Sermons by Darryl G. Klassen

THE SEEDS WE SOW   This past summer, Sharon and I decided to extend our sprinkler system. Only one third of our yard was covered by the existing system, so we called on Scott Dyck to help us.             Scott needed to trench a network of channels to lay down the new pipe. This meant that where a trench was dug, grass was cut out. With fresh dirt covering the trenches, grass would need to be seeded. Scott left me a big bag of seed and said to use what I need, and he would come get what was left.              So, I lay down a good covering of grass seed, turned on the sprinkler system, and waited. But all I saw after a time was weeds. You know about my battle with weeds. And the seeds just sat there, no sprouts. I’m also not very patient. I pulled the weeds and decided to seed again. This time I laid down a thicker layer, turned on the water and waited. Again, I looked and no grass. I called Scott and said, “Charge me for the whole bag.” I know what you’re thinking – he’s not a yard gu

FREE INDEED   What does it mean to be free?              As with all concepts, freedom means different things in different contexts. Children will submit to their parents’ rules and orders when they are young, but then they reach the age of teenage angst and ask “why” or say “no.” My sister has often shared that she got married at barely 18 to be “free” from mom and dad. She felt that they unfairly heaped responsibilities on her.               Freedom meant something else to Esther when I visited her ten days ago. After years of battling cancer and chemo treatments that left her depleted, she said she was ready to be free of this body of death. Esther was confident of the Lord’s forgiveness, and she was ready to be set “free” from this life.               When we idealize the idea of freedom as human beings, there tends to be a misconception attached to our hope. People living in China may long to live in a free-market system; those living in Iran dream of freedom from the tyranny of a