Newmarket Alliance Sermon Podcast

Each year in November, believers around the world participate in special services that focus on the persecuted church. There are an estimated 260 million believers around the world who are experiencing high to extreme forms of persecution. We read the stories of Paul and Stephen and John the Baptist - all persecuted for their faith. Some of you may know the stories of men and women in Church histo...

"Shame on you" "You oughtta be ashamed of yourself" "Have you no shame?" Body-shamed Put to shame Walk of shame "Shame, shame, double shame" In one Pastor's observation, I'm not sure if there's a more prevalent root feeling that robs us of our joy and the "abundant life" that Jesus promised more so than shame. Shame is most often rooted in a lie; A lie that can come from our families, our culture,...

There's just ONE more aspect of our refreshed Church vision we'd like to share before wrapping up this series. We've been using the early Acts church as a model of sorts, and it's clear the early church was a worshipping church. The Psalms were their worship "playlist" you could say. And while worship through singing is far from the ONLY expression of personal and corporate worship, for some reaso...

There are a couple more aspects of our vision we'd like to share before wrapping up this series. Our "marching orders" and model always come from Jesus Himself who "did not come to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45) It's why we're trying not to use the word "volunteer" as it applies to our Christian calling. Not that there is anything wrong with volunteerin...

As we talk about the kind of church we want to be... the VISION and MISSION we believe God has given us, it is all sustained through every Church's and disciple's first ministry; PRAYER You will find that you can do much after you pray but you can do nothing until you pray. Prayer is a declaration of dependence. Prayer is an invitation to intimacy. Prayer is a response to grace. Corporate prayer i...

Everything in the first parts of our re-vamped vision is ultimately leading us to this… To Go! We take our cues from Jesus Himself who when confronted by the uber-religious folks about why he was not only hanging out but PURSUING sinners and those with bad reputations, He told 3 stories in a row about “the lost”, and more importantly, what the Father’s heart is towards the lost. Maybe we’d even ca...

September 25th, 2022 I'm sure you've met all kinds of people - more and more lately - who would agree with the sentiment... "I'm good with Jesus, but I don't want anything to do with His Church. It's CHRISTIANS who I'm done with" I dare say we've all had enough hurts and frustrations with people to at least sympathize with that idea. The thing is, Jesus had a Kingdom dream. A dream that involved b...

We kick off this new ministry year with a re-vamped, re-imagined vision that will guide us into the next season of our church. What does it mean to truly BE the Church? What does it mean to BE NAC? We think it can be boiled down to 3 things. Simple, but not easy by any means. Find out what it means to be able to say... #WE ARE NAC

Most of our faith is spent in the middle. NOT in the wonderful "honeymoon" phase where everything feels new, exciting and passionate. NOT even near the finish line where the Apostle Paul had finished his race well. It's in the middle where we are tempted to drift. Where things feel "same old-same old". The same can be said for our marriages, vocations, disciplines... perhaps the impetus behind the...

LABOUR DAY WEEKEND! It got me thinking about the two extremes we see many people erring on. The one extreme is seeing your work... your job... as your primary identity. The place where you receive your greatest sense of worth and accomplishment. We see the value we place on this when the first question we ask someone is "So what do you do for a living?" (Guys can be particularly bad for this). At...

The message perpetuated in culture today - in fact often in CHRISTIAN culture - is a message that sounds something like this... You can be a world-changer Your life could influence millions Live in such a way that you'll be remembered for generations There is something inspiring about those kinds of "vision talks" and assuming those are good-faith motivations, there's nothing inherently wrong with...

A bonus podcast! From our outdoor service and "party in the park" at Fairy Lake on August 21st, 2022. We hear the word "gospel" a lot in Christian circles. The 4 biographies of Jesus are called "Gospels"... there's the "gospel coalition", "gospel music", "gospel business man's association"... Maybe you know enough to know that the original word literally means "Good News" but maybe "The Gospel" ha...

A lot of parenting is filled with feelings of guilt and regret. There. I said it. Sounds glamorous and enticing, right? Don't get me wrong; I don't know one parent who would trade for the joy and privilege of raising a child. Children truly are a gift from God (Psalm 127:3) Yet there are so many messages from the culture, advertising, family and friends, our own unrealistic expectations AND even f...

