People Investing in People (it's Ray of Hope!)

Allow me to introduce you to or reacquaint you with one of our missions partners. Ray of Hope works right here in Kitchener and provides life-changing services to people in need. They demonstrate the love of Christ to those who are disadvantaged, marginalized, or troubled. Their vision is: "People investing in people. Inspiring Hope. Transforming Life." Wow - it's no wonder that we count it a privilege to partner with Ray of Hope. Their vision and ours share so much in common.

Ray of Hope works in so many different areas of our community. Specifically, they focus on:

• Community Support

• Refugee Support

• Youth Justice

• Youth Employment

• Youth Addiction

For the past several years we have been sending a team every other month to make and serve a meal at the Ray of Hope Community Centre. This year, even as we continue to do that, we have a plan to raise funds over and above the cost of the food to be able to bless their ministry in some way at the end of the year. 

We appreciate everyone who has served with our Freedom team at Ray of Hope and invite you to get involved if you want to participate with us. (Just email Katie and let her know you're interested.)

Thank you for partnering with us as we support this great work in our community and our missions families!

See you on Sunday, 

Pastor Tracy

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This Sunday

The Bible Says Whut? Part 3
3 John

Join us this Sunday at 10am as Pastor Tracy continues our series.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Finding Out WHUT the Bible Says (and prizes to boot!)

On Sunday we started part three of our Bible Says Whut? series. It's all about digging into difficult or neglected parts of scripture and building up skills and confidence to study the Bible for ourselves. It is always so much fun for me to prepare for these messages!

This time around we're going to add some incentive to dig deeper into the Bible. We've created age-specific challenges that will encourage good habits in the Word and also make you eligible to win a sparkly new study Bible of your very own. (Don't count yourself out if you already have a Bible that you love because if you win you could give the best gift ever to someone that you care about!)

Here's the challenges for each age group in our church family...

JK - Grade 2: Learn & recite the books in the New Testament in order.
Grade 3 - 6: Learn & recite the books of the Old and New Testament in order.
Miss Margaret will be sending some more information for our kids so check your inbox.

Grade 7 - 8: Take notes in four sermons in the month of March (Friday or Sunday).
Grade 9 - 12: Complete the YouVersion reading plan assigned by Pastor.
Pastor will be talking to the youth about this so listen and watch for that.

Adults: Complete a 28-day streak in the YouVersion app.
Read whatever you want, just be sure the "streak" on your home page reaches 28.

We'll have some stations set up on 5th Sunday, March 29 when you come to church so that you can show your work and enter your name to win one of the Bible prizes.

Um, yeah. This is going to be fun. I. Can't. Wait.

And, of course, 5th Sunday is going to be themed around how amazing the Word of God is and we're planning a great service and potluck that you won't want to miss. Yeah!

In the Word with you,
Pastor Tracy

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This Sunday

The Bible Says Whut? Part 3
Jude

Join us this Sunday at 10am as Pastor Tracy continues our series.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

A Prayer to Listen (a way to rethink evangelism)

This article was sent to me a few weeks ago and I've been itching for a chance to share it with you. This call to share Christ by listening and serving others by really hearing their hearts is really beautiful and challenging. In fact, we can apply this principle widely in our lives as we strive to act and speak like the One we're following: Jesus. So very simply, I encourage you to click on the image and read it through.

Jesus, teach us to listen.

See you on Sunday,
Pastor Tracy

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This Sunday

The Bible Says Whut? Part 3
Philemon

Join us this Sunday at 10am as Pastor Tracy continues our series.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

IMPACT. (are you ready? it's happening!)

Around here we've been thinking about impacting this community... a lot! As we gear up for the Pavilion Project and get the word out to our neighbours in Williamsburg, I'm constantly reminded that as we CONNECT and TRAIN, we can't neglect taking Jesus' message of life transformation outside of these walls to create IMPACT.

Have you made a financial commitment to invest in the Freedom Pavilion Project? We need every person to join us in this goal so that the vision can become reality and this property would take another step toward being a Life Transformation Campus. (Scroll down to see the details of how to do that.)

