What we need in this age when man-made gadgets multiply faster than we can learn their names is a fresh sense of the transcendent presence of God.

One enduring God-given gift is designed to impart the peace and the strength that God alone bestows: the rainbow.

On a recent summer’s evening, some of us were blessed to see amid the clouds a brilliant heaven-sent rainbow. The accompanying photograph is taken from my back deck.

In our time, the rainbow has been co-opted by people for various purposes, and has become a symbol that instead of universally bringing peace often stirs controversy.

It is necessary and helpful that we recover both the original design and purpose of the rainbow, and the promise of its future appearance, according to God’s own word.

Genesis 9:12-16 records the original meaning attached to the rainbow:

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

God promised Noah that never again would the whole earth be covered with water. The promise and guarantee of God’s mercy-tempered judgement was the rainbow. Looking up, the inhabitants of the earth are assured amid the clouds that the sunshine will follow the rain. Looking down, God remembers that the rain falling from the clouds will be followed by the brightness of the shining sun.

Throughout the ages since the time of Noah, God has been faithful to keep His covenant promise.

Yet God also gave John in Revelation 10:14 a picture of what the rainbow would one day come to herald:

Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun … and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.”

The rainbow would accompany the arrival of the angel who at the end of days would announce: “There will be no more delay! … The mystery of God will be accomplished.” (Revelation 10:6-7)

Amid the many clouds which envelop our world in present days, we need to hear Jesus’ words:

“Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. … but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:48, 13-14)

The rainbow is appointed by God. It is a reminder that God is faithful. By God’s appointment, the rainbow will remain to accompany the return of both the sun, in our time — and the Son, in God’s time.

May we have eyes to see, minds to understand, hearts and wills to believe: Jesus Christ, faithful Lord of all, is coming!

Your pastor, thankful for God’s rainbow,
James T. Hurd

As a young child, my grandmother who was living in the US sent me a block of four postage stamps, which illustrated the slogan “Plant for a more beautiful America”, promoted by Lady Bird Johnson, wife of Lyndon Johnson, who was president of the US from 1963-1969. The stamps were issued in January of 1969, and featured a variety of bright-coloured flowers, each with a different exhortation:

Plant for more Beautiful Cities
Plant for more Beautiful Parks
Plant for more Beautiful Highways
Plant for more Beautiful Streets

I admired the stamps in my album, but even more loved to see real flowers in full bloom while travelling by car along streets and highways, or while walking on foot through parks and along sidewalks. I vividly remember horticultural shows with all kinds of bright flowers, and I envied the gardeners in whose yards such beautiful plants grew and blossomed during our all-too-short summers in northern Ontario.

Observing Thanksgiving in Canada on the second Monday of October brings to mind certain well-known hymns, including “For the beauty of the earth”. F. S. Pierpoint wrote these words in the fifth verse:

For each perfect gift of Thine,
To our race so freely given,
Graces human and divine,
Flowers of earth and buds of heaven,
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This our sacrifice of praise.

The hymn expresses thanksgiving for beauty — both earthly and heavenly — and beauty both physical and spiritual.

Clearly Jesus had an eye for beauty, and especially wild flowers. “See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these.” (Matthew 6:28-29, NIV)

In the beginning, God the Father planted a garden, and assigned Adam and Eve to tend that garden. God the Son called attention to the beauty of lilies, and esteemed such God-created flowers to be infinitely more beautiful than the finest clothing worn by royalty. He points out, though, that such “grasses of the field” are only temporary, and what is today lush and green and full of life is tomorrow dried and dead and destined for the fire.

Yet Jesus makes it plain that God is the author of beauty, and counts human lives made in God’s own image as of infinitely more value. The apostle Paul goes on to tell us that God the Spirit names the flowers and fruits produced in human lives in whom the Spirit is alive: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23)

It is vitally important that we remember that in order for flowers to grow, both sunshine and rain are needed in generous measures. Too much of either without the other is not good, and yet we are too often prone to complain about the rain, when we want the sun. Harvest thanksgiving provides us with an opportunity to give thanks, and also to stop and remember that God’s provision of both rain and sunshine are equally important in producing the beautiful flowers and trees that mark our cities, parks, highways, and streets. We may plant, but it is God who causes the rain to fall and the sun to shine and the growth necessary for there to be a harvest.

