Together in truth
Happy Father’s Day! On this day that we celebrate the rich blessing that fathers can bring to our lives, Pastor brings us a message about God’s design for fatherhood and family relationships.
Image source: YouVersion
You can give your offering online.
Ephesians 4:17-23
Matthew 16:13-18
This is our third installment in a lesson series about God’s promises. Our aim in this study is to focus on understanding how God’s promises fit within God’s wider policies, as well as observing any conditions that are attached to His promises. Pastor looks this time at an unconditional promise made by God to Peter.
2 Peter 1:1-4
Luke 22:31-33
John 21:15-18
With this week’s relaxation of provincial regulations regarding religious meetings, we are thrilled and deeply blessed to be able to meet together in person today, for the first time in three months!
We will be continuing to offer online services for those not able to/not yet comfortable with joining us in person.
Today, Pastor Ralph urges us to consider the eternal, spiritual implications of our hunger for truth (or lack of it) as we move through life towards death.
May God bless our meeting together.
You can give your offering online here.
“The gospel of Christ has never needed the gimmicks of man to effect conversion in the soul.”
— Mark Dever
This week as protests against racial injustice and prejudice have sprung up across North America as well as around the globe, our world has been extraordinarily attuned to the evil of sin and its consequences: death. In the midst of the mortal tension of COVID-19, we have been urged over recent days to truly reckon with how well we obey the command to love our neighbour as ourselves (Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31).
Of all people, this command falls with particular weight upon anyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ. Oh God, may we ever increasingly show compassion, seek wisdom, and cultivate genuine love for one another.
For believers, we know the ultimate source of restoration and healing is Christ, and we anticipate the joy of an eternity without pain in Heaven with God. So we turn once more this Sunday to learn more about the reason for our hope from God’s Word, the Bible.
Looking once more at the ascension of Jesus into Heaven, we focus this time on its significance to the mission of every true Christian (the “Great Commission,” as it’s often called): to proclaim the good news of the gospel to all people.
May God increase our hunger for the truth of His Word and our boldness to proclaim it.
Giving your offering online is available here.
Philippians 2:3-11
Acts 1:1-11
Acts 2:36
O Jesus, for this you died! That you might reconcile hopeless, hostile people to God and to each other. You have done it for millions by grace through faith. Do it, Lord Jesus, in Minneapolis, we pray. Amen.
John Piper (theologian, former pastor, and resident of Minneapolis; you can read/listen to his full prayer here)
We’re studying God’s promises, looking at Bible characters who received (or were part of) a promise from God and then saw that promise fulfilled. Our aim with this study is to understand God’s promises within the context of God’s policies, so that we as believers can know how to rightly “claim” them to bring glory to God.
We looked previously at Moses. In this second installment of our series, David is our focus as we learn about God’s promise to forgive our sins. We’ll learn also of the conditions attached to that promise of forgiveness: confessing our sin, and forsaking our sin.
2 Peter 1:1-4
Psalm 32
1 John 1:9
Join us next week as we continue our series, looking at the apostle Peter (also called Simon).
It’s perhaps no surprise that our times are only becoming more troubled. As pressures mount, we see more clearly the deficencies in our world that we’re usually only aware of in passing during the “good times.” Now, without the distractions of our normal lives, we’re having to face up to them.
For believers most of all, these days are a vital opportunity to examine ourselves, to ask God to show us the parts of our lives where we have chosen to let sin rule over us rather than Christ. We cannot live with sin. As John Piper says, “[Killing sin] is not optional. This is mortal combat: sin dies or we die.” The weight of our sin and the brokenness to which it leads, in our own lives and in the world, can be disheartening to recognise. It can — it must — deeply grieve us, as it deeply grieves God. But there is hope also. Victory over sin isn’t just possible; by God’s grace, it’s already done. God’s plan of redemption means our hope is Christ, in life and death.
In our message this morning, Pastor Ralph walks us through the architecture of that divine plan of redemption. We’ll see both the descent of Jesus Christ (beginning with His literal descent from Heaven to become a human being) and His ascension (finishing with all humanity’s recognition of Jesus Christ as Lord).
May God bless our meeting apart.
Online giving is available here.
Romans 1:2-4
Acts 2:36
Philippians 2:3-11
“Imperfect people can be faithful to God because He is faithful to them.”
Ray Ortlund
Our aim this week is to understand God’s promises with a view to learning how we can rightly lay hold of them (“claim” them) for ourselves. Pastor Ralph explains that we need to first understand God’s policies in order to understand His promises. This week’s lesson is illustrated by the life of Moses in the context of God’s promise to Abraham and his descendants, the children of Israel (Israelites).
Ascension Sunday
This past Thurday, 21 May, marked 40 days since we commemorated the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday. Today, we remember the bodily ascension of Jesus into Heaven, and consider its interconnection with the resurrection. We’ve spent these past weeks considering the implications of the Christ Event — the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, and their meaning in the context of God’s plan to redeem sinful humans. We’ll maintain that focus this week.
We journey with the apostle Paul to Rome today, learning about how the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ revealed more about the nature of God and how He designed these events to advance His plan of redemption for humankind.
Online giving is available here.
The hymn Pastor Ralph references at the end of the video is “Up From the Grave He Arose/Low in the Grave He Lay.” You can read the full lyrics and hear the music here.
To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here…These are but shadows; but the enjoyment of God is the substance…These are but streams; but God is the fountain. These are but drops, but God is the ocean.
Jonathan Edwards
Today’s message focuses on the ascension of Jesus Christ to Heaven, continuing our series on the Christ Event (a term that describes the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, and their integral part in the gospel story). These amazing pieces of salvation history are the foundation of a believer’s hope. May they be a blessing to you.
See here for information about online offering.
Luke 1:26-35
Matthew 28:18-20
Luke 24:50-53
Acts 1:4-11
During our regular meetings, I often include a thought-provoking quotation on the inside of the bulletin. So here’s a thought for today.
“If you do not listen earnestly to Jesus, consider him daily, and fix your eyes on him hourly, then you will not stand still, you will go backward.”
John Piper
In this week’s Bible study, Pastor Ralph discusses one of the fundamental objections to faith: what basis exists for believing in God? We’ll look at what scripture says about why we struggle to see and appreciate God for who He is, and why it’s so essential for our souls that we seek to recognise Him.
Romans 1:16-20
Matthew 11:28-29