Benediction Church, #HamOnt

Message Date: March 6, 2022 If you’d been named for the things you’ve done, or the things done to you, what would you name yourself? Imposter? Victim? Invisible? Unworthy? After what Naomi has suffered, she wishes to be called “Bitter”. In this lesson, we observe what suffering does to Naomi's community, to her faith, and to her sense of identity. Our suffering doesn’t have to define or trap us, b...

Message date: February 20, 2022 For we who take our rights and freedoms for granted, Ruth is a window into the global reality of the suffering that is normal for millions. With Ruth, the world awaits a reversal of all that’s gone wrong, and in Ruth, we see a role model for all men and women of how to live while we wait. Lent is a focused season of waiting and self-denial, and as we learn in this m...

Message date: January 30, 2022, (Matthew 18:1-10) When a lot of children and youth in a culture learn to expect a lot of access to a lot of technology, that's not something to celebrate - it's something to avoid at all costs. In this message we heard four serious reasons why this is true, and why rather than completely abstain from all technology, families should have as their goal to let kids be...

Message Date: January 23, 2022 (Colossians 3:1-14) Why do so many kind and compassionate people become trolls online? What is it about online technologies that bring out the worst in us? In this message we considered persuasive evidence that the problem is not only human sin; these technologies are deliberately awful. And as serious as the problem is, it's not new; followers of Jesus have always w...

Message Date: January 16, 2022 (Ephesians 2:1-10) Persuasive Technologies have turned human life into a commodity while we blindly click and scroll along. No longer. In this message we learn what an algorithm is, and how it knows so much about us. If we're disturbed at the idea that tech companies might be listening to us through our devices, the reality is even worse. Only by realigning our use o...

Message date: January 9, 2022 This message is first in a series in which we consider what social media and related technologies are doing to us - individually and as a culture - and whether it's worth it. It's an important conversation for the Church to have. Reflecting theologically and biblically, we acknowledged that this tech has helped us in many ways, but there are numerous examples to show...

(Message Date: November 28, 2021) In this message we begin our Advent journey by considering the meaning of Jesus' Incarnation. The first week of Advent is the week of hope. We who live in seemingly hopeless times can find tremendous hope as we reflect biblically, historically, theologically, missionally, and personally, on the God who didn't stay in heaven, but put on flesh to be WITH US. 

(Message date: November 21, 2021) We conclude our study by asking how Habakkuk went from "Where are You?!" at the start of the book to "I trust You no matter what" here at the end. Habakkuk's despair was turned to rejoicing because of three choices faith makes: Faith doesn't mind a little trembling; Faith doesn't wait for 'why', and Faith doesn't judge God. 

Message Date: November 21, 2021 We love superhero stories because they remind us what awe feels like. In this penultimate message in the series, Habakkuk's final prayer reads like a war psalm that establishes the God of Israel as the super-God among gods, and only by immersing ourselves in His story will we stand in awe of Him again. This is more than a religious duty for us to perform; it's a MIN...

Message date: November 7, 2021 by David Howson-Jan At this point in Habakkuk, we must acknowledge with the Prophet that we're not nearly as aligned with God's heart as we think we are, and our cries for justice can seem more like a demand for revenge. Why do we assume we want justice more than He does, and that we know what it'll look like? What are we doing about the injustice around us currently...

Message date: Sunday October 24, 2021 (Speaker: Jordan Moss) We expect the good guys to win. We love an underdog story; so how do we process it when the bad guys win? What do we do when God's enemies are winning, and it seem like He's on THEIR side?! This question requires great care or we risk making God either guilty of sin, and Jordan offers careful insights into what to do when it seems like G...

Message Date: Sunday October 31st 2021 We know not to trust a promise from someone who's untruthful, or lacks the power to keep it, because any promise is only as sure as the person who makes it is reliable. That's why when God responds to Habakkuk's prayer with promises, they're trustworthy and true: Evil will come back on those who do it. The righteous will live by faith. And someday, what's hid...

