Gospel Chapel Grand Forks

Ben Jepsen, former Youth Pastor and then Executive Pastor at Gospel Chapel. Easter Sunday 2025

How do we know the Holy Spirit is leading us, or when it's just our own hearts and ideas? There's no formula for this - discernment isn't a math problem to be solved, but a relationship to engage.

Sunday, March 9 - Guest Speaker: Sid Koop. This is a continuation and follow-up message that connected with the presentations and conversations we had with Sid the previous day. You can view the morning session "Passing Faith to the Next Generation" on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/AHZF9bef5Eo Saturday, March 8, 2025. Gospel Chapel hosted Sid Koop from the Youth Workers Community. Sid walked us through the current cultural climate and issues facing our children and teens, and gave us practical insights into how to best disciple the next generation. Check out the YWC website for more information: https://www.youthworker.community/

In our last exploration of the letter to the Philippians, we note three interlocking themes that drive Paul's message to this church: the Humility of Christ (2:5-11), the Pursuit of Christ (3:7-16), and the Community of Christ (1:3-11; 4:4-20).

Paul takes, at least on first glance, a diversion from his message. Why does he switch to talking about sending Timothy and Epaphoiditus to them at this point in the letter? Was he finishing up the letter and then added more after? Or, is he mentioning these two men at this point for a reason beyond just their travel plans?

Today we get to the heart of Philippians. 1:27 is arguably the "thesis statement" of the letter; it's what Paul longs to see in the life of the church. The rest of the letter will spell out the details.

Today we read through the letter to Philippi, and then consider the main themes of Paul's introduction - which will be the main themes of the letter.

This was Jon's second Sunday with us, and we also had some great training times with him during the week. In this message Jon continues to unpack disciple making and using the Discovery Bible Study approach as we dig into 1 Peter 1.

Our series on biblical church identity wrapped up today with a final message from the minor prophet Haggai. I find it encouraging and hopeful that in spite of the people's reluctance, passivity, excuses, and selfishness, God still spoke to the people, drew them back to himself, and promised to bless them and be with them. He is faithful. As noted in the introduction to this episode, there will be a pause on podcast posts for the month of August. We'll be back in September! Have a great summer.

Markus & Anja Kappers serve with Reach Across in Birmingham, England. Our church has supported them for many years, and it has been a long time since we have had them with us in person. 

This continues our exploration of Biblical Church Identity This series is also working through the five areas of growth that our church leadership identified through the "Setting Your Church Free" (Neil Anderson) seminary that we were guided through by our conference minister, Rob Thiessen, at the end of May 2024. Haggai 1 is a call to return to God's purposes for His people. Haggai is one of the few prophets whose ministry is an immediate success; the people hear the message and respond with obedience. Weird...

We had a great weekend at the Pines Bible Camp! Sam Dick was our guest speaker for the weekend and this is the Sunday morning message. Apologies for the audio quality, and also the camera memory card ended up full, so we missed the conclusion of the message... but there's good stuff here ;) 

One of our church members, Dale Redford, shares his thoughts on the story of desperate people meeting Jesus, and what happened when they did.

God's people are to be distinct not only in the way we live and the values we hold, but in how we speak to and about one another, to be life-giving speakers, whose words are "good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear" (Eph 4:29). This is never easy or natural for recovering sin-addicts. In fact, to renounce slander and gossip might be one of the most counter-cultural things we can do.

This is perhaps the shortest message on our podcast! Our Celebration Sunday 2024 was a great time of looking back at the past ministry year. It was a lot of fun, and a great reminder that when we work together for the Gospel, we are are "the light of the world."

In this message, we walk through some history of the anabaptist movement, and reflect on the importance of baptism in the life of the church community. Further resources mentioned at the end can be found at: https://www.mennonitebrethren.ca/the-mb-confession-of-faith-full-text/ https://www.kindredproductions.com/product/365/ https://www.kindredproductions.com/product/family-matters/ https://www.waynegrudem.com/systematic-theology    

Over the next few months, we will be looking at the nature and the mission of the church. Who are we as God's people? What is our role in God's story of redemption? What does a healthy church practice in attitude and action?

At the start of each quarter this year, we are focussing on one of the letters of Paul to the churches. There is a brief introduction to the letter, a reading of the letter, and then a few observations as to the overall message of the letter for us today.