Transformation Church Thunder Bay

This week, we wrap up 1 John. We will be studying Chapter 5:13-21. As John closes this book, he once again affirms how close the family of God is, to the Father. So close, in fact, that we are in Him. We don't need to be led astray by everything that is false and a lie. We are in Him, who is Truth. "He is the true God and eternal life." (1 John 5:20) It seems as John wraps up, he wants us to know...

A mentor of mine always used to say, "You can't argue with a man's testimony." The idea was this: you can try to convince someone about something, arguing intellectually, but a testimony moves outside of intellectual argument and says, "This happened to me. I give evidence of it!" This is why we all love it when testimonies are shared at church. Testimonies move us beyond the theoretical to the ex...

This week, we take a look at 1 John 4:7-21. Hannah Chun is preaching. In this passage, John brings us to the very foundation of the Christian life: love. John says something remarkable. He doesn't simply tell us that God loves. He tells us that God is love. Love is not just something God does from time to time; it is who He is. Everything that God does flows from His loving character. As I've refl...

This week, we will look at 1 John 4:1-6. In this passage John addresses the false ideas that some people had about who Jesus was. John warns his readers that we should not just accept without discernment what people say about Jesus. It's easy to think that because someone talks about Jesus, they must be a believer. We need to be more discerning than that. The fact is, there is a spirit of AntiChri...

Knowing Love This week, we take a look at 1 John 3:11-24. It may surprise you how binary John is about hate and love. He reminds us of the story about Cain. "Cain," he says, "belonged to the evil one and killed his brother." Notice the wording. Cain belonged to the evil one. As I've pondered this throughout the week, I would offer you a summary statement of what John is telling us in this passage....

We continue on with our study of 1 John with chapter 2:28 through 3:10. Last week, we learned about the antichrists who had been in the church community, but had left, claiming that they had a superior revelation of who Jesus was. This week John would have us know this: "Children of God will act like their Father." Like Father, like Son. Like Father, like daughter. The antichrists did not act like...

This coming weekend, we continue on with our study of 1 John with chapter 2, verses 18-27. In this passage, there's a group that has recently left John's church. They were divisive. They were antichrists. They were liars. They claim to know the truth, but their knowledge is based in a lie. John would have us remember the truth. He clearly spells out for us what the truth is. This truth is non-nego...

We've been working through the book of 1 John. It seems that as we launch into 1 John: 2:12 -17, John starts off by taking a pause. He's been challenging and admonishing the believers to probe their lives for what's real. Here he wants to reassure and remind in verses 12 to 14. Reflect on this as you read it. I've read it over and over again. Why would John repeat reminders of the faith to the thr...

The world that has become so good at creating something that'ssoclose to authentic. We now carefully scan our emails for "The fake" before we click on it. We study images to see if we can detect AI, and now we have to think about the future with deepfakes. We crave authenticity. John says authenticity is the only way to have relationship with God. Jesus is completely authentic. John provides us wi...

John is an elder by now. He's in his 80s or 90s. He's seen life. John's letter is written to a congregation in the first century. Some false teachers have caused chaos. They have taught things about God that aren't true. John wants His congregation toknow that they know,to have clarity and truth about who God is, and how we relate to him. Of course, God in his divine plan knew that we also would n...

God provided miraculous bread every morning for the people of Israel in their desert wanderings, which gave them temporary relief from hunger and temporary life. Now God has given us Living Bread from heaven that gives permanent relief from hunger and permanent, eternal life. Jesus invites us to come and participate in His life, and receive His lifegiving presence, receiving the Spirit of life and...

Easter Sunday radiates with light, as God, who is the light of the world shatters the darkness of death. It is this weekend that we ponder the fact that Almighty God humbled Himself to death as a common criminal upon a cross. It is this weekend that we realize that the risen Jesus left behind His grave clothes and commissioned His disciples to take the message to the world. Jesus is alive!

