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By Nick Kaschuk

“Among other things, you’ll find that you’re not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behaviour. You’re by no means alone on that score, you’ll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You’ll learn from them – if you want to. Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn from you.”

 Mr. Antolini – The Catcher in the Rye

Part I: The Problem

A man has his family, fortune and health taken from him. He is left alone to consider the cause. Is his suffering the result of his sin? Is his suffering the result of his faith? Has God abandoned him? Has God been responsible for what has occurred? Is God blind or indifferent to his suffering?

For those who express a belief in a God who is good, their belief can often be particularized by the passage “in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”[1]

While this passage particularizes the belief that God will ultimately be proved to be good, the evidence for the contrary can, at times, seem overwhelming. When questions arise as to God’s goodness (or His ability to be good within the temporal realm) the sufferer is not only made to suffer with their present sufferings, they are also made to suffer under the added weight that their faith may have been misplaced.

Life is full of suffering. Whether it is physical, economic, or existential, the frailty of life is tested at every turn. For those who have been “blessed” with eyes to see and ears to hear, the difference between what is, and what ought to be, can prove to be particularly painful. For those who have tasted of a paradise that is now just beyond their reach, their desire to taste it again, or to have others taste it with them, can be crushing to the soul. For those have dreamt of a world beyond that which they can see or for a reconciliation that is not forthcoming; for those who hope for a love that may seem impossible, their fragile and weary heart may feel as though it may not be able to bear one more beat.

Many theories deal with the problem of suffering. Each has its own internal logic and often will provide a cogent and rational explanation for the existence of suffering. Few, however, provide satisfactory solutions for those who find themselves in the midst of their suffering.

Part 1 of  5 

[1] Romans 8:28

By Matt Wills

I’m currently sitting on the porch of a cottage, enjoying beautiful weather and contemplating that I’m spending another weekend away from the city that I call home. Away from everything associated with the city – the beauty, the relationships, and the level of activity. A city that is beautiful, but one that we agree is as broken as any one of us.

With that brokenness, I’ve heard friends comment that summers are challenging because there is less formal accountability (in the form of Grace Gatherings and other peer groups), we are at church less often (cottages, weddings, vacation plans), and sometimes we just need to sleep in on Sunday morning (not that I’m encouraging it…).

One thing I’ve always wondered is, “how can we love God better in the summer?” After thinking of many different ways, trying harder, setting “smart” goals to spend more time with God, I realized that I had fallen into a trap that happens all too often. I was, once again, trying to earn my righteousness. Realizing that, it’s just a matter of reminding ourselves that our righteousness comes through Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross. When we look to the cross, we see a beautiful gift that we did not earn… a gift that we cannot earn. The beautiful news is that our standing before God does not depend on our efforts but on his grace; we love him in the summer because He first loves us.

All that being said, I think that the title of this post would be misleading if it didn’t at least cover a few ideas for those of us that are craving some increased level of Christian fellowship in the summer.

Here are a few simple ideas on how we could deepen our relationships in the summer. My challenge to you is to suggest some better ideas in the comments below – it won’t be hard to improve on these ideas!

1)      Create a small accountability group of friends that just meet and share what they’re learning together

2)      Read a book from a Christian author

3)      Read a few books from the old testament

4)      What do you suggest?

By Neil Peet

In the world of today, with the Internet, instant messaging, cell phones, skype, transcontinental flights, etc, we can truly say we are part of the global village. This puts the old saying in a whole new light:
~ African Proverb

I have been blessed to be part of a “city-positive” church during my time in Toronto. The concept is fairly simple, yet profound. You are a member of the city, live in it as a co-owner and community member, seeking its betterment and contributing to its success with your time, energy and resources. No isolationist, consumer, renting mentality allowed!

As I am preparing to leave for Africa for two months, I find myself challenged to take this concept overseas. I have been challenged to be generous, to get to know my neighbours – whomever they are, to open my house and life, even smiling at strangers on the walk to work (shocking I know!). No matter where I go, whether it be down the road to Cabbagetown, or around the world to Africa, I feel as if I am a part of the global village and should act accordingly. Everyone I meet can be seen as a “child” of God to be “raised up” each other, for good or for ill.

