The Olive Branch Markham • Audio Podcast

We are in the middle of a special focus series, “Good News Give Back”. As a response to God’s great sacrifice of love at Easter, we are intentionally challenging ourselves to LOVE, to SERVE and to GIVE.
This week, we’re focusing on SERVE.
Get involved! We want to understand that:
• Your time WILL make a difference.
• You can help our community partners accomplish more.
• Your time gives our community partners the resources that will ultimately bring new hope to the people they serve.
• Every hour served makes an impact.

Welcome to Week 1 of Good News Give Back, where for the next 3 weeks, we'll be intentionally engaging in ways to get into action — where we increase our capacity and willingness to be a blessing to those around us.

We come out of Easter thrilled that Jesus made it past the grave. He is who He claimed to be! He’s building a Kingdom that will last forever and overtakes all the kingdoms of this world. He’s the master of quality, the master of time and space, the master of quantity, the master over nature — and even the master over life and death! So here's the question: Where is He in your world?

What do you call a group of people who hate someone who’s innocent, plan for almost 3 years how they’re going to kill him — and then finally pull it off? They're called murderers, even if they are never convicted in a court of law. And that's what happened to Jesus on April 7, 30 A.D. The worst day in history.
But within three days, the absolute worst that humans could do was followed by the best day in history. God effortlessly robbed that grave!

Jesus' intentional journey to Samaria risked the devotion of His followers and the violence of the Samaritans — all to meet one thirsty, but scandalous, woman says it all.
This is the conclusion of a special series based on the incredible, hit show, “The Chosen”. This Sunday’s message is based on Episode 8, from Season 1. Give it a watch!

Jesus shocked everyone when He chose Matthew. Surely, Mary was loaded with issues from her past. But Matthew? The tax collector? He was the guy who had it all... and he left all of it to follow Jesus.

We’re in the middle of a special series based on the incredible, hit show, “The Chosen”. This Sunday’s message is based on Episode 7, from Season 1. Give it a watch!

Jesus treated everyone as image-bearers of God. What did this look like? With great compassion. Times when others would run the other way, or reject you as less than equal and without usefulness, Jesus leans in, sees us, and meets us in our need.

The term Shabbat refers to the Jewish Sabbath: keeping the seventh day to rest and worship God. By Jesus' time it had become a huge weekly burden and Pharisees and Scribes were strictly enforcing Shabbat laws. Sadly, they missed the entire spirit of it, becoming experts in minutiae instead. In the middle of all that, Jesus gave a simple, memorable guideline: The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath! With those words, Jesus and His followers were headed for trouble... really BIG trouble.

Everyone wants to be valued for who they are — and loved unconditionally.
But here’s our core problem: how is our growth as lovable people? Love attracts; un-love (let’s call it that) repels. The work of the Spirit of God in our hearts is to grow us up as loving people, that is, to develop the FRUIT of the Spirit in us. And all of that fruit, interestingly, are qualities are all outward facing. We need the Holy Spirit to grow us in this way if we want to be the kind of people who aren’t hard to love!

Jesus posted all kinds of warnings around money because, like all powerful things – water, fire and sex – when it gets out of the boundaries it does a lot of damage! ...and there is only one antidote for it.

Every health issue makes it clear that death still has a grip on our world - and we have all had it touch our lives. So it is a legitimate thing to ask God for good health for ourselves and the health of those we love. Some would say that if we ask and have faith then God should heal us… every time! If that happened, then the followers of Jesus would have stellar health records;  better than anyone else in fact. But we all know that’s not the way it is. So... what does that mean?

It’s a safe guess that at the forefront of just about every heart right now is the longing for peace. Jesus called us to love others, even our enemies, and to pursue peace in every arena we are involved in. Is this even possible?

We love comfort and what we are the most familiar with. When something new enters our lives, it can sometimes feel like a threat. But here's the thing; there are so many new things God wants to to give you. You don't necessarily need a new year to start fresh – but if you want God to work… you need to make room.

Thank you for joining our Christmas Eve service! Angels—God’s shining messengers are, by definition, scary and powerful beings—their joy at Christmas was not a sweet little song accompanied by a harp. No, it roared across the sky and split the night with light no one could look at directly. As the angels danced across the sky because THE PLAN WAS ON TO CLEAN UP THE MESS ON EARTH ONCE AND FOR ALL! They knew that sin was finished, done with! They celebrated the kindness, love, grace and joy of a God who would humble himself and offer himself as a baby, God in disguise, who came here for a world filled with broken, selfish people. It’s the best news ever!

When you read the accounts of who was invited to be a part of the amazing story of Jesus’ birth - it’s astounding to find out who accepted and who turned it down. It’s shocking when Magi follow a star for 900 miles (without a car, mind you!) to worship and bring gifts to Jesus — and people just a few miles away, who should know better, don’t even bother to check it out! Heaven has invited everyone into true joy. This deep, pure crystal clear river of joy is open to everyone — no matter how far away they are from God.

