Teachings from Unionville Alliance

The significance of Jesus’ claim to Kingship may be missed by modern democratic thinkers. To catch the full significance, we must embrace the claim from the perspective of the ancient near east audience. I am King equated with absolute monarchy. A King would have had complete and thorough authority. He owned the land, the resources, and the people. Living under a monarch meant living at the will o...

It is amazing that Jesus marvelled at anything, he made it all, he had seen it all, and yet he marvelled at the faith of a Roman Centurion. This encounter of Jesus with the centurion reveals several characteristics of faith which marvels the saviour, which are worth learning about.

During Jesus’ earthly ministry, he entered and cleansed the temple twice. Once at the beginning of his ministry and once before he died on the cross. His zeal for the purity, sanctity, and holiness of the house of God was clearly seen as he cast out the moneychangers and those who sold animals in a desire to restore the sanctuary to a house of prayer. Today, our bodies are the temple of God. The b...

Jesus says in Matthew 5:21-24. if we are offering our gift to him and there remember that our brother or sister has something against us, we are to leave our gift and be reconciled to them, then come and offer our gift. Reconciliation is important to God. He wants us to be reconciled to Him and to each other. Jesus has paved the way for our reconciliation with God. We have a responsibility to work...

As Jesus lived and preached the Kingdom of God, he healed people holistically. He saw their emotional, spiritual, and physical needs and was moved with compassion. One day as he was teaching, a man who was paralyzed was brought to Jesus through the roof by some of his friends. Jesus saw his greatest need for spiritual healing and the forgiveness of his sins. But to prove his Lordship, Jesus also h...

There was a dinner party happening at Simon the Pharisee's house. Simon extended Jesus an invitation. During the dinner, the unexpected happened: an immoral and sinful woman appeared. Simon had not extended this invitation to her. She not only entered the house, but broke an alabaster jar at Jesus' feet anointing His feet with oil. While Simon and the rest looked on with dismay and disdain, Jesus...

Throughout Jesus’ ministry, he encountered paranormal activity. The devil, demons, and evil spirits were afraid of him because he was the Son of God who had power and authority over them. People who were tormented, oppressed, and in bondage found liberty, wholeness, and healing through Jesus. We live in a world filled with good things, but also evil experiences. If we acknowledge the divine, heave...

When Jesus left this world, he left us to continue his work of sharing his good news for a hurting world. Many of us struggle to know how. In John 4, Jesus encounters a woman at a well. Seeing him in action is instructive.

The religious system in Jesus day was built on rules and regulations. Following them determined whether you were accepted into the community. There were some ‘untouchables’ that the church and the world stayed away from. When Jesus came, He was not afraid of them making him unclean, instead He leaned in and made them clean. As we look at the encounter of Jesus with the lepers, what do we learn abo...

On this Mission Sunday, we will focus on the critical need of Bible translation in various parts of the world and specifically sign language translation. Bible poverty is a reality for the 1700 people groups still waiting for a Bible in their own language, but it also exists where Bibles are plentiful yet left unopened. How will you engage the Bible in a place of affluence like Canada and how wil...

One of Jesus’ miracles that is found in all four gospels is the feeding of the five thousand. It wasn’t just about satisfying the hunger of the people, although it did that. It was experiencing what Jesus could do with so little and a willingness to give. He multiplied what the little boy had and it became a blessing to thousands. As we experience Jesus, he takes what we have even though we might...

After Jesus’ baptism, he was led into the wilderness for a period of fasting and prayer before his ministry began. At this time he was tempted by the Devil in order to take him away from his purpose on earth. The sinless Jesus overcame these temptations giving us hope to overcome as well. As he battled against the strong desires of the flesh, the allure of his eyes, and the pride of a self-filled...

Happy New Year! A new year, fresh and untouched lying before us. This is a time of resolutions, of new beginnings. It’s a time of reflection and hope for happiness ahead. Much will happen in 2023. Some great things, some exciting things, some sad and difficult. Some will be things out of our control while others will be things we can determine. During this year, we will make thousands of decisions...