But, of course, it goes beyond these 10 acres and into the world beyond us. And that's why it's such a joy for us to support our missions partners. We set our missions giving goal at $20,000 for 2020 after receiving over $28,000 in 2019. Wow! I shared this plan on Sunday during the service but if you missed it, click the link below to read about it.

And we're not done yet because your generous giving to our church means that we can keep dreaming and resourcing all that God is calling us to outside of these walls even as we grow and change and become more like Christ as we do life and ministry together.

I want to encourage you to consider for yourself and your family how you can invest this year. Our sacrifices for the kingdom are never in vain and open up blessing and opportunity for His purposes that we can only imagine.

IMPACT for the kingdom!
Pastor Tracy

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This Sunday

Common Sense Faith
Pray For It

Join us this Sunday at 10am as Pastor Tracy continues our series.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

CONNECT. TRAIN. (ready for IMPACT)

Here's the deal: You know as well as I do that we need people in our lives. Real people, not their digital avatar. We were meant to connect because when we do, well, a lot of great things are possible.

That's the opportunity we're offering up at Connecting Point. My relationship with Christ gets deeper and more sincere when I do it with others. My ability to grow is massively stunted when I try and do it on my own. So I don't. Connecting with others is on my calendar. It happens when it's cold and rainy, it happens when I've had an exhausting day, it happens when I'm celebrating a victory, it happens because I know I can't develop in my discipleship without it.

Two of our core values at Freedom are CONNECTING AND TRAINING: Building real relationships with God and others and learning to think and act like Jesus. Connecting Point was created as a great option to do both.

Here's what's happening at Connecting Point that might get you started, or be the 'what's next' for you this year. I'll be there - join me!

MARRIAGE ON THE ROCK

This group will focus on building Christ-centred marriages.

JOHN: LIFE-CHANGE SERIES

This study is a deep-dive into the gospel of John with relevant application from the life and teaching of Jesus. (Purchase a book at the NEXT Centre.)

ORDERING YOUR PRIVATE WORLD

We have planners, calendars, and to-do lists to help us organize our business and social lives. This study is all about organizing the other side of our lives—the spiritual side. (Purchase a book at the NEXT Centre or on Amazon.)

WOMEN'S GROUP STUDY ("SISTERS" BY LIFE CHURCH)

This group is for women who want to go deeper in Christ and build relationships with other women at the same time.

PLUS... we are offering everyone the chance to COME FOR DINNER before CP (sign-up online) so that you can take the stress out of getting here on time and have a chance to get to know your church family better. #winwin And, if you need childcare for Preschool or younger, please sign up online as well.

Of course, all of this information is on our website so that you can figure out if this would be a good way for you to make time to connect and train. And even if it's not this, connecting and training are core values for a reason. We believe that life in Christ gets deeper and richer when we are intentional about connecting, training and impacting.

Together in Christ,

Pastor Tracy

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This Sunday we are going to start collecting pledge cards for the Welcome to Our House Pavilion Project. We need to raise another $30,000 in cash or pledges to start construction. Pray about how your family will invest in what's next at Freedom!

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This Sunday

Common Sense Faith
Surrender It

Join us this Sunday at 10am as Pastor Tracy continues our series.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Are you dreaming for Freedom? (well, I am!)

I can't count the number of days I've driven up the church driveway and shaken my head in disbelief as I looked over our whole 10 acre property. It's just so amazing. It's ours because a generation ago there was a group of people (just like us) who had a vision to reach even more people in Kitchener with the life-transforming message of of the gospel. There is so much space, so much life, and so much to dream about that I haven't gotten used to that view even more than a decade after I came to Freedom.

Our church isn't big or famous, but we've worked hard to be well known in our community and be about more than just us. We've also worked hard to focus our efforts on things that will truly matter for eternity - making disciples. We've focused on connecting with God, choosing to be in community with one another, learning to think and act like Jesus and changing the world around us for HIm.

But, of course, we're far from feeling like we're done. We know that in some ways we're just getting started. We're as committed as ever to staying in step with the Spirit and He is always ready to move, to transform hearts, to draw people to Christ and to guide us in everything we do.

