Every Nation GTA: Recent Episodes
Every Nation GTA
Every Nation Greater Toronto Area is a church in the heart of downtown Toronto. Together we are encountering the unconditional love of God, finding purpose and following the call.
Guest speaker Matt Naismith continues our series by exploring what is at the root of our feelings towards God. With practical tools, Matt encourages us to separate truth from lies, go deeper into our emotions, and to trust in the Lord.
Using the story of the Good Samaritan, this message shares a real-time example of how our church is practically doing this through refugee sponsorship, and challenges as to “go and do likewise” in extending love and mercy to those in need.
Using the story of Joseph, Sheila explore what faithfulness looks like in the face of life’s challenges and when God seems to be unfair.
In our modern age, we can easily lose patience with God’s timing. In this sermon, Pastor Richard explores what time looks like in the scriptures, and what we can do in times when God seems slow.
What do you do when God seems silent? Pastor Richard opens this new Lent series that asks tough questions of faith, encouraging us to seek a greater perspective when we feel God is silent.
Guest speaker and Every Nation Campus USA national director gives us a word about what it means to truly believe in God. By looking at the faith of Abraham and Ernie’s personal testimony, we see that following God requires surrender and sacrifice for His glory alone.
Pastor Richard closes out our series RESOLVED by looking at the call of Jesus – both an invitation and a challenge. How will you encourage people in their next step towards Christ?
Growing the kingdom of God requires us to be connected, both upwardly with God and outwardly with others. Pastor Bert encourages us to be a connecting people in this 4th sermon in our RESOLVED series.
Sheila continues our sermon series that refocuses on the priorities and practices that undergird making our church’s vision a reality. This week, we take a look at what it means to practically bless others.
Jesus’ ministry involves many examples of eating – teaching and forming connection around a table. Richard explore how can we use food and hospitality for the Kingdom.
Sheila introduces our week of prayer, fasting, and consecration by exploring what fasting is really all about, and giving some practical tips.
The story of Christmas reminds us of different names given to Jesus. Sheila explores how the name Immanuel gives hope, peace, and good cheer as we hold on to the promise that God is with us.
‘Authentic’ is the word of the year of 2023. What does it mean to believe in the authentic Christmas? Pastor Richard shows us how the ‘down to earth’ details of the birth of Christ reveal God’s love.
Guest speaker Olaf Luna encourages EN GTA with a word from Philippians. Paul, who wrote the most joyful letter while in prison, teaches us to face forward in our faith journey.
Using everyday elements, salt and light, Jesus helps us understand how he wants us to be a certain way within the world. This message wraps up our series by looking at the paradigm, posture and practice of being salt + light today.
Throughout the Bible, God’s people are instructed to love their neighbours, despite how different they may be. In this sermon, Sheila explore what this Greatest Commandment means for us today.
What did Jesus mean when he instructed his followers to “go and make disciples of all nations”? In this message, we explore The Great Commission and what it means to live it out in our day-to-day.
In a world full of bad news, what would be good news? This sermon explores different ways the good news is revealed in the Bible, and how our modern conceptions may have the wrong emphasis.
Pastor Richard kicks off our new series, Salt + Light, which explores Jesus’ inspirational and challenging call to be an influence for good within our world. This week, we look at the wider arc of the Bible’s narrative and how it shapes our lives.
This Sunday we wrapped up our series in the profound book of Ecclesiastes by exploring how certainty can become an idol. The ‘Teacher’ of Ecclesiastes reminds us that true wisdom and absolute certainty eludes us, reminding us to take bold steps of faith and trust in God instead.
This week, we highlight one of the main session speakers at our recent Every Nation GO Conference held in Cape Town, SA. Aoife Keegan is the current Director for Every Nation Campus Europe and is based in Dublin, Ireland.
In this series break, Pastor Tristan shares how we can better hear God’s voice. Like sheep who recognize their shepherd’s voice, we need to learn to recognize how our Good Shepherd is guiding and speaking to us.
To live well, some believe accumulating experiences like travel, romance, and pleasure is key. And the more we’re aware of the experiences we’re missing out on the less great life feels. But, even if we could have everything we wanted, we’d still feel unfulfilled. So, what does it mean to live well? This message tackles that question.
