UBC Wed For Life

Recently, Episode 9 of the Star Wars movies was released in theatres. Pastor Pope took that opportunity and the holiday season to use the popular movie series to illustrate the importance of Jesus. The first Star Wars movie released (Episode 4) was called A New Hope, and the series as a whole is about hope in the fight against powerful forces of darkness. That first movie was about the discovery of Luke Skywalker and the beginning of his journey and what he represented in the struggle against the oppressive empire. It’s fitting that this particular series took place around Christmas when we celebrated the birth of Jesus. Jesus’ birth was the new hope for humanity in the fight against sin, which is every bit as oppressive as a galactic empire.   Pastor Pope identified another parallel between Star Wars and the Bible. The Force is the most prominent plot device in the Star Wars story. It has a dualistic nature with a light side and a dark side. The light side is define...

When we previously discussed Moses, we focused on his early life which included him being charged by God to lead the Hebrews out of bondage in Egypt. Because of Moses’ obedience and God working through him, Moses was able to accomplish the task even though it wasn’t something he believed he could do. If that was all that Moses did, it would still put him pretty high among the figures in the Bible up to that point. God wasn’t close to being done with him though. Moses didn’t know it, but God had plans to build a lasting legacy for Moses. Moses’ story isn’t just about him though. It’s also about the people he led. The Hebrews or Israelites are referred to as God’s chosen people. One might think that to have been chosen by God, they must have been a pure and good people, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. What we see as favor for the Hebrews was really just God keeping his promise to Abraham. That is a testament to God’s faithfulness because he kept that promise even t...

We’re going into a new year, and every year around this time, the topic of new year’s resolutions comes up. Lots of people go through the process of making promises to themselves and others about things they are going to change about themselves or in their lives. These resolutions are often made with the best intentions, but intent is only part of any action taken. Execution is important too, and that’s where most resolutions fall short. It has actually become a cliché nowadays. If you need proof, just go to your local fitness center right now. No matter which one you choose, it’s bound to be full of people striving vigorously to get into shape. Now visit that same center a couple weeks later, and you’ll be almost guaranteed to see a major drop-off in the number of people there. The problem isn’t with resolutions as a concept. Self-improvement is a good thing. There is nothing at all wrong with wanting to start a new year with a decision to do better. The problem is that th...