giving thanks

Luke 17 11 On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus went along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men with leprosy came toward him. They stood at a distance 13 and shouted, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

14  Jesus looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.”

On their way they were healed. 15 When one of them discovered that he was healed, he came back, shouting praises to God. 16 He bowed down at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. The man was from the country of Samaria.

17 Jesus asked, “Weren’t ten men healed? Where are the other nine? 18 Why was this foreigner the only one who came back to thank God?” 19 Then Jesus told the man, “You may get up and go. Your faith has made you well.”

Kids Korner: Saying ‘Thank you’ (October 12th)

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Read Luke 17:11-19 with your family.

This is the story of ten people being made healthy, but only one of the ten returning to tell Jesus “thank you”.

Are we supposed to believe only one of them was grateful to Jesus for making them well? I do not think so. But I do think only one of them stopped for a minute and realized he forgot to do the gracious thing of giving thanks.

Every child has been reminded to say “thank you”. But no one reminds adults. Adults have to remember on their own. This man did.

Just because people did not say thank you does not mean they did not feel it, but it was still something Jesus wanted to hear.

Jesus told the man his faith had made him well. The faith of the other nine made them well also, but they never got to have the experience of Jesus telling them that was what happened, because they were too focused on something else.

Healing Ten with Leprosy Word SearchDownload

Cured man thanking Jesus colouring pageDownload

Faith Coaching (New)

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Introducing My Faith Coaching Practice — Walking With You in Faith and Life

Over the years, I have had the privilege of walking with many people through seasons of doubt, transition, renewal, and spiritual growth. As a pastor, my deepest joy has always been that “A ha!” moment while helping others draw closer to God, find clarity in confusion, and cultivate a deeper, more resilient faith.

Now, I am stepping into a new chapter: offering Faith Coaching for individuals seeking guidance, spiritual encouragement, help for processing grief, and support in their faith journey.

What is Faith Coaching?

Faith coaching is not therapy. I want to be clear about that upfront.

I am not a licensed therapist, and coaching is not a substitute for mental health counseling. If you are navigating trauma, clinical depression, or mental illness, I encourage you to connect with a licensed mental health professional.

What I offer is something different — and deeply needed.

As a pastor with years of experience walking alongside people of faith (mostly Christian, though I welcome those from all backgrounds), I provide:

  • A safe and confidential space to explore your spiritual questions.
  • Practical guidance rooted in Scripture and wisdom.
  • Compassionate listening, prayer, and encouragement.
  • Help discerning next steps when life feels uncertain or overwhelming.
  • Hold you up while you process grief
  • Support in rebuilding or deepening your faith.

Whether you’re experiencing a shift in belief, going through a hard time, grieving loss, or just wanting to grow closer to God, I’m here to walk with you.

What It Costs

I aim to keep this service accessible while also honoring the time and preparation that goes into each session.

  • $40 (CAD) for a 30-minute session
  • $75 (CAD) for a 60-minute session
  • If your workplace offers EAP (Employee Assistance Program) benefits that cover coaching, I will bill at the market rate of $100–$150/hour (CAD), depending on the agreement with your provider.

Who This Is For

You don’t have to have everything figured out to begin. You may not even know exactly what you need — only that your soul is longing for something more.

This work is for anyone who:

  • Wants to grow in their faith (Christian or spiritual seekers)
  • Feels stuck, spiritually dry, or unsure how to pray
  • Needs a non-judgmental space to talk about God, life, death, and everything in between
  • Wants accountability in their spiritual walk
  • Has left church but not faith — and is wondering what’s next

Ready to Take the Next Step?

If this resonates with you, I invite you to reach out. Let’s schedule a time to talk and see if Faith Coaching might be the support you are looking for.

I am not here to fix you — but I am here to walk with you, listen deeply, and help you reconnect with the sacred in your life.

To contact me

Head over to the Contact page and send a message with a line or two about why you think you want to walk this path and what you hope you will find as you move forward.

Sunday Reflection – October 5, 2025

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Have pity on me

Luke 17 5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Make our faith stronger!”

6 Jesus replied:

If you had faith no bigger than a tiny mustard seed, you could tell this mulberry tree to pull itself up, roots and all, and to plant itself in the ocean. And it would!

7 If your servant comes in from plowing or from taking care of the sheep, would you say, “Welcome! Come on in and have something to eat”? 8 No, you wouldn’t say that. You would say, “Prepare me something to eat. Get ready to serve me, so I can have my meal. Then later on you can eat and drink.” 9 Servants don’t deserve special thanks for doing what they are supposed to do. 10 And that’s how it should be with you. When you’ve done all you should, then say, “We are merely servants, and we have simply done our duty.”

