Guelph Vineyard Church

It's Easter Weekend!! This is the very centre of the Christian year. It's the weekend we mark the incomprehensible, beautiful, death-defeating work of Christ. All of a sudden, Jesus' invitation to His disciples, spoken before they even had an inkling of what lay ahead, comes into sharp focus as He is arrested, condemned and crucified before their very eyes. And then His promise of eternal life becomes tangible, literally alive in His resurrected person.We will mark the weekend two ways. Today we'll share a Good Friday morning reflection. This  will be a journey through the scriptures of Good Friday, meditating on the Passion of Jesus and His way of the cross.

The scripture readings that will anchor our worship today invite us into stories that both reveal the great wealth we find in Christ and honour the gift of worship we give Him in response. We will give space for a more extended time for worship and communion, with a short reflection from Kris.

In the last episode, we talked about the idea that the word "Lent" refers to the lengthening of days. Spring brings about the renewal of dormant things. We asked the question: "What's been dormant that is being reawakened in you?" In this episode, Brady Wilson will be sewing up the series we've been in over the past couple of months. Jesus put a lot of emphasis on fruitfulness. In fact, the whole biblical account puts a lot of emphasis on bearing fruit. This week: From Roots to Fruits (because flourishing always results in fruitfulness).

Sigh. The world has gotten pretty complicated again, with the events in Ukraine, hasn't it? This Sunday is going to be a time of re-centering around Christ, praying for our world, stepping into the promise of a gospel that is resilience itself in the face of every kind of fear and uncertainty. Amazingly, David wrote these words in the aftermath of an extremely violent and unjust action on the part of King Saul: But I am like an olive tree    flourishing in the house of God;I trust in God's unfailing love    for ever and ever. For what you have done I will always praise you    in the presence of your faithful people.And I will hope in your name,    for your name is good. (Psalm 52, 8-9)Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy on us. 

Hey everyone. Last week we starting asking really great questions about the root system that sustains us in life and in faith. As Brady shared, there was a lot of really great feedback happening, both on the chat wall in zoom as well as some folks unmuted and sharing different word pictures, unique insights, thoughts and questions. It was such an encouraging time. We're going to keep pressing into that this Sunday by creating a space for a few more of us to share what percolated throughout the week as you reflected on the amazing insight that the Lord intends for us to be completely rooted in His Love.To prime the pump, here's a question to consider, if you haven't already:What is the condition of the soil like that you are rooted in? What's the ratio of "Jesus-y" soil like love, peace, hope, joy to the "other stuff" (fear, anxiety, lack etc)? Do we believe that the Jesus can purify the soil, or even completely transplant us? As you consider your roots, what do you hear/sense the Lord say? Looking forward to digging deeper. Pun intended. 

The last time we were together we introduced the powerful biblical metaphor of the Tree of Life. We're going to be lingering with this image for a while, unpacking the promise and the invitation of being rooted, healthy, flourishing, maturing, fruit-bearing people.The scriptures put a lot of emphasis on where flourishing trees are planted. It turns out, location matters. Sunshine and water supply matter. And what matters most? Dark, nutrient-rich, life-infused soil of course.Brady Wilson will be sharing. 

As you know, these days we're on a journey together as a church community. It's a journey into a deep dialogue about flourishing... about what we need to mature into the abundant life that Jesus said He came to give us. It doesn't take long before words like "flourishing", "abundance" and "maturity" lead us to the doorway to the book of Psalms. Psalm 1 says this of the one who delights in God:  "He is like a tree planted by flowing streams;it yields its fruit at the proper time,and its leaves never fall off.He succeeds in everything he attempts."If you're like me, you read that and think "Where do I sign up?" And of course, this question is quickly followed by, "Is this really possible?"So, here's the question: What if this is really a 'thing'? What if it's actually an inheritance to be expected? What if this is what maturity in Christ actually promises? This week we're going to start looking closer at this Tree... After all, there is a Tree that bookends the biblical story, who's roots start in Genesis, its branches intersect Psalms and the Passion of Jesus and finally, its fruit is the nourishment of the New Creation described in the book of Revelation. It's kind of a big deal in the scriptures, and so we're going to see if maybe this "tree thing" is a big deal for us in our journey together right now.

