Toronto Alliance Church: Recent Episodes
Toronto Alliance Church
I very much believe in the power of God. It can show up in any way, but one thing the Bible says that is interesting is that the power of God is made perfect in weakness. This is a huge invitation to us because we have weakness. We're all qualified for experiencing the power of God because we have a lot of weakness. But I also believe in the Church, which has weakness and is therefore qualified for the power of God. Churches aren't perfect, but the Church can definitely experience the power of God. I want to talk in September about how the power of God shows up in the Church. Today, I want to talk about the power of a witnessing congregation from Acts 11:19-26.
Extra reading: Psalm 96
Preacher: Bill Dyck
This morning, we're gonna continue to look at first John. And one thing about first John is that John loves to talk about things over and over. Like in chapter three, John talks about love. And today in chapter four, which you just heard, is a lot of love and love and love. It's also about love. If I ask you to tell me your love story, you might tell me something like how I found my loved one, or that something happened in my past. Each person has different stories because love is something that we all know, love is something that we exercise every single day and in different situation. In love, we have something in common. For example, love is difficult to explain. You can't really explain what love is. Or something in common about love is there's no maximum of love, we could always love more. So today I want to draw out three things in the scripture, how the scripture talks about love.
Preacher: Oscar Wong
In 2023, Webster dictionary picked a word of the year. My hint is, when we scroll on social media and we look through all the pictures, do you ever wonder is that picture real or is that family truly that happy? Another thing that has come up with AI is, did that student really write that paper? Did I really prepare this sermon or did AI do it for me? With all of that, the 2023 word of the year is "authentic". This is interesting because even just a few years before, researchers were saying that nearing half of people in our culture were starting to believe that there is no truth. And very quickly as people and culture adopted this thought, that there is no truth, people realized what the world is like without truth. And so they're searching for something that is authentic. Why is truth important?
Extra reading: Jeremiah 29:7-14a
Preacher: Leslie Shillinglaw
I was walking with two of my grandchildren recently, a boy and a girl. It had just rained. The girl is a little princess and the boy loves mud puddles. They were walking beside each other when the boy stomps in a deep mud puddle and soaks his sister almost up to her waist, which completely exasperated her and she cried out expressing her deepest frustration, trying to wipe the mud off. Well, he was surprised by her reaction and he looked down at his own feet which were from the knees down was completely mud, which he considered to be a badge of honor. He looked his feet and he looked at her and he looked at me, and smiled. What an accomplishment! I found the whole situation was very funny, though, it was not very loving. I want to talk here today about why love is such a big deal. We're walking through the book of 1 John in a series called "Solid footing in shaking times". Today we read starting from 1 John 3:11.
Extra reading: Leviticus 19:9-18
Preacher: Bill Dyck
When I was a boy we heard that the Prime Minister of Canada was coming to our little town to make a speech to become re-elected. My dad took me along. The stage was the back of a truck. Everybody stood around and waited for his appearing. All at once a black limousine pulls up, and Pierre Elliott Trudeau stepped out and walked up the little stairs on the back of the truck. I don't remember a thing he said, but I was within 10m of the Prime Minister of Canada. The Bible talks a lot that there will be another appearing, not of a prime minister or a king but of the Lord Jesus. There will be a day when just as he walked and healed on Earth, he will return in person and be seen visibly. His appearing should be precious and anticipated just like when I was a kid. The news says much about how everything will end. But the Bible says he is the one who ends things when he comes and not before. Our series is called Solid Footing in Shaking Times and I wanna talk about living today with that day in mind.
Extra reading: Psalm 2:1-12
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Sometimes things get lost in translation. Once when my son was a boy he ordered hot chocolate at a nice coffee shop and somehow they heard "espresso", which was very disappointing for him. Another level of frustration is a DIY project where the instructions, guaranteed to be very simple, confuse you so much that you wonder if it's easier to just set them aside and figure it out yourself. I used to live in terror of someone thinking wrong about me. Since then it has happened so much that I've moved past that. What frustrates me deeply is when people think wrong of the Church. And far more grievous when they think wrong of God. People walk away from God because of misinformation. That's so much more weight than a simple DIY project. I want to talk today about how to avoid falling away in a world where there is more and more misinformation. We're walking through 1 John in a series called "Solid Footing in Shaky Times". Today's message is called "Clear Thinking Amid Confusion". I want to read chapter 2:18-27.
Extra reading: Deuteronomy 18:15-22
Preacher: Bill Dyck
We're going through a series in the letter of 1 John. It's a short letter, but it's a wonderful thing to walk through this series and familiarize ourselves with this book and what God has to say to us. All things in Scripture are old but speak fresh to us in our very lives right now. We're in the middle of chapter 2. It's a bit of an interruption in the argument in the letter. It seems to come out of the blue, an interlude, which is nteresting think about. When you're writing a letter to a friend and you have a side thought that's related. Two distinct sections here each three verses long.
Extra reading: 1 John 2:12-17
Preacher: Andrew Hubbard
How do you know that you know God? Some people think it's arrogant to even say that you could know God. But the scriptures teach that we can know him. Though Jesus said that there are people who, when they stand before him, even though they say, "we we did many mighty miracles in your name and we drove demons in your name," he'll look at them and say, "I never knew you at all." So it's not entirely straightforward to say "I know God," but the scriptures talk about it. We're walking through 1 John and I called the series "Solid Ground in Shaky Times". This is our 3rd message walking through 1 John, we're in chapter 2, and I want to think with you together, how can we know that we know God.
Extra reading: Leviticus 19:9-18
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Pastor Bill talks about how we can walk in the light.
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Extra Reading: Genesis 3:1-24
I want to talk about navigating the season of life, change and transition. I don't think we like change, though sometimes it's thrust upon us, like in times of sickness, job loss, or students graduating to the next phase. But God is in it. He is in change. I began thinking about transition when certain members of the church were facing big transition. Members of the congregation retiring after walking with God through entire professional careers, now stepping out of that. And maybe you are facing transition in this season too. It's good for us to stop and reflect on change and transition. There's things that can be said that are helpful and encouraging to us. May the Lord guide us here out of Deuteronomy 31. In this passage there's a transition that's happening. Moses is stepping off the scene and God is bringing another leader into the picture.
Extra reading: Isaiah 43:16-21
Preacher: Bill Dyck
The movie Ford vs Ferrari is about a 24h grueling Le Mans car race that happens in Europe. At the time the movie takes place, Ferrari was the only car used because they were unbeatable. Ford was known for their family cars, but Mr Ford wanted to find his way into racing. Ford had their struggles. But the year came where they won. All three Ford cars made it to the finish, 1st, 2nd and 3rd. And when they crossed the finish line, they crossed side by side. No 1st, 2nd, 3rd. They won as a team. My point is that we're better together. Scripture talk a lot about generosity and giving. But the Lord showed me as I was praying about this that people tend to give in very individualistic terms. We have our projects, our causes, those things we feel passionate about and that's where we tend to give. Our patterns of giving have become different from what we see in Scripture. I want to do a history of giving as seen in Scripture and make the point that we are better together.