The most surprising thing about joy is where you find it. Happiness comes in chunks; it’s a solid; Joy is liquid; It’s usually under the surface. Uncertainty and difficulty sabotages happiness - but not joy. Joy is God’s equal-opportunity gift to everyone. That’s what Mary had - despite the discomfort and difficulty and danger she found herself in. Joy was the steady flow of God’s power and calm to her life and her extraordinary circumstances that made it possible for her to bring the source of joy to everyone — even until today.

Happy 20th Birthday Olive Branch!
At today’s service, we will be celebrating God’s faithfulness to us and we’ll be responding with grateful hearts — listening closely about what God wants to do next.

We all feel the pressures of a very confused world with its messed up value system: pressured to exchange our faith for 'something' it promises. Also, there are the intellectual challenges of faith in a faithless system and holding hope for the future in a world that’s scrambling: the pressure to be unique, the pressure to live for your phone and social media and on and on it goes. This is exactly what Paul was talking about in Romans 12:1-2... How to think in new ways but not conform to the ways of the world. God's promises to us are clearly seen in the first 11 chapters of Romans. And then in Romans 12, He challenges us to make the NEXT MOVE in our journey with Christ.

WHAT you think about.
HOW you think about what you think about.
This seems like a weird topic… but it’s absolutely HUGE when it comes to direction in life. Because here’s how it works: what you expose yourself to, you think about. Then, what you think about is what your mind develops a secret plan to help you get. And HOW you think and WHAT you think about is what you BECOME. Let’s see what the Bible says about this!

In life, we’re all looking for something and hoping to accomplish something and have something to show for the time, resources and effort we’ve invested. What we really believe about what matters, what satisfies the soul, and who our lives are for will determine where we go and where ultimately we drop anchor. So, what are we really hoping for?

Jesus speaks very clearly that there will come a time when He will return - and on that day, things will radically change. Peter speaks to the fact that it will be a day that will silence all skeptics and bring justice and life and healing. Jesus, the Hope of the Ages, our Saviour and Lord of all - will set things right. He told us clearly that there would be signs to look for - but to not try to predict it or use our time charting it all out. His calling was to just be ready!

The word 'Church' means gathered people. That’s why the New Testament is filled with one-anothers. Love one another, encourage one another, help one another, pray for one another, comfort one another. There's no other way to interpret this... we need each another. But, honestly? Sometimes, how we actually 'do' Church has little to do with what Jesus had in mind.

How does one *actually* follow Jesus? If Jesus really was perfect, treated everyone with love and led a spotless life, and we're supposed to be like Him — how is this actually even remotely possible? Before Jesus returned to the Father, he said that he'd send someone to help us. He would not leave us alone.⁠

We’d like to think we are self-sufficient; that apart from Him creating us and occasionally stepping in to give us a hand, we really don’t need God. Given the trail of blood through history—it’s quite naïve to think that way. The truth is way more devastating than most would imagine. The damage sin has done to all human kind is profound. We all need to be rescued—and that requires a Rescuer!

Every human has wondered:
What’s wrong with me?
Why do I do what I do?
What’s my destiny?
Why am I even here?
It’s pretty clear that human beings are intricately made, and have immense potential. However, it’s also equally clear, demonstrated through out all of history, that we keep sabotaging ourselves and hurting others. We can be loving and generous and kind—but also be incredibly selfish and mean spirited. What’s our problem?!

We believe that God has shown Himself to us through the world He's created and the way it works, as well as through His interactions with people throughout history. These stories and relationships have led to what we call the Scriptures or Holy Writings. They're basically a record of what God has done, what He's said, and the wisdom He's shared about life and the future. They also tell us about His power that we can tap into and what He hopes we'll do: love Him and love others.

About our new series, “Under the Surface: What Christians Believe and Why it Matters"
At the surface level, most people know that Christians believe in Jesus Christ and that the symbol of the cross has something to do with why. What most don’t know is why—or even care. But under the surface is a massive shift in all the structures of every day reality. Now what we believe about many things doesn’t really matter: about algae, about aliens, about art, about whether you should wear white shoes after Labour Day… However what you believe about ultimate reality, however, is profoundly important. Whether we realize it or not, it affects how we live our lives every day — so, shouldn’t we really examine what we believe is true about these things?

It’s a given that we’ll go through tough times. It’s a fact because the world we live in is seriously broken. There are times where the tough time is as a result of our own choices and actions. But sometimes, we get hurt and life gets hard because we did the right thing. Jesus said that this would happen because our world is not spiritually neutral. More than ever, in our time, we have to decide if the tough stuff will cause us to bail on our faith or will we choose to simply float downstream simply because it’s the easier thing to do.

For all of us, there may be something that is taking center stage and preventing us from walking fully in the purpose God has for our lives. This week, Pastor Jeremiah encourages us through the story of Ezekiel to identify and evict every idol that may be on the throne of our heart.

Who truly occupies the throne of your heart? It’s an essential question because without knowing its answer, we don’t know what is shaping our life — shaping our feelings, thoughts, choices and character. Perhaps we need to challenge misplaced priorities, and invite God to occupy His rightful place. God-centered life starts here.

