Penhold Church of Hope

Even with all the support actors in Judges 4 of Deborah, Barak, Sisera, Jael, and others, it is the will and actions of God that brings victory over Israel's enemy.

Starting a series through Judges, we find the left-handed Ehud whose potential disability or perceived weakness is the very thing that is used to accomplish God's purposes.

We often associate God's blessing with increase—more resources, more opportunities, more strength. But sometimes, God does the unexpected. He subtracts when we think He should add. He weakens when we believe strength is needed. He closes doors we were certain He was opening. And in those seasons of reduction, God invites us to trust—not in our numbers, abilities, or strategies—but in His sovereignty.

The dangerous deception of partial obedience is this: it feels righteous, but it is functionally rebellious. God demands and deserves our full and complete obedience.

Prevented from externally cursing the Israelites, Balaam set up the Israelites to bring curses on themselves as they gave into sexual immorality and false gods. We need to battle against sin and corruption, a battle that begins within our own hearts.

Drawing from Matthew 25, success is not determined by comparing our accomplishments against what other have done; instead, as God's servants, success comes from using the unique skills, abilities, and tasks God has given to each one of us.

Professor Kelly Steffen from Prairie College shares the message from John 14 that the cure for what troubles us is not found in reaching some destination, but knowing the person of Christ.

Concluding the study through Colossians, we find Paul commanding believers to be devoted to prayer, praying and watching for the opportunity to share the Gospel.

Instructing the Colossians to represent Christ in all they do and say, Paul applies this command to the three relationships: husband and wife; children and fathers; and slaves and masters.

Returning to Colossians 3, Paul instructs believers to take off our old sinful nature and put on our new nature found in Christ.

God has given us so much from His love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness and also our unique talents and experience. It is now our responsibility to freely share what we have been freely given.

From the beginning, it was not good for man to be alone. God created us from community but sin broke the relationships between each other and God. But now through Christ, the church can be the place of true community.

Everyone needs healing and restoration in some area of their life. The church needs to be a place that welcomes the messiness of life and offer the comfort and hope that can only through Christ.

We move toward what we focus on. In overcoming the world and our sinful nature, Paul reminds the Colossians where we should set our affections.

Following a star and helped by a murderous king, the Wisemen arrive to worship the newborn Messiah showing that God is king over all guiding and directing all things to his purposes.

The first angelic announcement of the long-awaited Messiah's birth was not to priests or rulers, but lowly shepherds, the precise audience for whom Jesus came to deliver the Good News.

With our true life hidden in the risen Christ, Paul reminds us in Colossians 3:1-4 to focus our heart and will on the things above and not on the things of earth.

For many, the Christmas season is anything but a time of peace on earth. However, the promised Prince of peace offers us something beyond what this world can provide.

With a variety of foreign philosophies and Jewish requirements, Paul reminds the Colossians not to be distracted. Rather, he encourages them to remain firmly rooted in the completely sufficiency and supremacy of Christ.

Christ suffered to bring salvation to all who believe. Now, as Paul teaches the Colossians, it is our joy to join in Christ's suffering to spread salvation to the whole world.

Continuing to lay out the basics, Paul reminds the Colossians that they we once enemies of God but are no longer thanks to the blood of Christ.

Near the opening of the letter to the Colossians, Paul makes sure they know who Jesus is: God with us.

In the second sermon on Colossians, Pastor Dave considers Paul's prayer to know the complete will of the Lord and how this should cause us to re-prioritize our to-do lists.

Starting a series through Colossians, we find in the opening verses that the heart of the Gospel is about changing lives.

Pastor Dave shares his testimony, a story that many can relate to and from which find hope, redemption, and restoration.

Learning from Jesus' invitation to and teaching of the Twelve, we see that His discipleship/mentorship program has not ended. He has invited us to join Him, learn from Him, and do life with Him in community with other believers.

One of Jesus' simplest commands may also be His hardest to follow. In fact, without His help, it's impossible: "You must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matt. 5:48)

Following the example of the early church, we find four elements useful in developing the community and intentional relationships that are beneficial for the purpose of mentorships.

Pastor Dave interviews three church members about their real-life mentorship experiences.

Jesus mentored both Judas and Peter with very different results. Like in discipleship, mentorship requires one to be FAT - Faithful, Available, and Teachable.

Church member Darian Nikula highlights contrasting examples of mentorship in the lives of Joshua and Rehoboam.

This is what mentorship is all about - it's telling the next generation about everything we have seen and heard as we have learned to follow Jesus. When you are intentional about using your relationships to show others how to apply God's truth to their lives, even if we don't do that perfectly, God works through that in some amazing ways.

Danielle Lester shares her heart and her progress in following God's calling into fulltime missions to South Sudan with Africa Inland Mission. Find out more at aimint.org/ca/

Sharing God's blessing with others is about more than simply being nice. It is important that others hear our story about God's work in our lives.

God has blessed you to use those blessing to serve and meet the needs of other people, and in so doing, create the opportunity for them to meet Jesus.

It was around the dinner table that Jesus showed his love for sinners. If we are trying to find ways to share God's love with our neighbours, start by inviting them to supper.

Like Jesus and the blind beggar and Philip with the Ethiopian, knowing how to bless others begins by listening and asking the right questions to discover their needs are.

Throughout the Bible, we find God looking for volunteers to help complete His to-do list. What would happen if we started each day with the prayer "Here I am, Lord"?

Living in Alberta in 2024, most of us are likely incredibly blessed in many ways. But with those great God-given blessings comes great responsibility to share those blessings with others.

As 2 Samuel 12 concludes, we find Joab, David's army commander, ensuring that his king gets the glory he deserves and a king ready to get into the fight to earn the crown as victor.

Taking a more systematic look at 2 Samuel 12, we find the power of stories to get to the heart of the matter, the dangers of forgetting God's provision amidst our affluence, and the duality of God's justice and mercy.

God's response to David's repentance is not what we would expect, seemingly letting David go unpunished. Wrestling with this response forces us to consider who is at the center of the universe.

2 Samuel 11 is one of the most shocking and disappointing chapters in Scripture. The moral collapse of David is hard to read but provides important warnings about the power of temptation and the depth of sin while hinting at God's redemptive power when we take a peek into the future of David's lineage.

A chapter of kings and commanders offers lessons about wise counsel, boldness, and doing what you're meant to do.

David's treatment of his defeated enemies and loyalty to his promises shows that the idea of valor is more than we find in superhero movies.

In 2 Samuel 8, we find David conquering the land promised by God to Abram 900 years ago, as he demonstrates himself to be a man after God's heart.

There is no shortage of voices offering opinions about who you are. But there is only one voice that offers the true and life-giving answer to this important question.

Instead of David building a house for God, God promises David a dynasty that has eternal implications.

Hear several testimonies about how Camp Little Red has impacted lives for Christ and message from camp director Gord Russell.

As David starts to bring the Ark of the Lord into his new capital of Jerusalem, we are reminded that we approach a holy God according to His terms, not our own.

With his pact with David, Jonathan recognized a man who, like himself, was ready to follow God no matter what. Even as it became clear that David was going to become the next king of Israel, Jonathan showed his loyalty to God and whatever God had planned.