Listen to Last Sunday

FearLESS for Life

Have you ever felt gripped by fear?  Social scientists tell us that there are well over 200 phobias that plague the human family.  Many of us struggle with a measure of anxiety, worry or maybe ‘straight up’ fear as it relates to some aspect of life.  Fear gets in the way of us leading a healthy life where we can engage fully!  Fear breeds in an enviornment where we compulsively ask the ‘what if’ questions. 

We have designed a series of talks around the theme - FearLESS for Life.  We know that many people struggle with the fear of death, the future, things that are unfamiliar.  Some of us are even afraid of God, primarily because we are unfamiliar with him.  We hope you will enjoy listening on-line and that you will find a God-sized reason to FearLESS for Life. 

5 Things You’ll Never Hear God Say

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

There is a Way Out!

Difficulty in life prompts us to seek out an exit door!  It’s human to look for ‘ways out’ that lead us away from suffering and towards comfort.  God was active leading the Hebrew people out of Egypt, but he did it in ways they didn’t expect.  There are times in our life when we struggle to believe that there even is a way out of our difficult circumstances.  God is the master of providing ‘escape routes’! 

Jesus came to provide the ultimate escape route and following him will always lead us to a place of peace and rest.  When we fail to believe that There is A Way Out, we end up losing hope!  Our prayer is that this series of messages will help you be more hope-filled and confident in the God who is working in you - inspite of your circumstances.

Some Assembly Required

God designed us for relationship!  Success in life has everything to do with relationships.  It’s not a stretch to say that the quality of our lives is directly related to the quality of our relationships.  Our lives these days are busy and it’s been said that there is “Much motion ... but little meaning!” I think we struggle with meaning in the 21st century because many of us are relationally deprived.  We seem to be pushing our lives right up to the limit and it leaves us little time for people. 

You will find in this series of teachings some lessons from our friends from Lego.  We were made with an inherant desire and ability to connect ... but when we remain unconnected, we miss a big reason why we were made!  We were created to connect!!

I hope you find value with these series of talks. 

What Will You Find this Christmas?

Searching for parking spots, fighting through crowded malls and listening to over-played Christmas carols that began getting air-time in November … these are all signs that December is here and Christmas is not far off!!  My kids are anxious to set up the tree and probably even more excited to find out what’s got their name on the packages under the tree.  Those of us who live in the west, are generously blessed! 

Do you ever remember a time when you were disappointed with what you found at Christmas?  The sweater was the wrong colour, the DVD you opened you already had or the gift card was for a restaurant that you just couldn’t stand?!

We’ve designed a series of teachings entitled “What will you find at Christmas?” that will be sure not to disappoint. Who among us doesn’t want to receive hope, love and joy this Christmas? Over the next 4 weeks, we’ll be exploring together as a faith community the things that God has wrapped up for us.  They’ve got your name on it!

What on Earth is the Holy Spirit doing?

The Holy Spirit is the most typically understood person in the Godhead.  The very language of his name tends to de-personalize him.  This series is intended to help us embrace the person of the Holy Spirit while making friends with the mystery that surrounds his work in the world.  The Holy Spirit is leading us into new beginnings, he is active raising a family, he is calling us to join him in his redemptive work in the world and he is empowering us to do his work his way.  Our prayer for you is that this series of teachings will help you become more familiar with him so that you can write a truly great story with your life. 

Money Matters

How we handle money really does matter!  Spending, saving, borrowing, planning and giving does require wisdom and the outcomes are massive if we get it wrong, and the rewards are huge when we get it right.  The Bible speaks about money twice as much as it talks about faith or prayer.  Jesus spoke about money twice as much as he did about heaven or hell.  If the Bible includes that much content about the money, then we should spend some time thinking and deciding how to handle it God’s way.  I hope you enjoy this teaching series - it was intended to help you navigate your way through Money Matters in a God-honoring manner.

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is something that each of us needs.  Who among us has not messed up at some point along the journey of life and needed someone to extend us some grace?  This two-part series deals with the horizontal and vertical dimension of forgiveness.  If you’ve often wondered ‘how God forgives’ I think you will appreciate the teaching based on Psalm 32.  There are three Hebrew words that help us understand how God forgives.  Extending forgiveness to others helps us heal.  The business of forgiving is not easy - it’s hard - but it’s the only way to be whole.  Hope you find these teachings helpful on your journey towards wholeness and well-being.

In the Dust of the Rabbi

Jesus was a first century Rabbi who invited people to follow him.  A Rabbi in the first century was one of the most highly regarded and influential people in the culture.  To be invited to follow a Rabbi was to be granted an enormous privilege of ‘learning’.  So a saying developed among the Rabbinical community - ‘May you be covered in the dust of your Rabbi!’ Followers of Rabbi’s in the time of Christ would leave family, friends, houses, vocation and aspirations in order to give themselves fully to ‘being with the Rabbi,’ so that they could learn to be like the Rabbi in order to do what the Rabbi does.  This is what it means to be a disciple - To hear the invitation to follow, to be prepared to give up all in order to be with him, so that we might learn to be like the Rabbi and to do what the Rabbi does.

