Grace Valley Church: Recent Episodes
Grace Valley Church
Grace Valley Church is a new church in the Dundas area seeking to live with and for the thriving of Dundas as a community. Jesus is our inspiration and in him we find plenty of life to share with others.
Psalm 126 teaches us that in times of trouble, it is good to remind ourselves of God's faithfulness to us in the past. In 126:1-2, we see the Israelites practicing faithful rememberance. This life giving spiritual practice is what sustains them through their dangerous journey of ascent. God is steadfast and His loving care never changes.The same faithful God that walked alongside the Israelites thousands of years ago still walks with us on our own journeys. His love for His children has not faded. We too can have faith that God will take our tears and turn them into joy, not only as He did for the ancient Israelites but also for His own Son, Jesus. Jesus wept tears of anguish on a dark night in the Garden of Gesthamane before He was to be hung on a cross. But God took those tears and turned them to joy as He was raised to life and the atonement for our sins was complete. When we weep, we can be assured that in His timing, God will take our tears and turn them into everlasting joy. He always has and He always will.
, we take a look at Psalm 24. This short psalm reminds us that as we journey through life's difficulties, we can find comfort and confidence in God's Word. The fundamental truth that God created all things and that everything belongs to Him is the answer to our deepest need. We belong to our Creator. We are accepted and loved.He cares for us and we are in the hands of the One who created order out of chaos. We can trust that our steadfast God knows what He is doing. He has made a way for us to be fully in His presence, fully loved and fully accepted, forever. Despite the weakness and the sin that separates us from Him, He calls us to Himself. He is Holy. And we are made Holy in Him. Our souls can rest in that eternal truth.The earth is the Lord's and everything in it. Amen.
in the best possible way and is calling you to Himself. You don't have to clean yourself up to meet with God, you just have to be willing.
. But simply and unbelievably, God's grace. Most of us will not commit sins so grievous that it causes the murder of an entire village. But all of us commit sins that, without God's grace, will block us from ever being to stand before a Holy God and be called righteous. Despite Jacob's sins, despite ours, we are forgiven in Christ by our ever loving and trustworthy Father in Heaven.
Despite Jacob's profound encounters with the Living God, he continued to fall into deep and destructive patterns of sin. His inability to face his problems head on, combined with his compulsion to manipulate and lie, left it's mark on a whole new generation of children. Because of Jacob's inability to act on behalf of his violated and abused daughter, his enemy was forced to make a hasty peace treaty which did not stand up to the fury of his deceptive and violent sons. The warning in this story is clear. When we do not honestly and earnestly deal with our own sin patterns - be it those of deception, those of apathy, those of gossip or those of jealousy - it will always affect the ones we love. We must always be taking our weaknesses to God and laying them at His feet, asking for the help of the Holy Spirit to equip us to do better. As He did with Jacob, God uses our lives as an example to others. The question is whether our lives point people toward faithful obedience or serve as a warning of the damage that unchecked sin can do.
What's actually happening when we go to church? Are we all just following tradition? Being compelled to do it by guilt or obligation? Or is there something more at work? God brings us into corporate worship for a reason. It's to give us a taste of home - not our earthly home, but the one He's created for us to be in. This week we explore Psalm 84 and what it means to worship as a church family and why God calls us to gather together.
God doesn't show up. God's angels appeared physically in front of him and he still didn't believe, at least not for very long. Even though Jacob could see countless ways that God had showed up for him in the past and he'd heard Gods promise to him (Gen 32:9), Jacobs fear overtook his faith and he tried to take control. This is an all too familiar scene for most of us no matter how long we have been believers for. It is a relief to know that our neither our fearful ways or wavering faith will deter God from fulfilling His promise that He would be with us to the very end (Mat 28:20). It is in His grace that we rest and it is in His grace that we can face any troubles that may arise, no matter what.
is better than whatever the unknown future may be. But God was with Jacob, despite Jacobs own moral failures. It is comforting to know that He is with us too, despite ourselves, because God is the same today as He was back when Jacob lived (Heb. 13:8). In this story, we also get a peek into what life was like for Rebecca and Leah as they did not grow up with the faith that Jacob was raised with. Biblical accounts like these point us to a faithful God who orchestrates every human action and intention - from animal husbandry to stolen idols - for the good of His people and the glory of His name.
Jacob spent years believing that blessing came through his own schemes. Yet again and again, God showed him that it was never his plans that secured the future, it was God’s providence.Maybe today you feel small, unseen, or insignificant. Maybe you wonder if your life really matters.But the God who governs every detail of history is the same God who knit you together in your mother’s womb. You are not an accident. You are not forgotten. You are not outside His care.The story of Jacob reminds us that God’s purposes are never dependent on our strength, success, or ability to figure life out.
Over the last number of weeks we've been diving into God's Dysfuntional Family through the book of Genesis. And we can see one thing for sure. God's grace does not depend on our good behaviour in any way. We've seen countless examples of bad, even despicable behaviour, but God is still weaving His goodness throughout it all. In this section of Genesis, we come across another wild story of people doing crazy things to get what they want. It's not that the things they want are wrong. It's natural and good to want to be loved, to have children and to have security. But it's what they do to get it that is the problem. It is important to remember that in our suffering, there is never a license to sin. And yet as we see, Rachel and Leah have a long, ugly battle that poisons their lives and leaves everyone miserable in the end, despite all of their scheming. But God's plan is still unfolding. He's still working through these flawed women and their flawed husband Jacob. Unbenknownst to them, one of their sons will be a forefather of Jesus Christ. We are fortunate to be able to look back at this story and see how God's grace to His fallen people has a reason and a purpose. Let that give us hope for how He is working in our own lives today so that we never forget that no matter what we do, it all depends on God's grace in the end.
Jacob was the boy that nobody wanted. But if Rachel wanted him, he'd do anything to get her. Many of us can identify with thinking that if we can just get this one thing, this one person, this one promotion, we'll be accepted. We think that the holes inside ourselves will be filled with affection, admiration and praise from others. And that may be true, but only for a moment. God sees our aching hearts, just as He saw Jacob's and just as He so tenderly saw Leah's. He sees and knows our deepest desires. And He gives us Himself, which is exactly what we need. When we lay down our wants and our desires and we ask humbly ask God to help us submit to His will, we will get what we need. God is a God who sees, as we learned weeks ago with Hagar. He lifts up the humble, the un-wanted, the rejected and He blesses them with His love and His acceptance. Tuck into the Lord and His love for you. It is not there for a moment but it is there for eternity.
After weeks of walking through perilous terrain, Jacob arrives at his destination in Harran. In order to woo himself a wife, he sidles up to her father Laban, a professional schemer and a man who turns out to out-scheme Jacob himself. If the way this story unfolds seems familiar to those of you who have been following along in our series thusfar, its because God intended us to see the effects of generational sin and deception and how they have a ripple effect throughout our lives. But while the pattern of sin is more than apparant in the similiarities between Jacob and his father Isaac's stories, a few key differences show us that God is at work through it all, despite the folly of Jacob himself. God works through all things. All sin patterns, all tendencies, all deceptions and all bad intentions. He is our Sovereign Lord. He weaves His mercy and goodness through all the self-imposed pain in our lives so that His plan for our ultimate redemption will be fulfilled despite our selfish ambitions and mixed up motivations.
This week, Pastor Paul takes us through Genesis 28:10-22 where we continue following along with Jacob.
Imagine winning an award for something you didn't do. Or finally hearing the words of affirmation and love you have been longing to hear, but knowing the person speaking those words intended them for someone else. That's what Jacob was experiencing in Gen. 27:1-29. And if he didn't already feel like a less-than son, he sure did after this encounter with his father Isaac. Although Jacob willingly participated in his mothers plan to force a blessing on him, it couldn't have felt very victorious after it actually happened. It's kind of like how some modern day people will pretend they are someone completely different to get the affirmation and love they crave. Think of the social media influencers, the politicians, the person who desperately wants a spouse or the highschooler who will do anything to fit in. God's love for you has nothing to do with your performance or the way you look. It has nothing to do with your birth order, your clothing or your social status. It's freely given and it's given to you - the you that He created, the you that exists outside of any temporary facade you've created. You don't have to pretend with God, you've already got His blessing. You've already got His unwavering, undying love and promise of an eternity spent with Him, with nothing to prove and only the pure joy of being who you were created to be in the first place.
kind of guy, but God calls us to live our lives with eternity in mind. So while Esau rejected and brushed off the blessing that was his through Isaac, when he fell away from his family who (imperfectly) worshipped the Lord, he committed himself to a life without God in it. He was, in fact, godless.We see evidence of Esau's heart posture as he begs his father Isaac to change his mind when he gave the blessing to Jacob (Gen 27:1-40). He's crying worldy tears of all that he will lose, focused on the temporary things of wealth and property and not focused on the things of God. As relatable as Esau is, he's also a warning to all of us to stay in step with God's ways because no matter how likeable we are, if our hearts are not aligned with His, we will end up in a temporary life instead of life everlasting with Him.
As we continue in the ongoing saga of Isaac and his family, we see one thing is for certain - we human beings do not bring a single thing to our own salvation. In these few verses of Genesis, we see liars, meddlers, manipulators and people who are willfully ignorant of what they know God had revealed to them. We see people who are so bent on getting what they want they will deceive a dying man. We also see glimpses of ourselves in every line. But God has a plan and it cannot be thwarted. Not by our own desires or ideas of control and not by who we perceive as more deserving of God's grace. We're called to be active participants in God's plan but we aren't called to be the ones in control of it. When God's plan of grace is fully realized and we are reconciled to Him at last, we'll all be looking around at one another marvelling at how any of us got to be in His presence at all. Our clumsy attempts at moral improvements will never get us close to the righteousness that God requires. Only the sacrifice of our Lord and saviour, Jesus Christ, can do that for us. Like Isaac, Rebecca and their two sons Jacob and Esau, we're subject to God's will and beneficiaries of His undeserved but freely given grace.
In Genesis 26:1-33 we get a peek into Isaac's life and his character. Isaac is the cherished son of Abraham, and the one who lay himself down in obedience when Abraham was called to sacrifice him on mount Moriah. Isaacs life seems to be one of obedience and faith to the Lord, and God repeatedly assures Isaac that He is with him through some really tough seasons in his life. But when Isaac is confronted with the possibility of his own demise, fear roars it's ugly head and Isaac's faith is overshadowed. So much so that he throws his own wife into peril. So much so that all of a sudden, this faithful man's life looks a lot like his father Abraham's did when Abraham was confronted with his own fears of death or violence. How often does our faith seem strong and then something appears that trips us up and we find ourselves spiralling into fear based reactions? Our sin patterns, often learned from our parents, are ingrained in our bones - but our faith patterns are a choice and with the help of the holy spirit, we can learn to choose God's way. God never left Isaac, despite his folly, and he'll never leave us either. We can depend on God to make a way through any fear or failure that we may find ourselves in, just as all of those who have gone before us experienced as well.
In Genesis 19:25-34, we are introduced to Esau and Jacob. Twin boys who battled eachother before they were even born into this world. Looking at each ones character, it's easy to see their humanity and their flaws - one, irreverent and thinking only of today, and the other, scheming and waiting for his chance seize power. Neither of them seem to deserve any of God's grace or mercy and yet one of them does receive it. But why? It's the same reason you and I receive God's grace - because God is good and in control and we are players in His grand plan for humankind. He chooses us for His purpose and plan. We don't get to vote for our favourites to be counted in as God's elect as much as we all want to and as much as we so often strive to. Instead, we are called to trust God in our calling as His children and do our best to walk in His ways and to partner with the Holy Spirit by spreading the gospel wherever and however we can.
Good Friday is good because all is not lost.In the darkest, scariest times.In the deepest pit.In the depths of despair.We can have hope because Jesus really did conquer death.When we leave this earth, believers will enter into deep, everlasting peace.Jesus calls each one of us to believe in Him. He calls all of us to have everlasting peace with Him.In this world you will have trouble. Things hurt. But everything that you are suffering right now will be just a breath.Have hope.This world is not all there is.
who will get us what we desire. We will rage and we will plot and we will conspire to put the leader in charge who will benefit us the most. But when it looks like there might be conditions to receiving the benefits, like loss of popularity or safety, we turn tail and run. Psalm 2 called it out back then and it still calls it out today. Jesus Christ rode through Jerusalem with full knowledge of what was happening that day and what would still be happening thousands of years in the future. Yet He still chose to continue that path to the cross so that our ultimate freedom from the oppression of sin and death would be won. Praise God and Hallelujah.
One of the most fascinating things about Bible is how we get to witness the growing spiritual maturity of some of its central characters. In Genesis 16, we saw Abraham making foolish decisions because he had not yet learned to submit full control over to God. He chose to have a child with a woman who was not his wife because he feared God's promise of a son would not come to pass. Fast forward to Genesis 24, we see a much more spiritually mature Abraham, one who submits to God's will first and acts second. How many times do we make decisions without praying first? Without checking our own motives? Without praying that our will be lined up with God's? It's a vulnerable thing to admit our lack of control in over our own lives and it takes an often painful amount of faith and discipline to remember that God is truly sovereign. But there is freedom in this. Our position as God's children never changes, no matter what decision we make in our lives. Whether things work out or fall flat, believers are always God's beloved children. Abraham knew that God was for him, and likewise we should know (and grow) in the knowledge that God is for us too.
Some of us have heard of Sodom and Gomorrah. Some of us have heard about Lot's wife being turned into a pillar of salt. But no children's storytime Bible will ever feature the details of what's going on behind the scenes here in Genesis 19.We've got a father who sells his own daughters out, for reasons we can only speculate. We've got a mother who can't bear to leave the cesspool of a city that God is rescuing her from, so much so that she and her family literally have to be dragged away by angels. We've got daughters who are convinced they are the last of humanity and go to desperate lengths to continue their family line. We've got lust-crazed villagers who are blinded by their hedonistic obsessions, even as as a dire warning comes from their neighbour. But do you know what else we've got? A God who worked His grace and mercy through it all. A God who sent His angels to cover Lot and his daughters with protection, even as they were sent into the unknown. From the ashes of Sodom, God weaves redemption through the broken lives of broken people. Even through the perverse acts of Lot's daughters, we find a child whose lineage will include our Lord Jesus Christ. Despite Lot's families sinfulness, God is still faithful to His promise to Abraham (Gen 18:16-33) and despite our own sinfullness, this same God will redeem us too.
For roughly 25 years, Sarah walks under a promise of God that not only hasn't come true yet, but was not given directly to her. She's walking in the dim light of an unmet expectation. She's bitter, cynical and cruel to those around her. She's lost sight of God and she can only see the barrenness inside herself and her future. But God sees her. And He knows her. And He appears to her - a woman in a patriarchal society that gave no voice to a woman, no matter who she was married to. God's unwavering commitment to His promise shines through in Sarah's life, illuminating not only her barren womb but her own sin. Sarah emerges completely changed, carrying her son Isaac as a trophy of God's grace to her and the steadfastness of His love. It's stories like these that encourage us as modern day believers. The God who promised Sarah and Abram is the same God that promises to wipe our own tears away for eternity. This promise will be fulfilled as it was for them. We walk in faith and not by sight, but how glorious will it be when we finally see God's glory, illuminating our very souls forever and ever and ever.