It wasn’t in a palace, surrounded by royalty, wealth or fame, but in a lowly stable that the King of kings and Lord of lords was born. Not claiming his own rights or privileges, but clothed in the humility of a baby, the Son of God came to be with us. Mary & Joseph faced an uncertain future and a crisis in their young and new family. How would they explain this child to others since they weren...

As we come to the end of the year, we can look back on God’s faithfulness and provision even in trials and difficulties. But as 2023 draws near, there can be a sense of uncertainty at what the year may bring. Joseph, the husband of Mary, faced uncertainty as he prepared to marry Mary and await the birth of a child that wasn’t his. Yet in that season of uncertainty, Joseph displayed confidence in t...

"It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” - It’s the time of year to be with family and friends, a time of giving, a time of wishing everyone peace and good will, a time of celebration. It’s a time of wonder. Images of idyllic rural scenes, happy people delicious foods and perfectly wrapped presents are everywhere. However, this wonderful time of the year does not shield us from sorrow, sadness,...

As we head for another Christmas, it’s an opportunity in the story of the nativity to marvel again at the truth of John 1:14 ‘the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…’ These events only happened once in human history, and they will never happen again. If those thoughts didn’t make you pause for even a second in a sense of wonder, you’re too familiar with the story.

The first Advent of Jesus wasn’t a last minute idea or something that God decided to do when everything else didn’t work. The birth of Jesus was conceived in the heart of God from before the foundation of the world. From the Garden of Eden we see the birth and victory of Jesus predicted as his story is written so beautifully throughout the Scriptures. Through significant events and empowered proph...

As Israel rebuilt the altar, temple, and walls of Jerusalem, they faced a lot of opposition both from within and without. Ezra and Nehemiah confronted enemies that actively planned against what they were doing. They faced discouragement, orders to stop the work, deception, a lack of support, and even betrayal. Nevertheless the work of renewal and rebuilding continued until the temple and walls wer...

With the temple destroyed and the people taken into captivity, Israel had lost many of the spiritual rhythms that the Lord had instituted in order to keep them spiritually healthy. As they returned to Jerusalem to rebuild, they restored those rhythms of sacrifice, worship, service, rest, and the celebration of the feasts. For our season of rebuilding to have a lasting impact, we also need to devel...

Israel was engaged in a rebuilding campaign and they started to renew the feasts that they were commanded to celebrate. As Ezra read and taught the word of God, they realized that they had been living in disobedience to the Lord. The leaders and the people responded with a prayer of repentance and confession as the Spirit convicted them of their sin, disobedience, and rebellion. As they had seen i...

The children of Israel had not only disobeyed God’s word, but they had not been listening to God’s word to know his ways and purposes. The Lord inspired Ezra the Priest and Scribe to read, study, and teach the word of God to the people as they returned to Jerusalem to worship. It was a season of renewal of God’s word that led to repentance, restoration, and revival. The Lord is calling us back to...

As groups of Israelites returned to Jerusalem, they realized that the first thing that had to be done was the rebuilding of the altar and temple. They understood the centrality of worship and sacrifice in their daily lives as they sought to put God first in everything. Through diligent work, sacrificial obedience, and faithfulness to the word of God, they were able to restore some of the rhythms o...

Through Jeremiah and other prophets, the Lord promised to visit his people and open a way for them to return to the Promised Land after decades in captivity. After inspiring the hearts of heathen kings to let Israel go, Ezra, Nehemiah, Zerubbabel and other leaders made the journey from Babylon back to Jerusalem with a deep desire to renew, restore, and rebuild the covenant that God made with them....

As we conclude our Vision Month, let us renew our vision to touch our world through Jesus, one life at a time. Jesus charged us with a Great Commission because of his heart for lost people and he desires that we share in that mission. He has called us to be his light in this world and to be the salt of the earth. We are to be disciple making disciples. Who will be the one person that you can disci...