Grace Valley Church

Cultivating the fruit of joy isn't something that can be done over night, but it is something that every Christian should practice in their every day life. While happiness is an emotional response to external stimuli, joy resides deep in our hearts and cannot be changed by the weather. Listen in as Pastor Paul takes us through Philippians 4:4-9 and we learn how to refocus our thoughts towards joy and the beauty of the Lord.

Why are we so obsessed with love? Our art, our songs, our movies, our television shows all revolve around the topic of love in some shape or form. In this sermon, Pastor Paul unpacks the reasons why our hearts and minds are so focused on love and what that says about our Creator.

This Sunday we follow along with Josiah Ling as he takes us through Matthew 9:35-38. Even though it's a privilege to be invited to share the gospel with others, it can be really intimidating. But the Holy Spirit has got our backs and all we're called to do is show up as God instructs. Join us this week as we learn more about how evangalism works and how we can be a part of God's great harvest.

Have you ever done something you swore you'd never do? So did apostle Peter. It's not hard to imagine the shame he must have felt and the the utter certainty that he was a failure of a human being. But when he encounters the risen Christ, after denying his Lord three times and crumbling under pressure, what does he do? He dives right into the sea and swims headlong right into Jesus' arms. Jesus calls Peter to Himself, despite Peters utter failure, despite the betrayal and despite his self loathing and shame. Peter had spent years with Jesus, following Him, learning about Him and watching how He treated those around Him. Peter knew that he would be accepted and loved and forgiven. Peters actions prove that Jesus was a sure and steady anchor and we can rest in the knowledge that no matter what we have done, Jesus stands ready to forgive and redeem us too.

Here was the Mary who had been possessed by seven demons. The one whose uncontrolled, demonic rage had made her an outcast and an object of scorn and fear. Here she was, a woman whose fragile heart had been broken yet again because the one who told her He'd never leave her, was indeed gone. He'd died on a criminals cross and there was nothing she could do about it. But here was Mary, her eyes widening in disbelief and her soul screaming out in joy and unparallelled relief as her Saviour stood in front of her. Here she was, a woman, who had no social standing, no future and past regrets that threatened to drown her once again. Here she was, clinging to the Lord, her finger nails digging into His flesh (His flesh!) where three days earlier iron nails had been pierced through that very same flesh. As He gently told her to go spread the news that He had Risen, all of her grief begain to shed through the tears and sweat that ran down her face as she went to tell her fellow disciples. Here she was, just a woman, just Mary, and Jesus Christ knew her by her name and chose HER.

In this incredible story of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, we learn that all is not as it seems. While the crowd was looking towards this outcast of a man to save them from Roman rule, shouting "Hosanna!" and laying their clothes at His feet, Jesus was preparing Himself for what was to come - His ultimate rescue mission. A mission that was far from addressing the immediate concerns of the people, yet it addressed the deepest concern they didn't even know they had. The salvation of their very souls. Join us this week as we walk through John 12:12-19 together and ask the question: if you knew Jesus wasn't going to give you everything your really wanted, would you still worship him?

This week, Pastor Paul unpacks John 12:1-8 and we see how Mary, sister of Lazarus, responds to her encounters with Jesus Christ.

In this encounter with Jesus, we see one of the most beautiful descriptions of who Jesus is and how He relates to us as hurting, broken human beings. We have a warrior and a protector who gives us eternal life and a man who weeps with us in the meantime. Tune in this week as Pastor Paul unpacks John 11:17-44 and witness how Jesus rages against death itself and how He is our ultimate comfort and hope in the face of tragedy and loss.

Many people today will say that our culture has moved "beyond" Christianity. That we know better than we did "back then." In the west, our pursuit of scientific exploration and our material wealth has lulled us into a false sense of security. We've figured it out. We were blind, but now we see. But Jesus Christ is telling us that unless we see Him as our saviour, we are just as blind as the man we meet in John 9. Join us today as we walk through the entire chapter of John 9 and we learn how Jesus opens our eyes to the one who truly holds all power and deserves all glory: Himself.

