During high school, Sunday nights were for Scrabble with the fam (what can I say, I had a wild adolescence). Dad always won (still does), but hey, I’m studying a major in English now, so maybe I’ll beat him someday. My siblings and I had a habit of looking for loopholes, sneaky ways to cheat…
If we’re speaking man to man about relationships, let’s skip the clichés. Loneliness is real, and we’re not great at dealing with it. We’re not as good at making friends as women, and we struggle to maintain friendships and keep in touch with mates. Only half of us feel like we have someone to talk…
After Jesus had risen, He appeared to the disciples several times before ascending to Heaven. One of these times, the disciples had been fishing during the night and upon nearing the shore they discovered Jesus waiting for them. Simon Peter was so excited that he jumped out of the boat and swam to shore to…
In the bible we see quite a few people renew their characters and become anew once they start putting God first in their lives. For some, not only do they gain a new character and heart they also receive a new name. Below is a list of biblical icons who received new names through their…
Our story always begins with Jesus. Before our first word, He is the Word: “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1*). Only in discovering Jesus do we truly discover the rest of the story—or the rest of our faith. Orthodox theologian David Bentley…
Getting baptised is a time of excitement and as many would say, a time of renewal. However, for some of us the renewal phase doesn’t go to smoothly. And we may wonder where we went wrong or if this journey is really for us. Many things may come at us after baptism that we are…
It’s remarkable how small things can make a big difference. One of the things I appreciate about working at Signs Publishing Company—the church’s publishing house—is driving past the building on Friday evening and seeing the gates locked. It might be only a small thing but it is a visible symbol that we live and work…
Over the past few years, as I have talked about and wrestled with our call to faithfully seek out and create beauty and goodness in our world, I have been frustrated by the seeming disparity between the imagery and language of our two realities. Too often, it seems we witness violence, tragedy, hunger and horror,…
It seems almost inevitable at this time of year that an earnest friend, family member or perhaps someone at your church will announce—with all the breathless enthusiasm and urgency of one who has just discovered a dark secret—the pagan origins of what we have come to know as Christmas. After some years of being only…
Everybody grinds to get their daily bread, whether it is for themselves or for someone else. Parents work overtime to be able to fulfil their role as providers. Teenagers accept unfair labour and low wages to afford their desire for sociability and self-determination. Workers pick up more shifts at work and cancel more plans with…