There's a big difference between the joy we get from Christ and the joy the world offers.

Worldly joys are always based on circumstances. We feel joyful only when our lives are going well. If you got a great job, a big house, tight relationships, entertainment at your disposal, comfort and security, good health, then we're joyful.

But worldly joys are also temporary, and often fleeting with diminishing returns. That includes career and financial success, luxury entertainment experiences, and even our relationships and our health: We need constant renewal of all these things to even sustain the same level of joy as before.

These worldly joys aren’t bad in themselves but if you’re looking to get complete satisfaction and joy in life from it, you’ll be sorely disappointed at best, or utterly devastated at worst.

But the good news is that there is such a joy that exists, which can completely satisfy.

It’s a joy that only Jesus can give us, and more than that, he tells us in His Word, that we can fully experience it today.

There’s a lot of conflict in our world. Nations fight over land. Spouses fight over money. Young children fight over toys.Conflicts arise because we allow our sin nature to rule. We let our desires overshadow relationship. We insist on our own way. But there is good news. God has not left us alone in a world of conflict, division, and brokenness. He sent His Son, the Prince of Peace, into the world to bring true peace.When the angels announced his birth, they declared glory to God in the highest and on earth. Peace among those with whom He is pleased. Jesus came not to only bring us peace with God, but make a way to have peace with others.

We all hope for good things to happen for us. 

We might hope for success in life, or our hopes can be for our comfort, security, and pleasure. 

Our hopes can also be relational to be well liked and praised. 

We all need hope because without hope, we would live in despair and pessimism. We might even lack direction in our life if there’s nothing to hope for.

Hopelessness can also lead to depression and anxiety. We need hope to live.

So what are we hoping for these days?

If someone came to you and claimed that he had something for free that could make you truly happy and that no one would be able to take it away fromm you, what would you think? Most of us would assume it’s a scam or it’s too good to be true.But Jesus made this promise to his disciples and he through his word is speaking the same promise to us today.He has something for you that is deeper than momentary hoppiness and stronger than circumstance.

If someone came to you and claimed that he had something for free that could make you truly happy and that no one would be able to take it away from you, what would you think? 

Most of us would assume it’s a scam or it’s too good to be true.

But Jesus made this promise to his disciples and he through his word is speaking the same promise to us today.

He has something for you that is deeper than momentary hoppiness and stronger than circumstance. 

Pastor Joshua McKaye of Fellowship Pickering was the guest speaker on Nov. 9, 2025 preaching on how our congregational witness is marked by unity, love, and boldness.

Christ is our ultimate example and the mind of Christ is available to us because of his Spirit that lives inside of us.So we are to be like Christ, and we have the hope of becoming like Christ because of his Spirit who is conforming us into the image of Christ.His mind, his humility, his servant attitude, his selfless love is truly in us through his Spirit. Therefore all we need to do is to walk by the Spirit.

Friendship is invaluable in our lives. To have someone to share both our joys and sorrows with, to care and be cared for, to not feel alone in this world, it’s a wonderful thing to have true friends. But studies show the number of friendships we have declines as we get older and it’s for a number of reasons. There are shifting priorities in life, or having less time and energy to invest in new friendships, or just being more cautious and selective of who we let into our lives possibly due to past relationship struggles. We soon find that our social circles get smaller and smaller. Perhaps, some of us have already felt, or are currently feeling loneliness, as a consequence of not having many real, lasting friendships. Maybe some of you have said to yourself, that you actually prefer to keep your social circle incredibly small. But because we’re created in the image of God, we still yearn and desire to be in loving relationships, genuine relationships, as God the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit have been with one another for all of eternity. As we go through John 15:9-17, we’ll see the need for gospel-centered friendships and how a healthy church should be a place where people can come to find them.But more importantly, first and foremost, we must be able to see how Jesus is the true and ultimate friend we all need and we can forever depend on.

It is much easier to look only to your own interests. But that would be a major hindrance to having unity in the church. So in light of the cross of Christ and the grace of God, may we humble ourselves to serve others, to think about others, to talk to others and get to know others.Get to know their hopes, dreams, fears, struggles, and their needs, and then love them. Not in our own strength, or wisdom, but in the power of the spirit for the glory of God.

A familiar Thanksgiving question is: What are you thankful for?

You might hear, I'm thankful for my family, for my health, for this church, for my work, for a new friend. These are good.

But the Bible invites us to go deeper. It not only asks, "What are you thankful for?"

But it also asks, "Who are you thankful to...and why?"