In Genesis 16, we begin to see the cracks in both Sarah and Abraham's faith. Here we see a desperate, grieving, barren wife who has been told her worth is only in the sons she bears. We see a victimized young Egyptian woman who has also been told a whole other set of lies. And we see Abraham, caught in an emotional storm between two women and tripping over his own doubt and self interest.But when God sees these three people, He does not turn away. He sees a broken and hurting and desperately vulnerable Hagar and He draws near. He sees Sarah and Abraham and does not go back on His promise that He would bless them with heirs beyond their imagination. God doesn't look at us with disgust, or repulsion, or scorn. He doesn't push us away when we are unpalatable. He draws us closer. This week, we walk through Genesis 16 and we see how our God is the the One Who Sees us
In Genesis 15, we find ourselves witnessing an intimate moment between Abram and the God who has called him out into the wilderness. Abram is overwhelmed with confusion and doubt of God's promises to bless him. He brings his doubt to the Lord's feet and God answers Him with kindness and care. God doesn't shame Abram for wondering. He is tender and He assures Abram that He will do what He said He would do. Pastor Paul takes us through the remarkable promise of God in this passage and the historical and cultural context surrounding it. When God promises, He delivers. We can trust that all of His promises that have yet to come to pass, will indeed be fulfilled in days to come.
Genesis 14 is one of those chapters that's really easy to skip over. It's full of names that many of us are unfamiliar with and it's easy to miss the reason why this passage is included. In this sermon, Pastor Mark takes us through the historical background of what was happening to Abram and Lot during this time. Through a closer examination of the text, we see how Abrams rescue mission for his jealous cousin, Lot, is a mirror of how God rescues us, even when we don't deserve it. This passage goes from a confusing list of kings and battles to a story of redemption and grace, modelled first by the One True God.
, it's an important lesson to all of us to remain faithful to God's plan. Not just when it looks to be dangerous, but in the minor inconveniences in our every day lives. God's in control, all the time, and it's our job to keep our eyes focused and faithful to Him.
Recovering Eden. When we recover something, it's the act of returning to something we have already possessed. In this sermon, Pastor Mark speaks to us about how we were created for Eden and created to live in perfect harmony with God and one another. When we see how broken, divided and perverse our world can be, our hearts cry out to fix it, to repair it - to recover something that has been lost to us. Many of us do not live with the knowledge that we were created for something else, something infinitely better than what this world has to offer. But that is why our hearts are broken. Many of us wrestle with pervasive discontent, with striving and stretching towards earthly prizes and possessions until the we are so distorted we don't even recognize ourselves. That isn't how God intended us to live.The only way for our hearts to heal is to be in constant communion with our Lord and Creator. The One who made a way for us to return to the perfect paradise He created for us, fully and completely recovering what had been lost.
How can a church that looks so good on the outside be slowly rotting away on the inside? It's easier than you think for a church to slide into spiritual entropy and no church is immune to it, no matter how many boxes we check. In this sermon, Rev. Paul Vanden Brink breaks down the criticism and warning that Jesus gives the church at Sardis, a warning that should catch every Christian's attention, no matter what church they belong to.
? Because Jesus came to the world as a baby, who grew up to be a perfect man who spread the radical good news of the gospel, who then died and paid for our sins with His blood and now we can, with full conviction, say that we will walk with Him forever (and ever).
Micah leaves no room for misinterpretation in this prophecy. At first glance it sounds like a graphic description of the cannibalism inflicted by the leaders in Micahs day. But does any of it still ring true today? This week we continue to explore the reasons why Jesus needed to come and why He needs to come back. Join us as we wait expectantly for His return and seek to become ambassadors of His peace while we wait.
It's not common practice to talk about God's anger on the first day of Advent. But it sure is neccesary. In order for us to understand why God had to send Jesus to make a way for us, we need to understand how corrupt the human heart was during Micah's time, and how corrupt our hearts continue to be. Our rebellion against God's instructions for how we ought to live cannot simply be shoved under an all encompassing blanket of divine love. It's something that must be dealt with face to face, with God in the flesh. With Jesus. God's heartbreak for His children is expressed in furious anger against our actions and against our sin. His anger is just, it is righteous and it is good. But, in His great mercy, His anger is poured out not on us, but on our Saviour. In this season of Advent, we look towards the hope that the gospel proclaims, the hope that begins with an infant lying in a manger. The hope that points to a God who deeply desires good for His children. The hope that points to a God who sent His own son to cover our sins. Praise be to our Lord Jesus, who came to earth as a baby and made a way for us to be united to our Heavenly Father in eternity.
In this world of deep-fakes, untrustworthy news sources, and AI generated companionship, our world is starving for truth. For many people, the search for truth can be awkward or overwhelming. Where do you even start? You can start by coming to church. Hear the word of God preached and make note of all of your questions. Follow up with the Pastor or an elder. Look for resources to help you find your answers, don't let your questions hang in mid-air and eventually disappear under a pile of busyness. And come back to church again the following week. Forming a habit of regular church attendance will change your life. You'll be connected to God's Kingdom and you will be exposed to the only truth that we can rest on, the truth of the living God. Get to know the folks who are seekers like you and join a group like Alpha or Christianity Explored. Attend a potluck, join a small group. Your heart is calling you to seek community because that's how you were created to be. Come as you are, but know that God will meet you wherever you are in your spiritual journey.
You know how jokes are funnier when they are shared? And how it feels to give someone a present you know they will love? And how sometimes you can't help but re-share that video of the guy who sings lullabies to donkeys? Do you ever wonder where we get that urge to share something that brings us joy? We get it from the Lord! We are hardwired to share something that brings us joy. So what is it that stops us from sharing the thing that should bring us the most joy and the most life to others? I can think of a few, for myself at least. My ego. My love of comfort. My insecurity in Gods promises. But those are all things that I need to lay down at Jesus feet. And I know there are things that are keeping you from sharing the Gospel as well. Jesus literally sent each and every believer on a mission to spread the Good News to others. It's how the kingdom of heaven will be filled and it is our duty as Christians here on earth, Llets' take a good hard look at ourselves and bring our hangups to the Lord so we can go forth in peace and with the confidence that the Holy Spirit will guide and lead us in our mission.
In last week's sermon, we talked about the importance of regular repentance. This week, we talk about the importance of forgiving others. Neither repentance nor forgiveness are easy to do. Both are contrary to our natural self-protective instincts. But both acts are imperitive to living the free and fruitful life that God desires for us. Jesus perfectly modelled forgiveness in every aspect of His earthly walk with us and ultimately in His death upon the cross. Because we are called to model ourselves to look more like Jesus, we must always be striving to move towards forgiveness in our own lives. It's not easy. It's going to hurt. And it comes with a lot of questions. But we can lean on the Lord and seek Him in prayer to guide us as we seek reconciliation in our broken relationships. God knows our hearts and our motives and as we honestly confess our struggles, He hears us. He will not leave us alone in these battles to repair what has been damaged.
Which sounds like it shouldn't be a big deal, especially to our modern ears. But if you stop to think about it, what is God saying here? He's saying, don't put anything or anyone before me. This can look different in each of our own lives, but the fact is, we all do it. For example, you could be someone who prioritizes the comfort of your couch instead of meeting with your church community. It could mean you prioritize control and find yourself overworking so you can control your financial future instead of trusting the God will provide for you. You could find yourself obsessively checking your social feeds to find your worth in pixelated hearts or a thumbs up because you prioritize approval of others. Over God's approval of you.Every single human being is made to worship. The problem is, we're giving the wrong 'gods' the wrong attention instead of giving it to the only God that is worthy of it. What are you worshipping? What do you deem worth-y?
One of the hardest things for us human beings to do is say we're sorry. Apologizing is one of those things that requires a great deal of humility and self-awareness that doesn't neccesarily come naturally to most of us. But all throughout the Bible, God calls us to repent of our sins and change our ways. Why does He do that? Why should we even bother? Because without true repentance, we simply cannot be close to our Holy God. God calls us to Himself again and again through our own repentance and His offer of grace and forgiveness. Join us this week as we walk through Psalm 32 and learn about true repentance together.
This week, we take a look at Psalm 119:33-40 and we reflect on what it looks like to learn to love God's law. Loving the law is not something that comes naturally to our human hearts. Usually if someone places a law on our autonomy, it's not likely going to stir up a sense of peace, but rather rebellion. We'd rather look to anyone or anything else but God to tell us what we should do and how we should live. We look to others to satisfy our idol of acceptance and to ourselves to satisfy our idols of control. And let's not even talk about what we look to social media for, despite the ever fluctuating social trends of what is acceptable and unacceptable. But God's laws free us from looking this way and that to fulfill our hearts desires. Instead of binding us so that our spirits are stifled and confused and anxious, they give us boundaries so that we can flourish. As children living under Gods grace, we can go in confidence that Jesus has paid for any mistake - no matter how large or how small or how intentional or unintentional. We can live our lives in the joy that is freedom in Christ and lay our idols down at His feet.
From the breath in our lungs to the sun on our face, everything we have is a gift from God. We are recipients of a million seen and unseen gifts from our Creator and lifting our hearts to God in thanks is key to living a joyful, fruitful life here on earth. Even if the sun hurts our eyes and our breath is shallow, we are called to give thanks in all circumstances - no matter how easy or difficult they may be. This week, Pastor Paul walks us through 1 Thessalonians where we learn more about becoming thankful on the level that God calls us into, join us as we listen to the word together.
Some folks can point to a specific time, even a specific day in their lives where the gospel completely and utterly changed them. Their lives are a stark contrast of before and after. But some folks experience gospel growth in small, subtle ways that begin to change them over time. Both are good, both are growth. But one thing is for sure. The gospel, the good news of the saving grace of Jesus Christ, will change you. Those pinpricks of impatience. That overwhelming desire to publicly share something juicy about someone else. The false confirmation that your own worst fear has just come true. All of it is changed by God's truth, His better way. Join us as we listen to Rev. Mark Hordyk unpack 2 Peter 1:3-9.
This week, Pastor Paul walks us through Luke 18:9-14. It's one of those passages that reminds me of just how human the folks in the bible really were: "God, thank you I'm not like those scumbags over there." (based on Luke 18:11). I'm sure some of us can relate to that, if we're really honest with ourselves. But Jesus' point with this parable is to make us aware of what it looks like when we have our view of ourselves misaligned with the truth. The more we exalt ourselves, the more we start to overshadow the cross. The more we overshadow the cross, the more we forget that we are created beings who will never be bigger, more important, more wise, more intelligent, than our Creator. Having a proper view of ourselves, being humbled and accepting our God-given position here on earth is the first step towards living a full, fruitful life. Find out more by joining us this week!
Before I became a Christian, I had a concept of God. I knew there was 'something more' but I had my own ideas of what that looked like. But once I was confronted with the holiness of God, it literally brought me to my knees and changed my life. The prophet Isaiah could relate - the same thing happened to him in Isaiah 6. As human beings, it's a constant battle for us to figure out our 'place' in relation to God. It's a battle because we're always scrambling to be number one, to be the driver, to get to tell God how He should and shouldn't act. But God is the only truth that holds all of existence together. And me? I'm just a fickle, selfish, lukewarm human being who truly has no control over anything at all. God reveals His holiness to Isaiah and as we submit ourselves to Him, He'll reveal it to us too. Join us this week as we walk through Isaiah 6 together.
This week, we begin a new sermon series called The Gospel Centered Life, beginning in 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. As Christians, the gospel should be so central to our lives that we cannot imagine life without it. The good news that we are free from the penality of our sins should cause us to rejoice so loudly that we can't help but spread it to others. But what does that actually look like? Some of us have been Christians for our whole lives and yet we couldn't honestly say that the gospel is part of our DNA. It has its times and spaces, but our thoughts and actions are more often the opposite of how God calls us to live. Some of us are brand new to the faith and wonder what that looks like in their lives. What will we have to give up? What will we gain? Join us over the next number of weeks as we journey together though The Gospel Centered Life. Church Copyright License® 11460690 | CCLI Streaming License™ 20344699
Genesis 11:1-9 is not some story about a group of people who built a tower that God didn't like. It's a story about what the human heart looks like - a heart that is always striving to be bigger than God. If you don't believe me, take a look at social media these days. Take a look at how many people are promoting themselves, pointing you to themselves, making themselves the ones that dictate how you should live, dress, act. This isn't a slam against social media or anyone who uses it, but it is just one example of what happens when our pride and misplaced hierarchy in our own lives takes place. Pride within oneself is the exact opposite of how we are created to live. Want a more extreme example of what it looks like when sinful pride takes over? Read the news. Every war, every act of violence, every person who is taken advantage of. It all boils down to the tower of babel - the tower that humans build to be the same or better than God. Listen in this week as we hear from guest pastor Kingsley Lai as he walks us through how relevant the tower of Babel really is.
Offering something of ourselves or our possessions is a very tangible way of re-dedicating ourselves to God. After all, the only reason we have the ability to possess these gifts is because He has given us the means to steward them in the first place. The process of giving something back to God's kingdom is a sanctifying act that reminds us of our place in this world. We don't get to call anything our own, we are recievers of these gifts and giving back is the best way to say thank you. Join us this week as we wrap up our summer series on worship, with a walk through 2 Corinthians 8:1-9.
Have you ever wondered why we say "this is the word of the Lord?" after the main scripture passage for the sermon has been read? Tune in this week and find out!
Join us as we learn more about the benediction as part of our mini sermon series on Worship.
All through the book of Exodus, we learn how God has set up boundaries to keep His people at a distance. There are rules (and rules and rules) about what His people must do in order to be able to come even a little bit near Him in the temple. Because He is Holy and perfect, anything (or anyone) who is not holy or perfect will die if they even glimpse at His holy presence. But God made a way for us to be close to Him and that is through Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross. When we take our bread and wine each Sunday, we are participating in a physical symbol of the spiritual practice of God's communion with us through Jesus. Through this communion, we eat, drink and remember what Jesus has done for us and how God loved us so much that He made a way for us to be with Him forever. No more distance and only eternity in His presence.
Join us this week as we walk through an often misunderstood part of reformed Christian practice and that is the practice of confession. Why do we need to confess our sins? Why does God need to hear from us when He already knows what we've done and what we're going to do next? Does God just love to rub our noses in it? Nothing could be further from the truth. As we'll hear, God's grace is most beautifully demonstrated as we come to Him with repentent hearts. In order to know that grace, we need to humble ourselves in front of our holy and perfect God and the only way to do that is through the regular practice of confession. Join us as we hear from Pastor Mark as preaches through Hebrews 12:18-24 and learn how God invites us to come to Him and leave unburdened and assured of our eternal salvation.
