Benediction Church, #HamOnt

Date: Sunday, May 12, 2024

Scripture: Revelation 21:1-8, 22-27

Teacher: Mike Mileski

In this final part of our study of Revelation, we reflect on Jesus’ promise that He is making all things new, and allow John to describe what that means. What are we waiting for? In this message we share five answers, and they are mind blowing! The world has never seen anything like it!

Scripture challenges us to see Revelation not as the end of the story, but as the end of the beginning! Let this message encourage and strengthen you when you face personal difficulty, or when the problems you see in our city discourage you: As Revelation ends, the Bible’s grand story is just getting STARTED, and you’re a part of it. Jesus really is making ALL things new.

#Revelation, #TheChurch, #Jesus, #TheGospel, #AllThingsNew, #NewJerusalem, #HolyCity

Date: Sunday, May 5, 2024

Scripture: (various)

Teacher: Mike Mileski

A lot of Revelation is difficult to process: many of its visions show God’s justice and anger toward Satan, and those who destroy the earth. These sometimes draw our focus away from the beautiful promises and visions that Revelation also offers. We need BOTH - we cannot take the difficult and ignore the beautiful.

This was a week of guided listening prayer. We read aloud some very hopeful, inspiring, and visionary portions of Revelation. They show us a God who radically loves us and His creation, and is unswervingly committed to making all things new. In this recording, you’ll receive some basic instruction about listening prayer; you’ll hear those passages read, and you’ll have time to listen. (To extend those listening times, consider pausing the recording.)

#prayer, #spiritualformation, #listeningprayer, #HolySpirit, #bestillandknowthatIamGod, #bestillandknow, #TheGospel, #TheChurch, #BeTheChurch, #Jesus, #Revelation, #AllThingsNew

Scripture: Revelation 19:11-20:15

Date: April 28, 2024

Teacher: Michael Mileski

The Early Christians used to bid farewell to one another by saying “Come, Lord Jesus”. The truth of Christ’s return gave them strength and encouragement to persevere even through persecution, oppression, and other forms of mistreatment. If the Return of Christ feels to some of us like just one more abstract theological idea, rest assured that to the first Christians, it was a matter of life and death.

In this message we considered several things that will take place at Jesus’ Second Coming. These are reasons why we ought to pray, “Come, Lord Jesus”. 

#lastjudgment, #satan, #deathofdeath #thebeast, #thefalseprophet, #resurrection, #millennium, #theGospel, #church, #theChurch, #hamont #Revelation #prophecy

Scripture: Revelation 15:5-19:10

Date: April 21, 2024

Teacher: Michael Mileski

The narrative of Revelation has a lot in common with the classic sci-fi film The Matrix: a futuristic world in which a majority of the population are blind, asleep, and feeding their power to a corrupt system. Like the world we live in, which John has symbolized by Babylon, a lot of people don’t seem to know (or care) that they’re being lied to, exploited, and manipulated. That’s what Babylon is all about.

The question is: “If you were more at home in Babylon than in the Kingdom of God, would you know it? And if you realized you were feeding Babylon, would you want to wake up from that, or continue in the fiction?"

Babylon is the unholy city, the prostitute, the antithesis of the Kingdom of God, and yet so many of us have no idea that we are part of it. In this message we consider seven key features / characteristics so that we can know whether we’re more at home here in Babylon, or in the Kingdom, and by knowing it, do something about it.

#judgment, #wrath, #babylon #prostitute, #harlot, #satan, #thebeast, #thefalseprophet, #theGospel, #church, #theChurch, #hamont, #Revelation, #prophecy, #kingdomofGod, #thematrix, #neo, #morpheus, #redpill

Scripture: Revelation 11:15-15:4

Date: April 14, 2024

Teacher: Michael Mileski

Depending on one’s point of view as we read Revelation, its visions will either cause us to worship God, or to judge and criticize Him. There are, in this book, visions of judgment so serious that if we forget what God is doing, we’ll assume He is over-reacting, as though the punishment doesn’t fit the crime. Not only will we judge God, will be distracted by debates over the meaning of symbols like 666 and the ‘Mark of the Beast’.

