Forward Church Kitchener Sermons: Recent Episodes
Forward Church
There are few things in life that sting as much as the betrayal of a family member. Families are supposed to be where we find love, support, and connection. Imagine the journey of Joseph. His brothers sold him into slavery and faked his death in order to deceive their father. As a slave, Joseph was falsely accused of sexual assault, thrown in prison, and forgotten there for many years. He would end up in a position of authority during one of the most difficult times in the history of Egypt. The fallout of the betrayal of his brothers would shape most of his life. Yet somehow, he not only finds the ability to forgive his brothers but he also finds the ability to bless them. The story of Joseph is the story of when the raw emotions of human betrayal encounter faith in the sovereignty and goodness of God. Forgiving those who have done serious harm to you is only possible when you can look back and see how God has shown mercy to you.
It might appear that the teacher in this section is calling people to pursue a life of moderation. One where we try to walk a balance of being perceived as either a “sinner” or a “saint.” Instead, the warning here is that there are two dangers we can fall into in life, living a life of destructive licentiousness or a life of self-righteous legalism. In truth no amount of sin will satisfy us and no amount of “saintly” behaviour is able to save us from death only the righteousness of Jesus is able to save us.
As human beings we have an innate need for meaning. We want our lives to matter, but do they? In the grand scheme of things, where generations come and generations go, where we’re told that we inhabit a universe that has existed for billions and billions of years and is made up of hundreds of billions of stars and planets, what value and meaning do our lives hold? In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon seeks an answer to the question that all of us ask at some point: “What is the meaning of life?” As we travel through this book together the answers will challenge and surprise us, but most importantly, they should lead us to examine whether we are investing our lives in things that truly matter.
If we are going to be the type of church that God wants us to be, if we are going to have the type of friendships, families, and marriages that God desires for us to have, it’s going to requires putting off and putting on in the areas of communication and conflict resolution. To love others well we need to be people who put off deception and put on truth. We need to be those who put off resentment and slander and instead put on the boldness to speak directly with others. People who use our words to build up rather than tear down and who replace bitterness and a judgemental spirit with forgiveness and empathy.
Ephesians 4:17-32
In John 14:15 Jesus says to His disciples: “if you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Loving God evidences itself through changed actions and attitudes. But how does this change take place? Paul gives us the answer in Ephesians 4:22-24 where he calls us to: “Take off our former way of life, the old self and to put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness.” If we are going to grow in our love for God this year it’s going to require that we identify those things we need to take off: actions and attitudes that no longer fit who we are in Christ. We then need to identify those things we need to put on: new priorities and patterns of behaviour that fit our new identity in Christ.
As we approach the end of one year and beginning of a new year it can be overwhelming to think of all that change that has taken place. For some of us, the extent of change that has taken place over the course of our lifetime is staggering to consider and it’s easy to wonder if there is anything that doesn’t change? Is there anything that we can truly anchor ourselves to? The answer is yes, because even if everything around us changes we believe in and serve a God who is immutable, a God who does not change. The unchanging nature of God means that everything we have learned about God over the past 10 weeks provides us a firm foundation upon which we can build our lives. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.
As we approach the end of one year and beginning of a new year it can be overwhelming to think of all that change that has taken place. For some of us, the extent of change that has taken place over the course of our lifetime is staggering to consider and it’s easy to wonder if there is anything that doesn’t change? Is there anything that we can truly anchor ourselves to? The answer is yes, because even if everything around us changes we believe in and serve a God who is immutable, a God who does not change. The unchanging nature of God means that everything we have learned about God over the past 10 weeks provides us a firm foundation upon which we can build our lives. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.
At Christmas we celebrate the immeasurable love of God shown to us in the incarnation. The staggering truth that the God who is holy, omnipotent, omniscient, just, self-sufficient, merciful, faithful, sovereign, and good took on humanity, being born as baby to ultimately demonstrate the immensity of His love by dying on the cross to save and redeem us. God is not only a God who loves us, He is the very source and standard of love.
On survey after survey when people are asked what they want most the answer they give is “to be happy.” Most of the world spends their lives perpetually searching for the next hit of happiness, but those hits always seem to fade. There is however a joy that is available to us that never ends and never fades. A joy that transcends circumstances and can be had even in the midst of suffering and that joy is found in knowing a God who is good. Good in all that He is, and good in all that He does.
