This week, we started a series on Paul's letter to the Colossians. Spencer introduced the letter and challenged us to read the whole book this week on our own time. Further, Spencer encouraged us to reflect and evaluate the priority that Jesus has in our lives. Do we live as though Jesus is sufficient? Do we live as though Jesus is enough? What other priorities are we adding to our lives that are obstacles to Jesus' goodness bearing more abundant fruit in us?

This week, Marc leads us in our final message of the series of Forward City's Values as a community of faith. Marc leads us in thinking through 2 Peter 3:3-15, meditating on both the justice and salvation of God that we have coming in the return of Christ.

This week was packed with collective sharing of God's work. Malachi shared Psalm 33, while we also reflected on Revelation 5 and how Jesus in worthy of our devotion and praise. Colleen then shared the testimony of how she grew closer to Jesus in the midst of health and medical issues.

Marc discussed the need for margin in our lives, seeking to prioritize God's kingdom work with our time, energy, and money. Marc discussed that margin is where our resources (primarily time) are non-scheduled.

This week, Marc updated the congregation on the progress of finding a new space.  Currently, the eldership is looking for a space by June. There are also a number of events going on, so we encourage you to pay close attention and take note of things that you would like to be involved and attend!

Spencer spoke on the value that Forward views faith as an everyday practice, not just a Sunday attendance. Spencer was clear to encourage us that Forward already lives out this value, and that it is an embodied value. We were encouraged to pursue this value and seek God's guidance to go further and find more of God's presence and blessing in our lives.

We ended our time together by sharing in communion, led by Ben.

This week, Spencer shares with us about the role of community in Forward as a value that helps move us forward to a full life in Christ. Spencer highlighted that we need each, we belong to one another, and that our communal love for one another bears witness to Christ's redemptive power in humanity.

This week Marc discusses Mark 5 and the impacts of God's redemptive power over the man possessed by Legion. The man's life was radically altered and when he shared with his community how God had transformed his life, his home community were all amazed.

Marc challenged us this week to consider the ways in which our lives are showcasing the goodness of God in our lives. Marc unpacked the ways that the sweet aroma of God should be present wherever we live and interact with others.

This week, Marc capped off our series on prayer by discussing the various ways we discern and confirm God's specific direction in our lives. Marc emphasized that above all, our character needs to be in line with God's will. When our character and our hearts are aligned, we then are ready to join with God in his will for our lives regarding specific decisions. However, often, these decisions are left up to us as God allows and gives good gifts to his children.

We had a robust service together. We had friends share on prayer and Life Groups, while also participating in communion together. Spencer spoke a number of passages as he led us in a discussion about God answering our prayers with "No."

Spencer discussed a number of factors that lead to the answer of no from God. Sometimes, it is because we are selfish, and sometimes, it is keep us grounded in trusting God's strength and favour over us, despite our experience of struggle and suffering in this world. Finally, Spencer brings us to Jesus in the garden, where God says no to taking away the cup of wrath that our sins have caused. Often, the way we willingly sacrifice in order to see some know Jesus is worth the eternal reward we are promised when we pick up our cross.

This week Marc continued our series focusing on prayer. Marc discussed how there are different aspects of God's will and how his will works out practically in our lives. Many of us think of God's will as specific direction in the big decisions of our lives. Marc focuses on how the most important understanding of God's will comes from knowing his character and us partnering with him in being molded into his image.

Marc ended the message by sharing a prayer that he prays regularly, "God give me the wisdom to know what is right as you define right and give me the courage to do it regardless of the cost." This was a helpful reminder that we are seeking to be his people and not just looking for God to serve us and direct our interests.

This week, Marc discusses the normal angst that we feel as we wait on God for good things, but it seems to us that God is slow in answering or quiet. We turn to Psalm 13 where David pours his anxious and desperate heart to God as he endures incredible hardship. We are reminded to be honest with God, to come boldly into the throne room, while also remaining understanding that he is God and we are not. Marc encourages us to wait in a posture of expectation and praise, for our salvation and our inheritance of good gifts come from God alone.