In this message, we learn that whenever we’re troubled by what we read in Scripture (and especially Revelation), we should ask: "What am I missing? What if I could see this the way God does?” This message deals with some of the more serious, sensational, and awful warnings of judgment, and offers a way to take the Scripture seriously, and trust in the good purposes of God.

#judgment, #wrath, #seventrumpets, #satan, #beast, #falseprophet, #666, #markofthebeast, #theGospel, #church, #theChurch, #hamont

Scripture: Revelation 8:1-11:14

Date: April 7, 2024

Teacher: Michael Mileski

What could persuade you that YOU have a story that’s worth hearing? What would have to happen to make you believe that YOUR story is worth sharing with others?

In this message, John shares vision after vision of wrath and judgment; and it doesn’t have the effect some might expect it to. Instead of scaring people into faith with threats of divine punishment, these texts clearly show that God prefers to win people to His Kingdom by the testimony of ordinary saints and witnesses like you. YOUR story matters, and every day that you don’t quit on Jesus is another day that your story testifies that Jesus is worth it. Let this message encourage you to be the witness you are!

#judgment, #wrath, #seventrumpets, #theGospel, #church, #theChurch, #hamont

Date: Sunday March 31, 2024  (Easter Sunday)

Scripture: Revelation 6+7

Teacher:  Mike Mileski

Judgment images like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and others, are often the stuff of prophecies and predictions of woe and terror. Not here. These judgment images belong with Easter!

In this message, there is good news both for those with an unhealthy obsession with God’s judgment, and those who constantly feel that God can’t stand them. It's all about the resurrection!

Without Easter, we can’t hope to make sense of God’s judgment, or, to appreciate His mercy.

#wrath, #judgment, #hell, #heaven, #multitude, #worship, #salvation, #TheLamb, #TheGospel, #church, #HamOnt, #Revelation, #Easter, #Resurrection

Date: Sunday March 24, 2024

Scripture: Revelation 5

Teacher:  Mike Mileski

On this side of eternity, we wonder “Why?” Why did that person have to die? Why can’t I feel at home in my body? Why did I have to say or do that awful thing? Why can’t I experience God’s pleasure?

There are answers to our questions - they’re in the scroll, which is held safe and secure by Jesus the Lamb. He rules - not by killing and devouring His enemies - but with love, mercy, and self-sacrifice.

He has the answers we lack; can we trust Him with those?

#TheGospel, #Jesus, #LambofGod, #church, #theodicy, #HamOnt, #Revelation, #prophecy

Date: Sunday March 17, 2024

Scripture: Revelation 4

Teacher:  Dr. John Hilber

Imagine getting a peek inside the throne room of heaven, and to see who’s there, and what goes on. That’s what happens in Ch.4 of the book of Revelation. For those who’ve forgotten - or never imagined it - there’s a good, sovereign, holy, God on the throne!

Let this message - from our friend Dr. John Hilber - bring you comfort and assurance! What was introduced in the Old Testament is fulfilled in the New! God is - and always will be - on the throne!

#Heaven, #Revelation, #OldTestament, #TheGospel, #Christ, #TheLamb, #Jesus, #TheChurch, #HamOnt

Date: Sunday March 10, 2024

Scripture: All of Revelation!

Teacher: Dr. John Hilber and Jordan Moss

More than perhaps any other, it seems that bad interpretations of the book of Revelation have been the cause of many divisions, and the basis of much false teaching. Why is that? What makes Revelation unique? Why is Revelation so hard to understand? What should we make of “Left Behind” teaching?

This message was a conversation between elder Jordan Moss, and Dr. John Hilber from McMaster Divinity College that touched on several helpful topics, and answered many of the key questions people have about Revelation.

