Grassroots Church | Thunder Bay, Ontario

Jesus, Crowds & Healing: Part 3 – John and the New World

Pastor Keith looks at the life of John the Baptist. As a Jewish prophet, John preached a baptism for the forgiveness of sins and died for challenging King Herod’s willful disobedience to God. Through John's example, Keith explores the relationship between healing and obedience - and the role of doubt in our lives.

Jesus, Crowds & Healing: Part 2 – Sinners Up and Walking

Pastor Keith continues the series on Jesus, Crowds & Healing by taking a look at the paralytic man in Mark 2 as well as the woman who pours the alabaster oil on Jesus' feet in Luke 7. Please note: There were technical difficulties in recording this message so the message cuts out sporadically.

Jesus, Crowds & Healing: Part 1 – Return of the Prodigal

Pastor Keith begins Part 3 of our year-long series on Jesus with a focus on Jesus’s ministry of healing. He begins by following the connections Jesus made regularly between forgiving of sins and healing.  Jesus' healing ministry demonstrates the nature of his Kingship; dead are raised, lepers cleansed, demons cast out, humans freed for wholeness, community restored.

Jesus & Money: Part 3 – Striving for the Kingdom

In part three of our Annual Family Meeting on finance, Pastor Keith looks at Jesus and his admiration for the widow with copper coins.  As he discusses this episode in Jesus’s life, forecasts for us the Grassroots Financial Plan for 2018.

Jesus & Money: Part 2 – Shrewd Managers

Pastor Keith gives Week 2 of the annual family meeting on finances. He goes through how our community has done this year so far with our pledges, where our money has been concentrated, and how we’ve built for God’s Kingdom.  Keith reminds us that how we use our money has everything to do with how we worship God. He looks at one of the Jesus’s parable of the unjust steward in Luke 16.1-13.

Jesus & Money: Part 1 – Money & Worship

Pastor Keith begins his three week series on Jesus and money by looking at Jesus' teaching on money in Luke 12. In his ministry, we observe Jesus intentionally choosing a life of poverty, perhaps to make some sort of point, and having little regard for currency in paper or coin.  He also warns us that money wants our devotion.

Jesus in His World: Part 4 – The Lord of the Storm

Pastor Keith continues to help us get oriented to Jesus, to him as he was, in his first-century context.  So far, we've read about Jesus, the boy in Nazareth, in love with the Passover, His God, the Jewish scriptures.  We've seen him amaze wise scholars as a 12 year old and infuriate his townspeople as an adult with with same penetrating love for the Old Testament.  We've seen him stake a platform on the healing of the oppressors as a way to freedom.  We've seen him riding in as Israel's king at his final earthly passover. This week, Pastor Keith explores a little more of this world. He talks about the Roman empire and that Jesus's claim to kingship stood in conflict with Caesar's claim to be the Son of God.  And we see Jesus acting as if he is in charge.

Jesus in His World: Part 3 – A Prophet in his Hometown

The real Jesus, the one who came as King, disturbs us a little.  To know Him is to know the Palestinian Jew who lived 2,000 years ago. And to know Him is to befriend Truth, Grace, the greatest Treasure, his suffering, the power of resurrection, and the Great Shepherd.  To know Him is also to understand His unexpected view of God.  Pastor Keith explains why the crowd in Luke 4 were so delighted with Jesus when he read from the scroll in Isaiah yet turned so bitterly toward him a moment later.

Jesus in His World: Part 2 – The Palestinian Jew

Pastor Keith emerges into Jesus's life by surveying some biographical information about him and talking about intimacy with him. Keith looks at the implications on our lives as we seek to understand Jesus's family, personality, destiny, spirituality, and childhood experiences.

Jesus In His World: Part 1 – Jesus as King

Pastor Keith introduces his year long series on Following Jesus with a special Fall Kick Off at Grassroots.  Jesus is portrayed in culture in all sorts of ways - guru, warrior, hippy, stoic, etc. But Jesus was more than all of these things - the scriptures reveal Jesus as King. This is why the Pharisees were so disturbed by Jesus and ultimately why his own people rejected him. Jesus’s claim to Lordship should disturb us and if it doesn't, we should consider if we've been listening to who Jesus says about himself.