Kids Korner: Growing our faith (October 5th)

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Read Luke 17:5-10 with your family.

In today’s story those closest to Jesus asked him to grow their faith bigger. The thing is Jesus cannot grow our faith, only we can do that through our choice to believe.

Jesus closest followers did not understand that and thought Jesus could help them have bigger faith, more faith.

Like Jesus did so often, he did not answer the question or request directly, but instead he pointed them in a different direction. Jesus talked about the mustard seed – the smallest planting seed they knew about in Jesus’ time. Jesus told them if they had faith as big as something that small, they could do wonderful things.

Through the parable of the mustard seed Jesus told his followers that they have a job to do and they have already started doing it. However, they would not be rewarded for just starting the job, they had to finish it. And even when they finished it, why should they look for a reward, especially when they only did the simple part of the job and did not put effort into it.

Jesus knew that faith was something that would only come when his followers put effort into believing in God, more than they were already doing.

Faith and Mustard Seeds Word SearchDownload
Faith and Mustard Seeds Colouring PageDownload

Spreading our faith

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I’ve noticed a lot of talk lately about religion being the biggest problem in the world, and about faith routinely being spread through violence. There are ever present memes on social media talking about the brutality of Christianity and how it was spread through force (false, by the way, the only time force was used as a majority “evangelical” practice was during the Age of Exploration when early European and eventually North American missionaries used force and violence against indigenous populations. Not something to be proud of, but we need to put it in historic context).

The thing is faith cannot be spread through force. Fear and faith are not connected in that manner. We cannot threaten people to believe or else.

Several years ago I met a family from Syria, recent arrivals who had been Muslim in Syria for generations. However, as soon as they got to Canada, the girls took off their scarves and started reclaiming their ancient family tradition of being Christian. Several generations later, but the family still remembered who they were originally.

Faith is trust, even in the unknown. And when it comes to spreading our faith, we do it by how we live.

The reason there is such a strong backlash against Christianity in the western world is not that people have lost interest in Jesus, it is that those claiming to be Christian are not living according to Jesus’ teachings.

If we want to spread our faith, ‘make believers of all people’ as the Gospels ask, we cannot force anyone else to do it. We have to live it and give others the space to be curious. Then when they ask questions, that is the time to talk about what we believe and why.

Lent 2025

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I don’t know about you, but this year Lent came upon me before I was ready. The events of the world, and the political and social action in Canada, have been my focus of late. We are in a very different place as we approach this Lent than we have been in years past, and our Lenten study this year will reflect that.

How to Lent for Teens and How to Lent with Kids are now up on the website. These are journeys that can be shared by all ages, not just those who fall into the age categories of Teens or Kids.

On Ash Wednesday, March 5th, I will be posting an Ash Wednesday reflection.

The following five weeks beginning Wednesday, March 12th, will include a Lenten Study on how to be inspired by scripture as we deal with a new social order and face some of the fears that have arisen along with the rise in fascist governments. We will be turning to the shorter prophetic books along with other Biblical reflections and Jesus teachings on how to resist and challenge authority, how to be brave when we are full of fear, and how to stand on our principles in a world that seem to be sacrificing people to the highest bidder while forcing others into abject poverty, all so a small group of people can indulge their greed.

For Holy Week we will be walking through Jerusalem with Jesus and his followers, this year inspired by insights from John Legend’s version of Jesus Christ Superstar, which can be purchased on YouTube (I don’t get any financial benefit from that recommendation). Watching it recently, the staging helped me look at the story in a new light.

Our podcast The Preacher & The Pagan will return during Lent with a new tone and focus, influenced by the changing world around us. Rather than just looking at history and contemporary discussions, we will be discussing the Christian and Pagan traditions of social and political action and what we can learn from our past that will help us stand strong in our present, and hopefully change our future.

I welcome you to this season of reflection.

Kids Korner: Is Jesus a king? (November 24th)

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Read John 18:33-37 with your family.

In the days when Jesus was teaching, people tried hard to understand what he was trying to say, especially when the things Jesus said were so different from what they understood of the world around him.

We have the same problem today. We expect Jesus’ stories and teachings to fit into our 21st century world, and really struggle to force it to fit when it doesn’t easily.

But Jesus asked us to think outside the box, to not use our assumptions to understand what he was saying, but rather to use our heart and our ears to hear the message and vision of something new.

When Jesus was asked if he was king, he knew Pilate was only asking about political leadership the way Pilate understood it. But Jesus was never interested in leading a country or an empire, Jesus was trying to change all of it into a better world for everyone, not just the rich.

Jesus didn’t answer Pilate because Pilate could not understand. Now it’s our turn. Do we understand Jesus?