Pilgrim Church

FIVE SHIFTS OF TRUE REVIVAL + REFORMATION
A reformation is a period of recalibration and course-correction. Any community around for as long as the church will experience inevitable drift over time. Yet the Spirit has worked again and again throughout history to draw the church back toward its center. Key moments come when particular ideas and practices are rethought and core truths are rediscovered.
Rapid cultural and technological change, clergy scandals, church divisions, and political turmoil have resulted in a period where “deconstruction” is the buzzword. Many Christians find themselves rethinking their faith, and many outside the church dismiss Christianity as having nothing true or relevant left to say to the world.
THIS SUNDAY: Shift 4.5 Pentecost, The Spirit Shift
Acts 1:1-8, Acts 2:1-21, 1 Corinthians 12:12-14
The fourth element of this new Jesus-centred move of God is: “A clarified purpose and a fresh empowerment The Holy Spirit empowers us to partner in God’s work of reconciling all things.”  This Sunday, the church celebrates the birth of the church at the sending of the Holy Spirit. This start was marked by physical sensations and the strange gift of speaking in words and sounds the speaker did not learn. What can we learn about the strange gift of Speaking in Tongues for today?

5️⃣ Five Shifts of True Revival + Reformation: Shift 4 THE FIREPLACE INSIDE YOU
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​Acts 1:1-8, Acts 2:1-4, 1 Corinthians 12:12-14
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The fire inside you impels you to act. In this day, followers of Jesus need to have an encounter with the spiritual fire of God more than ever. We are called to learn again from the early church the Pentecostal Christianity that empowers us. The fourth element of this new move of God is: “A clarified purpose and a fresh empowerment The Holy Spirit empowers us to partner in God’s work of reconciling all things.”

🍊 Guest Ryan Guerra at Pilgrim Church
Join us in welcoming our guest, Ryan Guerra to Pilgrim this Sunday. Ryan is a Christian communicator, who lives in western Canada with his wife and two daughters and pours his time into teaching about the Bible and the way of Jesus wherever he can.

5️⃣ Five Shifts of True Revival + Reformation: Shift 3.75: A New Relationship With Power
Not so with you! - Jesus (Matthew 20:20-28)
“The way you think and feel and act about money, sex, and power, puts your heart’s treasure on display. Either God, or something he made. (MSP, J. Piper, 20).” We ask: With everyone clamoring to get their way at the expense of others, what would it look like for the church to model a radically different and altogether beautiful kind of power, and in the process, pointing people to a radically different and altogether beautiful God?

🎉 Join us in welcoming to Pilgrim guest Adam Dyer, the new Executive Director of Jesus Collective!
A local pastor in the UK, Adam is in Vancouver for the Regional Gatherings of Jesus Collective, and at Pilgrim to give us more perspective on the Jesus-centred Gospel movement.

5️⃣ Five Shifts of True Revival + Reformation - Shift 3.5: Reframing through Sacrificial Love - Money, Sex, and Power touch all people, everywhere, for all time—every thinker and spiritual path wrestles with them. Richard Foster points out, "The ancient monastic vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience were a direct response to the issues of money, sex, and power. Or think of the Puritans, who answered the question with their emphasis upon industry, faithfulness, and order (5)." There is a way that love, defined by Jesus, can help us live into these in life-giving ways.

5️⃣ Five Shifts of True Revival + Reformation, Shift Three: A New Relationship with Power
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Jesus and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit calls us to approach evil in a new way. Evil is overcome through the power of suffering love. The question we must ask is: With everyone clamoring to get their way at the expense of others, what would it look like for the church to model a radically different and altogether beautiful kind of power, and in the process, pointing people to a radically different and altogether beautiful God?

Easter Sunday, April 9th, as we celebrate the word that death has been defeated! “If you die before you die, then when you die you shall not die”. What does this mean for us today?

🚶 Pilgrim Journey - Easter Weekend 2023 - Holy Week - Good Friday Message with Shel Boese

5️⃣ Five Shifts of True Revival + Reformation - ​SHIFT TWO: A Bigger Gospel with Josh Liem - Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus the Messiah’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, where crowds laid cloaks and branches to welcome him as king. Less than a week later, the crowds crucify this Jesus, choosing to save another instead: Jesus-Barabbas. What kind of Jesus did they want? What kind of Jesus and gospel do we want? Join us to explore Jesus and the gospel that got him killed. Palm branches optional.
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Matthew 21:1-13; 23:37-24:2
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PALM SUNDAY, APRIL 2, 2023

5️⃣ Five Shifts of True Revival + Reformation
Shift One and 1/2: On the Road with Jesus
A reformation is a period of recalibration and course-correction. Any community around for as long as the church will experience inevitable drift over time. Yet the Spirit has worked again and again throughout history to draw the church back toward its center. Key moments come when particular ideas and practices are rethought and core truths are rediscovered.
Rapid cultural and technological change, clergy scandals, church divisions, and political turmoil have resulted in a period where “deconstruction” is the buzzword. Many Christians find themselves rethinking their faith, and many outside the church dismiss Christianity as having nothing true or relevant left to say to the world.
THE JOURNEY TODAY: Discovering Shift One to One and ½: Jesus Glasses to On the Road With Jesus
The reformation we need in the post-Christian, deconstructing North American church is Centering on Jesus. We unpack Luke 24 while we walk on the road to Emmaus with Jesus and the early disciples. Two big ideas give us five changes in how we do Christianity: “One: God always looks like Jesus, and Two: all scripture is properly read through him.”
LENT 5, SUNDAY, MARCH 26, 2023

5️⃣ FIVE SHIFTS OF TRUE REVIVAL + REFORMATION
Shift One: Jesus Glasses with Shel Boese
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Shift One: Jesus Glasses
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“God always looks like Jesus, and all scripture is properly read through him.” John 2:22 says that Jesus had to die and be resurrected before his disciples understood him and how he read scripture. We are no longer in “ordinary” territory—the resurrection itself is not “ordinary”. We may be dealing with something more radical than we’ve been taught to think.
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LENT 4, SUNDAY, MARCH 19, 2023

👋 Lent 3 - Second Corinthians Series Finale - Wounded Healers + Testing & Blessing
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Paul teaches three important principles for growth and maturity in wrapping up his letter to the Corinthians. These three principles apply to us and our lives. Maintaining a healthy church requires we are applying these energized by love.
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Wounded Healers + Testing & Blessing with Shel Boese
2 Corinthians 13

🎢 Lent 2 - TRUST (But Verify)
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Assume the best, it’s easy to assume false motives. In his work with and for the
Corinthians, Paul takes on some bad motives assigned to him. NT Wright tells us that Paul, in 2 Corinthians 12, responds with deep vulnerability to his “true gospel ministry... being misunderstood and attacked, including by those who ought to know better”. How can we learn to assume the best to foster a better unity in the church?
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LENT 2, SECOND CORINTHIANS SERIES
TRUST (But Verify) with Shel Boese
2 Corinthians 12:11-21
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SUNDAY, MARCH 5, 2023
10:30 AM (family Sunday + communion)

💣 Lent 1 - SECOND CORINTHIANS SERIES
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TRUE REVIVAL: Weakness as Power, Pain as Healing,
Struggle as Freedom
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with Shel Boese
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Our world is often driven by power games through numbers or telling stories. But when we choose to be counter-cultural and embrace our limits, we encounter a power we don't control and experience the potential of real joy, encouragement, and sustainable living. At our limits God meets us.

🏆 Holy Foolery: The 'One-Upper' with Shel Boese 

Do you have a friend (or acquaintance) that always has a better story than the one you just told? They are a one-upper! Religious one-uppers look down on you and others. Their identity and power thrives on one-upping, yet they live a lie. This Sunday, we look at one-uppers being one-upped by an ugly, awkward, and weak man. And we learn where the real power for living comes from: the downward path.

👿 The Devil in Our Midst with Shel Boese

2 Corinthians 11:1-15
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This past week there was a blow up in the USA over a demonic-themed Grammy performance (Sam Smith and Kim Petras' performance of "Unholy" left some calling it a satanic ritual). Should this worry the church? Or perhaps is there a much closer Satanic influence in our midst? In 1 Corinthians, Paul speaks of idol worship. But in 2 Corinthians he says that in the church, there are those who masquerade as “Angels of Light”. CS Lewis wrote, “He (the devil) always sends errors into the world in pairs—pairs of opposites... He relies on your extra dislike of one to draw you gradually into the opposite one. But do not let us be fooled. We have to keep our eyes on the goal and go straight through between both errors. We have no other concern than that with either of them.” Sunday, we look at the devil in our midst.

📡 Hearing God's Gentle Whisper with Darren Lof
1 Kings 19:1-12
Join us in welcoming Darren Lof to Pilgrim Church this Sunday!
Darren Lof has roots in the North American Baptist Church. He grew up in Edmonton and later moved to Vancouver. He was part of the Ebenezer Baptist Church family serving in various leadership roles, but left right before the pandemic to plant a new creative church in Steveston, called Gather Steveston, which is now in informal partnership with Lighthouse Church. Darren also is a Program Director with Pacific Life Bible College. He is married to Crista, and they have two adult children, Julia (married to Luke), and Cason.

📞 Q&A Sunday with Shel Boese and Josh Liem
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Questions and answer/conversation is an ancient teaching format. Several times a year we replace the reformation sermon with a live back-and-forth conversation with our very own Rev Dr. Boese and Pilgrim Church staff or guests. This is a great time to bring what's on your mind about Jesus, Church, Christianity and the world to a Sunday gathering. Check out the unique experience of Pilgrim Church in public!

🔎 Faith and Culture 2: What's to Eat? with Shel Boese

It’s impossible not to be located in a culture (or several). When we say “yes” to Jesus, we bring our culture(s) with us to him. How do we know what to honour, or modify with Jesus’ teaching, or turn away from? The Early church wrestled with this and it blew up around food. Food becomes a teaching tool for all things we bring from our cultures. Join us as we celebrate and wrestle with these important experiences.

WHAT'S TO EAT?
Faith & Culture 2 with Shel Boese
1 Corinthians 8:1-13; 10:23-11:1

🔎Integrating Faith and Culture with Guest Andrew Chan

Join us as we welcome Pastor Chan who served as Lead Pastor at Pilgrim, and is presently an Associate Pastor at Five Stones Church in New Westminster.

