LOCAL CHURCH

You Thought It, He Lived It: Worst Case Scenario - Part 2

Pastor Levi Marychurch builds on last week’s Worst Case Scenario series introduction using observations from the life of Christ to reveal important habits we can adopt to lift our minds above worst-case scenario thinking. Jesus lived out the worst-case scenario – he was given a revolutionary mission to bring about a new way of living on earth, in exchange for dying a horrible death at the hands of those he loved. From his time on earth, we can see that Jesus took time to withdraw and pray, kept the main thing the main thing, and did not give up. Levi unpacks these habits with fresh relevance for us, and calls our attention to two enemies of our faith that we must guard ourselves against - unhealthy comparison and quitting.

Worst Case Scenario - Part 1

This week, Pastor Levi Marychurch opens our new series: Worst Case Scenario. He introduces Colossians 3:1-3 as the series scripture and strategy to overcoming our human tendency to imagine the worst-case scenario. Levi explains how we create the world we live in by the thoughts we think, feelings we have, and decisions we make. He walks us through how we can turn from worry, fear and offence to always assuming the best, encouraging ourselves often, and dealing with hurt quickly. The Lord can strengthen us and help us take our thoughts captive, set our minds on things above, and transform our thinking to things that lift us to hope and joy.

You Will Know Them by Their Fruit - Part 5

This week, Liberté City’s Allicia Bankuti wraps up our You Will Know Them by Their Fruit series. She poses insightful questions for us to consider and offers practical steps we can take to take to cultivate the fruit of patience in our lives. She encourages us that as we learn to accept delay, actively wait, and anticipate hope, we will discover that moments in the waiting can be where Jesus refines us and defines us.

You Will Know Them by Their Fruit - Part 4

Building on concepts we’ve learned throughout our You Will Know Them by Their Fruit series, Pastor Levi Marychurch equips us with practical tips to make room for the fruits of peace, self-control, and joy in our lives. Levi reminds us that while it is the Holy Spirit’s power at work within us and bringing forth fruit, we can do our part today to get planted, pray, and persevere in staying in step with the Spirit. He suggests that to experience more peace, we can make lists; to help with self-control, we should identify our triggers; and to experience more joy, we should smile more.

You Will Know Them by Their Fruit - Part 3

We continue our You Will Know Them by Their Fruit series this week with a message from Pastor Jadyn Duff. Jadyn discusses four fruits of the spirit and the miraculous freedoms they can offer to believers: kindness, our freedom from envy; gentleness, our freedom from heavy burdens; goodness, our freedom from a dead faith; and love, our freedom from fear. We are encouraged to walk in step with the Holy Spirit and watch as these fruits of the Spirit take root in our lives.

You Will Know Them by Their Fruit - Part 2

When life “squeezes” you, what comes out? This week, Pastor Levi Marychurch picks up with part two of our You Will Know Them by Their Fruit series. Levi teaches us that we can’t force fruit; fruit is the product of an intimate relationship with God, produced in us by the Holy Spirit. Through pruning, planting ourselves in the House of the Lord, and engaging regularly in deep companionship with Christ, we will grow and flourish. And then, when we feel “squeezed” by different circumstances in life, it will be the fruit of the Spirit that flows out of us.

You Will Know Them by Their Fruit - Part 1

Pastor Nadia Marychurch kicks off our new series, You Will Know Them by Their Fruit - a study on the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). A believer’s life is marked by the fruit that it bears, and Nadia challenges us to reflect on what fruit we are producing in our own lives. In this message, she focusses on the fruit of faithfulness. We hear how faithfulness is proven in hard times, how it fades with external motivation and stays with internal motivation. Faithfulness is what builds our character and character is the road to hope.

The Inside Out Flow

This week, guest preacher Pastor Josh Kelsey encourages us to focus on the internal self and teaches us strategies that we can implement to be renewed from the inside out. In a time where our success is defined on what is seen, he challenges us to develop an internal rhythm by practicing the disciplines of abstinence: solitude, fasting, sabbath, submission, and silence. In this season, let’s choose to focus on seeking God, not external successes, and see the fruit of a life lived from the inside out.

Let Them Pray

The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

This week we wrap up our three week series on the Book of James. To conclude this inspiring series, Pastor Levi focuses on prayer and its ability to transform. Levi unravels the complexity of understanding to whom we pray, the power of prayer, and how prayer is heard. Prayer is a way to intentionally connect with God, in turn, building our relationship with him and one another.

The Wonder of Words

Before you talk, wait. When you talk, encourage. After you talk, review.

In this message, Pastor Levi Marychurch provides this practical biblical advice on the power of our words and how to ensure that they are used to edify, and not tear one another down. Levi remarks that speech, when controlled, can be tremendously powerful, but when uncontrolled, it can be terribly destructive. He reminds us that our words reveal what is in our hearts. When our identity is rooted in Christ, he transforms our hearts and out of our mouths flow the words of people who build. Let us draw close to Jesus and ask the Holy Spirit to help us to be people who recognize the power of our words and use them to honour God and encourage one another.