mike

Haven't heard the sermon yet? Give it a listen: Tagged - Encounters with a Revealing God A close look at graffiti will reveal something about the artist behind the work.  This urban art form is a channel for self-disclosure.  Through the content and beauty of these expressions we learn something personal about the author. God is moving through time, 'tagging' human history with acts of self-revelation.  The transcendent Creator shows up in time and space

We took some time Sunday morning to discuss how vital it is for FV to participate in the life of the neighbourhood surrounding the church facility.  Like the exiles in Babylon we should heed Jeremiah’s call to seek the well being of the place in which God has planted us (Jer. 29).  A promise of blessing is linked to this prophetic call - if it prospers we will as well. Referencing a related Psalm, I

In effort to discover how to become Church without walls, we are being attentive to four specific contexts.  Our weekly teaching will include discussions regarding how to live missionally in each of these areas.  Last week we considered what it tangibly looks like to have Compassion for the Forgotten.  Our ministry among the poor and marginalized is theologically grounded in God's own preferential concern for the poor.  Social justice is not peripheral to faith but

Part 4 - Mar 18, 2012 Download In the story of Hagar and Ishmael, God is revealed as El Roi, the God who sees and is seen.  When faced with life's hardships we begin to wonder if God has forgotten us--if perhaps we've slipped off his radar.  But divine interventions cause us to realize that he has kept his eye on us the entire time.  Like parents watching from a bench while their

In the month following Easter we're taking several Sunday mornings to unpack the idea of Becoming Church Without Walls.  Over twenty years ago the pioneers of ForestView Church were inspired by the idea being a congregation without walls.  In the early days, it was a tagline that communicated the obvious - we didn't own a facility.  More profoundly, the metaphor communicated the kind of faith community we wanted to be. There was a desire to

Isaiah 6 is the story of God's seraphic love.  This vision of God provides us with a visceral account of what it is like for sin-stained humans to stand in the presence of a God who is completely other.  But just when guilt-ridden Isaiah expects to be destroyed by divine holiness, God extends his mercy instead.  Sin is covered, guilt is removed and a prophet is purified. Seraph properly translates burning one.  A casual reader

Part 5 - Mar 25, 2012 Download The narrative of David and Goliath is one of those feel-good stories where the underdog overcomes all odds to conquer a menacing threat.  Who can't help but cheer when the under-sized, inexperienced and ill-equipped David slays Goliath?  This is the stuff of summer blockbusters! But this story is also a reminder that the bible is full of violence.  It calls into question the morality of God

Great morning at FV on Sunday. . . lots of personal stories of encounter with God.  Several have mentioned how life-giving it was to hear others describe the details of first hand experiences with God.  Some even mentioned how desperate they were to be reminded of the reality of his active presence among us.  Keep the stories coming! In Abraham's encounter with God (Gen. 17) God reveals himself as El Shaddai.  For the most part