Fraser Lands Church Worship Service & Sermon Podcast: Recent Episodes
Fraser Lands Church
Jesus continues to tie our present lifestyle to his future return. In the passage Jesus gives a long parable about the talents or the bags of gold. A master gives money to some servants and asks them to invest it on his behalf. When the master returns the different servants present their investments.Jesus is implying that God has given to you and me something to invest in the present. To some he has given a little, to others a lot. We all need to be concerned with what the Lord has entrusted to us.
The First Disciples: Mary and Joseph - In the face of the challenges that would come from being called to give birth and raise the Son of God. The angel declares to Mary: Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God... ...For no word from God will ever fail. (Luke 1)The Angel declares to Joseph: "Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 1)Mary and Joseph set an example for us and respond in faith, trust, and surrender.
Jesus answers the question about the 'end of the age' (Matt. 24:3) by talking about the day when 'your Lord will come" (Matt. 24:42). Like much of his teaching, Jesus doesn't speak about this day directly, but with parables. In this section (Matt. 24:3625:13) he gives parables with the same basic idea. You don't know when the Lord will come, so you should always be ready (Matt. 24:44).Your vision of the future determines the way you live today. For many people, the lack of a vision for the future also determines the way they live. Jesus is warning us that it is easy to live with no regard for the future second coming. If we do so, it may seem fine in the present, but there will be unpleasant consequences in the future.
What do we mean when we declare that "Jesus is Lord"? Though it was a common title used by the early Christians it is not often used in the gospel of Mark to illuminate Jesus' identity. However, in one key passage, Mark 12, Jesus cites Psalm 110and indicates the title is essential to grappling with His identity. Jesus' argument is the Lord must be both the master (the one who we obey) and God Himself. This passage is the clearest claim to divinity Jesus makes in the gospel.
The title Son of Man is ambiguous and flexible. It might simply mean 'a male in the human race'; it might be more. Jesus uses it as his preferred title when referring to himself. Throughout the gospel of Mark Jesus uses this title to speak about three aspect of his ministry: his ministry of forgiveness and healing; his suffering and death on the cross; his future return in glory. Jesus makes it clear that Daniel 7is the key background to this title.This week we will learn about humility and service as a call for all those who follow the Son of Man.
A disciple of Jesus is someone who follows Jesus and who helps others to follow Him. They are transformed by the experience of being with Jesus that affects the whole of their lives. Come and see how this took place as we journey with the first disciples of Jesus.
In the praying life there is a journey towards praise. We praise God for who He is and what He has done. It is through a life of experiencing His answers to prayer that we grow in the reality of our praise.At the end of the Psalms are five psalms of praise. There is a path through suffering towards praise. We learn to praise God at the end of the day.
Often when we come to pray, our minds are filled with our own worries, problems and difficulties. Yet, as we come to God the Holy Spirit works on us bringing to light our sin. God reveals to us sometimes gently, sometimes powerfully, the ways that we have erred and fallen short of his glory. Learning to confess our sins to God is part of a healthy regular 'diet' of prayer.
In Psalm 73 we see someone wrestling with bitterness. Asaph is a religious guy, but he isn't very far in life. All around he sees people that are not good people, but they are succeeding. These people have good careers, they are wealthy, and they are surrounded by friends and family. Asaph feels bitter; he feels that he has wasted his time on God and that God should have helped him more.The problem with bitterness is that you are thinking wrong. When we pray God shows us many things, including pockets of selfishness and pride. Into this wrestle, something happens that makes Asaph see that he's been thinking wrong. As we follow God through this narrative we come to a place of wonder.
One reason we have trouble praying is that we are angry at God. There are things in our life that have gone very wrong and we have spent so much time stewing that our heart is filled with anger, frustration and resentment. So when we come to pray, we simply feel like a fake. We feel we need to bring a presentable self to God.But this is not real. Prayer means bringing the real you, so if you are angry, that's where you must pray. In Psalm 44 we see someone venting at God; this psalm is a sort of spiritual license to bring our real troubles will our real anger to Him.
