Benediction Church, #HamOnt

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...

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 i...

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...

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, abi...

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?...

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...

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 'antich...

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 mes...

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&...

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, J...

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 t...

Date: Sunday, April 23, 2023 Speaker: Paulo Caproni Passage: (2 John 1-13) In this one-off message, Paulo gave a creative re-read of a little-known letter in the New Testament: 2John. Paulo has been working with 2John in the original language, and helped college- and seminary-level students see and appreciate the good stuff he sees there. In 2John, the Apostle wants us to be reminded of what God h...

Message Date: April 9th, 2023 Scripture: Revelation 21 Speaker: Mike Mileski Resurrection isn't the end of the Bible's grand story; it's the end of the beginning. God says "behold, I'm making all things new" - His story doesn't end, but it starts over. His story ends with a new beginning. In this message, we share four pictures of resurrection - four pictures of what...

Message Date: April 2nd, 2023 Scripture: Luke 24: 13-32 Speaker: Mike Mileski Each of us has assumptions and expectations that can keep us from recognizing the real Jesus when we meet Him. When that happens, some people will quit altogether and blame Him. Some will replace Him with their own imagined Jesus. Others will accept that Jesus we just can't know Him. In this message, we join the disc...

Message Date: March 26th, 2023 Scripture: Lamentations 1:1-22 Speaker: Mike Mileski (Please note that there was no recording for week 4, which was our conversation with the staff of St. Matthew's House and Helping Hands Street Mission) Exile is what happens when it's too dangerous to be allowed to remain at home. We cannot understand the story God is telling in Scripture if we can't al...

Message Date: March 12th, 2023 Scripture: Genesis 3:1-24 Speaker: Mike Mileski Why do we hide our true selves from one another? Why  hide behind our work, possessions, wealth, and friends? Why are we so quick to blame others - parents, alcohol, systems, hierarchies - or, blame ourselves, instead of doing the work of change? Why is everything so hard - why can we do work we love, with people w...

Message Date: March 5th, 2023 Scripture: Genesis 1:26-2:3; 2:15-22 Speaker: Mike Mileski Whatever you believe about the earth will determine how you live on the earth. Each of us has internalized a story about how or why we got here, and it shapes how we treat the earth, our bodies, and each other. In this message we go to the beginning - the Creation stories in Genesis chapters 1 and 2 - to see s...

Message Date: February 26th, 2023 Scripture: John 17:1-26 Speaker: Mike Mileski You may have heard the old adage: "Show me a god, I'll show you a people." The opposite is also true: Show me a people, I'll tell you who (or what) their god is. This is the first in a seven-part study of the Story of Scripture. Our aim is that hearing the one, big, beautiful, true story that God is telling us through...

Message Date: February 12th 2023 Scripture: Psalm 119:97-104; 114 Speaker: Mike Mileski In our culture we can think of a hundred place to turn for comfort when things get hard: inside ourselves, our friends, our therapists, food, achievements, self esteem, etc. The harder things are, the less we're likely to turn to the Scriptures for comfort, hope, and encouragement.  The opposite was true i...

Message Date: February 5th 2023 Scripture: Matthew 10:16-22 Speaker: Mike Mileski When someone suffers for the Scriptures the way William Tyndale did, it might make us wonder: Is it worth it? Is the ability to read Scripture in English - not Latin - worth a man's life? The answer to that depends on how important the Bible really is. Can we truly know God if we're not aware how He's revealed in His...

Message Date: January 29th 2023 Scripture: Hebrews 4:12-16 Speaker: Mike Mileski What keeps YOU from the Bible? Is it the fear that you lack the knowledge or training that makes it worthwhile to spend the time? Scripture makes the claim that it is “alive and active” and “judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart”. The life of Olga of Kiev (c.920-969) proves it. Before Christ, she’d been a mur...

Message Date: January 22nd 2023 Scripture: John 1:1-5, 14 Speaker: Mike Mileski You might have been advised lower your expectations of the Bible, and focus solely on Jesus. It seemed like a good idea, because the Bible was written by people, and people make mistakes, but Jesus is the authoritative, inerrant Word of God. The story of Athanasius of Alexandria (c.296-373) is the story of a man who st...

Message Date: December 11th 2022 Scripture: Mark 8:34-9:8 Speaker: Mike Mileski This message is a great starting point for those who are new to Benediction Church.  The Transfiguration is a key moment in the life of Jesus and helps us understand what He wants for disciples. It sets Jesus above Moses and Elijah: they listen to Him, and so should we: When Jesus tells us we BELIEVE the wrong thi...

Message Date: December 11th 2022 Scripture: Matthew 2:1-12 Speaker: Mike Mileski The visit of the Magi presents us with a choice. The Magi met two kings, and would only worship one. One king (Herod) demanded their worship, but didn’t deserve it. Another king (Jesus) deserved their worship, but didn’t demand it. In a culture full of Herods who demand our worship, the visit of the Magi reminds us th...

Message Date: December 4th, 2022 Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25 Speaker: Mike Mileski Despite the legends surrounding him, little is known about the real Joseph of Nazareth. What sort of man was chosen to be the Messiah's stepdad? He's silent, submissive, almost domestic, and serves his family at great cost. He turns the stereotypes of traditional manhood on their head, and shows us what real strength...