What is freedom, really? We're all enslaved to something - our mortgages, our desires for marriage, the approval of our bosses or our children. Jesus calls us to true freedom. Freedom that untethers our souls from the sinful servitude to the idols in our lives. When we serve Him, we're free from the relentless pursuit of things that will simply not satisfy our perpetual need to be filled. This week Josiah Ling joins us as we walk through John 8:31-47 together and learn what it means to serve and Jesus in true freedom.

We don't get very many glimpses into the early life of Jesus, but John 7:1-9 gives us an interesting peek into Jesus' earthly family, specifically His brothers. Being a brother of Jesus must have been pretty strange. Most people thought Jesus was a nice guy, but kind of weird, and they didn't know what to make of Him. Certainly very few of them believed He was the true Messiah and Jesus' brothers were no different. Believing in Jesus as Lord is an act of the Holy Spirit, and without it, our hearts are subject to all sorts of misconceptions. Some of them seem benign (Jesus was a good man, a prophet, but not my style) and some of them are more serious (Jesus didn't exist, God is dead, this bible stuff is all a bunch of harmful fairytales). This week, Pastor Paul unpacks John 7:1-9 and the subject of unbelief and how there is no inbetween with Jesus - you either fully believe in Him, or you don't.

This week, we are reminded that Jesus welcomes us with open arms but we need to make sure our hearts are postured in the right way or we run the risk of becoming false Christians. It's okay to come to the Lord with our wants, needs and weaknesses, but if we start seeing Him as simply a means to our own end, it can lead us down the wrong path. The folks we meet in John 6:22-35 were looking for breakfast, but Jesus calls them out on it - He knew they only wanted Him for His miracles and what He could do for them. Not for what He really came to do, which was to lead their souls to eternal life and eternal satisfaction.

In this encounter with Jesus, we see Jesus healing a man who has been paralyzed for 38 years. It's easy to lose sight of the true miracle in this encounter because how amazing would it be to see this guy walking on by with his mat after all those years of misery and pain? But Jesus doesn't heal the man simply because He has the power to do so. He heals Him so that we might see the greater healing that needed to be done - the healing on this man's soul. We don't know what he was doing to cause Jesus to remind him to stop sinning, but we do know that even despite his miraculous healing, the mans heart had still not been cleansed of the sin that was truly making him paralyzed. It's a funny thing, the human heart, and we can sometimes cling to the sin that bogs us down - the devil you know, right? Join us this week as we unpack John 5:1-18 and gain even more insight on the mission that Jesus was on while here on earth.

"I'll believe it when I see it." That's the way most people who were beginning to hear about Jesus' miracles were thinking as they began to seek Him out to see what He could do for them. It's no wonder, and we can't really blame them. After all, so many of my own prayers revolve around asking Jesus to heal, comfort, provide and protect me and my loved ones as well. But in this story, we meet an important official who learned that not only can Jesus heal someone without even being near them, but He can heal the deepest parts of our souls through simple the simple act of faith. Join us this week as we unpack John 4:39-54 together.

In this remarkable meeting with a shamed and outcast woman, Jesus reveals not only the kindness and compassion He has for people who are hurting, but He reveals His divinity for the very first time. Join us as we learn more about how our Lord treats us in our brokenness and how He chooses the least likely people to help spread the Good News.

In this season if waning commitment to New Years resolutions, one thing is likely clear: no amount of positive self talk or beating ourselves up will ever cause true and lasting changes in our lives. The human heart is a fickle and easily tempted thing and it takes something outside of our own physical experience to truly change us. God gifted us with the Holy Spirit to guide and strengthen us in our daily fight against sin and temptation. Join us as we learn about our new birth in the Spirit and we walk alongside Nicodemus in his search for the truth.

