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 23, 2013

Monday - A New Idea - The Night That Changed You

The Night that Changed Everything

We are in 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 Four of the five happened long ago, with categories of people who look different today – our wise aren’t Magi, our poor aren’t always shepherds, and our powerful are seldom kings. Today, we’re looking at how it changes us today, not just those long ago. We’re looking at how it changes me, and you. How can the birth of a baby 2000 years ago impact people today? Whatever the reason or mechanism, we can simply note that it has. We still date years with AD/BC – a dating system intended to be based on Christ’s life. In popular culture, we see much discussion of Jesus, with new books, blogs and films created regularly. People still quote Jesus to prove their points. And of course, many people like myself will tell you Jesus is alive and well in their lives today. Question: What impact do you see Jesus having in the world today? Reminder: We are reading the Bible in sync as one community - so check out today's reading at https://www.redeemthecommute.com/readingplan Reminder: The best way to grow spiritually this year is to join our Christianity 101 in the Cafe Course in Pickering starting January 22nd. Register for you and a friend today at https://www.redeemthecommute.com/events/!

Related Topics: Christmas | 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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