Worship is so much more than just showing up on a Sunday morning. When we worship together, God is literally and actively communicating with us through song and through scripture. The God of the entire universe absolutely loves to commune with His people, so much so that He created us for such purposes and He calls us into His presence as a family. Each Sunday, our spirits are shaped and molded by the living word, letting us connect to the One who gives us true rest. Communal worship acts as a balm of protection in a weary and individualized world and our souls thirst for it. Join with us we begin a new series, Worship: What Are We Doing Here And Why
Do you believe that there is a constant battle for your soul, each and every moment of your life? It may sound dramatic, but it's true. Think about how hard it is to make the right choice sometimes. How much temptation you are faced with on every level in every waking moment. How everything and everyone is trying to get you to pledge allegiance. Trying to seduce you into to pledging your likes, your subscribes, the items in your shopping carts, your feeds. Everything wants your worship. It wants control of you. But that's not "just the way it is". That's actual, real spiritual battle. There's a war going on and you and I are in the middle of it. Every time we choose something that is against God's good design, we choose sin. And, as the Bible tells us, the wages of sin is death, the death of our souls. True self-control can come from only one place, and it isn't from within. Tune in this week to hear from Pastor Mark on what true self control really is as we walk throught Titus 2-11-14 together.
Jesus is the epitome of strength cloaked in gentleness. All throughout the New Testament, we witness what it looks like to be a faithful servant in every aspect of our lives. Whether under persecution, when confronted with a hurting friend or when asked tough questions about His faith, Jesus never waivers and He always brings a deep, confident power into every encounter. Join us as we walk through 1 Peter 3:13-16 together.
Tune in this week as we hear from Pastor Phil Tadros as he walks us through Luke 15:11-32.
In a world that is constantly screaming for our attention and worship, we must always be aware of who exactly we're following. Jesus invites us to follow Him down a path that does not require us to do anything except believe in Him. We don't have to trip over ourselves trying to prove our devotion to Him and we don't have to work ourselves to the bone trying to earn our worth. Who and what we worship defines who and what kind of person we will be, so let's make sure to choose wisely.
This week, we hear from Dr John Span, a missionary who works at Mukhanyo Theoligical College in KwaMhlanga, South Africa. Dr Span walks us through two passages that highlight the goodness of God. In the passage from Luke, we see a very human reaction from Simon Peter when confronted with the goodness and provision of our Lord.
We're re-launching some of our older Clearer Thinking Podcast Episodes, beginning with a series called "Calvinism For Cool Kids" which highlights and unpacks the 5 points of Calvinism.
This week, we take a hard look at our own motivations for being kind to one another. Kindess doesn't always look like how we think it looks and true kindness is never easy. Join us as we walk through Titus 3:4-8 with Kevin deJonge.
Patience is so much more than just breathing deep in a traffic jam or choosing to use every relaxation technique you've ever heard while teaching a child to tie their shoes. Biblical patience is an intentional heart posture that leads you towards a deeper relationship and dependence on God. This is not easy to do, especially if you are waiting for medical test results, or you have been waiting for a tough situation in your life to resolve. But it is one of the fruits of the Spirit that can radically change your life when you choose to cultivate it. Join us as we learn more about biblical patience from the book of James 5:7-12.
Cultivating the fruit of joy isn't something that can be done over night, but it is something that every Christian should practice in their every day life. While happiness is an emotional response to external stimuli, joy resides deep in our hearts and cannot be changed by the weather. Listen in as Pastor Paul takes us through Philippians 4:4-9 and we learn how to refocus our thoughts towards joy and the beauty of the Lord.
Why are we so obsessed with love? Our art, our songs, our movies, our television shows all revolve around the topic of love in some shape or form. In this sermon, Pastor Paul unpacks the reasons why our hearts and minds are so focused on love and what that says about our Creator.
This Sunday we follow along with Josiah Ling as he takes us through Matthew 9:35-38. Even though it's a privilege to be invited to share the gospel with others, it can be really intimidating. But the Holy Spirit has got our backs and all we're called to do is show up as God instructs. Join us this week as we learn more about how evangalism works and how we can be a part of God's great harvest.
Have you ever done something you swore you'd never do? So did apostle Peter. It's not hard to imagine the shame he must have felt and the the utter certainty that he was a failure of a human being. But when he encounters the risen Christ, after denying his Lord three times and crumbling under pressure, what does he do? He dives right into the sea and swims headlong right into Jesus' arms. Jesus calls Peter to Himself, despite Peters utter failure, despite the betrayal and despite his self loathing and shame. Peter had spent years with Jesus, following Him, learning about Him and watching how He treated those around Him. Peter knew that he would be accepted and loved and forgiven. Peters actions prove that Jesus was a sure and steady anchor and we can rest in the knowledge that no matter what we have done, Jesus stands ready to forgive and redeem us too.
Here was the Mary who had been possessed by seven demons. The one whose uncontrolled, demonic rage had made her an outcast and an object of scorn and fear. Here she was, a woman whose fragile heart had been broken yet again because the one who told her He'd never leave her, was indeed gone. He'd died on a criminals cross and there was nothing she could do about it. But here was Mary, her eyes widening in disbelief and her soul screaming out in joy and unparallelled relief as her Saviour stood in front of her. Here she was, a woman, who had no social standing, no future and past regrets that threatened to drown her once again. Here she was, clinging to the Lord, her finger nails digging into His flesh (His flesh!) where three days earlier iron nails had been pierced through that very same flesh. As He gently told her to go spread the news that He had Risen, all of her grief begain to shed through the tears and sweat that ran down her face as she went to tell her fellow disciples. Here she was, just a woman, just Mary, and Jesus Christ knew her by her name and chose HER.
In this incredible story of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, we learn that all is not as it seems. While the crowd was looking towards this outcast of a man to save them from Roman rule, shouting "Hosanna!" and laying their clothes at His feet, Jesus was preparing Himself for what was to come - His ultimate rescue mission. A mission that was far from addressing the immediate concerns of the people, yet it addressed the deepest concern they didn't even know they had. The salvation of their very souls. Join us this week as we walk through John 12:12-19 together and ask the question: if you knew Jesus wasn't going to give you everything your really wanted, would you still worship him?
This week, Pastor Paul unpacks John 12:1-8 and we see how Mary, sister of Lazarus, responds to her encounters with Jesus Christ.
In this encounter with Jesus, we see one of the most beautiful descriptions of who Jesus is and how He relates to us as hurting, broken human beings. We have a warrior and a protector who gives us eternal life and a man who weeps with us in the meantime. Tune in this week as Pastor Paul unpacks John 11:17-44 and witness how Jesus rages against death itself and how He is our ultimate comfort and hope in the face of tragedy and loss.
Many people today will say that our culture has moved "beyond" Christianity. That we know better than we did "back then." In the west, our pursuit of scientific exploration and our material wealth has lulled us into a false sense of security. We've figured it out. We were blind, but now we see. But Jesus Christ is telling us that unless we see Him as our saviour, we are just as blind as the man we meet in John 9. Join us today as we walk through the entire chapter of John 9 and we learn how Jesus opens our eyes to the one who truly holds all power and deserves all glory: Himself.
What is freedom, really? We're all enslaved to something - our mortgages, our desires for marriage, the approval of our bosses or our children. Jesus calls us to true freedom. Freedom that untethers our souls from the sinful servitude to the idols in our lives. When we serve Him, we're free from the relentless pursuit of things that will simply not satisfy our perpetual need to be filled. This week Josiah Ling joins us as we walk through John 8:31-47 together and learn what it means to serve and Jesus in true freedom.
We don't get very many glimpses into the early life of Jesus, but John 7:1-9 gives us an interesting peek into Jesus' earthly family, specifically His brothers. Being a brother of Jesus must have been pretty strange. Most people thought Jesus was a nice guy, but kind of weird, and they didn't know what to make of Him. Certainly very few of them believed He was the true Messiah and Jesus' brothers were no different. Believing in Jesus as Lord is an act of the Holy Spirit, and without it, our hearts are subject to all sorts of misconceptions. Some of them seem benign (Jesus was a good man, a prophet, but not my style) and some of them are more serious (Jesus didn't exist, God is dead, this bible stuff is all a bunch of harmful fairytales). This week, Pastor Paul unpacks John 7:1-9 and the subject of unbelief and how there is no inbetween with Jesus - you either fully believe in Him, or you don't.
This week, we are reminded that Jesus welcomes us with open arms but we need to make sure our hearts are postured in the right way or we run the risk of becoming false Christians. It's okay to come to the Lord with our wants, needs and weaknesses, but if we start seeing Him as simply a means to our own end, it can lead us down the wrong path. The folks we meet in John 6:22-35 were looking for breakfast, but Jesus calls them out on it - He knew they only wanted Him for His miracles and what He could do for them. Not for what He really came to do, which was to lead their souls to eternal life and eternal satisfaction.
In this encounter with Jesus, we see Jesus healing a man who has been paralyzed for 38 years. It's easy to lose sight of the true miracle in this encounter because how amazing would it be to see this guy walking on by with his mat after all those years of misery and pain? But Jesus doesn't heal the man simply because He has the power to do so. He heals Him so that we might see the greater healing that needed to be done - the healing on this man's soul. We don't know what he was doing to cause Jesus to remind him to stop sinning, but we do know that even despite his miraculous healing, the mans heart had still not been cleansed of the sin that was truly making him paralyzed. It's a funny thing, the human heart, and we can sometimes cling to the sin that bogs us down - the devil you know, right? Join us this week as we unpack John 5:1-18 and gain even more insight on the mission that Jesus was on while here on earth.
"I'll believe it when I see it." That's the way most people who were beginning to hear about Jesus' miracles were thinking as they began to seek Him out to see what He could do for them. It's no wonder, and we can't really blame them. After all, so many of my own prayers revolve around asking Jesus to heal, comfort, provide and protect me and my loved ones as well. But in this story, we meet an important official who learned that not only can Jesus heal someone without even being near them, but He can heal the deepest parts of our souls through simple the simple act of faith. Join us this week as we unpack John 4:39-54 together.
In this remarkable meeting with a shamed and outcast woman, Jesus reveals not only the kindness and compassion He has for people who are hurting, but He reveals His divinity for the very first time. Join us as we learn more about how our Lord treats us in our brokenness and how He chooses the least likely people to help spread the Good News.
In this season if waning commitment to New Years resolutions, one thing is likely clear: no amount of positive self talk or beating ourselves up will ever cause true and lasting changes in our lives. The human heart is a fickle and easily tempted thing and it takes something outside of our own physical experience to truly change us. God gifted us with the Holy Spirit to guide and strengthen us in our daily fight against sin and temptation. Join us as we learn about our new birth in the Spirit and we walk alongside Nicodemus in his search for the truth.
Remember when Jesus told Nathaniel that he would see greater works than the one he'd just witnessed? (John 1:50) Jesus is true to His word as He turns water into wine while attending a wedding in Cana. But why does Jesus use this particular time to do this particular miracle? Find out by tuning in this week and join us as we walk through John 2:1-11 together.
In the first Sunday of our new sermon series called Encounters With Jesus we meet Nathaniel. He's an earnest guy whom Jesus commends for being an authentic and geniune dude, but he's also a skeptic. So many of us can relate to him in the way that our initial reaction when we hear about what Jesus has done for us is disbelief. None of us want to be the one that falls for something that is too good to be true, so we guard our hearts with skepticism and all of the reasons why we don't need the Good News or why it isn't true. But Jesus doesn't even bat an eye at Nathaniels reaction, just as He doesn't bat an eye at our reactions. Instead, Jesus invites him to come and see the greater works that He will do, letting Nathaniel know who He really is. We can come to our Lord with our honest reservations, our geniune questions and we can confess our hearts motivations to Him because He understands. Join us this week as Pastor Paul unpacks 1 John 35-51 and rest in the fact that we have a God who invites us to come and see.
At the beginning of each new year, we walk through one of the seven letters written to various churches in Asia Minor. This year, Pastor Mark unpacks a little bit of the letter to a church in Thyatira which is a bustling city with strong economic power and wealth. The warnings in this letter to the church in Thyatira is a warning to us as well - we must always be on our guard, especially when things are going spiritually well. Listen in to todays sermon and join us as we walk through Revelation 2:18-29.
Every year we make new years resolutions, and every year most of us are still the same disorganized, financially stressed, short tempered, distracted and generally sedentary people we were the year before. Why? Well, for starters, most of us have a desire to make ourselves better because we know we aren't quite right. There's something in us that's telling us to be something better than we are. The problem is, we're striving after the wrong thing. And not only that, all that striving will never truly make is as satisfied as we hope. Because those self improvements, while certainly good improvements, are completely focused on making ourselves perfect instead of resting in the righteousness that has been given to us by God's grace. Yes, tighten up your finances and your abs, but don't let that be your ultimate goal in life. Join us as Pastor Mark takes us through a short but powerful verse in Romans 1:16-17.
Death breaks into our lives whether we like it or not. Sooner or later, we're all faced with it, whether we suddenly end up at the feet of Jesus one moment or whether we are aware it's going to happen. Simeon knew when he was going to die and he welcomed it with open arms and a peaceful heart. How did he get to the point of accepting death, even to the point of welcoming it? What caused his faith to run so deeply that he knew in his bones his soul would not be annihilated? That he was loved so deeply he would live forever? A saviour. A little child, the incarnation of the prophecies foretold throughout the ages who was simply placed in his arms one day at the temple. Join us as we learn more about what it means to face death with faith and how our Saviour made a way for our souls to never, ever taste death itself.
Join us this week as we learn more about the unique character of John the Baptist and the incredible mission he was on - to make way and prepare the hearts for the coming Messiah.
When you are going through a tough season, whether or not it is physical or mental, chances are your first instinct isn't to praise God through it. Chances are, you are consumed with questions and thoughts of your own circumstances and not what God could be teaching you through it. We all do it, but it isn't the way God wants us to react when things are tough. Zechariah was mute (and likely deaf) for nine months, which sounds like an especially awful season to those of us who are chatty. But the first thing Zechariah did when God gave him his voice back was to praise the Lord and to prophesy and that's a behaviour we can all learn to model. Listen in to todays sermon as we walk through Luke 1: 67-79 together.
After 400 years of utter silence from God. After 400 years of the world getting darker and more corrupt and more broken. We suddenly hear God's voice, once again. But it isn't through a prophet and it isn't through a burning bush. It isn't one of judgement or condemnation as one would expect after hundreds of years of unmitigated human sin and spiritual destruction. It's the voice of love, of comfort, of hope. And it comes to us through a young, unmarried girl, who has not a penny to her name and not a single word to say to the Lord but a humble and reverent "Your will be done." Who is this God of love and mercy? Join us through this season of Advent as we look towards the birth of our Lord and Saviour.
So what is the final answer? After weeks of studying "the book of questions" we wrap up this week with The Final Answer.
