When broken trust and painful experiences make it hard to believe anyone’s promises—let alone God’s—this Advent journey presses into the question: Do I believe God keeps his promises? Walking through the story of Mary, from angelic announcement to exile, from the cross to the empty tomb, we see what it looks like to cling to God’s word when life feels confusing, unfair, and heartbreaking. Against that backdrop, the promises of God in Jesus are held up—hope in impossible circumstances, peace in anxiety, joy deeper than sorrow, and a love that adopts, heals, strengthens, and never leaves. Listeners are invited to take hold of these promises again and trust that, even when faith feels fragile, God can be trusted to keep his word.

This message explores the deep sense that something is wrong in the world and within us, tracing that ache back to humanity’s broken relationship with God and the resulting fracture of creation itself. It looks at the longing woven into every human soul, the ancient experience of exile, and the prophetic hope Isaiah spoke over a hurting people—hope ultimately fulfilled in Jesus, who came to heal, rescue, and restore. Even as we live in a world still marked by darkness, suffering, and restlessness, Advent reminds us that the light has come and will come again, and that Jesus is the promised One who will one day make all things new.

This message explores how the kingdom of God breaks down the boundaries we tend to build, inviting us to love beyond comfort, bias, and self-protection. Through a personal story of radical hospitality and Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan, we see how God expands our definition of “neighbour” to include anyone in front of us who needs the kind of love we’ve already received from Him. It challenges us to live out that love in real, everyday ways—caring for hurting people, sharing the hope Jesus has given us, and inviting others into a community where they can belong, find healing, and encounter the life-changing presence of Christ.

Through the picture of the sower and the four soils, we’re invited to see our hearts as the place where God’s promises land: hard soil that resists him, rocky soil cluttered with unresolved sin, hurt, or pride, thorny soil where worries, wealth, and distractions choke out our calling, and good soil that receives his Word and multiplies his life into the world. God often answers prayers in “seed form,” not as full-grown trees, and our task is to tend the soil—naming and removing rocks and thorns, managing our hungers and worries, refusing to let wealth or comparison own us—so that even in trials, testing, and deep sorrow, our roots go deeper instead of withering. Grief does not disqualify faith; tears can actually soften the soil of the soul, creating space for God’s presence, comfort, and purpose to sink in more deeply, so that even what feels like death in us can, in God’s hands, become a seed that produces many seeds of hope, love, and Kingdom life.

When faith moves from words to action, lives change. This message explores the story of friends who tore open a roof to bring someone they loved to Jesus—and how their courage and compassion sparked healing and hope. It’s a reminder that faith isn’t just personal; it’s communal. We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, and now it’s our turn to pick up the mat for others—to pray, give, serve, and build God’s kingdom together here in Fort McMurray.

The kingdom of God is built on a foundation that looks nothing like the world’s version of power or success. The cross—once a symbol of weakness and shame—became the throne of a King who rules through humility, surrender, and self-giving love. What looked like defeat was actually the victory of God’s limitless grace. In Jesus’ suffering we see a love that refuses to stop short, a power made perfect in weakness, and a God who tears down every barrier between heaven and earth. Through the cross, we are invited not as spectators but as sons and daughters, welcomed into the very presence of God.

A call to see ourselves as one global family in Jesus, this message celebrates how Christianity is rapidly growing—especially across Africa and Asia—while challenging us with the reality that billions still have little or no access to the gospel. It highlights how the Alliance focuses on least-reached peoples through three pathways—church development, relief and development, and marketplace engagement—and notes that many international workers serve in hard and dark places. Rooted in Matthew 9, it urges us to see people as Jesus did—harassed and helpless—and to be moved by His visceral compassion. With the nations already on our doorstep in Fort McMurray, the invitation is practical: pray for workers, consider going, and give generously so the good news is both declared and displayed. Life becomes an adventure when we join Jesus in His mission.

In a world that feels like it’s unraveling—where death, division, and despair seem to have the final word—Jesus makes a breathtaking claim: “I am the resurrection and the life.” His words to Martha at Lazarus’s tomb weren’t just a promise for someday—they were a declaration for today. The same power that called Lazarus from the grave is still breaking through into our world, bringing healing where there’s pain, hope where there’s grief, and life where there’s death. The Kingdom of Heaven isn’t just a future destination—it’s breaking in right now, inviting us to live as people through whom the light and life of Jesus transform the world around us.

Jesus invites every believer to join his unconventional Kingdom by being “born from above” so we can actually see what God is doing—especially in places of lack. With Spirit-opened eyes (Eph. 1:18), we learn to view every challenge through three lenses: hope, provision, and power, repenting daily of agreements with despair, scarcity, and powerlessness. Like Elisha’s servant whose eyes were opened and the boy’s lunch that fed thousands, God meets need with unseen resources as we raise our sails to the Spirit and give thanks not only for what he’s done, but for what he’s about to do. The call is to turn toward Jesus, trust his abundance, and live as agents of renewal in our homes, workplaces, and city.

Jesus didn’t just heal as part of His ministry—He heals because it’s who He is. From the outcast leper to the Roman soldier’s servant, every miracle revealed what happens when Heaven’s Kingdom collides with the brokenness of earth. Healing wasn’t a side job—it was the heartbeat of Jesus’ mission, and it still is today. The same King who touched the untouchable and spoke life over the suffering is still doing it now. His power hasn’t faded. His compassion hasn’t cooled. The Kingdom of Jesus is built different—it’s built