When we talk about what's next, when we spend many hours over many months developing the Pavilion Project, when we explore new ideas for Connecting Point groups, when we create new resources... or whatever else we're doing, I get excited. Why? The plan that God has for us is stunning and we get to be right in the middle of it and it's totally amazing.

Doing this kingdom-based life together is an adventure like no other. If you haven't already, jump right in, get invested and see what God might have for you as an irreplaceable part of the body of Christ.

And I hope to see you on Sunday night at 6:30 for our Pavilion Q&A. We're getting ready to make a significant financial commitment to this project as a church and we want to hear from you and link arms together as we go forward.

So glad we're together for this adventure!

Pastor Tracy

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This Sunday

Common Sense Faith
Tame It

Join us this Sunday at 10am as Pastor Tracy continues our series.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

AKA James/Jacob/Iakobos (a beautifully crafted punch in the gut)

As we work through this series from the book of James I want to continue to invite you to go deeper. It's invaluable to know as much as you can about the text you're reading in scripture: the context, the original readers, the intended audience, the author and more. For this book and this series as well as for anything else that we study in the future, there is always so much more than we can cover on a Sunday morning.

In light of that, here are some resources for the book of James that you can explore outside of Sunday mornings that will help drive these passages more deeply into your heart and mind so that they can be lived out every day.

VIDEO: The Bible Project (embedded below)

YOUVERSION READING PLANS: Click here for some options

DEVOTIONAL BOOK: Life Change Series

Your study bible will also have some great insights as you read through the book of James. I hope you will join me and dig a little deeper with me through this series.

See you on Sunday!

Pastor Tracy

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This Sunday

Common Sense Faith
Show It

Join us this Sunday at 10am as Pastor Tracy continues our series.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

So, What's Next? (a reminder to ask the question)

Today's email is intended to act as a bit of a Public Service Announcement. We started last year in a series from 2 Peter and asked a simple but profound question: What's next?

The idea isn't to hurry unthinkingly from one thing to the next, it's to keep in front of us the need to be following Christ... and 'following' is a verb. We aren't chasing what's new for the sake of keeping up with fads or keeping ourselves distracted. We're intentionally choosing to keep growing, to keep fresh water flowing into our lives and to continue to challenge ourselves as disciples. So great!

My PSA is as follows: What's next for you?

As we establish routines for 2020, let's keep bravely asking the question and having our lives transformed daily by the Holy Spirit at work in and through us.

Need some help figuring out what's next? We've got you covered.

Online: www.freedomkw.com/next
In Person: NEXT Centre in the Lobby (after every service)

Together in Christ,
Pastor Tracy

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This Sunday

Common Sense Faith
Forbid It

Join us this Sunday at 10am as Pastor Erin continues our series.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Common Sense Faith (for reference... it's Thursday :))

If you're like me you'll find yourself in a bit of a fog today. It's kind of a wonderful but disorienting thing that happens between Christmas Eve and the beginning of the new year... you're not quiet sure what day it is, you've been unplugged from your routines for long enough that you're starting to really chill out and you've spent more time with the people you love than usual. For reference, it's Thursday. :)

So let's take advantage of this beautiful season when we clear the cobwebs, refocus on new things and feel energized in new ways and dive into our new teaching series. For the next seven Sundays we're going to be stepping through the book of James, an incredibly practical guide to our faith and how to live it out in the real world, what it looks like and what it doesn't. I've called the series "Common Sense Faith" because of the way that James teaches, a sort of no-nonsense approach to what it looks like to follow Jesus every day in real life.

Are you ready for what's next? Let's step into 2020 ready to be transformed by the Word!

See you on Sunday,

Pastor Tracy

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This Sunday

Common Sense Faith
Consider It

Join us this Sunday at 10am as Pastor Tracy starts our new series.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

A Moment of Worship (#BeholdHim)

What an incredible week we've had - truly. We've celebrated and we've worshipped. We've invited and we've responded. We've given and we've received. We've gathered in anticipation of knowing Him more and we've shared in the mystery of Immanuel, God With Us. A very merry Boxing Day to each of you.

