Advertise on podcast: Forward City Church Messages

This week, one of young family members, Elijah, shared a Psalm that God led him to at one of our monthly prayer meetings, Psalm 24:7-10. Marc then shared from Colossians 2:6-15 on our problem of dissatisfaction. Marc discussed how Jesus fulfills all of our needs. He challenges us that we often understand that Jesus is enough to save us from sin and death, but that we struggle to consider him enough to fulfill the needs we have today.

This week, we announced the result of the Opportunity Fund raising over $10'000 at our Cold Plunge Fundraiser. We praise God for the way he works in our hearts to be generous as a community. One of our Elders, Josh, led us in communion together to remember Christ's death for us. Spencer shared on Colossians 1:24-2:5 about the mystery of Christ. Spencer noted that the mystery of Christ is revealed to the world through our partnership with him at the Cross. Our love for the world resembles Christ love for us, and in this way, we reveal the glory of the Gospel to the world.

This week, we read Colossians 1:15-23 as a church. Marc shared about how Jesus is the firstborn of all creation. Marc also shared that Jesus is greater than everything else, and that nothing is able to overcome or overwhelm him. Jesus conquered death and is raised into all authority at the right hand of the Father.

This week, we started a series on Paul's letter to the Colossians. Spencer introduced the letter and challenged us to read the whole book this week on our own time. Further, Spencer encouraged us to reflect and evaluate the priority that Jesus has in our lives. Do we live as though Jesus is sufficient? Do we live as though Jesus is enough? What other priorities are we adding to our lives that are obstacles to Jesus' goodness bearing more abundant fruit in us?

This week, Marc leads us in our final message of the series of Forward City's Values as a community of faith. Marc leads us in thinking through 2 Peter 3:3-15, meditating on both the justice and salvation of God that we have coming in the return of Christ.

This week was packed with collective sharing of God's work. Malachi shared Psalm 33, while we also reflected on Revelation 5 and how Jesus in worthy of our devotion and praise. Colleen then shared the testimony of how she grew closer to Jesus in the midst of health and medical issues. Marc discussed the need for margin in our lives, seeking to prioritize God's kingdom work with our time, energy, and money. Marc discussed that margin is where our resources (primarily time) are non-scheduled.

This week, Marc updated the congregation on the progress of finding a new space.  Currently, the eldership is looking for a space by June. There are also a number of events going on, so we encourage you to pay close attention and take note of things that you would like to be involved and attend! Spencer spoke on the value that Forward views faith as an everyday practice, not just a Sunday attendance. Spencer was clear to encourage us that Forward already lives out this value, and that it is an embodied value. We were encouraged to pursue this value and seek God's guidance to go further and find more of God's presence and blessing in our lives. We ended our time together by sharing in communion, led by Ben.

This week, Spencer shares with us about the role of community in Forward as a value that helps move us forward to a full life in Christ. Spencer highlighted that we need each, we belong to one another, and that our communal love for one another bears witness to Christ's redemptive power in humanity.

This week Marc discusses Mark 5 and the impacts of God's redemptive power over the man possessed by Legion. The man's life was radically altered and when he shared with his community how God had transformed his life, his home community were all amazed. Marc challenged us this week to consider the ways in which our lives are showcasing the goodness of God in our lives. Marc unpacked the ways that the sweet aroma of God should be present wherever we live and interact with others.

This week, Marc capped off our series on prayer by discussing the various ways we discern and confirm God's specific direction in our lives. Marc emphasized that above all, our character needs to be in line with God's will. When our character and our hearts are aligned, we then are ready to join with God in his will for our lives regarding specific decisions. However, often, these decisions are left up to us as God allows and gives good gifts to his children.

We had a robust service together. We had friends share on prayer and Life Groups, while also participating in communion together. Spencer spoke a number of passages as he led us in a discussion about God answering our prayers with "No." Spencer discussed a number of factors that lead to the answer of no from God. Sometimes, it is because we are selfish, and sometimes, it is keep us grounded in trusting God's strength and favour over us, despite our experience of struggle and suffering in this world. Finally, Spencer brings us to Jesus in the garden, where God says no to taking away the cup of wrath that our sins have caused. Often, the way we willingly sacrifice in order to see some know Jesus is worth the eternal reward we are promised when we pick up our cross.

This week Marc continued our series focusing on prayer. Marc discussed how there are different aspects of God's will and how his will works out practically in our lives. Many of us think of God's will as specific direction in the big decisions of our lives. Marc focuses on how the most important understanding of God's will comes from knowing his character and us partnering with him in being molded into his image. Marc ended the message by sharing a prayer that he prays regularly, "God give me the wisdom to know what is right as you define right and give me the courage to do it regardless of the cost." This was a helpful reminder that we are seeking to be his people and not just looking for God to serve us and direct our interests.

This week, Marc discusses the normal angst that we feel as we wait on God for good things, but it seems to us that God is slow in answering or quiet. We turn to Psalm 13 where David pours his anxious and desperate heart to God as he endures incredible hardship. We are reminded to be honest with God, to come boldly into the throne room, while also remaining understanding that he is God and we are not. Marc encourages us to wait in a posture of expectation and praise, for our salvation and our inheritance of good gifts come from God alone.

This week, Spencer leads us in communion, calling us to reflect on our standing with God and be aware of the weight of his goodness that we are remembering when eat and drink this meal together. In the message, Marc unpacks the difficult question of the relationship between God's sovereignty and our prayers. Mark digs into Exodus 32:7-14 to examine how Moses appears to have changed God's mind, and yet, we have an unchanging God. Marc explains that our role is to pray and trust God, that by praying, we are acting out God's plan and surrendering the situation to him, allowing whatever result to be used for his glory in our lives.

Marc opens the new year with a new series on prayer. Marc walks us through both Luke 11 and Matthew 6 discussing the different ways the disciples approach Jesus and how Jesus responds to their requests to be taught how to pray. Marc explains that prayer is how we surrender to God, how we transfer our burdens to him, and finally, how we deepen our relationship with God. God does not waste our prayers, and he cares for us in such a way that seeking his face will not return void to us.