God is infinite. He existed before anything or anyone else. He alone is uncreated. He alone is without any needs. As Father, Son and Spirit He even has perfect relationship within Himself, which means He did not create humanity because He was lonely or in need of companionship or love. God needs nothing! When He asks us to give, first ourselves but also our time and our treasure, it is not because He needs. Instead, it is an invitation that He extends to us for our benefit and good and for His glory.
In Psalm 139 the Psalmist declares that the knowledge of God is so extensive that He knows every thought and action He takes. This is true but it only begins to scratch the surface of what we mean when we say that God is omniscient. When we say God is omniscient we say there is nothing in all creation or all history (past, present, future) that God does not know. As the Psalmist states it is a knowledge that “too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.” The omniscience of God has implications for all sorts of things: on what we pray for and how we pray, on where we ought to turn for wisdom, on the trustworthiness of what God promises to us, but maybe most importantly it changes how we understand His love for us. It means that even though God knows everything about us, He still loves us and chose to send His son to redeem us.
God is Holy, which means that he is separate, He is set apart from all else that is. This otherness is an essential part of his nature. When God’s people and God’s angels cry out that he is “holy, holy, holy” they are confessing with force that God is holy in his essence, in all that he is and does, and that this attribute is central to what makes God, God. Tied into this his holiness means that he is absolutely pure, completely unstained by sin or evil. As Christians this is essential to know because in his holiness he calls those of us who are his people, his children to reflect him by also being holy. We are to be holy first and foremost because our God and our Father is holy and he alone is the standard by which holiness is to be measured or judged.
When Jesus is the head of the church, unity will be a core commitment. Jesus teaches that the unity of believers expressed in our love for each other will help us stand out in the world. Unity requires all of us to submit to Jesus as head and to pull in the same direction – a desire to grow as disciples of Jesus and a commitment to seeking His kingdom first. Unity does not mean uniformity; Jesus unites us, but we give space for differences on secondary issues.
Our love for Jesus should manifest in a wholehearted desire to always give God our best. God gave us His best when He sent His only begotten Son to die for us. The depth of His love and grace expresses His overwhelming generosity towards us. Because we have experienced God’s generosity, we will seek to reflect that same attitude in all we do. We will do everything to the best of our ability in every moment of life. We will be generous in our relationships with others by showing kindness and forgiveness. In our finances, we will give generously so others can grow in Christ and experience His love for them.
If we have been encouraged and changed by Jesus, then we should take on the same posture as Jesus – the posture of serving. Jesus emptied and humbled Himself to serve us through His life and death on the cross. His goal was our ultimate good and the glory of the Father. We are committed to being a church where the norm is to participate in the mission God has given us. We do this because our greatest desire is to honour and become more like Him.
As we launch into the fall, we want to anchor the church in what our church culture should look like. Our starting point is being a church led by Jesus. We want to be a church that sees and experiences the majesty and love of Jesus to such a degree that we can’t help but want to love and follow Him. Being a church led by Jesus means we seek the Father’s will and blessing through prayer – the Word of God is our authority in belief and practice – and the Holy Spirit is guiding and empowering all we do.
This Sunday as a congregation we will explore different categories of prayer and put them into practice. This passage should be broken into sections with each section explained and then opportunity given for the church to pray.
The power of prayer is twofold. One, it changes us. 1 John 5:14 lets us know that it is part of the process by which God causes our will to be brought into line with his will. Prayer not only changes us though, it also changes things. 1 John 5:15 lets us know that God hears and answers our prayers. Throughout scripture we see people healed, wisdom granted, enemies defeated, by God’s power in response to His people’s prayers.
Paul writes in Colossians 4:2 that we need to be devoted to prayer. Why is prayer so critical? This passage offers us two reasons: First because if God calls us to pray, we should obey him. Second, as Paul makes clear in the verses that follow, our mission and the salvation of lost people depends on it. Prayer is a constant reminder of our dependence on God and a constant confession of His ability.
Paul’s final exhortation to the Corinthians in vs. 13 and 14 act as a summary and bookened to all that Paul has had to say to the Corinthians: “Be Watchful, Stand firm in the faith, be brave, be strong, let all that you do be done in love.” Paul reminds them again of the importance of discernment, he encourages them to hold fast to the faith, to be brave and strong, but undergirding all of this most be a Spirit of love and unity.
