It's Easter Weekend!! This is the very centre of the Christian year. It's the weekend we mark the incomprehensible, beautiful, death-defeating work of Christ. All of a sudden, Jesus' invitation to His disciples, spoken before they even had an inkling of what lay ahead, comes into sharp focus as He is arrested, condemned and crucified before their very eyes. And then His promise of eternal life becomes tangible, literally alive in His resurrected person.

We will mark the weekend two ways. Today we'll share a Good Friday morning reflection. This  will be a journey through the scriptures of Good Friday, meditating on the Passion of Jesus and His way of the cross.

The scripture readings that will anchor our worship today invite us into stories that both reveal the great wealth we find in Christ and honour the gift of worship we give Him in response. 

We will give space for a more extended time for worship and communion, with a short reflection from Kris.

In the last episode, we talked about the idea that the word "Lent" refers to the lengthening of days. Spring brings about the renewal of dormant things. We asked the question: "What's been dormant that is being reawakened in you?" 

In this episode, Brady Wilson will be sewing up the series we've been in over the past couple of months. Jesus put a lot of emphasis on fruitfulness. In fact, the whole biblical account puts a lot of emphasis on bearing fruit. This week: From Roots to Fruits (because flourishing always results in fruitfulness).

Sigh. The world has gotten pretty complicated again, with the events in Ukraine, hasn't it? 

This Sunday is going to be a time of re-centering around Christ, praying for our world, stepping into the promise of a gospel that is resilience itself in the face of every kind of fear and uncertainty. 

Amazingly, David wrote these words in the aftermath of an extremely violent and unjust action on the part of King Saul:
 

But I am like an olive tree
    flourishing in the house of God;
I trust in God’s unfailing love
    for ever and ever.
 For what you have done I will always praise you
    in the presence of your faithful people.
And I will hope in your name,
    for your name is good. (Psalm 52, 8-9)

Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy on us. 

Hey everyone. Last week we starting asking really great questions about the root system that sustains us in life and in faith. As Brady shared, there was a lot of really great feedback happening, both on the chat wall in zoom as well as some folks unmuted and sharing different word pictures, unique insights, thoughts and questions. It was such an encouraging time. We're going to keep pressing into that this Sunday by creating a space for a few more of us to share what percolated throughout the week as you reflected on the amazing insight that the Lord intends for us to be completely rooted in His Love.

To prime the pump, here's a question to consider, if you haven't already:

What is the condition of the soil like that you are rooted in? What's the ratio of "Jesus-y" soil like love, peace, hope, joy to the "other stuff" (fear, anxiety, lack etc)? Do we believe that the Jesus can purify the soil, or even completely transplant us? 

As you consider your roots, what do you hear/sense the Lord say? 

Looking forward to digging deeper. Pun intended. 

The last time we were together we introduced the powerful biblical metaphor of the Tree of Life. We're going to be lingering with this image for a while, unpacking the promise and the invitation of being rooted, healthy, flourishing, maturing, fruit-bearing people.

The scriptures put a lot of emphasis on where flourishing trees are planted. It turns out, location matters. Sunshine and water supply matter. And what matters most? Dark, nutrient-rich, life-infused soil of course.

Brady Wilson will be sharing. 

As you know, these days we're on a journey together as a church community. It's a journey into a deep dialogue about flourishing... about what we need to mature into the abundant life that Jesus said He came to give us. It doesn't take long before words like "flourishing", "abundance" and "maturity" lead us to the doorway to the book of Psalms. Psalm 1 says this of the one who delights in God: 

 "He is like a tree planted by flowing streams;
it yields its fruit at the proper time,
and its leaves never fall off.
He succeeds in everything he attempts."

If you're like me, you read that and think "Where do I sign up?" And of course, this question is quickly followed by, "Is this really possible?"

So, here's the question: What if this is really a 'thing'? What if it's actually an inheritance to be expected? What if this is what maturity in Christ actually promises? 

This week we're going to start looking closer at this Tree... After all, there is a Tree that bookends the biblical story, who's roots start in Genesis, its branches intersect Psalms and the Passion of Jesus and finally, its fruit is the nourishment of the New Creation described in the book of Revelation. It's kind of a big deal in the scriptures, and so we're going to see if maybe this "tree thing" is a big deal for us in our journey together right now.

Last  week we began a journey that we're going to be on for a while. It's a journey to answer what seems like a simple question, but is actually many-layered and multi-textured: What do you need, like, really need, to live into the abundant life Jesus said He was all about? What do you need in your day-to-day life as a Jesus follower, and what do you need in a church family? The answers to those questions are going to matter a lot as we seek to understand where the Lord is leading us a church family.

Throughout the recent "maturity" series, we framed maturity in Christ as a kind of target, a sort of bullseye for your life and mine. Understanding our needs and getting them met in healthy ways is so closely aligned with the maturity process that it's indecipherable from it. We're going to explore why.

Matthew 15 is one of the high-action chapters in the gospels. Jesus is healing everyone. Jesus is feeding everyone. We can only imagine the electricity among His disciples as they watch Jesus doing business with every sickness, ailment and evil spirit and forgiving sins.

I've been considering the work of Jesus through a bit of a different lens lately. Yes, the work of Christ, as demonstrated in the Matthew passage, is an abundant work. He is performing miracles, after all. And he is also meeting needs. Profoundly felt, urgently required needs.

And I believe Jesus still does that very thing. It's part of what it means to be the Church (Acts:4:34). So we're going to be taking a journey together to answer the question I believe the Holy Spirit is asking of us, and it's a crucial question: What do you need?

This is a significant gathering in our story as the Guelph Vineyard. Two announcements are made, one being the move to a 9am service (come for 8:45!) beginning on Dec 12, 2021, at Royal City Mission. The other is the shift to bi-vocationality for our pastor, Kris MacQueen. 

In the midst of many changes, unforeseeable curve balls and an unknown future, the Peace of the Lord is absolutely in our midst, centring us powerfully to navigate these times led by curiosity, courage and wonder rather than driven by fear and anxiety. The Lord is at work in our midst, and leading us. Listen to hear more.