Extra reading: Exodus 35:4-9, 35:20-29, 36:2-7
Preacher: Bill Dyck
A girl was given two loonies by her dad. He told her she could do anything she wanted with one, but the other was definitely to be given to God on Sunday at church. The girl nodded in agreement. She asked if she could go to the candy store with visions of all that she could buy with her dollar. She happily skipped toward the store holding tightly the two loonies. As she was skipping along, she tripped and fell and one of the loonies rolled along and just fell right into the storm sewer. Picking herself up, she looked at the dollar still in her hand, then at the storm drain. She said, "well, Lord, there goes your dollar." I want to talk today about generosity and why be generous, out of the Gospel of Mark, chapter 12.
Extra reading: 1 Kings 17:8-16
Preacher: Bill Dyck
I was raised in a home that modeled generosity. My mother had no income but developed a massive garden to be generous. My father was known for his generosity to neighbors and he gave faithfully financially to the Church, whether or not the farm made money. My father forgave a $50,000 debt I owed him to cover a down payment on a house. I was able to work off $5-7k of it, but we were raising 4 kids in an expensive city. He saw it wasn't gonna happen and said, "Just forget it." When I visited my parents, our vehicle would leave burdened by my mom's baking and produce. She used to single handedly make soup to feed 125 street-involved people for our community night, sending it frozen back to the city. We love being with generous people, but are we generous? God is generous and those who follow Jesus should be generous. This topic is taboo because it gets distorted all over the world by self-interest. The scriptures talk a lot about it and my interest is not in fundraising but as a pastor to shepherd, disciple, and help people follow Jesus. Generosity is a big thing.
Extra reading: Matthew 6:19-24
Preacher: Bill Dyck
We are people who have received much from God. We've been forgiven of our sins. He gives us his Spirit. He gives us a new nature. He says, the old nature is gone and there's a new, divine nature that is given to us. He gives to us a holy calling to enter into his purposes, into works that we've been prepared in advance to do. For that, each one is given spiritual gifts, enabling us from heaven to make us divinely effective. We've been given so much and yet we experience inner conflict that confuses us and it makes us question. Questions that sometimes fill us with guilt. I want to talk here today about how to be led by the Spirit and why it's so desirable to be led by the Spirit.
Extra reading: Isaiah 57:14-21
Preacher: Bill Dyck
When I entered ministry, I didn't realize how dependent I was on God. I didn't realize how little I could affect any kind of change in anything. I didn't see how little love I had in my heart. I was detail oriented, able to manage many things, and had lots of capacity. But I didn't see how utterly ineffective I was at practically everything spiritually. The Scriptures talk about how you'll bear fruit and your fruit will remain, and over time, I realized I saw no fruit in what I did. I didn't see God's fingerprint anywhere. I called this series "Empowered", leading up to Pentecost, the day the Holy Spirit was given to the church. God hasn't changed. He wants to do that in all our lives and in our midst. God gives his Holy Spirit and gifts from heaven and enables us to serve him. These gifts are not for ourselves but for the benefit of other people. Something must change in us so that we, like God, have eyes and a heart for other people and want to see real change come to them where we by ourselves can control nothing. Only God controls, and he gives tremendous influence when we walk in his ways.
Extra Reading: Numbers 27:12-23
Preacher: Bill Dyck
We spend a lot of energy, time and money becoming equipped for some skill. This is really important to do. We're glad that people have equipped themselves when we take our car to a mechanic or when we go to the hospital. We're glad that the doctor and nurses have equipped themselves. Anytime we get on the streetcar or the subway, we're glad the drivers know what they're doing. There are things also that God wants to do through us in this world, works that He calls us to, that he appoints us to, things that were not on our radar or are not even of our choosing. But God is sovereign, he's over it all, and he leads and he directs and he calls and he appoints at will. He's the King, the commander in chief. And in these things that he calls us to, he also equips us for and they are things that we need to lean into. So I want to talk about that here today, becoming equipped for God's purposes.
Extra reading: 1 Samuel 10:1-16
Preacher: Bill Dyck
We feel pretty ordinary. We feel too tired, we can't manage life as we'd like, especially in some of the secret places. We can't get all the strings tied up in our lives the way that we wish we could, we hate pain. But in the middle of it all, there is an extraordinary dimension because God invades our lives and it catches us by surprise. He graciously invades our lives and brings meaning, strength, hope, he comforts us, he helps us. And that's often where we leave it. We've made it through another day and God has graciously helped us. But God wants to do so much more that's gonna bring his purposes about on Earth. He awakens his Church to the glory of the Church's task. He moves in answer to the Church's prayer. He moves in answer to prayer and he moves in answer to united prayer. Ordinary people, convinced that God is preparing to answer us in royal fashion. So I want to talk here today about ordinary people at the threshold.
Extra reading: Psalm 5
Preacher: Bill Dyck
What do you do with the message of Easter the rest of the year, after the chocolate Easter eggs are gone? It's easy to blow past Easter and remain unchanged, easy to pack Easter into a box like we do Christmas decorations and wait till next April while our life settles into a routine. But Jesus means something very different from that. Imagine with if the Toronto Maple Leafs were to enter into such a winning streak that all their opponents trembled at their name and new the Stanley Cup was in the bag for the Toronto Maple leafs. Same players, same coaches, but something is very different. I was thinking about that because Easter changes us. Leading up to Pentecost, I called the sermon series "Empowered" because it describes what God does in us. It describes a radical change that comes in our lives because he is risen and because he's given the Spirit to all who know him. I want to begin here today out of Romans 8:1-11.
Extra reading: Ezekiel 36:22-32
Preacher: Bill Dyck
There are times in our lives where it seems we ride on top of the waves, everything is going as it should. There are other times it's not so clear. Our feelings get hurt, we suffer disappointments, we get depressed. But the story that we want to look at here today, about the resurrection of Jesus, speaks to all who feel despondent and like life doesn't always pan out the way it should. Maybe it's issues of weariness or darkness that seems to have settled upon you. Maybe a certain hopelessness about things, perhaps despair over personal failure or a loved one that's stuck in a dark place or it could be personal loss. It could be we're disillusioned by actions of political leaders. All of that is present in the story. And so here, our story lifts us up, it helps us face tomorrow. There are two gentlemen who are followers of the Lord Jesus and they were not expecting a resurrection and they were not expecting to meet the risen Christ.
Extra reading: Psalm 16
Preacher: Bill Dyck
What was probably Winston Churchill's shortest speech went like this: "Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never in nothing, great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never give in." And with that, he sat down. William Carey, the pioneer missionary to the modern missionary movement in the 17th century, said of his biographer, "If he gives me credit for being a plodder, he will describe me justly. Anything beyond that will be too much. I can plod, I can persevere in any definite pursuit. To this I owe everything." So here today, we're coming to the end of the book of James in this series I called Keeping It Real. I want to talk about sticking with it right till the end. How can we be people who are steady and unwavering, staying with our faith right till the end.