#Revelation, #prophecy, #Bible, #LeftBehind, #Rapture, #premillennialism, #amillennialism, #postmillennialism, #TheChurch, #Gospel, #HamOnt

Date: Sunday March 3, 2024

Scripture: Revelation 2-3

Teacher: Mike Mileski

For the last couple of weeks we’ve heard Jesus’ messages to the seven churches of Asia. He has rebuked some, and encouraged others. Each church received a promise of blessing if they hold on, and "hear what the Spirit says to the Churches".

This week we used our teaching time for guided listening prayer. We read aloud Jesus’ promises to the churches, and took time to listen prayerfully to what the Spirit is saying. For those who struggle to slow down, be still, and listen to God’s voice, let this be your introduction to this beautiful, life-giving spiritual discipline!

#HolySpirit #prayer #listening #spiritualdisciplines #bestillandknow #TheChurch #hamont

Date: February 25, 2024

Scripture: Letters to the churches of Ephesus, Thyatira, Sardis, Laodicea

Teacher: Mike Mileski

The wrong kind of tolerance is deadly to a community. Jesus’ tolerance is radical, costly, and includes those whom others consider “the wrong kind of Christian”. In this study, we hear Jesus’ words to four churches who have a tolerance problem. What happens to a church that says “YES” to what Jesus says “NO” to, and says “NO” to those to whom Jesus has already said “YES”?

#theGospel #theChurch #Revelation #NeitherHotNorCold #intolerance #hate #tolerance #sideB #lgbtqi 

Date: February 18, 2024

Scripture: The letters to the churches in Smyrna, Pergamum, and Philadelphia

Teacher: Mike Mileski

Revelation was written to seven real congregations in Asia. For some of them, the challenges they faced were internal, but for these three congregations, the problems came from OUTSIDE. What external dangers threaten us and our ability to follow the way of Jesus in this culture, and this moment? Are we paying attention?

#thegospel, #theChurch, #persecution, #persecutedchurch, #empire, #deconstruction, #HamOnt, #12RulesforLife, #JBP, #theLeft, #postmodernism, #gentrification

Date: February 11, 2024

Scripture: Revelation 1:9-20

Teacher: Mike Mileski

John meets Jesus after being exiled by Caesar, and, abandoned by the Church. Can you imagine what that feels like? Can you relate? In this message, we see how John was comforted by what he hears, sees, feels, and receives from Christ. No matter how bleak things looked for the Church then (and now), Jesus has not abandoned her, nor will He ever.

#MLKJr, #LetterFromABirminghamJail, #revelation, #prophecy, #jesus, #theGospel, #sevengoldenlampstands, #sevenstars, #theChurch

Date: February 4, 2024

Scripture: Revelation 1:1-8

Teacher: Mike Mileski

For a lot of us, the book of Revelation is not only the last book of the Bible; it’s the last book of the Bible we’d ever read. Functionally, we have a Bible that’s one book shorter than it should be.

This is the first message in a new series on the Revelation. We take back the Revelation from the end-times prophets who use it to predict the future, and from the experts who made us feel unqualified to read it. Revelation is for the Church: it calls us to subvert and resist the powers that wage war on the Church, and stand in the way of the way of Jesus.

In this message, we’re introduced to the purpose, the story, and the themes of Revelation, so that we’l be well prepared for what we read there.

#revelation, #bible, #prophecy, #666, #dragon, #beast, #lamb, #thechurch, #angels, #satan, #TheGospel, #hamont

Date: January 21, 2024

Scripture: Matthew 18:21-35

Teacher: Mike Mileski

Lots of Christians are terrible at resolving conflict because we've learned all sorts of excuses and alternatives to forgiving. The damage from these is real, but God wants us to forgive.

In this message we explore (1) What is forgiveness? (2) Why does God care so much that we forgive others? and (3) How can I know whether I’ve truly forgiven someone?

