Sanctification – the transforming God
What is it about our salvation that makes it so spectacular? Yes, it is the free gift of God’s grace… but it is more than a simple “get out of hell free card” or a change of verdict from guilty to not guilty… Christian salvation is intimate… intimate because our salvation is delivered to us by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Pastor Joe unpacks this intimate salvation and the radical change that it makes in our life.
Jesus Christ – at one with God
We all feel the brokenness of the world and our lives which results from sin. We try to solve this problem ourselves through religious effort, humanitarian efforts, scientific advancement, and chasing the “good life”. The Bible tell us that these efforts ultimately won’t work. But God has provided salvation for us in his Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus’ incarnation and life show that he is the only one who is able to save. His death on the cross fully achieves salvation…
The Fall – rebelling against God’s order
The concept of sin is something that can make us feel uncomfortable. Many people think that the Bible’s declarations about sin are just there to perpetuate the oppressive rule of the church… others see the brokenness that sin brings into the world and struggle with how the God of the Bible could allow it to happen. As Pastor Joe continues to unpack the core doctrine of the church he tackles this uneasy subject of sin & evil and what it…
Humanity – the image of God
It seems that the most noble quest according to our culture is the quest to find oneself. I don’t quite know if many of us understand what finding ourself is really about, but we seem to embrace any trend, program or colouring book that promises us deeper knowledge of ourselves. As we investigate the doctrine of humanity Pastor Joe presents two narratives of humanity and unpacks the implications of which one you choose to believe about yourself.
Trinity – the self-sufficient God
We have a hard time explaining the Trinity! It is one of the questions we hope our friends and family don’t ask when we are trying to explain our faith because while we are confident that God is Trinity, we are all at sea when we try to explain how He can be Trinity. As we continue to look at the essential doctrine of the church Pastor Joe takes us through the Trinity so that we may have more clarity,…
Scripture – the God who wants to be known
Most religions describe the concept of god as some distant, unknowable, mysterious being who exists in a place far removed from our existence who can only be known by those dedicated enough to find him. The Christian conception of God is of a being far bigger and far more outside of our existence than any other and yet this God is personal and longs to be known by His creation. As we begin to study the core doctrine of the…
Creed Prequel: What is the Gospel?
Before we begin our series looking at the essential doctrine of the church we take a moment to reflect on that which is our central, pivotal and definitive message… the Gospel of Jesus Christ! It will be through this gospel that we seek to understand all the other points of doctrine we look at and by which we test all ideas about God. So join Pastor Joe as he unpacks the cosmic picture of what God accomplished in the gospel.
The End of Evil
In our society we have a tendency to downplay the concept of evil. We like to think that there really aren’t such categories as black and white, or good and evil; preferring to smooth everything out to grey. That is until something happens that we cannot mistake for anything but evil. The story of the Bible doesn’t hide the reality of evil. In fact it highlights evil so that we cannot miss it. But more than just highlighting it, the Bible…
Jonny Lush: The Dependent Widow
When it comes to spiritual disciplines like prayer it is so easy to beat ourselves up about how slack or forgetful we might be. So when Jesus tells His disciples a story to fuel their persistence in prayer what we find is not a guilt trip or beat down, but rather it is a story of an unrighteous judge and a poor widow. As Jonny Lush unpacks this story we find a stunning encouragement to pray.
Christ and Christmas
It seems like the world surrounding Jesus at the beginning of His life is there to worship Him… there to be amazed at Him… there to stand amazed at Him. Well as Jesus grew and began a teaching ministry it seemed as though the crowds that flocked to hear Him were falling into line with this host of worshipers. And so in the encounter we see today we will be gripped with a desire to join in the worshipers but…