Similarly, “rain” and “sun” are needed if there is to be growth in our spiritual lives. We need dark days and seasons of rain, and we need bright days and seasons of sun, in order to grow and ripen the fruits of love and joy and peace, and patience and kindness and goodness, and gentleness and faithfulness and self-control.

As we mark Thanksgiving, let us ponder with wonder and awe God’s hand in both designing and sustaining our lives. Let us rejoice in Jesus, whose Spirit is the author of our rebirth, and who orders and shapes our growth, through all the seasons of our lives.

Your pastor, eyeing the beauties of summer and autumn,
and thankful both for the rain and the sunshine which produce them;
and thankful even more for the beauties of lives grown by both “rain” and “sun”,

James T. Hurd

As the calendar turns to November, many people begin to turn their minds to December: the month in which Christmas is celebrated.

This year, 2025, the season of Advent (which many Christians observe in anticipation of the celebration of Jesus’ birth as a baby, as one of us) actually begins in November — on the last Sunday — November 30th.

The theme for Advent this year is “The gifts of Christmas”. We will focus on the gifts of Christmas: hope, peace, joy, love — and the greatest gift of all — Jesus.

Our modern observation of Christmas is often marked by giving and receiving gifts. This leads many people in the weeks or months prior to Christmas to prepare the gifts: either by making or buying specific gifts for specific people.

It is good for us to discover that rather than a specific “thing” or “package”, God shows us that gift-giving is at the heart of who God is, and how God reveals who He is:

The Old Testament tells us that the gift of life itself is the gift of God. Ecclesiastes 3:13 says: “That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his work — this is the gift of God.”

The New Testament tells us that our lives, marked by sin, earn us death, but God gives us life. Romans 6: 23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (NIV)

How do we know God? How do we learn how God relates to us? God shows us: through the gifts He gives to us.

Our life — including our food and drink, and our work — are all gifts, designed by God to bring us satisfaction, which in part is another work for joy.

Eternal life — beginning in our being “born again” through faith in Jesus Christ, and with the promise that it is forever — is God’s greatest gift, offered freely to all who will receive.

The marks of eternal life are hope, peace, joy, and love. Our sure and certain hope is revealed in the resurrection of Jesus from the death and the promise of His return. God’s peace surpasses and transcends our understanding. The joy of the Lord is our strength. God’s love never fails. Faith, hope, and love remain, and the greatest of these is love. These are the gifts of God.

As we begin our preparations for Christmas, let us reflect on the nature of gift-giving, and our God Who gives. May the gifts we prepare to share with others reflect and embody God’s gifts to us.

Your pastor, grateful to receive what God gives, and to give what God provides: hope, peace, joy, love,
and Jesus — the life!

James T. Hurd

Here at Parkwood Church, we recently elected, ordained, and admitted new elders. This has led some to ask some good questions: “What is an elder?” “ What does an elder do?” “ Why is an elder assigned to me?”

Here is an attempt to offer some answers.

Introduction
Under the old covenant, God’s guidance to Moses, provided through his father-in-law Jethro, was to ordain elders to share in the oversight of God’s people. (Exodus 18:17-24) In the new covenant, Christ commissioned the apostles, who were in turn guided by the Holy Spirit, to ordain elders to oversee the welfare and witness of the church.

What (or who) is an elder?
The aim of the elder is to “set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:11, NIV) An elder, then, is a mature Christian who seeks, together with other elders, to share in serving as an example to believers in the way we strive to live as disciples of Jesus. The Greek word for elder is presbuteros, from which we get the English word presbyter, which simply means elder. A “presbyterian” church is a church led, or governed, by elders.

What does an elder do?
Elders provide leadership in the church. Principally this is done in two ways.

One way is that elders share with the pastor in the spiritual oversight of the church. “Shared leadership” is a key feature of the presbyterian form of church government. Elders (plural, and together) share equally in discerning God’s plans for the church, and in leading the congregation to embrace Christ’s mission for the church in the world.