Extra reading: Matthew 21:1-11
Preacher: Bill Dyck
The songs we use during our service are chosen from the Christian Copyright License Incorporated database. As I was choosing the songs for today, I came across a song called "If I could win the lottery". That is quite real to us. We see how if we could come into a lot of money fast how many of our troubles would be solved. We are walking through the book of James and today's passage contains many warnings about our relationship with money. My son is up North quarterbacking trucking into the North country where there are no roads. They send fully loaded trucks across ice lakes. If you're the trucker who is lumbering across the lake, you want to know someone has gone ahead of you to confirm that the ice is at least 1m thick, and if not, to warn you. This passage speaks of coming judgment in the context of our relationship with money. There's a warning that you're on thin ice, don't just go with the flow of society, something's coming that you can anticipate and live accordingly. James 5.
Extra reading: Proverbs 8:1-11
Preacher: Bill Dyck
This morning I want to unpack a passage as we're walking through the book of James that I think is a passage for city dwellers. I grew up on the farm where our closest neighbor was a kilometre away but I've lived here in the city for many years. In the city, people make a lot of plans, they don't sit still, their calendars are full, they know where they want to go. There's clearly nothing wrong with making plans or being goal-oriented. I wonder though if we overstep our bounds a little in the making of our plans. It's called presumptuousness. I want to read from James 4.
Extra reading: Daniel 4:28-37
Preacher: Bill Dyck
This week is our annual meeting and it gets me thinking about how God planted this church. He builds the church and keeps it going and he does it for a definite purpose. The question for us is how do we fulfill His purposes for us? And how do we thrive for a long time where God has put us? Much fruit has been born out of our church and God has done many things, but it's not just a past that we speak about. It's what God has in mind for us for days to come. The backdrop to these questions is a bit dark though. This last weekend, I heard about two more churches that closed, shut the doors, sold the buildings and they're gone off the map forevermore. And it seems to be a bit of a trend within and around the city. God had desires for those churches too. He had plans for them too. He raised them up too. He delighted in them. So this is a sobering thing for me. Here today, I wanna talk about how to be a church that stays with it, out of James 4.
Extra reading: Psalm 131
Preacher: Bill Dyck
What's amazing the story of Joseph and his brothers is, there's the plans of man and then there's the plans of God. Joseph ends up ruling all of Egypt under Pharaoh, and his brothers end up coming to him and bowing down before him, the one that they sold. But Joseph is full of forgiveness for them because he's got a heavenly perspective. He says,"do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life, to preserve for you a remnant on the Earth." It's just a wonderful reminder, how good the plans of God are. It is not always easy to be swept up in the plans of God. I'm gonna be preaching from James 3 which presents two kinds of wisdom, one from above and one from below.
Extra reading: Genesis 37:18-36
Preacher: Andrew Hubbard
There are a few words that were written on a tombstone in England. This is how it reads: "Beneath this stone, a lump of clay, lies Annabella Young who on the 24th of May began to hold her tongue." Presumably May 24 is the day that she died. The tombstone reflects something of the struggle that we face in controlling our words, using our words for good purposes. Someone once asked, "If someone paid you $10 for every kind word that you spoke about other people and they also collected $5 for every unkind word, would you be rich or poor?" Today, out of the book of James 3, I want to think with you about how we can make our words count.
Extra reading: Proverbs 26:18-28
Preacher: Bill Dyck
We don't like things that are false. We don't like spam emails or calls. We don't like people trying to sell us things that are not the real thing. We don't like getting duped and we learn to be guarded because it seems like all those things are on the rise. I was thinking that that may be how many people in our world think and feel about the Church and about Christians in general. There have been many fakes, they say, who aren't real. They're not authentic and what they say and do doesn't match. It understandably bothers people, it seems like hypocrisy of the highest order. We can't change what's out there. But we can make sure that our faith is real, to make sure that we are real. That's what I want to talk about here today. Out of James 2. It's just a question: Is your faith for real.
Extra reading: Isaiah 49:1-7
Preacher: Bill Dyck
I know a woman who got really sick and thought it was an issue with her stomach. It got so bad she had to go to the hospital. It turned out to be nothing serious and dissipated shortly after going to the hospital, but not before the doctors had taken all kinds of images. They found that everything was dissipating, but they said, "we see a couple spots on your lungs that you really should get checked out". They sent her home because her other symptoms just vanished, which in fact turned out to be lung cancer in its early stages which they were able to catch and treat. I think we really are probably consistently poor at figuring out the trials and negative circumstances in our lives. We see with such limited vision. but God is bigger. I want to talk today about why trials are the greatest thing of all, out of James. We will walk through the book of James in coming weeks and will call this series "keeping it real".
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Extra reading: Deuteronomy 8:1-10
We find ourselves sometimes in waiting rooms. What's interesting about the waiting room is that nobody is in a waiting room any longer than they have to be. Toronto General Hospital has a very nice waiting room, nice coaches, nice reading material. But nobody is in that waiting room one minute longer than they have to be. Nobody comes in from the streets and just sits there and reads the good magazines. I find the same in my dentist's office. I find the same at my mechanic. Nobody comes to a waiting room just to hang out. We find ourselves as God's people in a waiting room. And there are whispers that come to us from God in the waiting room. I wanna read out of Matthew 24.
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Extra reading: Isaiah 43:7-13
We've been going through different themes through this year's advent Sundays. Today's theme is Peace. What comes to your mind, what issues, what situations are in need of peace? Where are you longing for peace? Today I will preach from Isaiah 9:1-7 on the things that make for peace.
Extra reading: Luke 1:67-79
Preacher: Andrew Hubbard
I want to talk about good news. Good news is hard to find these days. There's big issues that everybody faces. Economic uncertainty, the reality of wars, and everybody feels it. People have to push a little harder through the messaging just to find good news. But everybody wants good news. Sometimes we're scraping the bottom of the barrel for good news. We get happy about Apple bringing out their 15th iPhone, or Taylor Swift coming to Toronto in 2024. This is not life-changing news. It might bring heart palpitations for a few moments. But what we need is life changing good news. That's what everybody needs and longs for it. So on this third Sunday of advent I wanna talk about dying for good news. Not just for us, but I see a world that is lost, longing for good news and really struggling to find it.
Extra reading: Micah 5:2-5a
Preacher: Bill Dyck
People use the word "freedom" to describe many different things. The word "freedom" can be used when you find a better place to rent, or entering retirement. Children who grow up say that, or those fleeing persecuting government. It's a word that's used in many different ways. When you look at what God says about that word, though, our own description of "freedom" is kind of shallow. We use it to describe real experiences and things we look forward to. But what God describes goes deeper, reaches further, is more promising. On this second Sunday of advent, we want to really think more about this important word, freedom, that the Christ child brings us. So may the Lord just apply this to our hearts out of Isaiah 61:1-4.