Integrating Faith & Culture with Andrew Chan
Mark 10:42-45

As followers of Jesus, we struggle to integrate faith and culture. Looking at the Cross-defined greatness, we see how culture and faith intersect to become a subversive new one voice humanity with a God-first mindset.

📝 Second Corinthians Series with Shel Boese
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Comparisons and assumptions are dangerous ways to miss God's work and the Spirit happening now in the people around us. This reduces us to consumerist judges. Can we discern quality from only the surface finish or a performance but miss the most important part—players centred on Jesus? There is a reason the judgement of God is coming on the shiny show church in North America.
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Second Corinthians Series with Shel Boese
HOLY FOOLERY: Part 1: Comparison and Assumptions
2 Corinthians 10:12-18

🌞 Breakfast Church and The Uninvited Dinner Guest

In Jesus' life, he's invited to several meals and hosts a few himself. We'll look at one where two people mess up all the cultural norms around food and conversation, giving a glimpse at what a healthy, healing, 'mess-with-our-comfort' meal looks like; and what a healthy church might expect with Jesus as the guest and host.

The Uninvited Dinner Guest with Shel Boese
Luke 7:36-50

*Due to Technical problem, recording is not complete.*

⏳ Advent 4 - Biblical Manhood with Shel Boese

“When male pastors call on us to recover something called “biblical manhood,” I suspect they’re not thinking of the silent, loyal Joseph submitting himself humbly to his wife’s God-given calling” -Michael Frost. On this fourth Sunday of Advent, we read one of the classic accounts of the birth of Jesus, and zoom in on Joseph—a model of openness and maturity in the face of cultural pressure and his own expectations.

ADVENT 4: Love
Biblical Manhood with Shel Boese
Matthew 1:18-25

⏳ Advent 3 - Santa Claus or St. Nicholas? with Shel Boese

This time of year images of Santa Claus appear and those in more culturally Christian areas speak of the "war over Christmas". But the war over Christmas really began in the Reformation, 500 some years ago when the church fought through many issues, deciding Christmas needed to go. In our desire for justice, we can go overboard—making the cure worse than the disease, killing things that can be redeemed, and forgetting continual negative posture brings no one joy. Justice and joy can hold hands!

ADVENT 3: Joy! Santa Claus or St. Nicholas with Shel Boese
Hebrews 12:1-2 ; Isaiah 35:1-10; Luke 10:21

⏳ Advent 2 - Wage Peace with Shel Boese

NT Wright notes, "There is no insight, no vision of truth, so noble and lofty that it cannot be perverted and made an instrument of human pride. Likewise, there is no small glimmer of light, no faint echo of reality, so small or corrupt that it cannot be taken into the service of the world's creator and rightful Lord...All truth is God's truth."
The Peace Jesus brings is not passive—it calls us into action and satisfies our hearts' longings. But we do wage a battle with various ideologies wanting to claim us vs. the way of Jesus. How do we fight these battles? Paul gives us some insights we will learn this Sunday.

ADVENT 2 Wage Peace with Shel Boese
2 Corinthians 10:1-11

⏳ Advent 1 - Giving Hope with Shel Boese

Giving produces hope in others and it changes the giver. The principle of synergy is woven throughout the Biblical story. God wants co-workers, mini-creators with Him. You have been given the ability to affect new life and bring uniqueness into the world. The church is a creative community working for not only the undoing of harm through healing, but the creative stirring up of gifts and innovation. God is able and is an enabler, in the BEST sense.

👑 Christ the King with Josh Liem

Do you feel scattered, anxious, or at a loss for how to cope with news about unrest and executions in Iran, or the mental health, housing, and opioid crisis in Vancouver, or paying bills amidst the third recession in three decades? The kings and kingdoms of this world will offer you solutions in exchange for your allegiance, but it is only Christ the Shepherd/Pantocrator/Crucified King that can promise true and lasting justice, peace, and hope.

Proper 29 - Reign of Christ, Year C
​Christ the King with Josh Liem
Jeremiah 23:1-6, Colossians 1:11-20, Luke 23:33-38

📅 God's Time - The Gift of a New Calendar
How do you mark time in your life? While we are called to stay awake in the present to experience God’s presence, we’re also called to remember in unique ways. Remembering, helps you understand where you are right now. But the calendar you keep shows what is important. Christians are invited not to get our worth in what we produce or consume, but in being beloved by a God who entered time and is moving us onward.

📆 The Power of Planning with Shel Boese 

In our Second Corinthian Series, Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, he shares his plans for poverty relief. This touches on themes of careful planning, authority, churches working together, financial accountability, and how structure—while not the main focus—can be important to apply in our own lives and community organizations

🌹 Brad Jersak at Pilgrim Church
Many people in deconstruction never had the benefit of experiencing God as real to them. He was an idea or ideology or theology or, at best, an old story feebly held together by scaffolding of apologetics and indoctrination. When life showed up with experiences their construct couldn’t bear, their faith crumbled with it. Those for whom God is real to them have generally had an experience of hearing God’s voice.

How can we as a faith community facilitate that in ways that “count” across temperaments and even beyond bounded-set Christianity?

How does God become real for us? When God talks back in a myriad of ways.

I've heard of a 'personal relationship', so when does it become personal or relational? When we learn how to hear God's voice!

🌊 Example or Warning? 

2 Corinthians 8:1-15
with Shel Boese - Who do you look up to as an example to follow in life? Some live with a spirit of abundance while others do not understand the economy of grace. We are invited to be gifting, giving, gracious, and greater people.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2022
10:30 AM (kids + communion)

🎧 HEARING GOD: The Contemplative Path to Hearing—In his new book Analog Christian, Jay Kim compared how society viewed cigarette smoking in the past to how we are blinded by the ways technology is harming us today, with study after study revealing the self-centric digital world decreasing contentment, resilience, and wisdom. (Digital Smoke, Analog Air).
We're relearning how to use neglected muscles and to breathe clean air—healing air— and exploring the contemplative path to hearing.

HEARING GOD: The Contemplative Path to Hearing
1 Thessalonians 5:17
with Shel Boese

💧 Grief and Moving On with Shel Boese
- 2 Corinthians 7:2-16

As we go through life, we wrestle with loss. Grief is the emotion we experience when we are aware of loss, but we cannot grieve what we don’t know we’ve lost. Grief can open up new life before us. In this passage, Titus and Paul teach us that sometimes we are called to grieve.

due to technical issue, the recording is not complete.

👂 New Series! Hearing God: Revelation, Still Speaking - How can we know God? How can we hear God? James KA Smith writes, “But the scandal and mystery and irruption of the Incarnation is the good news that God makes the first move, inviting us into enchantment by meeting us in our disenchantment. The wardrobe is a portal in our disenchanted house.” Join us this fall as we explore this topic and look into the concept of revelation this Sunday. You can hear, because God is still speaking.

🌳 Truth, Reconciliation, and Salvation with Josh Liem

Last week, we heard about survival through the residential school system. Where do Christians begin to participate in the healing and reconciliation process? What about immigrants and refugees fleeing their own persecution, only to find themselves somehow complicit in the injustices committed against the Indigenous? Join us this Sunday as we explore the connections between Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10 and us today, especially in the call for truth and reconciliation.

✂ SEPARATION 

Sometimes in order to grow you have to separate from someone or something—from an unhealthy relationship or a group that keeps you from your next level in life. How can separation be a good and healthy thing? Paul writes the people of Corinth telling them to “be separate”. This Sunday, we explore the power of separation.

⚡ HATE and Hyperbole with Shel Boese - Luke 14:25-33, 2 Corinthians 6:14-18
Today’s world claims to be more advanced, progressive, etc. but hatred is everywhere—even if we avoid the word. Jesus’ way is a path of love so how does he teach to 'hate your family and hate your possessions'? We’re even told to separate from or “cancel” some people. What do we do with these teachings, and how does context shed light on them? Are we called to hate in some cases?

🍜 SUMMER SERIES: Storytelling, Lord of the Table - Hospitality has rules in all cultures—when you're invited and when you invite. Often, it's tied to advancing oneself and networking. To Jesus, the networking that matters goes beyond people that first come to mind. The early church was respected but looked down upon because of who it invited to the dinner table. How closed is your table? What if your table was messier—exactly where you might encounter the power of the Lord of the Table!

💪 Summer Series: Storytelling - Jacob, The Angel, and a Name Change with Shel Boese, Genesis 32:22-32, Job
The story of Jacob provides vital information about the kind of relationship God has with the creation—and it’s not what you think. When we begin to understand the implications, it changes how we relate to questions, doubt, and ultimately ourselves.

Isaiah 5:1-7, Psalm 80, John 15:1-17
The parable of the Hedge and Vineyard is a repeating theme in the Bible. Some of us were taught to pray a “hedge of protection” around people, but what is the story behind this kind of prayer? What is the “hedge” and who or what is the “vineyard”? How can we apply this in our thinking and praying today?

📖 Summer Series: Storytelling, Stories & Faith
Stories have power. The telling of stories opens our imagination, seeds vision, and can empower us to act. A story can reveal what is wrong and spark ideas for solutions. Our capacity to see a vision of what is not yet through a mind open to the Holy Spirit, ties us to a Jesus-centred vision of our story.

🔥 SUMMER SERIES: Storytelling, Hadassah & Mordecai

Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22

When do you want to just blend in—maybe in your days of youth or in your career? What if something happens to make you question the compromises you're making with yourself? All human relations call for compromise. The book of Esther contains an amazing story of assimilation, resistance, vengeance, violence, and uneasy victory. We enter the story that the Jewish holiday of Purim comes from to further understand why the church keeps this book in our collection of inspired texts.

🔥 SUMMER SERIES: Storytelling, Christian Love, Luke 10:25-37
​The Good Samaritan—one of the best known parables of Jesus. Andrés left us with another one—the Woman at the Well, and gave us some alternative readings. What might be the alternative readings for this beloved story? Let’s explore the text and ask what it means for me, for you, for us, and for the churches?

