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This is now the third parable that Jesus has directed against the religious leaders. In this parable Jesus gives a picture of an invitation to join in a wedding feast. The first part of the parable focuses on those who refuse to come. The second part focuses on those who do come. And then at the end of the passage Jesus gives us the meaning of the parable, which is a warning that although many are invited into God’s kingdom, few are chosen. This is the paradox of the parable, the gospel call goes out to everyone, but no one comes unless the Father draws them. We love God because he first loved us. We did not choose Jesus, but he chose us. No one can go to heaven without receiving (being clothed in) the righteousness that only Jesus can give. Preacher: Jim de  Witte Passage: Matthew 22:1-14 Support the show

There is a connection between the parable of the two sons and this parable of the wicked tenants. But there is also a progression from the first to the second. The actions of the tenants (and so the religious leaders) are worse than the hypocrisy of the son. Although the parable is a confrontation with the religious leaders, the theme is relevant to a much broader audience. Yet the implied question is ‘Will people respond to God’s sent son? Will people respond to the claims God has on their lives or reject his messengers in favour of their own agenda. In the end, it is also a judgement parable where all people will be held accountable for their actions and attitude to God and his Son. Preacher: Jim de Witte  Passage: Matthew 21:33-46  Support the show

This parable of Jesus is unique to Matthew. You won’t find it in the other gospel writers. It sets out beautifully the comfort of repentance to those who have sinned and yet have seen their sin and turned from it and come to Christ. So, anyone can come to Jesus through repentance and faith. But it also has in it a very straightforward, powerful warning against hypocrites and the danger of their position. It is never enough to make promises to God, or to claim to believe, or to recite a creed. What counts is actual devotion: love of God, worship, and loving service to others. Scripture Reading: Matthew 21:23-32  Preacher: Jim de Witte    Support the show

Paul ends his letter on the same serious but authentic note that it began, and reinforces the main ideas which feature throughout Galatians. He warns us about motivations which will cause us to drift from the gospel; and he provides one last principle which will keep us living in the truth of the gospel.  Scripture Reading: Galatians 6:11-18  Preacher: Ben Ring  Support the show

The parable of the unforgiving servant comes in response to Peter’s question about how many times he needs to forgive a person who sins against him. That question doesn’t come out of the blue but Peter, most likely thinking about Jesus’ teaching on church discipline and removing the unrepentant believer from the membership of the local church body is curious about the extent of forgiveness. Like how far does it stretch? How many times do we give it out to someone? Is there a cap here? So, Jesus not wanting confrontation to be the last word here in his block of teaching moves to forgiveness. Through the parable Jeus sis teaching us the forgiveness experienced by God the Father leads to forgiveness expressed by followers of Jesus. So imperfect sinner as we are, do we have that God-given heart of expressing forgiveness toward others - a heart that takes in and gives out forgiveness seventy-seven times? And what might that forgiveness look like?  Preacher: Jim de Witte  Passage: Matthew 18:15-35  Support the show

As we continue our series in the Parables of Jesus in Matthew’s gospel, we come to Matthew 18:1-14. In this passage we see Jesus teaching his disciples about his ‘little ones’ and He teaches the parable of the wandering sheep. We see who His ‘little ones’ are, God’s love for them, and what this means for us today. We see that God values every single believer, no matter how small or vulnerable they seem, and does not want anyone to be lost. Scripture Reading: Matthew 18:1-14  Preacher: Jim de Witte  Support the show

This week we will look at the parables of the hidden treasure and pearl that Jesus uses to teach us about the Kingdom of Heaven. These parables are twin parables, just like the parables of the mustard seed and the yeast that we looked at last time. But whereas the twin parables of the mustard seed and the yeast taught us about the growth of the kingdom, the twin parables of the treasure and the pearl teach us about the value of the kingdom. Nothing is more important than the kingdom of God. Nothing has greater value than the kingdom of God. If you have encountered the tangible kingdom, the cost of searching for it or obtaining is made redundant or insignificant and we'd give anything to have the kingdom. So where are you treasure hunting? And how much do you value God's kingdom that you'd be willing to give everything for it?  Scripture Reading: Matthew 13:44-46  Preacher: Jim de Witte  Support the show