Extra reading: Isaiah 9:1-7
Preacher: Bill Dyck
God has created us for a purpose. We are created with something specific in mind. This is the last sermon in our series about living faithfully amid spiritual decline. In such an environment, thoughts of God's purpose for us aren't as common as doing what I want. But walking in the purposes of God, we do the greatest and most desirable things that we can with our life, bearing eternal fruit. In Revelation, at the end of all time, an angel declares through the whole earth, "Fear God and give him glory for his hour of judgment has come." Just one more opportunity at the 12th hour for people to yield to the purposes of God. The heart of God for every one of us is to yield to his purposes. That verse begins with, "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. They enter into rest and their works will follow them." Only the deeds we do in Christ are eternal and put that up against other pursuits in our life. So we will read from 2 Kings 8.
Extra reading: Ephesians 2:1-10
Preacher: Bill Dyck
We are going through a series on how to thrive as believer in a time of spiritual decline. We've been walking through the life of Elisha the prophet. It's really a time of decline and of great trouble in Israel. Israel at this time is split up into two parts. There is the South Kingdom and the Northern Kingdom, which in itself is already a really bad sign that there's division that has come in the country. All around Israel are nations that are coming against her. In this chapter it's the Kingdom of Syria. And the people that are under siege, their gates are closed and they are in massive trouble. Reading from 2 Kings.
Extra reading: Matthew 24:3-14
Preacher: Andrew Hubbard
If there's one thing that would make a huge difference in our lives if we were to invest ourselves in it consistently, it is this the practice of worshiping God. Scripture commands us to worship. It says in Deuteronomy, "you shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve." Today, I want to talk about the practical impact of a life that is devoted to worshiping God. Not just when there are great musicians and catchy songs, but even in times where there's no music and where public worship is banned. Not just on a sunny day when all is well because things are going our way, but also when we're in great danger, still to worship God. And not just when there's lots of people who join you and it's kind of cool and you go there to meet people, but when you're all alone. That is an impactful life and that's a life that is deeply impacted. I will read 2 Kings 6 beginning at verse eight, about why worshiping God is so strategic.
Extra reading: Romans 8:31-39
Preacher: Bill Dyck
There are certain qualities that are unique to God. No human possesses them. One is that he's present everywhere, all the time. That can never be said of anyone. He knows everything. That can never be said about anyone either. His power knows no limit. It's unique to God. He's eternal. He gives us eternity, but we have a definite beginning. He never had beginning. There are qualities that are unique to Him. There's many things that only He can do. And today I want to talk about things that only God can fix. We're a bit down the line now of our series about living faithfully amid spiritual decline. Today we will read from 2 Kings 6.
Extra reading: Matthew 11:25-30
Preacher: Bill Dyck
We live in a time of spiritual decline. Our nation is one, it seems, that wanders from God. But that doesn't mean that God stops working or that there aren't people eager to do his will. There's probably fewer of them, but they just stand out brighter, as bright lights against the dark backdrop. And God manifests his powers and his presence. God is still ruling, reigning, he's on the throne and he shows his power to raise one up and to bring another down. He does that by his own hand. He's a God of great reversals. That is what I want to think with you about today. God is known throughout the Scriptures as a God of great reversals. He reverses our situations both ways. He does that for people. He brings some up and he brings some down. I want to read a really delightful story from 2 Kings 5. Our theme is how to live faithfully amid spiritual decline.
Extra reading: Luke 4:16-30
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Much as we don't desire it, times of want come to us. In the last couple years, I've seen the need at our front door increasing. And many of us in the last year have changed where we shop, there are certain things we no longer buy or eat or do, because things are more expensive and the level of income hasn't changed. How do we live faithful to God in a season of financial want? How does it impact our generosity, compassion and faith? We are walking through the life of the prophet Elisha where the overarching theme is how to live faithfully in a time of spiritual decline, which is also the reality in our nation and city. But part of the complicating reality is that Elisha is also in a season of famine that leaves practically everybody scrambling. Today we will look at 2 Kings 4:38-44.
Extra reading: John 6:1-14
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Some people feel that miracles are uncommon. I don't agree. I see a lot of miracles. I see God do a lot of extraordinary things. And in a day of spiritual decline, this is actually I think all the more so, the miracles become even more obvious. God doesn't change. Whatever the season we find ourselves in, God manifests himself to his people who follow him faithfully. I wanna think with you about that as we continue to walk through 2 Kings and the Life of Elisha in this sermon series that we've called "Living Faithfully Amid Spiritual Decline". Here today, I called the message "Believing Beyond All Hope".
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Extra reading: Luke 8:40-56
I called today's message "More than enough," focussing on how it is that God provides. He does that quite practically for what we at TAC do here in living in a city where things are more expensive all the time. The Bible says, "My God will supply all your needs according to his riches and glory." Jesus teaches us to pray, "give us today our daily bread". We know God means to provide for us and instructs us to come to Him with dependence on matters of very practical need. We come and live dependent upon him and he helps us. So, how does that happens? I want to pause and give thanks for all that God does provide, which in the story that we're looking at today is also more than enough. We're walking through 2 Kings, in this series that I've called "Living Faithfully amid Spiritual Decline," talking about where is He when we find ourselves in injustice or great difficulty and society cares little about our faith. That's what today's story is about.
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Extra reading: Matthew 14:13-21
There's a saying in that comes out of scripture that reads, "Bad company corrupts good morals," or "Bad company corrupts good character". The thought behind it is for us to consider the company that we keep because there is an influence upon us and upon our character. Parents of course know this and have watched the effect of both great and not so great company on our kids. Parents definitely lean into this and encourage our kids towards good company because of the effect it has upon them. But this affects us all. We are definitely affected by the company that we keep. I'm speaking these days out of 2 Kings on living faithfully amid spiritual decline. So in a day of spiritual decline, who our company is becomes very important.
Extra reading: 1 Peter 1:13-21
Preacher: Bill Dyck
How does one live faithful to God amid spiritual decline of a city or of a nation? How does that happen? Our world is changing, and we'd probably say that many of the changes aren't positive. I think that we'd say that too causes us concern. And so here in these next few weeks, I want to think through that with you and some of our small groups are going to further unpack it. We'll be thinking through how to live faithful to God amid spiritual decline. And I want to do that by following the life of the prophet Elisha, in 2 Kings. A part of the Old Testament you maybe don't read much. And definitely the backdrop is one of spiritual decline. And so here today I wanna start 2 Kings chapter 2.
Extra reading: 1 Peter 3:8-17
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Today we hear from several people about ways they serve at TAC and then hear Pastor Bill Dyck talk about what's so special about the Church.
