Message Recordings

Overcoming and Contending for the Faith – Jesus’ encouragement and demonstration

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Jesus' words to His disciples in John 16:33 brought both warnings and encouragement. The same words apply to us today. "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." Jesus spoke these words before going to the cross. So what did it look like in reality to already declare that He had "overcome" when suffering awaited and would be part of all their journey?  As we look through scripture and the life of Jesus and the disciples we see the importance of the Holy Spirit, the written Word and prayer in helping us not only to go through these times, but to come out victorious.  Jude urges us to "contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God's Holy people" (Jude verse 3). Many today need breakthroughs and hope. As the body of Christ, we can no longer be passive or apathetic in our christian walk, the world is getting darker…

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Increase and Access – attributes of Christ’s Kingdom

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Speaking of the coming kingdom of God's Messiah, the prophet Isaiah declared, "Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end..." (Is. 9:7a). Increase is an attribute of God's Kingdom, and any healthy functioning church may experience increase in various ways. Increase also demands change, and so it's fair to say that change must be an accepted part of church life. Embracing the need for change matters also. Lifeway is facing some necessary changes, brought on by numerical increase in the size of the church family and the needs of our children and youth. We must adopt the attitude of Jesus towards our younger members - that "the kingdom of God belongs to such as these" (Mark 10:14). As Jesus embraced and blessed the children, it is clear that another attribute of the Kingdom is access.

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Prayer: a kingdom principle

Jesus confronted the corruptions that had crept into the temple in his day. He quoted Isaiah's prophetic declaration that the temple was to be a place of prayer for all nations. God doesn't want people to treat His "house" (the church) as a hotel or museum, or like a club or restaurant. It a house - a home to be honoured and respected - of prayer, of communion with God. Jesus' church is intended to be for encountering Him, a place of communication and spiritual communion with God.

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Kingdom: A woman, yeast and dough

Jesus told many stories (parables) as illustrations that reveal aspects of the Kingdom of God. One of the shortest parables is a simple one-sentence description of a woman mixing yeast into a huge quantity of flour to make dough. This simple image offers some profound insights into the way the Kingdom of God permeates and influences, “He told them still another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.’” Matthew 13:33

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Seed, soil and fruitfulness – are we receptive to God’s word for us?

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In Matthew 13, Jesus tells a story about seed being sown that lands on all different kinds of soil - a hardened path, rocky shallow soil, soil that is choked by weeds and thorns, and good soil that helps a healthy harvest grow. It is tempting to simplify the story down to those who accept the gospel of God's kingdom and those who reject it. But the story is more subtle than that - it talks about the heart condition that promotes receptivity towards God, and the kinds of things that can prevent us from having fruitful lives in Him.

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Am I a Pharisee?

First century Jews respected and revered the group of religious leaders known as the Pharisees. Their devotion and meticulous observance of the law was seen as the way to achieve holiness and good standing with God. To them, Jesus' words would have been confronting, “But I warn you — unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matt. 5:20). Jesus was not saying, "Do better, be better." On the contrary, he was exposing how that kind of religion that can never lead to true holiness and cannot bring us into right relationship with God. A fear-based 'holiness' leads to pride and comparison, isolation and control. It blinds us, causing justification of behaviours that are not in alignment with Jesus’ heart for His people. 

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#Van-life may be a great adventure, but it is not multi-generational

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There are a lot of people who do life on the road, exploring our amazing country and living a minimalist lifestyle, enjoying the freedom and adventure that comes with #vanlife. Doing van-life is low maintenance, low-cost, low-needs and low-commitment. But it is also has severe limitations.

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