'resources' Tagged Posts
Enrich Your Marriage Without Leaving Your Couch!
Hello Malmo friends. There’s an opportunity coming up late in November in which you can deepen and enrich your marriage from within the comfort of your own home (within reach of your own fridge and coffee maker!) On November 21, Family Life Canada is offering an online marriage conference. It includes five 1-hour video sessions hosted by Neil and Sharol Josephson, which will give you “tools, exercises and guided conversations to help you and your partner grow a healthier, more…
The Evangelical Covenant Church and the Bible
The Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC), the denomination to which Malmo belongs, every so often publishes “teaching documents” for its churches to “provide context and clarity for Covenant churches on critical issues of concern in matters of faith, doctrine and conduct.” These resource papers are approved by the ECC Annual Meeting, our highest denominational authority, and are a helpful guide to understand how the ECC generally approaches scripture. The Evangelical Covenant Church believes that the “the Holy Scripture, the Old and…
Helpful Bible reading tips (podcast episode)
Scot McKnight’s* Kingdom Roots podcast recently posted an episode that presented his talk called “What I Wish Every Christian Would Do When Reading the Bible” (episode 125, episode links below**). It’s about 40 minutes long and has lots of wise and helpful suggestions for us as we read the Bible. As a teaser, here are the main points he makes: The Bible is a gift from God. Get out of the way. Develop bigger ears. Locate what you’re reading in…
Tractor Spirituality: connecting with God in the cab and in the kitchen.
The season has begun where a number of you will be spending a good many hours in seeders and trucks. Some of you always do that, no matter what the season. Below are some things you can do to connect with God and your faith in your tractor/truck as the seeding season unfolds. This could also be helpful to those of you who spend much of your time at home or even working a 9-5 job. Begin your work day…
Women in Church Leadership (helpful resource)
The Evangelical Covenant Church, the denomination Malmo belongs to, has been ordaining women (i.e., allowing them to be lead pastors) since the 1970s. If you’re wondering why we believe that women can serve in all levels of leadership (perhaps you are new to our church) this short podcast episode is a helpful starting point to understanding why we believe what we do. It doesn’t cover all the potentially relevant passages, but it’s a great starting point.
Palms up, palms down prayer
During worship last Sunday, the children and the rest of the congregation was led through the “palms up, palms down” prayer. This is a prayer that anyone can do at any time. Prayer is simply conversation with God—listening to and speaking with him. Sometimes it’s helpful to use our bodies when we pray to help us focus. This is not unusual: people lift their hands during worship, fold their hands and close their eyes during prayer, or perhaps kneel or…
Inviting God into your day (simple morning prayer)
It’s the time of year where many of us have committed to improving something in our lives or to develop better habits. Some of those commitments are large and some of them have been broken already! Here’s a suggestion for a simple habit to develop: first thing in the morning, before you do or say anything else, invite God into your day. This can be a short prayer you say as you sit on the edge of your bed, bedhead,…
Praying with scripture (resource for individuals and families)
There is a whole lot of devotional material available. You may have your own preference for that stuff or maybe you’re overwhelmed by all the options and don’t know where to begin. I’d like to highlight one unique resource that I have found very helpful in my walk with God. It’s called Seeking God’s Face: Praying with the Bible Through the Year. This book has one entry for every day of the year, beginning with Advent. Each day includes a couple…