#sorry, #reconciliation, #forgiveness, #apology, #Joseph, #Jacob, #church, #hamont, #Jesus, #thegospel, #peacemaker, #peacefaker, #peacebreaker, #peacetaker

Date: January 14, 2024

Scripture: Genesis 50:15-21

Teacher: Mike Mileski

Sooner or later, each of us will need to apologize for something we’ve said or done. Why is it necessary? Isn’t an apology just a formality, and it should go without saying? Many people think so, and many of the apologies we hear or give turn out to be non-apologies. In this message, we learn how and why we should say we’re sorry. 

#sorry, #reconciliation, #forgiveness, #apology, #Joseph, #Jacob, #church, #hamont, #Jesus, #thegospel, #theslap, #WillSmith, #ChrisRock, #oscars

Date: January 7, 2024

Scripture: 1 Samuel 11, 12

Teacher: Mike Mileski

It seems like each time a prominent Christian leader has a moral failure, someone rationalizes it by saying "Well we're all sinners - just look at David!" or "God can use anyone - just look at David!"

In this message - the first in a series on reconciled relationships - we indeed "look at David" and his actions toward Bathsheba, and Uriah.

It turns out this story doesn't teach what you might think it does. It's NOT a story about what God is willing to overlook, but a story about sin and its very serious consequences.

#sin, #kingdavid, #bathsheba, #uriah, #moralfailures, #thechurch, #jesus

Date: December 10, 2023

Scripture: Luke 1:26-38

Teacher: Trevor Seath

Jesus offers a peace that makes absolutely no sense, except it's real. With all that's going on in the world, and in your life, can you really afford to ignore His offer of peace?

#peace, #princeofpeace, #church, #jesus, #theGospel

Date: December 17, 2023

Scripture: Luke 2:21-39

Teacher: Elias Dummer

Where does joy come from? In this message, Elias shares how joy isn't a feeling to wait for; it's a decision to rebel against what is. Joy is a subversive choice to practice the way of Jesus: sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.

#joy, #advent, #christmas, #jesus, #theGospel, #bethechurch

Date: December 3, 2023

Scripture: Various

Teacher: Lane Fusilier

The church calendar begins with Advent, and Advent begins with hope. This week our friend Lane Fusilier leads us through the promises of Scripture to show that Jesus is the answer to the world's hopes and longings to know that it won't always be this way. Do you know that hope? Do you want it?

#hope, #jesus, #advent, #nativity, #promisesofGod

Date: November 26, 2023

Scripture: the Book of Daniel (reveiw)

Teacher: Mike Mileski

The Prophet Daniel believed that everything that happened before and during his lifetime, and everything that would follow him, was part of God's sovereign plan. Daniel's life is full of these 'sovereignty stories' - and so is yours!

In this message we share the good, reassuring news that the one true God is also absolutely, unstoppably, sovereign.

#sovereignty, #Daniel, #Jesus, #Gospel, #prophecy, #prophets, #SovereignGrace, #providence

Date: November 19, 2023

Scripture: Daniel 10

Teacher: Mike Mileski

What are we meant to think (and do) about spiritual warfare? The Bible has much to say about the reality and actions of angels, demons, and the devil, and we do well to avoid two equal mistakes: (a) to bury our heads in the sand, or (b) to become obsessed with spiritual warfare.

In this message we shared several helpful lessons that prepare us to live in a world where invisible warfare rages all around (and sometimes within) us.

#Jesus, #warfare, #spiritualwarfare, #TheCross, #ScrewtapeLetters, #angels, #demons, #Satan, #TheGospel

Date: November 12, 2023

Scripture: Daniel 6

Teacher: Mike Mileski

What's your saving faith in? Possessions? Achievements? Friends? Your good looks? We all trust in something. Daniel's saving faith was in God, and in this story, it looks like God rewards Daniel's faith by rescuing him from the lions.

We who live here in our own Babylon know that God doesn't always rescue us, no matter how much we pray, read our Bible, or go to church. So if saving faith doesn't expect to be rescued, WHAT DOES SAVING FAITH BELIEVE?