Remember when Jesus told Nathaniel that he would see greater works than the one he'd just witnessed? (John 1:50) Jesus is true to His word as He turns water into wine while attending a wedding in Cana. But why does Jesus use this particular time to do this particular miracle? Find out by tuning in this week and join us as we walk through John 2:1-11 together.

In the first Sunday of our new sermon series called Encounters With Jesus we meet Nathaniel. He's an earnest guy whom Jesus commends for being an authentic and geniune dude, but he's also a skeptic. So many of us can relate to him in the way that our initial reaction when we hear about what Jesus has done for us is disbelief. None of us want to be the one that falls for something that is too good to be true, so we guard our hearts with skepticism and all of the reasons why we don't need the Good News or why it isn't true. But Jesus doesn't even bat an eye at Nathaniels reaction, just as He doesn't bat an eye at our reactions. Instead, Jesus invites him to come and see the greater works that He will do, letting Nathaniel know who He really is. We can come to our Lord with our honest reservations, our geniune questions and we can confess our hearts motivations to Him because He understands. Join us this week as Pastor Paul unpacks 1 John 35-51 and rest in the fact that we have a God who invites us to come and see.

At the beginning of each new year, we walk through one of the seven letters written to various churches in Asia Minor. This year, Pastor Mark unpacks a little bit of the letter to a church in Thyatira which is a bustling city with strong economic power and wealth. The warnings in this letter to the church in Thyatira is a warning to us as well - we must always be on our guard, especially when things are going spiritually well. Listen in to todays sermon and join us as we walk through Revelation 2:18-29.

Every year we make new years resolutions, and every year most of us are still the same disorganized, financially stressed, short tempered, distracted and generally sedentary people we were the year before. Why? Well, for starters, most of us have a desire to make ourselves better because we know we aren't quite right. There's something in us that's telling us to be something better than we are. The problem is, we're striving after the wrong thing. And not only that, all that striving will never truly make is as satisfied as we hope. Because those self improvements, while certainly good improvements, are completely focused on making ourselves perfect instead of resting in the righteousness that has been given to us by God's grace. Yes, tighten up your finances and your abs, but don't let that be your ultimate goal in life. Join us as Pastor Mark takes us through a short but powerful verse in Romans 1:16-17.

Please join us for our Christmas Eve Service.

Death breaks into our lives whether we like it or not. Sooner or later, we're all faced with it, whether we suddenly end up at the feet of Jesus one moment or whether we are aware it's going to happen. Simeon knew when he was going to die and he welcomed it with open arms and a peaceful heart. How did he get to the point of accepting death, even to the point of welcoming it? What caused his faith to run so deeply that he knew in his bones his soul would not be annihilated? That he was loved so deeply he would live forever? A saviour. A little child, the incarnation of the prophecies foretold throughout the ages who was simply placed in his arms one day at the temple. Join us as we learn more about what it means to face death with faith and how our Saviour made a way for our souls to never, ever taste death itself.

Join us this week as we learn more about the unique character of John the Baptist and the incredible mission he was on - to make way and prepare the hearts for the coming Messiah.

When you are going through a tough season, whether or not it is physical or mental, chances are your first instinct isn't to praise God through it. Chances are, you are consumed with questions and thoughts of your own circumstances and not what God could be teaching you through it. We all do it, but it isn't the way God wants us to react when things are tough. Zechariah was mute (and likely deaf) for nine months, which sounds like an especially awful season to those of us who are chatty. But the first thing Zechariah did when God gave him his voice back was to praise the Lord and to prophesy and that's a behaviour we can all learn to model. Listen in to todays sermon as we walk through Luke 1: 67-79 together.

After 400 years of utter silence from God. After 400 years of the world getting darker and more corrupt and more broken. We suddenly hear God's voice, once again. But it isn't through a prophet and it isn't through a burning bush. It isn't one of judgement or condemnation as one would expect after hundreds of years of unmitigated human sin and spiritual destruction. It's the voice of love, of comfort, of hope. And it comes to us through a young, unmarried girl, who has not a penny to her name and not a single word to say to the Lord but a humble and reverent "Your will be done." Who is this God of love and mercy? Join us through this season of Advent as we look towards the birth of our Lord and Saviour.

