The shock, confusion and deep mourning of the disciples is turned to Joy as they encounter the empty Tomb and the risen Savior. He is alive! And now, before He ascends to the Father, the focus is on the task ahead for His followers. We are sent to proclaim Eternal Life in Jesus’ Name. But we can only do that through the indwelling power of the Holy…

In His prayer for all believers (“those who will believe in Me through [the disciples’] word”), focuses on Spiritual Unity, Heavenly Hope, and Perfect Love. Many see this as a mandate exhorting believers to work to build unity. It is not. We are exhorted elsewhere to seek unity (i.e. Phil. 2:1-4). But here, Jesus prays that we may be so united with…

Have you ever realized that your expectations were different from God's expectations? Have you ever wondered what happened in the history of the Bible from when Israel split into two kingdoms until the time of Christ? This sermon starts with a fictional character who gives a true historical account of those time frame. We see the character, Aaron, …

In verse 3, Jesus gave the essence of salvation - knowing Him. Here He gives 1) More of what it means to trust Jesus: Holding on the God’s Word and Living it out in our lives, 2) The Assurance we have in trusting Him: He keeps us and prays for us, and 3) the Mission we have as believers: As Jesus was sent into the world, so He sends us. To fulfill …

John 17:1-5 - High Priestly Prayer - Pt.1 - Jesus Prays For Himself Here we have the true Lord’s Prayer. But, since that names already taken, we call it the High Priestly Prayer because we have recorded the prayer of Jesus as He prays for Himself, His disciples, and for all believers. His prayer for Himself is that the Father would Glorify Him thro…

Through the Resurrection, we are born again and have living hope. In natural birth, a baby goes through an amazing change as it transitions from life in the womb (liquid environment) to life outside (oxygen environment). When we are born again, we go through another amazing change as we are filled with the Spirit and learn to walk by faith, not sig…

Jesus tells the disciples "A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father." They are having a hard time understanding, so He patiently repeats it in multiple versions until they start to get it. Embedded in the passage is a key to understanding the difficult sayings of Jesus: Ask. …

When the Holy Spirit works among God’s people, He doesn’t want the attention focused on Himself. He wants Jesus to get all the glory that people will be drawn to Him and find life. Because of this, we can be confident of the Spirit’s help when we seek to glorify Jesus with our lives. In this study, we look at some of the ways we can bring glory to …

Through the Prophetic Scriptures, Biblical Principles, and Personal Communication, the Holy Spirit shows us what’s ahead. Not just for all of us, through prophecy, but to each of us through His personal ‘voice’ to us as He leads us towards Heaven. Learning to discern His ‘voice’ to us is a life-long process that takes faith, perseverance, and a gro…

The Holy Spirit Guides Us Like the ultimate mountain guide, the Holy Spirit is with us to guide us, personally, throughout our walk with Jesus. The key is learning to recognize His ‘voice’ in the many ways He makes Himself known to us. The first step is being convinced that He does speak directly to believers - and that He really wants to speak to …

The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgement. That means He is whispering truth into the heart of every living soul. We look at what is meant by that - and how this should give believers confidence in sharing Life with the not-yet-believers around them.על ידי John Cowan

John 14:25-27 - The Ministries of the Holy Spirit - Pt.2 As He abides within us, as believers, the Holy Spirit teaches us and reminds us of the truth. The Bible is His primary source as He brings spiritual light to our minds and enables us to understand the Word of God. He also uses our daily lives as a ‘whiteboard’ on which He draws His lessons on…

Trying to live a fulfilling Christian life without relying upon the Holy Spirit is Impossible. It’s also Frustrating, Discouraging and can lead to Disillusionment. In the Gospel of John, Jesus not only stresses our need for the HS, He gives us 7 Vital Ways the Holy Spirit Helps Us - The 7 Ministries of the Holy Spirit. In Part 1 we have the first a…

