Kyle Simmers graduated from the Alberta University of the Arts with a Bachelor of Design in illustration, and has been building a colourful portfolio of mural art over the last several years with their brother Derek Simmers, including 4 new projects right here in their hometown of Bashaw, Alberta. These...
There’s a story in the Gospel of Mark in which Jesus is approached by a woman who asks him to heal her daughter who is possessed by an “unclean spirit” (Mark 7:24). There’s a brief, but probably a little heated, exchange of words and Jesus tells the woman to go home...
Carrie is one of those people in our community who make you realize that having “a church family” is about so much more than who you see sitting in the pews on a Sunday morning or who’s involved in the committees, meetings, fundraisers or lay leadership. She’s the perfect example...
The story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead is so often told as a miracle of Jesus power to give life, whether physical or spiritual. But what if there’s another lesson here, not for the dead, but the living? “Jesus,” the boy called, “Jesus, you must come now. Lazarus...
Many people didn’t care for Jesus’ message. His closest followers had questions… “It’s a dog’s life,” Jesus said, one day. Several of the disciples nodded, one or two smiled, Peter said “pfft.” They all looked at him. “What? Really? You think so?” he said. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed,...
You might have noticed that, for the last little while, most of my posts have been about story. Either the story-telling nature of the bible or re-telling bible stories or creating stories from the seed of a bible story. That’s because I’m on a sabbatical leave and stories are what...
Have you ever been invited into a miracle? It should be abundantly clear from anyone’s telling of the story that it wasn’t planned. It wasn’t a rally or a convention, not a jamboree or a festival. There was no reason to think about organization. People just showed up. They came...
I think the Bible is a living thing whose stories speak to us about what is true and right. It tells stories from which we learn how to live together and build positive relationships with God, the world and each other. Sure, there’s a lot of negativity, violence, death and...
Stories of Jesus aren’t just about believing in God. That’s not enough. There’s more to believe in. Here’s what I mean. It was a dark and stormy night … Jesus had seen the clouds moving in while they were having supper. It’d been a long day and the crowd that...