"I love hearing those testimonies of people serving in the Church. That's what the church is. The church is Christ but it's people and it's through the very ordinary service and the giftedness of ordinary folks in the church. I want to ask the question, what's so special about the church? I think when that question goes out in society, it's just a laughable question. They just laugh at it. They see nothing special about the church because the church has made mistakes and there have been very dark things in the history of the church even in Canada. What's so special about the church? But God loves the church. He renews it and he doesn't move forward without it."
Extra reading: 1 Peter 2:4-10
Preacher: Bill Dyck
What is it that makes people marvel? In the Marvel movies we see amazing creatures doing all kinds of superhuman things that capture the imagination. What is it that makes you marvel? Like your jaw just drops, and it stops you right there, and fills you with with a sense of amazement? Jesus also spoke of what makes people marvel. I want to do that here today. This is the closure of our summer sermon series where we're talking about the bottom line that matters. We've been walking through our statement of faith. These are the things that we go to the wall for, that we won't be shifted from. Today we are talking about what we believe about things to come. In this Jesus spoke of things that make people wonder. He says, "Don't marvel at this or that". But he also tells us what we should marvel at. I want to read from John 5, the words of Jesus, and take time to talk about, not only what makes people marvel, but what makes people have hope that is just around the corner.
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Extra reading: Daniel 12:1-4
This is the 2nd last sermon in the series "The Bottom Line that Really Matters" where we are going through our denomination's statement of faith point by point, to be renewed and refreshed in the things that we affirm as true and really hold to and care about. I was reading a book by Dallas Willard called The Divine Conspiracy. In it, he talks about how ideas have effects that are not always immediate, that world events ride upon the waters of ideas. He says, "The killing fields of Cambodia came from philosophical discussions in Paris," and, "Despite what we say we believe, we always live up to our true beliefs." What we believe ends up working itself out in the ways we act. We want to align our actions with truths that really matter. So we come to this section called Ecclesiology, i.e. the doctrine of the Church. I titled this sermon "A People Devoted to What, Exactly?" The word "devoted" comes out of our passage in Acts 2.
Extra reading: Exodus 19:3-6
Preacher: Andrew Hubbard
Following our convictions and truths shapes our journey, guiding our choices along our life's path, like an adventure. Our Christian walk is like an adventure too."Pilgrim's Progress" by John Bunyan embodies this idea, depicting characters Christian and Christiana on a journey of faith, encountering challenges where they learn that following God's path is best. This summer we are doing a series called "The Bottom Line that Really Matters", in which we are unpacking our statement of faith step by step. These are convictions we want to chase down, we want them to shape our lives and our journey. In this sermon I will focus on the doctrine of sanctification, which is really about our ongoing walk with God, and I've called it "Why Holiness is Adventurous". We'll be looking at Galatians 5.
Preacher: Andrew Hubbard
Extra reading: Ezekiel 36:24-28
This summer we are doing a series called the Bottom Line that Matters, walking through our statement of faith. This morning, we'll talk about salvation. The point is that the ideas of salvation matters and has traction. I listen to a podcast where the host is a professor who's read a lot of Russian literature. He made an interesting comment, that Russian writers of past - Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov - pushed their ideas so that the characters in the novels actually follow where the ideas lead and live them out, to the point of it becoming a radical thing. Because of this, some Russian works become explosive. In contrast, George Elliott in the novel Middle March said that the good thing about Englishmen is that they have the most radical ideas and yet they come out unscorched. When it comes to living their big ideas out, they pull back and don't want to follow them to the end. When it comes to salvation, we want to be like the Russian authors and get scorched, be imprinted, changed by the things we believe, because they are truth.
Preacher: Andrew Hubbard
Extra reading: Proverbs 8:22-36
Seems like nothing brings a person into sadness and despair like illness. There could be other things, but it ranks right there in the top. A person could be going on just fine and dandy. Everything's just going the way we always dream and hope until a doctor gives some really bad news and our future suddenly becomes uncertain. But nothing renews hope like the possibility of a cure. And if they have the resources, they'll travel to great lengths on planet earth in search of a cure, just even the faintest hope of a cure. But Jesus heals sickness. I want to talk here today about why I believe in divine healing. This summer we're talking about the bottom line that matters, the foundational things in the life of the church. So today we will talk about why we believe in divine healing and why we practice it.
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Extra reading: Exodus 15:22-27
When someone says "what makes you tick", usually they are asking what motivates or interests you. But I want to get at something a bit deeper. When you think about humanity, at what point does humanity thrive? How are we supposed to be? How are we supposed to function, where I'm doing what I should be doing, where I am what I'm supposed to be, where I feel alive and I am in the groove of what I am to be functioning as? What is it that really makes us tick? This summer, we're talking about the bottom line that really matters. We've talked about the truth about God and of Christ and the Holy Spirit and the truth about the Scriptures. Today I want to talk about what is really the doctrine of man, how to think about humanity. The Bible has a lot to say about that. But I want to go right to the very first pages of the Bible, to the creation account in Genesis.
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Extra reading: Colossians 3:1-10
Jeremiah 23: "Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks rock in pieces?" Hebrews 4: "The word of God is living, it's active, it is sharper than any double edged sword piercing to the division of soul and spirit of joints and mouth, discerning the thoughts and the intentions of the heart." Psalm 100 and 19: "The word of God is a lamp to our feet. It's a light to our path." The word of God endures forever. In fact, heaven and earth will pass away, but my word, says the scriptures, will never pass away. It outlasts everything. On this fourth week that we are thinking about the bottom line that matters, I want to talk about why we as a church believe in the Holy Scriptures. I want to read from 2 Timothy.
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Extra reading: Psalm 19
On a long flight, a plane sets a course and doesn't veer much right or left but keeps going straight for many hours. But imagine that the plane sets off on a slightly wrong course. By the end it is in a completely wrong country. This summer we're talking about the bottom line that matters, walking through our church's statement of faith and what Christians hold to. But why does it matter? Sometimes it seems like stuff people who have too much time on their hands argue about. But if we start just a bit off, we end up in a totally wrong destination. Truth matters and I want to talk about why, specifically regarding the Holy Spirit. We believe there's one eternal God who exists in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Like the Father and Son, the Holy Spirit is fully divine: all powerful, knowing everything, present everywhere, etc. He has been given to us and lives within us. I wanna bring three points about why it matters to think right about the Holy Spirit.
Extra reading: Ezekiel 36:22-27
Preacher: Bill Dyck
We're going through a series this summer about our denomination's statement of faith. Some people think these things about theology can be kind of boring. But the things in our doctrinal statement as a church define how God has shown himself to us. We believe that worshiping God correctly makes a big difference on our lives as well as how we think about things, how we process things, how we treat others. But more importantly, we want to glorify God first and foremost because he is good. He is worthy of all praise. It's when we are glorifying God that we are most alive. The first part of our statement of faith as a denomination talks about the Trinity: God the father, God this son, God the Holy Spirit, three persons, one God. Today, I'll be speaking about the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a lot in there and I will be focusing on the truth that Jesus, the eternal Son of God, came to be with us in the flesh: The son of God was fully God and fully man.