7 Wonderings of the World

Questions and life go together, don’t they? I’ve never met anyone who has all the answers. Though we wish this wasn’t the case, mess and mystery are built into the fabric of our lives. Life rarely comes to us in neat packages, but leaves us frequently living with unanswered questions. These 7 teachings deal with some of your ‘wonderings’. Each of us wants meaning, significance and hope; and yet sometimes our searching questions appear to deny us the very things we’re looking for.

Reaching Across the Fence and Around the World

During this year’s missions conference, we were reminded that missions starts at home and spreads to the rest of the world.  Reaching ‘Across the Fence and Around the World’ is a biblical idea (Acts 1:8), one which this church has a deep commitment to. Close to 2 billion people on this planet have yet to hear about the gospel of Jesus and it is our responsibility to partner with God in spreading the word about the grace of God.

Home Sense - Uncommon Sense for Family Life

In the 21st Century, family life has become increasingly complex!  New definitions of family are emerging and the pace of life has taken its toll on marriages, children and our personal sense of wholeness.  As the Christian community, we believe that the family is a critical piece in a well-functioning society.  My prayer for you over the next 6 weeks is that each of us would make a re-investment in our family-life.

“Home Sense - Uncommon Sense for Family Life” is intended to be extremely practical and applicable to all of us regardless of our life-season.  Hope to see you at all 6 weeks and why not consider inviting a neighbor to join you.  Let’s share together the UN-common sense found in the Bible - after all, it’s for everyone!!

NO REGRETS - Making the Most of Your Life!

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16

Life is fleeting at best!  The days turn into weeks, the weeks so quickly become months and the years seem to merge together.  As James said so well, “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes”. James 4:14 Beginning 2007 by taking a fresh inventory of our lives is worth the effort.  You will find in this sermon series a group of talks that will help us reflect on our priorities, the way we handle our minds and the way we manage our bodies.  New Years Resolutions usually are negated early on in the year and the way of least resistance is embraced typically by mid-February or earlier.  We only get one mind and one body and how we choose to care for both of these has an impact on the quality of our lives.

Hope you find these messages helpful as you reconsider what is most important in life.  Who wants to finish life with a series of ‘big regrets’?

Why the Nativity

Christmas is more than cards, trees, gifts and Egg Nog.  Recently, Hollywood produced a film entitled; “The Nativity” and it invited our culture to re-think the nature of Christmas.  This series of talks was intended to help people reflect on the real meaning of Christmas by going back to the birth of Christ and spending time with characters that were part of that great event!  The wonderful thing about the Scriptures is that if you read with an open heart, you might just find yourself in one of the characters OR all of the characters.  If you struggle to believe in Jesus, the message on Christmas Eve may be helpful that was entitled; “Why Believe?” This talk was built around a popular animated Christmas movie “The Polar Express.”

We ought to never forget, that Christmas is primarily about God showing the world the depth of his commitment to us by sending his Son to be the Saviour of the world.  No greater gift can than this!!

Making Room for Each Other

The church is a collection of people from all sorts of different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives on life.  Yet in the midst of such diversity there is an unmistakable sense of unity that takes place.  It has been said before that God is always moving from ‘plurality to oneness.’ He always takes multiplicity and brings singularity.  This is best described in God’s design for marriage – “The two will become one flesh” (Genesis 2).  Jesus prayer for us is that we would be one (John 17).  These 4 talks invite us to reconsider what it means to be a unique individual who chooses to embrace community.  We belong to each other and the church is a place where we ‘make room for each other.’ This series deals with our need to embrace our spiritual temperament and make room for those who have a different temperament than us.  To recognize that we have been gifted in ways that compliment the rest of the people around us and when we discover, develop and deploy our giftedness, others are helped.  The last thing that should be present in a community of faith is a judgmental attitude – this will only serve to separate and divide, which is not the work of God in the church.

Hope you find value in listening to these talks on our need to move towards one another, not away from each other.

7 Habits of Highly Effective Christians

The Apostle Peter wrote to a 1st Century reader and he reminded them of some very important character traits that if they are found in increasing fashion in people’s lives, they will keep them from leading an ‘unproductive and ineffective’ life.  We all want to be productive and effective with our lives.  Stephen Covey wrote a book some time ago that was widely embraced by the culture that outlined “7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” This series of talks will help you embrace 7 habits or character traits that will help you from a faith perspective become an effective person on God’s terms.

Developing these 7 habits in your life is not an issue of trying harder, but of allowing the Spirit of Jesus to be at the center of your life.  When Jesus is at the center, he helps us with our character.  Being a person of character is critical to sustain healthy relationships, foster trust and to be a person who contributes to society.  Hope you find these talks helpful as the Spirit of Jesus desires to work out in you a character that reflects his.