Open to the Spirit: Goals and Guidelines of the Spirit's Work

This week, we wrap up the introduction to our Open to the Spirit series by exploring a crucial question: How can we tell when the Holy Spirit is at work—in us and in our church? The teaching unpacks four key markers of the Spirit’s activity: love, hope and faith, the building up of community, and a Spirit-led unity. These goals and guidelines help us stay grounded as we learn to live more open to God’s presence and power. Recorded May 11, 2025.

Open to the Spirit // Acts 1 + 2

This week we look at the challenge and example of Holy Spirit's presence and power in the early church in Acts and discuss some barriers to the Holy Spirit's ministry in our community. Recorded May 4, 2025.

Experiencing the Resurrection // Acts 1:4-8

As we transition into a new season in the church calendar and a new sermon series, we ask why we don't experience Jesus' death and resurrection as good news - and how we can. Recorded April 27, 2025.

Practicing The Resurrection // Mark 16:1-8

As we close our series exploring the question, "Why did Jesus have to die?" in the gospel of Mark, we look at the good news exclaimed to the women at the tomb, "If you're looking for Jesus, He is risen!" We hear how we are invited to receive the good news of the resurrection, practice the resurrection and keep company with the risen Jesus. Recorded April 20, 2025.

Reorienting Our Witness // Mark, 2 Corinthians 5:14-20

As we prepare to wrap our series, we recap the Gospel of Mark's answers to the question "Why Jesus had to die?" and look at some practical tips and vision for being witnesses to the good news of Jesus. Recorded April 13, 2025.

Following Jesus Into Fear, Shame and Loss // Mark 14:22-25

This week, we continue examining Jesus's transformation of the Passover meal in Mark 14. The disciples, and us by extension, face real barriers to following Jesus into a changed life but are invited to share about these barriers and look to Jesus' leadership to receive Jesus' invitation to change. Recorded April 6, 2025.

A New Covenant // Mark 14:22-26

This week, we explore another answer from Mark's gospel to the question "Why did Jesus have to die?". By aligning his death within the story and practice of Passover, Jesus envisions his death as a new covenant declaration calling God's people to come into the family of God and imitate God for the sake of the world. Recorded March 30, 2025.

Hope in Christ in a Secular Age // Romans 8:18-39

This week, Tim Dickau, from St. Andrew’s College and Citygate, reflects on what it means that we live in “A Secular Age”. Building of Charles Taylor’s seminal work and Paul’s letter to the Romans, we gain hope and inspiration for living and sharing the good news in our cultural moment. Recorded March 16, 2025.

Jesus: Our Representative in God's Big Story // Isaiah 52:13 - 55

This week, we continue in our exploration of Jesus as Isaiah's suffering servant. Jesus sees his suffering, death and resurrection as being our representative in God's larger story as an invitation to come to him with our suffering and go to those who are suffering. Recorded March 9, 2025.

Jesus as Suffering Servant

This week, we are led by Regent College faculty, Dr. Rikk Watts, to look at Mark's portrayal of Jesus as the Suffering Servant foretold in Isaiah. In light of these passages (Isaiah 40, 52-54), Jesus' death is not an accident but part of God's radical response to broken covenant and covenant partners. Recorded March 2, 2025.

Being Present On the Journey to Jesus // Mark 4:26-29

What does a journey towards Jesus look like? Building off the book "I Once Was Lost" and Jesus' parable in Mark 4, we consider how we might be faithful partners with God and our friends in the process towards Jesus. Recorded February 23, 2025.

The Proximity of God's Presence // Mark 15:37-41

Last week, we looked at how Jesus' death makes God's uncontrollable presence available to the world. In this teaching, we continue to explore this theme learning how to experience God's presence and that God's presence goes ahead of us in witness. Recorded February 16, 2025.

God Comes Close // Mark 1:4-11; 10:38; 15:34, 37-38

This teaching marks the beginning of our second "cycle" through the gospel of Mark asking the question, "Why did Jesus have to die?" In this teaching, we explore the themes of Jesus' baptism and the temple curtain, and how Jesus' death opens up the presence of God for all people. Recorded February 9, 2025.

Negotiating Fear and Developing Language as a Witness of Jesus

In this teaching, we go backward to remind ourselves of how Jesus uses language to shape His ministry and how we, as witnesses, are invited to enter and live Jesus’ story and develop language to share about Jesus with those around us. Recorded February 2, 2025.

Ransomed from Fear // Mark 8:34-35; 10:41-45

As we continue our winter series in Mark’s gospel, we focus in on an application of Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection as “the ransom for many”. In this teaching, we learn how Jesus ransoms us from the fear we experience in witness and invites us to a place of obedience and delight. Recorded January 26, 2025.

Note: we experienced a power outage 25 mins into the recording and unfortunately lost about 5 mins of teaching content. This section has been removed.

As a Ransom for Many // Mark 10:32-45

This week, we look at the first of the gospel of Mark's answers to the question, "Why did Jesus have to die?" In this teaching we explore what Jesus' answer of "as a ransom for many" means and how it shapes how we understand, share and live out the good news in our lives. Recorded January 19, 2025.

Why Did Jesus Have to Die? - Mark 8:27-35

This week, we begin our series in the Gospel of Mark exploring the question the identity of Jesus and why he had to die. In this introduction, we look at why the answer to this question is important to expand our understanding of Jesus, our ability to speak of him and our lives as disciples. Recorded January 12, 2024.

The Birth of the Saviour // Matthew 1:1,17-21

This week we explore the birth narrative of Jesus in the first chapter of the gospel of Matthew which asks us to consider our need for a Saviour, the limits of our abilities to save our selves, and how Jesus comes to save the world. Recorded December 22, 2024.

Genesis 1-11 Recap // Genesis 11:27-30

This week we close out not only our series in Genesis 4-11 but our three year study of Genesis 1-11 by recapping God’s work in the story, leading to Abram’s wife Sarai. Recorded December 15, 2024.

The Tower of Babel // Genesis 11:1-9

As we near the end of our study of Genesis 1-11, we reach the story of the tower of Babel. This passage invites us to contrast unified efforts to build towers to make a name for ourselves with Spirit-guided efforts to build an altar where we learn to wait for God to meet us. Recorded December 8, 2024.