Some of you old-school O.G's will remember Tupac popularizing the phrase (and ubiquitous tattoo):"Only God can judge me" I suppose that's true... but only to a point. Lots of people mishandle the admonition of Jesus to not judge, lest you be judged. (Matt. 7:1) One tells himself: "You know, God is awesome - He really DOES give me strength. We won!" They can use it as their own "shield for sin", a...

Two athletes face off against each other. Maybe fighters, hockey players or quarterbacks. Each has their favourite verse tattooed or whispered as a pre-game warm up. I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength! At the end of the day, only one of them will be declared a winner. Each of them drive home and stare out the window and have two completely different thoughts. One tells himsel...

There's misunderstood verses Misappropriated verses Mishandled verses But this has to be one of the all time misQUOTED verses it's usually quoted like this... "Well, as the Bible says, 'Money is the root of all evil" That's not actually what the Bible says. It's only missing a few words but those few words can make all the difference in our understanding. Some of you have already caught the misquo...

As much as we understand that our faith is nuanced and even mysterious, it seems there's a part in all of us that are drawn to religious prescriptions... Formulas, really. "If I pray this prayer of Jabez, exactly as it's been laid out..." "If I read my Bible, say my prayers and take my vitamins..." "If I give 10$ God's gotta bless me..." Could it be part of the reason that some have become disillu...

Even with pure intentions, sometimes Christians can turn Scripture into little more than... platitudes. Motivational lingo Bumper sticker theology memes Christian-ese T-Shirt slogans Often it happens when we cherry-pick inspiring sounding verses out of context. The danger is that when these feel-good formulas don't deliver like we think they should, it leaves many of us disillusioned. But what if...

Even with pure intentions, sometimes Christians can turn Scripture into little more than... platitudes. Motivational lingo Bumper sticker theology memes Christian-ese T-Shirt slogans Often it happens when we cherry-pick inspiring sounding verses out of context. The danger is that when these feel-good formulas don't deliver like we think they should, it leaves many of us disillusioned. But what if...

We get into part 8 of our series "That Sinking Feeling" We have all experienced loss in some way. Death of loved ones Loss of jobs Loss of pets Loss of relationship and more Loss is unavoidable. So what do we do when grief comes to stay? Is it possible that pain and grief are not the enemy, but the remedy? Though painful and uncomfortable, maybe grief can be a great teacher. To not let the grief s...

We get into part 7 of our series "That Sinking Feeling" Behaviour on airplanes that looks like something out of a UFC cage fight? Nurses have to be outfitted with panic buttons Social media trolling that has no bottom. A new mass murder every week. Even a physical assault during the presentation of an Oscar. What is wrong with people these days? If you find yourself asking this question, you’re no...

We get into part 6 of our series "That Sinking Feeling" A lot of folks are advised to "Fake it 'till you make it" The only problem is they feel like they're continually "fakin' it" (in some area of their life) without ever "makin' it". Whether it's vocationally, relationally, financially, or even spiritually there is a feeling of deep inadequacy among so many people; A feeling that they'll soon be...

We get into part 5 of our series "That Sinking Feeling" Some of us have been deeply and devastatingly betrayed. It's painful and has the potential to harden our hearts. Our instinct is to respond with bitterness. Respond with BLAME. Perhaps worst of all, to live out of a "Victim identity". God has a much better narrative for us to live out... one where we are not defined by our circumstances... wh...

How are you doing these days? Really. How are you REALLY doing? Do you sense something going on with people? Do they seem angrier? More fearful, more anxious, more depressed? Are you a people pleaser? Do you fear others not liking you? What's going on? God has given us the GIFT of an array of powerful emotions. Jesus Himself experienced all of them (and managed not to sin). Together we can learn t...

Is this the first "sinking feeling" ever recorded? (See the story of Adam and Eve recorded in Genesis 3) One of the first things recorded about this first couple is that they were UNASHAMED, and just after they sinned, they immediately hid from God. Shame always makes us hide, one way or another. Often stemming from childhood messages, things done to us or things we've done to others... or accusat...