🍍 The Comparison Trap with Felix Chan
Many of us have experienced the truth of the saying “comparison is the thief of joy”. No matter our stage in life, it’s something we all struggle with to different degrees. Ultimately, continually comparing ourselves to others often leads us to jealousy, pride and shame.
Yet the Gospel reminds us that we are fully known and loved by God. How do we ground ourselves in God’s acceptance instead of seeking validation elsewhere? This week we’ll look at the example of John the Baptist in John 3:22-30, and how he remained grounded in his identity. Let’s learn more about how to live satisfied and with joy, no matter our social status, wealth or influence.

The story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman in John 4 is quite rich and unique. In the words of Karen Gonzalez, “When Jesus encounters the Samaritan woman, he transforms her life, her view of herself, and perhaps even her calling. But she remains both a Samaritan and a woman —remade by the gospel, who finds her identity and purpose in her encounter with Christ and embarks on a journey to be like him”. Join us this Sunday as we dive deeper into these waters and discover the story of the Jesus who sees us and knows us.

🏃 The Seeking Father with Andrés Pérez
Luke 15:11–32
There are different tools (eg. The Four Spiritual Laws, The Road to Romans, Steps to Peace with God, etc.) which are sometimes useful to summarize the Gospel, but they all fall short in propagating our separation from God. Instead, in Luke 15, Jesus portrays the Father who seeks us.

🌿 Telos - A Series on Becoming Centred
05 - Discipleship in a Centred Way

How we speak and structure our church can keep people from the life changing power of Jesus. Or we can participate in sharing life together and walk this journey holding space for the Holy Spirit to work. One seems like a faster, more “organized” way, but its actual fruit is failure, deconversion, and hypocrisy. The centred way seems plodding, backwards and forwards, sometimes it appears “sin-endorsing,” but the results are more Christ-like people over the long-term.

🔥 Pentecost Sunday
Pentecostal Power: Power Games or Empowering Games?
Following Jesus on your own will be a failure. Full Stop. Jesus calls us to give allegiance to him, but we are called to operate with a NEW kind of power. How do we learn about that power? Where does it come from? How can it be different and destructive like the misuse of power we see all around us? Discover how to move from power games to another kind of relationship with power. There is power in the name of Jesus.

John 14:8-17 [25-27], Luke 24:49, Acts 1:8

💬 Q&A with Shel Boese, Andrés Pérez, and Felix Chan

Are you wrestling with an issue going on in the world or in your life that you want to ask and hear some discussion or a response to? No question is off-limits! This is Q&A Sunday at Pilgrim Church.

🌲 Telos - A Series on Becoming Centred 04 - Constructive Truth
​​To understand the commands, ethics... the “rules” of the New Testament, requires knowing that Love comes first. The facts on the ground have been changed by Jesus, and he attacks religion head-on. The Centred-Set Community learns to speak the language of gift, of grace, of curiosity before speaking about new ways of living. Our vision must be corrected before we see change in our lives and world.

💫 Telos - A Series on Becoming Centred - 03
Walls or Wells

​​We continue our Telos Series on being focused on the centre or the ends. Groups of people connect and relate in three basic ways: Bounded, Fuzzy, and Centred. In the New Testament, the churches are called again and again to reject all but one way of being together. As we build on the first two messages in this series, we will look at the difference between healthy and unhealthy use of guidelines (commands, rules, etc.) and why we tend to revert to non-Jesusy ways of being together.

💥 Telos - A Series on Becoming Centred - Join us as we welcome guest John Hau continuing in our Telos Series.
John Hau is the pastor of Reality Vancouver Church, father of 3, husband of Sarah, business consultant, and a below amateur athlete. When he's not doing any of those things, he likes to read - with his favourite book of the year so far being Build Your House Around My Body by Violet Kupersmith.

💭 Telos - A Series on Becoming Centred - 01 - Boundary Problems
Being more concerned with lines and boundaries, rather than a set direction, causes unnecessary confusion. We begin laying a foundation in this series about finding our centre and how that brings true clarity about our direction. Rev. 22:13; Gal 2:11-15, 5:15-16, Acts 10:10-44

When the Spirit comes on us, what do we become?  According to Acts 1:8 we receive power and become witnesses.  The fruits and gifts of the Spirit can still today bestow power and make us witnesses.

SUNDAY, APRIL 17, 2022 Resurrection Sunday Celebration

LENT 2022 - THE JOURNEY OF JESUS, Resurrection Sunday
History's Hinge: Easter
Acts 10:34-43 We believe in the resurrection because we believe in the God who is revealed as pure love. Love is the grid for understanding holiness, for understanding justice, for understanding forgiveness. Love never fails, nor does it coerce or force a right relationship. On the cross, the power of sin and wrath is exposed and absorbed by Jesus. We are free to choose to be "in-Christ" or to submit to powers of destruction.

LENT 2022 - THE JOURNEY OF JESUS In the 40 days before Resurrection Sunday/Easter/Pascha known as Lent, we are following the journey of Jesus from Baptism, to Wilderness, to Public Ministry in Luke.  

Palm Sunday, PUBLIC MINISTRY RAISE YOUR VOICE! Luke 19:28-40 There are silences that can destroy hope and feed oppression yet, at times, silence can be life-giving. Humans have used their voice to crush revolutions or bring a death verdict but we have the same power to use our voice to shout and dance ourselves to life! When hope in Jesus arrives on the scene, he calls and draws us to use our voice for a new vision of what can be. This Palm Sunday, we are called to shout for joy! There is a God who enters our world from the edges, the obscure places, and allowed us to kill him, to set us free from our own death by the power of his word.

📜 Lent 5, Public Ministry, ​SHOCK AND JUBILEE
For the final two Sundays in our Journey of Jesus Series leading to Easter, we turn to Jesus’ public ministry. Jesus reintroduces himself to his hometown crowd at a worship gathering and sheds new light on what the business of God and the church is to be about. He kicks off his public ministry with a “shock therapy” campaign aimed at the religious with hints of Jubilee (an ancient word that speaks to emancipation and celebration). We learn that shock and jubilee go together— the truth will set you free, but first it will make you angry. What's next is up to you!

LENT 2022 - THE JOURNEY OF JESUS
In the 40 days before Resurrection Sunday/Easter/Pascha known as Lent, we are following the journey of Jesus from Baptism, to Wilderness, to Public Ministry in Luke 3-4:30.

🌵 Lent 4, Wilderness with Andrés Pérez
​THE TEMPTATION TO BE SPECTACULAR
The third temptation to which Jesus was exposed was the temptation to do something spectacular. In the words of Henri Nouwen, “Jesus refused to be a stunt man. He did not come to prove himself. Don’t put the Lord your God to the test, he said (ITNOJ, 41).
We explore how the example of Jesus should challenge the way we respond to the temptation to be spectacular in a competitive and individualistic society.

LENT 2022 - THE JOURNEY OF JESUS In the 40 days before Resurrection Sunday/Easter/Pascha known as Lent, we are following the journey of Jesus from Baptism, to Wilderness, to Public Ministry in Luke 3-4:13.

LENT 3, WILDERNESS Every Square Inch of Creation is Claimed by Christ with Mark Glanville Luke 4:1–13 Costly allegiance to our king requires faithfulness in every aspect of our lives. As C.S. Lewis wrote: “There is no neutral ground in the universe: every square inch, every split second, is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan.”

🌲 Lent 2022, The Journey of Jesus, Wilderness: Temptation and Relevance - There is often more than one way to accomplish anything, but it doesn't mean every path takes us in the direction we want to go. People who follow Jesus learn to go about life wrestling with the right use of the power we’ve been given in the choices we make. Join us as we explore temptation.

LENT 2022 - THE JOURNEY OF JESUS
In the 40 days before Resurrection Sunday/Easter/Pascha known as Lent, we are following the journey of Jesus from Baptism, to Wilderness, to Public Ministry in Luke 3-4:13.

SUNDAY, MARCH 13, 2022
10:30 AM

SUNDAY, MARCH 6, 2022
10:30 AM (in-person + communion & prayer)
LENT 2022 - THE JOURNEY OF JESUS
In the 40 days before Resurrection Sunday/Easter/Pascha known as Lent, we are following the journey of Jesus from Baptism, to Wilderness, to Public Ministry in Luke 3-4:13

LENT 1, BAPTISM, Luke 3:21-22
This Sunday, we explore Baptism. The baptism of Jesus marked a start, a hinge point between the Old and New in the story of the Bible. Baptism is a physical act with spiritual impact. This ancient Christian practice is a significant pivot for Jesus, Pilgrim Church, and You.

We're exploring the difference between living in the old (pre-Jesus way) and the new (Jesus-way). How do we pick which parts of the Old Testament are still relevant today? Why is God (apparently) so harsh in the Old Testament  and so loving in the New Testament? We wrestle with these questions to understand the transition between old and new and what it means to live out the upside down kingdom here on earth.  Hebrews 8:1-13

⏳ "NOW!" in our Second Corinthians Series
Time does not stand still. We can't go backwards, only onward. As life goes along, we can be reactive and closed, or choose an open posture to the "now". Paul could have let his reaction to pain decide many things for him, but he chose the opposite—his pain informs but does not control him. He doesn't stay angry but understands a greater power is at work to bring relationships into a better place. He chooses the open path.
2 Corinthians 6:1-13

2 Corinthians 5:11-21 “Gaze” is a visual word used to speak about power, repression, and distorted human relationships. How we “gaze” on others, reveals our biases and assumptions, often our personal and social blindspots and sins of our cultures and families. Fascinatingly, in this text, the Gospel confronts the "Gaze" nearly 1900 years before 5:16 "we no longer see...” The church has often been co-opted by various visions and views that are not in line with Jesus, sometimes so much so that it ceases to be the church. Join us as we explore Paul's attempt to persuade these ancients, and us, to get a new view, to change our gaze on others.​

2 Corinthians 4:16-18, 5:1-10 We all long for an end to hardship and suffering. We all long to experience the peace and renewal of our eternal home in heaven. But how do we live in the here and now? Where do we find the courage to face each day’s challenges? Let’s look at how the future resurrection helps us persevere faithfully in every circumstance.

Always enlightening, entertaining, and sometimes life-changing—four times a year we use our teaching/proclaiming time for live questions. This week, Pastor Shel and Andrés enter a conversation with the questions from the larger group.

