FOUNDATIONS: PT 1 - The Holy Spirit And The Kingdom Of God The central message of Jesus and the apostles was the arrival of the kingdom of God. After his resurrection Luke tells us in Acts 1 that Jesus spent 40 days on earth proving that he rose from the dead and teaching them about the kingdom of God. In this first week we will discover what the kingdom is and the truth that the Holy Spirit wants to bring the kingdom to bear in us so that he can express the kingdom through us. The danger is...

James Pt 10: 5:12-20  In this last passage of James, the author shifts gears dramatically to talk about the power of prayer for healing and our need to walk in the light if we want to be able to access the power of God. James talks about confession and the role of secret sin as a possible block to prayer for healing.

Before Jesus was resurrected from the dead on that first Easter Sunday, he was walking in his resurrection identity. Four days after one of his closest friends, Lazarus, had died Jesus went to visit his friends (Lazarus’ sisters) who were grieving, and into the middle of their grieving and pain he makes a declaration about his identity saying “I am the resurrection and the life.” In that moment Jesus is communicating something powerful and profound about his identity and nature. His statement...

James Pt 9: 4:13-5:11 (Jeff MacLeod) In this passage James has some direct and confrontational things to say about planning for the future, our ideas of control and what it means to release our lives into the hands of God instead of tight-fisted, white knuckle living.

We are almost through James, but he’s not letting off in intensity. In Pt 8 we cover James 4:1-13 and Jame’s continued dissection of the source of the conflicts and division going on within the first century Jewish followers of Jesus. For James, the source is found in desire and who or what is driving the desires of the human heart. Is it the devil or is it God?

In this part we examine James 3:13-18 with another searing pastoral challenge from James that has powerful application for us today as well. James continues to press in toward the source of our destructive speech patterns, and the source lies in our mind and heart. James establishes that there are two sources for wisdom, one is from above (God) and the other from below (worldly/demonic). Once again James isn’t coaching us in behaviour management, he is challenging us to examine the source...

This is a hard-hitting passage that not only examines the speech patterns that are so destructive but also the source. James is calling his listeners (and us) to not only focus on being disciplined with what comes out of our mouth but also to understand that our internal self-talk, patterns of reasoning, and inner conversations are precisely the place where the problem lies. It isn’t just about what you say, it is about what you think and say internally.

James is pastoring his fellow Jewish believers who have been driven all over the Roman Empire because of persecution and one of the pastoral issues that James confronts in chapter 2 is the preferential treatment of some over others, specifically those who have wealth and influence and cultural cache.

James is pastoring his fellow Jewish believers who have been driven all over the Roman Empire because of persecution and one of the pastoral issues that James confronts in chapter 2 is the preferential treatment of some over others, specifically those who have wealth and influence and cultural cache.

How do we process the trials and testing of life? Does God have a hand in testing us, what about temptation? If God does test us, why does he do it, what is he trying to accomplish? These are some of the questions that James might have been receiving from his own friends and community while they experienced persecution and injustice. So how does James respond and what can we learn from him today?

Part one (b) of our study through the book of James. In this episode we talk about the cultural context of the world around James and what that meant for those who were experiencing trouble, trial and persecution from within and without. James gives us the purpose for trials and and how to pray through them.

Part one (a) of our study through the book of James. In this episode we talk about the cultural context of the world around James and what that meant for those who were experiencing trouble, trial and persecution from within and without. James gives us the purpose for trials and and how to pray through them.

One of the essentials to an intentional life is knowing the voice of the Holy Spirit and being willing to obey and depend on his gifting and power. We are very familiar with the voices of our own desire and the desires of culture around us, but are we familiar with the voice of the Holy Spirit? Are we following his intentionality for our lives or the intentionality of the world, our flesh or the Devil.

There were three things that Jesus did with consistency in his life that were profoundly intentional. These things were how Jesus was discipled and how he discipled others. 1) He submitted his life to scripture. 2) He engaged in daily spiritual practices (disciplines). 3) He depended on the Holy Spirit’s gifting and power. If we are going to be formed into the image of Jesus for the sake of the world around us we need to be intentional as well. In this fourth week of the series pastor Andrew...

We are all being spiritually discipled and formed, the question is: who (or what) is doing the discipling? For most, it is their screens, social media platforms and the winds of culture. If we want to be formed into the image of Jesus we are going to need to live an intentional life. This coming week pastor Alex will be talking to us about the key to Daniel’s ability to live as an exile and not be formed by Babylon. Hint: It was the revival culture he grew up in under Josiah the King

We are being spiritually formed (or discipled) whether we like it or not. The question is who or what is doing the forming in our families? If we are honest, our culture is more intentional about discipling our children and forming their outlook on life, values and spirituality than we are. It’s time for us to have an intentional plan to root our families in a Biblical worldview and there is a great starting question we can give our kids. “Does this honour God?”

The greatest need we have is nearness to the presence of God—to rekindle the spiritual fire of his presence in our lives by being near to him. Our greatest assignment is to rekindle the fire of his presence and nearness in our lives. We need to walk in faith to fuel the fire.

The greatest need we have in life is the presence of God. To fan into flame, his presence and life in us for the sake of the world around us. One of the essential ingredients in rekindling the fire of his presence is trust. But what does it mean to trust God?

The greatest need we have is for the presence of God. In scripture his presence is often described as fire. We need the fire of his presence, and one way we draw near to the presence of God us through suffering.

In scripture the Holy Spirit is often described as fire. As followers of Jesus we have the Holy Spirit living in us, but is the fire of his presence burning hot or lukewarm. One of the keys to fanning the flame of His presence in us is to walk in obedience in generosity. When we trust God enough to be obedient to him with our resources, it stokes the fire of his presence.

Fire needs oxygen, it feeds off of oxygen to grow in reach and power. In the same way, the fire of God’s presence in us needs oxygen to grow and burn hotter and brighter. The oxygen of the Spirit presence and fire in our lives is prayer, but not just any prayer. Prayer that costs us something, prayer that stops us in our tracks and takes our priority. Prayer that is marked by desperation, humility and brokenness.

In scripture God is often described as fire. Fire that leads, fire that consumes, fire that protects, fire that purifies, fire that reveals and fire that empowers. The greatest need we have today is to rekindle the fire of God’s presence in us again for the sake of the world around us. Many of us like the idea of being on fire for God but few of us want to do what it takes to fan the flames of his presence. Whatever the cost, whatever it takes, it's time for us to rekindle the fire of his...

Holy Spirit And Allegiance: Q&AThis week we finished up our Holy Spirit and Allegiance series with a Q&A session. UNCODE.initRow(document.getElementById("row-unique-3"));

Holy Spirit And Allegiance: 04In this message, Pastor Andrew teaches about the working of the Holy Spirit in our transfer of allegiance from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God. UNCODE.initRow(document.getElementById("row-unique-7"));