In honouring her today as she passed away, I am posting this video of a stirring rendition of God Save The Queen that I recorded and posted in honour of her 91st birthday. She served us so well!

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Peace and beauty always win out in the end.

As Christians, we look forward to the reign of the Prince of Peace. Until then, we pray for peace in our world and justice for all. Our thoughts and prayers are also with the millions of members of the Islamic faith who are not represented by its terrorist fringe.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Rev 21: 3-5

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John’s Sermon

You can listen to the audio of John’s 26 minute sermon delivered at Waterloo Pentecostal Assembly on Isaiah 40:30-31. Wouldn’t we all like to preach such a dynamic sermon as he gave on our 100th birthdays!

Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
Yet those who wait for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.

Isaiah 30:30–31

Enjoy the sermon, and Happy Birthday John! He just might see this, because he is tech-savvy (the church gave him a birthday present – a keyboard for his Playbook!) and he’s online.

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I’m travelling light and have no preaching resources nor any sermons with me. That turned out to be a very good thing, as you’ll see. But I also discovered that generally you should be prepared to preach at a moment’s notice, because I’ve been told that in some rural areas of Africa, if you come to a service and are white, then man or woman, you are the preacher that day. One lay woman told me she has one sermon that she always carries with her, just in case.

But here I was, committed to preaching the next Sunday. So, I thought, how to create a sermon on the fly? It usually takes me a long time, but I didn’t have much time. Here’s what worked well for me, and maybe it will work well for you. I think I remembered the basic outline from Haddon Robinson’s book Biblical Preaching: The Development and Delivery of Expository Messages. Of course, he has a lot more to say than what I’m about to say!

The Process of Writing a Sermon

I prayed first for a topic, which came fairly readily. I simply asked, “What would God have this congregation hear on Sunday?” The answer was to speak about being angry with God.

Next, I asked myself, “What theological truth do they need to know about this topic?” and the answer was, “God cares for you.”

What should be the human response to the truth? “Therefore, you can trust God.”

In which doctrines do we see God’s care for us? I thought of four:

1. Creation (showing God’s care and good intentions for humanity),
   1. The related promise is Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
2. Eschatology (showing God will ultimately fulfill his intention for humanity),
   1. The related promise is Hebrews 13:5b “God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
3. Salvation (showing God took decisive action to fulfill his good intentions even before the final completion of history),
   1. The related promise is Mat 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” and
4. Pneumatology (showing that God is actively at work in you right now),
   1. The related promise is Mat 6:8b “your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

I added an opening story and explored the faulty image of God that results from being angry with him. The four doctrines presented a correct picture of God, I added some ideas from Christian spirituality for getting through anger with God, added a closing story to tie it all together, and finished with an altar call.

The sermon came together very quickly (on the 1.5 hour flight to Berundi en route to Rwanda).

The delivery was good because it was an outline and not the complete ‘script.’ And the results were good. People came forward who were blaming God for all kinds of misfortunes, including getting AIDS from someone who didn’t tell her he was HIV positive and others who felt distant from God because of the perceived lack of an answer to prayer.

I left the church (Capital City Pentecostal Church) feeling good about the sermon and how easy it was to pull it together without any resources but my personal thoughts and the leading of the Holy Spirit. I hope this helps if you have trouble putting a sermon together quickly.

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Every parent lives anticipating the day when they will see their children grown up and living as independent adults, doing what they love to do. Skyping, email, Facebook, and phone calls are great for staying in touch, but nothing substitutes for actually going and seeing firsthand what their situations are.

So, here I am in Thailand and seeing Jessica for the first time on her turf, in her world, with her friends and workmates, and staying as her guest in her apartment. My little girl, my firstborn, has grown up!

Things That Impressed Me as Her Father

• I went to her cell group, where she is the only non-Thai, and she participated quite well in the Thai language. They love her. I went to her church, Jaisamarn Full Gospel Church, and met one of her pastors, and he said the church thinks very highly of her too. It is most gratifying to see a child who has developed a godly character and who is well-esteemed by other believers and the general public.

As I watched the way Jessica introduced an entirely new concept to her class today (arrays), I marveled at how she got their attention, simplified the concepts to start with math ideas they already knew, and then built on prior knowledge to introduce brand new concepts. She made it look easy.

Time Flies!

Where is the girl whose diapers I used to change? Who I taught to ride a bike and drive a car? Who I took to see the symphony for her first dress-up formal event? The one I took to Montreal? The years have flown by so quickly! And now we enter a new relationship with each other not just as parent-child, but as adults on more or less equal terms.

As I think about all this, I appreciate all the more the wonderful job my incredible wife did as she chose to stay at home and do the hardest and most significant work of all—be the primary caregiver to our children. “Well done,” say I.

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The Perfect Last Minutes of Life

Two days later on Friday night (the 24th) I suddenly had an overwhelming Spirit-inspired sense of urgency to see him as fast as I could. When my wife came home from grocery shopping, she found me pacing on the sidewalk in front of our house. I said, “Just drop the cold stuff in the fridge and forget the rest. We’ve got to see Dad as fast as possible.” I did not know that he would die that night, but I’ve learned to pay attention to feelings like this! I took some things with me to show Dad what I had found while cleaning out his house. We arrived at 7:30 and he died at 8:15. But what happened in that 45 minutes is unforgettable, and it gave me the peace that is sustaining me in my grief. From 7:30 to 8:00, as he lay in bed, I

• read two letters written to Dad by his parents in 1950 and a love letter from Mom;
• showed Dad the program from a music recital in 1905 in which his father sang a solo; and
• looked at some pictures he took of Mom while they were dating and a few other pictures he took of his mom, dad, and grandmother.