Last  week we began a journey that we're going to be on for a while. It's a journey to answer what seems like a simple question, but is actually many-layered and multi-textured: What do you need, like, really need, to live into the abundant life Jesus said He was all about? What do you need in your day-to-day life as a Jesus follower, and what do you need in a church family? The answers to those questions are going to matter a lot as we seek to understand where the Lord is leading us a church family.Throughout the recent "maturity" series, we framed maturity in Christ as a kind of target, a sort of bullseye for your life and mine. Understanding our needs and getting them met in healthy ways is so closely aligned with the maturity process that it's indecipherable from it. We're going to explore why.

Matthew 15 is one of the high-action chapters in the gospels. Jesus is healing everyone. Jesus is feeding everyone. We can only imagine the electricity among His disciples as they watch Jesus doing business with every sickness, ailment and evil spirit and forgiving sins. I've been considering the work of Jesus through a bit of a different lens lately. Yes, the work of Christ, as demonstrated in the Matthew passage, is an abundant work. He is performing miracles, after all. And he is also meeting needs. Profoundly felt, urgently required needs. And I believe Jesus still does that very thing. It's part of what it means to be the Church (Acts:4:34). So we're going to be taking a journey together to answer the question I believe the Holy Spirit is asking of us, and it's a crucial question: What do you need?

This is a significant gathering in our story as the Guelph Vineyard. Two announcements are made, one being the move to a 9am service (come for 8:45!) beginning on Dec 12, 2021, at Royal City Mission. The other is the shift to bi-vocationality for our pastor, Kris MacQueen. In the midst of many changes, unforeseeable curve balls and an unknown future, the Peace of the Lord is absolutely in our midst, centring us powerfully to navigate these times led by curiosity, courage and wonder rather than driven by fear and anxiety. The Lord is at work in our midst, and leading us. Listen to hear more. 

Who doesn't love a great God story, am I right? I know I do. As a friend of mine often says: "I'm just medieval enough to believe that God actually does stuff like this!" Another friend describes the manifest movement of God among us as the "whammo!" of God. Yes to all those things. I've experienced them, I hunger after them. I love it when God moves "in power". And yet…. (you had to know there was an "and yet" coming)What's it all about, really? I know some of us remember the 90s. I remember being ring-side for the Toronto blessing. That whole season felt like there was almost a kind of fountainhead of God's power, bursting up through the floorboards of what was then the Toronto Airport Vineyard. Boom! Whammo!I remember thinking something like "wow, this is favour, God must really like us right now". But you know what? The longer I've walked with Jesus, the less and less I'm convinced that those encounters were quite what I thought they were. I used to think they were signs that God was really happy with us. A sort of proof that we were in the center of God's will. I don't think that way anymore. Now, I believe that signs and wonders are a lot more than that. I believe there are seasons where we need them like we need bread and water. They are provisions on the long journey towards teleios (perfection/maturity). So do they function as well of proofs that God is happy with us, happy with the prayers we're praying and the lives we're living? Well…. let's see what the experience of Moses and the Israelites in the wilderness have to say about it. 

Identity. Who we understand ourselves to be. Who others understand us to be. It matters very much, doesn't it? But where does it come from? What generates identity? We so often claim our sense of belonging and identity from our past and from others don't we?  On one hand, identity can be both inherited and inherent nature. Identity can be bestowed from a group to a person “you're one of us”. Then there's the identity we forge for ourselves. We can create identity through our actions, our work. Even our public image and reputation can create a self made identity. Finally, there's the identity we desire. Who we wish we were, or perhaps more hopefully, who we aspire to be.We're going to continue to look at the life of Moses through the prayer of Jesus in John 17.  This time, we'll consider how identity and belonging shaped Moses' life story from beginning to end.

