Pastor Steve takes a look back at the year that was at Grassroots via a slideshow (you can view the slideshow here: https://youtu.be/PTLMN3tkDlQ and shows how God has been faithful to our community.... yet again before talking about what's in store for 2025 and giving a charge to the community out of Philippians 2.

Pastor Steve explores the form of love revealed in the circumstances of Jesus' birth. It is a love of incredible vulnerability which, it is suggested, is exactly how God wishes to reveal himself first and foremost. The implications for what this means for his followers is to follow into this same way of loving others - particularly those deemed most difficult to love.

As we continue the journey toward Bethlehem, Pastor Steve shares >one< way that joy might become a more sustained reality in the life of the Christian through looking at the theme of joy in the New Testament and two traits that are often associated with it: 1. beleagueredness and 2. hope of deliverance.

The second week of Advent offers the gift of peace - but it's not the peace the world offers. At least, it's not the WAY of peace the world offers. Immanuel, God with Us, offers an everlasting peace through his presence and through forgiveness. Rather than using the tactics used by Caesar to attain peace--intimidation, violence, domination, fear, etc.--we're asked to follow in the way of Jesus in order to be agents of peace to a tumultuous world.

Pastor Steve opens the 1st Sunday of Advent by exploring how Christians are able to hold the reality of the world's despair while simultaneously putting our hope in a God who promises restoration. Both are realities and the Christian is asked, against all odds, to uphold hope because of the faithfulness and trustworthiness of the God who makes the promise in the first place.

Pastor Steve facilitates a conversation with 3 Grassrooters (Matt Denis, Robin Peace and Bill Ulrich), discussing some practical, real-world experience and perspective on the topic of sharing faith. This is a rich and, at times, vulnerable discussion you won't want to miss.

Many of us cringe when we think about evangelism. That's because many of our experiences with evangelism have been full of cringe. That sucks because you'd think the greatest hope we have and the source of our joy would be something we'd share freely and generously. But what if it doesn't have to be cringe? What if evangelism was as simple as our story? In a post-church, post-truth, cynical world, our story's intersection with the gospel may just be the most effective and authentic tool we could use to share our faith.

Pastor Steve ends the series on rediscovering the gospel using a "tool" called "The Gospel in Chairs" in which 2 versions of the gospel are presented - a legal gospel and a restorative gospel. This presentation was developed by Orthodox priest Anthony Carbo and made popular by pastor/theologian Brad Jersak among others. You can check out Brad's version of the Gospel in Chairs here: The Gospel in Chairs with Brad Jersak

Scott Wiebe shares an honest and vulnerable take on why he's still a committed follower of Jesus and why the life of the church is so valuable to him.

We all believe that Jesus died for our sins but exactly HOW that works is the stuff of theology. Pastor Steve explores the main atonement theories that have emerged over the past two millennia that have sought to understand the mechanics of the cross, ending with a particular strong challenge of what it means to follow Jesus in light of the cross.