In our last series, we talked about loving our neighbours, and stepped through six shifts.  From stranger to neighbour to acquaintance to partner to friend to becoming “like family”.

It’s possible to become like family with a focused group of people, where you practice loving your neighbours within that small group, and see that spill over to others outside.

This series looks specifically at this stage of being “like family” with other followers of Jesus.  It’s called the church, believe it or not.  Important that explore what church means as we prepare to launch a new church in Ajax in 2014.

You probably have all sorts of preconceived notions of what that word means.  Attached you’ll find a video of some people on the street who were asked about what they think of when they hear “church”.

You can find the video here:

Question: When you hear the word “church” what do you immediately see, or think?  Make a list, there may be several.  What experiences have informed you?

Ryan Sim - December 16, 2013

Monday - A New Idea - The Night That Changed the Poor

Last week we started a new series called, “The Night that Changed Everything.” We’re looking at the significance of Christmas, a night that changed much more than most of us imagine. We’ll see its impact on five segments of society: The Night That Changed the Religious The Night That Changed the Powerful The Night That Changed the Poor The Night That Changed You The Night That Changed the Wise This week we’re looking at how it changed the poor. Often the poor are excluded from important events – there were reports of homeless people being temporarily removed from the streets before the Atlanta Olympics, for example. When the world was watching, Atlanta didn’t want them seeing poverty. But strangely, the Christmas story puts poor people front and centre. Mary and Joseph themselves are travellers with apparently modest means. The first visitors to see the baby are shepherds. We’ll explore this week why it’s significant that the poor are so prominent in this important event. Question: What role do the poor play in our world? Reminder: We are reading the Bible in sync as one community - so check out today's reading here.

Related Topics: Christmas, Poor, Poverty, Shepherds | More Messages from Ryan Sim | Download Audio

From Series: "The Night that Changed Everything"

In preparation for Christmas, our Daily Challenges are going to explore the lifechanging significance of Jesus' birth so long ago. It's more than a sentimental story, or a time for generosity, Christmas celebrates The Night that Changed Everything. We'll explore the original Christmas story from the Bible, and its impact on five kinds of people.

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