Memento Mori is a Latin phrase used to remind you that you will die. It has been used in various ways, even during medieval plagues, to come to terms with death. Paul, at the start of his letter, spoke of being faithful to Jesus' call in facing death. When we follow Jesus' teachings and share Christ, our awareness of death can be transformed into a source of power and life NOW! The power of death is changed in Jesus, for the sake of Jesus and in turn, Jesus transforms us as we face it.

✨ The Shiny Show in our Second Corinthian Series
Showman or Servant? Shiny or Simple? Staged or Sustainable? Acting or Accountable? We explore the call to authenticity and truth. Authenticity in life and ministry, assumes there is such a thing as inauthentic ministry. But to be a Jesusy human, our belief must be rooted in the pursuit of truth—continuously allowing the curtain to be lifted. Paul continues to teach us what real leadership looks like.

Spirit-inspired “seeing” of Jesus changes our being. Seeing his glory changes us to be more like him, from “one degree of glory to another”. You can strive or you can see your way into change. When faith moves from a mind-game into an experience we start to be changed. What you see, envision, you become. 

2 Corinthians 3:18, 4:6, 10:5; Romans 1:18-28,8:6-7; Ephesians 1:18; Philippians 3:19; Colossians 3:2-4; Hebrews 12:1-2

What threatens our flourishing? What does real freedom look like, and what gives us the power to be free? How does Jesus ground all freedom? What are practices that help us be empowered, confident people? 

The Apostle Paul addresses some issues from those who want to mix-and-match various religious traditions with Jesus, and why this does not work for freedom. A buffet does not grant the freedom it claims. There is a path that gives you power to live a fulfilling life of love—a Jesusy life. 2 Corinthians 3:7-3:18

Matthew 2:1-12 

Why do we worship? Does God need/demand our worship? Is there a “correct” way to worship? Why are the drums so loud? Where are the hymns?  We remember the story of the Magi following the star and making their way to meet Jesus so that they can bow down and worship him. We all worship someone/something. This Sunday, we explore why Christian communities all around the world have decided to worship Jesus for more than 2,000 years.

2021 Advent Series: Good Gifts, Spirit and Fire, Luke 3:16; 11:5-13 When you’re ‘caught up’ in music, games, a movie, dance, or something awe-inspiring, you experience a taste of how God wants to empower you directly, personally, and in/through your body and mind together. These signposts of play and beauty point to the creator who desires that you experience delight. Are you drawn to choose to welcome the power created in your body and mind to grow in love and care for others? Are your relationships taking the form of goodness and truth? This power is the presence and ministry of the Holy Spirit who makes Jesus real in you; power to live differently, power to preserve under pressure, power to reject choices that destroy love; power to speak words that advance the creational work of God—creating new things and situations where goodness and love grows.

2021 ADVENT SERIES: Good Gifts, Wholeness In Body, Luke 5:12-16; Genesis 2:4, 25, 3:7 Sexual wholeness is not simply about genital sexual relations (and all the debates), but a constellation of affirming actions in our relationships and bodies. We can cultivate healthy practices for our well-being that are part of the very design of being a body and name abusive touch and issues with the absence of touch. Join us as we learn from Rich Villodas and others about being cared for in a tangible way.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2021 10:30 AM (in-person + livestream + kids!)

NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-12-12-advent-series-good-gifts-wholeness-in-body.html
QUESTION?: question@pilgrimchurch.ca or text 604-426-1230​  
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2021 ADVENT SERIES: Good Gifts, Naked and Unashamed, Genesis 2:4, 25; 3:7 We are exploring more about the gift of the body, and in particular how the church often ignores our ongoing sexual formation, leaving it up to purity culture or swiping culture. Leaning into teaching from both the Deeply Formed Life, by Rich Villodas, and a bit more from Dr. McBride, we will hopefully learn new ways to think about the gift of sexuality and the body.

This Sunday, we look at the goodness of your body (Your Blessed Body). So often we miss this important and foundational aspect of our God-blessed humanity—having a body! Stewardship of our body starts with recognizing it as a gift. The Spirit of God often speaks to us through our bodies! God gives good gifts. The very act of creating the universe is an act of giving. This Advent/Christmas season, join us for an Advent Series on Good Gifts.​

John 1:14; Gen 1:27; Psalm 139:13(14)-18; 1 Corinthians 6:19 2021 

ADVENT SERIES 

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2021, 10:30 AM (in-person + livestream, KIDS!)

This Sunday we gather to celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. Christ is the most high King of the entire universe and yet also King of our hearts and calls us brothers and sisters. In doing this, Jesus models a new way of being human and invites us to become part of a new type of kingdom, one not of this world. This is an upside-down Kingdom of peace, in which the borders that separated humankind are rendered meaningless. (Mendoza, JEMRS, 1920. Bruxy, Reunion, p.121-130, 2017).

John 18:33-37 

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2021, 10:30 AM (in-person + livestream, KIDS! + baptism)  

QUESTION?: question@pilgrimchurch.ca or text 604-426-1230​  

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There is a “corpse flower” named “Uncle Fester” at Bloedel Conservatory in Vancouver that reeks of rotting flesh when it blooms. Its smell is irresistible to the insects which pollinate it. The ancient church leader, Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians says, God uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. “For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life.” Does our community pass The Smell Test?  Second Corinthians Series, 2 Corinthians 2:14-3:6

Church discipline sounds like a scary thing. We’ve heard of stories where it was used to cover up abuse and shame victims. But the misuse of a thing does not mean it should be avoided, rather we pursue a proper use. Paul writes and then visits the Corinthians to practice healing through expressing love in its truth-telling, boundary-setting, forgiving, and enabling expressions. We can learn practices that move us into greater relational health in our community. Second Corinthians Series, 2 Corinthians 1:23-2:11

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2021, 10:30 AM (in-person + livestream, communion)  

QUESTION?: question@pilgrimchurch.ca or text 604-426-1230​  

GIVE PILGRIM: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/give.html

CONNECT: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/connect.html

2 Kings 6:8-23 Prophetic Imagination. There is a theme in scripture that we live in a creation full of God's Spirit with other powers at work. By only believing what our physical senses can experience, aided by technology, we have dulled our spiritual senses to what is real. But the imagination of God calls us to an overlapping physical and spiritual world. Awakening to the Spirit changes how we understand and live in the creation. 

1 Corinthians 2:14–16, Matthew 11:15, Revelation 3:22, 2 Corinthians 5:7  

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One of the most important practices of Jesus was finding rest and making time for Sabbath. In a digital age with seemingly constant demands on our time and energy, imitating His example is more important than ever. Let’s consider how we can practically live out the restfulness of Jesus. Join us to hear from Felix Chan. Felix and his wife, Jessica, serve university students with Power to Change at UBC. Their mission is to help students discover Jesus and make His name known! They primarily engage students through one-on-one discipleship and evangelism, small groups, weekly services, retreats and local and global missions.

10:30 AM (ONE GATHERING In-person + livestream, kids!, IBC campus) 

GIVE PILGRIM: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/give.html 

GIVE IBC: https://www.immanuelbc.ca/give 

CONNECT: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/connect.html

2 Corinthians 1:12-21 Buying a home is a process that requires a down payment—a significant amount of money indicating the seriousness of the purchase to come. Following Jesus is not “blind faith” but responding to the down payment he offers you/us. This text calls us to understand relationship as the revelation of the one-of-a-kind God we get in Jesus. Down Payment creates space for the relationship and resources to be developed and shared.

This week, we begin a verse-by-verse series through 2 Corinthians with some introductory teaching and a look into chapter 1. Paul is writing for the fourth time (at least that we know of) to this church in Corinth. It has been under attack from within by those wishing to draw them away from a Jesus-centred faith. We learned in 1 Corinthians that they were drawn towards prideful performance, had a critical view of Paul's outward presentation, and were drawn into high rhetoric and spiritual experiences. Now they add money to that mix.  

10:30 AM (ONE GATHERING In-person + livestream, kids!, communion, IBC campus) 

QUESTION? Text: 604-426-1230 

QUESTION? EMAIL: question@pilgrimchurch.ca 

GIVE PILGRIM: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/give.html 

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CONNECT: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/connect.html

Matthew 22:37-40, 11:19,10:34-36 “Love, in practice, is a harsh and dreadful thing compared to love in dreams.” Loving well is the goal of the Christian life. Jesus preached great messages to the crowds, but he knew it was not enough for people to “get it”. He did life together with closer disciples for three years in a small group. Story-telling and listening to speeches are not enough to move beyond emotional infancy. Many models of church fail to create disciples because they do not cause us to go deeper. Join us as we talk about being WITH people.  

10:30 AM (ONE GATHERING In-person + livestream + Communion, IBC campus) 

QUESTION? Text: 604-426-1230 

QUESTION? EMAIL: question@pilgrimchurch.ca 

GIVE PILGRIM: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/give.html 

GIVE IBC: https://www.immanuelbc.ca/give 

CONNECT: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/connect.html

Four times a year we open our Sunday teaching time to live Questions and Response/Answer via text and email. This is a great time to ask questions you've had over the last three months.  

10:30 AM (ONE GATHERING for September Sundays, In-person + livestream + KIDS!, IBC campus) 

QUESTION? Text: 604-426-1230 

QUESTION? EMAIL: question@pilgrimchurch.ca 

GIVE PILGRIM: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/give.html 

GIVE IBC: https://www.immanuelbc.ca/give 

CONNECT: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/connect.html

When He Appears. As we learn of the core things surrounding the return of Christ, we’ll look at three views of "the Millennium"—what can we all agree on and what should clearly be labelled as secondary.  

10:30 AM (ONE GATHERING for September Sundays, In-person + livestream + KIDS!, IBC campus) 

QUESTION? Text: 604-426-1230 

QUESTION? EMAIL: question@pilgrimchurch.ca 

ONLINE NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-09-19-the-end-is-the-beginning.html

PDF NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-09-19_notesdiscussion.pdf

GIVE PILGRIM: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/give.html

GIVE IBC: https://www.immanuelbc.ca/give

CONNECT: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/connect.html

Biblical Beliefs of the End Times Have you been taught to read the Book of Revelation like a horoscope? Christians with a high view of the Bible have not agreed on how to understand the events that come before the Return of the Lamb/King. This Sunday, we look at three views of "the Millennium"—what can we all agree on, and what should clearly be labelled as secondary. We continue the conversation about the Mark of the Beast, Mark of the Lamb, Anti-Christ(s), and our relationship with our earthly "Babylons".  

