We are a very style-conscious generation, and especially a style-conscious city. I grew up in the rural areas of Ontario. That was not the case. When I moved to the city, I became quite aware that wearing clothes becomes the fine art of making a statement.

As I look at the passage I want to speak from, there is a style that accompanies the follower of Jesus. I do not mean clothing. I mean there is a style of life that accompanies the Christ follower, and that is called generosity.

I want to talk about that from 2 Corinthians 8, in our sermon series, as we go through the book of 2 Corinthians, called "The Fingerprints of God".

Extra reading: Ruth 2:1-16

Preacher: Bill Dyck

If you were to look up the word "comfort" on your phone and see what kinds of images come up, all kinds of things appear: chocolate cake, cups of coffee, some beautiful getaway, maybe a really soft bed. Some pets show up too.

Difficult times come to all of us, so we look for comfort, and the question is always where to find it and how to access it. Much as we would like chocolate cake or a trip to the mall to comfort us, not all of these things are as effective as we would like.

But God does comfort us, and that is what I want to talk about here today. God's comfort goes deeper. It touches the soul. It goes deep inside, so fear loses its grip and doubt blows off to the side. Loss becomes less painful. Loss becomes manageable.

The comfort of God is a remarkable thing, and the Scriptures talk a lot about it. But the question here is how to access God's comfort. Today's sermon is called "A Precious Gift You Can't Buy in the Store," and I am really talking about the comfort of God.

Extra reading: Psalm 133

Preacher: Bill Dyck

The Alliance began in Toronto 140 years ago and then thrived there from about 1885 to 1915. Towards 1920, though, the Alliance downtown was imploding, all along University Avenue and Parkdale, where there had been powerful ministries. The Alliance moved north and east and west and to the rest of the world, and left the downtown vacant, until our church came as a church plant under First Alliance, clawing our way back into the downtown.

It is not entirely clear why the Alliance imploded. But I do know what made them effective in those early years. They pursued it. It is the word consecration. I want to speak about that today from 2 Corinthians 6.

Consecration is a word we don't use, but I want to hang on to it because of the way it anchors us in history. They had consecration meetings. Meetings just to give themselves to God. They had consecration weekends. Which is why our family of churches changed the city. The president of the Alliance was the mayor and Toronto came to be known as "Toronto the Good."

But I want to come back to consecration, being totally given to God.

Extra reading: Isaiah 52:1-12

Preacher: Bill Dyck

You are made for more. That is a big theme in the Bible. Everybody is made for more.

There are a lot of reminders in life that show we are made for more than anything that we experience. There is no desire that we have here on Earth that, if we were to pursue it, in the end would not still leave us longing for more.

Those who have the most in life are not the most satisfied. Sometimes it is those people who have nothing that are truly satisfied. Those who climb the highest heights, those who go after the biggest experiences, those who see the greatest sights on planet Earth one after the other, and have the resources to chase them all down, in the end come back still longing for more.

We are made for more.

I am in 2 Corinthians 4 today. We are walking through 2 Corinthians, and the theme is the fingerprints of God. One of these fingerprints that God stamps upon people, is that he helps us see we are made for more. He wants us to understand that and to pursue him.

Extra reading: Psalm 139:13-18

Preacher: Bill Dyck

How can I be changed?

We each have behaviours that are very difficult for us shed, and other qualities we'd like to gain. We might begin the year with resolve, saying, this is the year I am finally going to become a gentle person. Or something else. But one year goes on after another, and we wonder, are we truly changeable?

Or even worse, what if we are trying to change a loved one? We know from experience how completely ineffective we at that, because it is not given to us to change another person. Yet we do try.

So I want to talk about how a person gets changed. There are two methods. One is, do better and try harder, a worldwide method chosen everywhere, undercutting many religious systems.

I want to talk about another way that is much more fruitful and effective, out of 2 Corinthians 3, in our series about the fingerprints of God.