Do we really get what we deserve? In this instalment of our Ecclesiastes series, Pastor Richard delves into the topic of merit versus grace. The wisdom from this book challenges conventional beliefs about justice, and highlights the overwhelming significance of God’s grace in our lives.
Considering that we will spend about one-third of our lives working, Ecclesiastes brilliantly captures the toil and joy, highs and lows that we all experience in our work and life. So, what’s the point of work and why should it matter?
Is it possible to find true meaning in our lives? Dr. Lucas Maciel opens our series on the book of Ecclesiastes by giving the keys to understanding the book despite its uniquely challenging ideas.
Guest speaker and friend of ENGTA Pastor Gabe Bouch shares a compelling word on why we should embrace the university and college campus. The opening text is from the book of Daniel. Pastor Gabe concludes with some present-day examples of what can happen when young people on the campus are reached.
In today’s culture where loneliness has become an epidemic, this message explores the biblical idea that humans are meant to be in relationships and that the church is a community of individuals who share their lives with each other around Jesus.
What does it mean to flourish? Pastor Richard concludes our series in Psalm 23, which invites us on the journey toward flourishing, toward home, and ultimately toward God.
In this part of Psalm 23, we unpack the meaning of the table, oil and cup which are images of how God actually sustains us in the middle of even our greatest challenges.
Pastor Bert Thomson speaks candidly on the foundation, levels, and results of giving in this break from our summer series.
This week, Pastor Richard Kidger speaks on one of the most recognized Bible verses, Psalm 23:4, exploring how we can come to a place of trust with our Shepherd when walking through the valley of the shadow of death.
Sheila Thomson continues our summer series in Psalm 23, Restore My Soul. The analogy of Jesus followers being like sheep gives insight into Gods shepherd-like guidance. How is He guiding you?
As Blaise Pascal famously stated, there is a god-shaped vacuum in each one of us that drives us to fill it. We can look to any number of good things to fill it. Yet, as we see in this Psalm, God has made provision for us to experience the deep contentment our soul longs for.
As we kick off our series in Ps 23, we look at the first verses bold declaration I shall not want. Yet, to be content within our circumstances requires our contentment to be based upon something independent of our circumstances.
As we wrap up season 3 of Unstoppable, we look at the significance of Paul’s final words at the end of his last missionary journey.
Continuing in our series in Acts, we follow Pauls missionary journey in Greece, confronting idolatry.
Have you noticed that were very much a hero-oriented culture through the movies, celebrities and influencers were fixated on? In this message, we focus on some unsung heroes of the life and success of the early church.
Dr. Lucas Maciel continues our series in Acts by diving into the teaching of Paul in Athens, where he addresses the crowd in a unique, contextualized way.
Like the Apostle Paul, we experience times of disorientation and distress at being in a particular place. In this message, we discover 4 crucial ways God provides staying power in a place or situation that is difficult.
Throughout Acts, God draws together a diverse group of people to build his church and to fulfill the directive of Jesus to take his good news into all the world. In this message from Acts 16, we see the Gospel is for everyone: men and women, rich and poor, young and old.
Some conflict is unavoidable and some things are worth fighting for. As the early church grows in its diversity, a core question arises: what makes and distinguishes a Christian? The answer will have radical ramifications.
Worship is less about liturgy and more about looking—who/what is the object of our focus, admiration, and love? In this sense, we can worship almost anything or anyone. In this message, we explore the human inclination to worship, and how it often leads us astray.
As we kick off the third season of the Unstoppable series, we witness the gospel transforming a diverse and global movement of followers of Jesus. We have been invited to actively participate in this movement, rather than spectate from the sidelines.
Guest Pastor Matt Naismith brings a special word of encouragement for our 10th Anniversary celebration service.
As we celebrate our churchs 10th anniversary this month, we join our pastoral team in a conversation about the dream that brought them to Toronto, and the kind of church they envision ENGTA to be.
Palm Sunday marks the beginning of the final week of Jesus public ministry. The expectation around Jesus is high and hes at the height of his popularity. So what Jesus does next is unexpected but necessary if we are to have proper expectations of him.
Life is hard. Evil is real. Does God care? Life is full of these tensions and in Psalm 130, we see this tension in both the honesty of our lived reality and the reality of God. How we reconcile those two realities is key to living purposefully with contentment in our lives.