In this psalm David tells us that he is at peace and calm; we live in a world filled with anxiety and worry. Part of the praying life is worrying in the presence of God. Bringing our worries to God is the secret to having a soul that is at peace. David declares that there are things too wonderful for him to understand. In God's presence he trusts for the things he does not understand.
Many of us find it difficult to pray. It feels weird and awkward and hard. We hear of prayer warriors who connect deeply with God, yet we feel hollow. We need to learn to pray.Psalm 23gives us a vision for a praying life. It is a warm expression of love and trust. Many of us find it difficult to relate to because one of the key problems in our world is cynicism, the feeling that behind every promise is an ulterior motive - that deep down, everyone is out for themselves. Trusting someone makes us vulnerable, trusting God makes us existentially vulnerable.And yet, the cynical life leads us to be cold, hard and lonely. In Psalm 23we are taught to trust God with our whole hearts.
When we go on mission we go as representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, at some point we need to share the story of the gospel.We all have stories; we tell stories to make meaning of the world. One of the ways that we can share the gospel is by sharing what God has been doing in my own life.
Jesus said his disciples are known by their love. How does this look like in our day-to-day lives? What are ways we can serve one another so that our actions communicate the kind of love God wants to show to others? Jesus' servant heart and readiness to care for his friends gives us an example to live by.
One of the objections that modern Christians have to serving God on mission is time; there are just too many things for me to do. Part of the idea of a missional mindset is to be more intentional with the things we are already doing, rather than doing more things.One of the things that you are already doing is eating. Jesus used his meals as opportunities to include people in the kingdom of God, as well as a sign and foretaste of the kingdom. Eating is a sign of friendship. Over the table, we invite people to participate in our lives.
These days, the most effective forms of mission begin with prayer and listening. Most people in the world are not looking for God, but they are looking for a friend. The missional mindset begins with questions: What are the needs in my community? What is God doing here? What are people saying to me as I listen to their story?
In the Great Commission, Jesus promises that he will be with us. This is a promise that the Holy Spirit will give us the power to complete the mission of God. Therefore, our role is to begin in prayer. When we pray, God will shape and change us to become His servants.
When Jesus speaks to the disciples they are outside of Jerusalem. All along Jesus has been reaching those outside the 'in' group, extending the boundaries of the kingdom of God. When Jesus sends us to 'go', he calls us to develop a missional mindset outside the walls of the church. For most people, this means having a heart for people in a network or neighbourhood.
Jesus Christ begins the great commission with the command to 'Go'. He has completed the work of salvation on the cross and gave the Holy Spirit to his church, sending us to fulfill the work of mission. Theologically, the church doesn't become missional, it is missional. There is missional DNA in every Christian; there is a missional call on our lives.
What is your picture of a fulfilled life...what does it look like? In our lives, we are in constant struggle between doing what we want and doing what God wants. We struggle for the release of control in our lives. Following Jesus is not about losing your life but it's about living your life to the fullest.
There are many examples of fasting in the bible where people are asking God for something. People add fasting to prayers of petition to amplify their prayers.
The Word of God is given to us for obedience. In light of what God reveals and teaches us in Scripture, how do we take the next step of obedience as individuals and as a community?
God has revealed Himself to us in the Bible. The Bible is His gift to us. As we read the Word of God we hear His voice. We grow in our love for God through knowing Him better.Please take some time to complete theBible Reading Surveythat Pastor Ben referred to in his sermon on May 5. (Direct Link:https://forms.gle/AVDWXTe2XRooU5569)
In Deuteronomy 5, Moses connects Sabbath to the Exodus story, that is Sabbath is an act of resistance. There is a sense in which we are all oppressed. Sabbath is a declaration of freedom.
The word Sabbath simply means to stop or cease. After God created the world He rested. In Genesis we see that God's resting is a model for us: six days for work; one day for rest. Sabbath is part of the created order. We are destined to live in the rhythms of work and rest. Our culture is one of work, go go, and activity and so our hearts are restless and anxious. We need to learn to stop in obedience to the rhythms of creation.