“These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble.” (John 16:1). Jesus warned the disciples about what was coming so they would not stumble. To be fore-warned is to be fore-armed. To stumble is to become offended and tempted to fall away from our trust in Jesus. As believers we can stumble over persecution or suffering. We …

In John 15:1-17, we saw the blessings of abiding in Jesus: a fruitful life. Here, in verses 18-27, we get the cost of our union with Christ: Persecution. Jesus warned us, the apostles wrote about it, and now we are seeing it throughout the world. As wickedness increases, persecution against those who represent righteousness increases as well. How s…

John 15:1-17 - The Fruitful Life Just Adam & Eve were sent out to be Fruitful and Multiply, the Lord sends us out to be Spiritually Fruitful so that the Gospel will Multiply. In John 15, Jesus gives us the Importance of a Fruitful Life, the Key to a Fruitful Life, and the Marks of a Fruitful Life. The key takeaway is John 15:5 - “I am the vine, you…

Jesus has been telling the disciples that He is going away, but will still be with them (by His Spirit) - something that they ultimately won’t understand until it happens. So He also encourages them with a promise of peace, a reminder of Heaven, and an assurance of victory. Do we understand everything Jesus says? No. Can we trust Him anyway? Yes!…

The disciples will carry the gospel to the world. It’s being entrusted to them. Jesus is letting them know what they’ll need to accomplish the mission. Today, the Gospel is in our hands. We need the same instructions and tools. What is needed to do God’s work? Prayer, Obedience, and full dependence upon the Holy Spirit. Simple, but all-encompassing…

Life is filled with troubles, yet Jesus says “Your heart must not be troubled”. What’s the answer? “Believe in God; Believe in Me.” Believe - Trust - in Jesus. Simplistic? No. Simple. Trust Jesus, and Focus on Hope. Jesus is going to prepare a place for those who are His. And He’s coming back to take us to be with Him forever! The answer to a troub…

Jesus knew that Judas would betray him, but He chose him anyway. Not only did He choose Judas, He loved Judas and washed his feet along with the others. That’s what Jesus does. Jesus also knew Peter would deny Him 3 times, but He chose him and loved him also. Jesus loved them both, yet one returned to Him and the other went to hell. As Paul said in…

The crowds are swelling in Jerusalem for the Passover. Word of Jesus is spreading like wildfire - especially with the resurrection of Lazarus. The Religious leaders have made it clear they want to arrest Jesus and everyone is wondering “Will He come to Jerusalem?”. Yes, He’s coming. With the Triumphal Entry He proclaims Himself as the Messiah. All …

They were just shepherds. At the time, shepherds were looked down upon so much that their testimony was not considered reliable in a trial. Yet, that’s who God sent His Heavenly Choir to - to give the Greatest Message of All: “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.” (Lk. 2:11). Why? Because the Good News is…

Finally at the border of the Promised Land, God calls Joshua to step up and lead Israel in. There’s much to learn about God’s Calling here. Who God Calls: God calls those who are faithful, not necessarily talented or educated, but simply faithful. Why God’s Calling is Important: Because those who serve must have the assurance that they’re in God’s …

In this Bible Study on Sunday morning at Calvary Ottawa, Pastor Dan Schilke from Northgate Ministry was our guest. We looked at Paul’s final words in 2 Corinthians 13:14. He writes: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.” We were encouraged by the picture of the Trinity …

In this Bible Study from Pastor Steve at Calvary Fellowship on Sunday Morning, we returned to the verse by verse study of the Gospel of John. This week we looked at the story of Raising Lazarus from the dead. So often we get caught up in the miracle that we miss the purpose of the miracle. Pastor Steve reminded us that it is not enough to just beli…

This Sunday morning visiting speaker Doug Sprunt shared a word of hope from John 15:1-11. Jesus begins this passage with the two words “I am”. When we consider this truth and the 6 other “I am” statements of Jesus in John’s gospel, it is clear Christ is our sufficiency. Jesus then refers to himself as “the Vine” and his Father is the Vinedresser. O…