Extra reading: Isaiah 42:1-9
Preacher: Andrew Hubbard
On the news we see wars going on - soldiers, tanks, guns. There's another war too that is going on that's much more serious, a war over ideas, systems of thought and truth. It's a deadly battle. I'd like this summer to systematically go through our church's statement of faith. For some, that is exciting, but for others, it brings an immediate yawn. But the truth matters. Recent studies from North America indicate that only half of evangelical pastors hold to a biblical worldview. (Evangelical churches are churches that believe the evangel, the gospel.) Teaching pastors are considerably lower. Children and youth pastors are the lowest, 15% holding to a biblical worldview. Meaning, they are out of sync with what the Bible teaches about sin or salvation, which is the most important thing, and on some points have a different view of God. If to you this seems dusty and irrelevant, I hope that as we walk through this a conviction comes to you that these truth matter.
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Extra reading: 1 Timothy 4
During the summer we often look for a place of rest and rebuilding of our souls. When I grew up on the farm, there were different seasons, but in the city it's always hyper drive. We need different seasons, and summer can provide a bit of a step back. When we think of a safe, rejuvenating place for summer, maybe a certain place comes to mind, a place devoid of certain stresses. Maybe we think of an environment where there aren't certain people and there are certain other ones, because our greatest stress often lies in relationships. And there's merit to all of that. Sometimes we really just need space from the stressful things that we're in, to think different thoughts for a bit. But even though there is merit in that, I think that we can do better when looking for a safe place for summer. I want to reflect on Psalm 91 regarding finding a safe place for summer and apply that to our lives. May God really bring encouragement to your heart.
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Extra reading: Romans 8:31-39
A win, win situation is one where everybody is a winner. When you run a race, or in a tournament, there's only one winner, it's not a win win. But if your boss were to say to you, "from now on, you can do your job from home", it's a win win. The boss somehow feels that the job can still be done, and you can do it all day in your pyjamas. When we choose to be generous, it's a win win. Parents lean into their kids' pricey education, or will help with costly weddings, or do many things at considerable expense to themselves. But they don't consider it a loss, right? They see it as a win, and so do the kids. Or, think of the many people who come to Canada and forego training or advantage that they had in their home country, working atconsiderable disadvantage, all because they want to give their kids a better future. They don't see it as a loss. It's a win win. We'll spend one more Sunday on the theme of generosity, from 2 Corinthians 9.
Extra reading: 1 Kings 17:8-16
Preacher: Bill Dyck
There are certain laws that govern our existence. I haven't thought much about it since I was in University, but there's these four laws of thermodynamics. But whether or not I think about them, they still govern my existence. For example, the law of gravity. I wasn't anxious about it when I woke up this morning, whether when I hit the floor, I would float up to the ceiling. I don't hear many people be anxious about that law, though it's binding upon us and we all feel its effects. There are lots of these laws set in place. There's another called the law of sowing and reaping. Whatever a person sows, they will also reap. An irrefutable law. It's just how things operate unerringly. It's built right into the fabric of creation. As sure as the sun rises and sets, we reap what we sow. I want to talk about this here as it applies to our lives, to our resources and especially regarding how it applies to our finances. Let's turn to Galatians 6.
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Extra reading: Psalm 126
I once travelled to a place where there's not enough power for everyone. They do rotating power outages every day but never at the same time of day. If the power is on, you charge your phone or computer, you run your dishwasher and hope it doesn't stop mid cycle. I've also lived in houses where there's not enough power coming to the house. The lights go dim, the fan slows down. We have the same thing in our lives, only it's not fans or lights that dim. It's way more serious. We know what's asked of us and what we're being called to do but we don't have what it takes. How do we handle that? Today I will talk about why we need to be filled with the Spirit. The Bible says that everyone who trusts is given forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Why is it then that we who have the Spirit need also to be filled with the Spirit? We'll talk out of Acts 4 and at the end spend time in prayer asking God to fill us with his Spirit.
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Extra reading: Ezekiel 36:22-28
We have a lot of desires. In 1 Corinthians, the apostle Paul writes, "Earnestly desire spiritual gifts". Is this desire on our radar? Is this something that we hold in our hearts? How we feel about spiritual gifts can be all over the map. We might not stand in the way but we might not seek them either. Another response is, why bother with what can be the source of such division in the church? Then there are those who really do love the gifts, and desire that they'd be given more. What's interesting is that same passage is written to a church that is experiencing a ton of controversy over them. You'd think that Paul would say "This is a bad idea. Pull back. Let's try a different way forward." Not so! These days we are talking about how to make the most of spiritual gifts. I want to talk about why, though we have already been given spiritual gifts at conversion, we should earnestly desire them - a desire that God means to satisfy.
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Extra reading: Isaiah 61
I was thinking, if you want to really bring hope to a person, start talking about divine healing and pray for them, so that even a measure of the burden of illness or affliction or heaviness is lifted and light comes to the eyes. It is the afflictions that come to our bodies or to our minds that weigh us down so much, and has all through human history. So when Jesus comes and is known as one who heals sicknesses, crowds just gather, they just come from all over the place. And even in our day where there's so much medicine and within a kilometer of our church we have some of the best medical care in the world, yet we're still left with many deficiencies. At the end of the day, we're still reaching out with our burdens and our afflictions to God. And I want here today to take some time to talk about why God heals and why he sometimes doesn't. I hope to strengthen your faith, our faith to come to God. We will read out of Matthew 15.
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Extra reading: 2 Kings 5:1-14
In today's message I want to speak to a few questions we might have: what assignment does God have for me? Not for me, but for each of us. What assignment does God have for us? What's our place in the church? Where do we fit in? Sometimes we wonder about these things and they're practical questions. These days we are talking about how to make the most of our spiritual gifts. When we're talking about spiritual gifts, there's a lot of practical questions that come up. How has God wired me? And in that, what does he have for me? I want to answer by telling a story of how God prepares a person for spiritual responsibility. I want to tell the story of how God took the apostle Paul from where he was to where he wanted to be. We'll start by reading from Acts 9.
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Extra reading: Psalm 15
When doing a task at home, there's usually a tool to make the job easier. For baking, there's measuring cups, mixers, knives, that make the job easier and more precise. For building, there are drills, saws, measuring devices, etc. When the church was born, God distributed to the church lots of tools previously unheard of, to each one who believes. The scriptures call these tools spiritual gifts. The church is a spiritual body. We've never seen our Lord in person, but we know he's real and he is meant to call the shots and be functional Lord in real time in the church and in our lives. So he gives us spiritual tools, distributing them to each one who believes. He gives to us what we need to care for needs within and to do a work in a time and community so that the church prevails and thrives. I want to turn to 1 Corinthians 12, a delightful passage about the body of Christ, and look at how to work with a very different toolbelt.
