Sermons of Pastor Rob Myallis

We cannot grieve alone! In the gospel of John (chapter 11), we hear of Jesus meeting Mary and Martha, two sisters who are grieving.  Turns out they are not grieving alone, but they are part of a community that is supporting them.  Likewise in our grief, Jesus blesses us with community, giving us people who console us.However, as we reflect more deeply on the interactions of Jesus with the two sisters, we realize that at some level we do grieve apart from others.  As we grieve and pray in our grief, we discover that we are not alone, and that the company of saints and ultimately Jesus meets us in our grief. The painting "Jesus Wept" is from a program called "Horton Live" in which an artist paints live during a church event.

Once again (John 9), the pharisees are the "bad guys", the people who cannot see the goodness of God because they are fixated on the sinfulness in the world.Before we look down on them though, Pastor Rob explores how easy it is for all of us to succumb to the same type of spiritual blindness, where we cannot see God's goodness because we are focused on human sin and the problems of the world. Just as Jesus healed the blind man though, Jesus too will heal our spiritual blindness, opening our eyes to God's glory and grace.

  What well is Jesus calling you to visit?Jesus lived in a world that was filled with division, including division that was often violent. His response to this is very curious; he meets a woman at a well.  Here he begins to build a bridge with somebody who is totally other than himself (John 4). Jesus is content to play the long, slow game of stitching back the frame fabric of humanity, one person, one family, one village at a time. We learn from the interaction of Jesus and the woman how we too can be bridge builders.  The start of this process is meeting someone at the well and finding a common ground with them.The artwork comes from a Via Latina Catacomb Fresco, 340 – 350 AD (Italy)

 Who has been a great teacher in your life?On this Sunday when we’re celebrating the ministry of St Paul's Christian Early Learning Center (CELC), Jesus shows us what a great teacher looks like.  As he interacts with Nicodemus, Jesus reveals himself as the one who- Knows us better than we know ourselves- Tells us what we need to hear and not what we want to hear - Has patience with us as we work through it.   What this means is that when we pray, we pray to the one who knows us better than we know ourselves.  He also knows that figuring it out takes time, especially to process what we didn't want to hear.  This plays itself out powerfully in Nicodemus' life, just as in our own. The art work is by painter Lester Yocum.  A quite rare painting showing the lesser known but just as important interaction of Nicodemus later in the Gospel of John, when he helps bury Jesus.

After fasting for 40 days and nights in the wilderness, Jesus is tempted by the devil.  (Matthew 4:1-11)Is this time in the wilderness a test or a trial?  (... and what might the difference be?)A test is something that assesses what we've learned and whether we are ready to advanced to the next stage.A trial is something that is designed to teach us what is necessary for the next stage. Pastor Rob reflects on how understanding this wilderness temptation as a trial can help us do two things: First, it can deepen our appreciation of fasting as preparation for the trials of life. Second, it can deepen our connection to Jesus as one who prays with us during the trials of life. The artwork is Christ in the Desert by Vasily Polenov, 1909