Church 21 West Island - Sermons

Does Christianity Work? February 26, 2017  

Prayer | First Things First 8 January 2017 / Dustin Boreland Prayer is the most important aspect of the Christian life. We start 2017 by looking at how Jesus defined prayer and how we too, can find answers to all of the questions we have about the what, why, and how of a healthy prayer life. Acts 2:42-47 

The Loved and the Loveless | Loving Our Enemies 12 December 2016 / Dustin Boreland Loving people who love us back is challenging enough. What about loving people who don’t love us back? Is it even possible to love someone who has hurt, abused, or rejected us? It’s crazy and unfair to ask someone to love people who have wounded them. Yet Jesus commands it. In Luke 6:27-28, Jesus commands his disciples: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” The only way we can live this out is by understanding that Jesus already has. And he still does. Without Jesus, we are God’s distant loved ones, incapable of making up for all the times we’ve hurt Him. 1 John 3:11-14; John 15:17-19

The Loved and the Loveless | Loving One Another 4 December 2016 / Dustin Boreland Love is hard. Especially when we know someone really well. Often, loving people closest to us is more challenging than loving acquaintances or casual friends. Active, committed love requires knowing someone deeply, flaws and all. This week in our study of 1 John we look at what it really means to love others as God loves us. The way we love others reveals how we understand God's love for us. And nothing could be more important. 1 John 4:7-12; John 13:34-35

The Loved and the Loveless | Loving Yourself 20 November 2016 / Dwight Bernier You don’t love yourself enough. I’m sure of that. As we start a four-week series on the book of First John, The Loved and the Loveless, we will see that God wants for us to experience love in at least four different ways: with self, with God, with others, and with enemies. This week, we will zoom in on how we love ourselves. The world and Jesus want us to love ourselves - but the approach is radically different. One lasts for a moment and leaves us wanting, while the other is permanent and allows us to overflow.

Rebuilding Québec | Rebuilding Requires Continual Reform 13 November 2016 / Dwight Bernier If God is rebuilding Québec in an entirely new way, change will be something we experience on a very regular basis. But if God is rebuilding Québec, then I want for us to embrace all the changes as they are part of his renewal project for all things.  

Rebuilding Québec | Rebuilding Requires Relocation 6 November 2016 / Dwight Bernier For those around Jerusalem, God was calling some of them to move into a city that was in the process of being rebuilt. There wasn’t much for them in the city - except God’s promises and His presence through the temple - which are pretty epic. But moving means leaving somewhere to rebuild life somewhere new. And that is never easy. This week in our Rebuilding Québec series, we will look at the reality that rebuilding requires relocation. We will look at Nehemiah 11-12 - and see what God did through His people 2500 years ago, while also dreaming of what God might do through leaders, relocating, and rejoicing. 

Rebuilding Québec | Rebuilding Requires Completion 23 October 2016 / Dwight Bernier Rebuilding requires completion. Of course. That is obvious. But often we do not think of the end goal because there are so many other things screaming for our attention. Nehemiah experienced the same reality that we do. He was given a task and there were three things that were like sirens, attempting to move him away from the construction of the wall and leading the people.The three things were: distractions, discouragement, and disqualification.     

Rebuilding Québec | Rebuilding Requires Everyone 2 October 2016 / Dwight Bernier Rebuilding requires everyone. This is the reality that we will see in Nehemiah 2.10-4.23. Everyone was necessary for the rebuilding to actually happen. The same is true in Québec. If transformation is going to take place in Québec, then it will require all of God’s people working together in unity and love for the good of the kingdom and the province. Nehemiah 2.9-4.23  

Take Me To Church | Church: Cult for Brainwashing, Money, & Power 18 September 2016 / Dustin Boreland Many people in Québec have had at least one negative experience with the church. Some have been personally hurt by leaders in the church, others have felt manipulated for their commitment, time, and money, while others still have been subjected to harsh criticism from people within the church. Is this what Jesus intended for His church? This Sunday, we will dig into Jesus’s teaching to help understand the common perception that the church is a cult looking to brainwash people for power and money. John 12:1-8

Take Me To Church | Church: Homophobic & Sexually Oppressive September 11, 2016 / Dwight Bernier There is a predominant idea within Québec that the church is homophobic and sexually oppressive. In order to be a church that is presenting good news in a relevant way to the 21st century, we are going to address this perception this Sunday. The good news is that Jesus loves everyone and is ready to receive and accept people just as they are in order to transform them to be just as He is. 1 Corinthians 6.9-11

Take Me To Church | Church: Hypocritical Judges September 4, 2016 / Dwight Bernier Over 85% of 16-29 year olds believe the church is filled with hypocrites. A dominant perception in our post-Christendom culture is that the church is a breeding ground for hypocritical judges who are out-of-touch with reality. If you are a hypocrite - then this sermon will be for you. And if you or someone you know keeps their distance from the church because they think the church is full of hypocritical judges, come and bring them along. Matthew 23.1-12

His Story | A New World August 28, 2016 / Dwight Bernier We all dream of a better world. Individually, we feel incapable of making large scale changes for the better. Jesus not only offers a better world, but promises to give the best world to everyone who trust His saving power. Jesus’ work on the cross was simultaneously the end of death and the beginning of new creation. This is His kingdom promise for now and forever. 2 Corinthians 5:16–18; Revelation 21:1–5

His Story | Redemption Writ Large August 21, 2016 / Dustin Boreland Our culture is taken with the story of redemption. From major Hollywood blockbusters to bestselling novels, the story of rescue, redemption, and restoration dominate our social conscience. This week, we learn that God placed this desire in us because He is the only one who can truly save and redeem us. Ephesians 1:5–10; Galatians 4:3–7

His Story | The Fall August 14, 2016 / Dwight Bernier How do you define evil? Where do you draw your definition of good and bad from? The Bible teaches that we were made to experience life to the fullest; to experience the best of what creation has to offer. But, something changed. We were offered another way. This week, we look at the effects of sin and how the way of Jesus offers us a way back to life as it was always meant to be lived.   Genesis 3; Romans 3:10–12

His Story | Creation: By God, For God August 7, 2016 / Dustin Boreland The Book of Genesis is a book of beginnings that seeks to answer the ‘why’ and ‘who’ questions of our origins. Genesis was not written primarily as a scientific book, yet it contains important information about the origins of life and death, sex and romance, god and humanity, and sin and salvation. Knowing the God who created all things is to know the God who also re-creates. This is the good news that begins in Genesis and continues throughout the Bible and human history. Genesis 1:1–2:3; Colossians 1:15–20