It's pretty easy to spend the 1.5 hours we sit in church thinking about everything but God. So many of us fall into a routine of going to church that we sit and hear the words coming out of our pastors mouth aren't actually fully listening. Despite our best intentions, our internal dialogues are pretty insistent that we focus on anything but the gospel that is being preached. But we need to check ourselves here. God is the Most High God, the Holy of Holies and He deserves our utmost and fully present praise and worship. We are called to humble ourselves within the walls of our churches or homes where we worship so that our heart posture is properly aligned. We are there to listen and to hear from God as His word is preached. Not to run through our to do list, not to be distracted by distracting children and not to be caught up with our own wants and desires from God. Join us this week as Pastor Mark walks us through Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 which instructs us to guard our hearts and have the right headspace when we head into Church Sunday morning so that we may properly worship our Lord.
When we give to someone else, it's always nice to know that there will be a return on our investment. It could be as simple as getting a 'thank you' from someone you let go ahead of you in line, to a promise of a favour returned. It could be your bank account grows a little faster with interest earned or it could be that the child you sponsored ends up becoming a doctor and becomes integral to the area they live in. But none of this is guaranteed. Not a single bit of the investment you put out into materials or time spent or people helped is guaranteed to come back to you in the end. So why even bother? Find out more as we unpack Ecclesiastes 11:1-6.
One of the most common questions regarding God and the problem of evil is: if God is a loving God, why does He allow evil in this world? It's a legitimate question, one that is asked by believers and unbelievers alike. This week, we dive into the topic of evil and injustice and what it means to live in a world where tragedy befalls us and despicable people seem to get away with doing despicable things.
We don't have a single ounce of control over our own lives. No matter how much we try and fight the fact, the reality is that everything that happens in our lives - from our first breath to our last - is ordained by God. A loving God who loves and cares for us, despite what it may look like from our earthly perspective some days. Join us for this beautiful sermon on God's Providence as we look at Ecclesiastes 3:1-14.
"Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions." - Jesus Is money the root of all evil? How are we to think about the resources that have been given to us? Join us this week as we unpack the Question of Money.
This week we take a break from our Ecclesiastes series and look at the story of the 10 lepers that Jesus healed. It first glance the message of the story seems fairly obvious, but upon closer study, we learn there are more layers to this story than meets the eye. Join us to hear more!
Everybody's workin' for the weekend. But is the weekend worth it? Is anything actually worth working for? God thinks there is and it's definitely not "the weekend". Take stock of what you are working for in your every day to day tasks and responsibilities. Whether you're a student, or you work at home with your kids or you build complex computer systems for multinational companies, we're all working towards something. But only one thing is worth our focus and priority and that is how to fulfill God's purpose for us here on earth. Tune in this week to learn more about what God says about work and what our priorities ought to be. ~KT
The problem isn't that we can't get no satisfaction. The problem is that we can't keep no satisfaction. There is nothing on this earth that will ever completely fulfill us and even if it does, it's going to pass away or decompose anyways. Fun, right? But human beings are created to have a desire for endless happiness and comfort and neverending goodness. That's why we find ourselves perpetually chasing after things that we think will make us feel content. New cars, big houses, super fit bodies, new partners, new clothes, fat bank accounts. All of it stems from a desire for more, more, more. But the writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us how utterly meaningless the hampster wheel of hedonism really is. We've all heard the saying "you can't take it with you when you die", right? It's true! Continually chasing after the wind will literally drive you mad. But there is a better way. Join us as we unpack what the Bible has to say about the pursuit of pleasure and how we can start to set our minds and hearts on the one good thing that really will last for eternity and completely fulfill our deepest needs - our eternal salvation in heaven through Jesus Christ. www.gracevalleychurch.ca
What gives life its meaning? Is everything really meaningless? Why do we even bother getting up in the morning? The whole book of Ecclesiastes is like listening to a professor who is having a major existential crisis. But the author asks very valid, very hard questions and they are ones we can all certainly relate to. Join us as we begin our new sermon series on the book of Ecclesiastes, beginning with the big question: what gives meaning it's meaning? ~KT
So many of us live like we are standing in God's courtroom, waiting for Him to catch our next bad move. Waiting to show Him that we are worthy of His love. Waiting to prove we've earned our keep for the day. But this attitude grieves the heart of our loving Heavenly Father, whose only desire is to bring His children close to Him, without condemnation and without the judgement we deserve. Jesus died on the cross so we could enter into a loving, comfortable relationship with God as adopted sons and daughters. We have the privelege of behaving as chosen children of the Most High King, to expect His attention and to know we are delighted in and protected. Tune in this week as Pastor Mark unpacks the simple beautiy of God's love for all of His children in Romans 8:12-17.
In order to love eachother well, we must make sure that our hearts are aligned with God's heart. We are quite literally created to worship, but what we worship will ultimately take over our hearts. When we worship food, our health can suffer. When we worship work, our family lives can suffer. But when we worship God, our whole lives will change. Aligning our heart with what God teaches is the only way to have a fruitful life, He designed us that way. Join us this week as Pastor Paul preaches from Proverbs 4 and we participate in a special ordination ceremony for our church elders and deacons. KT
Shame had been poured into this woman's soul. For 12 years, all she saw was disgust in their eyes and heard judgment on their lips. In an act of desperation, she reached out her hand to her last hope - and was healed. Her very soul was healed by a simple word: daughter. Her body was healed from the bleeding disease she had suffered with for so long. Jesus loved her and accepted her and welcomed her into His arms, into His family, with no hesitation. Just as He does for you, and me and everyone who calls Jesus Christ their Lord and Saviour. Tune in this week to hear Pastor Paul preach on Luke 8:43-48.
These days, the concept of the devil has been relegated to cheesy halloween costumes and forgotten fairytales. But Jesus beleived in the devil and as Christians, so should we. The devil is a being who exisists and who is active and intent on destroying our spiritual lives and often our physical lives as we are tempted to indulge in things that take us far away from our Creator. If we take God at His word, and we take Him seriously, then we must also take the devil seriously. We must also do what the apostle Peter tells us to do - be alert and sober minded, so that we aren't unaware of the devils schemes in our lives. In this last part of our series on 1 Peter, Pastor Paul takes us through 1 Peter 5: 8-11, please join us! www.gracevalleychurch.ca
Do you have a pervasive sense of apprehension and anxiety that just seems to permeate your whole life? If so, you're not alone. Many Christians struggle with baseline anxiety that is the ground note to their life. They know that their feelings are opposite to how God wants them to live and yet feel powerless to stop it. But Jesus offers hope. Jesus does offer a better way. He invites us to lean into Him at every thought, every palm sweat or sleepless night, every wave of dizziness or panicked, racing thought. When we give our thoughts and emotions to Jesus, we can be assured that they are with the one who not only understands, but who is in charge of all of our situations and will never abandon us. He was and always will be in control of our lives. He calls us to humble ourselves into a trusting relationship with Him something that will take time but is no less the only antidote to anxiety. Jesus will never abandon us. Even if our very worst fears come true, He will see us through them and we will be with Him in glory one day, where the baseline to our lives is eternal praise and peace. Tune in this week as Pastor Paul preaches out of 1 Peter 5:6-9.
We've all heard stories of people being seriously wounded by poor leadership in the church. Maybe you're someone who has experienced this yourself. The place that is supposed to be a place of spiritual rest and comfort turns into a place you've been spiritually manipulated or even physically or sexually abused. The heart of God rages with righteous anger at elders and pastors who lead their flocks astray and who take advantage of their positions of power to prey on the vulnerable people in their care. Throughout the entirety of the Bible, God teaches His children how to lead with integrity and godly submission and through the apostle Peter, He exhorts the church congregation to hold their leaders to be accountable. Tune in this week as Pastor Mark preaches on humility and submission as it relates to church elders and the congregation.
It is becoming increasingly obvious to both Christians and non-Christians alike that our culture has gone past the tipping point of turning our backs away from God. We are rushing headlong into the acceptance of lifestyles and values that are in direct opposition to how God has created humans to flourish. We see the consequences of this everywhere. In the generations of children who are growing into confused and apathetic young adults, in the collapse of the family structure, in the increasing rage and conflict towards one another over seemingly trivial things. God does not want His people to be caught up in the maelstrom of culture wars and shifting trends. He has given us a solid foundation in which to base our values on, one that has never changed and never will. This week, Pastor Mark walks us through 1 Peter 4:12-19 and he highlights what Christians can expect as we dig our heels in and resist the temptation to follow the crowd.
In 1 Peter 4:7-11, the apostle Peter teaches us to be stewards of grace. To be instruments of peace and hospitality instead of contributing to the chaos of an already fractured world. Join us this week as Pastor Mark walks us through this passage and we begin to wrap up our series on 1 Peter. www.gracevalleychurch.ca
Join us this week as Kevin deJonge takes us through 1 Peter 4:1-6. The topic of suffering is never easy, especially when we are talking about the inevitability of it. But as a soldier arms themselves for battle before the war begins, so should we arm ourselves for battle before our own wars begin. ~KT www.gracevalleychurch.ca
You know those weird passages in the bible that are kind of confusing? Well, 1 Peter 3:18-22 is one of them. Tune in this week as Pastor Paul unpacks this passage and helps us gain more clarity.
What does it mean to suffer well? What does it mean to suffer as a Christian? Suffering is a part of this life and for some folks, it can feel like that's all there is. Listen in this week as Pastor Paul unpacks the implications of 1 Peter 3:13-17.~KT
1 Peter 3:9 sure is a wake up call after reading 1 Peter 3:8. We can all imagine ourselves being compassionate, loving, humble and sympathetic (v.8) . But can you imagine yourself repaying evil with good? Like really, really horrendous evil? I personally can't. But in Peters letter to the Church, he is calling new Christians to live completely counter culturally. Even though these Christians were exiled from their homes and suffered under a government who openly and actively made their lives as difficult as possible. Obedience to the kinds of things Peter is writing about is what Christians regard as following the Lord and not themselves. We are to act as Jesus acted. We are called to put aside our desire for vengeance and seek justice and forgiveness instead. We are not called to be yet another instrument of evil in this world. So we cling to the God of justice and compassion, through the small injustices of every day life and great tragedies that can befall us in this sinful and broken world. This week Pastor Mark walks us through verse 1 Peter 3: 8-12, please join us! ~KTwww.gracevalleychurch.ca
We are made to be in community. As humans, we thrive when we have a sense of belonging and camaradarie because we are created to be in relationship with one another. This week, Pastor Paul walks us through 1 Peter 3:8-12, focusing on verse 8. We learn what true Christian community looks like and how it is an honour to both celebrate and weep with one another. ~KT
Pastor Paul Vanden Brink walks us through one of the tougher passages in the bible, 1 Peter 3:1-7. After a few weeks of talking about biblical submission in different contexts , we land on the topic of biblical submission in marriage. But there are a few things to remember when we are reading a passage like this and any passage in the bible for that matter, the main one being context. And one of the biggest takeaways for us this week is this: God will never ask you to do something that will spiritually harm you. To find out more, tune in! ~KT
Here it is again, that word: submission. A few weeks ago, Pastor Mark preached on submitting ourselves to the government (and when that's appropriate or inappropriate) But in this passage, the apostle Peter is upping the ante by teaching us that we should submit to our bosses, even unjust ones. Yikes. What do we gain by doing this? Do we grow in our dependence on the Holy Spirit? Do we lean harder on the God who judges all things and will not let one soul pass through this life without giving a full account of their thoughts and actions? The answer is of course, yes. Tune in this week as Pastor Paul unpacks 1 Peter 2:18-25.
This week as Pastor Paul led us through Acts 2:1-41. The Holy Spirit is often referred to as a mystery and with good reason. There is so much we don't know about the Holy spirit, and yet we learn so much about Him in the book of Acts. Tune in and discover more about the Holy Spirit as we observe Pentecost Sunday.
May 12th, 2024 | Freedom by Submission | Grace Valley Church, Dundas, Ontario by Grace Valley Church
Join us as Pastor Paul unpacks 1 Peter 2:13-17 and we discover what it looks like to live a 'good' life. To live a life where your behaviour is such that it makes others take notice. As Christians, there is something that drives us that is abnormal in todays social landscape, and that something is our love for Jesus. Our behaviour certainly going to make us enemies and it possibly might make us friends, but the only way to live a good life in the eyes of the Lord is to follow Him with our whole hearts, minds and souls, as God's elect and chosen people, no matter what the "world" says. ~KT
It's easy to get caught up in feeling like everyone is sizing you up everywhere you go. Your boss, your friends, your coworkers, even the pizza delivery guy. But in God's eyes, we are all the same. He judges the super model, the fry cook, the prime minister, the pastor and the garbage man the same. All of us sinners, all of us in need of grace. God's children are chosen because of God's desire to save us, not because we are amazing human beings. We can rest in the fact that we can't do anything to earn that grace, it is just given to us because we are deeply loved by our heavenly father. Listen in as Pastor Paul unpacks 1 Peter 2:9-10 this week, here at Grace Valley Church.~KT www.gracevalleychurch.ca
This week's sermon focuses on two things: not only do we have a new foundation for our lives as believers but we are also so deeply, deeply loved. It's easy to hear those words and let them skim off of our hearts, but how often do you truly reflect on the love that the Lord has for you? How often do you pray for a soft enough heart to let those words sink right into your core, past all the skepticism or projections of human weaknesses that we can sometimes attribute to the Holy God? Sometimes I have a tendency to think that God has accepted me into His kingdom almost begrudgingly, more because He said He would and less because He actually loves me enough to want me around for eternity. It sure is a long journey to get to the point where we can accept God's genuine love just as He's offered it. But once we do accept His love, we will see a new foundation in our lives that is slowly built up on the solid ground of His gift of grace. It is sure, true, trustworthy and it is freely given. ~KT
What does growing up in our spirituality look like? Does it mean that we do more and more good works? Possibly. But our motivations for why we do the good works will come from a different place than they did before. This week, Mark Hordyk unpacks 1 Peter 22:23-2:3 and we learn what it looks like to grow and become more and more spiritually mature.
Jesus Christ is real. What do we do about it? Please tune in to our Easter Sunday service as Pastor Paul preaches from 1 Peter 1:17-21.
We all have an internal hierarchy of the things we view as most important in our lives. Although our lists can look similar to one another, with things such as such a our children, our jobs or our families, ranking near the top, most people would not put Jesus as the very top most important person on their list. Even those who call themselves Christian. And if we do put Him at the top, do we actually act like He is the most important person? Why not? Why are our "loves" so dis-ordered? Listen in on this Palm Sunday as Pastor Paul unpacks 1 Peter 1:13-21.
God calls us to think deeply about our faith. He wants us to explore, question and discern. When we wrestle with our faith, whether its joining a bible study, studying it on our own or talking it through with a pastor, we get to peel back the layers of how God reveals Himself. This helps strengthen our faith and gives us hope and draws us nearer to our Father. Biblical literacy builds a firm foundation for us to stand on when things get tough (and they will), so let's keep asking questions and diligently seeking the answers. ~KT
At every corner, Christians are facing increasing pressure to conform to this world. In the workplace, at school, through social media and even, in some cases, at the dinner table. How do we stand firm in our convictions? How do we set ourselves apart as holy (not perfect!) and live lives that honour our Lord? Pastor Paul unpacks the apostle Peter's call to be holy in his letter to the exiles in 1 Peter 1:13-16. ~KT
This week, Pastor Paul takes us through 1 Peter 1:10-12. It is so interesting to think about an angel, let alone think that they would deeply yearn for anything that God has given us. Who are we to receive such goodness? Join us as we explore this together!
