To watch Harry’s message, click on the title. You will be taken to our YouTube channel.
Good News of Great Joy
Sunday, December 24, 2017
The pursuit of happiness, even joy, is the ongoing pastime of all humans. The angel declared to the shepherds, “Behold, I give you good news of great joy for all humanity”. That good news is the message of Jesus and what he has done. – Harry
Anticipectation
Sunday, December 3, 2017
The theme of the first Sunday in Advent is Hope. You’ve got to have something to look forward to – anything from a cup of coffee to the birth of a child. This is hope, and it energizes us. The biggest ‘anticipectation’ for the Christian is the return of Jesus and the end of all evil. – Harry
The King’s Business
Sunday, November 26, 2017
Scripture names Jesus “King of kings and Lord of lords”. You can’t get more kingly than that. He’s a different sort of king though. He doesn’t pursue power and wealth but cares passionately for the hungry, the thirsty, the lonely, the sick and the prisoner and expects his followers to do likewise. – Harry
Job Description
Sunday, November 5, 2017
Jesus warns his followers about titles and prestige. None of us is better than another. If we think they are – or if we think we are – we are misrepresenting the gospel of grace. Our job is to serve. – Harry
The 2 Commandments
Sunday, October 29, 2017
Jesus sums up all the commandments with just 2: Love God and Love your neighbour (as yourself). This may seem daunting to some, but it actually sums up what we’re all about – what we were made for – what the purpose of our existence is. – Harry
Ownership
Sunday, October 22, 2017
When Jesus was challenged by his enemies about taxes he said, famously, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s”. What is Caesar’s – and what is God’s? – Harry
Excellence
Sunday, October 15, 2017
Scripture tells us “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” But where will we discover such things nowadays? Everywhere, it turns out. – Harry
Food for Thought
Sunday, October 8, 2017
Food is part of God’s good creation. The Bible is full of talk about food – growing it, eating it, sharing it and being thankful for it. The Promised Land is “a land flowing with milk and honey”. Jesus is “The Bread of Life”. Why would we ever think food is not spiritual? – Harry
It’s Not Fair!
Sunday, September 24, 2017
We all have a strong sense of what is and is not fair. God built this into us. However, as Jesus shows in his story of the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16), we often see fairness in terms of our own self-centred perspective. – Harry
Bound to Forgive
Sunday, September 17, 2017
Jesus’ parable (Matthew 18:21-35) throws a brilliant light on the subject of forgiveness, especially for those of us who consider our own sins forgiven through his sacrifice. Not to forgive another is like throwing someone in prison who owes you $100 when you’ve just been forgiven the national debt. – Harry
Bound Together
Sunday, September 10, 2017
Canadian statistics tell us that roughly two thirds of those who profess Christian faith do not often attend any church. There are many reasons for this, one of which is the thought that being a Christian is a private affair. Jesus, however, calls us into the ‘gathering’ (Greek: ekklesia) of his followers and sees us as a collective or community: “Where 2 or 3 gather in my name…” – Harry
Identity
Sunday, September 3, 2017
Many today are counselling us to ‘know yourself’ and be ‘self-aware’. Jesus, I think, would agree – and knew himself better than anyone. Funny thing is that he adds this: “Whoever loses their self for me will find it.” – Harry
Church Building
Sunday, August 27, 2017
People have been building churches for centuries. The real church is built only by Jesus and belongs only to Jesus – “I will build my church”. Also, he will continue to build it in the face of all opposition. Even ‘the gates of Hades’ will not prevail against it. – Harry
Our Redeemer
Sunday, August 20, 2017 – guest speaker Morgan Bell
Remember Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat? This is the story of that guy and how God used his terrible circumstances to redeem the terrible circumstances of his family – literally saving them from starvation. – Harry
Walking on Water
Sunday, August 13, 2017
Jesus wasn’t the only one to walk on the water. Peter did it too. He needed a little help. So do we. – Harry
Sunday, August 6, 2017 – Haliburton churches hosted the 10th annual Sizzlin’ Summer Service in the Park, a contemporary worship music event at Head Lake Park.
