The Pastor’s iPod (C&MA Edition)

Back from vacation, and it's time to get back to the blogging. I realized that it’s been a while since I posted an edition of the pastor’s iPod but I've heard some great messages in the last while and I thought it was high-time I shared some of them with you again. More than that, through my connection with colleagues and my participation in our biennial General Assembly earlier this month I've been treated to some great messages from people within our own family of churches. So sit back, load up your iPod (mobile phone, tablet or PC) and enjoy some great samples of preaching from voices within the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada.

1.       Gordon T. Smith – Healing and Communion Service at General Assembly 2012

I’ll lead with this one because this might just have been the best message I’ve heard preached in the last year – if not more. This was (as a few of my colleagues have described it) a manifesto on what the church can and should be as we move into the next chapter of our life as a Spirit-filled, Christ-Centred, Gospel movement. The text of this message is Hebrews 4:14-16 and Smith talks passionately about the importance of us understanding Jesus as the “Ascended Christ” while also speaking against the pervasive Christian idea of moral perfection through discipline, instead (rightly) bringing us back to life-transformation through union with Christ. Smith also speaks of the importance of faith in the transaction and the reality of a God who gives us mercy and grace in our perpetual time of need. Beautifully, Smith moves this entire discussion intentionally toward the table where the church finds these things in the Holy Meal. So completely does this teaching find application in the table of the Lord’s Supper that when remembering this message after only one hearing I thought that the entire message was about the table with some supporting elements – the truth however is that the table talk comprises perhaps only the final 5-7 minutes of the message but it provides such a fitting conclusion and application that it feels like Smith was talking about it the whole time. If you only listen to one message in the next while – this needs to be the one!

2.        The Phil Vischer Podcast – Episode 11
(This is a link to the website of the podcast, but you can also subscribe to the Phil Vischer podcast on iTunes if you prefer to get your medial that way)

The Phil Vischer Podcast has become a guilty pleasure of mine over the last month or so. For those of you who don’t know – Phil Vischer is the man behind Big Idea and their most famous property – Veggie Tales.  Through a long and drawn out story Phil no longer owns the rights to Veggie Tales (a story you can find summarized on his website here, or chronicled in its entirety in his book, “Me, Myself and Bob” here) he has come back onto the scene with his wonderful “What’s in the Bible?” series of videos.

 

A friend turned me onto this podcast about a month and a half ago and I’ve been a regular listener ever since. If you think that the content would be dumbed down to a kid’s level because of what the host does in other media, firstly you haven’t watched much of What’s in the Bible, and secondly you’d be happily mistaken. Phil and his co-host Skye Jethani along with his producer Christian Taylor talk about all sorts of current events and theological issues with a mature insight and a dry wit. The show is funny, intelligent, informative and entertaining. Frequently Christian gives up her mic for a special guest who is then interviewed by Phil and Skye with usually great results. How does this fit into the auspice of a C&MA edition of the Pastor’s iPod? Well I was originally going to sneak this one in on a technicality because Skye Jethani is a well known author, pastor and speaker who is ordained with the C&MA in the USA but in episode 11 it is revealed that Phil Vischer himself is a fourth generation C&MA member as well. In truth, Episode 11 is not the best episode they’ve done – but it’s focus in on the future of missions (a very Alliance topic) and it is the episode where Phil comes out as a C&MA guy so I’ve linked that one on this blog. Make sure you check it out.

3.       Aaron Gerrard – In Communion Week 2: Temple

(This link takes you to a video of the message on the Gateway website – an audio only version can be found on the Gateway Caledonia podcast on iTunes)

If you were around at church in the middle of July you would have heard Aaron speak about our role as Politeuma in our nation. Aaron is the pastor of a church plant in Ancaster, Ontario that we are closely partnering with as a church. Well I thought it would be a good idea since we were partnering so closely with him that I should take the time to listen to this sermon series that he was preaching at Gateway Church in Caledonia. The whole series is good, but one message really stood out: Temple.

Temple tracks the trajectory of God’s indwelling presence from the account of creation to the time of the church – it follows the essential doctrine of the church from our biblical origins to the exciting conclusion to come, and it gives us a fresh reminder of exactly who we are. This sermon is great – and it’s well worth the time to give it a listen.