St. Andrew's Presbyterian in Tweed
55 Victoria St. K0K 1S0 Tweed, ON, Canada

Hi everyone. I’m coming back to the whole multimedia approach. I think my connection was struggling with the bigger file sizes. Anyway... As we start today I want you to think about that question: Could you be a pacifist? Remembrance Day is about the cost of war. In other words the men and women who have died fighting wars on our behalf. [ 165 more words ] https://thegoodrevsteve.wordpress.com//remembrance-sunday/

Hi Everyone, I’ve had a lot of trouble uploading the service this week for some reason. I’ve tried all week and it’s stalling out at 75% uploaded. Anyway, here is the transcript of the sermon instead. For those who have asked, here is a transcript of the sermon. The scripture is Matthew 5:17-20 which you can find here at Bible Gateway. [ 1,417 more word ] https://thegoodrevsteve.wordpress.com//how-would-you-star/

Hi Everyone. No blog post today. I’m experimenting with posting the whole service. Let me know what you think. Generally I’m thinking online and in-person have different requirements/expectations but I don’t think just posting the sermon really works either. Give me your feedback please! And I do know the sound isn’t great. We’ve got to invest in some equipment to upgrade that which requires some time to research what we need and life’s been pretty busy the last couple of months. https://thegoodrevsteve.wordpress.com//10/25/the-gospel-t/

I think stories are really important. Not just for entertainment but also for how we view the world around us. I don’t know about you but stories - whether they be books or movies or shows - are often how I process the world around me. Thinking about another story is a good way to think about your own. I also think it’s really interesting that the Bible is story based. [ 460 more words ] https://thegoodrevsteve.wordpress.com//the-stories-we-tel/

Hi Everyone, Lately I’ve been wondering about culture. Traditionally churches are part of what helps form the culture. But our roots are in being outside of the culture. The early church was full of marginalized people built on a foundation of Old Testament prophecy. How do we reconcile that? How do we move forward? [ 376 more words ] https://thegoodrevsteve.wordpress.com//what-is-canadian-c/

It’s Thanksgiving weekend and I’d imagine it’s a bit of a weird headspace. Especially out in the country. Toronto and Ottawa are locked down this morning. Out in the country there are very few cases...yet. Do we or don’t we get together with our family? I suspect you’ve already made your arrangements, or lack thereof. Also during these weird times I think we’ve got to respect the fact that we’re all making judgement calls based on varying needs, information, and timeframes. [ 353 more words ] https://thegoodrevsteve.wordpress.com//whats-a-rainy-day-/

Today we’re studying the book of Jonah. We’re looking specifically at verses 3:10-4:11 but since it’s short I’d recommend reading the whole the thing. You can find it here on Bible Gateway. Jonah is interesting in that he is an anti-hero but I suspect that is not how we typically see him. Our tendency is to see all the big figures in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament as heroes and the way we have taught Sunday School often emphasizes that. [ 553 more words ] https://thegoodrevsteve.wordpress.com//what-are-your-bias/

Hi Everyone! Today was our first day back in the sanctuary. I think it went really well and feedback has been good so far. As you know we’re going to try to straddle both the virtual and physical sides of things in an effort to be inclusive. So let me know what you think. [ 262 more words ] https://thegoodrevsteve.wordpress.com//13/grace-confidence/

Good morning, everyone. It’s the end of my first week back after holidays. I’m rested, refreshed, and more or less caught up from being gone. I think this fall is going to be very interesting and I’m looking forward to what God has in store for us. Before we begin I have a note. From next week onward it’s going to be important to have a worship journal. [ 607 more words ] https://thegoodrevsteve.wordpress.com//celebrating-when-w/

Hi there. I’ll be on vacation from July 27th to August 30th. So unfortunately no posts here. But through the beauty of pandemic online worship, I’m simply going to direct you to some online services that I like. St. Andrew’s in Kingston ( St. Andrew’s would be the cathedral of Kingston Presbytery if we did cathedrals. Andrew’s videos (Andrew is minister at [ 290 more words ] https://thegoodrevsteve.wordpress.com//vacation-arrangeme/

Good morning, everyone! This is the last Sunday before my holidays. I will be back on the 30th of August. In the mean time I want to give you something to think about while I am away. Today we’re talking about the wisdom of Solomon, King David’s son and the second king of the United Kingdom of Israel. So what is wisdom? [ 937 more words ] https://thegoodrevsteve.wordpress.com//the-wisdom-of-solo/

Good morning, everyone! I’m trying things a little different this week. A few of you have mentioned that you only see the blog or only see the video but not both so I’m trying to accommodate that. I also thought it was time to be a little more intentional about the videos. We’ll be back at church at some time but I’ll likely do the videos for a year so people have an option to stay home if they feel they need to do so. [ 1,169 more word ] https://thegoodrevsteve.wordpress.com//parable-of-the-wee/

We have another response to the Amos series. This week from Bert. Thanks, Bert! Bert and I have talked at length about Amos over the years. We’re also having an ongoing conversation about what the 21st century church should look like and particularly the post-pandemic church. It’s all wrapped up in this post. AMOS TODAY There is this peculiar text in John 16: 32, [ 1,209 more word ] https://thegoodrevsteve.wordpress.com//the-book-of-amos-a/

Hi Everyone, As the title suggests, I’m going to be running a book study on Douglas John Hall’s What Christianity is Not: An Exercise in Negative Theology. As we begin rebuilding this is a critical time to start a conversation about who we are as St. Andrew’s. Change was already afoot and we are fresh off of an amalgamation. [ 904 more words ] https://thegoodrevsteve.wordpress.com//book-study-what-ch/

Eschatology is the branch of theology concerned with the final days. Controversial stuff - especially among the centre and left sides of the theological spectrum. If we’re being honest - we’d prefer not to talk about eschatology. But ask yourself: what brings you here? What is the point of doing all this stuff we call church? I do what I do because I am interested in building a better world. [ 500 more words ] https://thegoodrevsteve.wordpress.com//a-reminder-about-s/

Hi Everyone. Apologies. I’ve got two responses to post for the Amos series but the last two weeks have gotten away from me and during the pandemic I’m being very strict about a 9-5 Monday to Friday work week. Ministers don’t usually get such a stable typical schedule and it’s been important to me a) to be rested for whenever we do open and b) take the opportunity to know what a healthy work/life balance feels like. [ 2,246 more words ] https://thegoodrevsteve.wordpress.com//the-book-of-amos-a/

Happy Canada Day Weekend! It’s a bit of an odd Canada Day. No Gatherings. No fireworks. We’re not supposed to really be moving about - though many of us are. Long weekends and holidays have kind of lost their meaning to many who are stuck at home without a lot of structure to their week. I think it’s safe to say we’ve not seen a Canada Day like this before - and probably won’t again. [ 685 more words ] https://thegoodrevsteve.wordpress.com//belonging-reflecti/

Good morning, everyone! Let’s jump right into the music this week. Today I want you to think about two things. The first is how you meet God. I’m going to talk about a book I’m reading in the video today where the author talks about a god that shows up. Where has God shown up for you? This is key to everything else we do as Christians - how do we meet God and how do we envision God? [ 451 more words ] https://thegoodrevsteve.wordpress.com/2020/06/28/june-28th/