We sang this song while we lit candles on Christmas Eve and I wanted to share it with you again as we continue to worship Him this week.

In His peace and joy,

Pastor Tracy

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This Sunday

5th Sunday Celebration
A Year in Review

Join us this Sunday at 10am as celebrate what God has done in and through us this year!

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

A Question and An Invitation (#JesusIsNotARoleModel)

We've been talking about inviting people to church and into conversations about faith this month a lot. Do you ever find it hard to know what to say about Christianity vs. other religions or just aren't sure what you believe about it? I was sent this video and immediately wanted to share it with all of you. I think you'll find it to be helpful for your personal faith and a good reminder of some important truths. But I hope you'll also be inspired by the simple challenge to ask questions, listen to others and share who Jesus really is and what He came to do. It's a worthwhile 15 minute investment.

Enjoy!
Pastor Tracy

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YouVersion Bible Reading Plans for Advent

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This Sunday

God With Us
”Always”

Join us this Sunday at 10am as Pastor Tracy wraps up our Advent series.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Jesus is the Reason for the Season (a way to focus on Him this Christmas)

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

— John 1:14

How's everyone doing? Are you loving the season? Will you be glad it's over?

I'm always working hard to fight the tendency to define Christmas by everything that has to get done. I know the season is about Jesus and I can easily find myself lamenting the pressures and costs that inevitably come in December. Certainly that's not the purpose or focus of Advent but alas, as I write this my inbox and social feeds are filling up with Black Friday deals.

In case you find your heart in this annual struggle as so many of us do, I simply want to offer one remedy that we've incorporated into our family this year. Nothing points us back to the 'reason for the season' like being in the scriptures, reading about the Word who became flesh and dwelled among us. If you haven't started already, here are a few reading plans from YouVersion for you to make a part of your days this month to keep your heart pointed toward the living Word. (see images below)

My prayer for my family and yours is that we will all draw closer to Jesus as we anticipate the celebration of His arrival.

See you on Sunday,
Pastor Tracy

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This Sunday

God With Us
”In the Storm”

Join us this Sunday at 10am as Pastor Tracy continues in our Advent series.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Christmas is a Time to... Invite! (and love, and give, and share, and...)

One of the best things about this season is how much time we spend thinking about others. We think about gifts that people would like and what their favourite foods are. We think about the less fortunate and marginalized and look for ways to be generous. We think about people's schedules and coordinate times with friends and family that work best for everyone. We send notes and thank people for being in our lives and for what they've meant to us through the year. Christmas is an amazing season.

So while you're thinking about others, why not think about the most important way that you can impact someone's life this year? Introduce them to Jesus. Or, for those who know about Him but are far from Him, reintroduce them to Jesus.

There are so many ways you can do that, of course, but we've tried to make one of those ways as easy for you as possible... just invite them to one of our Christmas services! We are intentionally building these "Christmas in Williamsburg" events to be engaging and relatable and most of all, ensuring that we share Jesus with everyone in the room.

That's just the beginning, of course. Any guest that you bring to church will be most impacted by how you share your life and story with them afterward. But it would be our pleasure to help to set the stage and introduce your friends and family to the Light of the World, Immanuel, this Christmas.

Our big and fun Christmas service will be on Sunday, December 22nd during our regular service time at 10:00. Why? We want you to be able to invite people who already have standing traditions in their families and wouldn't be able to attend on Christmas Eve.

Our Christmas Eve service will be candlelit and centred on worship, as we gather our hearts up and get them prepared for Christmas Day.

Both are open to everyone, both will share the beautiful story of Jesus coming for us and both are a great opportunity to invite someone to church as a starting point for their life transformation story to begin (or continue!).

Oooo... I can't wait for Christmas! We have invitation cards available at the church and you can also click the button below so you can simply download the invitation and share it with the person you're thinking about this season or on your social media accounts.

In the meantime, see you on Sunday for another beautiful Advent service with guest speaker, Joanne Goodwin.

Pastor Tracy

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This Sunday

God With Us
”In the Wilderness”

Join us this Sunday at 10am as our guest speaker, Joanne Goodwin, brings the next message in our series and specifically share about mental health.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Sacred Rhythms (using the calendar to help us worship)

“In the future, when your son asks you, ‘What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?’ tell him: ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.’”

