Lent is a season in the Church calendar that’s been set apart for us to do some heart-work. It’s when we can recapture our love for God and his kingdom, and cast off the practices, behaviours, and beliefs that have entangled our hearts – where we can pull away the weeds that have distracted and pulled us away from our love in Jesus Christ. Because, ultimately, Lent is a season of realigning our hearts so that Jesus can rekindle our love for him. And for us as a church, the way we’re going to do that is to delve deep into the Lord’s Prayer.

This week we’re pleased to welcome Joel Strecker, who preaches from Matthew 6.12. When Jesus teaches us to pray “Forgive us our sins as we also have forgiven those who sin against us,” he invites us to prayerfully press into the heart of what Jesus has done for us. But in our cultural moment, forgiveness is rare and difficult for us today. As Joel takes stock of some of the ways our society teaches us to practice forgiveness, he shows us how they differ from the way Jesus teaches us to forgive: For us as follows of Jesus, we can forgive precisely because we have been forgiven.

Lent is a season in the Church calendar that’s been set apart for us to do some heart-work. It’s when we can recapture our love for God and his kingdom, and cast off the practices, behaviours, and beliefs that have entangled our hearts – where we can pull away the weeds that have distracted and pulled us away from our love in Jesus Christ. Because, ultimately, Lent is a season of realigning our hearts so that Jesus can rekindle our love for him. And for us as a church, the way we’re going to do that is to delve deep into the Lord’s Prayer.

This week, Rob Collis invites us to look at the middle of this famous prayer – where Jesus finally teaches us how to ask God for stuff in prayer. And as we unpack this together, he explores two things: Why we don’t ask God for things in prayer, and what we should ask for in prayer.

Lent is a season in the Church calendar that’s been set apart for us to do some heart-work. It’s when we can recapture our love for God and his kingdom, and cast off the practices, behaviours, and beliefs that have entangled our hearts – where we can pull away the weeds that have distracted and pulled us away from our love in Jesus Christ. Because, ultimately, Lent is a season of realigning our hearts so that Jesus can rekindle our love for him. And for us as a church, the way we’re going to do that is to delve deep into the Lord’s Prayer.

This week we’re pleased to welcome Bill Stewart, who preaches from Matthew 6.10. When we pray “Your kingdom come, your will be done” we can often miss what Jesus means by the Kingdom of God. Bill shows us that God’s Kingdom is what will last when everything else has passed away, and helps us take stock of the sweeping vision of God’s kingdom in the Bible, and why we should pray for it to come.

Lent is a season in the Church calendar that’s been set apart for us to do some heart-work. It’s when we can recapture our love for God and his kingdom, and cast off the practices, behaviours, and beliefs that have entangled our hearts – where we can pull away the weeds that have distracted and pulled us away from our love in Jesus Christ. Because, ultimately, Lent is a season of realigning our hearts so that Jesus can rekindle our love for him. And for us as a church, the way we’re going to do that is to delve deep into the Lord’s Prayer.

This week, Rob Collis invites us to explore the very start of this famous prayer, in Matthew 6.7-9, where Jesus shows us two ways we can approach prayer – one which will always leave us feeling cold and distant, and another that will help us press into God’s presence.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent: a time of penitence, fasting, and prayer, as Christians prepare for Easter, and the great joy of the resurrection. Today, Rob Collis preaches from Ecclesiastes 3.18-22, and reminds us that we are dust, and to dust we shall return.

In the bible, ashes are used as a sign of sorrow and repentance. But as we are marked with the ashes in the sign of the cross, we are reminded of the life we share in Jesus Christ, and it is in this sure hope that we begin our journey into Lent.

As we come to the final sermon in our series through Ephesians, we see that Ephesians 3.20 has served as a theme or plumb-line, which runs throughout the whole letter: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine…” Because, in Jesus Christ, God has done more than we could ever have thought to ask or imagine. And the implications for what he has done reverberate into every facet, nook and cranny of our lives – in more ways than we could ever imagine.

This week, Rob Collis preaches on Ephesians 6.18-24, he looks at three things: the final charge to pray, Paul’s own prayer request, and the final benediction. As he unpacks these three things, he shows us how Paul continues to be captured by the good news of Jesus Christ as he brings his letter to a close.

