Category Archives: sermo

article, Blog, sermo, sermonincipiosermo

Flashlights and Shadow Puppets

Leave a comment
The following was inspired from my message this last Sunday at Parkview Alliance Church. 

“This is the message we have heard from him [Jesus] and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” 1 John 1:5-7 (NIV)

Have you ever been mesmerized by the artistic and creative stylings of a shadow hand puppeteer…someone who can use a flashlight or fixed light source and manipulate light and shadows to create controlled displays of light and darkness, generating illusions of reality.  A great example of this is found in this shadow puppet genius:

The sad fact is we are all masters of light and darkness manipulation.  God has called us to walk in the light, yet most followers of Jesus are sophisticated at selectively standing in the light.  We create deceptive illusions of reality, in hopes of fooling others, ourselves or, even, God.  We want others to focus on our good parts (the parts filled with light) and tactically hide other parts (the parts filled with darkness), creating an illusion of reality.

This tactic has two distinct flaws to it.  First, we are called to be fully submitted to God, the light, and walk in it, to have Christ fully in our entire lives.  We are called to be in the light (justification) and to walk in the light (sanctification).  We are called to be filled with Holy Spirit, submitting full control and obedience to God in EVERY area of our lives.

Second, when we spend all our energy on “image management” and strategically standing in the light,
we are not able to walk in the freedom Christ offers under the warmth of his light.  We are invited to live fully forgiven lives in the warmth of his forgiveness and freedom.  Yet, when we ignore the darkness in our hearts and pretend it doesn’t exist, we end up crumpled and confined by fear.  As a result, we don’t walk in the freedom of the light nor are we able to live in community with others.  If we live our lives stagnantly crumpled in the light, we spend all our time and energy protecting ourselves and, thus, are not able to extend our arms in community’s embrace.

We all struggle with light and darkness manipulation.  We can look at it through the innocent lens of shadow puppets but in the end, it is dark and it is disastrous.  When we live as shadow puppets, it is to our own detriment as we don’t live in the freedom that we have been given in Christ nor do we live in community with others experiencing God’s gift of community.

Step fully into the light of Christ and dance in the warmth of his love, forgiveness and grace.  This is the abundant life Jesus, the Light of the World, offers as we submit to his Spirit, fully abiding in Him.

Blog, sermo

‘Twas The Blank Before Christmas

Leave a comment
The following is an original poem I wrote over several weeks for our Advent Sermon Series this year at Parkview Alliance Church.  The video is the dramatic presentation of the completed poem performed on Christmas Eve by the talented Ralph T.



‘Twas The Blank Before Christmas
by Bryce Ashlin-Mayo

‘Twas Centuries before Christmas and all through the land,
People longed for a Saviour, a deliver and mighty right hand,
They awaited someone to be the new King,
To reign forever – peace and goodwill to bring.

The people waited with great expectation
For centuries and centuries with increased anticipation
The Messiah was prophesied to come as a child
Not as a giant but as a man – meek and mild

‘Twas fourteen months before Christmas, and a miracle was to commence
Zechariah, the priest, was in the temple about to light the incense
And then an Angel appeared, announcing he would have a son
But that would mean Elizabeth’s barrenness would have to be undone

Zechariah questioned this possibility
How could it happen with Elizabeth’s infertility?
Then nine months later they had a boy
They named him John and were full of joy

Now John grew up to be quite strange
He ate locusts and honey and lived on the range
In the Spirit of Elijah, he preached in the land
“Repent,” he would say, “the Kingdom of God is at hand”

‘Twas nine months before Christmas and a young virgin was dreaming
Of the man she would marry, her excitement was beaming
Then out of thin air, an Angel did appear
Saying you are highly favoured, you don’t have to fear

You will have a child and the Son of God is He.
Mary responded: “I am a virgin, how can this be?
But what will Joseph think – the man I am to wed?
But if it is your will, may it be as you have said!”