So what is the final answer? After weeks of studying "the book of questions" we wrap up this week with The Final Answer.

It's pretty easy to spend the 1.5 hours we sit in church thinking about everything but God. So many of us fall into a routine of going to church that we sit and hear the words coming out of our pastors mouth aren't actually fully listening. Despite our best intentions, our internal dialogues are pretty insistent that we focus on anything but the gospel that is being preached. But we need to check ourselves here. God is the Most High God, the Holy of Holies and He deserves our utmost and fully present praise and worship. We are called to humble ourselves within the walls of our churches or homes where we worship so that our heart posture is properly aligned. We are there to listen and to hear from God as His word is preached. Not to run through our to do list, not to be distracted by distracting children and not to be caught up with our own wants and desires from God. Join us this week as Pastor Mark walks us through Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 which instructs us to guard our hearts and have the right headspace when we head into Church Sunday morning so that we may properly worship our Lord.

When we give to someone else, it's always nice to know that there will be a return on our investment. It could be as simple as getting a 'thank you' from someone you let go ahead of you in line, to a promise of a favour returned. It could be your bank account grows a little faster with interest earned or it could be that the child you sponsored ends up becoming a doctor and becomes integral to the area they live in. But none of this is guaranteed. Not a single bit of the investment you put out into materials or time spent or people helped is guaranteed to come back to you in the end. So why even bother? Find out more as we unpack Ecclesiastes 11:1-6.

One of the most common questions regarding God and the problem of evil is: if God is a loving God, why does He allow evil in this world? It's a legitimate question, one that is asked by believers and unbelievers alike. This week, we dive into the topic of evil and injustice and what it means to live in a world where tragedy befalls us and despicable people seem to get away with doing despicable things.

We don't have a single ounce of control over our own lives. No matter how much we try and fight the fact, the reality is that everything that happens in our lives - from our first breath to our last - is ordained by God. A loving God who loves and cares for us, despite what it may look like from our earthly perspective some days. Join us for this beautiful sermon on God's Providence as we look at Ecclesiastes 3:1-14.

"Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions." - Jesus Is money the root of all evil? How are we to think about the resources that have been given to us? Join us this week as we unpack the Question of Money.

This week we take a break from our Ecclesiastes series and look at the story of the 10 lepers that Jesus healed. It first glance the message of the story seems fairly obvious, but upon closer study, we learn there are more layers to this story than meets the eye. Join us to hear more!

Everybody's workin' for the weekend. But is the weekend worth it? Is anything actually worth working for? God thinks there is and it's definitely not "the weekend". Take stock of what you are working for in your every day to day tasks and responsibilities. Whether you're a student, or you work at home with your kids or you build complex computer systems for multinational companies, we're all working towards something. But only one thing is worth our focus and priority and that is how to fulfill God's purpose for us here on earth. Tune in this week to learn more about what God says about work and what our priorities ought to be. ~KT

The problem isn't that we can't get no satisfaction. The problem is that we can't keep no satisfaction. There is nothing on this earth that will ever completely fulfill us and even if it does, it's going to pass away or decompose anyways. Fun, right? But human beings are created to have a desire for endless happiness and comfort and neverending goodness. That's why we find ourselves perpetually chasing after things that we think will make us feel content. New cars, big houses, super fit bodies, new partners, new clothes, fat bank accounts. All of it stems from a desire for more, more, more. But the writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us how utterly meaningless the hampster wheel of hedonism really is. We've all heard the saying "you can't take it with you when you die", right? It's true! Continually chasing after the wind will literally drive you mad. But there is a better way. Join us as we unpack what the Bible has to say about the pursuit of pleasure and how we can start to set our minds and hearts on the one good thing that really will last for eternity and completely fulfill our deepest needs - our eternal salvation in heaven through Jesus Christ. www.gracevalleychurch.ca

