Hungry? (some homework for Sunday!)

Have you ever just wanted more? Have you ever sensed that there was more for your relationship with God? Have you ever felt spiritually hungry?

I was recently told that someone wanted to get baptized in water again because they weren't sure if they really meant it the first time, or, they felt that they needed another experience because they would mean it so much more now. I understand the feeling. You've grown in your faith and are wondering what's next. You're hungry for more and wonder if that's even a thing.

On Sunday, Pastor is going to teach about one (very significant) way that God can and will satisfy this hunger. It's Pentecost Sunday and we're going to talk about the experience that the 120 followers of Jesus had in the Upper Room (Acts 2) and how it is still available for us today. I believe in the empowerment that comes from being baptized in the Holy Spirit. I have lived it and continue to be amazed at His gifts to His Church.

I know that a lot of us don't come from a pentecostal background and this might be something new that you'd like to study more. Here are some resources to get you started and as always, don't hesitate to reach out to us with more questions or insights. We'd love to hear your story and share in your journey.

Be filled!
Pastor Tracy

SCRIPTURE: The Book of Acts
BLOG: Why do Pentecostals care so much about SPIRIT BAPTISM? (Andrew Gabriel)
COURSE: Life in the Spirit (Del Wells)
EBOOK: Spirit Baptism in the Old and New Testament (Andrew Gabriel)
BOOK: The Charismatic Theology of St. Luke (Roger Stronstad)
BOOKLET: A Scriptural Outline of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit (George Gilles)
POSITION PAPER: Baptism in the Holy Spirit (Assemblies of God)

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THIS SUNDAY

EMPOWERED
The Holy Spirit in Acts

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+YouTube Live)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Pavilion Update! (where we are and what's left to do)

If you've been around our property in the last few weeks you'll know that it's anything but same old, same old around here. Many, many new houses are being built to the east, the trees have come down, ready for a newly landscaped property line, and the Pavilion is more than dreams and plans... it's actually a structure you can see and picture being used. It's incredible to see these years of ideas and conversations taking shape in real life.

The Pavilion Project is the next step in our vision of developing a Life Transformation Campus, where every acre is used as a spiritual oasis for our neighbours and for us. It was necessary to upgrade the old grey shed and we took the opportunity to be able to consider what else that space might be used for. We envision a connecting point for our church family and community, a place to offer radical hospitality and build authentic relationships with others, and a space that invests in the next generation by making room for meaningful activities and programs. I know you can see it too!

Read even more about the "why" behind this project HERE.

Our original Pavilion Project budget was $330,000 and the great news is that we've exceeded that amount in our fundraising over the past couple of years. Way to go, Freedom! That is truly remarkable.

The reality of the delay in construction, the last two years of the pandemic and the much higher price of materials has meant a dramatic increase in the budget which is now estimated at $550,000. Our fundraising shortfall is about $200,000 and we're asking God to help us to see this through to completion.

The team has done an excellent job managing costs and only doing what is necessary for the pavilion to be complete, meeting the requirements of the City and Region, and fully functioning for the coming season. We have also invested about $10,000 of this budget into setting up the Pavilion and Freedom Community Centre for future servicing (sewer & water) in order to avoid digging up the property again when the time comes to bring in city services.

I'm inviting our Freedom family to prayerfully consider this project and ask the Lord how He would have you financially invest in it. This is a sacrificial gift that is an offering, over and above our support of the general fund (as we want the ministries of our church to continue to thrive). Rob and I are taking this to prayer and committing to walking in obedience to whatever He asks of us because we believe in this work and that this is our next step as a church family. Will you join us?

As you pray, I invite you to reach out with any questions you have. We are excited about our first summer with the Pavilion and are grateful for your investment.

Believing in faith for what is next!
Pastor Tracy

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THIS SUNDAY

EMPOWERED
The Holy Spirit in Prayerful Community
Pastor Tracy Dunham

5th Sunday - Potluck after the service!