Paul’s instruction for giving in this section provide some principles for our giving today. First ,giving should be a priority (on the first day of the week). Second, giving is for everyone, everyone should bring something. Third ought to be proportional. Although everyone can give something, depending on what God has blessed us with we may have much more to give then another. Finally, giving should be purposeful, we need to plan to give. Like all spiritual disciplines giving is very unlikely to happen by accident.
These are 9 of the most encouraging verses in scripture. Jesus has defeated sin and death. If we are in Christ death no longer needs to hold any fear for us. Because Jesus has defeated death, no matter what this mortal life may bring, we can be “steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work because we know that our labour in the Lord is not in vain.”
If we have received the forgiveness that has come through Christ death on the cross one day, we will also receive a new and imperishable body like Jesus did at his resurrection. The hope of the Christian is not a disembodied existence in the clouds, instead is a new, imperishable, physical body enjoying eternity with God in a new heaven and new earth.
Although you’ll need to deal with what Paul is talking about here as he deals with the issue of tongues and prophecy, Paul’s primary concern here is not about answering all our questions about tongues and prophecy and instead is about the benefits of each of those gifts. In short Paul’s argument is that prophecy is a more desirable gift because it benefits the hearer while tongues benefit only the one speaking in tongues.
We learn a few things from this:
1. The word of God is incredibly important for the building up of the church.
2. The purpose of corporate worship services should be the building up of all believers not merely self-fulfillment.
If you are preaching this message make sure to speak to the other person scheduled to preach this Sunday so we make sure we are delivering a consistent message on this topic.
Sermon Notes:
1. In using our gifts, we are called to contribute.
2. In using our gifts, we are called to consider the rest of the body.
a) Consider both the believers & unbelievers at gathering.
b) Consider the balance between mind & spirit.
3. In using our gifts correctly, we convince others of the presence of God.
Although this text is most commonly associated with weddings Paul’s instruction here is not limited to how husbands and wives ought to love one another. In this chapter Paul is laying out a definition of love that is meant to be applied not only to how believers relate to their spouses but in all their relationships.
Sermon Notes: When we get this chapter right, it distinguishes the church from every institution, agency or community that exists and marks us as true disciples of Jesus! * Love is not merely the importance of the spiritual gift we have, or even our excellence in using that gift. * People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care! * When pride shows up love disappears! * Love delights to see truth triumph and celebrates when truth wins out. + Choose a couple of the traits in vs. 4-7 and start living them out. + Make it a practice to love the person right in front of you. + Loving this way requires Spirit filled living, it’s not done in our own strength.*
Despite the different gifts Christians may have, despite the different ministries we may be called to all those gifts and ministries are given with one mission in mind that name of Jesus would be lifted high and that he would be proclaimed as Lord and that his church would be strengthened. Every Christian has been given a gift and those gifts have been given by God and distributed according this His will.
Sermon Notes:
1. We need to see the bigger picture. (vs. 1)
2. Everything good in our lives is the result of the Holy Spirit. (vs. 3-6)
3. Anything less than the Holy Spirit leads us astray. (vs. 2)
4. We need to become more comfortable being made uncomfortable by the Holy Spirit.
5. All of us are uniquely empowered by the Holy Spirit. (vs. 7-11) About Spiritual Gifts (1 Corinthians 12:1-11 )
Partaking in the Lord’s supper together is an essential part of Christian worship and community. It is a regular reminder of the foundation of our faith, the forgiveness and grace we have received through Christ’s death for us. In taking it we confess our communion together as a church family and our communion with God through Christ. In light of this, before partaking in the Lord’s supper, we should always take time to examine ourselves making sure that we are in right relationship with God and with each other.
This may be one of the most difficult and controversial passages in all of the bible. There is a lot of debate and a lot of disagreement over what Paul is saying here and even more so about how relevant what Paul is saying to the Corinthians is to us in Canada in 2023. I think at least a few things are clear from this passage:
1) As both image bearers of God and followers of Jesus our actions can bring either shame or honour to our saviour and our God.
2) While both men and women are image-bearers we bear that image in distinct ways. Contrary to our culture there are distinctions between the sexes. Contrary to Roman/Greek culture there is no distinction in our value.
3) We need to figure out what it looks like in Canada in 2023 to bring honour to God as his image-bearers, both male and female, through the way we worship.
