This week we are focusing on hope. Of the three main Christian virtues, it gets the least press. In Christian circles we talk a great deal about faith and love but hope seems to be like the silent partner. Part of the problem is that we use hope in our language as a synonym for "longing" as in: "I hope it doesn't rain." But Biblical hope is not a longing; it is not subjective; based on feelings. It is objective, based on the secure knowledge of our future relationship with God because of Christ. In encompasses a bright and wonderful future that has been described for us in the Gospel. The problem with definitions is also seen when we carefully define Biblical faith and Biblical love. The kind of faith we are talking about is not like when we say: "I believe in the Canucks." Biblical faith is more than wishful thinking, it requires active participation. Similarly Biblical love is more than a warm fuzzy emotion. It requires a willing determination and active involvement.

Our text tells us something very important about hope and its relationship with faith and love. We learn that faith and love spring from hope. To put it in other words, hope is like the roots of a tree and faith and love are the branches. The strength of the entire tree is based on the root system and so faith and love are highly dependent upon hope. Weak hope, a poor or shaky vision of our future, does not bode well for people who need faith and love. Those with great faith and those who demonstrate great love also have great hope. Just think of the Bible characters like Abraham and Moses to see how their hope bolstered their faith and love, particularly during difficult times.

Hope is a byproduct of us understanding and living out the Gospel. When the story of Jesus becomes our story we grow in our hope. When we come to Christ we participate in his death, resurrection, and ascension: and we will participate in his return. His story and our story are filled with hope, we know the end, and it is a happy ending.

When we struggle with our lack of faith or we grapple with our lack of love, the problem usually has to do with our lack of hope, since faith and love spring from hope. The cure is a clearer vision of God's plan for us. This comes from remembering the Gospel. This is not just about some far off distant heavenly future, it is about God's plans for us today and tomorrow and next year. God's promises relate to both the here and now and the distant future. His resurrection power is at work today in us. We sit with him in heavenly places right now (Ephesians 2:6).

Questions for Discussion:

1. Slide 2. What did you find moving about Martin Luther King's speech: "I Have a Dream?" Why?

2. Slide 5. Discuss Biblical Faith and Love and how they are different from faith and love as commonly used today. How is Biblical hope different from simply: "longing for something or wishful thinking?"

3. Slide 6-7. If faith and love "spring from" hope, why does Paul say in 1 Cor. 13 "the greatest of these is love?" Hint: Perhaps faith and hope will be slightly different in Eternity but love will always remain the same as it is a primary attribute of the Father: God is Love.

4. Slide 8-10. If we lack hope, how do we get it? Discuss hope as seen in various Biblical characters. How important was it? How clearly did they envision the future? Acts 7:55-56 is an interesting example.

5. Slide 11-15. Discuss how the four aspects of Jesus' story intersect with our story. (Death, Resurrection, Ascension, Return) When we live the Gospel does it inspire hope? Why?

Slide 16-19. Can every apprentice of Jesus share their faith? Discuss what it means to share your hope. Discuss the soul exercise of Pray, Watch, Reach Out, Listen, Connect, Share and Invite

This week we are focusing on hope. Of the three main Christian virtues, it gets the least press. In Christian circles we talk a great deal about faith and love but hope seems to be like the silent partner. Part of the problem is that we use hope in our language as a synonym for "longing" as in: "I hope it doesn't rain." But Biblical hope is not a longing; it is not subjective; based on feelings. It is objective, based on the secure knowledge of our future relationship with God because of Christ. In encompasses a bright and wonderful future that has been described for us in the Gospel. The problem with definitions is also seen when we carefully define Biblical faith and Biblical love. The kind of faith we are talking about is not like when we say: "I believe in the Canucks." Biblical faith is more than wishful thinking, it requires active participation. Similarly Biblical love is more than a warm fuzzy emotion. It requires a willing determination and active involvement.

Our text tells us something very important about hope and its relationship with faith and love. We learn that faith and love spring from hope. To put it in other words, hope is like the roots of a tree and faith and love are the branches. The strength of the entire tree is based on the root system and so faith and love are highly dependent upon hope. Weak hope, a poor or shaky vision of our future, does not bode well for people who need faith and love. Those with great faith and those who demonstrate great love also have great hope. Just think of the Bible characters like Abraham and Moses to see how their hope bolstered their faith and love, particularly during difficult times.

Hope is a byproduct of us understanding and living out the Gospel. When the story of Jesus becomes our story we grow in our hope. When we come to Christ we participate in his death, resurrection, and ascension: and we will participate in his return. His story and our story are filled with hope, we know the end, and it is a happy ending.

When we struggle with our lack of faith or we grapple with our lack of love, the problem usually has to do with our lack of hope, since faith and love spring from hope. The cure is a clearer vision of God's plan for us. This comes from remembering the Gospel. This is not just about some far off distant heavenly future, it is about God's plans for us today and tomorrow and next year. God's promises relate to both the here and now and the distant future. His resurrection power is at work today in us. We sit with him in heavenly places right now (Ephesians 2:6).