#faith, #lions, #lionsden, #daniel, #thecross, #savingfaith #jesus

Date: November 5, 2023

Scripture: Daniel 4, 5

Teacher: Mike Mileski

When we think about the relationship between the Church and the culture, we're sometimes tempted to say too much - like we're a Christian nation - or too little, by burying our heads in the sand.

What's our responsibility to the culture, and its kings? What's fair for 'them' to ask of 'us'? In this message we study two kings: Nebuchadnezzar who goes full Beast Mode, and Belshazzar, for whom the writing was on the wall. Daniel blessed them in surprising ways.

When our moment comes to speak the truth to a listening world, will we?

#Gospel, #theChurch, #HamOnt, #OldTestament, #Daniel, #Trump, #Canada,

Date: October 22, 2023

Scripture: Daniel 3

Teacher: Mike Mileski

We'll all experience times when we're expected - by lawmakers, employers, neighbours, or by the culture - to say things we can't say, do things we can't do, and participate in things that seem wrong. What'll we do when the king expects us to ignore our conscience and bow down anyway?

The famous story of Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego is a great lesson in why, when, and how civil disobedience ought to take place. But before we do, we'll want to settle in our minds once and for all that "It's just a furnace."

In this message, we share three questions to ask *before* we're expected to bow down, so we'll make an informed decision when the moment arrives.

#nojusticenopeace, #civildisobedience, #theGospel, #pandemic, #Covid19

Date: October 15, 2023

Scripture: Daniel ch's 2, 7

Teacher: Mike Mileski

There are times in Exile when the truth we need to tell isn't welcome, popular, or safe. Where do truth tellers come from? In this message we uncover four marks of a truth-teller, and the part each of us has to play in God's recurring dream!

#TheGospel, #Exile, #Truth, #TruthTellers, #Fear, #Prayer, #Compassion, #SoundDoctrine, #Church, #Daniel, #Empire

Date: October 8, 2023

Scripture: Daniel ch.1

Teacher: Mike Mileski

How do you - as a person of faith - make decisions about whether to partake or abstain? Would it surprise you to know that in Exile, Daniel said "NO" to some things that seem kind of innocent, and "YES" to some things that seem kind of dangerous?

This is our first study in the book of Daniel, which will give us tools and resources we need so we can thrive in Exile. In this first message we offer a helpful tool for deciding when to abstain and partake.

#Exile, #Church, #Gospel, #Daniel, #Babylon, #Jerusalem, #HamOnt, #BeTheChurch, #Ethics, #Nebuchadnezzar

Date: October 1, 2023

Scripture: Luke 24

Speaker: Sarah Robinson

According to Henri Nouwen, the way of Jesus is hospitality, not hostility. Do we know the difference? What do we do when we realize that when we *thought* we were showing hospitality we were actually practicing hostility?

Date: September 24, 2023

Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30; Luke 9:23-26

Speaker: Mike Mileski

In our culture, it's easy to outsource our discipleship and assume that we'll become the kind of people we're supposed to if we put effort into bettering ourselves and not being jerks. But that's not discipleship. In this message, we were introduced to five spiritual disciplines meant to help us be all-in on Jesus, and take responsibility for our discipleship.

#SpiritualDisciplines #Christianity #Discipleship #Gospel #RuleOfLife #Examen #DailyOffice #LiturgicalCalendar #IlluminatedBible #Bonhoeffer #Therapy #Jesus

Date: September 17, 2023

Scripture: Jeremiah 29:4-9

Speaker: Mike Mileski

There was a time when the Church's paradigm for mission was Billy Graham: someone who stood at the front of a room, called them all sinners, and invited them to repent. The culture has changed, but the mission hasn't. We may not all be evangelists, but we're all sent. We're all on mission. We're all ambassadors.

In this mission we share three tangible, realistic ways that the Church (and our church) can embody its calling to be ambassadors for Jesus.