10:30 AM (ONE GATHERING for September Sundays, In-person + livestream + KIDS!, IBC campus) 

QUESTION? Text: 604-426-1230 QUESTION? EMAIL: question@pilgrimchurch.ca 

ONLINE NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-09-12-conquering-lamb.html 

PDF NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-09-12_notesdiscussion.pdf 

GIVE PILGRIM: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/give.html 

GIVE IBC: https://www.immanuelbc.ca/give 

CONNECT: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/connect.html

As our province requires people to be vaccinated to access certain services and spaces an old track of end-times prophecy sermons starts to play in the back of my mind.  Revelation 13:17 says "And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." 

How do we respond to governments when they introduce increasing restrictions (always in the name of the public good)? What tensions do we need to live with, and when do we say "no"?

10:30 AM (ONE GATHERING for September Sundays, In-person + livestream + KIDS!, IBC campus) 

QUESTION? Text: 604-426-1230 

QUESTION? EMAIL: question@pilgrimchurch.ca 

PDF NOTES: http://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-09-05_notesdiscussion.pdf

ONLINE NOTES: http://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-09-05-666-mark-of-the-beast.html

GIVE PILGRIM: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/give.html

GIVE IBC: https://www.immanuelbc.ca/give

CONNECT: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/connect.html

Simple Church, Boundaries, and Limits (Jesus) Saying "no" to something means saying "yes" to something else. Are you shamed by secular or religious activism into saying "yes" to too many people and things? One aspect of emotional maturity is learning the importance of "no". Jesus encourages us to filter our "yeses" and our "nos" in a way that helps us flourish, even if others get upset by our "nos". 

ONLINE NOTES: http://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-08-29-peace-with-self-series-the-power-of-no.html

QUESTION? Text: 604-426-1230 

QUESTION? EMAIL: question@pilgrimchurch.ca 

GIVE PILGRIM: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/give.html

GIVE IBC: https://www.immanuelbc.ca/give

CONNECT: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/connect.html

Join us as we welcome Dr. Ng back for the third time at Pilgrim. Edward En-Heng Ng is a Registered Psychologist in private practice in Vancouver. Ed was a high school science teacher for five years in Vancouver and Hong Kong, and after attending Regent College (MDiv 2008), he pastored in a small congregation for another four years, he enrolled at Fuller Theological Seminary’s Graduate School of Psychology (Pasadena, CA), from which he graduated with a Doctor of Psychology degree in 2016. During his doctoral studies, Ed was introduced to the field of cultural psychology, which focuses on how people groups tend to speak of themselves instead of relying on Western psychology to describe them. Ed’s enduring academic interest since then has centred around critical psychology and the applications of cultural psychology and relational psychoanalysis to clinical or counselling contexts. Ed has taught at Trinity Western University and Regent College in the areas of diversity and counselling. He is also the founder of the Eastgate Project and hosts its podcast, which focuses on the intersections of psychology, theology, and the experiences of the Asian diaspora. Ed lives in Richmond, BC, with his wife and two sons. 

GIVE PILGRIM: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/give.html 

GIVE IBC: https://www.immanuelbc.ca/give 

CONNECT: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/connect.html

SUNDAY POWER
Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:2, 2 Timothy 2:14-15, James 3:.1, 2 Timothy 4:3, Revelation 1:10, John 4:21-24
We usually only learn to release the need to control circumstances or situations by an experience of “The Wall” or what is often called deconstruction. When we let go of this false power and control, we mature and receive the very life we were trying to achieve. This is an upside-down life principle. We don’t give up our personal say-so or power, but when faced with challenges, we learn to lean into grace, and become graceful.

LET GO! Releasing Power and Control Matthew 5:3 We usually only learn to release the need to control circumstances or situations by an experience of “The Wall” or what is often called deconstruction. When we let go of this false power and control, we mature and receive the very life we were trying to achieve. This is an upside-down life principle. We don’t give up our personal say-so or power, but when faced with challenges, we learn to lean into grace, and become graceful.  

9:30 AM (In-person + livestream, Pilgrim campus)
11:15 AM (In-person + KIDS!, IBC campus)  

ONLINE NOTES: http://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-08-08-peace-with-self-series-through-the-wall-of-deconstruction.html
PDF NOTES: http://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-08-08_notesdiscussion.pdf  

QUESTION? Text: 604-426-1230 QUESTION?
EMAIL: question@pilgrimchurch.ca
GIVE PILGRIM: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/give.html
GIVE IBC: https://www.immanuelbc.ca/give
CONNECT: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/connect.html

Releasing Power and Control, 2 Corinthians 12:8-10 "In emotionally healthy churches, people live and lead out of brokenness and vulnerability. They understand that leadership in the kingdom of God is from the bottom up, not a grasping, controlling, or lording over others. It is leading out of failure and pain, questions and struggles—a serving that lets go. It is a noticeably different way of life from what is commonly modeled in the world and, unfortunately, in many churches" (EMC 114). 

9:30 AM (In-person + livestream, Pilgrim campus) 

11:15 AM (In-person + KIDS!, IBC campus) 

ONLINE NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-08-01-peace-with-self-series-let-go.html

PDF NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-08-01_notesdiscussion.pdf

QUESTION? Text: 604-426-1230 QUESTION? 

EMAIL: question@pilgrimchurch.ca 

GIVE PILGRIM: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/give.html

GIVE IBC: https://www.immanuelbc.ca/give

CONNECT: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/connect.html

Emotionally healthy spirituality is about reality, not denial or illusion. It is about embracing the reality that we were birthed into a particular family, in a particular place, at a particular moment in history. This week we explore this second principle of emotional health. True spirituality frees us to live joyfully in the present. However, it requires going back in order to go forward. To do this we must learn to break free from destructive and toxic patterns of our past to live the life of love God intends, which is the very heart of spirituality and discipleship in the family of God. (Scazzero, EHS, 93, Revised). Join us as we continue to walk together in this journey towards healing and reconciliation in Christ! 

9:30 AM (In-person + livestream, Pilgrim campus) 

11:15 AM (In-person + KIDS!, IBC campus) 

ONLINE NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-07-25-peace-with-self-series-go-back-to-go-forward.html

PDF NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-07-25_notesdiscussion.pdf

QUESTION? Text: 604-426-1230 QUESTION? 

EMAIL: question@pilgrimchurch.ca 

GIVE PILGRIM: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/give.html

GIVE IBC: https://www.immanuelbc.ca/give

CONNECT: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/connect.html

PEACE WITH SELF SERIES Know Yourself, Looking Below the Surface You are an iceberg; there is far more to you than meets the eye. Psalm 139:23 declares, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts”.  What happens when we forget this principle and the underlying things in our lives go unobserved? We already believe we’re aware of what is going on inside of us. The truth is most of us have not allowed Jesus to transform the deep layers underneath the surface. This week we explore this first principle of emotional health. There is a big break, a big wall, between who we really are right now and the image we portray. Inside of us, there are forces and motivations that need to be examined. This is at the center of becoming a saint, of maturing, part of the work of being a Christian, and the church. 

Ask better questions and know yourself! 

9:30 AM (In-person + livestream, Pilgrim campus) 

11:15 AM (In-person + KIDS!, IBC campus) 

ONLINE NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-07-18-peace-with-self-series-know-yourself.html 

PDF NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-07-18_notesdiscussion.pdf 

QUESTION? Text: 604-426-1230 QUESTION? 

EMAIL: question@pilgrimchurch.ca 

GIVE PILGRIM: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/give.html 

GIVE IBC: https://www.immanuelbc.ca/give 

CONNECT: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/connect.html

We're developing a discipleship course about Peace with God, Others, Self, and Stuff. In 2021, our major teaching focus is on core discipleship, of course with Covid, etc., this is not always easy. We encourage you to make church gathering a priority in your schedule, and when you can't, at least go back and listen to the teachings.  On Sunday, we're introducing Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. Coming out of the trauma that Covid (and the restrictions) have caused the church and society, it's vital we learn more about emotional health. Much of what is called sin in the New Testament directly relates to our emotions and how we treat ourselves and others. "The link between emotional health and spiritual maturity is large. For too long we have delegated "emotional" issues to the therapist's office while ignoring the link between emotional and spiritual maturity that the church can and should address". There is a role for therapy, but if we only address these things in that context, we are delaying good work and learning we can embrace from Jesus and the scriptures before, or in addition to therapy. We will use the resources from Emotionally Healthy Spirituality to bring this into the light. Psalm 69, Luke 19:41, 10:21, 7:9, 12:50. 

9:30 AM (In-person + livestream, Pilgrim campus)
11:15 AM (In-person + KIDS!, IBC campus) 

ONLINE NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-07-11-peace-with-self-series-the-language-of-the-soul.html
PDF NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-07-11_notesdiscussion.pdf
QUESTION? Text: 604-426-1230
QUESTION? EMAIL: question@pilgrimchurch.ca 

GIVE PILGRIM: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/give.html
GIVE IBC: https://www.immanuelbc.ca/give
CONNECT: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/connect.html

Two-week series: How to Kill a Church and How to Be a Vibrant Church Eight Keys to an Open-Door Church ​Last week we named church-killers, this week we look at what makes church alive. "With every person we encounter, the only question that should be on our mind is, How can I, right here and right now, affirm the unsurpassable worth of this person for whom Christ died” (G.A.Boyd)? Jesus tells the church in Philadelphia (Rev. 3:7-19) that he has opened a door before them. What does it mean to be a vibrant church? What does the church of the open door look like? 

9:30 AM (In-person + livestream, Pilgrim campus) 

11:15 AM (In-person + KIDS!, IBC campus) 

ONLINE NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-07-04-how-to-be-a-vibrant-church.html 

PDF NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-07-04_notesdiscussion.pdf 

QUESTION? Text: 604-426-1230 

QUESTION? EMAIL: question@pilgrimchurch.ca 

GIVE PILGRIM: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/give.html 

GIVE IBC: https://www.immanuelbc.ca/give 

CONNECT: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/connect.html

How to Kill a Church​​ Two-week series: How to Kill a Church and How to be a Vibrant Church Revelation 3:16, Matthew 23, Matthew 6:19-21, Hebrews 11:13The book of Revelation begins with John being caught up in the Spirit on the Lord's day. He goes on to speak about seven churches saying to one, "you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spit you out of my mouth." What a word! As Pilgrim has been on a revitalization journey and Immanuel is considering joining us, it's important to understand the enemy within that wants to destroy the church so we'll look at How to Kill a Church in seven easy steps and ​next week​ for​ How to be a Vibrant Church. 