"I have learned to kiss the waves that throw me up against the Rock of Ages." ~ Charles Spurgeon. Join us as Pastor Paul unpacks 1 Peter 1:3-9 as we learn to make space for deep grief and deep joy in our everyday lives. www.gracevalleychurch.ca
If you are feeling like despair is creeping in, please remember: you are held, loved and saved. This life is not all there is. Jesus offers us a hope that doesn't even depend on us, thankfully. Its a hope that will never go away. It will always, always be true, no matter how loud the voice in your head tries to tell you that its a lie. Jesus is holding you, He is for you and He loves you. Have hope. ~KT
If you've ever wondered why a loving God requires such a bloody sacrifice, tune in and listen as we unpack this important topic. www.gracevalleychurch.ca
"It’s the Holy Spirit who awakens in us an understanding of God’s beauty and splendor and power. It’s the Holy Spirit who stirs us to celebrate and rejoice and give thanks. It’s the Holy Spirit who opens our eyes to see and savor all that God is for us in Jesus." - Sam Storms www.gracevalleychurch.ca
What does it mean to be elect? What does it mean if you aren't elected and why doesn't God elect everyone? So many questions. This week, Pastor Paul focuses on the word 'elect' and why it reveals who God is and what it means for us as His children. ~KT
What does it mean to live in a Post-Christian world? (And what does "post-christianity" mean, anyways?) How should Christians view suffering? And is this world our true home? Pastor Paul opens up our new series "The Elect in Exile" with these and other important questions.
Born again? What does that even mean? Nicodemus asked the same question. Kevin deJonge unpacks 3:1-8 this week as we learn about what Jesus means and what it looks like in our lives as Christ followers to be truly born again in Him.
In this letter, Jesus offers comfort and encouragement to persecuted Christians in the pagan city of Pergamum. Join us as Mark Hordyk offers his insight on what we can learn from this section of the book of Revelation.
Join us for the 4th and last Sunday of Advent as we worship our God, our Saviour, together.
Join us for our third Sunday of Advent as we discuss Matthew 2:1-12. www.gracevalleychurch.ca
It may look like just a long list of names, but the genealogy of Jesus reveals the incredible accuracy of the prophecy of His birth. God used the lives of ordinary, flawed and sinful people to bring about the coming of our Redeemer in the most miraculous way. Listen in as we begin our Advent series, with the Heritage Of The King. -KT
This week, Pastor Paul explains who and what the Sabbath is for and offers some words of advice for young adults who are trying to decide what their career paths should look like. ~KT
Join us this week as Pastor Paul continues with our mini-series on Christians and the workplace.
In western society, work is so often something that we use to justify our right to be here. Think about it - what's one of the first questions someone asks you after you meet them? "What do you do?" It's an innocent question, but sometimes you cant help but feel like you have to justify what you do as if your job reflects on your value as a person. "I'm just a stay at home mom" or "I'm just a grocery store clerk" etc. But we've elevated the value in our work to be on par with the value of our beings and that is precisely opposite from what God values in us. While He does put us to work in our lives, it isn't who we are. Listen in as Pastor Paul continues with our series on Faith & Work. ~KT
God made humans - and put them right to work. Why? Why does God value work so much that He, Himself is a worker? Listen in as Pastor Paul begins a mini series on Faith & Work!
This week, we wrap up our series on The Sermon On The Mount. Join us as Pastor Paul unpacks Jesus' final words from the "Greatest Sermon Ever Preached". ~KT
When you do something good, who are you doing it for? Yourself? Your friends? Your reputation? In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus is asking us to do a heart-check. He knows how easy it is to get caught up in loading up our schedules with volunteer work and service projects because that's what we think we're supposed to do or that's what makes us look like Christians. We can do things in God's name all we want but if its not flowing through Christ-serving hearts or if we're doing things to just avoid going to hell, then we're just using God's name as a get out of jail free card. Jesus is giving us a warning here. If we have breath in our lungs we have the ability to humble ourselves and ask God to change our hearts to serve Him and nothing else. We are all going to stand before God. Every single one of us, whether we believe in Him or not. He's going to ask you what you lived your life for. What will you say? ~KT
This week, Pastor Paul unpacks Matthew 7:15-20. Jesus is warning us against false prophets. Not the obvious kind , like the kind of person that yells on street corners. He's warning us about the subtle kind that slowly pulls us away from our heavenly Father. There have always been a lot of different ways that Satan can use people to tempt us away from the Lord. But these days we are constantly inundated with so many voices and opinions through the pervasive presence of technology. The world is especially loud. Watch our for false prophets, and know what one looks like by spending time in God's word and in prayer with Him. God has given us clear instructions on how to live, feel, think and act in the Bible. We don't need to get tripped up in the wilderness and our heads don't need to turn towards every loud voice in our ears. Spending quiet time with God on a walk, while you're driving or reading scriptures, can reorient our hearts to listen to the only One you need to hear. ~KT
In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus is encouraging us to resist the temptation to take the easy way. The one that everyone else is taking. It is especially easy to get swept into the cacophony of cultural opinions that are coming at us each day. But when we listen to our Lord, we find peace and a solid direction in which to orient ourselves. Listen in this week and find a solid place for your weary heart to rest.~KT
October 1st, 2023 | You Owe Whatever You Want | Grace Valley Church, Dundas by Grace Valley Church
This week, we hear from Kevin deJonge as he unpacks what Jesus is teaching us in Matthew 7:7-11. Jesus points out that while we can never measure up to God's justified standard of perfection, He does provide a solution - Jesus Himself. Jesus is calling us to persist in our pursuit if Him, to keep our eyes focused on Him. Every time we knock, He will answer because He loves us and cares for us. He knows we need help, every hour of our days we need His help, and He is telling us we will always find it in Him. ~KT
Are you more concerned with another persons sin rather than your own? Jesus challenges us to take stock of ourselves before pointing the finger at other people. He's not saying we shouldn't pay attention to injustice or do away with be intellectually lazy and just shut down anything that sounds judgmental or critical. But He is stressing the importance of keeping ourselves from becoming hypocrites and examining our own 'planks' before turning our judgmental eyes on someone else.~KT
This week, we're looking at Romans 12:1-8. It's so easy to come to church every week to fill up our spiritual cups. But Jesus calls us to be a living sacrifice, to pour ourselves out as we serve others. If that sounds challenging to you (and you're definitely not alone), take your concerns to God, who knows you and loves you. Be honest about where you're spending your energy and time in this life and pray about how you can use the resources you have to pour into the lives of others around you. ~KT
This week, Pastor Paul preaches from John 17:13-19. What does God desire for us? Well, Jesus calls us to sanctify ourselves, but what does that even mean? Is it even possible to be holy and sanctified? And how should we go about doing it? Find out by tuning in to this weeks sermon.
www.gracevalleychurch.ca
Join us as Kevin deJonge unpacks Jonah 1. This book teaches us what it looks like when we run hard and fast away from God, and what God's grace looks like despite our best and most selfish efforts to hide from Him and His will for our lives. ~KT
This week, Pastor Paul unpacks Matthew 6:25-34. What does Jesus mean when He says 'do not worry'? Is it a sin to worry or be anxious? Listen in as we learn more about our compassionate Father who already knows what we need and asks us to put our full trust in Him.
Something to think about: "We trust God with our eternal salvation. But we don't trust Him enough to arrange our week?" Good point!
~KT
When Jesus talks about our 'treasure' in heaven, He's not talking to those who have vast amounts of money. He's talking about our attitudes towards the tangible things we value. Whether we have a lot or a little, our hearts will almost always prioritize the importance of these things over the importance of something intangible like our prayer life or our salvation. This week, Mark takes us through Matthew 6:19-34, where Jesus teaches us what we should be focusing on during our short lives here on earth. ~KT
Forgiveness is the hardest thing in the world. Asking for it, giving it and often times, receiving it. The Bible teaches us that forgiveness is so essential to our spiritual health, that we cannot live healthy lives without it. More importantly, we can't be in God's presence without it. This week, Mark walks us through Mark 6:12 where Jesus teaches us to ask for forgiveness and to practice forgiving others. For more insights on forgiveness, check out our Clearer Thinking Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts where Pastor Paul has just finished up a series on the topic of relationship repair and forgiveness. ~KT www.gracevalleychurch.ca
"God always gives you what you would have asked for if you knew everything He knows." - Timothy Keller.
In this weeks sermon, Pastor Paul takes a look at the "daily bread' portion of the Lord's Prayer. And how these few words will foster a rich, loving and dependent relationship on our heavenly Father.
~KT
In this sermon, Pastor Paul covers the definition of what the Kingdom of God actually is and what it looks like to pray for God's will (not ours) to be done. www.gracevalleychurch.ca
This week we hear from Kevin deJong as he preaches on Psalm 100. www.gracevalleychurch.ca
With the basis of our prayer being that we are calling on our heavenly Father, we begin to enter into His presence with acknowledging His holiness. "Hallowed be Your Name". The intimacy we share with the Lord is within the context of His perfect Holiness. Jesus teaches us to orient our hearts towards the Lord as children of a Holy and completely set apart God. Without clear instruction on how to do this, our self-centered hearts will only focus on our own needs and concerns. I don't know about you, but does anyone else start their prayer with 'Dear Lord..' and then launch into a vent session about all the things that are on your mind and everything you need?
It's not that He doesn't want to hear it, rather its about adopting a new heart posture that keeps us second and God first. It's about asking God, how can we hallow you and not ourselves? How can we pray in a way that pleases you and changes us?
This weeks sermon is one you'll want to listen to on repeat, with very relatable examples of what it looks like when our hearts worship ourselves and not the Lord. Tune in this week as we go through the second line of the Lord's prayer in Matthew 6: 9-13. ~KT
In Mathew 6:9-13, Jesus shows us the pattern of how we should pray. He starts out with "Our Father", showing us who exactly we're talking to when we pray. The term 'Father' isn't just casually used here. This is pointing to Fatherhood of God, and showing us that we have have an intimate relationship to the God of the universe. He has adopted us into His family and loves us more than we will ever fully understand this side of heaven. This weeks sermon is packed with so many reminders of God's love for us, as His adopted children, it's definitely worth listening to (on repeat!). ~KT
"The one you try and impress is the one that will reward you." Think about that for a second. With all the social platforms that focus on building ourselves up and promoting ourselves, who are we really doing it for? It's so easy to get lost on the lie that a pixelated thumbs up means that we are accepted and loved and affirmed. But Jesus offers a better way. He offers an audience of One. An audience that only includes God our Father, the one who made and created us and whose opinion is the only one that matters. He's actually enjoys those 'food selfies' we all post, because He enjoys being in relationship with us and is interested in the things that we are interested in. He delights in you. We don't need to humble brag about the people we give money to or post pictures of our coffee and bible to announce our intentional quiet times, secretly hoping we'll get more followers. God knows what we do, He knows our hearts and it's His work we are doing, not our own. Tune in this week to Pastor Paul's sermon, titled "Secret Christians", from Matthew 6:1-8; 16-18. ~KT
This week we welcomed Dr John Span to speak on the last words of Joshua. Joshua choses his words with intentional care as he is giving clear instructions to the leaders of the next generation of Israelites. In these passages we are reminded of how important it is that we stick to the word of God and that we do not look to the right or to the left. Far from a directive that is only applicable to the leaders during this time in history, we are still engaged in the same temptations that the Israelites faced back then. We can feel the slight turning of our heads to one side when we are tempted to withhold grace from someone or speak ill of others. We can feel the wrenching of our necks to the other when we face societal pressure to make God into our own image by adopting the ideals of the cultural moment of our time. We must stay to Gods design for our lives, in every single part of our lives. We must cling to the promise keeper, the Lord our God. We must stand firm in our faith. ~KT
This week, we hear from Phil Tadros as he unpacks what was going on in Acts Acts 11:19-31 / 13:1-3. In these chapters, we see the spreading of the Gospel accelerated with the passion and dedicated faith of new believers. Despite all their flaws, the members of these fledgling churches were united in their mission to spread the Good News. If you are interested in finding more about Phil's Mission To Stoney Creek, find them on Facebook @MissionToStoneyCreek.
Every time we are wronged, it is an opportunity to show our offenders grace and Christ's love. It can be the hardest thing in the world to do, but as followers of Christ, that is what we are called towards. Listen in as Pastor Paul unpacks Matthew 5:38-42. ~KT
Have you ever sworn on the life of a beloved pet or relative? "I swear on Mr. Fluffybutt's life!" The history of how 'swearing on' something is actually pretty interesting and once you learn about it, its really clear as to why Jesus says that Christian's should not swear on anything. As Christian's, our "yes" should be "yes" and our "no" should be "no". Despite this, we human beings have an incredible capacity to lie - most of the time innocently but sometimes intentionally. We must repent of our default to deception. Listen in this week as Mark unpacks Matthew 5:38-42 and what Jesus says about swearing an oath and how telling the truth fosters deeper and better relationships.~KT
God has designed the male and female body to be complementary to each other on both the physical and emotional level. Why did He design us that way? What are some of the implications if we don't stick to God's good plan for us? Pastor Paul addresses this topic as well as the topic of divorce in this Sunday's sermon based on Matthew 5:31-32 and Matthew 19:1-12.