#mission, #evangelism, #billygraham, #witness, #wealth, #story, #work, #ambassadorsforchrist, #church, #TheChurch, #BeTheChurch, #HamOnt, #HamiltonOntario, #GreatCommission

Date: September 10, 2023

Scripture: Acts 2:40-47

Speaker: Mike Mileski

Sometimes we find community in surprising places. There are all sorts of communities we might belong to, but they're not all helpful. This message is the first of three asking us whether we're 'all-in' on what makes the Church the Church: community, mission, and discipleship. We ask:

What rhythms or practices make a community distinctly Christian?

What are the rhythms of community in Benediction Church?

What sort of community do WE strive to be?

#community, #discipleship, #mission, #bonhoeffer, #fellowship, #encouragement, #hospitality, #worship, #together

Message Date: August 27, 2023

Scripture: Romans 11:33-36

Speaker: Nathan Tomes

Gandalf. Yoda. Dumbledore. Solomon. The magi. When we think of wisdom, we imagine some old mystical sage whose wisdom is the result of decades of watching and learning. God's wisdom is different: There's no knowledge He lacks; He never makes a bad decision or judgment. In this message, we learned that God's wisdom is the reason Job should have kept quiet, rather than accuse God of having failed in His duty, and why we can know that when God says He's turning all things for good, He really means it.

#wisdom, #Romans828, #justice, #gospel, #truth, #attributes, #BeholdOurGod, #BenedictionChurch, #HamOnt

Message Date: August 20, 2023

Scripture: Psalm 51

Speaker: Bill Allan (AGC President)

Inside and outside the Church, people are convinced that God is out to get them, that He can't stand them, and He's just waiting for an opportunity to smite them. That's not the God of Scripture, and certainly not the Father of our Lord Jesus.

In this message, our friend Bill Allan - president of the Associated Gospel Churches of Canada (AGC) challenges us to recover a true and better understanding of the God revealed in Scripture: a God of endless, amazing, undeserved grace.

#grace, #AGC, #TheGospel, #JesusChrist, #KingDavid, #Repentance, #Mercy, #Forgiveness

Message Date: August 13, 2023

Scripture: Acts 4:32-5:11

Speaker: Mike Lewis

Does God lie? Does God exaggerate or stretch the truth in order to make Himself seem better than He is? In this message, Mike Lewis leads us on a helpful study of some biblical reasons why people who lie - even people who know better - to ask whether the same could be true of God. The result is an encouraging, life giving, and humbling message about Truth.

#Truth, #postmodernism, #LetGodBeTrue #TheGospel, #Jesus, #Church, #TheChurch

Message Date: August 6, 2023

Scripture: Isaiah 6:8

Speaker: Mike Mileski

God is so holy that when the angels cry out to Him in worship, they declare not just "Holy!"; not even that He is "Holy, holy!"; no - they cry out that this enthroned God is "Holy, holy, holy - the whole earth is filled with His glory!" In light of prevailing attitudes about God, and about our own sin, it may be that of all God's attributes, this is the one the Church most needs to recover. God's holiness means that some things that we commonly believe are actually impossible, and some of the things that we've long assumed are impossible are actually possible and certain. God's holiness is good news for weary sinners, and we hope this message challenges and encourages you.

#Augustine, #affections, #sovereignjoy, #Jesus, #TheGospel, #holy, #holiness, #Isaiah, #HereAmI, #repentance, #attributes, #preaching

Message Date: July 30, 2023

Scripture: Genesis 11:1-9

Speaker: Rony Mikhael

The problem at the tower of Babel wasn't WHAT they set out to build, but WHY. We seldom talk about God's creativity, but we need to. Our acts of creativity - whether in the arts, STEM, business, family, or justice - are acts of worship, beautification, community, and mission. In this message, Rony invites us to join the God who is creative, so that it may be in Hamilton as it is in heaven.