— Deuteronomy 6:20-21

The Israelites were instructed to use the patterns, sacraments, and structure of the law to point their children to God, passing from one generation to the next who He is and what He had done. How very beautiful.

The historic Christian church has followed versions of its own calendar through the centuries with much of the same intent. There are seasons throughout the year that draw our hearts and minds to different aspects of our faith, specifically the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. We don't always give it much thought in our tradition but as we come to the beginning of Advent, it's good to pause and remember that our celebration of Christmas begins with a season of longing and expectation.

“The Christian year represents the historical unfolding of the life of Christ and his sure return. One may observe that Advent deals with the coming of Christ; Christmas, his birth; Epiphany, his [being made known] to the Gentiles; Lent, his journey toward death; the Great Triduum, the last days of Jesus’ earthly life; Easter, the time to celebrate his resurrection; and Pentecost, the time to experience life in the power of the Holy Spirit.”

— Robert Webber, Ancient-Future Time

As we begin this with the Cycle of Light on Sunday, here is a sacred rhythm to consider all year long:

Cycle of Light

• Advent: 4 Sundays before Christmas Eve

• Christmas: 12 Days from December 25 to January 5

• Epiphany: January 6

Cycle of Life

• After Epiphany: January 7 until Lent (Christ’s ministry on earth)

• Lent: Ash Wednesday (40 days, not Sundays) to Thursday of Holy Week

• Great Triduum: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Vigil Saturday

• Easter: Sunday, 50 days, includes Ascension Day, ends on Pentecost

• After Pentecost: 6 months, also called Ordinary Time

There is a lot to learn and discover in this pattern of worship. I'm excited to being Advent with you on Sunday and remember again how much we needed Christ to come as our Saviour and are longing for Him to come again.

See you on Sunday,
Pastor Tracy

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This Sunday

God With Us
”In The Valley?”

Join us on Sunday at 10am as Pastor Tracy begins our Advent series.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Praying for the Fellers (this month's missions focus)

If you were in the service on November 10th I know your heart was stirred by the report that Jeremy Feller brought to our church. (Jeremy and his wife Teresa are missionaries in Ethiopia.) What a beautiful opportunity to hear what God is doing in and around Ethiopia and to gather around him and pray as a church.

I simply wanted to take the opportunity to remind you of this family again and ask you to continue to pray for them on a regular basis. We won't share on this platform but if you were here on the 10th you know some of the more specific requests that Jeremy had so pray for intentionally for those.

We continue to be so grateful for all of our global workers who represent us and share Christ so powerfully all over the world. Thank you for your generosity in supporting each one of them through our 2019 Missions Giving Plan.

Grateful to you,
Pastor Tracy

PHOTO: Zoe, Teresa, Betty, Jeremy, Timothy

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This Sunday

FAQs of Jesus
”Does that offend you?”

Join us on Sunday at 10am as our Rob finishes our series.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Expectant and Alert (a focus on prayer)

"Often I find it works best if after I ask for God to speak to me, I devote the next hour or so to some kind of activity that neither engrosses my attention with other things nor allows me to be intensely focused on the matter in question. Housework, gardening, driving about on errands or paying bills will generally do. I do not worry about whether or not this works. I know that it does not have to work, but I am sure that it will work if God has something he really wants me to know or do. This is ultimately because I am sure of how great and good he is.

"Often by the end of an hour or so, there has stood forth within my consciousness an idea or thought with that peculiar quality, spirit and content that I have come to associate with God’s voice. If nothing emerges by the end of an hour or so, I am not alarmed. I make it a point to keep listening. Very often within a day something happens through which God’s voice, recognizably distinct, is heard.

"Reflect: What would be the most suitable “in the meantime” activities for you—ones that don’t require enormous attention or intense focus?"

(Willard, D., & Johnson, J. (2015). Hearing God Through the Year: a 365-Day Devotional.)