Questions for Discussion:

1. Slide 2. What did you find moving about Martin Luther King's speech: "I Have a Dream?" Why?

2. Slide 5. Discuss Biblical Faith and Love and how they are different from faith and love as commonly used today. How is Biblical hope different from simply: "longing for something or wishful thinking?"

3. Slide 6-7. If faith and love "spring from" hope, why does Paul say in 1 Cor. 13 "the greatest of these is love?" Hint: Perhaps faith and hope will be slightly different in Eternity but love will always remain the same as it is a primary attribute of the Father: God is Love.

4. Slide 8-10. If we lack hope, how do we get it? Discuss hope as seen in various Biblical characters. How important was it? How clearly did they envision the future? Acts 7:55-56 is an interesting example.

5. Slide 11-15. Discuss how the four aspects of Jesus' story intersect with our story. (Death, Resurrection, Ascension, Return) When we live the Gospel does it inspire hope? Why?

Slide 16-19. Can every apprentice of Jesus share their faith? Discuss what it means to share your hope. Discuss the soul exercise of Pray, Watch, Reach Out, Listen, Connect, Share and Invite

This week we are beginning a new series about Living the Good Life: Together. This is the third year that we have been focusing on James Bryon Smith's "Apprentice" series. In 2011 we learned how important it is to understand who God is and we endeavoured to see Him through the eyes of Jesus in our series "The Good and Beautiful God." Last year we looked at Christian virtue and character and studied topics concerning "The Good and Beautiful Life." So we have focused on both God's character and our character. This year we are following through on the Apprentice series by thinking about living out the Good life in Community. In other words, we are building on our understanding of God as a good God and Christian character as the best way to live. We are going to be focusing on how this all works in community. That is the second half of the great commandment: to love our neighbor.

Our text is a familiar one. We used to sing this text as a scripture chorus in the King James Version. Where the modern translations read "a people belonging to God," we sang "a peculiar people." I used to laugh at that, because I knew a lot of peculiar Christians, but not in a good way. I have since learned that the word "peculiar" literally means: "belonging exclusively to an individual." The older translation reflected that meaning. We are peculiar in the sense that we belong exclusively to God our Father. But we are also peculiar in the more modern sense in that we are different, in fact to some we may seem weird or odd. This was an apt description for Jesus when he turned away from the expectations of the crowds and followed the Father's directions. It is pretty unusual to forgive those who harm you or to turn away from the accolades of the crowds and the attempts to promote you to an earthly throne.

Our text identifies us as God's chosen, royal and holy people; His very own nation. This signifies our dignity. While many believers have little power, distinction or authority in this world's affairs, we are indeed special. We belong to God. All this is for a purpose: to show forth His praises or to make Him known.

Questions for Discussion:

1. Slide 2. What are some of the false narratives we have learned to refute from the previous years' church wide initiatives?

2. Slide 3. How are "knowing God" and "growing in virtue" connected to loving our neighbor? Are they necessarily sequential? Can we really love our neighbor without first working on the previous two issues? Why or why not?

3. Slide 4-5. Suggest some examples of how you have learned from negative experiences? Why are they such a powerful motivator?

4. Slide 7-8. Discuss the differences between our God and the gods of this age and other religions. What is completely unique about our Father?

5. Slide 9. Discuss the possible reasons for the author of 1 Peter to emphasize the dignity of Christ's followers. Hint: think of the persecuted church.

6. Slide 10-12. What does our text tell us God expects of us? Why are some Christians no different from the world?

7. Slide 13-18. How do we keep the balance of Christian piety and social action? What prevents us from simply making Christianity an "internal faith thing" and ignoring the needs in the world around us?

This week we are beginning a new series about Living the Good Life: Together. This is the third year that we have been focusing on James Bryon Smith's "Apprentice" series. In 2011 we learned how important it is to understand who God is and we endeavoured to see Him through the eyes of Jesus in our series "The Good and Beautiful God." Last year we looked at Christian virtue and character and studied topics concerning "The Good and Beautiful Life." So we have focused on both God's character and our character. This year we are following through on the Apprentice series by thinking about living out the Good life in Community. In other words, we are building on our understanding of God as a good God and Christian character as the best way to live. We are going to be focusing on how this all works in community. That is the second half of the great commandment: to love our neighbor.

Our text is a familiar one. We used to sing this text as a scripture chorus in the King James Version. Where the modern translations read "a people belonging to God," we sang "a peculiar people." I used to laugh at that, because I knew a lot of peculiar Christians, but not in a good way. I have since learned that the word "peculiar" literally means: "belonging exclusively to an individual." The older translation reflected that meaning. We are peculiar in the sense that we belong exclusively to God our Father. But we are also peculiar in the more modern sense in that we are different, in fact to some we may seem weird or odd. This was an apt description for Jesus when he turned away from the expectations of the crowds and followed the Father's directions. It is pretty unusual to forgive those who harm you or to turn away from the accolades of the crowds and the attempts to promote you to an earthly throne.

