Messages From Christian Fellowship Chapel

Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD) gives Canadians the legal right to determine that their life should end, and permission for physicians to aid in that effort.  What does the Bible say about MAiD?  How should Christians respond to the issue? Pastor John examines the matter from a Biblical perspective, helping us navigate these waters to hopefully be able to provide care and help for those who may be considering it.

What does God think about abortion?  How should Christians?  What, if anything, should Christians do about abortion?  This topic is rarely far from settled in the world, and in the church, and yet they are so important that they need to be considered and answered.  Controversy or not, the matter is too important to shrug and have no opinion. Note: This message discusses abortion, but does not speak to the procedures or graphic nature of it. It would be safe for even young teens.

David's four exclamations of "how long" in Pslam 13 encompass the three sources of his anxious heart: the apparent silence of God, the turmoil of his own thoughts, and the enemies surrounding him—David in the middle, God on his right, enemies on his left. He is caught in spiritual anguish, mental anguish, and threatened with physical anguish. One would be bad enough, two are a great strain, but three is the entire package of trouble.  When you are in the midst of pain, or sorrow, or conflict your mind is focussed on the trouble, trying to grapple with it, or make sense of it, or simply escape it. We are going to have trouble, but as Jesus warns us, we have to take care that it not become the focus of our life.  What can we learn from David's Psam that might give us insight into our own time of crisis, sorry, and pain?

It should be an encouragement to everyone that not all of God’s workers are famous historical figures. Some of them, like Isaac, are unassuming people walking with God in quiet, but assured faith. Isaac’s name is known by the world. After all, the Lord is often referred to as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but the vast majority of God’s faithful workers are unknown . . . at least to the world and even to other Christians. But, they are known by God. They are unassuming men and women who have not sought, nor have they been gifted with the spotlight of historical fame. They have quietly and confidently lived their lives in an effort to please God and rejoice in the Lamb that took their place.

We live in a world of conflict. We encounter conflicting ideals, conflicting politics, conflicting priorities, conflicting opinions. We also face inner conflicts. We are conflicted over the best way to accomplish a task, or conflicted about whether or not to ask someone to marry you, or conflicted about career choices. We also face a conflict at the deepest level of our being. We face a conflict between our natural and our spiritual selves. It is a conflict that every believer faces every day. Paul describes our conflict in Galatians 5:16-26. Join Pastor John as he unpacks Paul's message regarding how we can reconcile the way we used to fight our spiritual battles and how we ought to now.

Lamentations is a compilation of five poems of sorrow that Jeremiah wrote when all of his warnings to the people came true. Jeremiah’s warnings were made to the people God had chosen as his own. The warnings were aimed at drawing back to God people who knew who God was and what he expected of them. They knew He was to be first in their affections. They knew they were to accord honour to Him above all others, because the Ten Commandments highlighted God’s expectations that the people would honour and worship him alone. They knew that God’s name would become known to the nations by how the Jewish people reflected that relationship in their conducted with one another. Israel failed to obey and they paid the price. No more blessings, only cursing. How well we love our neighbours and how well we treat one another reflect how well we love our Saviour. They are also indications to the world of how well we love the Lord. How we live out our love will either profane his name, or cause it to be honoured among unbelie

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus refers to "the hour."  Sometimes these are moments occurring in His lifetime, others are moments reaching into the future we haven't seen yet.  What do they all have in common?  What do we need to know about "the hours" that we approach?  Jesus would not have encouraged us to pay attention to them if they were not important.

Jude opens his letter with an introduction that speaks volumes about who we as Christians are.  He uses words like "called" and "beloved."  In this introduction to the book of Jude, Pastor John examines what this means for us, and how it should impact us.

Our world runs on money.  We need it to buy the things we need and want.  The world tells us we should always have more.  There are innumerable voices trying to persuade us to give our money to them - for this cause, for that product, for this lifestyle.  We're reminded by Paul in 1 Timothy that "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." In 1 Corinthians 16, Paul discusses how to have a healthy perspective on money.  Join us as we finish our series in 1 Corinthians.

It is good to be reminded of things that are beneficial to us. Paul, who is wrapping up his first letter to the church in Corinth, wants to remind them of the basics about the Gospel, before he addresses a concern they raised about resurrection. The basic components of the Gospel are: (1) Christ died for our sins. (2) He was buried, and on the third day, he was raised from the dead. (3) He appeared to many witnesses as proof of his resurrection. (4) Jesus is returning. What does this mean for us?  For you?  Join us as we continue our series in 1 Corinthians.

Paul has just outlined in chapter 13 the better way of love when it comes to using the spiritual gifts in the Church. Here in chapter 14, he needs to address a problem of disorder when using the gifts. Like an orchestra warming up before a concert, without leadership and direction, the Church can be chaotic and noisy.  It's only when each instrument pays attention to the conductor that something beautiful happens. Join us as we continue our series in 1 Corinthians, with a look at spiritual gifts.

He is Risen!  Join us for our Easter message in which we celebrate the risen Christ, whose resurrection is His - and our - triumph over death.

Good Friday is marked with images indelibly written into the heart and soul of Christianity.  The people and events have continued to make poignant impacts on the world.  Join us for our entire Good Friday service, in which we look at a few of the people who were most deeply impacted.

Palm Sunday marks the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, less than a week before His betrayal and murder.  The crowds proclaimed Him king, and declared Him the Messiah.  Join us as we look at the ways Jesus declares Himself King over all the nations just in this one event in history.

This passage has been described as the greatest, strongest, deepest thing Paul ever wrote.  As we explore this oft-quoted and oft-read passage, you're encouraged to: First, hear the words, and; Second, keep in the back of your mind that Paul was describing a radical concept of love. He uses the word “agape” that was adopted by Christians as their own expression for love. It was a concept that was alien to the rest of the world at that time. Pastor John continues our series in 1 Corinthians with a look at love, as described by Paul.

Paul has just finished rebuking the Corinthians on their lack of unity in how they celebrated the Lord’s Supper, so his closing emphasis on eating together leads naturally into a discussion of unity when it comes to the diversity of people, abilities, and gifts in the church.  Join us as we hear from Pastor John about spiritual gifts in worship, and what it all means for the modern Church.

Paul continues speaking about the freedom Christians enjoy in Christ, and now is going to look at three other activities related to the Corinthians improperly exercising their freedom in Christ: the abuse of fashion and its impact on society, the abuse of the poor when celebrating communion, and the abuse of spiritual gifts during worship.Follow with Pastor John as he provides some insight into the modern-day equivalents.

Anger can turn into bitterness, which is like acid to our souls.  All around we see a society that revels in revenge.  But God calls us to a better way: Forgiveness.  Guest speaker Jake Froese helps illustrate the vital importance of forgiveness in the lives of Christians, and how it can be practiced.

When the Pharisees demand Jesus prove His authority, He condemns them for being a wicked and adulterous nation. He then describes the way Jonah was received in Nineveh, and explained that He ought to have been accepted by these same Pharisees.  So, He gives them a sign by which they will know He is who He claims to be. Guest speaker Derek Reimer presents this message about Jesus' claim to be Messiah