Back to the Bible Canada with Dr. John Neufeld

If God is for us, who can be against us? Dr. John Neufeld explores Isaiah 43:1-7, where God speaks tenderly to His rebellious people: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; you are mine." Despite Israel's blindness and coming judgment, God promises they will not drown in the waters or be consumed by fire—He would even exchange nations as ransom for His chosen people. This unbreakable cove...

Why did God seemingly focus only on Israel in the Old Testament while ignoring the nations? Dr. John Neufeld explores Isaiah 42:14-26, revealing that God always had a global plan—He was simply waiting for the right moment to cry out like a woman in labor. When the servant Israel failed their mission to bring light to the nations, God sent another Servant who would succeed. This passage challenges...

When God says "Behold my servant," we should pay attention. Dr. John Neufeld unpacks Isaiah 42:1-13, the first of four "servant songs" revealing the Messiah's identity and mission. Unlike empty idols, God presents His servant—sinless, Spirit-empowered, and gentle with the broken—who will establish a new covenant with all nations, opening blind eyes and freeing prisoners from da...

What evidence do you have for what you believe? In Isaiah 41:21-29, God issues a bold challenge: idols and the Almighty will both "set forth their case." Dr. John Neufeld explores this courtroom scene where God demonstrates His reality through detailed prophecy—including naming Cyrus 200 years before his birth—while idols remain silent and powerless. We become like what we worship, making...

In this episode, Dr. John Neufeld explores Isaiah 41:11-20 and the journey from victim to victor. Using the apostle Paul as an example, he examines how believers can move beyond a victim mentality to embrace confidence in God's help, promises of triumph, and provision of abundance. Dr. Neufeld reminds us that our hope isn't found in positive thinking, but in the resurrection of Jesus and G...

Is the God of Israel simply a tribal deity, or does He rule over all nations? Dr. John Neufeld examines Isaiah 41:1-10, where God summons the nations to His courtroom for judgment. He reveals that He controls the rise and fall of empires, stirring up a king from the east who will trample nations. The terrified nations respond by creating idols they must nail down to keep from falling, but to Israe...

What do you do when heaven is silent and God seems far away? Dr. John Neufeld examines Isaiah 40:27-31, where Israel cries out that their way is hidden from the Lord. Isaiah's response isn't to explain the silence, but to remind them who God is - everlasting, never growing weary, with unsearchable understanding. When we feel abandoned, we must preach God's attributes to ourselves, not...

Just who do you think you're talking to when you talk to God? Dr. John Neufeld examines Isaiah 40:12-26, where God asks eleven questions that reveal His incomparable nature. Who has measured the oceans in the hollow of His hand or marked off the heavens with a span? Idols - whether carved from wood or forged from gold - are products of human imagination, easily toppled and compared to creation...

Everyone needs hope, but what happens when the things we've placed our hope in inevitably fail? Dr. John Neufeld continues in Isaiah 40, where God commands the prophet to cry out a sobering truth: all flesh is grass, withering quickly like desert flowers in the scorching heat. But here's the contrast that changes everything: the word of our God stands forever. While idols and human plans c...

The heart is an idol factory, constantly manufacturing gods that promise everything we desire without demanding a change of heart. Dr. John Neufeld begins a series in Isaiah 40-44, contrasting the one true God with the world's countless idols. Isaiah opens with surprising words of comfort to sinful Jerusalem: God promises her warfare will end, her iniquity will be pardoned, and a voice will cr...

Doing what's right over the long haul - that's what faithfulness looks like. Dr. John Neufeld concludes this series on Christ's return by examining two parables Jesus tells about watchfulness and faithfulness. Since we don't know when He's returning, we must stay awake - engaged in the Master's business and living with kingdom values. The wise and faithful servant is the on...

We don't know what tomorrow holds, but we know who holds tomorrow. Dr. John Neufeld examines Jesus' parable of the fig tree in Matthew 24, addressing the disciples' burning question: when will these things happen? Jesus makes it clear that no one knows the day or hour of His return - not even the Son in His human nature. The lesson isn't about calculating timelines, but about livin...