In Phillipians 3:12-14, Paul shares his Passionate Desire "to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me”. In the process, he gives us 5 Principles for Moving Forward in Life and our Walk With Jesus. 1. SOUND PERSPECTIVE - Have a realistic view of ourselves "Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect", 1. SINGULAR-…

KEYS TO JOY In Philippians 3:1-3, Paul exhorts believers to “rejoice in the Lord”. Joy is meant to be a fundamental part of believers’ lives - not a ‘bubbly emotion’, but ‘contented gratitude’ flowing from a settled confidence in Jesus. What a blessed state that is. Paul follows up by warning believers to watch out for that which can rob us of our …

Martin Luther King Jr said that Sunday morning was the most segregated hour of the week in America... it still is for the most part. But another type of segregation has existed in the church for a long time—it even plagued Jesus and led to His arrest and death. When self-righteous religiosity shuts out those who are considered to be in the margins …

In this Bible Study from Calvary Fellowship in Ottawa on Sunday morning, Pastor Andy Falleur read John 10, where Jesus is once again, trying to help the Jews “see” that He is not only the Messiah, but God come in the flesh. He uses the provocative illustration of how He’s the good shepherd, and also the gate for the sheep. He once again, asserts cl…

In this Sunday morning Bible Study at Calvary Fellowship of Ottawa, guest teacher Gary Van Donkersgoed has a topical study on "The Rewards Offered To Followers Of Jesus". The study follows the word "Crown" in the New Testament, which is consistently applied as something promised to Christians. This is not something tied to salvation or faith in gen…

John 9:1-42 "Visual Aid" In this Bible Study from Sunday morning at Calvary Fellowship of Ottawa, Pastor Andy Falleur read John 9 and talked about how the blind man there was a visual aid to Jesus’s declaration: “I am the light of the world.” It’s possible that he didn’t have eyes, because Jesus put dirt in his eyes, and no one recognized him after…

In this Bible Study from a Sunday morning at Calvary Fellowship of Ottawa, Pastor Andy Falleur reads from John 8:12-59, where Jesus is in a heated discussion with the Pharisees and Jews in Jerusalem about his origins. It’s a conversation that Jesus wants to have, and they are asking questions that he wants them to ask. He’s trying to get them to th…

John 8:1-11 - "I See You" In this Bible Study at Calvary Fellowship of Ottawa on Sunday morning, Pastor Steve Weir read to us from John 7:53-8:11. He began with talking about textual criticism, breaking it down into three simple steps: location (where were the scriptural fragments found?), timing (what is the date of the fragments found), and numbe…

In this Bible Study on Sunday morning at Calvary Fellowship of Ottawa, Pastor Andy Falleur reads from John 7. This is an interesting passage as it shows how Jesus planned the timing and the method of going public to the Jewish people during the Festival of Shelters. Here we see an example of the intersection between Gods’ sovereignty and human agen…

John 6:22-71 “Decision Time” In our Bible Study at Calvary Ottawa this Sunday, Pastor Andy Falleur read to us once again from John 6:22-71. This time, the “meeting after the meeting” captured our attention, as Jesus is digesting the conversation with his disciples. It’s a hard teaching, and instead of lightening it, or explaining, or simplifying it…

John 6:22-71 “Jesus is More than a King” For our Bible Study, at Calvary Fellowship Ottawa, Pastor Andy Falleur read to us from John 6:22-71. We have embarked on the conversation that Jesus has with the crowd of people that were part of the feeding of the five thousand earlier in the chapter. They eventually caught up with Jesus, and in the convers…

John 6:22-71 “Unless You Eat My Flesh and Drink My Blood” In this Bible Study from Sunday morning at Calvary Fellowship of Ottawa, Pastor Andy Falleur reads to us for a third time this conversation between Jesus and the crowd of 5k that He had miraculously fed the day before. They had wanted to make him king by force and he had retreated from them.…

