Fort Garry MB Church - Winnipeg, Canada Fort Garry MB Church

Dr. Cheryl Pauls, President of Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg, comes to Fort Garry this morning with a message on hope, drawn from Romans 8:18-25  But not ordinary hope, the sort of which one may 'hope' to find their keys, but hope in a broad sense, or what one may say, in a wild sense.  Hope for the possibilities that may come through a community of believers united in their faith in Christ.

Jesus comes to us where we are in life. Jesus invites us to serve him. Are we like the Samaritan woman in thinking we cannot possibly be the one that Jesus wants? What are the barriers that we have put up in our own hearts or in the way that we do church that keep us and others from experiencing the living water of Jesus in our lives?

We often seem to use spiritual language in church without giving much thought to what it actually means or ought to mean for our life in Christ. Is it surprising that we struggle to bear witness to the Gospel of Jesus when we ourselves do not have a good understanding of what mature faith looks like? Is our life of discipleship firmly grounded in the teaching and presence of the living Christ or are we going through the motions, simply saying Christian sounding words?

John begins this gospel account with a bold declaration of the divinity  of Jesus (Logos). People are drawn to Jesus’ teaching and ministry for various reasons. Are we aware of or honest with ourselves about why we have chosen to follow Jesus? What are we looking for in a Messiah? What do we think Jesus will do for us? What do we think being a disciple of Jesus means?

Danny Unrau returns to Fort Garry MB Church to blend scholarship and story in a way that only Danny can.  Approaching Jesus' teaching on turning the other cheek, Danny presents how an Ancient Jewish midrash discipline is wholly applicable to churches and Christians in our 21st century context.

As we all turn our calendars and begin the year 2023, Pastor Carl offers us a meditation on the Feast of Epiphany, and about what it means as the day recognizing the receiving of the Christ child by the Gentiles, through the Magi.