For those of you who don’t know, in 2000-2001 my mother and I lived for a year in the village of Dingaanstat, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. The are was a former homeland from when the country was under Apartheid and is struggling with lack of opportunities, poor farmland, rising crime and, at the time, was just feeling the beginning impacts of the AIDS pandemic. An HIV prevalence rate of close to 30% meant those impacts would be devastating and long lasting. We lived and worked with the surrounding community to establish a project called “Ithembelethu Home Based Care” (Seeds of Hope). The project had three main components: (1) Providing health care, antiretroviral treatment, and support to people with HIV-related illnesses; (2) Reducing the annual toll of new HIV infections by encouraging individuals to protect themselves and others; and (3) Coping with the impact of AIDS deaths on orphans and the broader communities.

Since then we have been back numerous times and try to remain connected with the people and community there. This August we will be returning for the 10th anniversary celebration. During these past 10 years, the project has spread to three communities, including over 50 volunteers (mainly women) who visit over 2,000 sick and dying members of their community each year! They also have risen to become leaders in their communities, helping to drive economic development projects, running their own businesses, supporting each other and generally doing all they can to raise up not only the children in their villages, but the villages themselves!

These women, and the communities in Africa have had a hand in “raising” me to be the person I am today. They even gave me a Zulu name, “Nkalakatha” (to excel, or break free of bonds) and I feel honoured and humbled to think that in today’s connected, global society, I can consider myself to be a part of the same ‘global village’ as them.

It doesn’t matter if you have been to Africa or not. We are all a part of this global village. Whether it is your openness to new things and new people, your prayers, your charitable giving, your stance on immigration and immigrants, we are all a part of this global village and have the ability to impact each other. Our challenge now is to live like the world is watching… because it is!

For more information on this trip and the Home Based Care projects, please visit http://africa2011.rpm-solutions.ca

You are invited to the 4th Annual Grace Golf Classic. The event will take place at 1:00pm on Friday September 16, 2011 at the Deer Creek Golf & Banquet Facility in Ajax.

The format of the event is Texas Scramble and is open to male and female golfers of all skill levels. Cost is approximately $70 (including green fee and golf cart).

BBQ to follow ($5 per person).

Registration and deposit ($50) needs to be in by August 28, 2011.

Contact David So for more information.

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Toronto is a busy city with a complex economy. Many of us came to Toronto to work, and for most of us, our work demands a lot of our time and energy. How does God view our work? This 4-week introductory study will explore the tension between the beauty and brokenness of work, and will begin to challenge and equip us to see our work as people changed by the Gospel.

The course will be held on Thursdays beginning Sept 1st, 2011 @ 7pm at 41 Britain St.

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Kim’s Convenience, winner of the Toronto Fringe Festival’s best new play contest in 2010 will enjoy its first production at the 2011 Toronto Fringe Festival.

The Grace Centre for the Arts is hosting a reception with the cast and playwright following the performance on Monday, July 11th at Pauper’s Pub.

A limited number of tickets for the July 11th performance will go on sale at Grace Toronto Church following the Sunday services on July 3rd and 10th for $11 (cash only.)

Additional tickets are available at the Fringe Festival site, or at the door 1 hour before the performance.

Performance:

Warning – Mature Language
Monday, July 11th, 8:15pm
Bathurst St. Theatre
736 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON

Reception:

10:00pm (following the performance)
Pauper’s Pub (2nd floor)
539 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON

Tickets: $11

For more details about the show, visit the Kim’s Convenience website.

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Part 1 | Part 2

Easter Sunday has immense world-shattering implications.  The resurrection is the ultimate answer to questions about the Christian faith – they prove the words and deeds of Jesus Christ during his years of public ministry and Jesus had spoken and done things that point us to a new hope and a future hope.  Among them are some of the following that is yet to come:

The Resurrection Body

Dan’s sermon today took us through 1 Cor. 15:20-23 and 1 Cor. 15:35-37.  As he said, our earthly bodies are right now still subject to decay, but Christ is the firstfruit, the forerunner of all who will follow him in his resurrection.  As Christ is risen so we all shall rise again.  1 Cor. 15:35-37 indicates that our bodies today are but a seed, a kernel, or grain.  Tim Keller put it this way:  Psalm 96:11-13 and Isaiah 55:12 indicates that the trees, the mountains, and the hills will be singing and clapping for joy.  If in the kingdom of heaven, those that were formerly unable to speak will speak and praise God, how much more glorious will our resurrection bodies be?  A seed continues to be a seed while a shadow yet blots out the sun, but when the sun rises, the seed blossoms to become what it was meant to be.