Scripture Reading: Psalm 22  Preacher: Jacob Greatbatch    Support the show

Scripture Reading: Matthew 13:31-35 Preacher: Jim de Witte  Support the show

This week, we’re focusing on the parable of the weeds. In this parable, an enemy attempts to ruin a farmer’s crop by sowing poisonous weeds among his good wheat. The farmer tells his servants to let both grow together until the harvest, to avoid uprooting the wheat, and leaves the final separation and burning of the weeds to the harvesters. Later, Jesus explains the parable, reminding us that good and evil exist together in the world, and God patiently allows time to pass before final judgment so that the righteous are not harmed. So, why is there so much struggle? Why do we have to live among tension, temptation, and opposition? Because the wheat and weeds grow together, for now. We are planted in a field where both exist, and we are called to live out our faith in that reality. His kingdom has come, but evil remains. While we wait for the return of Jesus, we trust God, tolerate the conflicts of life, and stay grounded, grow strong, and bear fruit until the harvest.  Scripture Reading: Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43  Preacher: Jim de Witte  Support the show

This is the first of a series on the parables of Jesus that we find in Matthew’s gospel. Today we start with the incredibly well-known parable of the sower, or more precisely, the soils. The people of Jesus’ day lived in an agrarian society, so they were familiar with Jesus’ story. This story is simple, yet the message was hard for the disciples to understand, so Jesus gives the meaning of the parable. He explains that different people respond differently after hearing God’s Word. We notice that the seed, the gospel message, is the same and it does not change. What is changing is the hearer and how receptive they are to the message. All the questions that tend to flow from this text deal with the soil in the hearer. What sort of soil are you? What sort of soil is your neighbour, your friend, your child? The good news is, when the soil is prepared by God, there’s going to be an explosion of spiritual fruit, and the harvest will go on and on.  Preacher: Jim de Witte  Passage: Matthew 13:1-9; 18-23  Support the show

Preacher: Bill Berends  Passage: Ephesians 2:11-22; Leviticus 20:22-26; John 20:30  Support the show

We are continuing our short topical series related to stewarding our time, talents and treasures. Today we wrestle with stewarding our treasures, with the focus in relation to stewarding our money. This is not always a fun thing to think about, let alone preach about, but it is important. The reason is simple; the Bible makes it clear that the way we use money is a window onto our true devotion. Everything we have is from God (Psalm 24:1), so we need to ask how he would want us to invest that resource. God gives us opportunities to give to the support of the church we are part off as well as the broader work of the Lord. The challenge when it comes to financial giving isn’t about how much you can give. It’s for each of us to truly seek God’s leading on how much to give and where to give. The challenge is also to do the giving with joy in our hearts, knowing that God gets the glory as his kingdom grows.  Scripture Reading: 2 Corinthians 8:1-9; 9:6-15  Preacher: Jim de Witte  Support the show

We are continuing our short topical series related to stewarding our time, talents and treasures. Today we wrestle with stewarding our talents. The church is so much more than a handful of elite Christians ministering in various ways for an hour on Sunday mornings while everyone else sits and watches. Rather, it’s intended to be a vibrant community of believers in which everyone is actively loving and serving one another. This is what Peter writes as he calls every believer to use their unique gifts to serve others as faithful stewards of God’s grace. Everything is then done to give glory to God through Jesus Christ. But what are our unique gifts? How do we use them well in service to others?  Which will equip me best to serve others, whether in my job, family, church, or neighbourhood?  Preacher: Jim de Witte  Passage: 1 Peter 4:7-11  Support the show

We are beginning a 3-week series on Stewardship. We are stewards of our lives. Managers. Not owners. God is the Owner. He is the Lord. He entrusts us with all that goes on in our lives. In this series we will look at three areas in our lives we are to steward- time, talents and treasures. Today we will look at stewarding our time. As the Puritan Thomas Watson said, “Time is a talent to trade with.” How we spend our time both reveals and trains our hearts. Where our time goes, there our hearts will be also. The New Testament encourages every Christian to care for fellow church members in ways that require us to spend time generously. “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). We can’t celebrate someone’s victory, much less mourn someone’s loss, if we’re always in a hurry. So, how are we investing our time to profit our church family?  Preacher: Jim de Witte  Passage: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8  Support the show