Preacher: Bill Dyck

Extra reading: Exodus 34:27-35

In the most recent space mission, four astronauts went and circled the Earth and the moon and came home. These men had spent their lives preparing for this in a lot of different ways. But all of their studying, all of their pictures, everything they had seen did not adequately prepare them for the moment when they saw the moon eclipse the sun. One of them, who claimed afterwards to not be a particularly religious man, said he felt he was in the presence of divinity.

I remember well the day, as a child, when I first put my faith in Jesus. Though I trusted him in that moment, nothing would have prepared me fully for the things that God has shown me of himself and brought me into. Being just a naive farm kid, number five of seven, I knew nothing. But I knew that God put his finger on me, drew me to himself, and then has surprised me over and over.

I want to talk here today about the surprising benefits package when Jesus is Lord, looking at 2 Corinthians 2 in this sermon series called "The Fingerprints of God."

Extra reading: Exodus 19:1-9

Preacher: Bill Dyck

At a complicated crime scene, investigators look for fingerprints. They want to find who did this. Fingerprints are unique to each individual, and they do not change through our life. They are highly reliable evidence. They place people in specific locations, sometimes linking multiple crimes.

What are God's fingerprints? You cannot see him, but we understand he is working in the details of our lives. Maybe because of the intensity, we overlook him working, but he wants us to know. Sometimes it is only after the fact that we look and realize he was there. He was working.

For the next few weeks, I want to walk through a series called "God's Fingerprints", looking at passages in 2 Corinthians.

In this book, Paul talks more personally than in any other book. He is wearing his heart on his sleeve, and he gives us insight into how God works. The backdrop is difficult relationships, affliction. In such situations, we look for God's fingerprints. What is he doing? I called the sermon "God is always doing more than you think".

Extra reading: Isaiah 43:1-7

Preacher: Bill Dyck

Imagine you hired somewhere. There is nothing glamorous about it, but it is solid. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, you get another offer from a place that is more prestigious. It comes with better pay, career prospects, and commute. Everything and everyone around you is saying that you should jump ship and make the switch.

What you do not realize is that if you do make that switch, it is going to lead you into real pain and trauma that will last for years. Would it not be a great gift hear the voice of God speaking in that situation?

This very situation happened to me, and God warned me not to switch jobs. I did not listen because I was proud, and I suffered greatly because of it. That experience left me so wounded that I was afraid to work for years after that.

When we talk about hearing God's voice, we are not talking about a religious sidebar, but something that is deeply loving, core to our faith, and deeply practical. There may be things that God wants to protect us from that we cannot yet see.

Reading: John 10:1-16

Preacher: Luke Dobrzanski

There are times in our lives where we ride on the top of the wave and all is going just as it should. Those are nice, sweet times.

But there are other times where we suffer disappointments and things are not as we wish they were. And it's hard sometimes reconciling those times with where we would really like to be, or even our faith, what we know we should be. So there's so many questions and struggles that come to us in those times.

But this story that we're going to unpack today, it's part of the resurrection narratives. This story speaks to all of humanity everywhere, with all of its struggles, all its sorrows, all of its losses, all of its pain. And it fills our barren places with hope.

So I called the message "Jesus' Resurrection in the Middle of a Mess".

Extra reading: Matthew 28:1-15

Preacher: Bill Dyck

Today's sermon includes a component of listening to God using the SMORP steps. If you would like to skip this, jump to the following locations;

7:35 - Reading of the sermon passage

19:39 - Start of sermon

Today's sermon is based on a Latin phrase, carpe diem. "Seize the day". Meaning, there are opportunities in every day, and to not let the important ones pass by.

For example, when I first met my wife, I was in Bible college and I had made my mind up that it was not going to be a year about girls. I knew what I was there for. But then I met her after speaking at a youth event and I put my resolve aside in a moment. I got her phone number, and we were on a date within a week. I just knew it was an important moment right here and I have no regrets.

Some moments you can let slide by. But others, you must seize the day.

In this passage, there are people who claimed the moment but there are others who missed it. Jesus talks about it. They missed the opportunity, he says, and he says the way is shut. There are no more opportunities. He wept as he looked over the city, over lost opportunity. But there were those who claimed the opportunity. That is what I want to think about here today.

Preacher: Bill Dyck

Extra reading: Psalm 24