Message date: October 17, 2021 (Habakkuk 1:5-12) The mystery of God's sovereignty over evil is one we need to reckon with if our faith will survive the trials of life. How can God "raise up" evildoers like the Chaldeans without Himself being guilty of sin, or, excusing them from responsibility for their evil choices? And yet He can, and does. In this message we argue that a world in which evil and...

Message date: October 10, 2021 (recorded live during Word and Table service) Why is God's answer to our prayers sometimes "No"?  Beneath the problem of evil and suffering in our world is the question: Can we trust God or not? And while some might interpret Habakkuk's prayer - asking "Why?" and "How long?" - as irreverent or unacceptable, it's what Jesus prayed in His anguish too. If you're no...

Message date: October 3, 2021. (Recorded live.) This is the first of several messages in the book of Habakkuk. This time we shared some insights that will assist us in our journey, including the prophet’s context and content. We saw that Habakkuk’s burden is to tell the truth, but he does so more like a painter than a photographer. 

Message date: Sept 26, 2021 This is the third and final message in our series: "ReLearning the Way of Jesus" and in it, we consider what Jesus meant by His invitation, "Follow Me". Like His other disciples, we sometimes fail to follow Jesus because we put our personal preferences first - the way of individualism. At other times, we put our group goals, and identity first - the way of tribalism. In...

Message date: September 19, 2021 What does repentance look like? In this message we considered three common alternatives to genuine repentance: religion, certainty, and consumerism. None of these bring about the kind of transformation Jesus wants for us, in which we love what He loves, and hate what He hates. Only repentance - as demonstrated by the woman who'd bled for twelve years - can do it.

Message date: September 12, 2021 This is the first of three messages in which we return to the simple, essential message of Jesus. In this first part, we ask what what Jesus meant when He said "believe the Good News". We compared the knowledge of experts with the faith of the thief on the cross. The thief got it, and he's a good example for us all: Jesus doesn't just want to be believed in; He wan...

Message date: September 5, 2021 In this conclusion to our Holy Ghost Stories, we focused on the meanings of Jesus' baptism. In addition to the many other biblical metaphors for baptism we include this one: Baptism as Jesus' commissioning into His Kingdom vocation. What if we looked at our own baptism this way? What if we looked at our work not as a 'job' we must endure, but a way that we participa...

Message Date: August 29, 2021 Simon the Sorcerer was dangerous: he’s the original celebrity pastor and religious narcissist, who built a huge brand for himself and tried to buy the power to impart the Holy Spirit. In our own day, there may be no greater threat to the Church and our witness than the problem of unchallenged narcissists leading our churches and ministries. And, there might be no grea...

Message Date August 1, 2021 In this study of the Jerusalem Council it became clear why the Holy Spirit never asks us to repent of culture; He asks us to repent of sin. The difference is important because while some aspects of a culture might be wonderful, others might be wicked, and others, with a bit of creativity, are redeemable. This is an important lesson showing that Christianizing people is...

Message Date July 18, 2021 Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus is a well known before / after story. But when we consider it through the eyes of the others involved, we realized that it was a turning point not just for Saul, but for everyone else. In fact, it seems that the conversion of anyone involves a conversion for everyone because no one comes to Jesus on their own. This is just one of...

 (Message date: July 11, 2021) The early Church felt "great fear" because of what the Spirit was doing; the death of Ananias and Sapphira after lying to the Apostles provides a perfect example: Did the Spirit kill them? Did they deserve what happened to them? In this message, the third in our "Holy Ghost Stories" series, David Howson-Jan guides us through the key questions related to this str...

(Message date: July 4, 2021) What changed after Peter's visit with Cornelius the Roman Centurion?  Each of us learned to fear, hate, or generally avoid certain people for one reason or another. And some folks learned to fear, hate, and avoid you too. The simplistic stories we tell ourselves about one another have the power to kill and divide, and in this Holy Ghost Story, the Spirit forces Pe...

(Preached June 27, 2021 by Mike Mileski) This is the first of several messages in a series called "Holy Ghost Stories: Thrilling Encounters with the Third Person". Each week we'll learn what it looked like when the Spirit of God was at work in the stories of Scripture, so that we can also discern when it's Him in our day .  We launch the series with the story of Pentecost: the day the Spirit...