9:30 AM (In-person + livestream, Pilgrim campus) 

11:15 AM (In-person, IBC campus) 

NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-06-27-how-to-kill-a-church.html

PDF NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-06-27_notesdiscussion.pdf

QUESTION? Text: 604-426-1230 

QUESTION? EMAIL: question@pilgrimchurch.ca 

GIVE PILGRIM: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/give.html

GIVE IBC: https://www.immanuelbc.ca/give

CONNECT: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/connect.html

We are in community with other churches in our province and this Sunday, we will hear from our Executive Conference Minister for the BC North American Baptist association of churches, Bob Krahn. In 2005, Bob came to BC to be the Executive Minister after serving in a similar capacity in Saskatchewan and Manitoba for the previous five and a half years. Join us in welcoming Bob as we worship, relate, engage, and serve together! 

9:30 AM (In-person + livestream, Pilgrim campus) 

11:15 AM (In-person, IBC campus) 

GIVE PILGRIM: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/give.html 

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 CONNECT: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/connect.html

"I thought I tried everything and it didn't work. Now what?" We believe in the outrageous love and justice of God in conflict, but peacemaking doesn't always result in immediate breakthroughs. We want to learn from Jesus how to react differently and break the vicious cycle—even in the heat of conflict. As we wrap up our Peace with Others Series, we look at boundary enforcement and responding to conflict with the love of Jesus. Romans 12:20-21, 1 Samuel 24:1-22, 2 Corinthians 10:3-4  

PDF NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-06-13_notesdiscussion2.pdf 

We're OPEN for IN-PERSON gathering! (RSVP REQUIRED) 

9:30 AM (In-person + livestream, Pilgrim campus) 11:15 AM (In-person, IBC campus) 

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Matthew 5:23-24 tells us to initiate reconciliation with others. We have already unpacked what comes before forgiveness in giving a proper apology, repentance, making right personal and material wrongs as much as possible. But forgiveness has two parts and reconciliation is the goal—not always the end result. This Sunday, what forgiveness is and is not is entirely counter-cultural, just like Jesus. 

We're OPEN for IN-PERSON gathering! (RSVP REQUIRED) 9:30 AM (In-person + livestream, Pilgrim campus) 11:15 AM (In-person, IBC campus) ONLINE NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-06-06-go-and-be-reconciled.html

PDF NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-06-06_notesdiscussion.pdf

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"Deconstruction" is a trendy term these days, probably used, misused, and overused to describe a great variety of spiritual transitions, ranging all the way from losing one's faith to a radical rediscovery of God's all-expansive love. In his talk, Brad Jersak will share some biblical and contemporary metaphors that can serve as guideposts through what can seem like a perilous journey.  ​

ONLINE NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-05-30-guest-brad-jersak-deconstruction.html

PDF NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-05-30_notesdiscussion.pdf

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Have you ever thought, “Let me get this off my chest and then I'll go to church and sing.” or  “I need to cry, so maybe this Sunday I'll stay home.” Let us, instead, worship together in our lament. “Lament is not despair.  It is not whining.  It is not a cry into a void. Lament is a cry directed to God.  It is the cry of those who see the truth of the world’s deep wounds and the cost of seeking peace.  It is the prayer of those who are deeply disturbed by the way things are...” -Reconciling All Things. Jessica lives with her husband Felix and two daughters. She’s an artist and an art teacher.  For the past 10 years, she’s been working with P2C at the University of British Columbia and spent a year at the Universidad de Panamá. In her spare time, she can be found chipping away at a novel she’s writing about her family’s history. 

Join our Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/96359472809 

ONLINE NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-05-23-guest-jessica-chan-lament.html 

PDF NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-05-23_notesdiscussion.pdf 

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Galatians 6:1,  Matthew 18:15-20 Conflict is an opportunity to serve others but the challenge is making sure we approach someone in a way they can hear. Jesus' teachings on conflict are designed to make space for a reset and renewal of relationship. 

Join our Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/96359472809

ONLINE NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-05-16-peace-with-others-gently-engage-others.html

PDF NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-05-16_notesdiscussion.pdf

EMAIL QUESTIONS: question@pilgrimchurch.ca or TEXT: 604-426-1230 

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Accepting responsibility and true apologies We continue personal peacemaking in our Peace with Others Series by revealing the rarest speech in North America—true apology. People know how to judge and cancel but to apologize and move into conciliation? That is rare. This is the speech of a beloved community Dr. Martin Luther King believed was necessary for all to have freedom. We need Jesus’ teaching and Spirit at work. 

Join us as we look at accepting responsibility. Proverbs 28:13,  2 Corinthians 7:9-10,  1 John 1:8  

Join our Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/96359472809ONLINE 

NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-05-09-peace-with-others-sorry-not-sorry.html

PDF NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-05-09_notesdiscussion.pdf

EMAIL QUESTIONS: question@pilgrimchurch.ca or TEXT: 604-426-1230 

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As we continue in our Peace with Others Series, we explore perhaps the most missed and crucial teaching of Jesus and how to apply it. So much of real-life peace-making hinges on getting this right in our cultural-war, cancel-culture, scorched earth, politics-is-religion, North American context. Matthew 7:3-5 

Join our Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/96359472809

ONLINE NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-05-02-peace-with-others-what-we-learn-from-the-log-in-our-eye.html

PDF NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-05-02_notesdiscussion.pdf

EMAIL QUESTIONS: question@pilgrimchurch.ca or TEXT: 604-426-1230 

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GLORIFYING GOD IN CONFLICT, 1 Corinthians 10:31Conflict allows us an opportunity to glorify God, that is, to bring him praise and honor by imitating Him, laying down our "rights," forgiving, and loving sacrificially. This is necessary for Biblical peace-making and learning to seek and honour God when we're in conflict, lest we glorify someone or something else. This Sunday we're jumping back into our "Peace with Others" Series using the Resolving Everyday Conflict study from Peacemaker Ministries. Join us as we continue on this discipleship journey exploring new ways to reflect the beauty of the Kingdom of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Join our Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/96359472809

ONLINE NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-04-25-peace-with-others-go-higher.html

PDF NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-04-25_notesdiscussion.pdf

EMAIL QUESTIONS: question@pilgrimchurch.ca or TEXT: 604-426-1230 

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Peter and Judas went through faith deconstruction. Many people in the Bible and today go through it and only some end up with new faith on the other side of "the wall". Pentecost moves the church forward—the direct empowerment/experience of the Holy Spirit making Jesus real. We don’t often grow from these deconstruction moments because of forces at work to keep us deconstructing—both within the church and outside of it. Post-deconstruction faith looks different, it's love-based, and it has a higher level of trust and risk and learns to ask better questions. 

Join our Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/96359472809 

ONLINE NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-04-18-the-deconstructed-faith-of-peter-and-judas.html 

PDF NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-04-18_notesdiscussion.pdf 

EMAIL QUESTIONS: question@pilgrimchurch.ca or TEXT: 604-426-1230 

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Peter and Judas went through faith deconstruction. Many people in the Bible and today go through it and only some end up with new faith on the other side of "the wall". Pentecost moves the church forward—the direct empowerment/experience of the Holy Spirit making Jesus real. We don’t often grow from these deconstruction moments because of forces at work to keep us deconstructing—both within the church and outside of it. Post-deconstruction faith looks different, it's love-based, and it has a higher level of trust and risk and learns to ask better questions. 

Join our Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/96359472809

ONLINE NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-04-11-the-deconstructed-faith-of-peter-and-judas.html

PDF NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-04-11_notesdiscussion.pdf

EMAIL QUESTIONS: question@pilgrimchurch.ca or TEXT: 604-426-1230 

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"If someone predicts their death ahead of time, and their coming back to life, and manages to pull it off, follow them." Jesus is not a religion. While much of "Christianity" throughout history has gone off the rails when aligning too much with the cultural norms of the day, there has always been a faithful minority who are curious about (and captivated by) Jesus. This group has been sustained by a teaching and power that keeps drawing and advancing them. Today we lean into the scandal everyone wants to deny: Christ is risen—everything is changing. Can you open yourself to this possibility? 

EMAIL QUESTIONS: question@pilgrimchurch.ca or TEXT: 604-426-1230 

ONLINE NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-04-04-resurrection-2021-is-it-possible.html

RSVP Link for (Outdoor, In-person) Communion: https://rsvp.church/r/vgbq3x6N

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Catch-up after service: No chat today because of the communion gathering

Join us for our returning guest speaker for the first few months of 2021, April Yamasaki. She has lead us in the discovery of Real Relationships through Friendship, Singleness and Marriage, and this week, Family. April Yamasaki writes on spiritual growth and Christian living both online and in print publications, including Christian Century, Christianity Today, The Redbud Post, Godspace, Vision: A Journal for Church and Theology, Leader, and Rejoice! Her books include On the Way with Jesus; Four Gifts: Seeking Self-Care for Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength; and Sacred Pauses: Spiritual Practices for Personal Renewal. 

ONLINE NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-03-28-real-relationships-with-april-yamasaki-valuing-family.html

PDF NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-03-28_notesdiscussion.pdf

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James 3:18 We are our own worst enemy in a conflict. Our brains, created and yet fallen, push us into patterns that can fail us long-term. Brain science confirms what Jesus taught 2000 years ago, that when we are in a conflict our brain operates differently. This does not mean that we cannot learn to pre-emptively shape those responses. We look at those responses this Sunday and begin training our patterns in healthy directions—fight, flight, or... 