‘Twas days before Christmas and the young couple was found
leaving from Nazareth and heading to Joseph’s hometown
So off they went on an eighty-mile trek
Through rough terrain  – all for a population check.

‘Twas the night Before Christmas while ‘tired and weary
they entered Bethlehem in quite a hurry
Traveling for days, the baby’s birth was imminent
They were placed in a barn with animals’ excrement

Later that night, Mary gave birth to a boy
She placed him in swaddling clothes and was full of joy
As the angel had told, they named the boy “Jesus”
He was God’s son, who came to save us

In that same night, Angels did appear
They came to the Shepherds whose reaction was fear
They were told to go to Bethlehem and see the new King
Born in a stable, peace and good will to bring

Jesus, God’s son, Immanuel is He
Came to this world for you and for me
For if you call on His name, you will be saved
And experience freedom from sin, for all the enslaved.

All of this was foreseen by the prophets of old
We remember these things, the truth to behold
That day of Christ’s birth would have been quite the sight
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night

article, Blog, sermo

Finding Hope, Truth and Wisdom in the Ancient and Timeless Scriptures for our Rapidly Changing World.

Leave a comment

Many people believe that the Bible (Scripture) is out of date and irrelevant in our modern world; that the Bible’s antiquity makes it obsolete and useless in a technologically rich culture.  I would submit that the opposite is actually true; that in a world of rapid change, abundance of knowledge and unfiltered access to information, there is something inherently compelling about a sacred and ancient text that has been true and applicable for millennia past.  In our world of constant change and adaptation, having timeless truth is incredibly uniquely valuable and the biblical account of David and Bathsheba is a prime example of this in our culture.  Let me explain…

If you are unfamiliar with the story, you can link to the biblical account here in 2 Samuel 11.

In the Biblical narrative, we discover King David, king of a HUGE empire with massive power,
influence and access.  King David, by nature of his situation, can have whatever he wants, whenever he wants it.  In essence, all he has to do with the temptation before him is say “YES.”  The problem for people who have preached on or attempted to learn from this portion of scripture in the past is that we, until recently, have not been granted equal access as Kings.  However, with the rise of technology, specifically the internet (TV, websites, smart phones, iPads, etc.), we have been given equal power and the unfiltered access to content and situations that were once only available to kings or those in power.  In sum, we now, because of technology, have more in common with King David and his sexual temptation than ever before.

This story has immense and powerful implications and applications for our new world and the widespread nature of power, information, unfiltered content and accessibility.   The Bible is equally relevant in our world today!  It has more to say than many realize and it’s timeless truth and eternal message is worth sharing!

If you are interested, I preached on this passage a few months ago with this intro and communicated the similarities that David’s sin has with the temptation of the Internet for many people today.  You can listen or watch it on our Parkview Alliance Church website under the date: January 30, 2011.

sermo

Advent Conspiracy

Leave a comment

This year for advent, we are going through “Advent Conspiracy” during our Sunday Morning Worship Services.


If you are curious about the Advent Conspiracy, you can explore our church website (Parkview Alliance Church) by following the link from the home page or check out the official Advent Conspiracy website.

How are you going to Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More, Love All and Celebrate Life this Christmas?
article, sermo

Rhythm of Time

1 Comment

I preached on rest last Sunday and what it means to keep Sabbath rest in our lives. In tackling the subject, I used the illustration of rhythm. Interestingly, what makes a beautiful rhythm or melody are not just the notes played (the musical activity done) but equally important are the rests, or the ceasing/resting of activity in the music. If the ceasing of sound did not occur, then it would be just noise. I related the Genesis creation account to this (on the seventh day God rested/ceased then blessed it and called it holy) and that God has establish a rhythm of rest that we as humans, too often, war against. This warring comes at great cost to our lives and relationships as it was never how we were created to live.

What would it mean to live in a proper rhythm of activity and rest in our lives, that when working together, would create a beautiful sound scape?