The second and equally important way is that elders help to nurture Christians in faith and life as followers of Jesus. Each of us is called individually to a personal relationship with Jesus as Saviour and Lord. We are also called to live in community as members of one family. Elders aid in supporting individuals in their relationship with Jesus, and also in strengthening the bonds that unite us together as members of Christ’s one body.

Why is an elder assigned to me?
Each elder is assigned a small group of members and adherents. Sometimes an elder in a neighbourhood is assigned a group of households located near each other. In other instances, an elder’s “district” is a group of people who may be connected in other ways. For example, young families who might share a common language, or common interests, may be a small group within a larger congregation, and are assigned together to the oversight of a particular elder.

Elders share with the pastor the responsibility to support all who are part of the church, and all who are seeking to discover, grow in, and share the love of God found in Jesus Christ. One person, even a pastor, cannot and is not called to “do it all”. We celebrate God’s gifts of leadership among all the elders, and share together in the vital work of “shepherding the flock of God”, as undershepherds in the service of our Great Shepherd, Jesus.

Elders in action
Elders listen. Elders watch. Elders encourage. Elders seek to offer wise counsel. Elders mentor. Elders pray. Elders warn. Elders support. Elders befriend.

Elders lead in welcoming people to worship. Elders stand with those making profession of faith and on behalf of the congregation welcome them with the right hand of fellowship. Elders support those being baptized. Elders follow up with calls, cards, texts, emails, conversations, and visits. Different people in different circumstances communicate using different means. Elders are encouraged to find the best ways to connect with each one in their district, to foster good communication, and to develop trust. In this way, we are able to rejoice with those who rejoice, and mourn with those who mourn (Romans 12:15), and to “spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24).

Conclusion
We pray and hope that all elders will develop healthy connections with those in their respective districts, and that all members and adherents of the congregation will have an open and healthy relationship with their elder.

In Christ, Your teaching elder, in partnership and with gratitude for all our serving elders,

James T. Hurd

We live in a time and a climate of much uncertainty. On many levels, every day, we face unknowns. What will the groceries cost today? tomorrow? next week? Can I find a job today? Will I have one tomorrow? Will I get accepted for school? Will I pass the exam? Can I stay in the country? Will I need medical care? Will I have to move? All these, and more, are questions on the personal level which can be unsettling.

In the wider landscape of life, there are even bigger questions. What more changes will artificial intelligence bring? What will a changing climate cause: drought or flood, or fire or ice? Can I travel safely — and if so, where? Will there be peace? What about war affecting family and friends, and countries all over the world? What freedom do we have, and what may we lose? So many questions …

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave the first disciples the key to living in uncertain days and circumstances.

Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? … But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:25-27; 33-34, NIV)

In the congregation I served in New Brunswick, there was a hymn that was a favourite for many people, because it brought assurance. It was written by Ira F. Stanphill, and entitled, “I know Who holds tomorrow”. It has a healthy perspective on life, and holds great wisdom for us as we live among the uncertainties and challenges we face:

I don't know about tomorrow,
I just live from day to day.
I don't borrow from its sunshine,
For its skies may turn to grey.
I don't worry o'er the future,
For I know what Jesus said,
And today I'll walk beside Him,
For He knows what is ahead.

refrain:
Many things about tomorrow,
I don't seem to understand;
But I know who holds tomorrow,
And I know who holds my hand.

I don't know about tomorrow,
It may bring me poverty;
But the One who feeds the sparrow,
Is the One who stands by me.
And the path that be my portion,
May be through the flame or flood,
But His presence goes before me,
And I'm covered with His blood.

(webservant's note: check out this version on YouTube, by Alison Krauss and the Cox Family)

Let us rest and walk in confidence in the presence and care of Jesus Christ, Who is Lord of the present and the future, in both life and death, and in time and eternity. May you know that He holds you,

Your pastor, confident in the present, because Jesus in Whom I trust, holds the future!

James T. Hurd

James Boswell in The Life of Samuel Johnston famously wrote, “Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully."

Where did Jesus focus His thoughts as the time of His crucifixion drew near?

Luke was a careful historian as well as being a physician. Notice the following autobiographical details that Jesus reveals in His last days and hours, which Luke records in his gospel. May God use them to help to focus our thoughts and prayers as we remember Jesus’ journey to the cross for us and our redemption.