Message Date: July 23, 2023

Scripture: 1John 4

Speaker: Tom Lambshead

What do we mean when we say that God IS love? In this message, our friend Tom Lambshead, AGC Regional Director for Canada East, draws from his experience with Christians who don't understand love, to help us know and love the God who IS love.

Message Date: July 16, 2023

Scripture: Psalm 139

Speaker: Dwayne Cline

What does it mean that God is everywhere at the same time? Is there really no place in existence where God is not? In this message, our friend and neighbour, Dwayne Cline goes back through the Old and New Testaments to show how God was ALWAYS present, and in a special way, present with His people, by His Holy Spirit.

#HolySpirit #Omnipresence #Attributes #Jesus #Church #Bible

Message Date: July 9, 2023

Scripture: Genesis 1:26-27

Speaker Elias Dummer

Whether through a song or a sermon, we've often heard that God is present. But what does that really mean? Elias Dummer delves into how the concept of the Trinity can shape our perspective on the world and ourselves.The fact that God is one and three has lots of implications for us - implications for who we are, how we relate to each other, and God’s tendency to use the most ordinary things for extraordinary purposes. 

Message date: July 2, 2023

Scripture: Mark 1:9-11; Matthew 28:18-20

Speaker: Mike Mileski

What is God like? That's the question at the heart of this series that'll take us through the summer. This week we start with what may be God's quintessential attribute: Trinity.

What do we mean by Trinity? Where in Scripture do we get the idea that there is one God, and, there are three Persons in Scripture who do the things that only God can do? And, what if it weren't true - if He were NOT God in three Persons, where would that leave the rest of us?

#trinity #orthodoxy #AndreiRublev #trinityicon #FatherSonandSpirit #BeholdOurGod

Message date: June 25, 2023

Scripture: 1John 5:11-21

Speaker: Mike Mileski

In this final message in our study of 1John, we ask "What are we talking about when we talk about 'eternal life'?" The answer to that question has huge implications for how we live, and where we find our hope.

#HereComestheSun #HereComestheSon #BeTheChurch #GoodNews #JesusChrist #1John #Bible #EternalLife #Kingdom #AgetoCome #AlreadyAndNotYet #NTWright #GELadd #HamOnt #InHamiltonAsItIsInHeaven

Message date: June 18, 2023

Scripture: 1John 5:1-10

Speaker: Nathan Tomes

In case you're wondering, growing and becoming like Jesus isn't a linear process. It happens differently for each of us, and no two people have the same experience of belief in Jesus. In this message, Nathan sets out to help us see the difference between intellectually agreeing that Jesus is real, and a personal, abiding faith in Him.

#faith #Jesus #Gospel #discipleship #Lordhavemercy #trustinGod

Message date: June 11, 2023

Scripture: 1John 3:19-4:6

Speaker: Mike Mileski

Do you ever feel condemned - like you're too much of a sinner to possibly be a Christian? Do you ever have a hard time telling the difference between the truth tellers and the liars? Do you ever struggle to figure out why it sometimes seems like so few people are interested in the Good News you're trying to share?

What if these struggles aren't weird after all? What if they're a normal part of practicing the way of Jesus?

What if the struggle *is* our assurance?

#Jesus #assurance #EternalSecurity #perseverance #discipleship #Mission #evangelism #ChristianNationalism #SpiritualWarfare #BeEncouraged #GoodNews #Gospel #BlessedAssurance

Message date: June 4, 2023

Scripture: 1John 3:1-18

Speaker: Mike Mileski

At some point in our lives, every Christian will ask questions like “Why does God really care whether I obey Him?” and “If I’m saved, why does it matter how I live?” and “Why should I love people who don’t love me?” Answering these questions doesn’t just make us smarter. 

It shows us whether we’re children of God, or children of the Devil. 

In this message, we considered some of what the Bible teaches about the Devil, and learned that once we realize what’s been done for us on the Cross, it changes how we live: we’ll neither underestimate the Devil, nor will we overestimate him. 