Hidden Kingdom
Sunday, July 30, 2017
Quite a few of the parables of Jesus have to do with what he calls ‘the kingdom of God’. This is the place where God reigns and his will is done. Since it is invisible at this time Jesus uses stories to help us understand what it’s like. Here is a look at 6 of those stories. – Harry
Jacob’s Ladder
Sunday, July 23, 2017
When Jacob had a dream in which he observed angels ascending and descending a ladder between heaven and earth he was tapped into what we might call the spiritual ‘dimension’. Here are some further thoughts about other such dimensions and the scientific evidence for them! (Maybe) – Harry
Father, Forgive
Sunday, July 16, 2017
Message by Gwen Atkinson
When we pray “Father, forgive” we may be praying for forgiveness for ourselves or for others. Usually both are needed. – Harry
Laying Down Burdens
Sunday, July 9, 2017
It may not be obvious, but we’ve all got burdens. Jesus invites everyone to come to him and find rest. He also invites us to ‘take his yoke’ upon our shoulders and learn from him. Here are some thoughts about both these invitations. – Harry
Under Orders
Sunday, July 2, 2017
After Abraham and Sarah finally have a son in their old age, namely Isaac, God tells Abraham to take his son and sacrifice him. That’s a head scratcher, but Abraham obediently undertakes the order. In the end God provides a substitute sheep, but in the meantime…? What can we make of this? – Harry
Freed Slaves
Sunday, June 25, 2017
Paul’s letter to the Romans is in many ways Christianity 101 – the basics. In chapter 6 he teaches us how we are to view ‘sin’ – as a slave master – and how we may find victory over it – through our having shared in the death of Jesus. – Harry
The Ungodly
Sunday, June 18, 2017
Morgan Bell preached at our 3 services June 18th and spoke on Romans 5:1-8. – Harry
Unfathomable
Sunday, June 11, 2017
How can God be three persons? I can’t explain it but I do believe it and will defend it. More important though – it does matter! – Harry
The Holy Spirit Experience
Sunday, June 4, 2017
Just to help us understand something of the person and work of the Holy Spirit I’ve worked up a comparison to electricity. Of course they are also quite different, as electricity is a force of nature, and the Holy Spirit is God who created nature. – Harry
Jesus’ Prayer
Sunday, May 7, 2017
The longest recorded prayer of Jesus is found in John 17. In that prayer his heart’s desire and request to the Father is “that they may be one”. He prays for the unity of all his followers. – Harry
Emmaus Road
Sunday, April 30, 2017
The story of Emmaus Road is from the day of the resurrection of Jesus. Two guys are walking along and Jesus shows up and walks with them. They don’t know it’s him until he breaks the bread. How often have we walked along and not recognized Jesus with us? – Harry
Appearances
Sunday, April 23, 2017
If you’re from Missouri you may need to be shown. Thomas, the disciple, wished to be shown that Jesus was alive again and he got his wish! This is what the many appearances of Jesus were all about. He showed himself to the disciples and ‘”gave many convincing proofs that he was alive.” (Acts 1:3) – Harry
Sorrows Ended
Sunday, April 16, 2017
Jesus entered into the sorrows of the human race to the fullest extent. He suffered betrayal, injustice, abandonment, pain and death. When he rose from the dead all those sorrows were ended. This event spells the beginning of the end of such things for us too. – Harry
Saviour Meek
Sunday, April 9, 2017
St. Vincent de Paul said: “Humility is nothing but truth, and pride is nothing but lying”. Makes sense. Jesus was and is pure truth and utterly humble. – Harry
Jesus Wept
Sunday, April 2, 2017
This title is actually the shortest verse in the English Bible. It’s from the story of the death and raising of Lazarus, Jesus’ friend, found in John 11:32-45. We get a pretty clear picture here of the compassionate heart of our God. – Harry
Jesus and the Institution
Sunday, March 26, 2017
In the gospel of John, chapter 9, we read about Jesus healing a man born blind from birth: This causes no end of alarm for the ‘institution’, that is, the Pharisees, and got me to thinking about Jesus’ relationship – and ours – to the institutions of our day. – Harry
New Born
Sunday, March 12, 2017
Jesus uses a lot of colourful language to explain the spiritual life. He tells us that everyone needs to be ‘born anew’ (hence: New Born), that is, “born of the Spirit with life from above, into God’s family divine.” – Harry
Manipulations
Sunday, March 5, 2017
When Jesus was tempted it was at the hand of the master manipulator, Satan. His temptations were extreme. Ours are less so but they are along the same line. – Harry
The Reveal
Sunday, February 26, 2017
This is about the day when Jesus took three disciples up a mountain and was altered in appearance so that he shone like a bright light. They call this the ‘transfiguration’. God was cluing in the disciples as to who this really was. Great clues were given to them, but what are our clues? – Harry
The Triune God
Sunday, February 19, 2017
Haliburton UC message by Gwen Atkinson
Christians believe in a God of three persons, namely, the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Yet there is still only one God. Yes, this is a mystery and one Gwen Atkinson takes a crack at explaining here. – Harry
Liability
Sunday, February 12, 2017
The sixth of the 10 Commandments is “You shall not kill”. Jesus teaches that God has something more in mind for us than simply not killing each other. The ‘fulfillment’ of this is not even being angry with each other. The goal is to live in love in community. – Harry
Jesus and the Institution
Sunday, January 29, 2017
In the gospel of John, chapter 9, we read about Jesus healing a man born blind from birth: This causes no end of alarm for the ‘institution’, that is, the Pharisees, and got me to thinking about Jesus’ relationship – and ours – to the institutions of our day. – Harry
The Handoff
Sunday, January 15, 2017
The law is built into the human psyche. Even if we don’t know the 10 commandments we strive to live up to impossible standards. The good news of Jesus (gospel) is a transfer (handoff) from the drudgery of standard keeping to the acceptance, joy, healing and presence of God. – Harry
Reset
Sunday, January 1, 2017
The wonder of life in Christ is that we are continually ‘resetting’ – casting off the old and putting on the new. In fact, we get to forget what lies behind and reach out to what lies ahead. (Philippians 3:13). – Harry
Haliburton Pastoral Charge 