by Neil Ellis | Sep 29, 2014 | Sermons
It was a high stakes take down. The lights and sirens were blaring, parked in such a way as to block in an offending car. The police approached the vehicle cautiously unsure of what might happen next. Fortunately, the suspect surrendered without a fight. Back at the...
by Neil Ellis | Sep 25, 2014 | Devotionals
What is the difference between intent and action? Is someone who intends to do a good deed, but does not follow through still a good person? What about an individual who had not intention of doing good, but then does it anyway? In our passage this morning Jesus is...
by Neil Ellis | Sep 23, 2014 | Prayer
God of grace and God of life, we seek your presence in our lives. We long to know you and walk in your path of righteousness. We recognize that we live in a broken world, full of dangers and temptations. We know that there are many people and organizations who fight...
by Neil Ellis | Sep 22, 2014 | Sermons
My kids like to eat cereal for breakfast. No real surprise there and as far as they are concerned the more sugar the better. However, they like to eat their cereal dry with a glass of milk on the side. Now my boys are a little competitive and nothing makes me chuckle...
by Neil Ellis | Sep 18, 2014 | Devotionals
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard is a difficult piece of scripture to deal with. Issues of fairness, justice and the value of a days work are all themes that emerge from this reading. However, at its core this is a teaching from Jesus about the Kingdom of...
by Neil Ellis | Sep 16, 2014 | Prayer
Over the past few weeks we have been studying about forgiveness as Jesus has presented it in Matthew 18. This week as we pray we focus on forgiveness. Remembering to forgive ourselves as well as others. This prayer is adapted from Worship for an Easter People vol. 3...
by Neil Ellis | Sep 15, 2014 | Sermons
As some of you know before I attended Knox College I worked as a financial advisor for one of the banks. One day while working I had a woman in her late sixties come in to see me. It was the first time I had met her and she looked nervous. In her hands she was holding...
by Neil Ellis | Sep 11, 2014 | Devotionals
Our Gospel lesson this week continue’s to focus on the teaching that Jesus had for the church. We find ourselves towards the end of a segment on forgiveness. Last week we discussed what forgiveness, grace and reconciliation looked like. This week as we read...
by Neil Ellis | Sep 9, 2014 | Prayer
This prayer is taken from the book The Sun Dances: Prayers and Blessings from the Gaelic by Alexander Carmichael (1960). The Peace of God, the peace of men, the peace of Columba kindly, the peace of Mary mild, the loving, the peace of Christ, King of tenderness. The...
by Neil Ellis | Sep 8, 2014 | Sermons
You might find this hard to believe, but every once in a while my kids fight. It usually surrounds a toy and usually ends up with one or both of them in tears. Eventually one of them comes up to me or Kate and says, “Ethan hit me” or “Logan won’t share his toy.” The...