We'll be digging in deeper to the passage in John where Jesus effectively pulls us up by the roots from our place in "the world", all the while instilling in us the hope of a home that we haven't properly set foot in yet. John 17:13-18I am saying these things in the world, so they may experience my joy completed in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but that you keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to the world just as I do not belong to the world. Set them apart in the truth; your word is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world.A migrant-kind-of-faith reminds that home is no longer where we're from, nor is it where we find ourselves now. The home we belong to we haven't yet fully encountered. We are mid-journey. Travellers.Consider this quote from author James K.A. Smith: 'The immigrant is migrating toward a home she's never been to before. She will arrive in a strange land and, in ways that surprise her, come to say, “I'm at home here,” not least because someone is there to greet her and say, “Welcome home.” The goal isn't returning home but being welcomed home in a place you weren't born, arriving in a strange land and being told, “You belong here.” '

Maturity in Christ always looks like humility, and not just any sort of humility. It looks like an absurdly grateful humility. It looks like a person with a profound sense of personal worth, yes. But that sense of worth is expressed in an attitude towards life, God and others that says "this world owes me nothing." Such a person has been freed from all entitlement. In Matthew 18, Jesus talks about this by telling a cautionary story that is, simply put, ridiculous. If we read it casually, we can easily miss the punchline but make no mistake, there is a punchline. It's a truth that heals even as it hurts.

There is one expression that has invaded and taken over my vocabulary over the past couple of years: "it's complicated". I don't know how many times I've said it, but a lot. There are so many things that are complicated. Politics are complicated. Our work/life balances are complicated. Even connecting with our dearest friends these days can be complicated. And…. following Jesus feels complicated some days too, doesn't it?As we continue down the road in our study and reflection on maturity in Christ, there's a word that begins to emerge as a counterpoint to the complexities of modern day life. Simplicity. The kind of simplicity that actually seems really hard. The kind of simplicity that requires the power of the Holy Spirit. The kind of simplicity that Jesus confronts the disciples with when they start complicating things.Matthew 18:1-5 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

We're going to pick up where we left off last week in exploring joy as the fuel that sustains and empowers and is the fruit of our journey into maturity in Christ. What might it mean to be a community of joy?

Nehemiah, an often overlooked book in the Bible, contains this beautiful phrase: "The joy of the Lord is my strength." Encouraging, right? It should be! The context of this passage is super intriguing. The people of Israel have just rediscovered the scriptures, realize how far they have strayed from the intentions of God, and they are heartbroken. They're mourning. They're feeling beat down and like failures.Into the middle of their tears, interrupting their disappointment in themselves, come the words "This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” They are renewed, their capacity is renewed and a seven day party gets started.(Inner)"strength" and "maturity" are words that go together pretty naturally in my experience. Have we often considered that "joy" and "strength" are woven closely together as well? Taking this a step further, what about "joy" and "maturity"?

Revelation 21:19-21 "The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass."What does the New Jerusalem as described in Revelation 21 have to do with Christ authoring and maturing (perfecting) our faith? Clue: Remember, when we think "building projects", we think "buildings" - Duh. But whenever the Lord thinks "building projects", Jesus seems to see it quite differently. Read that Revelation passage above again, remembering that Jesus looked Peter straight in the eye and said "…on this rock I will build my church." Woah.

Is there a common thread that unites all obstacles to a flourishing, mature life? I've been asking this question, and you know what? I think it's fear. Fear is sticky... wherever it takes root, we get stuck in our journey towards maturity. Of course, not all fear is bad. Sometimes, as we mature, we learn that some things should be avoided. A healthy fear of fire is a good thing. But, that's not the kind of fear we're talking about. The fear I'm thinking of is what the Bible is referring to when it records angels saying "fear not". We're going to look at some of the obstacles that face us in maturing, and how we might overcome them. Hint: Perfect love casts out fear.