Dad smiled and chuckled as he listened and looked at all these items, and I heard many “My, my, mys” and other approving comments from him. He lingered over the pictures, held the letters to see his parents’ signatures, and gazed at his father’s name (“Master Alfred Pellowe”) in the program. Then my daughter Jessica called at 8:00 from Bangkok, where she is serving in a Christian school for two years. She told Dad she loves him. Dad was so touched that she had called all the way from Thailand.

Next I assured Dad that his wishes would be carried out after he was gone. I reminded him of the “No heroic measures” provision of his Power of Attorney for Personal Care, and his wishes as far as his funeral and burial are concerned. He said they were all still what he wanted. I mentioned a person whom Dad had said years ago he wanted to officiate at the memorial service, and he said he still wanted him.

Then I was suddenly inspired to pray for him, and I asked if that would be okay. He said “Yes, John, I’d like that” and folded his hands. I don’t think I have ever prayed for Dad out loud in front of Dad before. He’s heard me pray a lot, but not like this. I prayed that Jesus would be his comfort, give him peace, help him feel the fullness of Christ’s love for him, and that Jesus would take care of him. Dad said “Amen,” and that turned out to be his last word.

Dad started to cough and according to the doctor, ruptured a tumor in his chest that poured blood into his lungs. I used the phone to call for help right away, and then held Dad up from his pillow, thinking this might help him. He was gone very quickly. I could not have scripted a better 45 minutes as Dad’s last 45 minutes.

I am completely at peace about Dad because of how this last visit went, and because I know (as described in my previous post) how satisfied Dad was with his own life and the lives of his children and grandchildren. All praise to God who loves us all.

Dying Without Regrets

If your relationship with your parent or your child is not what you wish it would be, take heart that it is never too late to make a change. In my family, as I suspect it probably was in most families of that era, the family revolved around my Mom. And I could write a huge tribute to her too, she was a great mother. Dad was part of the family, and he came to recitals and other things that involved the kids. He did interesting things. But I have to say that he was sort of peripheral to family life. He was there, but it was Mom to whom we would go. It wasn’t until Mom’s stroke in 1989 that I began to really appreciate Dad. He did double duty to care for Mom in the last year of her life. He did everything for her. He stepped up to it and did an outstanding job of standing by his wife in her time of need.

When Mom died in September 1990, Dad suddenly came into the spotlight as a parent. And it is only in the last twenty years of his life that I came to really love him deeply, and care for him, and appreciate him. A very warm and loving relationship blossomed that I never expected. My three siblings have all said their experience was exactly the same as mine. We all feel the same way about Dad. So, you can’t undo the past, but you can change the future. All it takes is to make a decision and start now.

Dr. Raymond Douglas Pellowe
July 22, 1922 – September 24, 2010

Finally, here’s how Dad would like to be remembered – surrounded by his family!!!

I love you Dad!

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An Encounter with Racism

Today, Ben is CEO of an almost US$10 million children and youth agency in Illinois. Ben is also Black. He told us that he never encountered racism in his life until after he graduated from college. When he was in his early twenties, his grandmother died and Ben had to drive from New York City to Atlanta by himself to attend her funeral. He put $100 in his sock and $25 in his pocket. That was his worldly wealth.

He couldn’t afford to stay in a motel, so at 3:00 AM he pulled into a parking lot and went to sleep. At 4:15 he felt the car shaking and he woke up to see a shotgun barrel pointed at him on one side and a revolver on the other side. Two white policemen were yelling at him to get out of the car. He got out and they told him that he had been speeding. When he said he had been asleep since 3AM, one officer said, “Are you calling me a liar, boy?”

Ben was so angry at the unfairness of this that he wanted to hit one of them. He thought if he was going to die, he should do what he could to go down fighting. But he held back. An officer said that if he gave them $50 they’d let him go with a ticket marked paid. He said he only had $25, so they made him empty all of his pockets. Seeing that’s all that he had, they took the $25 and issued him a speeding ticket for that amount. Ben was seething and thought again of hitting them, but he thought better of it.

He wrote a complaint letter to the state’s Attorney General and got a cheque for $350 with an apology. He never cashed that cheque and has it to this day.

The way Ben told the story, it felt like we were there with him and I’m sure the seven of us could feel our hearts beating faster from the sensation. Several of us actually had tears to wipe away. One of my group said that she was ashamed to be white.

The End of Racism?

And then, there occurred… a beautiful moment.

A moment when we saw what the end of racism looks like.

Ben said to her, “You don’t need to be ashamed. You’re a nice person. Why, you’d have been one of the white folk who held lanterns to welcome us into one of the underground railroad stations.”

Beautiful. That’s the end of racism when people are considered as people. Although those white police officers were corrupt, Ben just thought of them as corrupt police officers. And the one who was ashamed was not white in his eyes, just a nice human being.

My parting thought – what if Ben had taken a swing at one of the officers to satisfy his rage? For sure he’d have been sent to jail and I’m pretty sure it would have been a fairly long time and for absolutely certain it would have changed his life forever and he would not be doing the good work he is doing today. He had strong emotions, but he mastered them. A lesson for us all.

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