Master of the Banquet

Jesus’ first miracle in John 2:1-11 shows God to be the Lord of the Feast.  He probably pours a deep dark black with a moderate white head with a faint smell of roasted barley and a touch of malt sweetness.  Creamy, smooth, and simple, with a semi-sweet finish.  Ok, so I ripped off the beer description from Draught Guinness, but that is probably how heavenly beer tastes like anyway.  In turning water into wine, Jesus demonstrated that God is not some cosmic party-pooper, but the true Master of the Banquet.  One day we will all experience this truth in all its fullness.

Intimacy Unbound

We are subject to all sorts of intimacy problems when it comes to relationships with others – friction, confrontation, social awkwardness, misunderstandings, and isolation.  We face many barriers to being “real”.

In Mark 12:18-26, the Sadducees tried to trap Jesus with a story about a woman who got married seven times to seven husbands who died one after the other (you have to wonder what she was giving them – “Have some more Kool-Aid, honey…”).  The Sadducees asked Jesus whose wife she will be in the resurrection of the dead.  Jesus answered that in the resurrection of the dead, people will neither marry nor be given in marriage, but be like the angels in heaven.  That’s not to say that there will be no marriage in heaven – examples like Ephesians 5:22-24 and Revelation 19:6-9 indicate that earthly marriage is a pointer to the true marriage between Christ and the church in the end of days.

What Jesus may be alluding to in Mark 12:18-26 is how in Christ everybody is family in heaven (also see Mark 3:31-35).  It shows us that heaven will be a place free where we can just be “real” with our brothers and sisters in Christ, a place devoid of the selfishness and pettiness that mars our earthly relationships.  Heaven is a future hope of true intimacy with God and fellow men.  It will be a redemption of the time wasted in our social war with others and ourselves while we lived in the flesh.

New Heavens and a New Earth

The Old Testament prophets had spoken of a future time when creation is renewed, when paradise lost becomes paradise regained.  Isaiah chapters 60, 65, and 66 point to a future time when all the nations of the earth (read: “all ethnicities and peoples”, not just socio-political nations) will worship the Lord just as Israel does.  It seems to indicate bustling trade and commerce streaming into the city of Jerusalem.

Jesus came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17), including the prophecy of the new heavens and new earth.  Both the prophets and  Revelations 21 looks to a future time when God will dwell with man in all his fullness in New Jerusalem.

New Jerusalem is mentioned to be 12,000 stadia in measurement which makes it equivalent to a massive metropolis extending from the Canadian border to the Mexican border.  We need a new earth to go along with New Jerusalem because its measurements are simply astronomical.  The kings of the earth are said to bring their glory into it and nothing unclean or detestable will ever enter this new city.  I imagine this to be a city of furious opposites – the old world splendor of St. Petersburg or Rome and the avant-garde architecture of Denmark or Stockholm, the laidback attitude of Vancouver and the vitality of Toronto or New York City or Shanghai.  It is all at once exciting and relaxing, picturesque and urban, natural and sculpted, restful and untamed.  It will be the city of God in the kingdom of heaven, a place where everything is good, perfect, and imperishable, a divine expression of the redemption of creation.

Sub Specie Aeternitatis

The Apostle Paul tells us in Colossians 3:1-4 that in light of the resurrection of Christ, we should seek and set our minds on things above.  Paul is telling us to live sub specie aeternitatis, that is, to live under the shadow of eternity.  We can live our lives viewing it from an eternal perspective, that this life is a speck relative to the life that is yet to come.

We do not serve a silent and uncaring God, but a God who demonstrated his love for us in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us and rose up to claim victory over the power of sin and death and over the gods of this world.  Knowing that Christ is risen indeed should give us the perseverance to endure, to carry our cross and trust by faith that God will complete the work that he began in us (Phil. 1:6).  This should have repercussions as to how we spend our time, our financial resources, our emotional reserves, our physical vitality, and our mental acumen.  If we believe the resurrection of Christ, will we live for what is fading away or for the future hope that grows nearer day by day?

Christ is risen.  Christ is risen indeed.  Let us wait patiently for the salvation of the Lord.

Reflection in Song
- See What A Morning (Resurrection Hymn).  Keith Getty & Stuart Townend.  Performed by Stuart Townend.  Youtube.
- Over Death.  Sojourn Music.  Bandcamp Streaming Audio.

Resources
- Easter 2011:  Hope and Glory.  Dan MacDonald.  (Streaming Audio)
- Lord of the Wine.  Tim Keller.

Part 1 | Part 2

Χριστός ἀνέστη! Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη! (Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed!)