What we know with certainty about the future changes everything about how we face the present. Dr. John Neufeld continues in Matthew 24, examining Jesus' warnings about false messiahs who will arise in the last days, performing signs to deceive many. Jesus assures His followers the true Savior will not appear in secret locations, but visibly across the heavens like lightning, returning in powe...

Some moments in history are so defining they serve as lessons for all time. Dr. John Neufeld examines Jesus' cryptic reference to "the abomination of desolation" from Daniel's prophecy - a warning that was fulfilled in A.D. 70 when Roman forces destroyed Jerusalem. Christians who heeded Jesus' words escaped the city during what became unprecedented suffering for the Jewish peop...

Dr. John Neufeld begins a series on Christ's return by examining the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24. When the disciples ask Jesus about the temple's destruction and the end of the age, He warns them of "birth pangs" - signs that will continue throughout history but don't signal the immediate end: false messiahs, wars, persecution, and apostasy. Rather than predicting timelines,...

Only the naive and deluded deny the presence and power of sin and death. Our world can be a painful place. It does no good to cover our eyes or pretend that evil doesn't exist. It is real and requires a real answer. God provides that answer through Jesus Christ. Jesus defeats sin and death by His life, atonement, and resurrection. He comes to Bethlehem filled with light, grace, and truth. We d...

An engagement ring is a pledge of a wedded relationship. A down payment is a promise of ownership of a house. These are forecasts in part of what will be in whole. Jesus has come, yet there is still sin and death in our world. Today, Dr. John preaches that the arrival of Jesus in Bethlehem, His gospel teaching, powerful miracles, death and resurrection are unbreakable promises of God's Kingdom...

The story of Bethlehem is the promise of the prophet Micah. He predicted the birthplace of the Messiah. But he did more. Micah also predicts a time of global peace and righteousness. Listen as Dr. John rehearses the words of Micah. We will find that the One who is born is Bethlehem is the instrument and Ruler of peace. For those who long for peace, there is hope.  Christmas: Hype or Hope? : In our...

Some look to government as a panacea for all things. They act as if good government can bring a utopia on earth. That's hype. It is an expectation that not only exceeds the government’s power, but ignores the fallen nature of everyone in authority. But there is hope. Dr. John points to the only Ruler who is worthy to reign forever. He is promised by God and sung by angelic choirs.  Christmas:...

How do we sift the meaning of Christmas from the celebration of the season? Some strive for simplicity by having fewer gifts or a smaller tree. Others make it a time of charity for the needy. But reducing the hype without discerning the hope of Christmas is no improvement. Dr. John reaches back to the Genesis beginning to remind us that in times of despair, God shines with redemptive hope. Christm...

When God sent His Son into the world, it wasn't random—it was purposeful. In this episode, Dr. John Neufeld unpacks four reasons why the Father sent Jesus at Christmas: to redeem us from the curse of the law, to adopt us as His children, to place His Spirit in our hearts, and to free us from slavery forever. This isn't just the story of a baby in a manger—it's the story of a God who pl...

Jesus didn't just happen to be born at a convenient moment in history. When Paul writes that Christ came "in the fullness of time," he's revealing something profound: from the fall of Adam to the manger in Bethlehem, God was preparing the way. In this episode, Dr. John Neufeld walks through seven pivotal moments in redemptive history, showing how each was necessary for the Messiah&...

We like to think we're free—masters of our own fate, captains of our souls. But the truth is far different. Before Christ, we were all enslaved to what Paul calls "the elementary principles of the world"—cultural rules, religious regulations, and empty philosophies that promised freedom but delivered bondage. In this episode, Dr. John Neufeld unpacks how Christ's coming transferred...

Since the Tower of Babel, humanity has been divided by race, economics, and culture—but the coming of Christ changed everything. In this message from Galatians 3:28, Dr. John Neufeld explores how Jesus creates "one new humanity" by breaking down the walls of hostility between Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female. Christ becomes bigger than our politics, culture, and divisions, un...

What does it mean to be "clothed with Christ"? In this message, Dr. John Neufeld explores how our spiritual nakedness—our sin and vulnerability—is covered by the righteousness of Jesus himself. Through baptism, believers publicly identify with Christ's death and resurrection, putting on His life as their own and becoming heirs of the promise God made to Abraham. Christmas From Galatian...