Harmony of Grace

This past weekend, Mel and I attended the baptism service of Zoey Gerber. She is the daughter of two of our closest friends, Jaco and Lisa. It was an incredibly special service that we were honoured to be a part of. Baptism is one of two sacraments that are officially recognized by most mainline churches (the other being Holy Communion). A sacrament can be defined as an outward, visible sign of an inward, invisible grace . In less academic terms, it means that through the sacraments, we are able to experience the grace of God in tangible ways. The sacrament of baptism represents two of God's graces to us. First, it is a sign of being welcomed into the Christian Church family. This welcoming into God's family is symbolised by the community of believers that are present to witness a baptism service. In most churches, the congregation are invited to make promises to nurture and care for the newly baptised person. It is a visible reminder of the loving and welcoming spirit

Wow, I don't know if I can look at myself the same after the cheesy title to this post. Please bear with me. As much as this title would make an epic sermon title for a prosperity preacher, that is not where I am going with this post. My biggest weakness has often been the inability to say no to any requests, regardless of my willingness or time-constraints. One thing that I have learnt over the past three years at Seminary is how to say no. On top of academic and formational requirements, seminarians are often invited to join different organisations and take part in a wide variety of activities. One has to quickly learn how to pick and choose to avoid being completely overwhelmed by their commitments. Earlier this year, the chaplain of the Seminary asked me to consider coordinating the confirmation classes of the Seth Mokitimi Methodist Seminary Society. I told him that I would think about it, but I was immediately resistant to the idea. I was already feeling overwhelmed with

I have been truly blessed by the friendships that I have been a part of over the course of my life so far. Incorporated into this post are a few photos of some of the friendships that have meant the most to me through the years. It would be impossible to include everyone that I would like to, but if you are reading this and you have ever considered yourself to be my friend in any way, please know that God has blessed me richly by our friendship. Friendships are a powerful way that we can experience God's grace in our lives. Through the love, forgiveness and joy that we experience from our friends, we are reminded of the same traits that we experience when we live in relationship with God. Some friends come and go; others stick around. I have friends who I haven't spoken to in years; others that I still communicate with regularly. Each one has a special place in my heart, good or bad. Not all friendships are great. I have experienced friendships that have been unhealth