Confession

Today Clau and I kissed. It just happened, while we're at my place, in the most unexpected of places too. We were standing in the hallway on our way out to Karla's for dinner.

Needless to say, we arrived at Karla's rather late.

Scarcely Saved

I preached today, on I Peter 4:12-19. My points were as follows:

God is in control, even if sometimes it doesn't seem like it, because of all the suffering and evil around us. The writers of the New Testament certainly expressed this truth, as did the martyrs of the early church. Suffering for our faith serves the following three purposes:

1- it tests our faith;
2- it tells the world of our allegiance to Jesus; and
3- it trains us for the final day.

Conclusion (v19): "Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will do right and entrust their souls to our faithful creator."

I'm thankful, because the preaching went well, and I had some close friends there to support me.

Here are some pics from this morning:
















Clau, Carla, Rachelle.
















Cub.
















Bryan, Carla, Cub, and Rachelle.
















Bryan, Rachelle, Cub, Carla, and Clau.

Clau Returned From Bolivia

I was so happy to see her today when I picked her up from the airport. I definitely have feelings for her, because I missed her like CRAZY while she was gone.

I even called her long distance to Bolivia while she was away, and talked to her for quite some time.

I'm glad she's back!

Rules Of Spiritual Discernment

It sounds strange to list "rules" for "discernment." Rules for games or driving yes, but discernment? Apparently...

Just over a week ago I was in a course on spiritual discernment, and I was amazed - pleasantly, I admit - that discernment is not just a "willy-nilly" free-for-all, based on warm and fuzzy subjective feelings. Ignatius of Loyola of the 16th century, in particular, put together the following helpful rules in spiritual discernment:

1- During times of decision making, we all experience periods of consolation and desolation. Consolation = a sense of wellness, peace, joy, shalom. Desolation = disturbance of the soul, such as anger, fear, or discouragement.

2- Never make a decision while in a place of desolation, because in those times our soul is turned away from God and towards the "fragmentation of the world." The Holy Spirit is not the spirit of fear and despair, but rather, of love and power (I. Tim 1:7). Therefore, we wait until we're in a place of consolation or return to the last place of consolation, before making a decision. Only then are our hearts aligned with God.

3- Test all consolation, because not all consolation is of God. The devil is, after all, a wolf in sheep's clothing, and likes to trick us into making bad decisions (I. Peter 5:8). The devil is the source of all false consolation.

How do we test consolation? According to Saint Ignatius, we need to exercise the principle of "holy indifference": freedom from inordinate attachments, indifference to "anything other than the holiness and glory of God." In other words, we need to test the motives behind our consolation. The following "inordinate desires" may bring consolation, but not true consolation of God:

* wealth
* pleasure
* honour
* recognition
* and power

Whenever our motives are driven by these factors, there's a very good chance that we are driven not by a desire of the kingdom of God, but of the world.

In the coming months I'll be pondering these rules of discernment, especially as they relate to my vocational calling. I have a feeling there's something to be learned here.

Decision-Time

Three options I'm considering:

* Missionary work: in Asia
Benefits:
- away from North American life
- simplicity of life
- learning different language, culture
- possibility of teaching theology
Drawbacks:
- away from family

* Social Justice work: in East-Vancouver
Benefits:
- close to family
- long-term investment (personally, financially) in a specific community
Drawbacks:
- do I go back to get a regular job?
- will the church support me?

* Ordination: in the Anglican Church
Benefits:
- love of the church
- learn the art of preaching
- academics
Drawbacks:
- being a shepherd of a flock is hard work (ask the prophets, Jesus: sheep are quite dumb)
- away from family
- the Anglican Church of Canada is pretty much apostate => how to stay faithful within it?

Dark Times

Dark times loom ahead.

Well maybe I'm overstating it by saying "dark times", but definitely "difficult times." I'm confused and desperately lack direction.

Seminary was supposed to clear that up for me, but perhaps that was rather naive thinking on my part.

Spiritual Discernment Class

Today was the first day of class for the Spiritual Discernment course, an intensive course that will go on daily for the next two weeks. It's one of the last courses I'm scheduled to take at Regent, and as such, the timing is right. There is essentially one question that I hope to answer as a result of this course:

What is my vocational call?

In other words, after I graduate with a Master in Divinity, what next?

Lord have mercy on me as I discern which steps are next.

Bjork

Tonight Bjork (excuse the lack of umlauts on the 'o' .. I can't copy them from an open office doc to this Firefox webrowser) played at Deer Lake in Burnaby. It was an awesome concert. I think she's the greatest.

But she didn't play her best song: Human Behaviour. :(

She did play some other kick-a$$ songs though, including Army of Me, Pagan Poetry, Unison, All is full of Love, and Bachlorette.

She also played Pluto which I hate on the cd, but was quite good live.

I was also struck by the humanist message she preaches in her songs. My friend Rob thinks she sees herself as the philosophical uebermensch (again, excuse the lack of umlauts) that Hegel spoke of a couple centuries ago, the idea that humanity is working itself towards some kind of utopia. Hmmmmm .. I think he's onto something.