As I continue to read each day from this devotional, I continue to be amazed at all the way that I can train myself to hear God speaking. The above was one that I read a few weeks ago that reminded me of Brother Lawrence's famous little book, The Practice of the Presence of God, which teaches that the everyday and mundane is a beautiful place to hear from God when you're paying attention.

“The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer, and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the blessed sacrament.”

— Brother Lawrence

I want to encourage You to invite the Holy Spirit into everything, not just waiting for the 'perfect' moment or right atmosphere. I wonder what we might hear from God when we live each day expectant and alert to Him "in the meantime"?

Praying with you,
Pastor Tracy

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This Sunday

FAQs of Jesus
”What is that to you?”

Join us on Sunday at 10am as our Pastor Tracy continues in our series.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Shooting At Statues (a lesson in distraction)

I heard a sermon illustration recently that keeps coming back to me again and again. I couldn't find a great source for the story so it may be more of a legend than anything. Regardless, it makes its point.

"It is said that when the British and French were fighting in Canada in the 1750s, Admiral Phipps, commander of the British fleet, was told to anchor outside Quebec. He was given orders to wait for the British land forces to arrive, then support them when they attacked the city. Phipps’ navy arrived early. As the admiral waited, he became annoyed by the statues of the saints that adorned the towers of a nearby cathedral, so he commanded his men to shoot at them with the ships’ cannons. No one knows how many rounds were fired or how many statues were knocked out, but when the land forces arrived and the signal was given to attack, the admiral was of no help. He had used up all his ammunition shooting at the 'saints.'" Our Daily Bread, October 6

The pastor called it "shooting statues" and the challenge was simple: be very careful not to get caught up in the small distractions that drain you and miss the real calling that God has on your life. With this floating around in my mind, the number of times I've found myself distracted by things that take my attention away from what's truly important has been pretty sobering. This can come in the form of something on your schedule, an interruption, a frustration, an annoyance, a difference of opinion or about a hundred other ways.

Distractions are everywhere and they happen daily. The question I've been asking myself is: how much spiritual and emotional output is this worth? Am I shooting statues or am I focusing my time and energy on the things that truly matter - the people and situations that God has called me to? I've been using this idea when I can tell I need to change my perspective or to put it less delicately, when I'm circling the drain on an issue.

It's no surprise that this is a helpful line of questioning. Ephesians 6:10-18 reminds us that the physical world is not the issue at hand; it's the spiritual battle that's going on behind the scenes that should have our attention and cause us to put on the full armour of God every day. This is the perspective that will keep us from wasting the 'ammo' of our lives all of the distractions that come our way. Instead, we'll be able to engage with what God is working on all around us.

Praying for you (Ephesians 6:18),
Pastor Tracy

“10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

— Ephesians 6:10-18

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This Sunday

FAQs of Jesus
”Why Do You Break the Command of God?”

Join us on Sunday at 10am as our Pastor Tracy continues in our series.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Thoughts On Halloween (more than candy, more than costumes)

Halloween is an interesting study and has been a topic of much debate for Christians through the years. As opposed to many of the other events on our annual calendar that celebrate virtues that we love (Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Mother's & Father's Day, et al.), Halloween is quite the opposite. So what do we do with Halloween?

We do a couple of intentional things at Freedom that have helped us leverage this cultural phenomenon and not let it become a point of dissension.

First, we honour and respect each other's varying responses to Halloween. If it is your conviction to not participate in any way with it, I certainly understand and value that.

Second, we try to find ways to use what the culture is already involved in as an opportunity to do something we're not great at: get to know our neighbours. Learning the stories of the people that live around us is becoming less and less common. We tend to have a laser focus on our own lives and schedules and errands and carpools that we struggle to even know the names of the people who share a fence with us.

Of course, some people are the exception to this rule and we have a lot that we could learn from them. But for the rest of us, we can be encouraged to be much more strategic about how we care for the people who God has planted us with.

And so, with that in mind we try and lean in and go the extra mile on October 31st when the parents and kids of our neighbourhoods all walk the streets at the same time. Because, when else does that happen? We invite our church families to open their doors and to go the extra mile with a cup of hot chocolate to give us a chance to pause, shake a hand, learn a name and maybe start a relationship.