This final Core Value could be compared to the final goal of the game. It is the winning score. It is the goal that wins the game. Our passage is Matthew 6:5-14. We've all read this many times. As a matter of fact, my mother-in-law, Alice Marie, preached a sermon on this about a year ago here at Transformation Church. This week, I'm inviting us to re-examine this passage again as we consider our C...

This coming Sunday we consider our seventh Core Value:We love God by wholeheartedly helping those around us. Our passage is Luke 10:25-37 This is the famous story that Jesus tells, often titled "The Good Samaritan." It takes some work to understand the context in which Jesus answers the lawyer who tests him with the question, "Who is my neighbor?" I will do my best to bring this to the forefront,...

This Sunday we consider our sixth Core Value: With Christ-like humility, we build others up. Our passage is Philippians 2:1-11. Paul encourages the Philippian church to be a radical community of others-centered people, not motivated by getting ahead or wrangling their way to the top. He then sets a picture of Jesus as the ultimate one at the top, who leaves it all for the sake of others. I'd highl...

Special Service Sunday March 8thAdult and Teen Challenge Addiction Recovery Centre Join us this Sunday, March 8th for a special service at Transformation Church with Adult and Teen Challenge. Two Bay Adult and Teen Challenge students will share their testimonies. Katie will share a ministry update and Tim will share a sermon. We will take up a special offering for this ministry, so if it's in your...

This week we will have the opportunity to look Luke 15:11-31. This story is famously titled "The Prodigal Son." Read all of Luke 15. Notice why Jesus tells this story. Read the story in terms of reliability and honesty. The older brother prides himself in his reliability. He does all the right things and carefully cares for the farm, but when the father throws a feast, for the younger son, who has...

Our love for each other will prove to the world that we are Jesus' disciples. This core value is from John 13:35. To better appreciate John 13:35, it would be good to read all of chapter 13. If you are like me, you've heard this story many times, and the impact of what Jesus is doing barely resonates on us. Why is this? Familiarity? A lack of understanding feet washing? As you read: Noticewhothe t...

It is:We seek authentic community as the family of God. Our text for this is Acts 2:42-47. If you'd really like to take a deep dive, I would recommend that you read Acts 1 to 6. This is the story of the explosive beginning of the church. Try reading Acts chapter 2:42 to 47 as if you were there, as if this early church existed at Transformation Church today. You will find in this short passage the...

It is:We obey God's Word by the power of the Holy Spirit. Our text for this is Philippians 2:12-18. As you read the passage, do you find the core value? What is God's Word? Why would grumbling and complaining be so at odds with the way of Jesus? Paul tells us that when we stop murmuring and arguing, we will be blameless and innocent children of God, perfect, able to shine as bright lights into a w...

How We Do Life Together This week we start an eight-week series "How We Do Life Together." On January 17th, about 20 volunteers gathered at the church to think about life together at Transformation Church. We spent time in worship and prayer, as well as reading scripture together before we brainstormed on values that we thought would be core to us at Transformation Church. After the brainstorming,...

This weekend will be week three of our series "Habits That Lead to the Heart of God." I invite you to read James 5:13-20. I may have just titled my sermon with two of the most intimidating Christian words: "Confession and Community," but take heart. These can be some of the most rewarding and transforming practices that we can participate in. These can become habits that truly do lead us to the he...

This weekend will be week two of our series "Habits That Lead to the Heart of God." I invite you to read Romans 12 verses 1-2. Paul is very aware that it will be exceedingly easy to copy the behavior and customs of the world. This will happen by default. We are being formed by the behavior and customs around us. There is no neutral ground. How do we counteract this? Paul would tell us that we "cou...

Even if you aren't someone who subscribes to New Years resolutions the talk of "resolutions" is in the air. Over the next four weeks, we will look at forming habits that lead to the heart of God. As preparation for Sunday I invite you to think about the habits that you have in your life that help you experience God's nearness. What might you do to strengthen those habits? Would it be possible to f...

Note: This recording does not include the reading of Psalm 107. We recommend that you read or listen to Psalm 107 prior to listening to the sermon.