NorthWord is a daily Christian podcast from St. John's Fort Smith in collaboration with the Anglican Family. Hosted by Father Aaron from Fort Smith, Northwest Territories.
Here's how it works: Every Sunday we release the full sermon preached that morning. Then Monday through Saturday, you get 3-5 minute daily reflections based on that sermon - one thought you can actually use each day. Every Wednesday we explore the rhythm of Jesus' life and how his followers have lived it out for 2,000 years.
Whether you're Pentecostal, Orthodox, Baptist, Catholic, or just curious about faith - this is for you. Ancient faith. Real life. No fluff.
In a club, you get read out at the annual general meeting. In a family, somebody knocks on your door. Father Aaron on Matthew 18:15, on why Jesus sends you alone and without an audience, and on the parable that sits immediately before it.
In a club, you get read out at the annual general meeting. In a family, somebody knocks on your door. Jesus tells you which one you belong to. Good morning. This is Northward, the Word of the North, your week, a daily podcast from St. John's Ford Smith, in collaboration with the Anglican family. I'm your host, Father Aaron, and happy Friday. Matthew chapter 18, verse 15. If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. Someone has wronged you. What does Jesus tell you to do? Go and see him. He sinned against you. It is between you and him. Don't open your big fat mouth to anybody else. I can't stress that enough. Do not open your mouth to anybody else. Between you and your brother or sister in Christ, that is how our family functions. Those are the rules, those are the standards of our family. You don't go running and yelling to mommy and daddy, you work it out with one another. And there's a reason for the privacy. When someone does something wrong, shame is the worst thing, and it freezes them. They are stuck. And a frozen person cannot repent, cannot apologize, cannot move. So you give them the full opportunity to reconcile with you, and you do it without an audience. I have been on committees and boards and various clubs and organizations. And how often do you hear that? We are calling this annual general meeting today to announce that member so-and-so has broken rule 1483-2A and will therefore no longer be admitted into the clubhouse on Tuesdays. No, no. Jesus comes to us and says, Go to your brother. And notice what's going on. If he hears you, if your brother hears you, you have gained your brother. Not gained revenge, not gained an admission that he was wrong, not gained the higher ground of the, you know, of the front witnesses. You gained your brother back. That's the entire prize. Now Jesus does go on. He says, if he won't hear you, take one or two others, and if he still won't, tell it to the church. And if he won't hear the church, then something has broken, and he has to unfortunately leave the family. But notice what that is. The man has walked out on the family. The family didn't vote him out in a meeting. And it's very, very interesting because right before this story in the Gospel, just at previous verses, previous chapter, in the Gospel of Matthew, we have the parable of the lost sheep. The shepherd who leaves the 99 and goes out after the one. That is the frame Jesus puts around the whole procedure. This is not a disciplinary policy. This is search and rescue. So if there is somebody you have been narrating to other people instead of talking to, there's your week. Go to him alone. Not to win a battle, not to get an apology, but to get your brother or sister back into your family. Thank you for spending this week with us here on Northword. Our producer and co-host is the Reverend Deacon Luke Anderson, and we are just so thankful for all the hard work he does here on this podcast. If this podcast today spoke to you or this week spoke to you, share it with somebody, and that way we can reach more and more people with the word of God. And don't forget, there is a text us link. Just open up the show notes wherever you're listening to this, Apple, Spotify, YouTube, Deezer, Castbox, if people still use Castbox. And you click on that little link there that says text us, and it's gonna open up your text messages on your phone. And you can send us a text and share with us what you're enjoying about the Northward, what you would like to hear, what kind of topics you are gonna like to hear on the North Word, and maybe there's a person you think would be really, really interesting to have on the show. Well, let us know and we'll see if we can get them on the show for you. This has been Northward the Word, the North Your Week, a daily podcast from St. John's Fort Smith in collaboration with the Anglican family. Have a wonderful weekend, and until next week, may God be with you.