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Extra reading: Joel 2:28-32
One thing I don't think we ever tire of is getting gifts. We like getting gifts, thoughtful gifts, carefully chosen gifts. We love it. And the greatest gift giver of all is God because his gifts are so, so well chosen, so well suited. His gifts are delightful. When Jesus was raised from the dead and went to heaven, the Father sent his Spirit to live in the hearts of all who would believe him. And he gave gifts to them all and he does it for you. But often we don't understand those gifts, or we're fearful of them, or we don't develop them. But they're gifts meant to assist in a definite work that God has for us. We've been prepared to do good works, and there are works that are prepared for us to do, to step into. And God means to give us his enabling to do his works, so he gives us spiritual gifts. In these weeks leading up to Pentecost, I want to talk about making the most of your spiritual gifts. Today I will go into 1 Peter 4.
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Extra Reading: 1 Samuel 10:1-13
As children, we dared each other to do rather unwise things. Things that were beyond what we felt we had capacity for. It was a means to push a person beyond what they felt comfortable. When it comes to faith in God, when some people come to faith in Jesus, they have been longing for years for an opportunity. But for others the way to faith is fraught with difficulties. Doubts rise, or really complicated aspects of our lives that we have a difficult time working through and working past. Then there are those who've walked with Jesus a long time and then encounter challenges and there's a new batch of doubts. I want to talk today about daring to believe. When Jesus comes to us, he doesn't leave us in our doubts, questions and complications. He meets us and he urges us. Not to do dumb things like you do as a kid, but to know him. He pushes us as he did the disciples after He was raised. I want to talk about daring to believe, out of Luke.
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Extra reading: Job 19:23-27
How does one lean into uncertainty and maybe even unpleasantness with confidence and with joy? On Palm Sunday we celebrate Jesus joyfully entering the city of Jerusalem on the praises of all kinds of people for all they have seen him do and the fresh things they have heard him speak. They're full of joy because they've never experienced anything like it. As Jesus rides in, they are probably thinking, "this is so good, it can't get any better." But Jesus knows that within days things will unravel. Yet he still rides with confidence and joy. The question is, how does he do that, knowing that before the week is through, it will all turn very dark? We will look at that in the last chapter of the book of Daniel where we're talking about God in control. Daniel 12 speaks of the very end of time as humanity knows it. It's our turn to face an evil day. How do we walk into uncertainty, unpleasantness and hardship with confidence and joy?
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Extra reading: 1 Peter 4:12-19
Sometimes you will find small dogs, puny even, weighing maybe 2lbs, that have a massive bark and intimidate deeply. Much bigger dogs back away just at the size of the bark. We too are easily intimidated by things that shouldn't. We don't realize the punch we have as people bound to Christ and the effect our prayers have. We don't realize that the very thing that strikes intimidation in us really ought to be intimidated by us and is in fact. I called this message "A behind-the-scenes look at what happens when you pray". Scripture encourages us to pray and we sometimes feel guilty when we don't. Those who call us to pray have such vision for prayer and see such opportunity. There's nothing that smells of guilt in it, it's just such an opportunity to come and bring before God the things of our life and of his heart that he places upon us. And Daniel 10 paints such a picture of the effectiveness that comes with that.
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Extra reading: Ephesians 6:10-20
Growing up, on the farm immediately adjacent to ours, a man raised and trained racing horses. I would wander to the back of our farm and watch these horses just go around the track he built. He always put blinders on the horses. As a kid I wondered why. Now I see they do it in the big races too and it's probably a good thing for horses because it keeps them focused. But I think we do that when it comes to our relationship with God. God definitely wants to show himself to us in his greatness and majesty. He wants us to know him. But there's things that we do that put blinders on. We're talking about God in control, walking through the book of Daniel. Chapter 9 is a prayer and then a conversation where an angel responds to Daniel's prayer. We see four different ways we make God small in our eyes. But may God grow in our eyes and may we bring practices into our lives that welcome him to reveal himself to us in his majesty, in his fullness.
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Extra reading: Luke 11:1-13
G Campbell Morgan, a great Bible scholar and preacher from generations past, has a book called Great Chapters of the Bible. We like to think any chapter in the Bible is a good chapter, but he picked about two dozen great chapters of the Bible. And he writes this about the letter to the Philippians. "The letter to the Philippians is unique among the writings of Paul in the personal note which runs through it. The letter is one of love and song. From beginning to end full of references to his personal experiences and of exhortations to these children of his love, concerning their experiences. The word sin is not found in the letter, the word flesh only mentioned once in order to be dismissed. There seems to be no ruffle upon the calm and sunlit waters except that there would appear to have been at the same at that time, some little misunderstanding of some kind between two good women, to whom the apostle said, I exhort you to be of the same mind in the Lord."
Preacher: Ron MacKinnon
I wonder what you'd say if you were given the opportunity to see the coming years of the future of the world, right to the very end in detail. I think most of us would probably say "no thanks", a natural reaction. Many folks conjecture about days to come, but there's only one that knows. That's God. And though we're reticent to go down that path, God wants us to know, and he shares his secrets with us and brings us into his council on many things. We're walking through the book of Daniel and as we do God gives wisdom and strength to us to even think about that, so it's good for our hearts to be open to it. The theme of the book of Daniel all the way through, both in the incredible stories of the first six chapters and even in the more complex last six chapters, is always that God is in control. So I want to read chapter 8 and practice finding hope against a dark backdrop.
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Extra reading: Mark 13:24-37
On steep mountain roads they add these runaway ramps. These are are especially for big trucks going down hill in case they lose their brakes. The only way to avoid perishing with all that momentum is to drive up these ramps where the truck gets quickly bogged down in soft gravel and slows them down. When we look at world events, do we feel that way, like a truck going down? Do we wonder whether anyone is in control? The Scriptures that God is in control. We hear this but feel it's a tug of war, God against whatever whatever superpower. Sometimes one wins and sometimes the other. But there's nothing further from the truth. The first six chapters of Daniel are high drama, remarkable stories where God is in control. The next six chapters are prophetic literature, looking through time at things before they have come to us. And still, God is in control. It is good to pause here with so much in our hearts that makes us tremble as we look at Daniel 7.
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Extra reading: Matthew 24:1-14
The goal of an interviewer in a job interview is not to know what you think or hope you can do or what one day with education and experience you will do. They want to know, like right now what can you do? I think we struggle when considering what God is able to do. There's a kids song that goes, "God can do anything, anything, anything, but fail." He can't fail, he can do anything. But when you look in practice at our lives, there's a bit of a disconnect between what we affirm theologically and what we deeply hold to in practice because we get so rattled by things, we have fear and anxiety. But in truth, he's able, he can't fail. I wanted to hone in on something that scripture says he's able to do: God definitely knows how to rescue the godly from trials. He has it in hand the trials, the fires, the curve balls that come and rattle us and knock us down. God is able to rescue. I want to look at the story of Daniel and the lion's den.