As Paul comes to his final thought in his letter to the Ephesians, he brings up a topic the Church has handled very well over the last 100 years. He talks about spiritual warfare. For many of us, it can be tempting for us to brush past this topic today, but the witness of Scripture won’t allow us to discount this, or treat it as inconsequential. As those who walk in the light of Jesus Christ, we’re not to be obsessed with the dark – and we’re not to be afraid of the dark – and we can also never ignore it. Instead, we are to expose it.

This week, as Rob Collis preaches from Ephesians 6.10-12, explores three questions: Who is this enemy? What are his schemes? How do we stand against him? And as he unpacks this, he points out how Paul deliberately left this topic until the end of his letter, because he wants for the grace of Jesus Christ to seep into every fibre, nook, and cranny of our lives – because it’s when we are held and steeped in Jesus’ grace that we discover that he’s already equipped us with his armor.

The message of Ephesians can be boiled down to this: In Jesus, God has done more for us than all we could ever begin to ask, or think, or imagine. And the implications for what he has done reverberate into every facet, nook and cranny of our lives – sometimes, in ways we may never have realized or even imagined.

This week, we are pleased to welcome Hosea Sheen from the Artizo Institute. Hosea preaches from Ephesians 6.13-18, where Paul talks about putting on the armor of God. He helps us to see how this armor is none other than the armor of Jesus Christ, which we can only wear because of his grace, so that we might all wear it together and remain united in him.

The message of Ephesians can be boiled down to this: In Jesus, God has done more for us than all we could ever begin to ask, or think, or imagine. And the implications for what he has done reverberate into every facet, nook and cranny of our lives – sometimes, in ways we may never have realized or even imagined.

This week, Rob Collis preaches from Ephesians 6.1-9, where Paul looks at how the reality of God’s grace works out in our lives in the home and the workplace. As Paul pulls back the curtains of our lives and attends to these different areas of hearts, we discover he’s trying to bring our faith down to a livable level. In this sermon, Rob unpacks what it means for us to embody the grace of Jesus Christ in the areas of parenting and our work.

Today we take a quick bread from our series in Ephesians to consider an important topic in the Christian life, although it might not be something we talk about very often. It’s the topic of perseverance.

In this sermon, Rob Collis preaches from Philippians 3.17-4.1, and explores the question: How can we persevere in our faith? And not just persevere – because perseverance can almost have that sense of raggedness and worn-down-ness to it – but more specifically, how do we persevere and thrive? We could even say it like this: How do we stand firm in our faith?

In Ephesians 5.15-21, we are told – in no uncertain terms – to be filled with the Holy Spirit. And if you’ve been in Christian circles for any length of time, the phrase ‘be filled with the Holy Spirit’ likely conveys the idea of expressing and demonstrating more overt and charismatic spiritual gifts. But when Paul talks about being filled with the Holy Spirit in Ephesians, interestingly, he seems to have something else in mind.

In this sermon, as Rob Collis continues in our series through Ephesians, he explores what Paul means about being filled with the Spirit. And he unpacks this by looking at three questions: First, what does it mean to be filled by the Holy Spirit? Second, what are the marks of being filled by the Holy Spirit? And third, how are we filled with the Holy Spirit?

At its core, the message of Ephesians is this: In Jesus, God has done more than we could ever think to ask or imagine, and the implications for what he has done reverberate into every facet, nook and cranny of our lives – in more ways than we could ever imagine.

This week we’re joined by Zella Christenson, from the Artizo Institute, who preaches from Ephesians 5.15-33. This passage has long been a go-to text for learning about Christian marriage – sometimes to unhelpful effect. Yet, at its core, Paul is teaching us that the ordinary structures of our lives can become the ground in which Christ’s glory can be displayed, and for Christians, marriage should be a living portrait of the gospel.

This week we return to our series in Ephesians. At its core, the message of Ephesians is this: In Jesus, God has done more than we could ever think to ask or imagine, and the implications for what he has done reverberate into every facet, nook and cranny of our lives – in more ways than we could ever imagine.