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+YouTube Live)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Calling the Writers & Teachers! (a ministry opportunity for you this summer)

This Sunday we're going to be talking about how the Holy Spirit empowers people for ministry. There is a very cool example of this in Exodus 35 and, of course (**spoiler alert**), the connection is going to be made between that and how we are empowered by the Spirit for the ministry that we've been called to as well.

In that same vein, I want to invite you to participate in a ministry opportunity that might tap into a gifting of yours. I'm calling on all the writers and/or teachers out there to put together a short email devotional that we can share this summer. We have eight Thursdays in July and August and I'd like to offer those spaces to eight guest writers from our church family.

Do you have a devotional thought that you'd like to share? Do you have a Christ-centred piece of writing that you think will encourage others? Do you have a short study on a passage of scripture that we might find helpful? Please submit it to me (Pastor Tracy) by the end of June and I'll be choosing eight to share throughout the summer months.

I'm really looking forward to hearing from you, fully anticipating that God is speaking to His church and this will spark some great submissions from you - yes, you!

Can't wait to get reading,
Pastor Tracy

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THIS SUNDAY

EMPOWERED
The Holy Spirit in Old Testament Ministry
Pastor Tracy Dunham

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+YouTube Live)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

For the Common Good (the Spirit working out loud)

On Sunday we heard the Holy Spirit working in an "out loud" way through a message of tongues and interpretation. I mentioned that we find teaching about this in scripture, specifically 1 Corinthians 12 & 14. I know that this might be a new experience for some or it's been a long time since you heard a word for the church in that way.

Pastor Del's course Life in the Spirit, which was referenced by Pastor Erin in her message, has a lesson on the gifts of the Spirit that you will find helpful. You'll notice that it's the 8th lesson in the course and so, of course, I highly recommend going through the whole thing! But still, it's a great start or refresher if you're wondering why hearing a message from God in a church service isn't weird or out of order, even if you've never experienced it yourself.

Click here or on the image and enjoy a deeper dive into the scriptures. If you have any questions, you can reach out to any of us on staff. We would look forward to it!

In Christ,
Pastor Tracy

PS - 10 points if you can figure out where the title of this devo comes from!

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THIS SUNDAY

EMPOWERED
The Holy Spirit in Old Testament Miracles
Pastor Tracy Dunham

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+YouTube Live)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

A Step of Obedience (water baptism on 5th Sunday)

In the fall of 2020, Pastor did an excellent job helping us understand what it means that we are new creations in Christ and how water baptism symbolizes this amazing truth. If you didn't get a chance to listen or watch, be sure to check it out here, including the Q&A afterward.

I hope that you've heard by now that there will be an opportunity to be baptized in water on 5th Sunday, May 29th, during our service. If you or someone you know is considering baptism, allow me to reiterate what it's all about. Here is the first page of what you'll find on our website:

So if you've made a decision to follow Jesus and you've never been baptized in water, this is the perfect opportunity. Just click the image above and read about your next step. And, of course, don't hesitate to give me a shout if you have any questions!

In Christ,
Pastor Tracy

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THIS SUNDAY

EMPOWERED
The Holy Spirit in Old Testament Leadership
Pastor Erin Jamieson

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+YouTube Live)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

We Speak Jesus (a personal reflection)

On Sunday our worship team introduced the song "I Speak Jesus" and it was incredible to listen to the church declare their faith in Him. Why is it so powerful to speak the name of Jesus "over" every situation, need, place and relationship? Not because "Jesus" is a magic word but because He truly does have both the power to intervene and the depth of love to care about all of our lives. Only He can be trusted with each of these things and only He can meet every need. When that gets deep into our hearts and gets expressed in our worship, it's powerful.

This song has been particularly special to me over these past few months. Many of you know some of the deep waters our family has been walking through and unfortunately, the pain that we've felt is universally known by us all at some time or another in our lives. That's the deal while we live in a broken, fallen world. But this song is one that was dropped into my playlist at just the right moment in time and has helped to anchor me in some important truths.