The path towards maturity in Christ happens not in isolation, but alongside one another. Of all the things that we are called to as a church, this might be the highest: A place to mature in Christ together.We're going to continue the conversation we started last time and consider what needs to be in place in order for maturity to happen, along with acknowledging some of the challenges facing us that must be overcome in order to get where we are going.

We are stepping back into our series about maturing in Jesus. As we started to unpack a couple of weeks ago, "maturity in Christ" doesn't = 'going pro' as a Christian. It doesn't mean getting stodgy and stuck in our ways, either. It is an exciting, dynamic and yes, sometimes painful process of becoming precisely who God had in mind when He created us.The LORD's intentions (read: God's will) for us might sometimes be locational and/or vocational. But the much deeper application of God's will concerns you and me becoming a particular kind of person, whatever our circumstances. We're going to consider what needs to be in place in order for maturity to happen and what some of the challenges are that need to be acknowledged and overcome in order to get where we are going.

It's the question travelling parents the world over dread, along with the inevitable follow up: "How much longer?" If the last year and a half have been good for anything, they've certainly been good for begging questions. Especially these two. Well, I have good news, and also some not so welcome news for you. No, we're not there yet, not by a long shot. But it's okay. Jesus is along for the journey, and when we do arrive at the destination, we will have been transformed. We won't be different people, but rather whole-hearted, healed, fully matured versions of ourselves. And we're gonna look an awful lot like Jesus. The Bible uses a Greek word translated interchangably as "maturity" or "perfection" to describe this destination: "Telios"In fact, during His sermon on the mount, Jesus says telios is the point. Throughout the New Testament, this word gets used over and over again as the object of our followership of Jesus. Maybe it's time we talked about where the "there" in question, is.τελειοσ     Pronounciation :  tel'-i-osDefinition: 1) brought to its end, finished 2) wanting nothing necessary to completeness 3) perfect 4) that which is perfect 4a) consummate human integrity and virtue 4b) of men 4b1) full grown, adult, of full age, matureτελοσ     Pronounciation:  tel'-osDefinition: 1) end 1a) termination, the limit at which a thing ceases to be (always of the end of some act or state, but not of the end of a period of time) 1b) the end 1b1) the last in any succession or series 1b2) eternal 1c) that by which a thing is finished, its close, issue 1d) the end to which all things relate, the aim, purpose  

In the book of Revelation, John encounters a profound power and authority that is unrivalled elsewhere in Scripture. There are glimpses of it here and there throughout the Old Testament, but this is next level stuff. In fact, John's unrehearsed response is to fall at the feet of Jesus "as though dead". To this Jesus says, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last", echoing a curious phrase said earlier and again later in John's Revelation. "I am the Alpha and the Omega". This refers to the first letter of the Greek alphabet and the last letter. Jesus is implying many things when He uses this language, but not the least is His role in time. In the unfolding of our lives, Jesus is present. From before our first breath to our last breath and beyond, Jesus encompasses it all.  With this talk we'll close our series on the Examen prayer practice. The fifth and final movement of the Examen leads us to contemplate and prepare for what comes next. It asks us to anticipate God's movement and intentions in the future. This is critical to following Jesus. After all, without a sense of the future, we have no gospel at all. 

Do you know the phrase "The devil is in the details"? It feels like an old proverb (it's not) that helpfully points out that what may seem like a good idea on the surface can lose its lustre the more you descend into the specifics. They're intimidating, the details that is. They're also conveniently easy to ignore…. for a little while. But unchecked, they can wreak havoc and ruin even the best "big idea". All this is why we must invite God into the details of our actual life. Not just invite Him into the moments of our choosing… but into all of it. The wins, the losses, the catastrophes and triumphs. The Examen prayer calls these details "Desolations and Consolations". It assumes that the older and less popular expression coined by French author  Gustave Flaubert: 'Le bon Dieu est dans le détail' trans: 'The Good Lord is in the detail'. - is a deeper and literal truth. We're going to talk about the assumption that the Lord has something to say about every little thing (and the big stuff too).

