A Centered Life - Ephesians 5:8-20: I had an appointment at the mall the other day and I immediately felt overwhelmed as I stepped into it with the reality that Christmas is coming faster than a speeding train! I found myself feeling overwhelmed with everything I have to do. The bigger problem with that is that, so often, my soul feels cluttered with demands and expectations and needs and desires. Most of us are far too familiar with this reality. So many voices demanding a response. So much work to be done. So many people to see. And sometimes we seem to be terribly under resourced to meet all the expectations. What do we do? How do we live? Well, this isn't just a 2015 issue, thankfully! Paul, writing to the church in Ephesus, had remarkable insight into the cluttered life and how we can best find peace and hope in the midst of it all. This weekend, as we'll gather around the Lord's table, we'll be wonderfully encouraged and inspired to fully embrace this amazing gift called life!

A Centered Life - John 15:1-8: Who do you want to be when you “grow up?” Not WHAT do you want to be, but WHO? We all can think of others whose lives reflect God in beautiful ways… and we long for that in ourselves. It is easy to get caught up in the “list” of things that we think we must do to make that happen. Or to retreat into the attitude that it is all up to God. Ultimately God is the only one who can change us, AND in his grace he calls us to participate in his transforming work. . We build space into our life for him to work, behaviours that embody all he calls us to, and practices that shape us in his image. This weekend using the framework of a Rule of Life, we will be challenged to choose rhythms that help us to intentionally abide in Christ so he can transform us for his glory.

A Centered Life - Ephesians 6:18-24: Learning to pray - simply basic to what it means to be a Christian and grow as a Christian. The first disciples came to Jesus and asked him: teach us to pray. And our sermon this Sunday will consider what it means to pray, as Jesus taught them to pray Thy Kingdom Come and how, actually, we can learn to do this as those who are guided by the Spirit in our praying.

A Centered Life - Romans 12:1-2: Focus. Direction. Strategy. Intentionality. Passion. We hear so much about these things in our everyday life but where exactly do they fit in our relationship with Jesus? How satisfied are we with the health of our soul right now? What is the trajectory of our life if we keep doing more of the same? Could things get better? Our new Prime Minister is fond of saying, "better is possible!" Is it true in the spiritual realm? We are beginning a four week series of messages on "The Centered Life ... connecting with God in a distracting world." I'm incredibly excited about journeying together to discover this amazing life God longs for us all to know. If you're feeling mildly disconnected or wildly out of control ... this will be a fantastic weekend for you! Much grace to you all! Pastor Ian

Global Impact Weekend - Isaiah 6:1-8: It's been said that there are two categories of people ... those who make things happen and those who watch things happen. I've always thought there's a third category ... those of us who have no idea what is happening at any given moment in life! In the grand story of life - are you an active participant or an idle spectator? There's a great leadership book called Start with Why where the author's premise is if we can figure out the "why" we'll have no insurmountable struggles to answer the what and how. Why are you here? What is God's grand purpose and plan for your life? How we answer the question 'why am I still breathing?' will either fuel or derail our legacy in life. From Isaiah's journey, we'll learn of the only appropriate response to God's gracious intervention in our lives. It will be inspiring ... I dearly hope you'll be able to join us in one of our services in person or via the livestream.

Stepping Stones - 1 Peter 2:4-10: As Blue Jays fever traverses the country ... many of us will always remember where we were when we heard about the seventh inning of the Game 5 series clincher versus Texas! It was an epic moment! And while this weekend might not have the emotional intensity of a three run Bautista blast ... I'm pretty sure it will be a most memorable weekend as we welcome Pastor Steve Elliott back to the pulpit to help us celebrate our 50th anniversary! It will be a fantastic weekend of worship, teaching, special music, memories and vision casting. I always anticipate being in church with ya'll (Steve is from Kentucky now!) but this weekend promises to be extra special! Be blessed and bless all God brings across your path!

Stepping Stones - Joshua 4: Thanksgiving.  It's always been one of my favorite days of the year (and not just because of the wonder of turkey and dressing and peas and ... yes, I'm saying this ... turnip!!)  It's a time of year that pushes us away from a spirit of entitlement towards a spirit of gratitude.  I know that gratitude must be more than a weekend a year kind of experience... but I'm grateful that we do have this weekend to place the spotlight on this incredibly important virtue that ought to define us as followers of Jesus.  We all have so much to be grateful for and we're going to highlight that as part of our 50th anniversary celebrations.  So come prepared to say thank you and to hear amazing stories of gratitude for all God has done in and through our lives.  It will be a very special weekend with lots of unique moments to draw awareness of God's amazing mercies towards us.

Stepping Stones - Matthew 7:24-29, 16:13-18: Let the party begin!  You don't turn fifty that often so we're going to make a big deal of it starting this weekend!  Gordon Fowler is going to join me as we tell the story of Jesus through the lens of Foothills Alliance.  We will laugh ... Gordon will likely cry ... it will be great!!  We'll reflect on the foundational days of Foothills and how that impacts us today.   Our lives, like our church, requires a strong foundation in order for us to thrive and that's what we consider this weekend.

You Are Here - Nehemiah 1-3: What if you had the chance to read your own obituary?  Back in 1888, Alfred Nobel’s brother Ludwig passed away, however, the newspaper mistakenly published an obituary for Alfred.  The article focused on how he had made a fortune by inventing powerful explosives that enabled armies to achieve new levels of mass destruction.  Alfred was shocked to discover that all he would be remembered for was being “a merchant of death.”  This realization changed the course of Alfred’s life, and he began to use his fortune to award those who worked to make the world a better place.  These awards are known today as Nobel Prizes.  What about you?  If your obituary was published today, how would you be remembered?  Come this weekend as talk about living lives that are bigger than ourselves, and how we can make the world a better place.

You Are Here - John 1:40-46: Show and Tell.  It was probably my favorite time in school ... except for recess.  That was for sure my favorite time at school!  It was always interesting to listen and learn from classmates who would share their treasures and experiences.  It was likely the first public speaking experience for most of us!  It was pretty hard then, and TBH. ("to be honest" for the less cool who don't speak with acronyms ... LOL) it is still pretty hard.  And perhaps it's hardest when it comes to speaking about our faith in Jesus.  Why is it that the thing that matters most to us in life (our relationship with Jesus) is sometimes the most difficult to talk about?  It's so easy to talk about how sweet my wife is!  It's mostly easy to tell you about how mostly great my kids are!  Why do I get all tongue-tied when I try to talk about Jesus with others?  We are going to introduce to you this weekend one of the elements of our new vision that I'm most excited about.  It's another acronym - the word BLESS - and I cant' wait to encourage you with the beauty and simplicity of this method of starting conversations about Jesus.