Fort Garry MB Church - Winnipeg, Canada

In one of Jesus' most profound declarations of his divinity, when the armed group arrives to arrest Jesus, Jesus' response hearkens back to the Old Testament and the story of Moses.  

In this famous story of Jesus washing the disciples feet, Pastor Carl challenges FGMB to consider the modern equivalent of such an action, and to go and do likewise.  

In his final service with FGMB, Jesse uses the text from John 11 to remind FGMB of two things:  
1)  There are 12 hours of daylight in which we are called to serve, support, and love others as disciples of Jesus Christ; and
2) There are also 12 hours of night, during which we can rest and seek to spend time rejuvenating ourselves through meaningful time spent with God.  

Drawn from the story found in John 8:2-11, the woman caught in adultery, Pastor Carl brings Fort Garry to consider the grace upon grace they have received from Jesus.

John 5:6 reads, "when Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, [Jesus] said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” 

What is holding us back from experiencing healing and reconciliation and wholeness in our lives? Is it actually circumstances beyond our control? Or is it we ourselves that stand in the way of the healing offered by Jesus?

Dr. Cheryl Pauls, President of Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg, comes to Fort Garry this morning with a message on hope, drawn from Romans 8:18-25  But not ordinary hope, the sort of which one may 'hope' to find their keys, but hope in a broad sense, or what one may say, in a wild sense.  Hope for the possibilities that may come through a community of believers united in their faith in Christ.

Jesus comes to us where we are in life. Jesus invites us to serve him. Are we like the Samaritan woman in thinking we cannot possibly be the one that Jesus wants? What are the barriers that we have put up in our own hearts or in the way that we do church that keep us and others from experiencing the living water of Jesus in our lives?

We often seem to use spiritual language in church without giving much thought to what it actually means or ought to mean for our life in Christ. Is it surprising that we struggle to bear witness to the Gospel of Jesus when we ourselves do not have a good understanding of what mature faith looks like? Is our life of discipleship firmly grounded in the teaching and presence of the living Christ or are we going through the motions, simply saying Christian sounding words?

John begins this gospel account with a bold declaration of the divinity  of Jesus (Logos). People are drawn to Jesus’ teaching and ministry for various reasons. Are we aware of or honest with ourselves about why we have chosen to follow Jesus? What are we looking for in a Messiah? What do we think Jesus will do for us? What do we think being a disciple of Jesus means?

Danny Unrau returns to Fort Garry MB Church to blend scholarship and story in a way that only Danny can.  Approaching Jesus' teaching on turning the other cheek, Danny presents how an Ancient Jewish midrash discipline is wholly applicable to churches and Christians in our 21st century context.