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Extra reading: 1 Peter 2:9-12
I want you to think for a minute. What right now is your greatest anxiety? Is it for finances? Maybe your children? Maybe politics? Maybe you're lonely? Are you dealing with mental health or physical health, finances, overwhelm. We certainly have a lot of choice for what we could be very anxious about today, don't we? If you can think of something, well, you're not alone, I sure can think of a lot of things. But as I was preparing this week for the, for this message, I really, really found a lot of peace. Peace from God. Just being able to recognize that God is in control. He is in control and we can have peace even with these real problems and great anxieties that he is in control. So my hope and prayer for you today is that you would find that peace, that you would be taught by God and find that peace.
Preacher: Leslie Shillinglaw
Extra reading: Ephesians 5:14-17
What do you know about bulldogs? They have short stubby legs, they go back and forth, they're built like a rock, they've got funny scrunched up faces and they're unmistakable. But what bulldogs are known for in particular is their tenacity and courage. It's like they know no fear and when they latch onto something, they don't let go. I was thinking about that when it comes to faith. To have a bulldog kind of a faith is desirable to God and it's desirable for us. I want to unpack that from a story in the New Testament where Jesus encounters a Gentile woman coming to him for healing. I wanna talk about divine healing and I want to talk about coming to God with the things that are on our heart and our life, personal things, maybe things for loved ones. This woman doesn't even come for her own stuff. She's asking for grace for her child. So we'll talk about how to come to God like that with tenacity.
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Extra reading: Exodus 15:22-27
God loves people too much to leave them in their state. That's true with all of us. What great things God will do to win a person. The Bible says that nothing is impossible with God. But maybe what seems most impossible is that people set in their ways, people quite close to us, who give God no time of day, would ever repent and turn and yield themselves fully before God and give him glory. Maybe because when we look at their lives we see the things that God has shown them or done for them, but there seems to be so little movement. If there's movement often it's the other direction and it discourages us. But today's story out of the Book of Daniel is a story of a man that I think will strengthen your faith because if anyone has ever been beyond hope it's Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, who had all earthly power and authority. And it's a story of his conversion. May God really encourage our hearts and strengthen our faith.
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Extra reading: Revelation 4
We say God is in control and so we should, because the Bible shows clearly that God sets the direction for something, he says it in advance and he goes about accomplishing it. Even in the present day. But sometimes our faith gets rattled because we look at the news or our own personal lives, and we read between the lines and andother mantra seems to takes over. But I think we're looking at the wrong things. Today I want to ask you, how do you know that God is in control? What are the markers that you look at? Sometimes we look at things that really say nothing about that topic, but we give them weight. We're walking through the book of Daniel in a series called God in Control, a fair title for what Daniel is trying to communicate through the book. I want to look at this story today where all of that comes center stage, where the backdrop is supercharged with self-will and a lot of evil, yet God is in control. Daniel 3.
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Extra reading: Romans 8:31-39
I wanna talk today about how to have power with God. Power generally is a very desirable thing here on Earth. People scramble after it. And we need it because we feel weakness and dependence in practically everything we do. We need power from God. But power is a tricky thing because as much as people hanker after power it can be very destructive. We see it in the news, reminders of the destructive nature of power. So the world is intent on pursuing greatness and power and we find it in our own hearts - not enough to have a great job and satisfying work. We want to be at the top of the heap. One of the delightful things about children (usually) is how they play together unbothered with figuring out who's at the top of the heap. But there's something in our hearts that desires to be more than we were created to be and that's the destructive nature of power. But we need power from God and God gives us his power in our need.
Preacher: Bill Dyck
I think current events make people feel a lot of uncertainty. It can manifest as anger or despair; I definitely hear of fear which goes further into emotional struggles, where there are tremors in our soul. Even still we say that God is in control, and so we should, because he is in control. He's working things according to his purposes and plan as Scripture says. He's always been doing that and he continues even to the present. Whether or not we believe it matters a lot. In these coming weeks, I want to preach through the book of Daniel. The message of this book realy is that God is in control. He has foreknowledge of all kinds of forces that dominate the Earth and he works things after the counsel of his will. He watches over you also, he watches over each one of us. And so, as we walk through the book of Daniel, it's really a message of encouragement and hope. I'll begin today in Daniel 1.
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Extra reading: Hebrews 10:19-25
I'm going to say a phrase and I want you to take note of the first thing that comes to mind. What do you think of when you think of God as your father? What is the first thing that comes to your mind? In our advent series this year we have been going through what is in a name and specifically what is in the names that were given to Jesus when he was prophesied years and years and years before what we call that first Christmas when he came to earth. We've talked about how Jesus is called Wonderful Counselor, and Jesus called Almighty God, and today we'll talk about how Jesus is called Everlasting Father. So let's read Isaiah 9:2-7.
Preacher: Leslie Shillinglaw
Advent reading: John 1:1-18
What's in a name. The more we know a person, their name becomes rich, multicolored, multi-faceted. When the name comes up, it evokes many memories, thoughts. I've been married to my wife many years. When I hear her name, immediately I have thoughts that make me smile or laugh straight out, some evoke admiration and gratitude. Even our differences have given way to richness. All that right within a name. I could say, "My wife is Donna". But her name means so much more. How much more with God, the longer we walk with him, the more we put colour to his name. Through experience he fills his name with meaning. In advent we're walking through Isaiah 9 which anticipates the Messiah. It could have said, the name of the child to be born is God. Even that would have been incredible. But it says even more. That his name will be Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. What's in a name--so much is in a name. Today we'll unpack the second of those four names: Mighty God.
Preacher: Bill Dyck
Advent reading: Luke 1:46-56
What's in a name?" In Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet", Juliet is separated from Romeo because of a blood feud and he bears the wrong family name. In her mind, if he had a different name, he'd be the same person but the wall separating them would be gone. "What's in a name" - the name is nothing. But in the Christmas story, for the person of the Christ, the name is everything. During advent, I want to walk through this piece in Isaiah 9 where he says this child will be known by four names. Each describes a different piece of his activity, how he saves, what he is to those who look to him. Each reflects his heart. None are interchangeable or optional. His name, he says, will be Wonderful Counselor. His name will be Mighty God. His name will be Everlasting Father and his name will be Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. What's in a name? You come to the Christ, the name is everything.
Advent reading: Luke 1:26-38
Preacher: Bill Dyck
We've been walking through Ephesians in this sermon series called "God's playbook for his purposes on Earth". And today we're right at the end. We should be doing Advent sermons, that's what I really want to be hearing from the front at this time of the year. But we're gonna finish off our series and it's a longer advent season this year anyway. We're in Ephesians 6. This famous spiritual warfare passage is where we'll be resting in this morning. Ephesians 6:10-20. And then there are a few verses after that as well.
Extra reading: Genesis 3:14-15
Preacher: Andrew Hubbard