Our text identifies us as God's chosen, royal and holy people; His very own nation. This signifies our dignity. While many believers have little power, distinction or authority in this world's affairs, we are indeed special. We belong to God. All this is for a purpose: to show forth His praises or to make Him known.

Questions for Discussion:

1. Slide 2. What are some of the false narratives we have learned to refute from the previous years' church wide initiatives?

2. Slide 3. How are "knowing God" and "growing in virtue" connected to loving our neighbor? Are they necessarily sequential? Can we really love our neighbor without first working on the previous two issues? Why or why not?

3. Slide 4-5. Suggest some examples of how you have learned from negative experiences? Why are they such a powerful motivator?

4. Slide 7-8. Discuss the differences between our God and the gods of this age and other religions. What is completely unique about our Father?

5. Slide 9. Discuss the possible reasons for the author of 1 Peter to emphasize the dignity of Christ's followers. Hint: think of the persecuted church.

6. Slide 10-12. What does our text tell us God expects of us? Why are some Christians no different from the world?

7. Slide 13-18. How do we keep the balance of Christian piety and social action? What prevents us from simply making Christianity an "internal faith thing" and ignoring the needs in the world around us?

Today as we conclude our mini-series on Science & Faith, we will focus our attention on the veracity of Scriptures. Is the Bible true? Or, is it fiction? There are many who believe the Bible to be a great collection of stories which provides insight into various historical events and times, but rule out the possibility that it is the Word of God.

The Bible is the most sold and read book of all time. As followers of Jesus we embrace the Bible as being the Word of God. It is our authority for life. The primary question we want to consider today is – Is it Trustworthy?

We'll begin by exploring the reasons why I should even consider trusting the Bible. Many people believe it to be totally irrelevant to life today, as such, they could care less whether its trustworthy record or not. What makes the Bible so unique among all other books ever written is the fact that this book – the Bible, was God-breathed, it was written by God.

After the addressing the 'why' question we'll take a look at what the Bible says about itself and turn our attention to some of the proofs to consider as we weigh the trustworthiness of God's Word.

Discussion Guide:

The following questions are only a guide for your group discussion. Select the points you want to discuss.

1. Read Psalm 12:6. Why does this passage make you feel confident about the trustworthiness of the Bible?

2. Know the Bible is true – how does this truth motivate you to expand your biblical knowledge?

3. Read Luke 11:28 What does this verse say we are to do once we hear the Word of God? What does this mean for you?

4. If you feel comfortable – talk to the group about one area in your life the Holy Spirit may be prompting you to change. What action steps are necessary? Tell the group how they might help you in this process.

Digging Deeper:

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2

What specific things can we do to transform our minds?

Today as we conclude our mini-series on Science & Faith, we will focus our attention on the veracity of Scriptures. Is the Bible true? Or, is it fiction? There are many who believe the Bible to be a great collection of stories which provides insight into various historical events and times, but rule out the possibility that it is the Word of God.

The Bible is the most sold and read book of all time. As followers of Jesus we embrace the Bible as being the Word of God. It is our authority for life. The primary question we want to consider today is – Is it Trustworthy?

We'll begin by exploring the reasons why I should even consider trusting the Bible. Many people believe it to be totally irrelevant to life today, as such, they could care less whether its trustworthy record or not. What makes the Bible so unique among all other books ever written is the fact that this book – the Bible, was God-breathed, it was written by God.

After the addressing the 'why' question we'll take a look at what the Bible says about itself and turn our attention to some of the proofs to consider as we weigh the trustworthiness of God's Word.

Discussion Guide:

The following questions are only a guide for your group discussion. Select the points you want to discuss.

1. Read Psalm 12:6. Why does this passage make you feel confident about the trustworthiness of the Bible?

2. Know the Bible is true – how does this truth motivate you to expand your biblical knowledge?

3. Read Luke 11:28 What does this verse say we are to do once we hear the Word of God? What does this mean for you?

4. If you feel comfortable – talk to the group about one area in your life the Holy Spirit may be prompting you to change. What action steps are necessary? Tell the group how they might help you in this process.

Digging Deeper:

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2

What specific things can we do to transform our minds?

Today we start a new, 2-week series on Science + Faith. This week, Pastor Jim speaks on the apparent conflict between what science tells us and what the Bible tells us.

Today we start a new, 2-week series on Science + Faith. This week, Pastor Jim speaks on the apparent conflict between what science tells us and what the Bible tells us.

Looking where we have been, where we are now and where we are going... we need to learn from the past, hope for the future and live in the present.

Looking where we have been, where we are now and where we are going... we need to learn from the past, hope for the future and live in the present.