New Series: “THE WORK-OUT: Preparing for What You Cannot Do"
News, government, social media, friends, teachers, ads - everyone wants to shape the way we think - knowing that it will influence how we spend, how we live, what we do, what we watch - and ultimately - who we are. What is almost completely missing in this is God’s perspective - the bigger picture of what He’s up to in our world. Without it, we're just making it up as we go. Is that good enough for you? Is that the way you want to live your one and only life?

Happy Mother’s Day!
What we might be seeing in the aftermath of the past three years is something that has been described as ‘languishing'. That is, people who are overwhelmed, under-resourced and overtired. And likely, mothers most of all. It’s one thing getting yourself through a time when everything has changed—and quite another helping your kids through it! God, as YOUR care-giver, HE CARES about you and knows the future — as well as the pressures you are facing right now. So know this: GOD LOVES your children even more than you do and He offers His immense power and understanding to you, in your irreplacable calling as 'MOM'.

We like to be comfortable. We fill our calendar with all kinds of things that meet our needs. They’re not bad things, that is, unless that’s all you're aiming for. The truth is, all these things can consume us and often lead us away from the heart of God. A heart that loves, a heart that makes sacrifices, a heart that serves without reward. A heart that knows this life is not all there is and that we were created for more.

Our mission here at the Olive Branch is “To build a community of people transformed by the Good News of Jesus and committed to having a transforming impact on our world - being Good News wherever we  find ourselves.” It all starts with transformation.
Giving doesn’t just come from our hands - it comes from our heart first. When we give out of a transformed heart, we are giving back to God. Not to earn anything, but out of gratitude for what HE has given us. It's only then we can begin to see the bigger picture. That it's NOT just about us. Surprised? Every soul on this planet matters to God. And here's some more good news. While we're in the process of changing our hearts - we get to join Jesus in HIS mission! Sound a little scary and overwhelming? Sometimes it is… but that's when we can lean into Him - trusting that He already knows the person we will become and what our impact will be. So... are you ready to trust Jesus? Are you ready for a change of heart?

In my heart and yours, there’s a divider. We start out life with only the capacity to receive LOVE - that is, a huge capacity for taking, but almost no ability to give back. Within a few months, we can give back a little - with adorably cute toothless smiles and incoherent babbling. But babies think it's all about them. And it is, for a time. But some people never get over it - no matter how many years they spend on the planet. LOVE doesn’t just pop out of nowhere! The only way the world will get more of it is that if you and I show more LOVE and get better at loving. And that means learning to give back. It's what growing up emotionally and spiritually is all about.

Easter is a special time of excitement and celebration, even for those who don’t believe in Jesus. BUT NOW WHAT? Peter and the disciples were waiting... they didn't know what was next after Jesus' resurrection. Maybe you feel the same way - all the joy and hype around Easter has faded. So, where does God want us to head next?
— TOP THINGS TO KNOW —
Coming up!
Young Adults Worship Night — Sunday, April 23 at 6:30 pm
Ways to be a part of the community:
• Young Adults — Sunday nights at 6:30 pm – Get details on Instagram @olivebranch.ya
• Encounter Youth – Friday nights at 6:30 pm
• Life Groups – find your group: tob.ca/life-groups
• Kids Branch — children’s ministries online and in-person! Check out kidsbranch.ca
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 Donate and support the ministry: https://www.tob.ca/give/
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• Need prayer? Email us at [email protected]
• Need help? Send us a message at [email protected]
Connect with us
• instagram.com/olivebranchmarkham
• facebook.com/olivebranchmarkham
— WORSHIP —
10,000 Reasons
By Matt Redman, Jonas Myrin
© 2011 Atlas Mountain Songs, sixsteps Music, Thankyou Music, worshiptogether.com songs (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)
CCLI Song No. 6016351
CCLI License No. 2843855

We all love a final twist in a plot where everything seems broken beyond repair… squashed… over… hopeless... and then everything changes. The first clue? A flicker in the dark... a word... a tear... someone clicks. For Jesus? It was two women at a grave mourning; it was a team of guards keeping the Roman seal intact. And then this angel, this powerful being of light who moves a ton of stone like it’s made of styrofoam. And suddenly, everything begins to go into reverse. It was a confusing day in April. It started out with no believers... and ended way differently than anyone ever thought it would.

Looking at Jesus’ life from a distance it does seem like He did things that He knew would create a problem. When He could’ve backed off and saved His own life, but He didn’t. When you look at the big picture, it’s not real surprising that Jesus’ ended up on a cross. It wasn’t a death wish as such, but it was the only way to life... for all of us. To choose a path that you know leads to crucifixion and what looks like failure in the eyes of everyone takes incredible courage.
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Join us on Sunday at 10 am
For our Easter Celebration service
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— WORSHIP —
How Great A King
By Matt Hammitt, Hannah McClure, Paul McClure, Seth Mosley
© CentricSongs, These Tunes Go To 11 (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing) Matt Hammitt Music, Songs for FCM LLC (Admin. by Kobalt Music Publishing America, Inc.) Bethel Music Publishing
CCLI Song No. 7086026
CCLI License No. 2843855

Jesus had a plan for the Kingdom - a kingdom driven by grace, humility and love - led by servants! Increasingly, throughout His ministry, He ran up against a bunch of other dreams. For some, it was the dream of having money and success; but for others, it was a dream for the temple and the Torah to rule the world. For the Romans, it was a dream of a 1,000 year reich - to put it in terms we all understand. For the Zealots, it was a dream of the Roman Empire full of dead Romans. Meaning? When Jesus entered Jerusalem and began the last week of His life, the city was like a powder keg. You could feel the tension in the air. Even His followers had dreams - and the hangers-on had dreams...but in the end, someone's dream wasn’t going to come true.

In the grand cosmic scheme of things, there are a few assumptions that are prevalent across the world:
- There is an after-life
- God lives in a good place and we want to live where he lives during the after-life
- Religions have a system about how to be good so we can also go to that good place
But, what does it actually look like to be good enough? Is this even how it really works?