Descartes said "I think therefore I am".We are fixated on what we think. Here I am, literally thinking about my thinking. But the truth is that we are emotional creatures first, we humans. It's a fact of the ways our brains work. The parts of our brain responsible for our emotions literally engage before the parts of our brain that process thought, shape intent or express language. Whether on the surface, or buried deep beneath layers of sediment, we emote our way through life constantly. Our emotions shape how we are in any given situation, regardless what we think we think about it.Thankfully, the Bible portrays a deeply emotive God. Remembering that you and I all were formed Imago Dei ("in the image of God"), and that our emotional life is a good expression of that God-likeness, this week we're going to talk about the 3rd movement of the examen prayer: Prayerfully considering what you're feeling. It's here that we hear this question posed by the Lord: "How are you?"Here's the good news: If Job, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and the Prophets are to be trusted, there are no wrong answers to that question.

Who doesn't want to be more grateful? We all intrinsically know that living from a place of gratitude is a best-practice for living your best life. But how do we do that? Have you ever felt the burden of feeling like you should be more grateful in a situation that just honestly kind of sucks? Perhaps a well meaning friend gives advice about how you should see the circumstance you're struggling through, or maybe you encounter a scripture verse like this one: "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." - 1 Thessalonians 5:18, and it feels more like a gut-punch than healing ointment. Practicing gratitude is the 2nd movement of the examen prayer practice we've been exploring lately, and we're going to take a good, honest look at the gift and burden of attempting thanksgiving in all circumstances.

One of the most famous stories about the prophet Elijah tells of him retreating, exhausted and afraid, into a cave for the night. There he meets God, not in the loud and the powerful events that follow but in deep quiet, with nothing more than a whisper. It kind of sounds like it's supposed to be peaceful, right? I'm not so sure. Sometimes, the quiet places are the places that ask the most of us. Maybe that's why sleep can be so hard sometimes… the stillness of the night can be a playground for our fears and anxieties. Perhaps the LORD, meeting Elijah that way, is not some zen-like moment of spiritual enlightenment, but rather the LORD showing up to Elijah's most vulnerable, frightened self. Do you relate?

Psalm 139 is one of the very best of the bunch. It opens with these startling, intimate and revealing words: You have searched me, Lord,and you know me.You know when I sit and when I rise;you perceive my thoughts from afar.You discern my going out and my lying down;you are familiar with all my ways. "How are you doing?" The Lord is so deeply interested in the answer to this question. Of course, like the psalm says, Jesus knows exactly how you are doing. He knows us better than we know ourselves. And that's part of the challenge of long seasons like the one we're in now. We can lose touch with what's really going on in our interior life. I believe the Holy Spirit is asking us this question, not for His sake, but for ours. We're going to get really practical and talk about a couple of truly sustaining prayer practices that will help meaningfully answer the question that God is most certainly drawing your attention to. How are you? 

The lives of David and Abraham loom large in the Bible. In fact, we can know very little about the big story of Bible if we are not familiar with the stories of these two people. The gospel of Matthew opens with these words: "This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham… " Jesus is introduced as the heir of these two great, complicated individuals who both walked in unique nearness with God and whose names became synonymous with the great promises of God to humankind.We're going to revisit the life of David. Perhaps more so than any other person in the Bible, we get to look at the interior life of David. He is certainly the defining personality of his day, and even more, his life shaped and helped to define much of the life of the Jewish people for centuries. He lived large. He won big. He failed spectacularly. And he allowed us a front row seat to see it all.

The lives of Abraham and David loom large in the Bible. In fact, we can know very little about the big story of the Bible if we are not familiar with the stories of these two people. The gospel of Matthew opens with these words: "This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham… " Jesus is introduced as the heir of these two great, complicated individuals who both walked in unique nearness with God and whose names became synonymous with the great promises of God to humankind. Over the next couple of weeks, we're going to take a dive into the lives of these two figures. We'll begin with Abraham, who we touched on briefly when we looked at the story of Isaac, Abraham's son. Abraham, the unlikely father of many nations.