When I "speak Jesus" over my family and against the enemy who is looking to steal, kill and destroy, I invite the Spirit of Jesus to do what He promised to do - be with me, always. We talked about it on Sunday: we are never alone. He invites us to bring our weakness let Him show His strength. We bring our brokenness and let Him be our Healer. We bring our need and let Him be our Provider. We bring our battle and let Him win the victory.

I've had a few people encourage me by telling me that I am strong. I very much appreciate the sentiment and receive it with gratitude. But I've had to reply that the opposite is entirely true. I am not strong and perhaps I've never been more weak. And more miraculously, I have never experienced the presence of Jesus more profoundly than over these past months as I've given Him my weakness. I've said more than once, "This stuff we talk about on Sundays? It literally works. Like, for real - Jesus is all.”

I told you on Sunday and I'll tell you again because it bears repeating: You are not alone. Jesus promised to be with you always and He is. The Holy Spirit lives in you and will sustain, strengthen, correct, love, teach, encourage, remind (how long can I make this list?).... you if you learn to trust Him. It literally works. Like, for real.

Be encouraged, friends. His strength is made perfect in your weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). He is always with You and He is strong enough to meet every need. Go ahead and speak His name first every day in every circumstance. His name is power; His name is healing; His name is life.

Pastor Tracy

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THIS SUNDAY

EMPOWERED
The Availability of the Holy Spirit
Guest Speaker: Dr. Chris Padiath

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+YouTube Live)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

A Moment for Gratitude (thanks to all who helps us celebrate Easter!)

After a weekend like the one we just had, I get reflective. So many of you made a point to say something encouraging to me about our Good Friday or Easter Sunday services. My heart was so full from knowing that what was intentionally curated for the weekend made a connection to your lives in some way. Thank you, Jesus.

But more than that, I know what it took to make those moments special and believe me when I tell you that for weeks leading up to Easter, the body of Christ was in action, each member using their gifts for the common good.

Thank you to everyone who stayed late on a Sunday night in February to brainstorm ideas, features and songs.

Thank you to Matt who helped to craft each moment of the services from a musical and production perspective, learned songs, tracked down media and led so well on the weekend. #allthethings

Thank you to the worship team who prepared weeks in advance and set aside extra time to rehearse together - Adam, Juno, Matt, Shay, Talitha, Sara and Leanna. And thank you to the tech team of Walt, Brad, Malachi, Vaughn, Jide and Nate for spending time in rehearsals and making sure that the message of the weekend was easily seen and heard.

Thank you to Erin and Margaret who were able to take all of the ideas, interpret them and make them work - devotionals, scripture readings, kids features, communion, and "graves into gardens." So grateful for this staff.

Thank you to everyone who created and hosted our Spring Photo Booth, to bless both our community and our church family with memories from this weekend: Erin, Sandra, Pernilla, Nicole, Dave, Monica, Kari, Joke and Alicia.

Thank you to everyone who lent your voice, talent and heart to the services in so many other ways: Pastor Del, Jide, Chris & Ruthie (who also created the Good Friday service with me - grateful!).

We had excellent Hosts all weekend - both in person and OFF Campus, not to mention those who worked entirely behind the scenes counting the offering and taking care of the youngest members of our Freedom family on Sunday.

And to each and every one of you who invited someone to hear the message of gospel this weekend (whether they attended or not), who brought someone with you to a service or who prayed with us that Jesus would be known, I am deeply grateful to you and for you.

This, church, is the body of Christ. I am so glad to be a part of it and I'm glad to be serving this community alongside of each of you.

He is risen indeed!
Pastor Tracy

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THIS SUNDAY

THE PASSION
The Ascension: 40 Days Later

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+YouTube Live)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Getting Ready for Easter (resources for the kids... and you!)

It doesn't matter what age you are, we all need to understand the Easter story. Some of us grew up hearing it but for some of us, it's a new story and maybe a bit of a mystery. We do our best to tell the story when we gather on Good Friday and Easter Sunday but it's worth hearing it again and again, making sure that everyone has a chance to understand how important the life, death and resurrection of Jesus is.