PDF NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-03-21_notesdiscussion.pdf 

ONLINE NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-03-21-peace-with-others-choose-your-battle.html ​

EMAIL: question@pilgrimchurch.ca 

TEXT: 604-426-1230 

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James 4 

Have you had tense conversations or difficulties with an upset neighbour, a family member, an overbearing boss, or even something more serious with someone you haven’t spoken to for years? Relationships are the only eternal thing you can influence and take with you into eternity. The bible has great wisdom about conflict and relationships. It says we are to be rooted and grounded in love, but this requires maturity, and a willingness to grow. Growth requires a community of faith and the gifts working together.  This Sunday we are starting a special discipleship teaching series focused on "Peace with Others". We're using the Resolving Everyday Conflict study from Peacemaker Ministries. We will explore more than eight teachings on how to define conflict, determining legitimate issues, harmful responses, and moving towards forgiveness. This is about learning to respond differently to conflict than our default settings. The next two months could change your whole experience of Christianity and life! 

PDF NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-03-14_notesdiscussion.pdf

ONLINE NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-03-14-peace-with-others-facing-conflict.html​

EMAIL: question@pilgrimchurch.ca 

TEXT: 604-426-1230 

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We have a great opportunity to engage with front-line caregiver, Rev. Lawrence Cheung, for a special livestream Q&A and interview. Lawrence serves as a certified spiritual health practitioner (clinical chaplain) at St. Paul’s Hospital, as well as adjunct teaching staff with UBC’s School of Medicine. He enjoys hockey and marathon training and lives with his wife and two kids in North Burnaby. Lawrence calls Killarney Park MB church his spiritual family. You can find more about the self-professed #chineseanabaptist on Twitter @soulcareyvr.  ​

GIVE: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/give.html 

CONNECT: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/connect.html 

Our returning guest speaker for the first few months of 2021 is April Yamasaki. She will be leading us in the discovery of Real Relationships through Friendship, Singleness and Marriage, and Family. April Yamasaki writes on spiritual growth and Christian living both online and in print publications, including Christian Century, Christianity Today, The Redbud Post, Godspace, Vision: A Journal for Church and Theology, Leader, and Rejoice! Her books include On the Way with Jesus; Four Gifts: Seeking Self-Care for Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength; and Sacred Pauses: Spiritual Practices for Personal Renewal. 

ONLINE NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-02-28-real-relationships-singleness-marriage.html

PDF NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-02-28_notesdiscussion.pdf

GIVE: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/give.html

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Catch-up after service: https://zoom.us/j/96359472809

Like the memories and reminders people leave behind after they are gone, Jesus leaves us with three symbols of our inheritance in Him. We will explore these rituals that can be dead religion or life-giving acts depending on how we approach them. 

ONLINE NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-02-21-peace-with-god-inheritance.html

PDF NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-02-21_notesdiscussion.pdf

TEXT QUESTIONS: 604-426-1230 

EMAIL QUESTIONS HERE: question@pilgrimchurch.ca 

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Catch-up after service: https://zoom.us/j/96359472809

We build online and physical temples searching for purpose and meaning out of our lives; social media, gyms, music, celebrities, art galleries, food, shopping, porn sites, or sports among other things can become religious to us. But what if we build on land not found on a map, with a leader in no need of governmental buildings? How can this way of living bring us the life we try so hard to secure? Jesus crashes through the walls we build that keep us from encountering God. Become a dual citizen and a living temple!

ONLINE NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-02-14-peace-with-god-territory--temple.html 

PDF NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-02-14_notesdiscussion.pdf 

TEXT QUESTIONS: 604-426-1230 

EMAIL QUESTIONS HERE: question@pilgrimchurch.ca 

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Catch-up after service: https://zoom.us/j/96359472809

"Christianity calcifies when tradition (the living faith of the dead) becomes traditionalism (the dead faith of the living)" -Jaroslav Pelikan Fear and self-preservation are powerful instincts, yet Jesus shows us these instincts and emotions must be checked by love. What traditions and balkanizations do we hold that keep us from being better people? This Sunday in our Peace With God Series, we explore five ways Jesus undoes our religious approaches to God. 

ONLINE NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-02-07-peace-with-god-tradition--tribe.html

PDF NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-02-07_notesdiscussion.pdf

TEXT QUESTIONS: 604-426-1230 

EMAIL QUESTIONS HERE: question@pilgrimchurch.ca 

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Catch-up after service: https://zoom.us/j/96359472809

Four times a year we slow our Sunday teaching time down for a Q&A conversation. What is on your mind? What are you wrestling with or excited about?

Our returning guest speaker for the first few months of 2021 is April Yamasaki. She will be leading us in the discovery of Real Relationships through Friendship, Singleness & Marriage, and Family. April Yamasaki writes on spiritual growth and Christian living both online and in print publications, including Christian Century, Christianity Today, The Redbud Post, Godspace, Vision: A Journal for Church and Theology, Leader, and Rejoice! Her books include On the Way with Jesus; Four Gifts: Seeking Self-Care for Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength; and Sacred Pauses: Spiritual Practices for Personal Renewal. 

NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-01-24_notesdiscussion.pdf

ONLINE NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-01-24-real-relationship-friendship-with-april-yamasaki.html

CONNECT: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/connect

​GIVE: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/give.html​NEW LINK! 

CATCH-UP (after the service), join us here: https://zoom.us/j/96359472809

John 4:1-42 "It is no surprise, in view of his teachings and actions, that Jesus was crucified. What is surprising is that it did not happen sooner." -Ben Witherington III Jesus challenges our ideas of how God should be. Where we want a vague force - Jesus gets VERY personal and particular. Where we want particular favouritism, God zooms out and goes universal. Jesus stands above, through, and in all God-experiences of all times. And we keep trying to kill him, but he keeps coming back! Join us as we dig into some life-changing facts. 

NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-01-17_notesdiscussion.pdf

ONLINE NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-01-17-peace-with-god-revealing-reversals.html

QUESTIONS: email question@pilgrimchurch.ca TEXT: 604-426-1230

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NEW LINK! CATCH-UP (after the service), join us here: https://zoom.us/j/96359472809

What happens when the institutional church gets sucked into the wars and walls of religion and ideologies? This Sunday, we name some evils done in the name of Christ. We also name these evils as fully in opposition to the life and teachings of Jesus. Jesus didn't come to build another version of the Kingdoms of the world. 

NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-01-10_notesdiscussion.pdf

ONLINE NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2021-01-10-peace-with-god-when-jesus-gets-hijacked.html

QUESTIONS: email question@pilgrimchurch.ca 

TEXT: 604-426-1230 CONNECT: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/connect

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NEW LINK! CATCH-UP (after the service), join us here: https://zoom.us/j/93007400050?pwd=MW0yTENpQVd3c1U1NUZZenNibE0ydz09#success

There are a lot of competing ideas out there about God and spirituality, connected by several threads. This Sunday we tackle the word "religion" (both the good use and the negative use) and how Jesus came to end it all, not start a new religion/structure.  

NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2021-01-03_notesdiscussion.pdf 

QUESTIONS: email question@pilgrimchurch.ca 

TEXT: 604-426-1230 CONNECT: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/connect 

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NEW LINK! CATCH-UP (after the service), join us here: https://zoom.us/j/93007400050?pwd=MW0yTENpQVd3c1U1NUZZenNibE0ydz09#success

End of the year. What a ride 2020 has been! This Sunday, we revisit our core at Pilgrim Church, and look ahead at what guides us and keeps us strong in the storm. We are introducing our church-wide focus for 2021. In 2021, we are mobilizing for peace in four directions/four relationships. Join us as we learn what Jesus' way of peace looks like in the face of a world that easily divides and fights. We must choose a just peace with God, self, others, and matter. We all called to be healers in the light of Jesus' grace and truth. 

QUESTIONS: email question@pilgrimchurch.ca 

TEXT: 604-426-1230 

CONNECT: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/connect

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NEW LINK! CATCH-UP (after the service), join us here: https://zoom.us/j/93007400050?pwd=MW0yTENpQVd3c1U1NUZZenNibE0ydz09#success

Fear. This has been a year marked by fear. Join us as we let the ancient sources tell the story again through readings and singing! Christmas Eve is a time to celebrate and remember God is with us! The refrain that echoes forward to us is "Fear Not!" Fear cannot win in the end. Light comes to dispel the darkness of fear. We are rooted in something unshakeable. 

Thursday, December 24, 5:30 PM 

CONNECT: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/connect GIVE: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/give.html

Matthew 2:2, Luke 2:6-7 For the final honest advent Sunday, we look at one of the several texts in the Bible that speak to the Holy Spirit working and drawing people from all over, all religious pursuits of truth to Jesus. Jesus who makes the scandalous claim to be the embodiment of Truth. #zoroastrianismandJesus  This Advent, we have journeyed through Scott Erickson's book, Honest Advent, which he tells us, "...is an exploration of finding the God-with-us coming into our midst now....the Birthday Boy hiding out in the mechanics of this life—the one you're presently living."​ 

QUESTIONS: email question@pilgrimchurch.ca 

TEXT: 604-426-1230 CONNECT: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/connect 

GIVE: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/give.html 

NEW LINK! CATCH-UP (after the service), join us here: https://zoom.us/j/93007400050?pwd=MW0yTENpQVd3c1U1NUZZenNibE0ydz09#success

Isaiah 9:6, Hebrews 2:16-18, John 1:1-3 "For that which He has not assumed He has not healed." —Gregory of Nazianzus (4th Century Church Father).

Jesus revealed as the Wonderful Counselor assumes the whole of our existence in order to heal the whole of our existence. He became human so we would know He had nothing to hide. He lived in a complicated world so He could relate to the complexity of our world. His name is God-with-us so we would know we are prized. Through the Incarnation, we find a space where we are seen, heard, known, and prized as we experience healing and move towards holistic restoration in order to discover the scandalous revelation that we are not orphans but sons and daughters of the Everlasting Father! He is forever tied to us and we are forever tied to him. We can never not be tied to him. This is our inheritance as the beloved offspring of the Maker of all things!​  

GIVE: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/give.htmlONLINE 

NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2020-12-13-honest-advent-3---counselor--father.html

NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2020-12-13_notesdiscussion.pdf

NEW LINK! CATCH-UP (after the service), join us here: https://zoom.us/j/93007400050?pwd=MW0yTENpQVd3c1U1NUZZenNibE0ydz09#success

CONNECT: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/connect

Revelation 1:8, Luke 1:43You know what they say about ASSUMPTIONS... This Sunday we look at how God breathes and breaks the curse of old assumptions. The Holy Spirit moves and reveals several ways we can break out of what we think will never change. This Advent season we explore moving in and out of nostalgia and familiarity and tending to God's presence in our lives. As part of our Advent journey, we will be using Scott Erickson's book, Honest Advent, in which he tells us, "This [Advent season]...is an exploration of finding the God-with-us coming into our midst now....the Birthday Boy hiding out in the mechanics of this life—the one you're presently living." 