John 6:22-71 “The Father Gives, Draws and Grants” In our Bible Study this Sunday at Calvary Fellowship, Pastor Andy Falleur read John 6:22-71 and this time, we looked at the statements that Jesus makes about the Father giving, drawing and granting people to the Son. Many times, they have been understood from the view of individual election, or pred…

Call Me, Peter! In our Sunday Bible Study at Calvary Fellowship, we had a special visit from Saint Peter as Pastor Steve Weir provided for us a dramatic presentation of the Gospel through the eyes of Simon Peter. We were able to experience the joys and disappointments of the life of Peter as he followed Jesus, denied Him and ultimately was restored…

John 6:1-21 “Jesus is Majestic” In our Sunday Bible Study at Calvary Fellowship, Pastor Andy Falleur read from John 6:1-21, the familiar stories of Jesus feeding the five thousand and then immediately afterwards walking on water. The historicity of these events are solid, and it was good to take a fresh look at them, especially in the way that John…

In our Bible Study this Sunday at Calvary Fellowship, Pastor Andy Falleur read to us from John 5:31-47, where we once again returned to Jesus’s Monologue to the Jewish Leaders. In reading the whole monologue, Jesus makes 4 claims to divinity, and then discusses the testimony, the proof, the evidence that his claims to divinity are valid. In the clo…

John5:17-47 - Jesus Can't be Cancelled In our Bible Study at Calvary Fellowship of Ottawa, Andy Falleur continued in John 5, where Jesus makes by his count, four claims to divinity. He says to the Jewish leaders not only that He is the Messiah, but that He is equal to God. We spent our time looking at those claims and what Jesus is saying and what …

John 5:1-16 “Pickup Your Mat” Our Bible Study this Sunday at Calvary Fellowship of Ottawa was from John 5:1-16, where Jesus heals a disabled man at the pool of Bethesda. We took a few minutes to talk about the manuscript variation there, and then saw the connection through contrast with the healing of the official’s son at the end of John 4. Beyond…

John 4:43-54 In this Bible study, of John 4:43 - 4:54, we saw how the Galileans seemed to welcome Jesus with great excitement, but only wanted him for what he could do for them and did not honour him, treasure him, or believe in him as Messiah. This contrasts with the faith of the Samaritans who took him at his Word. This passage shows how familiar…

Ephesians 1 - Trinity - Who is God In this Bible study at Calvary Fellowship in Ottawa, Kristian Landry takes us through a Bible study on the Holy Trinity. The Trinity is hinted at in the OT, but revealed in the Incarnation of the Son and outpouring of the Spirit. Christians have disagreed on many things, but we all agree on this. In the one being …

John 4:4-42 - The Encounter Pastor Steve Weir shows us from John 4 how intentional Jesus was to have an encounter with a seeking and shamed Samaritan woman - an outcast of outcasts, and how through this encounter with Jesus, this woman was restored and became a witness for Jesus. He concludes by reminding us that Jesus is ready and able to have tha…

John 3:22 - 4:3 - Disputes Among Disciples In this Bible study of John’s gospel at Calvary Fellowship in Ottawa, Pastor Andy Falleur reads the passage and then shows some of the allusions that the Apostle John makes in the way that he writes about Jesus and John the Baptist. The main and plain of the passage though is regarding a dispute among the …

John 2:23 - 3:22 - God Loved In this Bible study, of John 2:23 - 3:22, we saw how Jesus didn’t “entrust” himself to the people that believed in him, and our natural question is why. We explored some of the reasons that have been offered and then examined how John the Apostle tells of the conversation that Jesus had with Nicodemus in the following s…

John 2:13-22 His Disciples Remembered In this Bible Study from the Sunday morning gathering at Calvary Fellowship of Ottawa we read from John 2:13-22 where John the Apostle tells us what happened when Jesus cleansed the temple. The main point being proven is that Jesus is God, but the way John the Apostle shows that is interesting and indirect. The…