Take The Next Step In Your Spiritual Growth
Hey Friends,
This is an invitation to set aside time to learn and grow.
This fall TCBC is running several courses that belong to my list of "essential teaching" and I am excited. If you have questions about faith and life (Alpha), are struggling to understand where our Christian beliefs come from (The Bible Course), need help in overcoming relationship hurdles (Emotionally Healthy Relationships), want to invest time in strengthening your marriage (The Marriage Course) or have decided to learn what God's grace is all about (Reading Galatians) there are groups and resources available.
Alpha Courses have just started all across the GTA (you can join on-line or in-person)
"I think for so many years I always just strive to be strong in myself and it was as if all I needed was me and my buddies and we would be like invincible. But the truth is none of us are and I don't want to do this thing called life on my own..."
Does that strike a chord? Explore faith in an environment where you get to ask the questions. Join an Alpha Course. More than just teaching the essentials of the Christian faith, Alpha invites participants to experience the powerful love of Jesus.
Churches in Toronto are working together to host Alpha courses both in-person and on-line: https://alphacanada.org/try-alpha/
Youth Sunday Class (Sundays 11:30am)
"So the Bible is not a rule book. It's about real people like us finding their place in God's story."
In our Youth Sunday Class they are Reading the Bible as a Story about God—through the Bible Course.
When we know the Bible as a whole, the other lessons we learn from Scripture become more alive in us.
https://biblescanada.com/pages/the-bible-course?_gl=1*22t8sf*_gcl_au*MzA3MzIzMjUuMTc1ODg1MTQ3Mg..
Berean Fellowship (House group meeting every 2nd and 4th Saturday)
"People were supposedly growing in greater love for God but that was not translating into greater love for people. [In church people had] great passion for Christ and Scripture but were still defensive, judgemental, critical, unapproachable, even unsafe to be around...and that included us"
Hosted by the Bereans Fellowship, the Emotionally Healthy Relationships Course is all about building relational skills that empower us to relate to people in a way that reflects a Loving Saviour. This is an essential part of evangelism and church life because as Christians we are called to reach out across the great divides that are growing between people and people groups today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0s6twbhin4
Monthly walk through Marriage Course (4th Sunday, 11:30am)
Nicky and Sila Lee, authors of The Marriage Book, developed The Marriage Course for couples looking for practical support to strengthen their relationship. Hopefully we all had strong pre-marriage preparation. In any marriage though it's important to take the time to strengthen those promises and principles. This is not pastor-led so people get fed. Rather it's about marriage partners having the important conversations that sustain marriages.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3p-mZ4DEn4M&t=4s
Reading Galatians (Sunday Class, 11:30 78 Basement Classroom)
This is a Bible class that seeks to establish a strong Biblical foundation for the Grace of God. This Sunday Class aims to challenge all participants to live a Christian life that in an outward display of an inward reality: that we are set free from sin's power and can now love others generously and worship God in gratitude. It also serves as a complement to the Fall sermon series "Becoming Like Jesus: The Fruits of the Spirit"
You may find other resources and groups that suit your needs. That's all okay. I'm eager to listen and learn about how God is shaping you today.
In Christ,
Rev. Nolan
Footsteps image: Waldir, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons