Church of the City

Join us for worship on June 8 as we continue our series Christ Over All with a message titled Christ's Power in Us. Together, we'll explore the Christian response to spiritual forces—what Scripture says about the unseen battles we face and how we can stand firm in the power and authority of Christ. Whether you're just beginning to ask questions or have walked with Jesus for years, this is a meaningful opportunity to grow in faith and deepen your understanding of the spiritual strength we've been given.

Join us for a powerful message as guest speaker Samir shares insights from Daniel 10 and Luke 10:18, exploring the unseen spiritual battles and the radiant power of God's truth. Samir will also speak about the work being done through the Lumens of Truth: Afghan Ministry—a testimony of light shining in some of the world's darkest places. Come be inspired and equipped to carry the light of Christ wherever you are.

Join us this Sunday as we transition into Part Two of our Christ Over All series, where we'll explore Christ's supremacy not just over earthly rulers and authorities, but the spiritual forces at work in our world as well. C.S. Lewis famously said this about spiritual powers in the world: "There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight." Join us on Sunday as we try and navigate a middle road between these two extremes!

Join us this Sunday as we continue considering how the People of God interact with power. Last week we looked to the Old Testament to see that, in some ways, the Hebrew Scriptures are all pointing to the problematic nature of power for human authorities. Thankfully, Jesus came as the truly faithful king in David's line—so how did the New Testament church think of power and authority in light of Christ's ministry?

Join us this Sunday at Reunion as we continue our series Christ Over All. Last Sunday we considered the relationship between God and human authority; this week we'll consider how God's people relate to authority. This should be straightforward, right? If only that were the case! The story the Scriptures tell reveals a complicated relationship between God's people and power. Join us as we consider this together!

This week week at Church of the City, we continue our sermon series Christ Over All with a powerful look at God and human authority. Drawing from Genesis 1 and Psalm 8, we'll explore how God created humanity in His image to steward creation under His supreme rule. Come discover what it means to live faithfully under Christ's authority in every area of life.

Holy Week is here. We look forward to celebrating together one of the most significant weeks in world history; days in which our true King was revealed, sin and death were defeated, and our hope of resurrection was born. Have a look below for some more details on how we'll be gathering as a church.

Join us this Sunday as we conclude our series, Deeper Still, by looking at Jesus' final words in at his last supper with his disciples. Remarkably, those last words were spent praying for you! How does it make you feel to know that the eternal Son of God prayed for you in some of his final moments before heading to the cross?

This Sunday, we'll dive into the first half of John 17:1-19, where Jesus prays not only for his disciples, but also for himself. Why would the Son of God need to pray for himself, we might ask? And how is that prayer relevant for us? Join us as we consider this prayer from Jesus as he approached the cross.

This Sunday we'll be exploring the rest of John 16. If Jesus promised to give us his peace (John 14:27), then why do our lives still feel un-peaceful so much of the time? If he promised to answer whatever we ask in his name, then why do we still feel anxious so often, even when we seek relief in him? Join us at Reunion as we explore some of the answers to these questions, and the durable hope we have in Jesus.

Join us this Sunday as we explore John 15 and 16. We see Jesus return to the theme of the Helper, the Spirit of God, that He sent to us. What role does the Spirit play in our lives? What role does the Spirit play in the world as we await Christ's return? And can it really be true that we are better off without Jesus here with us in the flesh?

This Sunday when we join together in Reunion we'll be considering Jesus' words in John 15. Andrew Murray once said that if every Christian would let the words of this passage sink into their hearts, then "all will be right." Let's come together and soak up these words from our friend and King, Jesus!

Hello COTC family!We have a bold, beautiful vision for Guelph. We long for a day when every person in our city could encounter Jesus and experience the wholeness of life in his kingdom. In some ways, this vision grows bolder every year, as our city continues to grow: the Guelph census area surpassed 180,000 people last year! Sadly, the church in Guelph is far from keeping pace with this growth. We don't believe it is the responsibility of the lost person to seek out the church and ask to hear the gospel. We are called to go out into the world, showing and sharing the love of Jesus, making disciples who make disciples. We take our cues from Jesus on this: "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost." (Luke 19:10)This is the driving passion behind missional communities. We desire to be outposts of God's kingdom scattered throughout the city, following Jesus together and inviting others to follow him with us. This is beautiful work, but it is also very often hard, and it is almost always slow. This is our goal for Missional March: to commit ourselves to this vision again. To be willing to make a sacrifice in order to see this vision realized, and to encourage one another in our acts of generosity that we are, indeed, following Jesus together in Guelph.Our goal to raise this month is $45,000, but really, the invitation is to make a sacrificial investment in this ministry with us, whatever that may be for you. You don't need to earmark your giving in any way to be a part of this campaign; we're just tracking all of our donations through the month of March. You can find all the ways you can give here! Stay tuned for stories all month of what God is doing in and through everyday disciples on mission.

Hello COTC family - Spencer here. As we finished our series, "The Missional Heart of God," it felt like we as a church needed to spend more time on these themes, so we have decided to camp out in a section of Scripture that many believe shows us the deepest parts of Jesus' heart: in the upper room, before his crucifixion, with his disciples. Join us we explore John 13-17 and dive deeper still into God's love for us, his mission to this world, the help he sends us, and the peace we have in him. Sunday we'll explore the opening scene in the upper room: Jesus washing his disciples feet.

We are looking forward to Sunday as we conclude our series on the Missional Heart of God. We wanted to end by spending some time together in reflection in prayer, asking the Spirit to open our eyes anew to God's work in the world around us and sharing words of encouragement with one another.

We've spent the past few weeks reflecting on God's missional heart from creation to the promises made to Abraham for all nations. Our missional God opens his heart to share His life and blessings with all people through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Last week we discovered how Jesus immerses us in God's life so that we can participate in His mission. This week we will look even closer at living out the pattern for mission Jesus has shown us. Join us at Reunion as Jasons walks us through Jesus as the Pattern of our Mission.

This week, Jason will take us on a journey to explore the Missional Heart of God in the context of being immersed in God's Heart for Mission. The very purpose of our existence has been to help fulfill God's mission for his creation. What is that purpose, and how can we come along to support it? How do we come to a place of love and motivation for God's plan? Find out Sunday!

As we head into a new year, we want to stop and consider a word you likely hear a lot at COTC: missional. What does it mean to be missional? Why are we missional? Join us this Sunday as we look at God's choosing the Israelites as his first missional people on earth and what this responsibility meant for the nation of Israel. We'll also get to hear the story of life in another one of our missional communities as they share with us. See you Sunday!

Join us as we launch our new series in the New Year: The Missional Heart of God. We want to take time to focus 2025 on what we're here to do as Christians: "the mission of God has a Church." Journey with us as we explore what it means to serve a God who is Missional.

In our final week of Advent we will be looking to the future. As Jason reminded us on Sunday, Advent is a time to look back and Christ's first coming and look forward to his return. What kind of peace will Jesus usher in when he comes again? Join us Sunday as we consider Peace for All Time.

This week in our Advent series on the Prince of Peace, we'll be zooming out and looking at our world as a whole. If the Prince of Peace has come, why does conflict still rage in the world around us? How do we respond as followers of Jesus to the war and violence we see? Join us as our Associate Staff Elder Jason leads us in considering what good news our Prince of Peace brings in the midst of a conflicted world.

This year, with all the stories of conflicts going on around the world, we want to focus in on the theme of Jesus coming as our Prince of Peace. This week, we look at how peace with God will help us build peace with one another.

With the start of December comes the beginning of Advent. This year, with all the stories of conflicts going on around the world, we want to focus in on the theme of Jesus coming as our Prince of Peace. Sunday, we'll start this series by considering the deepest conflict that Jesus resolved—our separation from God—and how this peace is the source of all others.

What a Sunday we just shared together in celebrating baptisms and seeing what God is up to in our midst! Join us this Sunday for our final instalment in our series, Freely Give, as we take a look at how God invites us to view our money!

This week in our series, Freely Give, we'll be considering how to generously offer up the gifts that God has blessed us with to build up the church and bless the world. God has uniquely gifted you - are you offering these gifts back to him and others?

On Sunday we began a new series focused on generosity called, Freely Give. We focused on the generous heart of God as revealed throughout the Scriptures. This Sunday we'll explore what kind of transformation is worked in us with a right understanding of God's generosity. See you soon!

This week we launch into a new series: Freely Give. In this series we want to go deeper than just inviting generous acts, we want to consider what it means for us to be generous. The Christian life is about being with Jesus and becoming like him. How does generosity fit into this? See you Sunday!

This Sunday is a special one for Reunion - Aaron Goodrich, pastor of Soma Grand Rapids, will be bringing the message after leading our MC Leaders at our retreat this weekend. We are excited for the message Aaron has for us!

This Sunday we conclude our series Hearing God's Voice. We're going to ask the question, "What do we do if we feel like we are hearing God's voice?" Perhaps you've sensed God leading you in a new direction in your life as you've read Scripture, or through the word of a brother or sister in community. How do we make decisions in these moments? What do we trust, what do we dismiss, and are there any other options? This is the work of discernment, and we'll consider it this Sunday.

Following Jesus, together, in Guelph. On Sunday we consider the final part of our mission: "in Guelph." What does it look like to follow our King Jesus in a world that does not know him? Eugene Peterson said the church was to be "colony of heaven in the country of death." Join us as we dream together about what this might look like. We'll also hear from a few community partners who are also committed to making Guelph look more like heaven - don't miss it! See you Sunday!

This Sunday we're continuing in our Vision Series, and we're talking about just one word in our mission statement: "together." What does it look like to follow Jesus together? We look forward to unpacking this together!

Many people say it: "I'm a follower of Jesus." But what does that actually mean? Join us on Sunday for Week Two of our 2024 Vision Series where we'll consider the everyday reality of what it means to be one of Jesus' disciples. We'll also hear an update about some goings on from one of our MC's.

You have probably heard us say that our mission as a church is "Following Jesus together in Guelph." But what is the goal we are aiming towards in this life of following Jesus together? What do we mean when we say, "In Guelph as it is in Heaven"? What would that actually look like.

Only one more instalment in our Extraordinary Fruit series. Join us Sunday 10am as we wrap up our journey through the Fruit of the Holy Spirit, and consider some final thoughts for their impact in our daily life.

We're so thrilled to have Mike Anderson join us Sunday to bring the word! Mike will continue our series on the Fruit of the Holy Spirit, taking a close look at Proverbs 11:30, and what we become in the hand of God when we bear the fruit he desires for us.

We always love to hear from our long-term missionaries, and this Sunday we're thrilled Bechara Karkafi will be opening the word.

Steve Adams brings a fresh voice to our Extraordinary Fruit series. See you at 10am at 75 Norfolk St!

Join us at 75 Norfolk this Sunday as we continue our series on the Fruit of the Spirit with a conversation about kindness. In particular, we'll consider the nature of God's kindness towards us, and how this should motivate the way we respond to those we share life with. See you on Sunday!

This Sunday we'll be back at 75 Norfolk and considering patience in our Extraordinary Fruit series. In preparation for Sunday, consider patience for a moment: what scenes come to mind? Ask the Spirit to help you be open to how he might want to ripen the fruit of patience in our lives. See you Sunday!

We enjoyed kicking off our new series on the fruit of Spirit this past Sunday. Join us this week as we consider joy as a key to our transformation into Christlikeness. Also, we want to remind you that there is no nursery during the summer months, but ages 3 to 12 are in the gym together for a combined program. See you Sunday!

This Sunday we are starting a new series for the Summer: the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit are so often misunderstood; are they virtues we work hard to achieve? Or do we just sit back and let God work this change in us when he pleases? Or is there another option? Join us over the next couple months as we unpack how we can all participate in the Spirit's impressive gardening project.

This week at Reunion we take a beat to reflect, pray, and worship together. Join with us as we lift up our church, our city, and our world to God in prayer and worship!

This week wraps up our series on Ezekiel. We turn finally to chapters 47 and 48 to see Ezekiel's vision for good news: the new land. We hope you've enjoyed learning with us this season.

Join us for a special Sunday as Dave brings the word on Ezekiel 43:12-46:24 and the Good News: the New Torah. This is Dave's last teaching at COTC as he and Donna move out West this Summer. Please join us in thanking Dave for his years of faithful service as an Elder at Church of the City.

At Reunion, Spencer will be leading us through Chapters 40:1-43:11 of Ezekiel. This is an important moment as Ezekiel is given a vision of good news in the form of a new temple. Join us as we consider this passage together.

We're excited for Becki Lee to bring the word this Sunday on Ezekiel Chapters 38-39, looking at the proclamation of the good news: hope for the nations.

Join us this Sunday as we enter into the second half of the book of Ezekiel, after Jerusalem's fall. We'll consider the hope of new life that God extends to us, even today, and how that changes the way we approach everyday life.

We as elders and staff are praying for you if you sensed a step of obedience God was asking of you last Sunday. This week we'll look at Ezekiel 25-32 as Ezekiel directs his prophecies outward towards the surrounding nations.

This week we'll look at Ezekiel's final prophecies before he learns of the fall of Jerusalem. We trust you've finding that, in the midst of difficult passages like the ones we've been looking at in recent weeks, the Spirit still has rich things to teach us. We'll also be hearing some stories of God at work through our missional communities.

This Sunday we continue our journey through Ezekiel by looking at one of Israel's darkest moments and considering what God might want to teach us from a passage as difficult as this.

This week in our series in Ezekiel, we'll be looking at chapters 4-7, and considering what God's warnings to the people of Israel might mean for us in twenty-first century Guelph. We'll also be having our Welcome Home lunch after the service. If you are newer to Church of the City, we'd love to have you join us. See below for more details!