At first glance, this passage seems to be a little dramatic. Why is Jesus talking about tossing body parts into hell? Doesn't that seem like a little much, especially when He's referring to something like lust, which is something that almost everyone experiences? But Jesus is talking about the misuse of our God given sexuality. When we make a commodity of it, when we advertise it, when we consume it as in the form of pornography, it degrades our very souls. It objectifies and degrades us into becoming just a body. A body who has no other value but what others physically see in us or use us for. Jesus is so concerned with protecting our bodies that He warns us that against even thinking lustfully is a sin because Jesus loves us as God's precious, created and adored people. Listen in to this weeks sermon as Pastor Paul unpacks Matthew 5:27-30 and stay tuned for part two, next week. ~KT
If you're like most people, it's easy to jump right to being defensive when someone has a problem with you. But in Jesus' sermon on the mount, He shows us how to take a good look at ourselves and to drop our defenses so that we can be at peace with others. Jesus says that even being annoyed at someone is murdering them in your heart. That even the mildest form of greed or selfishness is full on thievery. He hold us to such an incredibly high standard because that's exactly the way our hearts need to function in order to find peace with each other. But Jesus' admonishments don't stop with a list of "do not do's". He follows them up with loving exhortations. He follows them up with an invitation to come to our Father in heaven with a vulnerable heart and the full assurance that we will be forgiven. He follows them up with His own sacrifice, knowing full well that the only way His people will be reconciled with His Father is through His own atonement. When we think about it like that, it spurs us towards righteousness (striving to do right) and makes us take a second before we react towards others accusations. Listen in this week as Pastor Paul continues on our journey through The Sermon On The Mount.~KT
This week, Pastor Paul looks at what Jesus says about anger. Anger can come in many forms - from outright rage, to seething resentment, to seemingly benign indifference. But it all starts somewhere, with a thought or feeling that is left unchecked and not given to God in prayer. Without direction or wisdom or healthy outlets, anger will infest every facet of our lives. Listen in today as we hear about what Jesus says about anger and how it affects those around us. ~KTwww.gracevalleychurch.ca
This week, Pastor Paul takes a look at Matthew 5:17-20. In this passage, Jesus is addressing the ones who are the ultimate law keepers. The ones who spend an inordinate (and terribly unhealthy) amount of time obsessively following the 613 rules laid out in the oldest books of the bible. But Jesus says no matter what they do, they'll never be enough. He says even their best intentions are still rife with sin. There is no human standard of perfection that they (or ourselves) can ever meet and there is certainly no God-ordained standard of perfection any of us can meet either. It doesn't matter how Insta-worthy your life looks or how often you attend church or the way you pray or what you're doing while you pray. Nothing can get us close to the standard of perfection that Jesus says we would have to achieve in order to be the "perfect" Christian. To be worthy to stand before God on our own. But God made a way for us to be in His perfect presence, and that is our union with Christ. Through Him, we don't need to strive to achieve hundreds of rules or around the clock 'goodness'. We just need to rest in Jesus. Resting in Jesus is simply trusting the Holy Spirit to do His work in our hearts because our iniquity is covered by Jesus' love and sacrifice. Listen in this week as we learn about the ways that Jesus loved us so much that He came to fulfill the law we could never fulfill on our own, making a way for us to live in eternity with Him. www.gracevalleychurch.ca
If you've ever struggled with believing God's word is true, you will definitely want to tune in to this weeks sermon. Before I became a Christian, I would pick and choose which parts of which religions I found comforting and easy and I'd kind of mashed them up into a religion of my own making. A little bit of Wicca, a little bit of Buddhism, a little tiny teensy bit of Christianity. After all, what good is religion if it's not comforting? Isn't that what its for? But Jesus didn't pick and choose which parts of God's word He believed. He believed in the entirety of God's Word because His Word is good, true and perfect, from everlasting to everlasting. But how do we know that? Because God's Word existed before anything else ever did. God existed before time, before there was anything at all, and by His word He created all things. So when He says, "you must live a perfect life in order to get into Heaven" (and not just a better life than the creepy dude down the street, literally a perfect life) then He means it. And He also means it when He says He provided a way for us to achieve an unachievable standard of perfection, and that way is our union with Jesus Christ. Ad when He says we are loved? He means it. This week, Pastor Paul unpacks the high standards that Jesus tells us are the expectations of a true and Godly life and sheds some light on just how much the Lord loves us and wants us near to Him. ~KT
Many of us have heard term that Christians should be "salt and light". But what does it mean and why is this the most perfect way of describing how a Christian should act? Tune in this week, Mark Hordyk unpacks this simple yet completely astounding analogy that Jesus used while speaking to the crowd at the sermon on the mount. ~KTwww.gracevalleychurch.ca
When we think of someone who is a peacemaker, we often think of the one who smiles and nods through family dinners because they don't want to make a fuss. Or the one who can't say no. Or the one who is always trying to solve the conflicts between other people. But when Jesus refers to peacemakers as being blessed, He's not talking about people with boundary issues. He's talking about people who strive to help others make peace between themselves and God.Everyone is at war with God, even the ones who pray and talk to Him every day. But Jesus came to end the war between human beings and God. He disarms the rebellion and fills the cracks in our soul with His love and through our union with Him we get to enjoy everlasting peace in eternity with our Creator. As Christians, we need to be ambassadors of the love that Jesus has shown us and be peacemakers here on earth. ~KT
What does it look like when we empty ourselves of ourselves? Jesus paints a vivid picture of the first two indicators of what we can expect when we put away our obsession with ourselves and start to focus on living a kingdom life. Where God is King and we are not. Where we don't spend an unhealthy amount of time thinking about ourselves in social situations or work situations or future situations but instead we spend more time thinking about God and how we can help other people. Where we recognize we're not the centre of the universe and be content with that and overjoyed by that and rest in that. In this section of the beatitudes we learn about mercy and purity of heart. What these things look like and how every single one of us exists by grace and grace alone. ~KT
Pastor Paul introduces our new sermon series, Through The Looking Glass. This series will be based on the Sermon on the Mount and is authored by Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Take a listen and get ready to unpack the greatest sermon ever preached.
Every one of us is a slave to something. We are actually created to be servants, but our tendency is to serve things that are not good for our souls. What does unhealthy servitude look like? It looks like a workaholic, or an unbalanced marriage or an anxious employee or a highly-stressed college student. Things like work and school, even our kids, are things that very easily enslave us into the trap of making them the centre of our lives. The things we spend the most time thinking about are the things that we are serving. But Jesus calls us to serve Him, the one true Master of our lives. We are created to serve Him, to glorify Him, for our good and His glory. But most of us completely ignore that, and therefore the whole notion of servitude feels completely counter intuitive. Tune in this week to hear more about what it looks like to be stewards in our lives and what it looks like to serve Jesus with hearts fully focused on Him.
It's pretty easy to check off the required boxes when it comes to what we think a healthy Christian life should look like. Go to church on Sunday for 1.5 hours? Check. Join a small group and try and work through a bible study? Check. Pop into a couple of the bigger volunteer opportunities once or twice a year? Check. These are all good things - these are all GREAT things. But are they things that are actually making you grow as a Christian? Are you being challenged in your faith? Are you learning even more about God than before? If not, its time to check your checkboxes. This week, Mark Hordyk leads us in a teaching sermon about the benefits and reasons why we should always be striving to study the bible and immerse ourselves in the pursuit of discovering more about the God we love. ~KT
faith that it's no far stretch of the imagination to assume he was having a mental break when he wrote this letter. But upon closer reflection, we can see that the imagery used in this book was done so simply by necessity. The words that were given to John through the divine revelation of the Holy Spirit were so otherworldly, he really couldn't do anything but pile up all the mental imagery he could in order to get the message across. In Revelation 2:8-11, we're reading the words that were meant to encourage and comfort the heavily persecuted church at Smyrna. Starving, marginalized, beaten and completely rejected, these followers of Jesus knew exactly what it was to face the incredible temptation to conform and pay homage to the cultic emporer-leader of their time. The most chilling words human beings can hear are: suffering is inevitable. It doesn't matter who you are or what you believe, this life will have suffering until we take our last breath. But here's the comfort, and it's the absolute truth: suffering is not permanent. It's not permanent and when you put your faith and trust in Jesus, the beauty of the eternal afterlife simply erases the ugliness and evil that we experience here on earth. Tune in this week as Mark Hordyk sheds some light on this letter in Revelation and how it applies not only to the persecuted church, but to each and every human being on this earth. ~KT
October 16th, 2022 | The Core Message | Grace Valley Church, Dundas by Grace Valley Church
October 9th, 2022 | David's Unrealized Dream | Grace Valley Church, Dundas by Grace Valley Church
August 21, 2022 | A Tale of Two Houses | Grace Valley Church, Dundas by Grace Valley Church
This week, Pastor Paul dives in to one of the most interesting stories in the bible. In 1 Samuel 28, we meet a desperate and distraught King Saul. He's so desperate, he will break his own moral code and belief system and consult a woman of the occult to help solve his problems.
This story is about what happens when you are without God, and it applies to every single one of us - believers and unbelievers alike.
It's also about the reality of the spirit world, and how dangerous and real the consequences of occultic practices are. In referring to the occult, you might be imagining things that you only see in movies, but the bible strictly prohibits any practice that tries to foresee the future (think newspaper horoscopes) or tries to connect with the spirit world (ouijja boards or psychics).
Before I became a believer in Christ, I was so desperate to find direction and assurance for my life, I would turn to anything. For a time, I put a lot of stake in a $20.00 pack of 'spirit cards' that I bought from a large commercial bookstore. I used those cards to give me comfort, identity and meaning, when all along I had the God of all Creation who was lovingly guiding me towards Himself and my true identity and direction.
Just like Saul, we can all go off track when we are desperate and in despair. But just like Saul, we have all heard the advice to follow the Lord and seek Him out in all circumstances.
If you are curious about Christianity, it's your obligation to listen to those nudges inside yourself and follow them. They are from the Holy Spirit and you have all the resources you need to do the work and ask the questions and see what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. You can always reach out to us here at Grace Valley if you have questions or need someone to talk to. ~KT
In this sermon, we look at what a deep friendship actually looks like. We are created beings, designed for community by a God whose whole being is the essence of communal relationship. We are not self-sustaining and we are not meant to be. In our greatest need, the thing we need the most is a friend to stand up for us, to walk alongside us and lean on. Even Jesus himself needed friends, as we see in the garden of Gethsemane.
So what does it mean for us, as Christians, to be a friend to one another? What does it mean if we find ourselves without these kinds of relationships in our lives?
There is a song called What A Friend We Have In Jesus, it was sung during our Sunday worship this Sunday. As someone who grew up outside of the church, I used to think this song was especially cheesy. But this Sunday, I actually listened to some of the verses and they really struck me as having some serious truths to them.
" Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge-- take it to the Lord in prayer!
Do your friends despise, forsake you? Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In his arms he'll take and shield you; you will find a solace there."
We know that David continually took his cares and anxieties to the Lord - we can see this all throughout the book of Psalms. Jesus has sent us a Comforter, our closest friend, who will never leave us or forsake us. Let's heed the wisdom of the bible and lean into God, at all times, in all circumstances. ~KT www.gracevalleychurch.ca
In one of the most well known stories of the bible, we see two very different men reacting very differently to adversity and fear. First, we see David who is a godly young man who walked in the courage and strength that God had given him. And we see Saul, who hides from his fear and leans on his wealth and social status to keep in safe.
It's fairly easy to sympathize with Saul in this circumstance, I mean, don't we all have the tendency to hide in our 'things' when life gets tough? But take a look at what God calls us to do in these circumstances, and take a look at the consequences. I learned something so interesting during this sermon. If David had not listened to God and been defeated because of his fear, he would have been killed and the birth of Jesus would not have happened in the way that the Bible foretold (that Jesus lineage would be traced back to Jesse, David's father). Everything we do has consequences and we must always choose to walk in the fear of the Lord and not in the fear of man.
While it is tempting to focus on the familiar narrative of this story of a small, unlikely man defeating an enormous foe, there's so much more to this account of David, Saul and Goliath than meets the eye. Tune in this week as our intern, Keith Williams, unpacks the truths of this story and shows us what it means to truly walk by faith and not by fear.
~KT
This week, Pastor Paul preaches from Ephesians 3:14-21. In this passage, we hear an astounding thing: that God can do immeasurably more than we can ever ask or imagine. This is true for everything in our lives, the big and the small. God is completely able to do more than we can even fathom. And He invites us to come to Him with our needs, our cares and our anxieties about the things we are wondering about.
The truth is, most of us don't even know what we need. Or we don't know how to ask for it. Or we're afraid to ask for it. We are afraid of the answer being 'no'. Some of us feel that all we've been hearing from God is a big giant 'no'.
But this is where we are reminded that we are literal children of God. We do not know His ways, His reasons or His timing. And it's scary when we look to the future and we can't see how things will work out, or what's coming up next.
But we do know this. That God can, is, and will work in our lives for our good and His glory. And whatever that looks like will be the very best thing for us. So we can trust in our Heavenly Father, to know what we need, when we need it and how we need it. We can ask Him for big things, boldly and with humble confidence that He is listening and He will provide for us, even if its in a way that we aren't expecting.
Tune in this week as we celebrate our now church building and we gather together to worship the God who makes all things possible. ~KT
With a projected 6 million Canadians reaching the criteria for addiction in their lifetime, chances are you or someone you know is struggling with addiction. This past Sunday, we had the opportunity to hear from women who have been through the fire of addiction and emerged victorious with the help of Jesus Christ. These two incredibly brave women shared personal stories that have parts to them that can be hard to hear, but they truly are stories of how God redeems and never once lets His children go. To find out more about Teen Challenge and the incredible work they do, please visit www.teenchallenge.ca. ~KT
As we look towards Good Friday and Easter, Pastor Paul has been taking a closer look at all of the events that lead up to Jesus persecution and death. This passage from Matthew 27 makes me feel really uncomfortable on so many levels.
There's the fact of the excruciating pain that Jesus endured - that crown of thorns wasn't made up of those cute sticky thorn balls that stick to your coat while walking in the woods.
There's the thought of the mocking, hateful, haughty and derisive faces, leering and jeering and poking and literally spitting in this wounded, innocent mans face after they beat within an inch of His life.
There's the fact that Jesus went through this willingly, in obedience to the Father (which brings to mind a whole other parade of uncomfortable feelings**).But I think what makes me personally so uncomfortable with this passage, is the absolute disgusting level of evil that humans are capable of. And the fact that, if I am honest, if it wasn't for the grace of God's hand on my heart, I would be the exact same way.
If you gloss over the way that Jesus was treated and say,"it was those guys, those rebels, those hateful power hungry politicians, it wasn't me." then you're missing the point. The point of this whole passage was not only to show us how weak the King of Creation had to become but also how deeply evil and malicious our human hearts are.If we think about this, we can do nothing but fall on our knees in humble admission of our sins and failures in front of a perfect God. And yet, in this passage, God is also showing us what He is doing so that we can rise up in confidence with the knowledge that He has forgiven us. He has made a way to be free and saved and cherished in His presence in eternity with Him. This undeserved grace, this undeserved pardon is given to us with love.
If reading this makes you uncomfortable, it is ok. It is human nature to be affronted and offended by this message in the Bible. But don't sit there with your discomfort and leave it at that. Look into it, find someone to talk to (we're always here!). Question, dig and think about it. -KT
This week, we take a closer look at the events that happened at Jesus' trial. I definitely had a few "lightbulb moments" during this sermon, as I had never really wondered about the man named Barabbas before and the poetic injustice of him being released instead of Jesus. We also take a closer look at Pilate and Mark Hordyk unpacks some of the key character traits and behaviors that contributed to the way Pilate handled the gross mistreatment and abuse of an innocent man. Get your pens and paper out because if you are anything like me, you're going to take a lot of notes from this one!
his week, we look at how Peter's weakness is revealed by even the most benign people around him. A slave girl casually asks him if he is one of Jesus' followers and he automatically starts getting sweaty palms. When you think about it, its understandable - Jesus had been arrested, everyone was scattering and things were getting tense. Peter was a guy who was adamant that he'd never sell out on his master (teacher) but lo and behold, by the time the night is over he'd actually sworn an oath against Jesus and denied his association with as much vehemence as he'd sworn he'd never do. We have learned about Judas betrayal and now we learn about Peters. But what makes Peter different than Judas is, where Judas is filled with bitter hatred for himself and lets it overtake him, Peter weeps and repents. And comes to God with his sin and he is forgiven, just as we are, every time we come to the Lord.