The extraordinary account of Jesus's death and resurrection are loud in the scriptures… Jesus is betrayed to the Roman authorities by a crowd of people shouting for his death. Discovery of his resurrection is accompanied by cries of surprise, joy, uncertainty and confusion. When John relays the story of seven of the disciples' final meal with Jesus, a humble little breakfast in the early morning on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, he records none of the conversation that took place while they ate. The powerful exchange between Peter and Jesus didn't happen until after the meal. The text actually indicates that during the breakfast, no one dared to ask the question that was burning on everyone's heart but that everyone knew the answer to… "Are you really him?" It seems it was a meal in silence. This second Sunday of Easter, we're going to consider what was on the faces of these eight friends during that shared breakfast.

Resurrection Sunday:  Our kids worked on some Easter crafts that they shared with us.  One is more of an Easter egg hunt as the kids share their "resurrection eggs". The other is inspired from the stations of the cross, so we opened with the kids, (not part of this podcast), then celebrated our risen Lord with worship and a short Easter morning reflection from Kris. Here is his message.

Palm Sunday marks the day that Jesus enters Jerusalem with singular focus: He has come to die. It's also the beginning of the death of the faith of Jesus disciples. Don't get me wrong, judging from outer appearances they enter the Holy city riding high. It's a party. Throngs of people are marshalling around Jesus. This is just the sort of the thing that the disciples have been waiting for. Jesus is about to overthrow their oppressors, they imagine. Enter Jesus, king of Israel, desolator of the Romans. Perhaps they began to fancy themselves as Jesus' version of king David's mighty men. They begin to feel that their hopes and dreams about Jesus are finally starting to materialize. Little do they know how wrong (and how RIGHT) they are.Throughout the course of the next week, the plot begins to shift. Jesus starts to get even "weirder" than usual.  He tells them to procure a donkey (a symbol of peace) rather than a horse (a symbol of war) for his entry. Jesus becomes downright apocalyptic in his language and danger mounts. Maybe not right away, but between Sunday to Friday they begin to question their trust in Him… they begin to feel foolish and in short order they will find themselves scattered, absolutely fearful and completely disillusioned. 

Who doesn't love a good underdog story? Hollywood lives for the stuff we find in the origin story of King David, Israel's rags to riches king (sort of). There was nothing in the early life of David that hinted at his future. In fact, from a human perspective he was completely unprepared to rule a young, struggling kingdom. He broke every kind of mold and expectation, succeeded when all hope despaired and sometimes failed miserably when favour was on his side. We're going to start to dig into the life of David, specifically his encounter with the massive Philistine warrior, Goliath. 

As we've been exploring over the past weeks, the scriptures are full of extraordinary, complicated and often even R-rated characters and stories that together portray the many ways imperfect humans take part in the purposes of God. And then there's Isaac. A miracle child of Abraham and Sarah, finally, here we have a simple, even a bit naive, but deeply faithful and trusting person. True, he's part of a complicated family living in complicated times, yet in meaningful ways Isaac is one of the earliest biblical characters who clearly "pre-figure" Jesus (we'll talk more about what that means)… Isaac is a big part of the way the Bible sets the stage for the Lord!

Samson. The mightiest of the "mighty men of the Bible". Able to slay a lion with his bare hands and defeat an entire army with nothing but a bone in his hand. The dude with the sick hair. The broken, egotistical womanizer who lost his way and sort of found his way back again. The first superhero... And someone who is championed, rather surprisingly if we're honest, by the book of Hebrews in the New Testament and commended as a "hero of the faith".We're going to explore this very complicated biblical figure and ask… What does the story of Samson have to do with the story of Jesus? 

