We have entered through death into life. We call Good Friday good, because it truly is. Even with all the suffering that Jesus endures, even with the utter abandonment that He experienced, even with the horrendous way he dies, even though he is innocent of any crime - it is still a good day.

Jesus was tortured and killed on that cross because he chose to. He loves us so much, he desires a relationship with us, he wants to change us into people that can receive God's love and kingdom so much that he was willing to endure the worst torture humanity could devise - so that we might die with him and be transformed into his life.

There were those who hurled abuses at Jesus on the cross, saying "you who said tear down this temple and I will build it up in three days, save yourself" or "Come down off of that cross and then we will believe". Jesus did exactly these things. He answered their ridicules, he lived into their mock praise and he became the King lifted up, but it was by our sin. He showed Himself to be the suffering servant, the truly worthy king that does it all so that we could go with him, become like him and share in the glory that his work achieved. We too can enter through his death into an eternal and glorious life.

You might not realize it, but we are creatures of worship. We are constantly in the practice of lifting up things with our words, our time, and our energy, even if that thing we are lifting up is ourselves, or something really important to us. We are constantly consuming things, whether that is food, or media, or presence. Yet, none of these things in the world can truly fill us or live up to what we are asking them to become. So often our worship is misplaced and so when things fall short, so do we.

When we worship God something amazing happens - we are filled. We worship God and yet we are filled. There is an amazing abundance or as Paul says the depth of God's riches that are accessible to us if we only turn and recognize the true grandeur and beauty that is God. Our worship is a profound act where we approach the truth of God's character and his presence with us and so we experience Him. This is the worship that we are meant for and worship we can grow in as we and this world become more through it. Join us this Sunday as we explore the importance of worshipping God.

I call you a family and for good reason, because, in some ways, that is what we are meant to be. We are meant to be a new kind of family that transcends blood or history with God as our Father and Jesus as our brother. Yet our community, our unity is supposed to be even more than that of family and so we are meant to experience and share an even greater blessing than that which is found in a family.

This Sunday we look closely at our fellowship as a Christ-centred community and how our unity and partnership look more like the members of a body. Here we are meant to find mutual, but also individual purpose, belonging, specialness, service, and so much more, in a way that the world can't offer. In our differences, but the closeness created through Christ, we can be closer and more known by one another and so we can share and be fulfilled in ways that aren't possible outside of Jesus Christ. Join me, as we explore the importance and power that is Christ-centred fellowship.

I often find that money is a hard thing to talk about. There are so many things that are pulling at our finances, not to mention all the things that we want to do. The hard part is that we can let this mindset get in the way of serving God and others. How we use our money and giving in general is important. Giving is a fundamental way that we use God's gifts for His Kingdom.

You see, giving is a discipleship issue. How we give in our time, energy, and money, shows how much we trust God, how much we are thankful, and ultimately, what is most important to us. There are so many ways to give, but the important thing is that we are giving back to God with gracious and generous hearts and glorifying His name in the process.

We are all disciples of Jesus, but what does that actually mean? You might have some sense, but at the same time, I think we are all growing and learning what that means. In fact, it is part of our journey as Christians to live out and learn what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

In Jesus' day, disciples were common things. When someone wanted to learn something, especially of a spiritual nature, they would find an expert and follow them everywhere so that they could watch, listen, and interact with that person so that they could learn from and become like them. Our big question is how do we do that with Jesus? Well, God has given us a lot of ways. Join me this Sunday when we discuss what it means to be disciples of Jesus in our daily lives. 

I remember someone telling me that there are three things you don’t bring up in polite conversations: religion, politics or money. Though I don’t agree with this, I feel like we are now living out the consequences of people not talking about all three. Money is a consistent issue whether we have it or not. Politics is shaping our society for better or worse, often worse. And faith is no longer guiding our society or relationships. 

Evangelism is just as important if not even more important than it has ever been. What we have met in Jesus Christ is truly good news for everyone and good news that can shape everything for better - actually the best. The more and more we invite people into this faith the more and more we will see it in the world around us. We have too often overcomplicated and shied away from the simple act of telling others about our story with Jesus and how it has truly been good news. God will do the rest and we can trust him to. Join us this Sunday when we explore this simple and yet profound act of sharing our faith.