This week Pastor Steve will teach us from Exodus 7:1-13 about how Moses had an audience with a very famous and powerful person, but that Moses had already met somebody more important and carried His message. Have you met the God of the universe and are you carrying His message?

Have you ever felt under-resourced? More month than money when it comes to all your bills? Maybe the cause of your lack of resources is due to somebody else? Maybe a family member made a commitment that has cost you dearly and you are still paying for it? This seems to be the thinking of Israelites in slavery in our passage of Exodus 5 this week when their leader Moses tells Pharaoh to let God’s people go. Pharaoh was not going to let go of his slave work force so easily and instead demanded that the Israelites make bricks without straw and without lowering their daily quota, one brick. But this was God’s word! And sometimes God’s word makes things harder before they get easier, but that is not the last of God’s word. There is hope for those under-resourced. The God over everything will deliver us!

Most of us know what the signs of danger are - falling rocks or DANGER! with an exclamation point! But have you heard of signs to go back to danger? Well, you will this week from Exodus 4 as God calls Moses to go back to Egypt where he had run away from as a fugitive. Sometimes the most dangerous thing to do is play it safe!

Have you ever been minding your own business and then God unexpectedly showed up? How did He get your attention? Moses was tending sheep when God spoke to Him from the burning bush and told Moses to go back to Egypt to tell Pharaoh to let God’s people go. This is what we will be studying from Exodus 3 this week. May we all be ready and expecting our next encounter with God!

Imagine feeling leaderless and forgotten, while experiencing oppression and persecution. But then a baby is born. Your deliverer is coming! However, in his first act as deliverer, he overreaches and things become violent and so he flees … for 40 years. What would you do? This week in your small groups and on Sunday, we will find out from Exodus 2 what the Israelites did and more importantly, we will get to pull back the curtains and see what God was doing in heaven when all this was happening. May we never lose sight that our deliverer is coming!

Happy New Year! God was faithful in 2025, and He certainly will be this coming year! We have much to anticipate. We are beginning a new series through the Book of Exodus entitled Know-Grow-Go this Sunday! Our Leadership Team picked the Book of Exodus to remind us of the power of God in our lives. We are very excited to see what God is going to do in and through us as we gather together each week and look at this awesome book.

Think back to the most difficult times of your life. You may say, Jon, why would I do that when I want to put my past in the past? I do not mean to lance any old wounds, but I want you to think about what God has produced in and through you during that suffering. Do you have greater faith in Him? Do you have more perseverance? More empathy for your fellow sufferers? Did you grow through suffering and oppression? I bet you did. Sure, suffering in itself does not guarantee growth, but turning to God in our pain does. This is what we will discover as we study Exodus 1. See you Sunday and expect God to show His care and power in your life!

I hope you had a great Christmas, and your heart was full of joy and wonder at what our Saviour Jesus has done for us. This Sunday is becoming one of my annual favourites when we gather between Christmas and New Year for a time to share God stories. It is a powerful time remembering God’s faithfulness, power and love in our lives. I usually take time this week every year to review my year going over answered prayers, remembering the events that brought me joy and sorrow and knowing that God brought me through both of them. We overcome through the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony (Revelation 12:11). So come out and spend time with your church family reminiscing about what our Heavenly Father has done for us.

What is one of the most elusive things in the world? Some say cats. Those who do, have you ever tried to wrangle up chickens that have been enjoying life as free rangers? The trick to rounding up chickens and cats is offering food. What is more elusive than cats or chickens is peace! Unlike food drawing cats and chickens, food requires peace to already be in place. Who eats with somebody they don’t trust? And if peace is elusive, how about having peace with the government? What if I were to tell you that there is a Prince of Peace who holds the government on His shoulders? This Prince of Peace’s name is Jesus. This Sunday, as we celebrate Advent, the focus will be on peace from Isaiah 9:6-7 - the kind of lasting peace that only Christ can provide. Come to Jesus and find peace once again.

Most likely you are reading this on Black Friday. Don’t get run over chasing shopping deals. Our family is visiting my wife’s family in the United States this American Thanksgiving week. Many from Lori’s family are not just gathering to celebrate the holiday, but also to spend some time with our family matriarch, Lori’s mom. Mom Henry is a very godly woman who has overcome a lot in her life and is now battling Parkinson’s. Earlier this year there was some doubt that we would get to have Thanksgiving with her this year as we are told that soon she will be going to heaven to see her Lord and Saviour Jesus. But God! Mom Henry has always looked forward to the next family gathering since her children and their families are spread throughout North America serving the Lord. Part of what drives Mom Henry is hope. That is true for all of us. This is why this week our Advent season begins with a focus on hope. Pastor Steve will point us to Christ, the true giver of hope. May you find hope in Christ this season!