The Early Christians didn't call themselves 'Christians.' Instead, they called themselves followers of 'The Way'. What they meant was that they were people who were disciples of the Rabbi, Jesus Christ, seeking to follow the path He walked.Today, one pressing question that faces the church is this, 'What does it look like to follow Jesus?' One of the ways we can answer this question is to talk about the practices of the way; we imitate Jesus, seeking to become like Him, through imitating His life and practices. The practices are a set spiritual disciplines or habits that Jesus taught us. We are invited to practice these disciplines, to try them out in our lives, so that we can grow into people of love. In this series we will look at four of the practices: Sabbath, Scripture, Fasting, and Prayer.
When we look at the world today, with all its problems and difficulties, we see a world that cannot save itself and needs the redemptive power of God which is demonstrated on the cross at Easter. What does Jesus' resurrection mean to us today?
On Good Friday we remember that, many years ago, Jesus Christ gave his life on the cross. The cross of Christ is the power for salvation for all. This year we will reflect onEphesians 2:1118, which tells us that the death of Christ is the power for reconciliation in the world making peace where there was hostility.
Jesus taught that the second spiritual danger of money is anxiety. Many people are worried about how they will make ends meet, and think that money provides the answer. Really, this worry is alienation from the Father and the heart of God. Jesus tells us not to worry, but to lean into the Father who cares for us.
Jesus taught about the spiritual dangers of money. This week is about how money can make us fools. The parable of the wealthy man shows that it is possible to trust money for security. This takes our hearts away from what is important in this life. Life is about more than material posessions. Let us make our lives about the things that are important.
We will be starting a new 3 message series on "The Spirituality of Money". The Bible does not teach us that money is evil; rather, the love of money is the root of many kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:10). And the Bible is right. Because money plays a central part of all of our lives, we need to pay attention to the spiritual guidelines the Scriptures give us when dealing with our money.
In Daniel 10, a powerful being appears to Daniel and overwhelms him. This passage teaches about spiritual warfare. Daniel is shown that there is more going on in the world. He equips us to live with these spiritual realities.
Divine healing is not just something that occurred in the New Testament, but is something that we believe Christ is still doing today. Our unwillingness to ask for prayer, or offer to pray with someone can limit our ability to receive and experience Christs healing work in our lives.
When God made the world He called humanity to participate in the creation mandate through our work. However, in the fall the rebellion of Adam and Eve affected all aspects of the created order, including our capacity and arena of work. Work is now toilsome. Understanding the biblical picture of the brokenness of work can help us understand the frustrations in our own working lives, as well as set our hope in the right place.
"An Evening in December"is a Christmas Eve program featuring Christmas carols, special music, and a short message of hope.
After Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead the chief priests gather to plot Jesus' death. In this meeting Caiaphas, the high priest, unwittingly prophesies that "it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish." Jesus dies for the people. But in what sense? In this message Pastor Ben will explain the meaning of Jesus' death.
Right before Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead he tells Martha that this sign is all about glory. This miracle is a manifestation of the good character of God. If we have faith in Christ then we too will be able to "see" his glory.
There's a phrase that pops up once in a while that is worth reflecting on: The Church is always one generation away from extinction. What wisdom do the Scriptures have to guide us in answering the call to impart a deeper longing for the Creator to our next generation?
In this passage Jesus is confronted by Lazarus' elder sister, Martha. In response to her inquiry, Jesus replies with the majestic statement, "I am the resurrection and the life." This statement contains more than one wonderful promise.
John 11begins with a heartfelt request by Mary, "Lord, the one you love is sick." Her brother Lazarus is near death's door and she knows that Jesus has the power to heal him. Instead of taking actions Jesus stays where he is for two days. In that time Lazarus dies. The question is why did Jesus delay? We all have major disappointments in our lives. Whether you're a Christian or not you have to reckon with disasters and failures. In this passage we learn that the power and love of Jesus is real for those who follow Him, but often God has a different agenda than we do.
Malachi is the last prophet in the Old Testament. His book closes the Old Testament with a challenge. The people of God have once again slipped into covenantal laziness: cynicism, lax morals and half-hearted worship. Malachi enters into an argument with the people of God beginning with the declaration of God's love and ending with the promise of a coming Elijah figure.