What is sometimes so hard for us to grasp is how Jesus thinks of us. Sometimes that’s hard to comprehend because of the bruises we have from religious people we’ve known. But that's NOT Jesus. At His core He was gentle. He never walked into a room and stomped on people who were struggling. And that carries an amazing thought: that the One who holds the power to create everything never uses His power to bully.

We’d like to think the little song we learn as kids is true; 'Sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me!' That sounds very brave, but it’s simply not true. Words do hurt us! Every one of us has voices from the past...and maybe even the present.
Someone was trying to change us from the outside in and when it seemed like we weren’t cooperating, they lobbed a verbal grenade over the wall. We pretend we are okay now but their voice still reverberates in our soul. Their words hurt and damaged how we feel about ourselves. To recover, to see ourselves through God’s eyes, there are questions we need to ask: Was it true? Was it right? And most of all: what does GOD think?

Our lives could be described as a series of intersections, like the intersection of our lives with the lives of the people who made a difference in our lives, and us them. Jesus’ story as told by the Gospels is really a collection of intersections. The people whose lives intersected with Jesus were changed forever...some for better and some for worse! What is inevitable is that we will go through a number of intersections in our lives. We’ll get clobbered at some of them, broken by others. When God’s grace is allowed into these spaces, what seems like a trainwreck can be completely redemptive!

One of the number one questions about God and his existence in our world goes something like this: If God is good—as Christians describe him—why is there pain and suffering? And that’s a profound question that many people struggle with — to the point that, for some, it derails their faith.
But, this is nothing new; some of the best-known people in the Bible had to wrestle this one down, too. Even Jesus, the Son of God, came face to face with it! The answer He lived out but never actually commented on is astonishing.

The recent pandemic is certainly still affecting us all—and we’re feeling the tremors all through our culture. It has certainly affected what people believe about God, about reality and about themselves. It will take some time to recover from the fear, the anxiety and the uncertainty. We know this: Everything has changed!  It’s during these times we will ask questions we never even thought of before, like, where is God in all of this?

Summer is a season of growth and abundance in nature, and it can also be a time of growth in our faith. We will focus on ways to rejuvenate our faith and deepen our relationship with God. We need to cultivate spiritual disciplines, engage in intentional prayer, and seek God's guidance for our lives. God in His word encourages us to embrace a renewed and refreshed faith - but not to forget what He has done in our lives and what He's going to do!

During the summer we have more opportunities to spend time outdoors and engage with our community. As Jesus followers we are called to be salt and light in all our relationships. In other words, our actions, attitudes, and interactions with people can reflect who we say we are… or not. What kind of influence do you want to have?

In this fast-paced and busy world, we often neglect the importance of rest and its impact on our spiritual, mental, and physical well-being. We will explore the concept of finding rest in God and how it can restore our souls. The Bible highlights God's invitation with practical ways to incorporate these things into our lives... especially during the summer season!

Gratitude seems to be one of those things that should come naturally. But, it doesn’t really. What does seem to come naturally is jealousy, greed, envy, self-pity, and resentment. But, God offers us forgiveness, companionship, grace, what we need to eat, beauty, strength, and Himself - and yet without the discipline of gratitude, we miss all of this. Unchecked over time, we become overly focused on what others have and what we seem to lack — digging ourselves into a hole of self-pity. And if we don't climb out... we'll miss the very goodness of God.

Everyone would like to be truly great. In our world's system, greatness is determined by what people think about you, what the media says about you, about your accomplishments, power, and wealth — and, to be honest, what YOU think of you. However, true greatness is defined very differently by God. Jesus was the greatest man who ever lived, but there's something about living like Him that 'gets us' every time. Something that holds us back, trips us up — and keeps us from the truly great life God has waiting for you and me.

To give, and everyone can, we have to limit what we keep for ourselves. It’s the same as the other parts of our spiritual work-out... if we ignore it, we won’t grow. So, if your goal is to be more like JESUS — to live like Him and love like Him — no matter where you live or how much you have, generosity absolutely, positively, needs to be part of your life.

Cultivate... it means, "to improve or develop by careful attention, training, or study; to devote time and thought to.” Today, we’re going to be talking about cultivating; how to cultivate love, joy, peace and patience. The Bible tells us to go deeper and discover the life-changing power of what is called “Fruit of the Spirit". Now, it won't happen all at once... it will take time, effort, and lots of prayer. Like, if you planted an apple tree in your backyard, would you expect to be baking a pie that night? Probably not! And, like a tree, when you grow by allowing God to change your heart over time, when you give Him permission to pull the weeds and prune the branches, when you intentionally pursue and practice love, joy, peace and patience, you'll be amazed by the harvest… how He will change the world through you!

We all know that communication is extremely important. It’s how one person gets to know another person. Prayer, at its core, is communicating with God. Like every conversation, it involves both talking and listening. But know this: prayer is not magic. There are no brownie points in Heaven for how long or how well you pray. God hears every prayer, however humble, and the requests of 'prayer warriors' are not given higher priority. It doesn't matter where you are or who you're with. GOD HEARS YOU.

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'.