Teachings from Unionville Alliance

Prayer was an essential part of Jesus' life. However, for all the accounts we have of Jesus praying we have very few of his actual prayers in Scripture. In our final message of this series we are granted an inside look at Jesus in his longest recorded prayer in the Bible. It will not only give us insight into Jesus, but is instructive for our own praying.

The thought of Jesus leaving the disciples was devastating. How could they carry on without their Lord and leaders? Jesus shocks them when he asserts that it is good for them that he goes away. Jesus has something in mind that will make all the difference even if he is not physically present with them.

Being a follower of Christ comes with the most incredible benefits. However, the Christian faith should come with a warning: Followers may experience opposition and persecution; join at your own risk. Jesus wanted his disciples to know that they would be subject to the possibility of hostility because they were connected with him. That hasn’t changed in 2000 years. Discover what Jesus has to say a...

As Jesus is preparing the disciples for his departure, he realizes that this is troubling to them and he desires to comfort their hearts. He does so by reminding them of their belief in God, encouraging them to believe in him, letting them know he is preparing a place for them, assuring them that he will return for them, and promising them that they will be with him for all eternity. Similarly, we...

Love—that grand topic has been the source of inspiration from time immemorial. In Jesus’ farewell speech, he focuses in on that topic as critical to the disciples’ work and the health of the church. He presents it as a new commandment that is really not new. In this message we want to probe the meaning and significance of this call to love for us today.

There is an exodus of young adults leaving the church. There was a tragic abdication of faith in Israel’s history not long after the great events of the exodus and conquering Canaan. In this message we want to learn some lessons to help us avoid the departure from the faith by younger people.

Most of us desire to have some status, recognition, significance and acknowledgement of our worthiness. Our means of achieving this can result in self-centredness, self-promotion and arrogance. Jesus turns this on its head, calling us to follow him on a surprisingly and vastly different path.

In the first chapter of Ruth we see calamity come to the life of Naomi which discourages her. In Ruth chapter two, light springs up as we see the favour of God to Ruth and Naomi through Boaz. He goes out of his way to care for and provide for Ruth. This is a beautiful picture of how the Lord in His lovingkindness shows us favour, provides our needs, and comforts us with His promises. Through the e...

As we begin this series on the book of Ruth, we will examine the hardships and calamities that filled Naomi’s life as she traveled from Bethlehem to Moab. In the midst of failure, we see glimpses of God’s favour and signs of hope. This gives us hope, that even when things are not going our way, our sovereign and gracious God is working behind the scenes on our behalf to fulfill His plan in our liv...

Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Some of us may live our lives with little thought about where we are going. Some of us may come to the end of our lives with a sense of regret. As we begin a new year it is a good time to stop, take stock and live our lives without regret.

Love, our final Advent theme, explores the greatest gift we can receive from God. We will probe the depth of God's love at Christmas.

About two thousand years ago, the angels declared “good news of great joy” because of the birth of the Saviour Jesus Christ. That great joy was imparted to mankind because a Saviour was born who would redeem mankind from their sin and make a way to have fellowship with God now and for eternity. That joy in Jesus is incomparable, irrefutable, indestructible, invincible and indescribable!

In a world filled with turmoil, uncertainty and pain, peace is hard to find. About two thousand years ago, the Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus Christ, came into this world to bring mankind peace. Maybe you are facing a crisis situation, a financial difficulty, a sickness, a family problem or the uncertainty of tomorrow. Jesus can make the difference in your life because he gives peace and he is th...

Hope is something we all need. Without it life doesn't seem worth living. For the follower of Christ hope is life transforming.

Today’s message examines the life of a person in the Bible who experienced an incredible betrayal by his own brothers. Getting over this one would not be easy. However, God granted him the ability to rise above the desire for revenge and melted his heart. We will journey with Joseph through to a life changing forgiveness.

It is one thing to know we are supposed to forgive people who have hurt us and quite another thing to do it. In this message we want to discover what true forgiveness really is and how we can begin to see this become a reality in our lives.

All of us are prone to hurt others whether intentionally or unintentionally. Relational difficulties are the experience of everyone. We learned how we find the forgiveness of God for our offenses against him, but we still have issues with other people that can brood and fester. In this message we want to begin to explore the sometimes arduous task of forgiving each other for the hurts we inflict.

It has been said, “To err is human to forgive divine.” All of us will hurt someone or be hurt by someone at some time. How do we handle these infractions and intrusions into our relationships? And what do we do when we offend our Maker? How do we deal with God? This series of messages will explore what it means to find forgiveness and to extend forgiveness in a world of broken relationships.