Scholar Daniel I. Block writes: "He is a man totally possessed by the Spirit of Yahweh, called, equipped and gripped by the hand of God." The encounter with God at the river Kebar led to a spiritual renewal in the life of this prophet. While bizarre at times, this book has many things to teach us about the nature of spiritual renewal.
Throughout our lives God brings us into seasons of wilderness and seasons of abundance. Each of these two seasons represent a unique spiritual test. Both a danger and an opportunity.
We are all born into families. Each family is different; they come with their own histories, culture and patterns. We can see from the scriptures and our own lives that many of these family patterns have destructive power that has influence on us. God wants to set us free from these family patterns, but we need the redemptive power of God.
Christians must learn to discern and resist the influence of the enemy in their lives. Lets talk about the necessity of believers to resist the influence of Satan and his demons. What are the strategies of the devil? Why is set free a helpful step towards spiritual freedom?
Join us as we start a four week Church Renewal message series. This Sunday we will be exploring what it means to live a life of confession and repentance to God and to others.
So Jesus has risen and is going back to the Father. What are we supposed to do now? Lets look together at Jesus final instructions. What does it look like to wait and what does the baptism of the Spirit mean?
This will be a special combined church-wide service. Come join us in-person or online at our Church Dedication Service on April 24th at 9:15am as we dedicate our church (the people of God), our building and the new addition to the Lord for His purposes. May He be glorified in us as we seek to be a loving presence of Christ in our neighbourhoods!
The Great Commission is an Easter text. After he is raised from the dead Jesus commissions his disciples to go into the world and make disciples. This involves two key actions: baptizing and teaching.
Matthew's telling of the death of Jesus includes some very curious and seemingly unexplainable events. Join us as we remember and explore the significance of Jesus' death at the hands of Jewish and Roman leaders. Let's remember again why we call this day "Good Friday".
So what happens the week that Jesus enters as king of Israel? Come with us as we explore the actions and reactions to Jesus' ministry during this intense week before His death and resurrection. Let's see how this story might shape the way we choose to do church today.
After showing us the kingdom through miracles, Jesus pivots and sends his followers out to proclaim, "The Kingdom of heaven has arrived." In this passage Jesus gives advice to disciples on mission. He encourages disciples to hold lightly to money by traveling light. He teaches us to look for "worthy people" who are receptive to the gospel. He warns us of opposition and even persecution.
Jesus looks at the crowds following him and he feels a strong emotional response of compassion. Come with us and see how Jesus responds to the needs of the sheep without a shepherd. Today we will be looking at what it means to be an apostle and why it affects all of us who choose to follow Jesus.
Matthew 9:2734has the last two miracles in a series of ten miracles. In this story two blind men are healed after they acknowledge that Jesus is the Messianic Son of David. They pursue him with a simple faith that contrasts to the cynicism of the Pharisees.
What is faith? What's the relationship between faith and the healing work of Jesus? Let's look at these stories together in Matthew to better understand what it means for us to exercise faith in Jesus.
Matthew wants us to know something about who Jesus is. Chapter nine has set up reactions from different groups of Jewish religious leaders who have seen what Jesus has done and heard what he has taught. Now the questions come. What does fasting, patching clothing, and wineskins tell us about who Jesus is? Listen in and learn the dangers of using old wineskins to hold new wine.
When the Angel came to Joseph to announce the birth of Jesus he said this, "[Mary] She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." In this story we see that salvation from sins has two halves. Forgiveness from sin and restoration of sinners.
After saving his disciples from a surprising storm on the sea of Galilee Jesus enters into the Gentile territory of the Gadarenes. What happens is a specific and powerful story that unveils the authority and power Jesus has over demons. Let's learn together more how we are to understand this authority and how to apply it to our own lives.
As Jesus walked this earth teaching and doing miracles he also called people to become his disciples and follow him. In this passage we learn that discipleship has both costs and benefits. Discipleship to Jesus will indeed have costs: he leads us into insecurity and challenges our priorities. But, discipleship is the great privilege in the words, because in the end we get him; the Lord of the universe.
We all need to make choices in life, don't we? We choose between this and that all the time. As people who desire to follow God in our daily journey through life, we are faced with competing choices that we must make every day of our lives.