#TheDevil #Jesus #Church #Bible #Gospel #Assurance #Apologetics #GoodNews #BlessedAssurance

Message Date: Sunday, May 28, 2023

Scripture: 1 John 2:15-29

Speaker: Mike Mileski

The death of Tim Keller last week gave us pause to reflect on a life well-lived for Jesus, and why it seems like the exception these days. Why are there so many false teachers? Where do they come from? What are the small compromises one must make along the way to become a false teacher, a counterfeit, an 'antichrist' later in life? Could it happen to us?

In this message we considered four temptations that every Christian faces in the course of his/her faith: The temptation to love the world, the temptation to quit when things become difficult, the temptation to 'improve' the Gospel, and the temptation to be seen as important. To the degree that we're prepared for these, we'll be able to fight back, persevere, and be saved.

This is John's promise: those who persevere will stand before Jesus "confident and unashamed."

#Assurance #church #bible #Jesus #TimKeller #RaviZacharias #falseteachers #antichrist #falseteaching #TheGospel

Message Date: Sunday, May 21, 2023

Scripture: 1 John 2:1-14

Speaker: Mike Mileski

We can't possibly have assurance that we have eternal life if we spend our lives on our own, isolated from other people. That's just not how it works. We need others to help us remember the Gospel when we've forgotten it. We need to remind others of the Gospel when they've forgotten.

In this third message in our series, we learn three more tests that John offers for discerning if we really HAVE passed from death to life.

Have a listen, and be assured that no matter what you feel, no matter how you look, or how many friends you have, you ARE part of God's family after all.

#assurance #church #jesus #bible #propitiation #advocate #love #obedience #community

Message Date: Sunday, May 14, 2023

Scripture: 1 John 4:7-21

Speaker: Jordan Moss

There are all sorts of counterfeit forms of "love" in the culture that make it hard to appreciate what it means when God says, in the Scripture, that He *IS* love. Like, love is what God is.

So, what does that mean?

In this second message in 1 John, we learn that there are some people and things that we don't love as much as we think we do. The ultimate expression of God's love is Jesus, dying on a cross. That's what love looks like. That's the sort of love with which we're told to "love your neighbour" and doing so is a test of whether we're really part of God's family. Do you pass the test? Listen to this message and find out.

#love #agapé #cross #crucifixion #jesus #church #bible #loveyourneighbour #prodigalson #GodisLove

Message Date: Sunday, May 7, 2023

Scripture: 1 John 1:1-10

Speaker: Mike Mileski

If I’m a Christian, why don’t I feel like it?

Why don’t I do a better job of living it out?

Is this all in my head? 

Am I not just an imposter?

The Apostle John wrote this letter in order to assure the readers that they have eternal life. In a context where some leaders had bailed and stirred up doubt and confusion, John presents test after test, so that they can know for sure. This is the first message in a series in 1 John. Would you like to have this same 'blessed assurance' that you're *really* part of God's family? Wouldn't you like to know - beyond the shadow of a doubt - that you have eternal life?

You can. Listen to know why.

#AssuranceofSalvation #BlessedAssurance #church #hypocrites #falseteachers #falseteaching #forgiveness #reconciliation #mercy #gnostics #gnosticism #1John

Date: Sunday, April 30, 2023

Speaker: Mike Mileski

Scripture: Luke 12:13-21, Mark 12:41-44

Why is it that so often, what we think we own actually owns us? Why do we look to our savings to keep us safe? In this message we let Jesus show us that there isn't just one way to be greedy; there are two. We listened to several of our culture's assumptions about money; we learned some interesting trends and statistics in Canadian giving, but in the end, the alternative to greed isn't poverty. It's generosity. If you're not sure what generosity looks like, or when you'll know you're giving generously and sacrificially, we hope you'll find this message helpful.

#generosity, #greed, #poverty, #wealth, #jesus, #richfool, #poorwidow, #giving, #church