This week Rob Collis preaches from Ephesians 5.1-14. This passage revolves around verse 8, where it says: “for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light.” In this sermon, Rob explores: What was the darkness? How did we become light? And how do we walk as children of the light?

As we This week, Rob Collis preaches from 1 Chronicles 17, and explores how King David encountered the goodness of God through the prophet Nathan, and what this reveals to us about God's goodness towards us.

This Sunday, we gathered together with our friends at Tsawwassen Alliance Church and Tsawwassen Chinese Ministry for a joint Christmas Service, where we walked through the full story of God’s plan of salvation in the world.

It was in the depths of darkest night when it happened. The fire they had lit to keep them warm had calmed to a cool ember. The sheep were close at hand, and everything was quiet. Into this dark, cold night – in the fields, far from town – an angel appeared, trumpeting good news of great joy. The Messiah was born!

But before there was ever a manger or a donkey, the pregnant virgin or the angel – before any of these things could become good news, God’s people were found waiting.

As we continue our journey through Advent, Rob Collis preaches from Luke 1.39-55, where we learn about Mary’s encounter with Elizabeth, and how Mary became the first person to really hear and receive the Christmas message – It was the message that God is coming to earth, to be God with us. And as she came to understand this message, she couldn’t keep it in: She burst into song. It was the first song about Christmas – the very first Christmas carol. In this sermon, Rob explores the back story to Mary’s Christmas Carol, and unpacks what Mary actually sings about.

It was in the depths of darkest night when it happened. The fire they had lit to keep them warm had calmed to a cool ember. The sheep were close at hand, and everything was quiet. Into this dark, cold night – in the fields, far from town – an angel appeared, trumpeting good news of great joy. The Messiah was born!

But before there was ever a manger or a donkey, the pregnant virgin or the angel – before any of these things could become good news, God’s people were found waiting.

As we continue our journey through Advent, Rob Collis preaches from Matthew 3.1-12. As he explores the question, “How do we prepare ourselves spiritually for Christmas?” he turns to the ministry of John the Baptist, who came to prepare the way for the Lord.

It was in the depths of darkest night when it happened. The fire they had lit to keep them warm had calmed to a cool ember. The sheep were close at hand, and everything was quiet. Into this dark, cold night – in the fields, far from town – an angel appeared, trumpeting good news of great joy. The Messiah was born!

But before there was ever a manger or a donkey, the pregnant virgin or the angel – before any of these things could become good news, God’s people were found waiting.

As we begin our journey through Advent, today Rob Collis preaches from Isaiah 9.1-7. As we listen to the prophet Isaiah, he helps us see ourselves and our world through God’s eyes, as he makes us stare into the darkness. But he doesn’t leave us there. He helps us to live in the unshakable hope of those who have seen the light – and who know and await the dawn.

As Paul continues his letter to the Ephesians, he presents a vision of putting on Christ, and living life in light of the reality of what Jesus has done for us – which he calls taking off the old self, and putting on the new self. Because, when we follow Jesus – when we receive and fall into his grace and salvation, it means we can never live the same.

This week Rob Collis preaches from Ephesians 4.25-32, where Paul continues his discussion about putting on the new self – because he wants to make sure God’s grace seeps into our lives – and that it would pervade down all the way into our hearts. And nothing reveals the state of our hearts, and what our hearts hold as precious and dear, quite like our relationship with anger.

So far in Ephesians, Paul has been expanding our horizons and stretching our imaginations. And if we stop and just take a step back – what we realize is that the universe has changed because of Jesus Christ. All of history has been rewritten ever since Jesus died on the cross, and came back to life. Reality has changed. And as we come to chapter 4, Paul shifts his writing from telling us about how reality has changed, to telling us how to live in this new reality.

This week Rob Collis preaches from Ephesians 4.13-16, where Paul tells us there’s a destination for us in this life, as we seek to follow Jesus. Paul presents a three-part destination for us to attain to, which is not only something for us as Christians, but for us as those made fully alive in Christ. As we seek to follow Jesus and attain to these things, he sketches out not only the destination, but also the roadblocks we will face, and tells us about how Jesus will walk with us on this journey.