What makes for a good life? As relevant as that question is today, in this message we explore the answer from an ancient prophet, Micah, that has clear relevance to us today.
We are creatures of desire, and so we must seek full fulfillment for our longings in the right place. In Psalm 63, the psalmist’s tough situation reveals his deep longing for God and it’s captured by two seemingly opposite images that are key to understanding our longings.
Sheila Thomson continues our Lent series by diving into Psalm 32, looking at how we are led to return to God (repentance). The Psalmist gives us a picture of the good life and the honest life, plus some good advice.
The Lenten season commemorates the time of testing Jesus experienced in the wilderness and that is where we begin in this message. Through Jesus’ experience, we are given a masterclass on the nature of temptation and its appeal to our primal impulses, and how to resist pursuing legitimate needs through illegitimate ways.
This past Sunday we had a special guest Pavlo Lozynsky from Lviv, Ukraine share his “follow the call” story which resulted in his returning from Canada to his homeland. His church and ministry are now actively helping victims of war with practical needs and sharing the good news of the Gospel.
If you wear glasses you know the immediate difficultly you experience if you have lost them. Or similarly, if you have an out of date prescription the problem you have seeing clearly. But if you were born blind and then you are suddenly able to see, what would that be like? In this message, we look at the miracle of Jesus healing the blind man and the various responses that people had to this dramatic sign.
Life is filled with storms: financial, physical, emotional, spiritual, personal, global. Storms can blind our perspective and make us afraid. Yet, in this miraculous encounter with Jesus , we are reminded that although storms are inevitable, Jesus is Lord over the storm and is able to take us through the storm, whilst using the storm for our good.
Maybe you’ve read or heard this story. One of the things we see as we encounter this miracle is God’s ability to provide miraculously – multiplying a little & turning it into plenty. We see that when we bring something seemingly small to offer him, he can turn it into so much more.
Jesus’ encounter and miraculous healing of a man who’d been lame for 38 years reveals much about how God loves us, and what we need if we too want to be made well.
In our Western culture, we place a lot of faith in rationality, science and technology. Yet, for all the tremendous benefit they bring, the state of our world testifies that many problems are beyond our fixing. In this encounter with Jesus, we see the progression of the official’s faith as he encounters his own hopeless situation.
Perhaps one of the more well-known of Jesus miracles, it is intriguing that turning water into wine at a wedding in the small town of Cana is where Jesus chose to perform his first miracle. But it is packed with relevance for us today.
In our final in person service for the year we light the fourth advent candle: the candle of love, sing Christmas Carols and Sheila Thomson shares Part 2 of our Christmas series Light in the Darkness. Jacob Moon also performs his original song Emmanuel.
This is literally a dark time of year with days shorter and nights longer in the winter months. Emotionally, many people struggle with the ‘winter blues.’ Despite our advances as a society, our world still feels very dark. Scripture reveals that Christmas is about light breaking into darkness. The Christmas message acknowledges the darkness of our times, but in doing so, emphasizes the light and our yearning for it.
Self-control is a virtue that can refer both to the strength to refrain from doing something that we shouldn’t, but also to the strength of stepping up and acting when we should. In this final message in our Counterculture series, we look at how Christ makes self-control a very real possibility for us in regards to our desires and things we do.
We can often over-value characteristics like strength, toughness and self-confidence, and see gentleness as weakness or timidity. Yet Jesus, despite his obvious power and status, describes himself as gentle and humble. This is what makes gentleness so countercultural in an oftentimes harsh world.
We’ve all felt the disappointment as we’ve witnessed political, business, sports or religious leaders “sell out” their core values and beliefs in compromise. Yet, if we’re honest, we’re guilty of compromise too. In this message, we look at the virtue of faithfulness as an expression of our love for God and others: what does it mean and how do we practice it in our daily lives?
When we are kind to others, what is our motive? Often we are kind not for the pure motive of helping an other, but so that we feel better about ourselves. But that is not the way God has shown His kindness to us. In this message we look at what it takes to really be kind and practical ways we can express that pure type of kindness to others.
In this message, guest speaker Gabe Bouch reminds us we cannot do what God has called us to do without the power of the Holy Spirit. So, how do we cooperate with the Holy Spirit?