Too bad she's not.

But, I still love her music.

Systematic B Final Exam

Today was my final exam for Systematic B Theology: "Christology, Soteriology, and Anthropology". I wrote the final exam at Regent mid-afternoon. I had 2 hours to write 4 essays: essentially, 30 minutes per essay.

I chose to write on the following questions:
1- What does it mean to be made in God's image?
2- Are human being free agents or slaves to sin?
3- Discuss the nature of Jesus Christ.
4- What are the ways Jesus' work on the cross have been described?

I think I did ok on the exam.

Incidentally, Connie, a good friend of mine, accepted my exam once I was finished. I handed it in 7 minutes late, and she marked it (down) on the exam. If I get any marks deducted because of going 7 minutes over the time-limit, I'm gonna have to have a word with her. It seems that my method of selecting friends is not very good and may need some revamping.....

Advising Committee

Today was the first time I participated in the advisory committee meeting for "Out of the Cold" (OOC), an initiative by GCBC. I think it's a great initiative (that's been running for 10+ years!) that brings Christians from throughout the city together every Thursday night in order to cook and serve a meal to the homeless of Vancouver. I've volunteered for OOC for over a year now, and have been repeatedly blessed and challenged by my experiences there.

I'm blessed by the resilience and strength of the poor, and challenged to see Jesus in their faces.

I look forward to learn from some of the leaders there. Furthermore, I'd like to take what I learn there and implement some of their ideals in our church. Our church needs to have a higher social conscience, and so I think we have lots to learn from OOC and GCBC.

Clau To Bolivia

This morning I got up early, 5am, to drive Clau to Seattle. She's travelling to Bolivia for a month, to visit her home, her family and friends. We left around 6am, and arrived there around 9:30. Her flight didn't leave until noon, so we had a good 1.5 hours to hang out together. We went to a coffee shop at the airport and had a coffee and muffin there.

I really enjoyed my time with her.

My drive home alone was actually kinda sad. I know I'll miss her over the next 5 weeks.

Fear Not: A Prayer

"Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades" (Revelation 1:17b-18).

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God,
You are the first, and the last, and the living one.
You died, and behold, you are alive forevermore.
You have the keys to Death and Hades.

Thank you for the vision of grandeur and majesty that we received this evening;
thank you for your surpassing glory, Lord Jesus;
we give you thanks,
we give you praise,
for you are the Alpha,
you are the Omega,
you are the Almighty.

We confess that we do not always live according to this great and wonderful truth.
We are selfish and seek our own glory.
Forgive us, Father, for the sake of your Son Jesus,
who lived, and died, and rose,
and who sits beside you
on your right hand.

Restore us, Father,
and grant that out of this vision of your Son Jesus,
his power and authority would grow in our hearts and minds,
and that our commitment to being His disciples would strengthen.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer!

We pray that Christ would be celebrated all over the world.
We pray especially for our dear brothers and sisters in the Upper Shire, Malawi,
that they would celebrate the glory and majesty of your Son Jesus.
We are grateful for the mighty works you have done among the Malawi people,
and we pray that you would continue strengthening these our brothers and sisters.

May your church there grow in faith and in number,
and may your church continue the good works that you have prepared for them.
We pray for more godly leaders,
who are willing to preach the good news in difficult circumstances.
Give wisdom and insight,
as your people seek to alleviate the effects of poverty and the HIV crisis.

Grant our church here in Vancouver a soft heart,
to serve, edify, and encourage our brothers and sisters there.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer!

Heavenly Father, we pray for our church here in Vancouver.
Thank you for David, Dan, Neil, and Jim,
and for the many others who serve you here at St. John's.
Bless each one according to your goodness!

We pray for our bishop here in New Westminster,
that you would embrace him with the love of your Son Jesus.

We pray for the unity of your church,
especially the Anglican Communion worldwide,
teach us to love,
teach us to love the truth.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer!

Finally, we lift up the following in the quietness of our hearts:
coworkers or school colleagues;
friends and family members;
we lift up those in our lives who do not know the name of Jesus;
and we pray for the poor, the hungry, the homeless, and the jobless in Vancouver.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer!

And now, as our Saviour Christ has taught us, let us pray together:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever, Amen.
_____

Evening Service Prayer at St. John's Shaughnessy Anglican Church. Prayer is based on Revelation 1:9-20.

Resurrection of the Body

Now that the sermon's done, I can focus on doing research for my next paper on the bodily resurrection. I have 2 weeks do research and write my paper. Then I have a week to study for my final exam for Systematic B.

The purpose of writing this paper is to lay out the theology of the physical resurrection, but in particular, to indicate that the physical resurrection points to God's approval of the material world, and in particular, the human body. I believe there will be continuity (as well as discontinuity) to both, the physical world and our physical resurrection bodies.

