Posts by Tim Stephens (Page 3)
Psalms for Singing
This week we are introducing a new songbook we’ve recently published as a supplement to our hymnal. It is called Psalms for Singing: A Selection of Psalms Ancient and Modern. This new songbook contains 38 psalms set to music designed for congregational singing. A few of the tunes will be familiar but most of the tunes are unique and composed exclusively for each psalm. While this means it will take a little more time to learn a new psalm, it…
Fellowship Meal Revisited
We are restarting our Fellowship Meal this Sunday after a renovation to paint the gym and refinish the floor. Whether or not you are new to our Fellowship Meal, I want you to scan this webpage (https://www.fairviewbaptistchurch.ca/fellowship-meal/) to acquaint yourself with our shared meal on Sundays so that you are prepared with what you need to bring. Beyond the reminders already listed on that page, I want to remind you of a few things. First, the purpose of the meal…
God’s Wrath (and Salvation) Are Here
God’s wrath and grace go together. When God comes to judge, he also comes to save. The judgment of the wicked is the salvation of the righteous. Revelation 19 describes the judgment of Christ upon the nations of the earth. “He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty” (Rev 19:15). As the wicked are destroyed heaven erupts in praise saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God” (Rev 19:1) 2…
Calgary’s Water Crisis: Give us some leaders who tell the truth
Life in Calgary the past few weeks has produced an eerie feeling of déjà vu. The daily updates and calls to restrict water usage to save our water supply remind us of COVID-era restrictions. The same playbook is in use. Heightened rhetoric, worst-case scenarios, group sacrifice, threats of enforcement action, along with half-truths or outright lies are all fair game to achieve the desired result—coercing the people of Calgary to use less water. More similarities include extending restrictions from a…
Imputed Guilt and Zero-Sum Responsibility
The intersection of human responsibility and God’s sovereignty is a perennial discussion. The Bible teaches both, yet most understand these ideas to be contradictory. It is always a temptation to elevate one and minimize—or “qualify”—the other. We can feel that if we emphasis God’s sovereignty, we necessarily minimize human responsibility, or vice versa. If this is you, it is likely that you misunderstand responsibility. I understand that discussions of this sort can, and often do, get very emotional (and maybe…
Descent Into Hell
The following article is based on the sermon Descent Into Hell which you can watch or listen to here. Christian thinking can be influenced by culture around us. Today, materialistic naturalism is so prominent in the world of ideas that concepts like angels, demons, spirits, and the underworld seem more like fairy-tale fiction than reality. But the Bible affirms that the unseen world is just a real as what is seen. Human beings are certainly more than physical—we have a…
Israel, the Church, and the Promised Land
What should Christians do with passages of Scripture that speak about the everlasting covenant God made with Abraham and the nation of Israel? Psalm 105:8–11 says, “[The Lord our God] remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, saying, ‘To you I will give the land of Canaan as…
Fixing Canadian Healthcare
The Canadian healthcare system is broken—or at least problematic in many respects. Problems include long wait times for urgent care, long delays for surgery or specialized care,[1] difficult access to certain kinds of care, an increased tax burden, a lack of innovation, and Canadian doctors working in other countries. We know that these are significant issues because in election season our political parties vow to improve and fix Canadian healthcare—yet it is growing worse rather than better. No matter what…
Making Our Cities Safe Again
If you live in a city in Canada—or anywhere in Canada for that matter—you’ll see news headlines about rising crime rates. In Calgary, there are plenty of news reports on increasing crimes, especially in public areas like bus stops or LRT stations. Homeless encampments are routine, bringing along criminal activity. The opioid epidemic continues to claim 100 lives every month in Alberta. Even with stricter gun laws in Canada, violent crimes persist. Public spaces are especially dangerous. During the period…
Christian Reflections on the “AI Spring”
We’re in a period of history called the AI Spring or AI Boom. Less than a decade ago money and effort went into developing artificial intelligence software—this trend continues today. With the increase in computing power and other technological advancements, we’re seeing the beginnings of an AI race with companies and countries seeking to capitalize on this new technology—its full potential remains unknown. Is AI a useful tool? Is this a nefarious plot by bad actors? Should Christians avoid it…
Climate Change and Energy Prices
“This is an Alberta Emergency Alert issued by the Alberta Emergency Management Agency. Extreme cold resulting in high power demand has placed the Alberta grid at a high risk of rotating power outages this evening.” The Government of Alberta, January 13, 2024 On January 13, 2024, at 6:44pm every phone in Alberta buzzed and chimed with an emergency alert. We had all experienced a warmer than usual winter, but we had recently descended into a cold snap not atypical of…
A Needed Conversation about Religious Persecution in Canada
“The lessons of July 1, 1535, are relevant to the project that the Fathers of Confederation began here on July 1, 1867. Representative democracy, our heritage of liberty and the rule of law—all this depends upon a correct understanding of the proper spheres of authority and the limited competencies of state authority. Saint Thomas More suffered martyrdom because he insisted that there was a limit to the King’s lawful authority, namely that he had to respect the freedom of the…