Impatience is on the rise and it seems to bring out the worst in us. Resentment is often a signal of unmet expectation. In this message, we look at 4 ways Scripture talks about patience and how we can become more patient with others and within our circumstances.
Though worry and anxiety are nothing new, in the past few years they seem to be on the rise in Canada and around the world. God’s desire for us is that we would cast our cares on Him. So how do we live like this? How does peace grow and flourish in our lives?
As we continue in our Counterculture series, we look at the virtue of joy being the disposition or inclination to see things from God’s perspective, and a weapon to combat despair.
When Gods Spirit is active in our lives we can produce wonder attributes called the fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness and self control. However, there is always a battle between other desires. In this message we look at how the fruit of love can overcome fear.
As we kick off our Fall teaching series, we dive deep into the countercultural way of life Jesus invites us into towards a life of true freedom, fulfillment and flourishing, the result of which bears fruit of God’s transforming power in us.
As we close out our REAL HOPE series, we look at the close and vital relationship between faith, hope & love as well as what the key is to growing in them despite tough times.
We all have some sort of issue facing us that seems unsurmountable -whether a health diagnosis, a relational family conflict, a workplace obstacle or perhaps a financial crisis. What do we do in the face of such real life challenges? In this message Pastor Bomi Roberson offers an inspiriting direct biblical response to give us real hope.
What do you do when life hits you hard and leaves you struggling? None of us is exempt from struggle or pain in our lives. But we don’t need to walk alone. There is real comfort for your journey and real hope to be found in the world. In this message, we kick off a short series on hope: discovering real hope for the real world.
Guest speaker Pastor Jon Owens from City of Lights church in Indianapolis brings this encouraging word on how God reveals Himself, meets our deepest needs, transforms us and then send us to help others.
As we close our summer series on the church, we turn to the words of Jesus specifically, and what he had to say about the church he would build.
In this message on the practices of the early church we look at their devotion to prayer. Praying together - i.e., communal prayer - builds disciples, builds community, and builds unity.
As we continue in our series looking at what the early church was devoted to we see that day by day people were being added to the church. What made this group of followers of Jesus so attractive that people were willing to join even in the midst of severe persecution? What can we learn in our current context about how to have a winsome witness to those around us?
The early church was devoted to not only preach the gospel but to demonstrate it through practical ministry. The combination of preaching and demonstrating made an impact that even the Roman empire could not resist. In this message we look at three dimensions of sacrificial service that we can carry out today.
From the earliest days of the church, the practice of gathering together regularly for worship became a cornerstone of Christianity. In some nations today, the church gathering is declared illegal. Here in the West with our religious freedom, we dont face that threat and yet we see weekly worship decline steadily. What do we stand to lose if we dont see this as an important practice to build into our weekly rhythm?
In an age of increasing distraction, it becomes more important we devote ourselves to that which is good and true. In this message we look at the early churchs devotion to the words and teachings of Jesus in the hopes we too would devote ourselves to this practice.
How many friends can you really have? In this message we look into the deep relationships that the early church shared with one another. Even Jesus had levels of relationships and we all need to understand these levels to thrive and flourish in life.
Devotion is a powerful act and what we devote ourselves to has a transforming affect on us. You could say, you become what you devoted yourself to, love or worship. In this first message in our summer series, ekklesia, we look at what the early church devoted themselves to then in order to consider what the church should devote herself to now.
Its amazing what can happen when the right person is in the right place at the right time serving the right purpose. This divine placement was evident in the Antioch church and went on to change the known world. What is your divine placement?
Despite Jesus being very clear to his followers that he wanted the gospel to go into every culture and to all people groups, the early church was still almost exclusively Jewish. That’s why this story of the conversion of Cornelius and his household is so significant and a turning point, not just for Cornelius, but the entire mission of Jesus.
Is anyone beyond the reach of God? In this message we look at the amazing transformation of Saul who was a persecutor of the early Christians. His story reminds us to never quit on people because God can reach and transform anyone.
As the Gospel continues to spread, the Spirit orchestrates an unlikely encounter that will transform the life of a man and take the Word of God to the ends of the earth.
The church scattered becomes the church on mission. Opposition leads to opportunity as God uses disruption to mobilize the entire church, not just a handful and the result is the movement of the gospel to new places and people.
