Grassroots Church | Thunder Bay, Ontario

The Last Week – Part 3: The Shadow of Death

This week, on Palm Sunday, Pastor Keith remembers Jesus as King and follows him to the mount of selflessness. Bound by those he would have wanted to please and set free, he bears up under their mockery. Pitted against a killer, Jesus is condemned.  Unable to free ourselves for selfless living, we watch as Jesus dies for us. The question is: how do we handle that?

Jesus & the Kingdom – Part 4: Forgive the Debts

In Part Four of our series on Jesus’s teachings, Pastor Keith talks about the connections between cares, riches, and pleasures of life and unforgiveness. If life is a series of endless products, when our relationships fail us, we feel free to discard them as well. Exploring Jesus’s parable of the unmerciful servant, forgiveness, boundaries, and reconciliation in the Christian life are discussed.

Jesus & the Kingdom – Part 3: Servants and Slaves

In Part Three of our series on Jesus’s teachings, we will take some more time with Mark 10.32-45. Stressing Jesus’s call to his disciples to reflect his selfless love, we will explore how the cares, riches, and pleasures of life lead us to believe that life is about us getting served. Pastor Keith reads a few sayings from John of the Cross, a Christian master on selflessness and offers up some ideas about how to live of life of service, simplicity, and mission.

Jesus & the Kingdom – Part 2: The Greatest and Best

Are you stretched thin? Over-committed? Can’t really find time to be a disciple? In the second of five sermons on Jesus’s teachings, Pastor Keith continues on with the themes of devotion to God in an age choked by the cares, riches, and pleasures of life.  As we read about the time where Jesus’s disciples James and John, sons of Zebedee, were seeking to be the greatest and best, we consider our own life’s pursuits. In what ways to we want to be the best, or the greatest, and how does the pursuit of this choke us? Try to listen to your patterns of discontent and trace back to where you might be trying to have the best or the greatest, when maybe good is good enough. (Note: beginning of this message is cut off. Sorry :()

Jesus & the Kingdom – Part 1: The Sower

In this first message of the 5th part of the Following Jesus series, Pastor Keith looks at the Parable of the Sower. The idolatry, market, consumerism and self-help is collectively a $1 trillion industry trying to "choke" us. Keith looks at what it takes to be freed from these vices and to experience the deep, rich soil that produces growth and maturity.

The Hope of Restoration

As we enter 2018, our community is in need of hope - where better to turn than considering the restoration of all things, when everything that is out of sorts will be made right again. Steven looks at why the afterlife has traditionally not been a source of hope for many Christians and how the renewal of all things has the ability to transform our hope.

The Lord Is Born – Part 2: The Priestly Song

On our road to the manger in Bethlehem, we make one final stop, to listen to John the Baptist’s parents, Elizabeth and Zechariah, one final time. Pastor Keith looks at this story to see what we can learn about joy and worship as well as God's faithfulness.

The Lord Is Born – Part 1: The Virgin’s Song

This week Pastor Keith continues his sermon series on Jesus’s birth and the God-bearing life.  As we journey through advent, with shepherds, peasants, and kings, we follow this  family of Judean priests whose faith in God helped save the world. Keith takes a look at the Magnificat and discerns lessons for our lives as we enter the Christmas season.

Jesus, Crowds & Healing: Part 5 – Preparing the Way to Bring People to Jesus

This week, Pastor Keith welcomes friend and pastor Justin Simmons to teach as we enter the season of Advent. This ancient tradition of the church allows us to reorient our lives to God and His ways. Last year, Grassroots followed the Magi and the Christmas story in Matthew.  This year, we turn our sight to Luke’s account. John’s life was about preparing the way for Jesus, the righteous King.  Justin considers what it might look like for us to reorient our lives in such a way as to bring people to the Father.

Jesus, Crowds & Healing: Part 4 – John and the New World II

This week, Pastor Keith finishes off our focus on Jesus' healing ministry and the healing ministry he gives to us.  Keith continues to look at John the Baptist's final days and talk about the role of faith in our healing ministries.