Some of the key ideas you will hear about are:you and God are one, you are partners, there is a unionthe big arc of the story is about lovemoving from transaction to interaction to relationship to partnership with Godthis union is real but it is activated by faith. Learn how to receive what is withinfrom experiencing God to God experiencing youWe hope you enjoying hearing from our our beloved and esteemed Brady Wilson as he shares these ideas and more, as well as the application in our lives, reflecting on some things that have been stirring in his heart regarding the Lord's invitation to the Guelph Vineyard as a community this year. 

Our first deep dive into the stories of the Bible is going to take a look at the life and times of Esther, the unlikely Queen of Persia. Thanks to Maya for requesting this one! Esther's story is truly remarkable. It's a story full of political intrigue, betrayal, familial loyalty, revenge and justice. The book of Esther is actually unlike any other book of the bible in at least one significant regard. Curious what that is? Have a listen to find out!

Whether we like it or not, we tend to accept something if we hear it often enough. This is the theory behind those annoying commercials and ads that seem to play over and over again on repeat. They may annoy us, but the messages they convey get into our heads and affect the decisions we make. The stories that we are surrounded by and immersed in really matter. This is one of the great purposes of the Bible in our lives. Yes, the Bible reveals truth. Yes, it reveals the heart and nature of God. But perhaps most powerfully, it tells and retells The Story. It sets a stage, gives us a history, a way of understanding our own role in it, and it gives us a future. It leads towards an ending (which is really a new beginning).Over the next little while we're going to take a look at some specific Bible stories and see how they fit into the big story that God is writing… you know, the story we find ourselves smack dab in the middle of. The stories we know, the stories we tell, the stories we live... well they matter.

What to trust? Trusting is our "first thing". We are born to trust. Literally. We survive infancy only if there has been someone else in our lives who was trustworthy enough to keep us alive. We are born helpless. Trust is the very first thing we learn, if we learn anything at all.And if trustworthiness is the first gift we encounter in life, it's also our first betrayal… Our first disappointment. Because it's not long before trust is broken at some level. This is part of what forms the human condition. It's that elemental.So in asking the question, "What am I going to trust?" we are moving towards a genuinely powerful, genuinely costly, and for some, a truly petrifying concept. And, it matters. Because trust and faith are basically the same word.

What to test? Part 2: Finding Our Way In A Post-Truth Era Last Sunday we started a really good conversation about what we think of when we we think of the word "test". We focused in on how testing plays a role in our spiritual life, both in how, who and what we test, and how in turn we are tested. This week we're going to get practical, because testing must be practical in order for it to be a helpful test at all.The book of Judges is my least favourite book in the Bible. I probably shouldn't admit that, but I just did. It's full of sketchy behaviour by liars, thieves, and charlatans… and some of them are even Israel's "leaders". Yet the final sentence of the book is also one of the most striking in the scriptures: "In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes."Living in what sociologists are increasingly referring to as a "post-truth era" (i.e. "you do your truth, I'll do mine"), testing becomes as important as it ever has been.

What are you going to test? Malachai 3:10 "…Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.Luke 4:12 "Do not put the LORD your God to the test."Umm…. Is the Scripture trying to suck and blow at the same time? Well, we're gonna talk about it, and the virtue and the vice of testing.

The ResistanceWe're stepping into 2021 asking four questions:What to embrace?What to resist?What to test?What to trust?This episode we are going to consider what to resist, as always looking to the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit, and our own heart's desire to lead us.We are wired for resistance. The instant a child discovers that they have a will, the propensity to resist becomes crystal clear. There is a deep rooted understanding in the human experience that knows that not all things are as they should be, and there our resistance begins. We may disagree, often vehemently, about what should be resisted, but that there are things in the world that should be opposed, we are agreed. So then, what does it look like to resist "like Jesus"? What does God resist? Well, thankfully, the scriptures do a pretty good job of getting us started on that path by relaying a story about the resistance of God. It involves Jesus, a serpent, a desert and some bread. Oh yeah, and a very empty stomach.