Jesus is the healer. The first three stories in Matthew 8all involve physical healings. Join us as Pastor Josh discusses what Christians believe about physical healing. What does it mean to pray by faith and what happens when healing doesn't take place? Let's wrestle with these questions and more.
Who is this man? That's the question we'll be asking in this new series on the life of Jesus. This week we follow Jesus off the mountainside where he's just finished delivering his famous sermon on the mount. Who does he meet? What does he do and why does Matthew gather these stories about Jesus? Tune in and find out with us.
Christmas is a time when we remember that the all powerful transcendent creator God demonstrated His love for us by becoming one of us. Jesus moved into our neighbourhood so that we might experience God's love and hear His good news in an even more intimate and personal way. Let's take this Advent season to consider again the wonder and power of the incarnation.
Christmas is a time when we remember that the all powerful transcendent creator God demonstrated His love for us by becoming one of us. Jesus moved into our neighbourhood so that we might experience God's love and hear His good news in an even more intimate and personal way. Let's take this Advent season to consider again the wonder and power of the incarnation.
Join us for a joy-filled evening of carol singing, sharing, reflection, and celebration as we anticipate Christmas. This year's theme is "And God Moved into the Neighbourhood".
How does Jesus making wine at a wedding connect with the Christmas story? Listen as we unpack the meaning of Jesus' first miracle recorded in the book of John. Find out how what Jesus did tells us about the reason He became human.
What does the incarnation of Jesus tell us about who God is? Come explore this famous poem about Jesus from Philippians chapter 2 and its implications for how we ought to live.
Our theme for Advent is, "God moved into the Neighborhood." We are taking the time to remember the Incarnation, when God came to dwell among us by taking on flesh (John 1:14). In Hebrews 2 we see two reasons that Jesus took on human nature: to taste death and to learn mercy.
Waiting is hard. None of us like to wait for things, but not all waiting is bad. Let's wade into the complex question of how God can use waiting to deepen our growth and maturity as followers of Jesus. To do this we will spend some time in Psalm 40.
The natural outflow of our love for God will be our growing capacity to love our neighbour. You see, we cannot love our neighbour as ourselves without fully loving God. And we cannot love God fully without loving our neighbour.
It's one thing to see the importance of being a loving presence in our neighbourhoods. As those who say we follow Jesus the call to love our neighbour is plain and clear. The question though is how. How do we do this and what might prevent us from actually being a loving presence as a person, family, church? If we want to become a loving presence we're going to have to cultivate cultural intelligence. Take a listen and hear why this is so important.
How you see people decides how you treat people. Do you see the needy person as a problem to be solved, or as a brother that God sends to you to learn how to do hospitality? Jesus is on a mission in the neighbourhood and He invites you to come with Him.
The church has two essential ways of functioning: attractional ministry and missional ministry. Both are essential for the church to fulfill the Great Commission. We see in the early chapters of Acts how the church began in a primarily attractional mode. Through persecution God led the church to discover missional ministry.
Through the Parable of the Good Samaritan, let us understand the true meaning of loving our neighbours. We should not ask "Who is My Neighbour?", but we should ask, "Whose Neighbour Am I?".
Throughout the Bible, we are reminded that the mission of God is to go and love people, to go and bless people as we have been blessed -- to be a loving presence of Christ in our neighbourhoods loving others one prayer at a time, one conversation at a time, one meal at a time, one act of service at a time, and one story at a time.
Every year we host a commissioning service for students, parents, and those who work in the field of education. This is that time of year when everyone returns to the rigor of the academic year. As Jesus sends us out into the world, let's look at the instructions he gave his first disciples when they were sent out. What can we learn from how Jesus sent them?
While the church is not synonymous to the kingdom of God, God has left the church as a signpost to the kingdom. That is, the church is meant to point to something else beyond itself: the life of God. When the church really is such a signpost it will lead people to come to know God in a powerful way. The church needs at least two things to become this signpost: love and intelligibility.
Last sermon Pastor Josh argued that church is primarily meant to be understood as a gathered community called for a particular purpose. This time we look at the definition of church as a place where we encounter the living God. What does it mean to gather to meet with God?