Imagine a community of people that all functioned with this phrase as their motto: “Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.” Imagine how radically different that type of community would look in a world that trumpets “do what makes you happy.” Community isn’t easy, we are different people coming together with different backgrounds, different personalities, different perspectives. The only way we are ever going to be the church community that God desires us to be is by living lives that have as their goal God’s glory and our neighbours good.
Paul warns the church in Corinth about the incredible danger of idolatry by reminding them of the story of the exodus. They were a people who had been saved by the blood of a lamb. They had experienced a baptism which had buried their past and drowned their enemies in the deep. They had their own equivalent of the Lord’s Table where they “all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink.” yet despite all God had provided for them they fell into idolatry and ultimately that idolatry led to their destruction. If we are tempted to believe that a similar fate would never befall us Paul makes it very clear that the temptation to idolatry is a constant one, but he also promises us that God in his grace will also give us all we need to escape it.
Paul continues the theme of rights. Last week we looked at the fact that our rights and freedoms need to be constrained by our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. This week Paul demonstrates through his example and his instruction that as Christians we ought to be willing to set aside our rights for the sake of the gospel. Out of love for Christ and love for the lost we, like Paul, must choose to put aside our rights, preferences, and comfort to reach and rescue as many people as possible with the gospel. Our rights and freedoms are not the ultimate prizes, the souls of people and the glory of God are.
Underlying all Paul’s writing in this chapter about marriage and singleness is this concern, that as God’s people we would live lives of undivided devotion to him. The issue for each one of us isn’t ultimately our marital status, the issue is that God our ultimate loyalty would be to God above anyone and anything else
Pastor Derik walks us through the very real ways that the devil is at work and how to best combat it: resist.
Pastor Derik digs 1 Peter 5:6-7 and encourages us to let go of pride and hand our worries and anxiety over to Christ.
Pastor Steve walks us through different aspects of a leader and the core trait that holds them all together: humility
This week, Pastor Greg encourages and challenges us to examine God's will for our lives and what it means to be done with sin.
Pastor Andrew teaches how the Gospel can shape how we respond in the face of adversity.
Pastor Steve walks us through what 1 Peter has to say about how Christians need to respond to authority.
This sermon was recorded on July 5, 2020
Pastor Derik takes us through 1 Peter 2:4-12, showing us that our identity as Christians must be centred around Christ.
This week, Pastor Derik digs into 1 Peter 1:22-2:3 and looks at what true Christian love looks like in our walk with God; not as something we feel but something we do and act upon.
Pastor Derik encourages us to look to Jesus in these unprecedented times for the source of unchanging and enduring hope.
Join us as Pastor Derik starts off our new sermon series talking about the abundance of grace and peace that can be found is Jesus.
Pastor Steve reminds us to stop worrying about everyone else's spiritual development and focus on our own, trusting that God knows best.
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This sermon was broadcast on Sunday, April 19, 2020
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Join us from your living room as Derik talks about the hope that we can find in Jesus in times of trouble.
This sermon played on Sunday, April 5, 2020
The first question in our new series "Ask Us Anything" tackles the question of why we should even bother with God in the first place.
This message was recorded on Sunday, January 5, 2020
This week, we explore the passages in Luke 1:46-55
This sermon was recorded on Sunday, December 15, 2019
This week, we explore the passages in Ephesians 5:21-6:9
This sermon was recorded on Sunday, December 1, 2019
This week, we study the passage in Ephesians 5:1-21
This sermon was recorded on Sunday, November 24, 2019
This week, we study the passage in Ephesians 4:17-32
This sermon was recorded on Sunday, November 17 2019.
This week, we look at the passage in Ephesians 4:1-16.
This sermon was recorder on Sunday, November 10, 2019
This week, we examine the passage in Ephesians 2:11-22
This sermon was recorded on Sunday, October 27 2019
This week, we explore the passage in Ephesians 2:1-10
This sermon was recorded on Sunday, October 20 2019
This week, we learn more about the passage in Ephesians 1:15-23
This sermon was recorded on Sunday, October 13 2019
This week, we explore the passage in Ephesians 1:3-14
This sermon was recorded on Sunday, October 6, 2019
This week, we explore the passage in Ephesians 3:1-21
This sermon was recorded on Sunday, November 3 2019