It's not common practice to talk about God's anger on the first day of Advent. But it sure is neccesary. In order for us to understand why God had to send Jesus to make a way for us, we need to understand how corrupt the human heart was during Micah's time, and how corrupt our hearts continue to be.

Our rebellion against God's instructions for how we ought to live cannot simply be shoved under an all encompassing blanket of divine love. It's something that must be dealt with face to face, with God in the flesh. With Jesus.

God's heartbreak for His children is expressed in furious anger against our actions and against our sin. His anger is just, it is righteous and it is good. But, in His great mercy, His anger is poured out not on us, but on our Saviour. In this season of Advent, we look towards the hope that the gospel proclaims, the hope that begins with an infant lying in a manger. The hope that points to a God who deeply desires good for His children. The hope that points to a God who sent His own son to cover our sins. Praise be to our Lord Jesus, who came to earth as a baby and made a way for us to be united to our Heavenly Father in eternity.

In this world of deep-fakes, untrustworthy news sources, and AI generated companionship, our world is starving for truth. For many people, the search for truth can be awkward or overwhelming. Where do you even start?

You can start by coming to church. Hear the word of God preached and make note of all of your questions. Follow up with the Pastor or an elder. Look for resources to help you find your answers, don't let your questions hang in mid-air and eventually disappear under a pile of busyness. And come back to church again the following week. Forming a habit of regular church attendance will change your life. You'll be connected to God's Kingdom and you will be exposed to the only truth that we can rest on, the truth of the living God. Get to know the folks who are seekers like you and join a group like Alpha or Christianity Explored. Attend a potluck, join a small group. Your heart is calling you to seek community because that's how you were created to be. Come as you are, but know that God will meet you wherever you are in your spiritual journey.

You know how jokes are funnier when they are shared? And how it feels to give someone a present you know they will love? And how sometimes you can't help but re-share that video of the guy who sings lullabies to donkeys? Do you ever wonder where we get that urge to share something that brings us joy? We get it from the Lord! We are hardwired to share something that brings us joy.

So what is it that stops us from sharing the thing that should bring us the most joy and the most life to others? I can think of a few, for myself at least. My ego. My love of comfort. My insecurity in Gods promises. But those are all things that I need to lay down at Jesus feet. And I know there are things that are keeping you from sharing the Gospel as well.

Jesus literally sent each and every believer on a mission to spread the Good News to others. It's how the kingdom of heaven will be filled and it is our duty as Christians here on earth, Llets' take a good hard look at ourselves and bring our hangups to the Lord so we can go forth in peace and with the confidence that the Holy Spirit will guide and lead us in our mission.

In last week's sermon, we talked about the importance of regular repentance. This week, we talk about the importance of forgiving others. Neither repentance nor forgiveness are easy to do. Both are contrary to our natural self-protective instincts. But both acts are imperitive to living the free and fruitful life that God desires for us. Jesus perfectly modelled forgiveness in every aspect of His earthly walk with us and ultimately in His death upon the cross. Because we are called to model ourselves to look more like Jesus, we must always be striving to move towards forgiveness in our own lives. It's not easy. It's going to hurt. And it comes with a lot of questions. But we can lean on the Lord and seek Him in prayer to guide us as we seek reconciliation in our broken relationships. God knows our hearts and our motives and as we honestly confess our struggles, He hears us. He will not leave us alone in these battles to repair what has been damaged.

The first commandment in the Bible is "you shall have no other gods before me." Which sounds like it shouldn't be a big deal, especially to our modern ears. But if you stop to think about it, what is God saying here? He's saying, don't put anything or anyone before me.

This can look different in each of our own lives, but the fact is, we all do it. For example, you could be someone who prioritizes the comfort of your couch instead of meeting with your church community. It could mean you prioritize control and find yourself overworking so you can control your financial future instead of trusting the God will provide for you. You could find yourself obsessively checking your social feeds to find your worth in pixelated hearts or a thumbs up because you prioritize approval of others. Over God's approval of you.

Every single human being is made to worship. The problem is, we're giving the wrong 'gods' the wrong attention instead of giving it to the only God that is worthy of it.

What are you worshipping? What do you deem worth-y?

One of the hardest things for us human beings to do is say we're sorry. Apologizing is one of those things that requires a great deal of humility and self-awareness that doesn't neccesarily come naturally to most of us. But all throughout the Bible, God calls us to repent of our sins and change our ways. Why does He do that? Why should we even bother? Because without true repentance, we simply cannot be close to our Holy God. God calls us to Himself again and again through our own repentance and His offer of grace and forgiveness. Join us this week as we walk through Psalm 32 and learn about true repentance together.

This week, we take a look at Psalm 119:33-40 and we reflect on what it looks like to learn to love God's law. Loving the law is not something that comes naturally to our human hearts. Usually if someone places a law on our autonomy, it's not likely going to stir up a sense of peace, but rather rebellion. We'd rather look to anyone or anything else but God to tell us what we should do and how we should live. We look to others to satisfy our idol of acceptance and to ourselves to satisfy our idols of control. And let's not even talk about what we look to social media for, despite the ever fluctuating social trends of what is acceptable and unacceptable.

But God's laws free us from looking this way and that to fulfill our hearts desires. Instead of binding us so that our spirits are stifled and confused and anxious, they give us boundaries so that we can flourish. As children living under Gods grace, we can go in confidence that Jesus has paid for any mistake - no matter how large or how small or how intentional or unintentional. We can live our lives in the joy that is freedom in Christ and lay our idols down at His feet.

From the breath in our lungs to the sun on our face, everything we have is a gift from God. We are recipients of a million seen and unseen gifts from our Creator and lifting our hearts to God in thanks is key to living a joyful, fruitful life here on earth. Even if the sun hurts our eyes and our breath is shallow, we are called to give thanks in all circumstances - no matter how easy or difficult they may be. This week, Pastor Paul walks us through 1 Thessalonians where we learn more about becoming thankful on the level that God calls us into, join us as we listen to the word together.

Some folks can point to a specific time, even a specific day in their lives where the gospel completely and utterly changed them. Their lives are a stark contrast of before and after. But some folks experience gospel growth in small, subtle ways that begin to change them over time. Both are good, both are growth. But one thing is for sure. The gospel, the good news of the saving grace of Jesus Christ, will change you. Those pinpricks of impatience. That overwhelming desire to publicly share something juicy about someone else. The false confirmation that your own worst fear has just come true. All of it is changed by God's truth, His better way. Join us as we listen to Rev. Mark Hordyk unpack 2 Peter 1:3-9.

This week, Pastor Paul walks us through Luke 18:9-14. It's one of those passages that reminds me of just how human the folks in the bible really were: "God, thank you I'm not like those scumbags over there." (based on Luke 18:11). I'm sure some of us can relate to that, if we're really honest with ourselves. But Jesus' point with this parable is to make us aware of what it looks like when we have our view of ourselves misaligned with the truth. The more we exalt ourselves, the more we start to overshadow the cross. The more we overshadow the cross, the more we forget that we are created beings who will never be bigger, more important, more wise, more intelligent, than our Creator. Having a proper view of ourselves, being humbled and accepting our God-given position here on earth is the first step towards living a full, fruitful life. Find out more by joining us this week!