By grace you have been saved through faith.
To download the sermon, right click on the word download above, and click on "save link as..." - you can also download using a podcast app.
By grace you have been saved through faith.
To download the sermon, right click on the word download above, and click on "save link as..." - you can also download using a podcast app.
What did the authors of the New Testament mean when they used the words "faith" and "doubt" - and what do they say in the face of violence, racism, and injustice?
To download the sermon, right click on the word download above, and click on "save link as..." - you can also download using a podcast app.
Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again! What does the "second coming" mean? How will it take place? What if we don't want the earth as we know it to end? Leanne tackles some of the bizarre realities we face in the midst of our hope in the fullness of the Kingdom come...
Leanne Friesen shares some excellent faith stories she has encountered over her long and steady faith journey. Why is Thomas titled as the "doubter"? Why aren't our faith experiences as drastic or dramatic as those we see in scriptures, or those we hear from friends or family for that matter? Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed!
How can we pray when we are grieving or angry? Because there is a lot to be grieved and angry about.
Jill and Kevin tag team "bring your anger to church" Sunday.
Luke 1
October 16 2016
So let's dive right into the strangeness: what do logical, rational, modern people do with a virgin having a baby? And what does Mary teach us about being Jesus-people?
This sermon kicks off thirteen weeks learning about the core convictions of our Christian Way; perhaps best captured in the Apostles' Creed.
How can a Creed that is nearly 2000 years old still serve and build up the church today?
Let's start by understanding the Creed with four metaphors: the Creed is a train, a satellite, a table, and a wave.
To download, right click "Download" above and select "save link as..." - or subscribe using your favourite Podcasting App.
Click here to listen (right click and “save link as…” to download)
After the resurrection Jesus appeared to his disciples… except Thomas was out running errands or something.
So Thomas, naturally, doubts what they are saying.
What is the role of doubt in our relationship with God? How does God use our doubt to grow and shape us?
The text:
John 20:19-31
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
Click here to listen (right click and “save link as…” to download)
Resurrection is incredible not just because it happened, but because it happens.
Featuring a monologue from Terri Drumm and teaching moment from Leshia Knopf!
The text:
Mark 16
When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back.
As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
2015.01.18 - Justin Eisinga - The Church Calendar
Click here to listen (right click and “save link as…” to download)
Justin tells the story of Jesus calling the disciples, and how he meets them in the midst of their skepticism!
Also, this sermon resulted in a bunch of people from our congregation telling stories of how God has made himself known in the most unexpected places. It’s really good.
The text:
John 1:43-51 43
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” 49 Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
2014.02.16 - Prayer 2014 - Leshia Knopf
Leshia Knopf shares an honest and reflective sermon on suffering, lament, trust, and being angry with God. Leshia is a part of the Eucharist Church “Preaching Guild”, a student of theology at McMaster Divinity College, and has spent the last few months driving her mother back and forth to her cancer appointments.
Suffice to say, this is not an intellectual exercise.
Leshia draws from the (little preached on) prophet Habakkuk to present a way of wrestling with God that is both faithful and raw.
Jeff Wynands also lead us in songs of lament, including a remixed version of Psalm 137.
The music starts at 32 minutes.
The lyrics to the song are below:
If I sing it wouldn’t mean a thing
If I dance it wouldn’t prove a chance
If I shout it wouldn’t lift the doubt
But I will if just to trust
We sit in endless sorrow at this river of defeat
We hang our songs in sadness on this tree of memory
Our joys are shapeless shadows these foreign city streets
We’ve fallen prey to mockers and their morbid mockeries
These hands surrender function and this heart it stutters beats
Were I to forget mount Zion my lips would surely seize
The wreck and rubble of a promise now dust upon our feet
We pray the same for the infant of these wretched godless deeds
If I sing it wouldn’t mean a thing
If I dance it wouldn’t prove a chance
If I shout it wouldn’t lift the doubt
But I will if just to trust…
Your will is enough oh God
Father this city’s cursed but you bless it with your name
Oh son this home is exile but you make it all the same
2013.04.24 - David Barker - Easter Epilogue 2013
What The Resurrection Means To Me
Dr. David Barker from Heritage Seminary takes us through his personal story looking at what the resurrection has meant to him, and how it confronts the way we view the world and the way we interact with God.
There is also a brilliant little section about doubt and faith, and how they work so well together.
Audio recording is medium quality, but you should be able to listen along just fine.
A joyful, gospel sing-a-long ruckus is led by Jared Both - starts 42 minutes in.
2012.10.28 - Kevin Makins - This Isn’t Easy
Luke 16, James 2, Matthew 7
Why doesn’t God just prove himself beyond a shadow of a doubt?
Music starts 32 minutes in.