QUESTIONS: email question@pilgrimchurch.ca 

TEXT: 604-426-1230 GIVE: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/give.htmlONLINE 

NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2020-12-06-honest-advent-2---breath--assumptions.html

NOTES PDF: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2020-12-06_notesdiscussion.pdf

NEW LINK! CATCH-UP (after the service), join us here: https://zoom.us/j/93007400050?pwd=MW0yTENpQVd3c1U1NUZZenNibE0ydz09#success

CONNECT: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/connect

""Have yourself a merry little Christmas," goes the song, evoking the "olden days, happy golden days of yore." Advent is exactly the opposite of all this... Advent refuses to dwell in a past that never was. Advent is about the future. It isn't a season of remembering something that happened a long time ago, it is a season of preparation for the great coming day of the kingdom of God." (F.Rutledge, 338)  Beginning this Sunday (Advent 1), we explore moving in and out of nostalgia and familiarity and tending to God's presence in our lives. As part of our Advent journey, we will be using Scott Erickson's book, Honest Advent, in which he tells us, "This [Advent season]...is an exploration of finding the God-with-us coming into our midst now....the Birthday Boy hiding out in the mechanics of this life—the one you're presently living." 

NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2020-11-29_notesdiscussion.pdf 

QUESTIONS: email question@pilgrimchurch.ca 

TEXT: 604-426-1230 

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When the Hebrew prophet Joel spoke forth these Spirit-inspired words, he was in a patriarchal world where women did not normally prophesy. When Jesus came, he included women in his circle of disciples, a Rabbi’s disciples were to go out and become Rabbis themselves. When the Holy Spirit is poured out and the Charismatic ministry of Christ becomes the Charismatic ministry of the Church, Peter declares that “your daughters will prophesy...even women!” This is radical and disrupts gender-based assumptions we take from our cultures and try to baptize. This Sunday we look at one of the “BUT BUT BUT Paul said...” texts in scripture and will argue from a conservative, high view of the Bible that women should speak the Word of the Lord and be pastors and teachers. You don’t have to agree, we are a big tent, but we all need to understand this approach to the text.  Acts 2:16-21, 1 Timothy 2:8-15, Philippians 4:2,3  

NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2020-11-22_notesdiscussion.pdf

QUESTIONS: email question@pilgrimchurch.ca 

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Join us Sunday at 10 AM, to hear from recent Regent grad Jesse Chui before he heads back home to America. Jesse will be sharing a teaching on Luke 15. This teaching will ONLY be livestreamed with no public recording after the service. Attend in-person or watch LIVE with us! In-person sign-up RSVP is active every Wednesday for the upcoming Sunday. 

ONLINE NOTES (new!): https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2020-11-15-guest-jesse-chui.html 

PDF NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2020-11-15_notesdiscussion.pdf 

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Paul's nuanced way of navigating cultural practices opposed to the Gospel allows it to be heard instead of immediately crushed. He adds practices to the non-Christian household codes of the ancient world which undermine key beliefs about women and class. Paul plants a “virus” at the heart of the patriarchal and class-based rules of the Empire. The “virus” is actually the healthy thing—love as defined in Jesus—to guide all relationships and, instead of limiting, expanding power to all. 

ONLINE NOTES (new!): https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/2020-11-08-colossians-series-women-in-leadership-322-41.html

PDF NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2020-11-08_notesdiscussion.pdf

We have come to the end of chapter 3 in our Colossians Series, and this end starts at home. The revelation of God enters into the fallen structures and broken parts of culture to set our feet to a different rhythm. Some changes are fast, others take time. Sometimes the slow way is the fastest! How we treat one another at home, in the family, and in existing social structures is a blessing and denouncing prophetic dance. We learn some new moves from Paul this Sunday.​ 

NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2020-11-01_notesdiscussion3.pdf

What are you wearing? Clothes communicate a lot of different things. Paul tells us that there are things we take off and other things that we put on. What are you wearing? Jesus gives us a new set of clothes, a new way to engage others around us. We put on clothes as part of our engagement with others. Paul shares a better way, the Jesus-Centred, clothed with Christlikeness way of being in community with others - the beloved way of being a friend, a family member, or co-worker. 

NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2020-10-25_notesdiscussion.pdf

Join us to hear from Acts 29 Church pastor, Jacob John at Pilgrim Church this Sunday. John grew up in India, spent a season of his adult life in Bahrain in the Middle East, and now resides in Vancouver, Canada. He studied briefly at Regent College and pastored at Immanuel Baptist from 1998 to 2006. Sunday, 10 AM LIVESTREAM right here. 

NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2020-10-18_notesdiscussion.pdf

COLOSSIANS SERIES, The Lists: Vices, 3:5-11 The Bible is full of lists and yet is clear they don't bring us life. What do we do with these lists? We can ignore them, obsess over them, simplify them, or come to understand they are signposts on a journey towards living a love-centred life. This Sunday we get into Colossians 3 and look at a list of vices.  

NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2020-10-11_notesdiscussion.pdf

Join us as we hear from one of the larger church networks we are a part of, The North American Baptist BC Conference's Executive Minister, Bob Krahn. In 2005 Bob came to BC to be the Executive Minister after serving in a similar capacity in Saskatchewan and Manitoba for the previous five and a half years. He holds a BA from the University of Alberta with a major in psychology and a Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Bob was born in Flin Flon, Manitoba and had several work experiences including work as an underground miner, heavy equipment operator, a big game guide, and plumber’s helper. Following a dramatic conversion experience, he began to study for ministry and after graduation, became a solo pastor, church planter and the senior pastor of a multi-staff congregation. His greatest joy is to help churches grow healthy and to rekindle their passion for evangelism. Bob is married to Dawn, a teacher and they have two married children and six grandchildren.

Adjust Your Settings for Real Living, 3:1-4 Michelle Obama paraphrased the Apostle Paul when she said, “When they go low, we go high”; and CS Lewis wrote, "Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next... Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither." The ability to be more present in the moment is possible when you also have the scope of eternity in your sights.

NOTES: https://www.pilgrimchurch.ca/uploads/1/1/1/2/111299251/2020-09-27_notesdiscussion.pdf

What happens when the church and state are brought together? What could possibly go wrong? A lot, it turns out from history. We are STILL recovering from the damage of this collusion and co-option in the West. We've already explored Big Idea #1: too much centralization/concentration of power is not good for humanity, and Big Idea #2: the church is to be an alternative politics by its very life. The church must remain in peaceful tension with governments and other powers, while we as individuals may be engaged with both. When a politician utters the words, "God bless Canada" which god is being invoked, is it Jesus? Revelation 13:4; Matthew 5:13-16; Mark 10:35-45

Matthew 5:13-16 Decentering Power and Civil Religion. Followers of Jesus are called to be first, ambassadors of His way of living and being community in the midst of the states, families, etc. around us. Our nationality, family of origin, etc. are important, but that importance is tempered by a greater love and purpose. This Sunday we dig in again to Biblical challenges to power and identity claims and some steps to take to be a different kind of political person.

At Pilgrim, we know God can handle our questions and that we don't get the full picture until the end. Four times a year we use our teaching/proclaiming time for live questions. This week, Pastor Shel and Andrés enter a conversation with the questions from the larger group. Always enlightening, entertaining, and sometimes life-changing. Send questions anytime, we'll get to as many as we can!

In Canada, our government has been hit by several scandals, is shoveling money out the door (both in relief and to secure favour), and this week prorogued Parliament to pause investigations and reset the agenda. In the US, the regular presidential and lower elections are happening this fall. Policies of states affect our lives. What does the Bible and Christian teaching have to say about governments? It turns out a lot. In part, the church is to be a kind of alternative "politics" on earth. This week we ask some Spirit-inspired questions of what we are told to assume is just fine.

"Just Tell Me What To Do!" Rules can be important, but what is more important is understanding what lies behind the rules. When that happens we know when rules are to followed or discarded. We can find comfort in easy rules, but maturity calls us into deeper thinking and living. Beyond rules religion to Jesus-shaped living. Do not, do not, do not - is not the way to happiness.

“How do we get into this place?!” Ever struggle to find the entrance to a building or home? Paul encourages the Colossians to remember the doorway into a new way of life. They don’t make the doorway, but crossing over the threshold puts them into a new reality. The old way of living is trying to sell hope based on the old ways, but it’s fake news. Join us as we explore the meaning of baptism and what Jesus has done for us.

Jesus vs. Everybody? Paul tells the early believers, “Jesus is alive” and they can hang their whole life on it. This changes ALL power dynamics for EVERYBODY everywhere. Even today powers try to censor this message because it challenges ultimate authority. You can get caught up in fake news about Jesus because powers that want to control you don’t give up easily.

You've said YES to too much. The demands of work or family (or both) have squeezed out your time for being human. You’re glued to your phone, your schedule and to-do lists are packed. You constantly multitask but feel you are doing few things well.
There are seasons when we all get lost in the whirlwinds of life and spiritually. We barely have the strength to see our own hand in front of our face--everything is swirling around us. Jesus has an alternative to this, a restfulness of God that counters the restless anxiety of our world and its powers. What can we learn from him?

We are told how important “being” is but is there also value in “doing”? Summer is the season for vacations but we are exploring what our faith has to say about the balance of work and rest. This Sunday and next, we will look into these two aspects (of many) structuring our lives.

David is the pastor of Vancouver Zion Baptist Church an NAB Korean language church that meets on Sunday afternoons. They formed out of Emmanuel Baptist Church. David is also a secondary school teacher and lives with his wife and two daughters in Vancouver.

“DO YOU COMMIT SIN? Enter the church and repent of your sin; for here is the Physician, not the judge; here one is not investigated, one receives remission of sins.” —St. John Chrysostom. Join us to hear from Andrés Pérez González as he shares w