Brentview Church

Conflict follows relationships. Relationships are "Messy." No matter what we do, we will find ourselves in challenging conversations and with people that push our buttons. As followers of Jesus, how might we engage with a posture of openness and grace? What does Jesus show us about speaking the truth in love? What do we do when we've broken relationships and desire reconciliation? This series expl...

Conflict follows relationships. Relationships are "Messy." No matter what we do, we will find ourselves in challenging conversations and with people that push our buttons. As followers of Jesus, how might we engage with a posture of openness and grace? What does Jesus show us about speaking the truth in love? What do we do when we've broken relationships and desire reconciliation? This series expl...

Conflict follows relationships. Relationships are "Messy." No matter what we do, we will find ourselves in challenging conversations and with people that push our buttons. As followers of Jesus, how might we engage with a posture of openness and grace? What does Jesus show us about speaking the truth in love? What do we do when we've broken relationships and desire reconciliation? This series expl...

Conflict follows relationships. Relationships are "Messy." No matter what we do, we will find ourselves in challenging conversations and with people that push our buttons. As followers of Jesus, how might we engage with a posture of openness and grace? What does Jesus show us about speaking the truth in love? What do we do when we've broken relationships and desire reconciliation? This series expl...

Conflict follows relationships. Relationships are "Messy." No matter what we do, we will find ourselves in challenging conversations and with people that push our buttons. As followers of Jesus, how might we engage with a posture of openness and grace? What does Jesus show us about speaking the truth in love? What do we do when we've broken relationships and desire reconciliation? This series expl...

Jesus's pain was redeemed in resurrection. This is the ultimate fulfillment of hope for all who follow him. Resurrection for us, on that final day, will be the moment we become fully human forever, just like Jesus. The ultimate redemption of our pain is coming, and in many ways, because Jesus stepped out of a tomb that first Easter morning, our pain is redeemable even now. (John 20).

Jesus, after accepting his "cup," willingly goes to the cross and cries out to God the Father, "…why have you forsaken me?" Has God abandoned Jesus in his hour of greatest need? Perhaps. Or, maybe God the Father was there even though it didn't feel like it. (Mark 15; Psalm 22)

At the end of his earthly ministry, Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, "Take this cup of suffering away from me" (Mark 14:36). "Cup" refers to the suffering he was about to endure. All of us have, or will have, cups to bear. In fact, anytime we step into relationships, we risk bearing a cup of pain. Love not only risks pain but also leads to it. (Mark 14).

Even if we have a picture of God in our minds, an intellectual category for how we think and talk about God, getting that to saturate the inmost pain points of our souls is often challenging. I invite you to think about how, when you authentically sit with your hurts, your experienced narrative of God differs from the picture we have of Jesus weeping.(Luke 19:41-44)

Fear is natural and is nothing to be ashamed of. Neither should it be a limitation to becoming more like Jesus. Fear, a major contributor to pain for many, doesn't need to have such a power over us that we never take risks to step into our God-given potential. We become human like Jesus when we take the risk of radical trust and obedience, even when it disrupts our sense of equilibrium. (Mark 6 [J...

Before anything else, Jesus desires to reshape the interior of our lives. We might call this virtue or character formation, but ultimately it involves getting to know Jesus personally so that responding to situations as he would becomes second nature. One example of this shows up in Matthew 5. Jesus teaches us to "love your enemies." Love is both an inward disposition, one that we must have formed...

Why does God allow pain in our world? The story we tell about God and suffering matters. However, what is more important than "why" is "what" we do with our pain. To step into our pain differently, we can rest in the fact that above anything else, we are beloved by God. We are worthy of that love, just like Jesus at his baptism. He then stepped into the desert, a place of scarcity, but feasted on...

The truth is that none of us live free of difficulties or hardships. Pain is real. So, how can we learn to live abundantly in the midst of our struggles? The answer is found in the hopeful humanity of Jesus. Echoing Hope is a series that reveals how understanding the humanity of Jesus can radically transform our identity and empower us to step into our pain-filled world in a new way. As we look at...

On Life Sunday, we celebrate what God is doing in the life of our congregation and beyond. We have much to celebrate. At the same time, our world is facing another crisis: war. What does it mean to be people who make peace in a world of violence? On Sunday, we celebrate and we lament, trusting that Jesus has given us even greater weapons than those our world wields.

In the spiritual life, we will face many valleys. Valleys are the spaces that are hard—where doubt, uncertainty, and suffering press against the life we actually long to live. In moments like this, we can find comfort in the mountaintop experiences we've had with God in the past. While these aren't the only means of being sustained in hard seasons, they can remind us that even when evidence seems...

How does God see us? How do we see God? How does this inform how we see our world? There are external forces at work that shape our picture of Jesus: our world, culture, institutions, and families. Our image of what God is like is often a blurred distortion of reality. "Vivid" is an invitation to see Christ with greater clarity so that he can become the foundation of a life free from shame. God's...

How does God see us? How do we see God? How does this inform how we see our world? There are external forces at work that shape our picture of Jesus: our world, culture, institutions, and families. Our image of what God is like is often a blurred distortion of reality. "Vivid" is an invitation to see Christ with greater clarity so that he can become the foundation of a life free from shame. God's...

How does God see us? How do we see God? How does this inform how we see our world? There are external forces at work that shape our picture of Jesus: our world, culture, institutions, and families. Our image of what God is like is often a blurred distortion of reality. "Vivid" is an invitation to see Christ with greater clarity so that he can become the foundation of a life free from shame. God's...

How does God see us? How do we see God? How does this inform how we see our world? There are external forces at work that shape our picture of Jesus: our world, culture, institutions, and families. Our image of what God is like is often a blurred distortion of reality. "Vivid" is an invitation to see Christ with greater clarity so that he can become the foundation of a life free from shame. God's...

How does God see us? How do we see God? How does this inform how we see our world? There are external forces at work that shape our picture of Jesus: our world, culture, institutions, and families. Our image of what God is like is often a blurred distortion of reality. "Vivid" is an invitation to see Christ with greater clarity so that he can become the foundation of a life free from shame. God's...

Jesus moved into the neighbourhood. He came among us. This is a radical claim that makes Christianity unique. And its ramifications for how we live and love, have the power to change lives, our city, and our world.

Advent is a season that anticipates the coming of Jesus into the world. With ancient Israel—after years of violence, upheaval, disobedience, times of repentance, and longing—we look forward to the coming Messiah. Only he is able to bring true peace to the nations and to usher in the renewed creation. So during this season, we anticipate. We step into the tension with the ancient people of God to e...

Advent is a season that anticipates the coming of Jesus into the world. With ancient Israel—after years of violence, upheaval, disobedience, times of repentance, and longing—we look forward to the coming Messiah. Only he is able to bring true peace to the nations and to usher in the renewed creation. So during this season, we anticipate. We step into the tension with the ancient people of God to e...

Advent is a season that anticipates the coming of Jesus into the world. With ancient Israel—after years of violence, upheaval, disobedience, times of repentance, and longing—we look forward to the coming Messiah. Only he is able to bring true peace to the nations and to usher in the renewed creation. So during this season, we anticipate. We step into the tension with the ancient people of God to e...

Advent is a season that anticipates the coming of Jesus into the world. With ancient Israel—after years of violence, upheaval, disobedience, times of repentance, and longing—we look forward to the coming Messiah. Only he is able to bring true peace to the nations and to usher in the renewed creation. So during this season, we anticipate. We step into the tension with the ancient people of God to e...