Benediction Church, #HamOnt

Series: Formed (Part 2)

Date: October 6, 2024

Scripture: Mark 2:23-3:5; Luke 13:10-17

Teacher: Mike Mileski

By nearly every available measure, we live in an Anxiety Culture. Like the Ancient Hebrews, we live in fear of we know not what or whom.

To that culture, and to ours, God calls us to practice Sabbath. It's perhaps the greatest tool in our anxiety toolbox, and the most ancient spiritual discipline.

We ought to Sabbath for all sorts of reasons, and if we do, we can start to believe and live like our time is holy; who can trust God with all the things on our 'to-do' list that didn't get done, and whose decisions are no longer made from fear, but faith.

#anxiety, #sabbath, #exodus, #moses, #jesus, #thegospel, #sunday, #lordsday, #genesis, #miracles

Series: Formed (Part 1)

Date: September 29, 2024

Scripture: Matthew 9:9-13

Teacher: Mike Mileski

We make choices every day about the kind of people we'll be. We pattern our lives after rabbis who (rightly or wrongly) form our thinking, our loves, our practices, and send us out to make more disciples of them.

In this message we're introduced to Jesus not as a head of a world religion, but as a Jewish rabbi followed by His apprentices. He invites us to do the same - because whether it's Him or another, SOMEone is our rabbi.

#Discipleship, #TheGospel, #RabbiJesus, #TheDustoftheRabbi, #Disciples, #TheChurch, #Jesus

Scripture: Matthew 17:24-27; Mark 10:13-16

Date: September 22, 2024

Teacher: Mike Mileski

In the conclusion to this series, we ask what it really looks like to "carry our cross" and follow Jesus.

We need to be really honest: the Christian life isn't usually a choice between A and B, where A is clearly God's will and B is clearly not.

We need to learn the NORMAL rhythm of preaching the Gospel to our hearts. There really is no substitute or alternative. This is how we become like Jesus, or it doesn't happen.

#discipleship, #theChurch, #carryyourcross, #jesus, #theGospel

Scripture: Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7

Date: Sunday September 15, 2024

Teacher: Mike Mileski

Of course Jesus' followers want others to hear about Him, to be saved, and to follow Him their whole lives long. But the HOW matters.

In this message we learn what it should look like when the Ekklesia - Jesus' "called out" people - are on Mission.

#mission, #evangelism, #church, #ekklesia, #Jesus, #theGospel

Scripture: Acts 2:42-47

Date: Sunday September 8, 2024

Teacher: Mike Mileski

There are all sorts of reasons (some good, some bad) why people are leaving the Church. This message is an honest, warts-and-all, biblical description of what the Church has always been since its earliest days: beautiful, messy, and necessary. Why should our experience of Church community be any different?

Rather, we should realize we will NEVER outgrow our need to be in this sort of broken, beautiful, imperfect community.

#church, #theGospel, #community, #deconstruction

Date: September 1, 2024 (Labour Day)

Scripture: Luke 10:38-42

Teacher: Mike Mileski

Most of us spend our days feeling crazy busy, like our schedules are out of control, and we can't get done the things we need to. Interestingly, all the studies show that we're less busy than any previous generation.

In this study of Jesus' visit with Mary and Martha, we learn that we probably have a lot more in common with Martha than we think. And Jesus' command for her is the same one He has for us. If we obey Him, it doesn't have to be this way. We really can un-busy our lives!

Date: August 25, 2024

Scripture: John 11:1-44

Teacher: Dwayne Cline

Death is the ultimate enemy. When His good friend Lazarus died, Jesus' pained and angry reaction show us just how much He hates death. In this message, our friend Dwayne Cline shows us that this miracle is a signpost of a new world where there's no death, no dying, no goodbyes.

Date: August 18, 2024

Scripture: Mark 5:21-43

Teacher: Nathan Scott

Sometimes we feel sure we know how God should work, and when He doesn't, it's easy to get frustrated with Him. Imagine being Jairus, who pleaded with Jesus to heal his dying daughter, and on the way to do so, He stops instead and heals someone else. In this message, Nathan Shares how stories like this don't weaken our faith; they strengthen it.

Date: August 11, 2024

Scripture: Luke 5:17-26 (ESV)

Teacher: Rony Mikhael

Though one paralyzed man was healed, this is also a story of how three communities view Jesus: the religious leaders, the crowds, and the ones who carried this man into the presence of Jesus. In this message, our friend Rony Mikhael shows that Jesus isn't only about meeting physical needs; He's building a community that loves each other, bears one another's burdens, and trusts in Him.

Date: August 4, 2024

Scripture: Mark 8:22-26

Teacher: Rolf Nanninga

This miracle raises a lot of good questions because Jesus doesn't heal the man born blind in the way that we might have. That's the way of Jesus - sometimes He doesn't behave the way we expect Him to, or answer our prayers the ways we wish He did. In this message, our friend Rolf Nanninga challenges us with the question: Will we trust Him still?