Last week we closed our reflection by posing four questions to help shape our pursuits and expectations for 2021. What to embrace?What to resist?What to test?What to trust?We're going to give a Sunday for each of these questions over the next 4 weeks, asking them of the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit, and our own heart's desire.This week contains what's known as Epiphany (technically January 6). It celebrates the journey of the magi, who we often refer to as the "three kings".The magi were likely astronomers, well acquainted with the night sky and one evening, something they saw caused them to embrace the road. Their imaginations were lit and they began to follow. They were led through a foreign land, driven by what they saw in the darkened sky. They threw their arms around adventure, embraced their epiphany and ultimately came face to face with God in flesh.May it be so for us.

2020 was a complicated year, and not a good year for most people globally. This sermon reflects back on 2020, looks ahead to 2021 with a focus on the gift of GRACE and the goodness of God. We can trust in the goodness of God no matter what.

Dec 20th was our Merry Christmas Sunday! We began with worship, Advent readings and communion, followed by a very brief Advent reflection from Kris about LOVE, uploaded here. We finished the livestream early in order to shift over to the zoom call where we had an online Christmas party. There was a story for the kids (and grownups), some fun and games too. This was our last community gathering of 2020, as the following Sunday, Dec 27th was facilitated nation wide by Vineyard Canada though an online event.

Joy. When we taste it, we're reminded that it is the elixir of energy, capacity, will, purpose… Joy is uncontainable. It spills out… even the smallest dose of it can be seen on our faces, our countenances. And we also know that there are times, entire seasons even, where it can be pretty elusive. This time our gathering will look a little different. I want to open the floor to share our stories of moments of joy. They can be big moments, or tiny moments. Bonfires of joy or flickers of it.2020 is winding down. It's been a hard, dark year. For some of us, perhaps this has been your darkest year. It's my hope that telling and listening to our stories of joy will, like the candles around our advent wreath, be beacons and signposts of the work of Christ in and among us… Little sources of energy, lighting up the room. Kris.

Peace…. Is there a greater gift? Is there a more elusive goal? What does it mean to "have peace"? We long for it in our world, in our work, in our mental and emotional states, and in our families. Yet, we are in a culture who's practices and technology are literally engineered to diminish peace. This Sunday we're going to be reflecting on this most cherished promise of the scriptures."And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:7 And likewise:"He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore." - Isaiah 2:4 Amen. To watch service on You Tube click here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgKLgzHuaC0

"I repent of optimism." Can I get an amen? What a strange thing to say, right? Doesn't this sound like a recipe for an existential crisis? Why would we ever "repent of optimism"? It gets weirder. Has it ever occurred to you that optimism is not a fruit of the Spirit? That can't be right, can it?Optimism holds out the view that everything is eventually going to get better. It assumes that, left long enough, the bend of human nature is towards progress, equality, wealth and justice. Our knowledge and technology will eventually pave the way for utopia.That view of the world is taking a bit of a hit these days, and the result is a whole lot of pain, confusion... even despair. The gospel has a very different take on things, one rooted in realism. But the realism of the gospel, the reality that is rooted in Christ, is FILLED with hope. Not hope in 'our better angels', but hope in Christ. The hope of Advent. Christ here, among us.To watch service on YouTube click here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JKrrQ0XGWs

Do you ever wish you could just let go of the steering wheel of your life and let God take the wheel? Then you could jump in the passenger's seat and just let Jesus drive. In the book of Mark we hear the story of Jesus quieting the wind and the waves with a simple command. Don't You sometimes pray that He would use that trick on you? "I give you permission, Jesus, take over!" Alas, an understandable prayer that never gets the answer we hope for.The Lord demonstrated that He has the authority to put even the most powerful forces in creation under His beck and call, yet such power He does not exercise over us, even when we want Him to. Let's be very real for a moment. Making Jesus Lord of your life isn't as simple as surrendering control. Jesus does not have the wheel of your life. He is in the passenger seat. He has ordained it to be so.