It has been said many times in history and it shall be said again:  Easter is the most significant event, not only in the Christian faith, but in the history of the entire world.  This momentous event delineates our calendars to this day whether you call it B.C. (Before Christ) and A.D. (Anno Domini – “The Year of our Lord”) or by the more prosaic “Common Era”.

The Lynchpin of the Christian Faith

Easter Sunday is the outrageous notion that after centuries of the dead staying dead, one man, Jesus the Christ, had returned to life bodily from the gates of Hades.  And he did not return in just any sort of feeble bodily resurrection, but a resurrection in a different sort of physical body – an imperishable, perfect body no longer subject to the decay and corruption endemic in our world of death.  Easter Sunday is the shocking news that what had happened to Jesus the Christ will also happen to those who call him Lord and Savior in heart, mind, and soul.

The implications of the resurrection of Christ are immense.  It gives us a new hope and a future hope.  These hopes are hinged on the truth of the resurrection.  If not, the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:14, then the Christian faith and everything Christians have done to preach it, spread it, and live their lives according to its precepts are in vain.  The resurrection is the defining moment in Christianity.  It is the smoking gun, the ultimate event that legitimizes the claims of its founder, Jesus Christ.  It is the lynchpin of the faith.

According to 1 Corinthians 15:17, without Easter Sunday, Good Friday will not be good.  It will just be Friday.  Then tomorrow is Saturday and Sunday comes afterwards.  Fortunately for us, the resurrection demonstrates the power and approval of God in Christ Jesus.  It shows the power of God over death in raising Jesus bodily from death.  It shows the approval of God in Jesus and puts the seal of legitimacy in his message of grace and mercy to the world.  After all, if God did not approve of Jesus and his message, he would not have been raised.  But as it is, God has glorified Christ and Himself by raising Jesus from the dead.

A New Hope

Christ-followers are so strongly identified with Christ that Romans 6:4-5 proclaims that we had died and were buried with Christ.  Likewise, we were resurrected with Christ to walk in the newness of life.  This newness of life is a new hope, but not strictly a future hope.  It also says that just as we were united with him in a death like his, so also we were united with him in a resurrection like his.

Man has always sought after something greater than ourselves.  We seek after what is good and elevate that thing to the level of a deity in our lives and spend our lives in pursuit of this thing, whatever it may be.  Despite the naive proclamation that idol worship is dead in our postmodern world, nothing could be further from the truth.

Dr. Tim Keller referenced David Clarkson who said that there are two forms of idolatry: (1) Open, outward idolatry, when men physically bow to anything besides the true God. (2) Soul idolatry, “when the mind is set on anything more than God; when anything is more valued than God, more desired than God, more sought than God, more loved than God. Then is that soul worship, which is due only to God.”  Soul idolatry is essentially treasuring or worshiping something that does not necessarily have a physical form.  It can be beauty, financial security, fame, respect, or something vague.  And the thing about idols is that they enslave all those who worship them.  You will work hard to feed that idol until you come to the end of yourself.

It began when Christ chose you to be bound to himself.  In the death of Christ, we were not only pardoned and exonerated from sin, but we also died to the gods we served.  In the resurrection of Christ, we are raised to newness of life no longer subject to the gods of old.

Are you sick of your life?  Have you tried to change but nothing ever seems to last?  Examine yourself and see if you are in soul idolatry.  Every single human being worships something (a particularly big one is worshiping one’s own self).  If you do not worship and enjoy God, you will worship something else and that something will let you down.

The solution, however, is not to destroy the gods in your life, nor the desire to serve a god.  The solution is to replace the old gods with something bigger, better, something more enjoyable and only God is big enough to drive out all the other false affections we put our hope into.

I invite you to come and be reminded that in the death and resurrection of Jesus, Christ has put to death the gods of this world and raised us to new life.  In his death, Jesus unshackled us from the spiritual masters that held us in slavery and secured the way back to God. His resurrection confirms the truth of His words, gives us a new hope, and guarantees a future hope.

If you have not yet done so, put your hope and your affections in Jesus and experience the power of his resurrection.

Reflection in Song

- Christ is Risen.  Matt Maher.  Youtube.
– In Christ Alone.  Keith & Kristyn Getty.  Performed by Kristyn Getty.  Youtube.

Resources

- “The Grand Demythologizer: The Gospel and Idolatry“.  Tim Keller – The Gospel Coalition National Conference 2009.  (Streaming Video)