In today's devo I've linked some videos to help give you an overview of everything we are remembering and celebrating this weekend. They are great for kids and I encourage you to show them to the kids in your life and ask them if they have any questions.

But let's be honest, they're great for adults, too! These might act as a primer for our services or maybe there is someone in your life who is asking questions about what Easter means. Go ahead and share the links - they are all free on YouTube and easy to access.

Here again is the schedule for Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Freedom:

Good Friday, April 15 @ 10am
Family Communion Service (in person and livestream)

Saturday, April 16 @ 9:30-11:30am
Spring Photo Booth (We've invited our neighbours! You can come too!)

Easter Sunday, April 17 @ 10am
Family Service (in person and livestream) with Childcare for ages 0-3
Spring Photo Booth will also be available before and after the service.

We also encourage you to invite someone to join you in person or online. Let your friends, family and neighbours know about our services and invite them to sign up for the photo booth. You can get an invitation card from the church or point them to freedomkw.com/easter2022.

He is risen indeed!
Pastor Tracy

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THIS SUNDAY

THE PASSION
The Sacrifice
GOOD FRIDAY

The Christ
EASTER SUNDAY

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+YouTube Live)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Remembering, Proclaiming and Celebrating (a look ahead at Easter weekend)

Are you making plans for Easter weekend? If you are part of a family that's anything like mine you've already talked about the menu, the venue and the seating. (Spiral ham, my house, room for 12. By the way, Rob, if I've forgotten to tell you this, everyone's coming to our place for Easter Sunday dinner!)

In church life, we start planning for Easter weekend in February. To put it mildly, it's kind of a big deal. We mark Good Friday and Easter Sunday with special significance because what happened through the death and resurrection of Jesus has literally changed our lives - both today and for eternity. And so, we remember, we proclaim His death until He comes and we celebrate His victory over death and the grave. I get excited; I know you understand.

With that in mind, let me tell you what we're planning for Easter weekend in hopes that you will be able to prepare your hearts and calendars to join us.

Good Friday, April 15 @ 10am
Family Communion Service (in person and livestream)

Saturday, April 16 @ 9:30-11:30am
Spring Photo Booth (We've invited our neighbours! You can come too!)

Easter Sunday, April 17 @ 10am
Family Service (in person and livestream) with Childcare for ages 0-3
Spring Photo Booth will also be available before and after the service.

We also encourage you to invite someone to join you next weekend. Let your friends, family and neighbours know about our services and invite them to sign up for the photo booth. You can get an invitation card from the church or point them to freedomkw.com/easter2022.

It's the most wonderful time of the year. I'm glad I get to spend it with you!
Pastor Tracy

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THIS SUNDAY

THE PASSION
The Entrance

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+YouTube Live)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Connection and Generosity (let's have a potluck!)

You may have heard us say the word "potluck" a few times in the last week or so and follow it with cheering and clapping. What's the big deal about a potluck?

Good question, I'd love to tell you.

First, providing food for others is a simple way to show care. When you feed someone it communicates that you're willing to show up in the ordinary things of life.

Second, eating together is a beautiful act of connection. Around a meal we can catch up with each other's lives, invite new people to join our community and create a tangible sense of the family of God that we are.

Third, we get the chance to practice generosity. When we prepare for our meal we bring what we can with a heart that is wanting to bless others from what God has given us. If there is ever anyone joining us who was unable to bring food, it's never a problem. Everyone is invited, there is always lots to share and no one goes hungry.

Fourth, it's fun and delicious. Enough said.

This Sunday will be the first potluck we've had for over two years. We're excited about restrictions lifting and it does feel like we're stepping into a new season of life and ministry. We'd love for you to stay after the service and join us for lunch. Here are the details if you've forgotten how we do this (it's been too long!) or this is your first Freedom potluck:

• Bring a main dish. (You don't need to but feel free to add to that if you'd like and also bring something else to share like a salad, dessert, etc.)

• Drop it off in the kitchen before the service. We'll have a kitchen host ready to plug in your crockpot or find you some counter/fridge space.

• After the service we'll convert the sanctuary into a dining hall while the kitchen team organizes the food. You can get your dish prepared or help in the sanctuary.

• It takes about 20-30 minutes to get everything ready then we'll pray and eat!

• We'll have our host team serving the food as you go through the line.

• We'll provide frozen treats and drinks.

If you're not comfortable with the potluck format, that's perfectly fine. Feel free to bring a lunch for you/your family and stay to eat with us.

I know the food will be great and there will be a lot of fun energy in the air but mostly I'm looking forward to connecting with as many of you as I can. Be on the lookout for anyone who is sitting alone, someone who is new and you could introduce yourself to or simply who the Lord might direct you to chat with.

Let's do lunch on Sunday!
Pastor Tracy

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THIS SUNDAY

THE PASSION
The Table

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+YouTube Live)
9:00 - Kids Church Online (Freedom Kids FB Group)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Life by Meeting (see you on Sunday night at 6!)

The word "meeting" almost always has a negative connotation. If you work in the corporate world chances are that you are drowning in meetings. Patrick Lencioni's book Death by Meeting is a national best-seller in the U.S. for a reason. If someone tells you they want to meet with you, it's not often something you work into your schedule with joy.

Meetings can be boring, tense, useless or a whole other host of uninspiring things. But I'm here to tell you that meetings can also be inspiring, informative, helpful and an incredible tool for getting everyone on the same page. For real!

The latter is exactly what we always aim for during our Annual Business Meeting. While moving, seconding, voting, and Robert's Rule of Order is not everyone's cup of tea, these are just the structures that give us the chance to report on what is happening in this church, a local expression of the global body of Christ. How are things going? What have we been up to? How are our ministries being supported? What are we envisioning for the year ahead and beyond? These are the questions that the ABM looks to answer.

Members are asked to be in attendance (on Zoom or in person) but everyone who calls this church their home is encouraged to take an hour or so on Sunday night at 6:00 and be a part of this meeting. We certainly have an agenda and some things that we want to be sure you know about, but you are also welcome to bring your questions and take the opportunity to have them answered by the board and staff.

There are some more details on our website including the 2021 Annual Report and Financial Statement. Take a look when you have a chance in the next day or so: www.freedomkw.com/annual-business-meeting

I hope to see you there. God is at work, church. I'm looking forward to meeting with you to talk all about it!

See you on Sunday,
Pastor Tracy

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THIS SUNDAY

THE PASSION
The Betrayal

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+YouTube Live)
9:00 - Kids Church Online (Freedom Kids FB Group)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

A New Season, Indeed (a word about masking and church life)

Sunday will mark the beginning of a new season, literally. It's the first day of spring, regardless of what the groundhog said on February 2nd. Every year I have to remind myself that the weather doesn't necessarily sync up with the calendar and no matter how many double-digit temperature days we have I still can't plant anything for two more months.

On Monday, a figurative new season will also begin: the end of mandatory masking in most places. This comes almost exactly two years after our first (awkward!) livestream service in 2020. Wow, it's been a long road. Unfortunately, COVID-19 hasn't disappeared but our province has decided that it is appropriate to make masks optional going forward.

We decided in March of 2020 that we would do our best to comply with the provincial and regional mandates in the spirit of Romans 13. While recognizing that we may have very different opinions and experiences surrounding what was asked of us in this time, the Board and Staff charted this course and have stuck with it. We have endeavoured to lead with consistency and grace through these past two years and I know I speak for all of us when I say thank you to each of you for showing so much understanding, patience, and flexibility.

And as I said, COVID is not a thing of the past. We are simply stepping into a new way of living with it and that will have its own new set of challenges.

I want you to hear my heart when it comes to masking at church in the coming weeks and months and let you know what my expectation is for the body of Christ in this new season.

Starting next Sunday (March 27th) masking will be optional. That means that if you are more comfortable wearing a mask in public settings, you are very welcome to wear a mask to the service. If you are more comfortable without your mask, you do not need to wear one. This is the simple attitude that I want each and every one of us to take.