No, it's not evangelism. But I'm sure you'll agree that it's easier to share Christ with someone you know. So hey, here's a chance to share light and kindness during an event that celebrates what's dark and fearful.

I'm praying that in everything we do, before, during and after Thursday, we will always be the ones who shine a light in dark places.

See you on Sunday,
Pastor Tracy

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This Sunday

FAQs of Jesus
”Do You Love Me?”

Join us on Sunday at 10am as our Pastor Erin continues in our series.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Missions Focus: An Indigenous Perspective

At the beginning of October it was our pleasure to have Anthony & Barbara Pennings here to share about their ministry in Manitoulin Island. They were sent out from Freedom seven years ago and it's been great to be able to keep up with their mission and calling to the First Nations communities they've been serving.

I wanted to briefly recap the teaching that they shared that Sunday morning as a reminder of the great work they are doing and of how to pray for them. I heard a lot of great feedback from our church about what Anthony shared and I know that it was incredibly eye-opening for me as well.

Here are the big ideas that were shared...

• Like the three poles of a tee-pee that are all needed for structure and stability, the three foundational principles that hold the native community and person together are Non-Interference, Heritage, and Ceremony.

• Heritage and Ceremony were essentially taken away with residential schools, the 60s Scoop, and other such programs, leaving only Non-Interference without a sense of cultural heritage to look back on and inform the future or Ceremony to build up the boundaries on the path of life.

• Further, Jesus has been seen as someone who comes to kick out the pillar of Heritage since some of these programs were done in the name of the church.

• These three principles are needs that have to be embraced if discipleship is going to happen inside of the culture. So, new patterns are needed to be able to present and then share the gospel.

• It starts to become clear why the indigenous people can't 'just get over it'. There are some deep wounds that need time and care to be healed.

• There is a strong belief that everyone walks their own path in life (blazing their own trail). Evangelism can be like inviting people onto a path that you’ve tried and have found to work better. You can respect Non-Interference by asking someone to walk with you and telling them you’ll walk it with them. We don’t tell people what to do, we invite them to a journey with us.

• Building a foundation of respect is key. "I will listen to your story. Will you listen to my story?"

Our privilege and responsibility is to pray for the First Nations people and for those like Anthony and Barbara who are working to bring hope and healing to the individual and the culture through Christ

We continue to support the Pennings through our 2019 Missions Giving Plan. Thank you for your generous financial gifts that have gotten us to 93% (!!!) of the way to our goal. Let's continue to care for our missions partners well by meeting and exceeding this goal by the end of the year!

Thankful to partner with you,

Pastor Tracy

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This Sunday

FAQs of Jesus
”Do You Want to Get Well?”

Join us on Sunday at 10am as our Pastor Tracy continues in our series.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

FAQs of Jesus (the asker become the askee)

We are starting a new series that is going to carry us through the next six weeks until Advent begins. (True! Christmas is coming!) I wanted to share with you the idea behind this series and invite you along for the journey.

The premise is simple: What are some of the questions Jesus asked?

When you take even the quickest glance at the gospels, you can see that Jesus asked powerful, challenging, probing, merciful and, well, great questions.

So often our spiritual journey is filled with questions for God and about God. Why would He do this? Why does He allow that? What does He want from my life? And I could continue to fill this space with a million more. There is no doubt that we know the relationship between faith and questions.

But I started to wonder what Jesus was asking me. If our relationship is filled with questions I'm asking Him, perhaps I should be wondering what He might be asking me. And what kind of insight and wisdom and conviction might I find in His questions?

The heart of this series is to discover the questions that Jesus asked and let them be asked of us. We won't have time to talk about all of them but we will let Him ask:

Who touched me?
Do you want to get well?
What is it that you want?
Do you love me?
Why do you break the command of God?
What is that to you?
Does this offend you?

There is so much truth and beauty to uncover in these questions and I'm excited for dig into them with you over the next few weeks. I'm coming ready to hear from Him - join me!

See you on Sunday,
Pastor Tracy

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This Sunday

FAQs of Jesus
”Who Touched Me?”

Join us on Sunday at 10am as our Pastor Tracy starts our new series.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.