Pat Bell

The writer of the Gospel of John does not identify himself by name in the text, but five times, he describes himself as "the disciple whom Jesus loved". One day as I thought about what it must have been like for John to know Jesus' love, … Read more

A few months ago, at the first meeting of our Bible study group focused on the Gospel of John, I learned the context of the book. Jewish-Christians in Rome before 90 A.D. were shunned by both their synagogue and their extended families. … Read more

When I want to understand something, I use three questions to guide my inquiries: "What do you mean?" "How do you know?" and "So what?" As I read the gospel of John in preparation for discussions at our adult Bible study group, because I … Read more

The other day while working in the kitchen, my CD player provided a dramatic reading from Luke 24. The words from the recording that grabbed my attention were about the two disciples' Resurrection Day meeting with Jesus on the road to … Read more

Now, I think of it as Big Snow Blower Day. In January this year, after three consecutive arctic blizzards, it was a delightful relief to watch our neighbour, Don, drive his tractor and snow blower into the huge snowdrifts blocking our … Read more

For the first time ever, this winter, I strapped on a pair of snowshoes and hiked off at speed over head-high snowdrifts into our scrubby wetlands. It was giddy. As I made those initial strides, the thought came, "I am walking on water — … Read more

I discovered recently that one of the strategies used to tuck a large amount of information into human memory is to visualize an imaginary "memory house" where each room gives a place to store specific, important details. In preparation … Read more

The Spark Sunday School Curriculum lesson plan for preschoolers focused on how the Old Testament story of God providing manna, quail, and water for the children of Israel throughout the forty years they wandered in the desert teaches a … Read more

Perhaps you are familiar with this little song of praise and adoration to God: Lord, You are more precious than silver. Lord, You are more costly than gold. Lord, You are more beautiful than diamonds, And nothing I desire compares to You. … Read more

I wondered whether it would be just empty words if I wrote "Happy New Year" to PresbyCan Daily readers. Then I remembered the two prayers written by the apostle Paul to the Ephesians. I pray those prayers almost every morning for loved … Read more