There is an opportunity for the enemy to use this as a divisive issue. Some may wonder why anyone would ever wear a mask; some may wonder why anyone wouldn't. The door is open for judgment and I'm closing the door in my heart and asking you to do the same. In the spirit of 1 John 4:7-21, I want to concern myself with how to love you well and not with your masking choices.

It's my suspicion that you've already come to these conclusions on your own because this is how you have conducted yourselves throughout this pandemic. I often brag about you to other leaders and tell them how grateful I am for how you've modelled grace and compassion so well. Let's hold on to that, no matter what the temptation might be to divide and disrupt. We choose unity in Christ in our diversity.

Today the issue is masking, tomorrow it will undoubtedly be something else, some other thing we may disagree on, some new challenge that we'll have to face together. Regardless, we continue to pray for unity among us and that our differences would make us a beautiful reflection of the body of Christ and the power of the Spirit to connect us to Him.

In Christ,
Pastor Tracy

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THIS SUNDAY

THE PASSION
The Anointing

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+YouTube Live)
9:00 - Kids Church Online (Freedom Kids FB Group)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Checking Your Work (another encouragement about the Word)

We have wood-carved sign in our dining room that Rob made on his CNC machine a few months ago. He was experimenting with this technique and how to paint the writing. This was the result. (Scroll for the photo!) The CNC file came from a provider online and it reads:

"By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established, through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures." Proverbs 23:3-4

Beautiful, right? Except, that's not what Proverbs 23:3-4 says. Those verses actually say, "Do not crave [the ruler's] delicacies, for that food is deceptive. Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness."

Okay, so it's still the Word of God and it was obviously an innocent typo on the part of the creator of the CNC file. When we figured out the mistake (and after we laughed A LOT) Rob asked if I wanted to take it down and I said no. I think the mistake makes the quoted verse even richer and so the sign remains.

What do I mean by that? A couple of things:

1. The wisdom, understanding and knowledge that we are looking to build our house on is found in searching the scriptures for everything we need and listening for the voice of the Spirit to bring them to our minds and hearts every day. And so...

2. We can't rely on someone else to do this for us. We need to be students of the Word for ourselves. We can't assume that what someone says about the Bible is true. The disciple of Jesus is committed to the daily discipline of being in the Word and looking for truth.

Yeah, I know, that's a lot to read into a typo in a CNC design file. Still, I see it every day and I'm reminded of the need to check my work... does my life line up with the Word? Am I comparing my thoughts, attitudes, motives and activities with it? Does anything need to be confessed, set aside, picked up, aligned or surrendered?

At Freedom we talk about reading the Bible a lot. We do reading plans together, we study it in groups, we use it as an application for sermons - and you can expect us to keep doing these things. Today is another encouragement for you, disciple of Jesus, to keep going - keep being consistent in reading the scriptures and listening to the Spirit's voice. He will build your house and fill its rooms with rare and beautiful treasures.

Checking my work,
Pastor Tracy

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THIS SUNDAY

THE PASSION
The Questions

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+YouTube Live)
9:00 - Kids Church Online (Freedom Kids FB Group)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

What is Lent? (hint: more than giving up coffee and chocolate)

This week's devotional is coming out a day earlier than usual. Why? Because today is an important day on the church calendar. It's the first day of Lent. Our church tradition doesn't always emphasize some of the key days on the liturgical Christian calendar but there is a lot of value in understanding why Christ-followers throughout the centuries have celebrated seasons as an important part of their faith journey.

I wanted to share a great article I found that simply introduces the idea of Lent and how it can help us to prepare our hearts for Easter. It's about much more than giving up coffee or chocolate for 40 days... it's about examining our hearts, recognizing our need for a Saviour and being ready to celebrate His sacrifice and triumph on Easter weekend.

Perhaps this can be something new and challenging in your journey into what's next in your spiritual life. Join us this Lenten season as we intentionally turn our attention toward the cross and the victory Jesus has won.