The new heavens and the new earth do not imply that the "old" earth will be obliterated. It will be made new, yes, but made new does not mean that the old will be "burnt". Transformed, refined, renewed, yes, but not destroyed. Heaven will be "otherworldly", to be sure, but it will still consist of materiality - perfected, imperishable - much like what we see and touch in our world today.

The resurrection of Jesus is the anchor of our hope in not only our own physical resurrection, but also in the perfected physicality of heaven.

I. Corinthians 15 will serve as a good foundation for the paper.

Question/Implication: if we will have a physical body in heaven, and if heaven will consist of matter, does that impact the way we treat our bodies here now? Does it impact the way we treat the earth now? I think there are some serious implications.....

The Hour Had Come

This morning I preached my second sermon at church. My first sermon was over four months ago, and was a rather painful experience. Today went much better.....

Today's text came from John 13:1-20, where Jesus washes the disciples' feet. In this text, Jesus turns his attention away from the busyness of the streets, and towards his most loyal followers, his disciples. These his followers, where now "his own", whom he loved (13:1).

My main two points were that when Jesus washed the disciples' feet, he displayed his sacrificial love, and his saving power. The act of footwashing is simultaneously a display of the deep self-giving love of Jesus, and a prophetic symbol of the cleansing power he possesses. Indeed, this act foreshadows the cross, where Jesus would give himself up for the sake of the world he created. There, on the cross, Jesus would wash the feet of the world with his own blood.

The sermon went much better than the last one, thanks be to God! A few of my friends came to hear me which I'm very grateful for. Thank you Clau, Carla, Paul, Eric, Karla, and Rachelle. Unfortunately, I didn't bring a camera so I couldn't take a picture of the group.

Importantly, my parents also came to hear me. Thank you both for your loving support.

I'm also grateful because thanks to my preaching class last semester and my internship at church, preaching is becoming less intimating and more enjoyable. Thanks and praise be to God.

After the service my friends and I went to Paul's Place on Granville and 4th, for breakfast.

Wilfrid's Visit

Karin's brother Wilfrid's here for a few days. He was travelling in China on business, and dropped by on the way back to Paraguay. We met up with him and Ted, Karin & family in the afternoon at my place, and then headed over to Stanley Park for a drive. We parked the van and went for a quick walk in the park, but it was damp and rainy outside so we didn't stay too long.

For dinner we bought the kids a pizza and rented a few videos, while Ted, Karin, Wilfred and I went out to the Yaletown Brewery Pub for dinner. Here's a pic we took at Stanley Park:

Clau's Grad Day

Today was Clau's graduation day. The ceremony was quite nice, surprisingly. The address by B. Hindmarsh was especially noteworthy: Christians are like trees: firmly rooted in the ground, but with branches stretching into the sky.

Here are some pics from graduation day.

Regent Faculty:
















Up next: Clau!
















Wuhoooooooooooooo! Congrats Clau!
















Carla, Clau, & Cub:
















Allison, Karla, Maria, Clau, & Carla:
















Clau & Ross (Professor of Missions):
















Clau:
















May God bless you, Clau, as you finish your studies and discern what's next!

Soccer! Yay!

Today was suuuuuuuuuch a great day. I played soccer for the first time in, uhm, 2.5 years? It was sooooooo much fun!

I began the day by having Claudia and Karla over for breakfast. I made pancakes.

Then, around noon, we went to a park near Chinatown, and met with others, mainly Latin Americans, and played soccer for a good 2 hours.

They play every saturday. It's co-ed. Casual. I think I'll go again next week. :D

Grad Party

Today we had a grad party at Spanish Banks, in honour of Clau, Maria, and Petro, who are graduating shortly. It was actually as much a good-bye party as a grad party, because Maria, and Petro are not only graduating they are returning to their home country, the US and Ukraine, respectively.

Clau & Maria:

But I admit, there was a selfish reason for me to organize this party, namely, that I'm graduating too, within the next couple of months. And my friend In Young, he's also graduating around the same time as I am.

Rob, In Young, & Sarah:
















Petro, Connie, Clau & Maria:

Anyways, we were hoping for a nice and sunny day, and we got one, but as the pictures show, it was windy and chilly. We played some games (soccer, frisbee ultimate), ate bbq, and had a good time. Afterwards a few of us went to my place to warm up with a hot cup of cocoa.

Carla (aka KaKarla) preparing the bbq:
















Cub:
















Spanish Banks:
















Sundown:

Here We Go Again...

In less than two weeks-time (4.29) I preach again. Last time I preached was a rather painful experience, and I'm going to do everything I can to prevent that from happening again.

My passage this time is a good one: John 13:1-20, Jesus washing the disciples' feet. I'm going to "live" in that text for the next two weeks....

May God be glorified as I seek to communicate His word to His people.

Lunch with Joy

Today I went out for lunch with Joy, at the Samosa Garden on Kingsway. Yummy Kenyan-Indian food. Gotta go there more often...

Joy's living in Surrey for the next 6 months or so, raising funds for her return to the Philippines.

We talked about the possibility of me going back there also, on a 3-4 year term. More on that mid-summer....