After a great start for the early church, Acts 8 records the devastation a certain Pharisee called Saul wreaks on the church in the wake of Stephen’s execution. Will this persecution and scattering stop the message and mission of the church? How does the church react?
As we continue in our Moving Forward series as we regather and relaunch as a church, we look at the ways God has and will sustain, strengthen and support us despite whats happening around us.
After looking at all Jesus accomplished on the cross over the past 5 weeks, we now look at the importance of getting this message out to the world. This week we look candidly at what hinders us from sharing this message of good news to those around us.
Crucifixion was scandalous and certainly not associated with anything celebratory or victorious for the victim. And yet, the early Christians came to see Christ crucified as the ultimate victory of God. How? For who? And what does it mean for us?
In part 3 of our sermon series on Mental & Emotional Health we look at how our past has profoundly shaped our present (for good and bad), but it does not have to determine our future. God invites us to rewrite our story that aligns more with his redemptive truth and grace made available to us through Jesus. Checkout some helpful resources as part of this My Story series here.
In part two of our annual sermon series on mental and emotional health we look at how the broken story that we view others and the world with causes us emotional pain. The inner story in childhood that once helped us, now hinders. But there is hope as we move towards a truer story based on the reality of God’s world and Christ’s work – yes a world with brokenness – but also one of redemption and hope! Checkout some
Each year we do a sermon series specifically focusing on mental health. This year our theme is My Story. To grow emotionally and spiritually we must see, own and then allow God to rewrite our story.
As Jesus prays for his followers—both current and future—he references the hostility of the world towards his mission and message and therefore all who align themselves with it. So, what are we to make of “the world” Jesus refers to and how does he want us to engage it?
Jesus said that if we abide in Him we will bear much fruit. But what does it mean to live a fruitful life? And what does it look like practically to abide in the vine? In this message we look at four types of fruit and three postures we need to take to produce the life we all are looking for – not to mention – the life God wants for us!
Jesus’ words, “The truth will set you free” are popular and quoted today from presidential speeches, movies, university mottos to parents desperate to get their kids to confess! But what did Jesus mean by this phrase? In this message, we look at how Jesus both challenges and fulfills our modern desire for Truth & Freedom.
In this message we look the impact of seeing and experiencing Jesus as the bread of life. This bread is both the word and work of God which leads us to discover for ourselves what it practically looks like in every day life.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. A bold statement by Jesus for sure! In this first message in our ABIDE series, we look at the life Jesus offers us and what we must do to obtain it.
Christmas is both a major holy and secular holiday celebrated in different ways and, therefore, immersing us in different stories around Christmas. The tradition of remembering and celebrating the Christmas story every year is meant to remind us to be immersed in this particular story of Jesus and all its implications. And the 3rd gift presented by the wise men—myrrh—helps us do just that.
What do you need from God this Advent season? In this message, we begin by examining our own hearts to identify our need then look expectantly to the promises brought by our great King!
As we close our series on the Beatitudes, Jesus brings it to a sobering conclusion: as followers of Jesus, we should expect persecution, but He also invites us to respond in a radically different way through rejoicing and gladness.
At a time when Jesus’ fame and popularity were growing, and, in a world similar to ours that was rife with violence, injustice and hardship, Jesus introduces the idea of God’s peace as revolutionary action. So what exactly does it mean to be a peacemaker?
In a time when only the ritually clean could approach the presence of God in the Temple, Jesus said that it is those of a pure heart that will get to see him. Join us as we unpack what Jesus meant by purity of heart and how it helps us uncover, analyze, and redirect our loves.
In a world where mistakes are swiftly punished, and goodwill is only for the worthy, grace and mercy are an absolute necessity. – Judy Ponio In this message, we unpack what Jesus says with regard to the merciful.
Can your life be so transformed that even your inner desires change for the better? What drives unhealthy behaviour is not lack of knowledge but distorted desires. Jesus said that happy are those who hunger and thirst after the right things - they will be satisfied! This message looks at the 3rd beatitude from Jesus most famous sermon.
The Blessed/Happy Life offered by Jesus in The Beatitudes is the life of true flourishing meant for us as humans. But it comes to us in such a counter-cultural way, we often struggle to truly believe or align our lives with what Jesus says. It was the same struggle for Jesus original audience as it is for us today: What do you mean the meek inherit the earth?!