Jesus said:

“I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” (Luke 22:15) Jesus leaned into the communion of the saints. He was very focused on fellowship with the disciples, who by adoption were and are His brothers. Do we prize and value fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ, and with Christ Jesus Himself? Our relationships in the church, the body of Christ, are to be a priority. How do we make them so in practice?

“I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:32)

Jesus’ compassion for Simon Peter, whom Jesus knew as one who boldly confessed Jesus to be the Messiah, but who would also deny even knowing Him — and that on three occasions — is remarkable. Jesus discloses that He is praying for Simon. He knows Peter will fall, but prays He will not ultimately fail. He counsels Peter in advance that when — eventually — he turns back to Jesus, his charge will be to strengthen others. Do we pray for each other, and especially for those who fall? Do we seek to strengthen our siblings in Christ?

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)

Jesus really does not want to face the cruel cup of crucifixion. He knows full well that unspeakable pain and suffering await. Yet He places His Father’s will and plan for the redemption of lost sinners above His own desire, and says, “not my will, but yours be done”. The future for each of us may be challenging, and all of us will be called to face death. In dependance on the Holy Spirit, Who strengthened Jesus in the hour of His weakness, let us each seek to embrace God’s will for our lives, and live to the end of our earthly days to fulfill His purposes in and through us.

“Do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children.” (Luke 23:28)

Jesus applies what He taught previously in His Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are they that mourn.” Those who weep for their own sin and the sins of their children are one with Jesus, who wept over those in Jerusalem and elsewhere who were unwilling to return and receive the mercy of God. Let us take time to mourn for our sins, and lovingly to pray over those closest to us who sin and for whom Jesus prays.

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

Jesus breathes a spirit of forgiveness — especially toward those closest and most immediately nailing Jesus to the cross and hoisting Him up to hang and suffocate to death. He recognizes “ignorance and unbelief” which as Paul tells us is at the foundation of so much sin. May God give us discernment in these days to recognize our own sins and shortcomings, and the blessing and assurance that with Him and through Jesus forgiveness is to be found.

May each day find us nearer our Lord in spirit, even as each day brings us one day closer to the end of our days here, and nearer to our risen Lord in eternity.

Your pastor, seeking to be in step with the Spirit,

James T. Hurd

Spring is the season of new life. It is a happy coincidence — but also a God-ordained providence — that for those of us who live in this part of the world our observation and celebration of Easter comes at the same time as the dawning of the season of spring!

Today, I have seen for the first time this year a robin light on the fence in our back yard, and for the first time this spring a rabbit chewing at green grass. Yesterday, I came across flocks of both geese and gulls on the edge of now-open water on the canal in the place where days previous only ice was to be found. Water is running, and wildlife is stirring, and returning!

All of these signs, along with (at least slightly) warmer winds and some sunshine, herald the promise of more and vibrant life to come.

In a wider circle of extended family and friends, I have also learned of the conception of new life, and with other parents and grandparents await news of the pending arrival of another child.

All such instances serve to lift one’s spirits, and rightly suggest that God, Who is the Breath of life, is blowing upon and among us.

In attending to the realm of the spiritual, we mark at Easter the raising of Jesus from death to life, heralding the promise of new things to come. Death is not the last word, any more than winter is the final season! Jesus lives!

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” (John 11:25)

Jesus also said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)

Jesus also said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6)

Life resides in organic, growing things, and especially in people. Each of us alive! This is true emphatically in the physical sense. If you are reading these words, or hearing them read, you are physically alive. Yet God designs and plans and offers and brings more than just physical life. He is a Spirit, and brings us life in the deepest spiritual sense.

Paul reminded the residents of Athens that in God, “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

He also tells us: “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:15, NIV)

It is in Jesus Christ that we really come to life — and really live! The same Spirit Who raised Christ from the grave is the One Who lives in all who believe and receive the grace of new life.

Let us rejoice in the arrival of spring. Let us also rejoice in the new life which is given us through the resurrection of Jesus, and in Whom we are born again by the Holy Spirit to live! Let us look for the signs of new life, in the plant and animal kingdoms around us, but even more within ourselves and in the lives of fellow believers around us.

Your pastor, alive, and seeing and rejoicing in signs of new life,

James T. Hurd