See you on Sunday,
Pastor Tracy

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THIS SUNDAY

THE PASSION
The Clearing

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+YouTube Live)
9:00 - Kids Church Online (Freedom Kids FB Group)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

DISCIPLE | The Supply

As we work through what the life of a disciple of Jesus looks like, you may be wondering... how am I ever going to do this? On Sunday, Pastor Del is going to talk about how we are supplied in this life.

One of the things he's going to point us toward is a set of resources that we have available on our website (and are adding too as often as possible). So I'd like to link them for you and remind you that they're there for you when you're ready for what's next.

If you head to www.freedomkw.com.com/next you'l find:

Life Transformation Courses

• First Steps

• Life in the Spirit

• Learning to Serve

• Learning to Lead

NEXT Courses

• Produce

• Everything You Need

• Commands of Christ

• Get Secure

• Pentecostal Essentials

• Explaining the Trinity

• The Disciple of Jesus (coming June 2022)

NEXT Podcast

• Everything You Need (8 episodes)

NEXT Resources

• Webinar: Principles for Financial Success

• Article: Do You Know God?

And hey, if there is something you'd like to learn or a resource you're looking for, let us know and we'll see how we can help.

See you on Sunday!
Pastor Tracy

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THIS SUNDAY

THE DISCIPLE
The Supply

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+YouTube Live)
9:00 - Kids Church Online (Freedom Kids FB Group)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

DISCIPLE | The Work (harps and halos?)

When I was a kid growing up in church, I used to hear the adults talking about heaven and what it was going to be like when we get there: streets of gold, crystal sea, mansions, no crying or pain or sorrow, worshiping Jesus forever… I mean, great. I like singing… but for eternity?

Confession: I was concerned. I love Jesus but won’t that get boring?

It was such a huge relief to me when I found out that harps and halos are not something scripture promises us for eternity. We will rest from our labour (won’t be tired all the time anymore!) but we will serve God and reign with Christ. We’ll have something meaningful to do, but it will be perfect and restful. I like the sound of that! (Note: I've also figured out that I have no idea what eternity will feel like because it's not something I can fully understand so even if we were hanging out and singing forever, boring wouldn't be a concept either!)

Idleness is not something that we are built for. Unfortunately, we often turn that into chronic busyness but finding our identity in what we do is also not how we were created.
The life of a disciple of Jesus has a similar tension: our salvation isn’t earned by what we do (or don’t do) but there isn’t a category for people who say they believe in Jesus and do nothing. So, what is the work of a disciple? If it's not to earn God's grace, what is it?

I'm looking forward to talking about this with you on Sunday. In the meantime, check out Ephesians 2:8-10, Ephesians 4:11-13, and James 2:14-25!

See you on Sunday,
Pastor Tracy

Wondering about the Greek word in our series graphic? Check this out!

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THIS SUNDAY

THE DISCIPLE
The Work

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+YouTube Live)
9:00 - Kids Church Online (Freedom Kids FB Group)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

DISCIPLE | The Habit (the best to-do list)

On Sunday we started our February series by literally getting to the heart of the matter... the fact that the life of a disciple of Jesus always starts with what's in your heart.

Whenever we talk about something more abstract (like, "the heart"), I'm always drawn to the next question... How can I make that happen in my everyday life? How can I take a concept and make it something that I can work on? We can't just be navel-gazing, we actually have to live this faith out somehow, right?

Right. And that's why the next step for a disciple of Jesus is to practice spiritual disciplines. These are things we do consistently that help to strengthen and deepen our faith so that we can live out the commands of Christ in practical ways day to day.

We're going to get into them on Sunday - well, a few of them. There are lots to discover over a lifetime of serving Christ!

I'd love to hear from you on this one. Head over to our social channels (Facebook, Twitter, IG) and find today's post. It asks what spiritual discipline(s) you have found most beneficial in your walk with Jesus. Share your experience... you never know who it might help!