What gives life its meaning? Is everything really meaningless? Why do we even bother getting up in the morning? The whole book of Ecclesiastes is like listening to a professor who is having a major existential crisis. But the author asks very valid, very hard questions and they are ones we can all certainly relate to. Join us as we begin our new sermon series on the book of Ecclesiastes, beginning with the big question: what gives meaning it's meaning? ~KT

So many of us live like we are standing in God's courtroom, waiting for Him to catch our next bad move. Waiting to show Him that we are worthy of His love. Waiting to prove we've earned our keep for the day. But this attitude grieves the heart of our loving Heavenly Father, whose only desire is to bring His children close to Him, without condemnation and without the judgement we deserve. Jesus died on the cross so we could enter into a loving, comfortable relationship with God as adopted sons and daughters. We have the privelege of behaving as chosen children of the Most High King, to expect His attention and to know we are delighted in and protected. Tune in this week as Pastor Mark unpacks the simple beautiy of God's love for all of His children in Romans 8:12-17.

In order to love eachother well, we must make sure that our hearts are aligned with God's heart. We are quite literally created to worship, but what we worship will ultimately take over our hearts. When we worship food, our health can suffer. When we worship work, our family lives can suffer. But when we worship God, our whole lives will change. Aligning our heart with what God teaches is the only way to have a fruitful life, He designed us that way. Join us this week as Pastor Paul preaches from Proverbs 4 and we participate in a special ordination ceremony for our church elders and deacons. KT

Shame had been poured into this woman's soul. For 12 years, all she saw was disgust in their eyes and heard judgment on their lips. In an act of desperation, she reached out her hand to her last hope - and was healed. Her very soul was healed by a simple word: daughter. Her body was healed from the bleeding disease she had suffered with for so long. Jesus loved her and accepted her and welcomed her into His arms, into His family, with no hesitation. Just as He does for you, and me and everyone who calls Jesus Christ their Lord and Saviour. Tune in this week to hear Pastor Paul preach on Luke 8:43-48.

These days, the concept of the devil has been relegated to cheesy halloween costumes and forgotten fairytales. But Jesus beleived in the devil and as Christians, so should we. The devil is a being who exisists and who is active and intent on destroying our spiritual lives and often our physical lives as we are tempted to indulge in things that take us far away from our Creator. If we take God at His word, and we take Him seriously, then we must also take the devil seriously. We must also do what the apostle Peter tells us to do - be alert and sober minded, so that we aren't unaware of the devils schemes in our lives. In this last part of our series on 1 Peter, Pastor Paul takes us through 1 Peter 5: 8-11, please join us! www.gracevalleychurch.ca

Do you have a pervasive sense of apprehension and anxiety that just seems to permeate your whole life? If so, you're not alone. Many Christians struggle with baseline anxiety that is the ground note to their life. They know that their feelings are opposite to how God wants them to live and yet feel powerless to stop it. But Jesus offers hope. Jesus does offer a better way. He invites us to lean into Him at every thought, every palm sweat or sleepless night, every wave of dizziness or panicked, racing thought. When we give our thoughts and emotions to Jesus, we can be assured that they are with the one who not only understands, but who is in charge of all of our situations and will never abandon us. He was and always will be in control of our lives. He calls us to humble ourselves into a trusting relationship with Him something that will take time but is no less the only antidote to anxiety. Jesus will never abandon us. Even if our very worst fears come true, He will see us through them and we will be with Him in glory one day, where the baseline to our lives is eternal praise and peace. Tune in this week as Pastor Paul preaches out of 1 Peter 5:6-9.

