If, as Mike preached several weeks ago, we follow Christ for more reasons than simply the promise of the afterlife, then how are we to live this life? How do we connect what we believe and how we live out our Christian faith that goes beyond “do’s” and “don’ts”? This Lenten season we will turn to the book of Deuteronomy, what some call the “heartbeat of the Old Testament”, to begin to answer this practical question as to what it means to live the “good life” that God intends for us.

Deuteronomy 14:22 – 28
Deuteronomy 15: 1 – 11
Deuteronomy 26: 1 – 11

When we read the Bible it’s best to read a full chapter as a whole – rather than pulling out one verse or section to study. By reading the chapter as a whole we can see repeated concepts and themes which lead us to the main truths of the passage. Matthew 20 is a look at the hierarchy of God’s Kingdom. Matthew 20 contains a parable about workers in a vineyard (and their desire for fair hierarchy), prediction of Jesus’ crucifixion, a mother’s fight for her two sons to get some glory, and the fight of two blind men seeking sight. The repeated refrain of THE FIRST SHALL BE LAST is explicitly stated and highlighted in parable and interaction with the disciples. What does this mean? Why does God think the first shall be last and the last first is a good idea?

(Robbie & Jenn Ohlhauser)

I am shaking with nervous excitement as I write out how this parable has changed my heart and mind. God led me towards an honest examination of how Christ speaks in this parable. It has been deeply helpful for moving forward in my own story.

Honestly, I have been sitting around waiting for God to give me that moment of “inspiration”. When it came, I wanted to wait around and believe that I should pray more about it or decipher the code and disbelieve that it was the Holy Spirit. But, it was simpler than I expected. For me, this story relates to me working towards my Master’s degree. For a long time I have hesitated from moving forward with this Master’s because I don’t honestly want to do the work. I put on a very excited face and charm when people ask me about doing my Master’s but afterwards I feel far from integrity, closer to pride, and scared that I won’t find a ‘home’. Yet, I have looked at this situation very practically; I have an opportunity to “use” my parent’s money in order to fit into a culture that will see me differently after I have my Master’s. I believe that while this step still makes me cringe, I am going risk being shrewd in order to live a radical future in the work of God’s kingdom.

We as people and a community are constantly being pulled into the purposes of God, in spite of our lost-ness.

(The parable for today is Luke 16: 1-9) (Luke Wilson)

This morning we talk of money. It would be better if you left your wallets and purses at home. You might be caught up in a wind of frivolous generosity! Watch out!
Plus! We host a debate between Scott Campbell (advocating for a Christian community where the rich care for the poor) and Dave Strilchuk (advocating for affluence without avarice, generosity with personal responsibility) — at least that is how I summarize it.

Think of these thoughts from the Bible scholar, William Barclay: “Money in itself is neither good nor bad; it is simply dangerous in that the love of it may become bad. With money a man can do much good; and with money he can do much evil. With money a man can selfishly serve his own desires; and with money he can generously answer to the cry of his neighbour’s need. With money a man can buy his way to the forbidden things and facilitate the path of wrongdoing; and with money he can make it easier for someone else to live as God meant him to live. Money brings power, and power is always a double edged thing, for it is powerful to good and powerful to evil.” (Paddy Ducklow)

Theologian Miroslav Volf once wrote, “There is a profound ‘injustice’ about the God of the biblical traditions. It is called grace.” Today we will be encountering a parable that is often considered a parable of judgment—a parable that deals with the execution of justice. But is there room within grace for judgment? And should there be? Why does Jesus tell this parable to his disciples, and what are we to take from it? How does this parable confront us with the mystery of the Kingdom of God? Is grace simply the bait used by God in a cosmic bait-and-switch strategy, or is judgment an integral part of His plans to embrace, bless, and empower? We will explore these and other questions together as we look at the parable of the entrusted treasure, often called the parable of the talents, in Matthew 25:14-30.

“Give us today our daily bread”. Here’s where things start to get a bit personal, maybe even a little uncomfortable. If we didn’t see it before, here’s where we realize that praying the words Jesus gave us has relational, political and economic implications. As we truly consider the idea of receiving daily bread from God as a community, we begin to ask questions like: “What about people on the Downtown eastside?” and “Should we purchase RRSPs and life insurance or not?” There are no easy answers, and no “official CapChurch stance” on these issues. But I am delighted that we can talk freely as we gather, ask honest questions, and come to answers (even different ones) together. (Kim Pierrot)

Living By Faith in an Economic Downturn

Economically, during the 16 years between 1982 and 2000 the world witnessed the greatest bull market in history. Institutions and individuals alike came to expect outsized returns upon investments of all kinds, and planned accordingly. Money managers, whether they ran hedge funds, college endowment portfolios or public pension funds, were expected to rack up double-digit investment returns indefinitely. Things have changed dramatically in the current recession. Financial guru Warren Buffett has pointed out that now a return to such double digit expectations is delusional.  This raises a couple of questions for me: what are true riches? How are Christians to live faithful to God if economic prosperity returns?

The Bible’s letter of 3 John gives a fascinating insight in true riches, “To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth…I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. 3It gave me great joy… your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth. 4I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” Friendship, health, soul-health, faithfulness, walking in the truth of the gospel of Christ–John considered these true riches in this life.

How Christians live by faith in times of economic prosperity is one sure indication of whether they have found true riches. To wrap up our series Less is More today we want to discuss how people of faith live if or when economic prosperity and growth return to our time. (Mike Nichols)

This is a five week Sunday morning series on coping with the economic downturn and finding God. Through interviews with Cappers, prayers and case studies from Scripture we will find out how God’s people, then and right now are coping with difficult economic times.

Less is More is a 19th century proverbial phrase first found in an 1855 poem by Robert Browning (Andrea del Sarto). The phrase is often associated with the architect and furniture designer and the proponents of simplicity of style. The notion is that simplicity and clarity lead to good design.

So in our economic challenges less is more suggests that less may well lead to clarity of faith and better use of limited resources.