See you on Sunday,

Pastor Tracy

Wondering about the Greek word in our series graphic? Check this out!

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This Sunday

THE DISCIPLE
The Habit

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+YouTube Live)
9:00 - Kids Church Online (Freedom Kids FB Group)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

DISCIPLE | The Heart (let's start at the beginning, it's a very good place to start)

It's a new month and we have a new series coming at you on Sunday. To start 2022, we spent time constructing/reconstructing/renovating our faith. In other words, we were answering some of the most common objections to Christianity so that we have a firm foundation and understanding of what we believe and why we believe it. Also, my intention is to equip us to be able to share our faith with others. I trust January gave you some great construction materials.

I've been re-watching The West Wing lately and one of my favourite things is when President Bartlet finishes a task or makes a decision then turns to his staff and says, "What's next?" That's kind of the inspiration for our February series. When our faith is set on a solid foundation the next question we ask is, "So what? What's next? What do I do now?"

We're going to build some walls and rooms into our reconstructed faith this month and make sure we understand what it means to live out the faith that we have in Christ. What's first, what's next, what comes after that... What things should we be looking for in our lives if we are following Jesus?

First up (and always first) is the heart. It's not a checklist, it's learning to first and foremost check our hearts to find what motivates our thoughts, actions, and attitudes. We need to look for certain marks in our character before we talk about how that might look in our activities.

If you want to study ahead, take a look at 2 Corinthians 7:8-13 and James 5:13-16. These are the scriptures that are going to help us learn what heart of a disciple of Jesus looks like.

Looking forward to seeing you on Sunday,
Pastor Tracy

Wondering about the Greek word in our series graphic? Check this out!

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This Sunday

THE DISCIPLE
The Heart

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+YouTube Live)
9:00 - Kids Church Online (Freedom Kids FB Group)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

RECONSTRUCTION | Sharing Faith (it's 5th Sunday!)

It's 5th Sunday! This time around we're celebrating (as we usually do on 5th Sundays) and answering a question at the same time. The question is: should I talk about my faith? The celebration: hearing stories about how people have shared Jesus and found faith in Him. You are not going to want to miss a minute.

Pastor Erin will be leading us through the service and has another powerful resource for us as we construct/reconstruct/renovate our faith. Using some material from the Alpha Film Series, she will be equipping us with tools for sharing the life transformation that we've found in Christ... and the reason why we should.

To give you a head start, I've included the video from Alpha that she will be referencing as well as the transcript of the video (in case you prefer reading to watching). Take a few minutes to through this material and bookmark it for the future. Also consider if there is someone else who might benefit from it... and then go ahead and share it! Let's help to equip one another to share the incredible good news.

There are a few bonus items for you included in today's devo as well:

1. YouVersion Link: February Reading Plan (Bible in a Year)

2. Financial Update: December 2021

Scroll past the video to find those and enjoy. :)

Happy 5th Sunday!
Pastor Tracy

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Alpha Film Series, E14

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This Sunday

RECONSTRUCTION
5th Sunday: Should I Talk About My Faith?

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+YouTube Live)
9:00 - Kids Church Online (Freedom Kids FB Group)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

RECONSTRUCTION | Suffering

In case you're joining us for the first time this year, let me recap. (If you're not, scroll down for this week's Sunday prep video!)...

We're using Tim Keller's book Reason for God and it's companion study guide to give us an outline for our January series (called "Reconstruction") and it's a great place to start for a next step in your own learning and exploring.

Pastor will be bringing us this Sunday's message, "Good or Evil" and it's based off of session four of the guide and chapter two of the book. I encourage you to watch the session (here's a link for you or click below) and pick up a copy of the book if you can.

As you can imagine, there is much, much more to say about each of the topics we'll be discussing then we have time for on Sunday mornings. I encourage you go deeper and study more on each topic. They are all fascinating!

Praying for you as you go deeper,
Pastor Tracy

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This Sunday

RECONSTRUCTION
Suffering

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+YouTube Live)
9:00 - Kids Church Online (Freedom Kids FB Group)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.