Judas Iscariot. Probably one of the most famous 'bad guys' of all time. He's one guy that is so easy to judge. I mean, who sells out the literal Son of God? Find out what the bible has to say about Judas and how Jesus responds to this deep act of betrayal.
When the going was easy, Judas was all in. It was easy to follow Jesus when you flew under the radar of anyone who would make his life difficult for his beliefs. But when the pressure started mounting and disciples of Jesus started facing real scrutiny and severe persecution, Judas stepped out.
Judas saw Jesus as a way to get what he wanted out of life and not someone who was worthy of worship. Does that sound familiar? I know I can go through times where my heart is misaligned towards Jesus in this way.
In this sermon on betrayal, Pastor Paul unpacks the truth of what it is to be betrayed and how Jesus responded to the betrayal of one of His best friends.
And in case you have been the victim of betrayal, be sure to check out Psalm 55 as it puts a voice to feelings of betrayal that are sometimes hard to articulate.
In the secular world, singleness is often celebrated and promoted. The opportunity to do what you want, when you want and with whom you want. It is the ultimate form of freedom. Or at least, that's what the media can often lead us to believe. In the church, being single can often be seen as the opposite. More like a problem to be fixed than something that is a chosen lifestyle or one that has just as many benefits and worth as the marriage folks in the congregation. But what does God say about singleness? Here, Keith Williams unpacks some very important truths about how singleness is a gift and how single Christians are to orient their hearts.
This week, our intern, Keith Williams, begins a two part series on marriage and singleness. With so many cultural voices chiming in on the definition, purpose and sanctity of marriage, it's pretty easy to get mixed up on what the bible has to say about it. As Christians, we can often stumble on certain tricky parts of the bible, especially when they seem to go against the cultural norm. For unbelievers or those who are curious about Christianity, the topic of marriage can certainly be a confusing and something you really have to wrestle with. It's important to remember one very key point in the book of Genesis - God owns the copyright to marriage (Gen 2:18). He invented it! That means we don't get to rewrite His design on it. Marriage is bigger than us. It's intended to be a gift and to show us the gospel and its a huge way that God shows us His love for us.
Tune in this week to find out why and how God does this, and what it means for our lives.
February 13th, 2022 | Applying Wisdom Principles To Decision Making by Grace Valley Church
The very first question you should ask yourself before making a decision is: which choice will best glorify God?
If you're like me (and I suspect, many of us), your prayers might sound something like this: "God, please bless me in my plan to..." Or "God, please be with me as I..."
We invite God along with our plans. But it's important to order our prayers and our desires with God being at the very top of the list, and ourselves following God in the way He wants us to. So you might say, "God, make it clear to me which choice would best glorify you in my life." or "God, my desire is to do (this thing), let me do it for your glory, and not my own."
If your desires and loves are ordered correctly, your habits and choices will flow from them. Love God first and you will do His will, instinctively.
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Our beliefs shape our answers to lifes questions, which shape our decisions. So what do you believe in? What sets the cadence of your life? As Christians, our belief system is outlined in the bible. If you are unsure of what God is calling you to do, first you need to make sure that your decisions remain in line with God's commandments. That should be your fundamental belief and your decisions should flow from obedience to how God tells us to behave in the bible.
Tune in this week as Pastor Paul continues to explore and unpack where and how we acquire Godly wisdom.
This is one of those sermons that you might want to listen to again, simply because the concept of God's sovereignty and our free-will is so complex. My brain still hurts a bit from listening to Pastor Paul explain the paradox of how we are fully responsible and autonomous when it comes to making decisions in our lives, and yet at the exact same time, God has predestined it all, and there's nothing we can do to thwart God's will. It's confusing, comforting and humbling at the very same time. God is at work using our own decisions and circumstances, we can be 100% sure of it.
This week, we start to explore the concept of the "will" of God. I think everyone, non-believers and believers alike, considers the will of God at some point in their lives. For example, when we see really awful tragedies, it's natural to wonder about the will of God, if He's even there or what His heart is truly like.
Pastor Paul Vanden Brink begins this teaching series by explaining a few aspects of the will of God. First, God's sovereign will cannot be frustrated or stopped. Ever. This is good news, because we can try our hardest to deviate from God's plan, but as His created beings, we simply cannot go off course. Even if we don't even believe in God in the first place, God has created every single human being on the planet and He is in charge of every single aspect of every single human being that He creates.
It's also comforting to know that we don't have to fret about making the wrong decisions or choosing the wrong paths because whatever we choose will be within the knowledge and plan of God. He's got us! And He only requires us to do one thing and one thing alone - obey Him. And all we need to know in order to do that is outlined in His Word, the Bible.
Tune in this week to hear more truths on the will of God.
This week, Mark takes us through 1 Samuel 7:1-15 and teaches us about the rich history and meaning behind the 'Ebenezer stone'. The fact of the matter is, God is just as faithful to us today as He was to the Israelites of the bible. If we turn and repent (which is, turn away from the sin that is entangling us and asking forgiveness of God and those whom we have hurt), God will always, always be faithful to us. And it serves us well when we have little reminders of His unfailing love. It could be a post-it note on your bathroom mirror with a favourite bible verse, it could be a daily gratitude journal. Anything that helps us stay connected to God's enduring love for us, so that when we sin, we know Who to turn towards.
It is so strange to me that my thoughts actually matter to God. You would think that he would have better things to do than to be intimately linked with the constant barrage of self-criticism, judgement of others, obsessions over to-do lists and the unending layers of anxiety that cycle through my mind all day. But God openly expresses His love and delight in us, His created beings. He has permanently linked Himself with us through the Holy Spirit. And I don't know about you, but that makes me feel comforted and fairly nervous at the same time.
This week, Phil Tadros joins us to unpack the beautiful and impactful verses contained in Psalm 139. And he reminds us that, if we truly believe that we are loved unconditionally by our heavenly Father, then we need not be ashamed that He sees from the inside out. We can find ourselves emboldened with humble confidence as we come to Him with our sins. With our hopes and dreams and with our really mundane daily chatter. Every time we do this, we strengthen our relationship with our loving, tender, heavenly Father and we can walk as loved and fully known children of God.
While we are all children of God in the sense that God created every single one of us, God has also chosen those He will have an intimate, special and privileged relationship with. This is a filial relationship, one that is not bestowed on us because of our own merit or good-ness, it's bestowed to us as a gift through Jesus Christ. Jesus' death made way for the Holy Spirit to do His work, by opening our spiritual eyes to the new reality of being a new creation, a new child of God. Without this divine intervention, we would never be able to receive God in the way He intended for us. When we receive the name of Jesus, as in we believe He is who He says He is, we are adopted into Gods family and have all rights to His holy inheritance, love and tender, unfailing care.
What's the problem? The problem is sin. Sin isn't just about 'breaking rules'. It's not just "making mistakes" and its not indulging in your favourite triple chocolate treat. It's the reason the world is broken, and it's the reason why Jesus came into the world. Because He knew we'd be completely helpless in our estate and that the righteous Judge, God the Father, would execute divine justice on our souls. Doesn't that sound dramatic? As I write this, I keep thinking this sounds like the plot of a really great movie. But it's the truest and most complete reality, and Jesus' birth, life and resurrection proves it.
Jesus came into the world at the darkest time of year. Because in the darkness, the light always shines the brightest. He is the light of the world, and He came to break the backbone of the sin in our lives. While we still suffer in this broken world, sin limps along and its power is weakened and drowned out by our faith in God's goodness and love for us. Although we didn't and couldn't recognize Him, Jesus has lifted the spiritual veil off of the eyes of His chosen people, those who believe in Him, by His grace alone.
Why did Jesus come into this world in the first place? Because He loved us and He proved His love to us by entering into our fallen world. He couldn't stand by and watch God's children suffer in sin and destruction. He couldn't stand by, knowing that we would have to be judged by His Holy Father and knowing that we'd never have eternal life without someone to pardon our sins. So He came to earth, bringing spiritual life to spiritually dead people.
Without the earthly presence of Jesus, the eyes of our souls would never be opened to the spiritual reality that lies beyond what we can see with our physical eyes. Through the light that Jesus shines on the darkest parts of our beings, we see the spiritual truth of our sinful condition but we also feel the warmth of His love and pardon. And we will experience His joy at our eternal reunion with Him when we pass from this earth.
In this weeks service, we begin to celebrate the Advent of the birth of Jesus Christ. Pastor Paul Vanden Brink takes a look at the book of John, specifically chapter 1, verses 1-3. These few verses are filled with incredible depth of meaning and significance.
Jesus is the 'word' that John is speaking of here, Jesus is the entirety of same exact power and glory that came from God's own mouth when He spoke the world into existence.
If you have ever struggled with the meaning of life. Or if you believe that there is no purpose, that there is no governing order, that everyone is just doing what they want with no justice or mercy or accountability. If those thoughts bring your soul down and cause you to despair. You can look to Jesus, who loves you (He really does!) and who IS order and who IS justice and who IS hope.
This is not a pat answer. It's not an easy answer to the question: "What is the point of all this living? It kinda sucks." Jesus' words, when you study them, will give you hope and purpose. The hope is to be loved by Him and the purpose is live for Him. If you need someone to talk to that can discuss what that actually looks like in your life, reach out to us here at Grace Valley Church.
But be sure to tune in to this weeks important message: Jesus Christ is the logos, the powerful Word who was and is and is to come.
Keith Williams is preaching from Romans 12:1-2. This text focuses on how we are to act because of, and as a result of, God's love for us. Because of God's great love for us, because He poured His love into our hearts, we now offer our bodies (in the form of helping others) in the service of God. As praise and worship to Him. We are predestined to do this by a loving, perfect Father who does not require us to earn this love, instead, His spirit compels us to act in love and service to others. For our good and His glory. Tune in as Keith unpacks this short but powerful text in the book of Romans.
Do you want to know the key to knowing whether or not something or someone is fake? Immerse yourself in the real thing. People who come from families that are really toxic, have no idea what real love looks like, and so it's harder for them to spot the real deal. But people who have had experience with a lot of stable, healthy, loving relationships can more easily spot what an unhealthy one looks like. It's the same when you are trying to discern whether or not something that sound or looks like the Gospel is true. If you aren't immersed in the real deal (the actual Bible), then everything can start sounding true after awhile. And that's where the danger lies. We are so easily tossed 'to and fro' when it comes to our beliefs. We aren't born inherently naturally strong believers. It takes time and it takes intentional immersing ourselves in things that build our 'spiritual muscles'. Like daily reading of the bible, prayer and, surprisingly, serving .Serving the body of Christ, for the purpose of becoming more like Christ and for the Glory of Christ alone, is one sure way to become spiritually strengthened and mature. The whole body of Christ is built up this way, with each member exercising their spiritual gifts on a regular basis.
This week, we're continuing our sermon series on spiritual gifts. This sermon is very practical and filled with biblically based teaching on what exactly spiritual gifts are and how they are completely unique to each Christian. For those of you who like to feel extra special (like me), this ones a good one for your sense of purpose in life. There's even a graphic for all you visual learners out there. Chances are, you've got a couple of the gifts that are mentioned in this sermon and you might feel a little nudge nudge from the Holy Spirit to start exploring some of them. And if you're wondering: does this PCA pastor address the spiritual gift of interpreting tongues and languages? Yes he does, but at the end, so no skipping ahead.
If you're interested in connecting with us here at Grace Valley Church, find our contact info at www.gracevalleychurch.ca.
This week we are looking at spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts are gifts of service that God graciously and supernaturally gives to Christians. They are not earned and they are not developed by practicing really hard. Unlike a personal talent, God's spirit enables our gifts instead of us having to work at it. These gifts are for the common good and service to the church and are used to grow His kingdom. Pastor Paul unpacks the differences between spiritual gifts and human talent and talks about the fruit of the spirit and how it related to spiritual gifts.
Life can be incredibly disorienting. Some of us struggle with this feeling of disorientation more than others, but all of us can relate to it at some point or another. In Deuteronomy, we look at an entire nation of Israelites who are facing the death of their leader, Moses. The one who prophesied and led them through the wilderness. The one who literally saw the face of God - and survived it. And here he was, at the end of his life.
There he was, but where were they? Without Moses? He was like a god to them. And he was dying.
Lets pause for a second and fast forward to the present, to our own selves and our own gods (or, the own objects or people we spend all of our energy on). Who are we without...our health? Our kids? Our jobs? Our professional credentials? Our retirement fund? If those things are suddenly taken away, how would we orient ourselves? It's a sobering thought, and one that gives me no feeling of comfort or pride to think about how much I rely on these things to give me peace.
At the end of his life, Moses knew that the Israelites would be reeling. So he reminds them, in wisdom, humility and truth: "There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides across the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty". (Deuteronomy 33:26) No one. No thing. No status, no health, no string of digits on your atm receipt. A sobering thought, indeed.
Listen in as Keith Williams unpacks these truths about the God who is our refuge and who rushes towards us as our one and only certain saviour.
The metaphor of the church being the 'bride' of Christ is one of those metaphors that can require an extra shot of faith to be totally comfortable with. Especially if you are a dude. But listen to this: God chose you. And the metaphor of the bride is one of the ways this truth is illustrated.
In the middle east, marriages were arranged. That means, you didn't get to choose who your spouse is, your family did. So when God is saying that His church is His bride, He is saying that He has chosen (or arranged) to be in a sacred covenant with us. And He didn't choose us because we are awesome and perfect, He chose us because He himself is awesome and perfect and wants to be united with us forever. It's a mysterious thing, but its a sure and secure thing. During our time here on earth, we are 'engaged' to God. He is cleansing us, sanctifying us and purifying us with His word (the Bible). We will be pure before Him, united to our Creator after our time here on Earth has finished.
This weeks sermon focuses on the Spiritual body that includes each person who believes and follows Christ. We also talk about being spiritually dead and what it means to be unaware of our sin and unaware of Gods love for us. When we exist outside of the body of Christ - that is, outside of the body of believers, we are not connected to the spiritual heart of Christ and we are spiritually dead. Just as when an organ in our physical body is disconnected, it dies. When we are connected to Christ, God gives us new life, a new spiritual awareness, and a new purpose in the body of Christ.
If someone had called me a "child of the devil" before I became a Christian, I'd have imagined them shaking their cane at me like Grandpa Simpson. "Youuuu child of the devil!" And I would have been mildly insulted too. But you know what? Anyone who absolutely refuses to submit to the Lord is actually a child of the devil. And that's what I was doing, that's what anyone is doing who willingly turns their back on God's love and His laws.
Turning towards God and how He calls us to act, makes us children of God. And it makes us the family of God. It calls us to be counterintuitively selfless and it calls us to love others in ways that stretch us out of our comfort zones. We know we are children of God by the way we act, repent of our sins and love each other. Tune in as Pastor Paul unpacks the sometimes tricky verses in 1 John 3:10-18.
If there was ever going to be a more important message for us to hear these days, it's the message of unity. With elements of division being felt, seen and experienced in every aspect of our lives, it seems like the world is literally falling apart. And, quite frankly, it is. But we can stand firm in the midst of the rubble around us, by remaining solid on what God teaches us through the Bible. I'm going to get bible-thumpy with you here - there's nothing more fundamentally true and unwavering than what is written in the Bible.
