Author: Jim Cantelon

June 1, 2020

Hey friends! Instead of my comments re: Covid-19 and the rigours of the pandemic, how about a powerful video of praise to the Lord from some of our youth volunteers in Africa? Check us out at www.wowmission.com Praise the Lord

May 27, 2020

The Sermon on The Mount (Matthew 5:1-7:29) The “Mount of Beatitudes” provides one of the most beautiful vistas in all of Israel. Beginning at the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, it slopes upward to a height about four hundred feet above the water. It is called a “mountain” but in fact is one of several foothills leading from the Lower Galilee to the Upper Galilee, culminating about their miles to the north in majestic Mount Hermon, ten thousand feet above sea level. Standing at the top of this storied foothill you look down on an awesome sight. Immediately below...

May 20, 2020

The DNA of Jesus’ Ministry (Matthew 4:23-25) The Galilee provided a doorway to the greater Roman province of Syria. Its territory essentially comprised northern Palestine, bounded by the Jordan river on the east, the Mediterranean ocean on the west, and the mountains of Lebanon on the north. From Mount Hermon, 10,000 feet above sea level in the north, the “upper Galilee” descended in plains and marshland (“Lake Hula”) to the “lower Galilee” four-hundred feet below sea level where the Sea of Galilee sat in respondent beauty. Then, as it descended further,...

May 18, 2020

No doubt our world is under adversity on an unprecedented scale. We’re all feeling it. Covid-19 has created stresses we never thought possible, not only in terms of threats to health, but also in terms of fragmenting, if not fracturing, our entitlements. Our freedom to move and interact is fraught with risk. We’re under siege. Unfortunately some people in frustration are lashing out at the “ messenger”- the medical and governmental authorities tasked with managing the collateral damage of the virus. This, of course, is counter-productive. Covid doesn’t care what we feel or how angry...

May 13, 2020

The First Disciples – Matthew 4:18-22 Like his cousin John , Jesus too had need of followers, or “disciples”. These were not “hangers-on” but leaders-in-the-making. Jesus knew that unlikely as they were they would nonetheless change the world. But, they certainly didn’t appear to be world changers. Indeed, the first four were two pairs of brothers, all of them fishermen. And, if the catch in “Kinneret” (Sea of Galilee) was like it is today, they were experts in catching sardines! There is no mention of their qualifications, education, or predisposition...

May 6, 2020

Jesus’ Ministry Begins – Matthew 4:12-25 John the Baptist’s imprisonment precipitated Jesus’ “withdrawal” from Nazareth to Capernaum in the Galilee. The regional’s was known as “The Galilee of the Gentiles”, looks down upon by the citizens of Judea, but critical to international trade as it was on the trade route between Egypt and Damascus (called “the Way of the Sea”). As such it was cosmopolitan and alive with the bustle of camel caravans and the colourful languages and fashions of the outside world. For Jesus this was a critical...

May 4, 2020

Perhaps some of you have logged on to biblediscoverytv.com lately and joined a prayer time hosted by Rod Hembree. I’ve been cohosting twice a week. The point is to pray for those suffering the direct or indirect impact of the Covid 19 pandemic. As always, prayer meetings, whether in a church, a home, or online bring out the universal vulnerability we all share, not only in terms of health crises but also in terms of ongoing human need. Those prayer requests range from pending death to minor aches and pains. This, of course, is what Jesus faced in his 3...

April 29,2020

Jesus Tested in the Wilderness – Matthew 4:1-11 Immediately after the Father had singled Jesus out as his “son”, Jesus was “led by the Spirit” into the wilderness for forty days of testing. This is often referred to as the “temptation” but the Greek suggests “testing”. Whereas “temptation” bears the nuance of being tempted to sin, “testing” possessed a more positive tone. Jesus was, then and always, sinless. The point of the testing here was his “new” status as “my Son”. Satan hoped to capitalize...

April 27, 2020

As we continue to reevaluate our lives, our values under deep assessment, it’s tempting to yield to “end of the world” thoughts. Not only is the world shut down but so is life as we’ve known it. Many of us feel lost without the former parameters of social, physical, emotional, and spiritual markers that gave our lives context and meaning. Then we look outward via the internet and see Yemen about to implode, South Sudan and East Africa besieged by billions of crop destroying locusts, multilateral aid agencies warning that huge famine is closing in, and reports that the world economy may...

April 22, 2020

Jesus’ Baptism Matthew 3:13-17 The big question here is “Why?”. Why would the sinless Son of God intentionally submit to John’s baptism of repentance? Some commentators suggest it betrayed a dawning awareness on Jesus’ part that he was special. Others say he did so because he was anticipating a “word from Heaven”. Still others suggest he began his public ministry by taking on the sins of mankind (thus the need for baptism) and ended it by dying for those sins. Even John himself wonders “Why?”. He tried to stop Jesus with “I need to...