Jesus gave this amazing statement that blessed or happy are those who mourn. It seems rather counter intuitive, but digging deeper into the concept proves that until we actually feel the brokenness of the world and our own lives can we receive the comfort that only He can offer.
A season of crisis, change or transition can be exhausting. But it is also in these times where the core foundation and beliefs of our lives get exposed, for better or worse. It is in these pressure moments that we truly see what we hold fast to in terms of our hope. The question is, is our hope substantive enough to see us through?
How do you keep going in difficult times? What are the essential things that become important in persevering through ongoing adversity? In this message, we answer these questions and more as we consider the ongoing disruption and uncertainty in our world right now.
In his final moments before going to the cross, Jesus prayed for his followers and, specifically, for their unity. In this message Dihan Lee, lead pastor at Renew Church LA, exhorts us to desire the kind of unity Jesus demonstrated and prayed so earnestly for.
Jesus, arguably the world’s most historically influential figure, had a clear message: life is about loving God and loving others. In this message, guest speaker Matt Johnson unpacks for us in more detail the message of Jesus.
What does it take to have the depth of character to withstand anything life throws at us? In this poignant message, Pastor Siviwe shares from Scripture two key attitudes we must have in balance to not only withstand lifes challenges but to even thrive!
Guest speaker Carrie Stephens brings us this comforting and challenging word from Psalm 46. Do we really understand that God is for us, loves us and wants to move on our behalf even in the middle of great challenges? This message gets to the heart of the issue with Scriptural clarity as well as personal examples.
How can trials and difficulties in life make us better people? In this message we look into the secret blessings that trials can bring if we understand how God uses these times in our lives for our ultimate good.
This sermon explores the trajectory from our real need to Gods answer. Based upon Psalm 3 - which is one of King Davids songs - we see how David was both honest with where he was at, but also trusting God to take him to where he needed to be.
Love may start with a spark but requires much more. True love grows over time and the journey to love fully never ends. In this message, we look at the core motivation for all follows of Jesus and present the invitation of love to all.
The book of Psalms are prayers and songs that express and cover every human emotion we experience. In this message, we explore how to process the feelings and longings of our heart when it seems God is not hearing and answering our prayers.
In this special message we look at the role of nations in our world from a biblical vantage point. What perspective should we have as we consider Canada in both it’s strengths and weaknesses? At the end, Chief Kenny Blacksmith shares some thoughts and then prays for our nation in both his mother tongue of Cree and in English.
Stephen is the first Christian martyr for his faithful witness to Jesus. Whilst Christian persecution & martyrdom is very much real in our world today, for us the question is: what are we living and dying for? Are we prepared to live for Jesus?
As the early church grows both in number and power, the external attacks shift to attacks from within. Through the difficult story of Ananias and Sapphira, this message highlights three wars within we will face whether individually or as a church community as we seek to follow Jesus in our time.
As we slowly emerge from this pandemic, our resilience will continue to be tested--our ability to recover quickly from adversity. In this message, we see 5 marks of a resilient church as modelled by the early church as they faced their own adversity.
After a great start to early church life, Acts 4 marks a turn towards opposition, hostility and persecution towards the church. So what are we to think about experiencing opposition for ones beliefs? This message looks at the relationship between facing opposition and following Jesus in our cultural context.
The manifestation of the Holy Spirits power in the early church was undeniable. The ministry of Jesus to establish His Kingdom on earth continued mightily through the early Christians. It was not their own wisdom or even commitment that made the difference, rather it was preaching of the Gospel accompanied with signs, wonders and miracles. In this message we look at the promise from Jesus to all who follow Him that we too can be baptized with the Holy Spirit in our day to carry on His kingdom work.
We know the power of word of mouth. Weve experienced family & friends excitement at sharing their latest book, movie, experience, or whatever, with us. So when it comes to sharing the gospel with others, why do we often find it awkward or intimidating? In this message, guest speaker Shino Prater encourages us from the book of Acts to pursue unstoppable evangelism.
In this first miracle documented in the early church, we see precedence for how Jesus wants to move in the lives of people. Note how this miracle occurs in the ordinariness of everyday life. What can we learn from it?
This sermon deals with how the first church operated practically – not just ideas but their daily practices. God calls us to these same practices in our day – and if we do, we can experience the same presence and power of God that the early church did. This is our shot!