Maybe you're not sure where you should stand. Or you aren't sure where Christians stand. Look at what the Bible says. That's where we stand. We look to the unchanging authority of God. An authority outside of ourselves, outside of what's trending on Twitter, outside what our society pushes us to believe. This is what unity is. The uniformity of the entire body of Christ, looking to the word of God for authority, creating the temple that God now dwells in.
Does this sound crazy to you? It sure did to the Romans back in Jesus' day. But listen in as Pastor Paul Vanden Brink opens up the words found in Ephesians 2:19-22 and see what Jesus says and how we are being built into Gods holy temple.
I used to think that Jesus referred to us as His sheep because they were cute and fluffy and happy to follow their fearless Shepherd. That's not exactly the case, and it's not because some of us aren't cute or fluffy. Pastor Paul Vanden Brink unpacks why Jesus refers to us as His flock and why it's a backwards, yet fitting, compliment. Scripture taken from John, Chapter 10:1-18.
This week, Pastor Paul talks about the Church as an embassy. What does that mean? And what does standing backwards in an elevator and wearing potato sacks at the beach have to do with how we, as Christians, belong to a spiritual embassy? Tune in to find out! Scripture taken from book Matthew 16:13-20.
Spoiler alert: Everything turns out beautifully in the end. When this life is over, when all of the division and tragedy and ugliness of the world has faded and the Story has unfolded, guess what. The ending is good, and beautiful and perfect and just. Take comfort in that, friends, as we look to Jesus for how we are to behave and act in this age of turmoil and strife. This sermon is based on the book of Revelation, chapter 5.
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Our motivations for acts of compassion can get confused, self centered and misdirected.
Do you know why Pentecost was so important? Mark Hordyk explains how Pentecost is when God literally breathed life into His very first church, and empowered the people who were present to go and spread the Good News of the Gospel.
www.gracevalleychurch.ca For additional content, check out Grace Valley Church, Dundas on YouTube.
Here is the link to the Timothy Keller sermon that Pastor Paul referenced: https://youtu.be/JcPlfM7w-ZE
www.gracevalleychurch.ca
This episode is a full recording of the sermon that Pastor Paul preached on January 3rd, 2021.
For additional content, check out our Clearer Thinking Podcast right here on Soundcloud. www.gracevalleychurch.ca
www.gracevalleychurch.ca with Pastor Paul Vandenbrink, Dundas, Ontario. For additional information on this topic, check out our Clearer Thinking Podcast right here on Soundcloud.
www.gracevalleychurch.ca For additional content, check out our Clear Thinking Podcast, right here on Soundcloud.
Ever wonder what is up with the advent candles? Why are they purple, pink and white? It's not just a pretty colour scheme, tune in to find out more! Visit us on YouTube to watch the whole sermon.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7R2aOuGqc2v-sL5XcA_wZQ
Text: 2 Kings 5:1-19a Have you ever wished God would just wave his hand over you and heal you? I certainly have. I can totally relate to the story of Naaman, a guy who thought he was "above" the way that God was telling him how he was going to be healed. A little girl, one of Naaman's servants (listen to the sermon for the background on her too, it's pretty interesting), told Naaman he needed to go talk to the prophet Elisha. And Elisha instructed him to get into the river Jordan, which reeked and totally cramped Naaman's style. But once he humbled himself and did it, Gods healing came over Naaman and he was healed of leprosy.
But before he finally gets in the water, Naaman says "“I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy.12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage." Isn't that totally relatable? I think a lot of us can think of times in our lives where we knew God could just 'wave His hand' and we would be healed.
Like when your doctors, and therapists and loved ones tell you that you probably should go on anxiety medication but you are too proud to feel like you need that kind of help. Or when you feel really awful inside and you are so tired and sore and you know you'll feel better if you exercised and ate right, but you are dismissive because surely there must be an easier way to deal with your unhealthy lifestyle. God uses all sorts of different ways to heal us, or to help us make the most of our bodies here on earth, and just because we think it might cramp our style, doesn't mean it's not what is ultimately best for us.
Naaman learned this from the most unlikely of people, but isn't that just the way God works sometimes? And as we look at this proud man being humbled, I think about how following Jesus so often causes us to do things that cramp our style and humble us. God chose to heal Naaman so that he would profess that there is a true God in Israel, that he would tell all his polytheistic friends that there was only One and that he was living proof and it completely changed Naamans' life and those around him.
For additional content, check out the latest episode of The Clearer Thinking Podcast here on Soundcloud.
-Written by Kate Tigchelaar
Clearer Thinking Podcast Episode 10 | The Little Servant Girl & The Proud General by Grace Valley Church
To hear Pastor Paul Vanden Brinks full sermon related to King David and how we often look to the wrong places for heroes, check out our Youtube channel https://bit.ly/32RJGZi.
Text: 1 Samuel 17:41-51 What are you placing your hope in? Many of us are placing our hopes in our government to do the right thing. Especially in the context of the current social and political climates in North America. We're all looking for strong leadership, for someone to lead our countries into a solid future. But if that's who we're looking to for leadership, then we've got to stop and turn our eyes to the true leader - God. Because no matter what your political leaning is, they will fail you because they are simply human beings.
Just as the Israelites cowered in the shadow of the freakishly huge Goliath, we cower in the face of constant corruption and strife within our governments. And I think we'd like to imagine ourselves as little Davids, small but brave and fully trusting in nothing but the power of God. But truthfully, most of us are just cowering in the corners of our worldly hearts.
We know that God is in control because He tells us He is. But we are scared and we don't feel equipped to face the problems in our lives. David didn't feel equipped either, but He knew God was fully equipped. And he knew God was with him, so he stepped out in faith, trusting God was who He said He was.
Every obstacle we face in our lives is a chance to do just that. To step out in faith and trust that God will take care of the rest. David was a fully faithful (albeit flawed) hero who is an example and a foretaste of our true hero. The hero that rescues us from judgement and eternal separation from God, Jesus Christ. Let's fully accept and trust God's sovereignty and power over our lives, over our governments. Let's trust that whatever happens will be exactly how our omnipotent, faithful and loving Yahweh has ordained it to be and let that give us courage.
For additional content, check out the latest episode of The Clearer Thinking Podcast.
-Written by Kate Tigchelaar
To view the corresponding sermon by Pastor Paul Vanden Brink, visit us on Youtube: https://youtu.be/Xd-LsLcGGJY
Bible Text: 1 Samuel 16:1-13
A lot of us feel like we don't measure up. We aren't good looking enough, we don't have any discernable or admirable talents and we just get passed over for the things that our hearts seem to desire. It's discouraging. It's especially discouraging when scientific studies prove that good looking people get more opportunities, better jobs and even better restaurant service then all of us regular looking folk do. The whole world is based on meritocracy and it always has been.
Back in Samuel's time (pretty interesting guy if you want to look him up), people voted on their leaders based on what they looked like. The bigger and stronger and brawnier you were, the better chances you had of being hailed the leader or King. Sounds familiar right? We still do these things today. But God truly and honestly does not give a whip about what you look like or what the world thinks of the gifts you have been given.
And I know, saying 'it's what's inside that counts' is pretty cheesy, but over and over again we see God choosing the lesser and the little ones. He chose David, the youngest and smallest of his brothers to be King over Israel. He chose Moses, who wasn't the greatest public speaker (Exodus 4:10-13) to represent and lead his people. Look at this verse from 1 Corinthians 1:27: But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong." The things of this world, looks and talent and all that stuff, mean nothing to God. Heck, even Jesus, the Son of God Himself, was not an especially good looking guy. You'd think God would have made Him at least a bit hunky, but nope, check out Isaiah 53:2.
What does God care about? God cares about character. He cares about what you do and who you are when nobody is looking. Character takes up the raw material of nature and temperament and weaves these into a strong, well knit texture, of a fully moralized person. Character is your core and your moral sense and that's what God is looking at. It is developed over time through the moral guidance of God's word and the proper teaching of those around us. It's what you should be raising your kids to have and it's the number one thing that you should look for in a spouse. Moral, Godly character.
So you say, okay, great, I know God cares about character. And I also know and believe He died for me. But I can't find a husband or wife, I'm only making half of what some of my friends are making and I just kinda suck. Except if you seek after God with all of your whole being, that's what actually matters in this life. That's when God blesses you with the things He knows you need.
God chose David as he was a man after God's own heart. Focus on that, pray about that, take your worries and concerns to God. He knows it's hard to get out of yourself and focus on others, He knows you're going to probably obsess about trying not to obsess about all the things you're lacking as a person in this world. Take those concerns to Him and then turn your eyes to the things that build good moral character and your life will absolutely change.
For additional content, check out the latest episode of The Clearer Thinking Podcast, right here on our SoundCloud account.
-Written by Kate Tigchelaar
In this weeks Podcast, Paul talks about miracles. Something that's really hard for us 'modern' folk to get our heads around. But guess what? Miracles are hard for every 'folk'. Listen in as Paul challenges secular belief on miracles and offers us some food for thought. To watch the corresponding sermon, click here: https://youtu.be/8LBeMhdNEnw
Mark Hordyk of Grace Valley Church in Dundas, Ontario, leads us through Joshua's Battle of Jericho which highlights how God is always with us. Based on Joshua 5:13-6:20.
Scripture: Exodus 19:1-8 Series: The Jesus Storybook Bible Series
I often have this thought - if my life were perfect, would all of my problems be solved. If my clothes always fit and looked good. And my body didn't hurt. And my government was the way I wanted it to be. And I could literally see God in front of me all the time. And I always had enough food to eat. Would I be happy? Free from sinful tendencies? Think about it. Would you be? Whenever I'm reading the stories of the Israelites, like the ones we see in the book of Exodus, I see how very real and very present and very obvious God was to them. Andd then they still complain about stuff like not having enough fruit or meat or whatever, I'm just like. COME ON. If I could see God like that, I'd never doubt and never sin, ever!
But honestly? I'd be the exact same. Because the things that cause me to sin aren't outside of me. They aren't an unfair government and its not systemic mistreatment or prejudice or anything like that. It's within ME. And if I want to be free of the slavery, that sin has on me, I need to rely on three things that God has laid out for me (and in this order).
First, His grace for me - I can't earn this and I can never, ever be perfect or even close to it. Which means I can't ever feel complete relief from my sin without being in the presence of God, in heaven, to which He has made a way through Jesus' death on the cross.
Second, His laws. Yes, those 10 Commandments that look good in theory but way too hard in practice. Yet I think most of us can agree that God's laws are good, even those who are on the fence about God's existence. And we can agree that if we follow them, the world would be a good and perfect place. Except if I was in charge, I'd totally smudge some of these. You shall not covet (except for that one time I really coveted my friend's new kitchen, but let's forget about that law, it doesn't count). You shall love your neighbour as yourself (except when they don't agree with my political or sociological opinions, but that one doesn't count because I'm SURE it says in the bible that my political opinions are the ones that are correct. Right?)
And Third, His blessing. Here's the thing - God is going to show you that you are His treasured possession through your obedience to His moral law, the 10 Commandments.
Obedience to those laws is a response to His grace. And contrary to a lot of secular public opinion, it's actually motivated by love for God not by fear of God. God uses these laws as a means to intimacy, as a way to bring us closer to Him. How? Well, the reality of His law will impose itself on you if you disobey it. Just like the law of gravity - if you jump off a cliff, you're gonna fall. If you disobey God's law that tells you not to lie, well, you're gonna fall eventually.
But you and I know, we can't do it within our own power. We simply cannot follow these laws perfectly so that we can be perfectly intimate with our perfect Creator. So we need a mediator. Like Moses was the mediator between God and the Israelites, there is a mediator between God and ourselves. One that stands between our sin and our perfect God and lets us stand in his presence. And I bet you can guess who it it is - that's right, its Jesus.
Romans 8: 3-4 says 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh,[a] God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.[b] And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
What do you think? Is God's law one that mocks us in our inequity ? Is it just a loose set of rules that we can bend to our will? Or is it a means to show us how He loves us, by laying down what is good for us, and making a Way for us to become righteous?
In our October 4, 2020 sermon, Paul addresses the topic of suffering as it relates to the story of Joseph. Where is God when awful things happen to us? And on that note - why does He allow suffering in the first place? Listen in to find out more.
Scripture: Genesis 37 Series: The Forgiving Prince
Why does God allow suffering? In this sermon, Pastor Paul Vanden Brink, addresses this issue through the familiar story of Joseph. It's not just a story about a favoured child with a fabulous coat. It's the story of a man who faces many serious trials caused by the sins of those around him. Selfish ambition, lust and jealousy to name a few. All sins that we can relate to, right? But God shows up in every situation in Josephs life, just as He shows up in every situation in our lives.
In Joseph's story, we see what we all know to be true - that suffering is an inevitable part of life. Whether you believe that God is sovereign or not, you simply cannot escape suffering. But how should we handle that fact? How did Joseph handle it and what can we learn?
We learn that God allows suffering in our life for our ultimate good. Even when that is a hard pill to swallow, it is a deep, fundamental truth that we see illustrated over and over again in the bible and in our own lives too.
If you are struggling with how a good God could allow so much bad in the world, think about this: If we want a God big enough to stop the suffering in the world, we've got to believe in a God that is big enough to redeem our suffering. That is, a God who will make it right.
Note: The original livestream this was taken from cut out so this file starts a little late.
A lot of the stories in the bible can be uncomfortable. Some of them are REALLY uncomfortable, like the one we find in Genesis 22:2-18. This story has a father, Abraham, taking his beloved son up to a mountain to offer him as a sacrifice to the God who has requested this. Pretty awful sounding, isn't it.
But this story is only part of the story, of the WHOLE story of the bible. Taken out of context, we glimpse of a God who looks like He is a bloodthirsty tyrant. But reading a bit further (and having read the preceding story), we see a God who was utilizing Abrahams faith to demonstrate what He himself was going to do to save us all from our sins. Even though Abraham did not have to sacrifice his son in the end, we do see a man who has faith even when the futures looks unimaginably horrible. And this from a guy who always had a "plan b" in his back pocket, just in case God didn't come through on His promises to bless Abraham.
We can look at this example and see that faith, no matter how weak, is putting one foot in front of the other, and trusting God, always.
For additional content, check out our Clearer Thinking Podcast, Episode 2: https://soundcloud.com/grace-valley-church/clearer-thinking-episode-2-the-present
Mark Hordyk talks about how God's voice isn't always a loud, obvious voice but is often heard in the silence. Elijah experienced this when he was at the end of his rope and God answered him with faithfulness and love. Based on 1 Kings 19 1-18. This sermon was recorded at Grace Valley Church in Dundas, Ontario.
Romans 12:17-21
"Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."
As Christians we are called to have a posture of forgiveness. What does this look like in our day to day life?
Scripture Passage: Romans 3:21-26
21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
God is our Father and That Makes All the Difference When We Pray by Grace Valley Church