We've all heard stories of people being seriously wounded by poor leadership in the church. Maybe you're someone who has experienced this yourself. The place that is supposed to be a place of spiritual rest and comfort turns into a place you've been spiritually manipulated or even physically or sexually abused. The heart of God rages with righteous anger at elders and pastors who lead their flocks astray and who take advantage of their positions of power to prey on the vulnerable people in their care. Throughout the entirety of the Bible, God teaches His children how to lead with integrity and godly submission and through the apostle Peter, He exhorts the church congregation to hold their leaders to be accountable. Tune in this week as Pastor Mark preaches on humility and submission as it relates to church elders and the congregation.

It is becoming increasingly obvious to both Christians and non-Christians alike that our culture has gone past the tipping point of turning our backs away from God. We are rushing headlong into the acceptance of lifestyles and values that are in direct opposition to how God has created humans to flourish. We see the consequences of this everywhere. In the generations of children who are growing into confused and apathetic young adults, in the collapse of the family structure, in the increasing rage and conflict towards one another over seemingly trivial things. God does not want His people to be caught up in the maelstrom of culture wars and shifting trends. He has given us a solid foundation in which to base our values on, one that has never changed and never will. This week, Pastor Mark walks us through 1 Peter 4:12-19 and he highlights what Christians can expect as we dig our heels in and resist the temptation to follow the crowd.

In 1 Peter 4:7-11, the apostle Peter teaches us to be stewards of grace. To be instruments of peace and hospitality instead of contributing to the chaos of an already fractured world. Join us this week as Pastor Mark walks us through this passage and we begin to wrap up our series on 1 Peter. www.gracevalleychurch.ca

Join us this week as Kevin deJonge takes us through 1 Peter 4:1-6. The topic of suffering is never easy, especially when we are talking about the inevitability of it. But as a soldier arms themselves for battle before the war begins, so should we arm ourselves for battle before our own wars begin. ~KT www.gracevalleychurch.ca

You know those weird passages in the bible that are kind of confusing? Well, 1 Peter 3:18-22 is one of them. Tune in this week as Pastor Paul unpacks this passage and helps us gain more clarity.

July 7th, 2024 | The Triumph Of Christ by Grace Valley Church

June 30th, 2024 | On Doing Devotions by Grace Valley Church

What does it mean to suffer well? What does it mean to suffer as a Christian? Suffering is a part of this life and for some folks, it can feel like that's all there is. Listen in this week as Pastor Paul unpacks the implications of 1 Peter 3:13-17. ~KT

1 Peter 3:9 sure is a wake up call after reading 1 Peter 3:8. We can all imagine ourselves being compassionate, loving, humble and sympathetic (v.8) . But can you imagine yourself repaying evil with good? Like really, really horrendous evil? I personally can't. But in Peters letter to the Church, he is calling new Christians to live completely counter culturally. Even though these Christians were exiled from their homes and suffered under a government who openly and actively made their lives as difficult as possible. Obedience to the kinds of things Peter is writing about is what Christians regard as following the Lord and not themselves. We are to act as Jesus acted. We are called to put aside our desire for vengeance and seek justice and forgiveness instead. We are not called to be yet another instrument of evil in this world. So we cling to the God of justice and compassion, through the small injustices of every day life and great tragedies that can befall us in this sinful and broken world. This week Pastor Mark walks us through verse 1 Peter 3: 8-12, please join us! ~KT www.gracevalleychurch.ca

We are made to be in community. As humans, we thrive when we have a sense of belonging and camaradarie because we are created to be in relationship with one another. This week, Pastor Paul walks us through 1 Peter 3:8-12, focusing on verse 8. We learn what true Christian community looks like and how it is an honour to both celebrate and weep with one another. ~KT

Pastor Paul Vanden Brink walks us through one of the tougher passages in the bible, 1 Peter 3:1-7. After a few weeks of talking about biblical submission in different contexts , we land on the topic of biblical submission in marriage. But there are a few things to remember when we are reading a passage like this and any passage in the bible for that matter, the main one being context. And one of the biggest takeaways for us this week is this: God will never ask you to do something that will spiritually harm you. To find out more, tune in! ~KT