Beginnings are important. How we start a journey, for example, sets the journeys trajectory. In the first Christian sermon in 30AD, Peter starts the Christian movement by providing a beautiful and clear summary of what it means to be a Christian and what Jesus calls us to do to follow Him.
In the beginning God raised Jesus from the dead. And that event changes everything. The book of Acts is a crucial part of this new story, a continuation of the life and mission of Jesus now unleashed by His Spirit through His Church. Todays message looks at the significance of Pentecost and what it meant for Jesus earliest followers, and what it means for us today.
The story of Jesus does not end with his ascension to heaven. Luke, the writer of the gospel bearing his name and the writer of the book of Acts begins Acts by stating that in his first book he recounted all that Jesus “began to do” inferring that He was not done yet! Jesus’ work continues in the lives of those who believe in and follow him in the power of the Holy Spirit. We are not invited as spectators
Theres something about undercover stories that fascinate us: greatness, fame or talent going unrecognized. The newly risen Jesus showing up unrecognized on the road with two disciples has to be the greatest of all undercover stories. So what are we to take away from this resurrection encounter?
In this last part of The Way of the Wilderness, we look at Jesus’ encounter in the wilderness. Luke tells us Jesus was led into the Wilderness by the Holy Spirit: Why? What happened there? And what does this have to do with us?
In the Biblical account, it was not only the nation of Israel that learned invaluable lessons in the wilderness. This week we look at the work God did in the life of John the Baptist as he willingly entered into the seclusion of the wilderness. What did he learn there and how can we likewise learn during our season of wilderness?
In times of disruption and transition we may long for certainty. But in the absence of certainty, we need clarity - a divine perspective on how to see and interpret things. In todays message, we see the wisdom and grace of God towards Elijah as he struggles with his own distorted views of God, himself and his life circumstances.
We begin a new series by looking at how God uses the way of the wilderness to do some of his deepest work in us. The wilderness metaphorically speaks of those times that are uncomfortable, we feel tested to our limits and not in control of all that’s happening to us. So whats the point of the wilderness?
We tend to emphasize the intellectual and physical parts of our being and neglect the emotional. We were trained to mask our feelings rather than honour them. This last message in the 2021 Lets Talk series deals with processing our emotions and discovering the great benefits of a healthy emotional life.
As our world continues to experience the abnormal situation brought on by a global pandemic, our emotional responses of anxiety and stress are completely normal.. In this message, guest speaker Ps Keith Tower points us toward a better way of dealing with our emotions and finding true peace in stressful times.
In this season of unprecedented uncertainty and tension, were reminded that God is near to the brokenhearted. Jesus brings gladness, hope, and comfort that we can be strong and flourish.
In this first message in our annual series around mental health, we look at the relationship between spirituality and self-care: emotionally, mentally and physically.
Whats God like, really? How do we even begin to answer this trying to describe the infinite, the transcendent? And yet, the story of scripture is one in which God delights to make himself known to us. As we conclude this series, we dive in to a dramatic encounter that divulges a clear picture of what God is like, really.
A fundamental human need is to be seen and known. And yet, more often and not, we feel the disconnect of not being fully seen or known. In today’s message, we revisit a famous encounter between God and Abraham in which we are introduced to the “God Who Sees and Provides” for us in ways no-one else can.
What’s in a name? Today when naming a child we consider whether it’s in fashion or perhaps it’s a family name, – but when God reveals His name, He is revealing an important dimension of Himself. Today, we look at the story behind God revealing Himself as El Roi, the Lord Who Sees.
God wants the posture of our hearts to be one of peace. This kind of peace is not just the absence of conflict or hardship in our lives, but more about the presence of something bigger in our lives that leads us to courageous acts of worship, trust and obedience. In this message, we learn these insights and more from Gideon’s encounter with God’s peace in a dark time of his life.
One of the ways to understand our awesome God is to look into the meaning of His names as revealed in Scripture. In this message, we look at God’s encounter with Moses in the burning bush. This was the first time God revealed Himself personally as Jehovah. God not only revealed His name – but His essence as the great I AM – the only eternal, unchanging, self-sufficient God. The faithful God who keeps His promises and who calls us to join His redemptive mission.