Where Ours Begins

Greetings friends!

Thank you for all the interactions regarding ‘The B-I-B-L-E-‘ teaching series we kicked off last weekend. From all indications, interest is high in a conversation about the Bible’s origins. When it comes to the question of how we got our Bible in its current form, I often hear 2 extremes: Some people assume that the Bible just sort of floated down from heaven, bound in fake leather, with notes in the margins, chapter divisions, and the words of Jesus in red. Whether the translation is NIV, NASB, or KJV, it just sort of magically appeared, delivered by angels to local bookstores and Amazon warehouses.

Then there’s another extreme: Some say the Bible was invented as a conspiracy theory by the emperor Constantine who cooperated with malicious bishops who wanted to impose a controlling, narrow vision of faith on an uneducated populace.

I believe both extremes are completely and utterly wrong, and I hope that by exploring the story of how we came to possess the Bible, you’ll find the story contained IN it more compelling and life-changing than ever. This weekend in part 2 we’re going to talk about the Older Testament, including the first time the writing of the Bible is described IN the Bible. Hope you can be part of one of our gatherings, either online or in person.

Before I go, I want to make sure you know about a development in the composition of our pastoral team: Executive Pastor Wayne Regehr will be leaving our staff at the end of the month. Wayne and Jan will be returning to the big city to the south of us, where Wayne will take on a new challenge as Director of Operations for the Western Canadian District of The Alliance Canada. We’re going to bless and pray for the Regehr’s on the 29th & 30th, and as per tradition, you’re invited to participate in a gift for Wayne (Regehr love offering).

I invited Wayne to share a few thoughts today, so over to you Wayne...

Greg Hochhalter
Lead Pastor

From Pastor Wayne:

At the beginning of last fall, I felt a stirring that change was coming. I have long been interested in our denomination and was able to serve in a number of different ways. Now those occasional serves have deepened to a new role for me. So, yes, we are moving to the Calgary area. While we will be closer to our kids, we will be further from parents.

Thanks to each of you for welcoming Jan and me to the church and into your lives. It has been a privilege to travel a part of our journey with you. You have been a source of deep blessing to us.

Wayne Regehr
Executive Pastor

If you are new to this community and would like to meet others and some of the pastoral team, we would love to meet you! 

On January 25th, we'll meet ONLINE and you can have your pizza delivered. On January 30th after the 11 am service, we will meet IN PERSON. Since we aren't able to eat together, you will be given a Nitza's Pizza coupon for you to enjoy at another time.  

Registration is required for either event and you can do so by heading to spac.ca/pizzawiththepastor.

Have you ever been unsure how to navigate your kids' questions about faith, God, and the world? If so, join Pastor Brody Jespersen on January 26th at 7:30 pm for an online conversation to learn how to navigate doubt in your family.

This discussion will include practical tools you as a parent can use to navigate your own feelings towards their curiosity, while also fostering an environment that encourages your kids to talk about their questions and share what they are wrestling with.

Head to spac.ca/faithathome to register.

Treehouse Preschool is having an Open House on January 27th at 3:30 pm!

Register here to arrange a time to drop in with your child to check out our program for three- and four-year-olds. This will give you an opportunity to meet the teachers and to visit the classroom.

On January 29th and 30th, immediately after each service, we want to invite you to our Life Groups Open House. It will be hosted in the atrium where we want to help you journey deeper into community. Registration is not required.

Connections

If you would like to join a Life Group, but you aren't sure where to start, we would love to invite you to Connections!

Connections is a 4-week journey with others where you’ll have the opportunity to find friendship, talk about faith through our current sermon series, and pray for one another. Connections is a quick and simple way for anyone to find community!

To register for Connections, please head to spac.ca/groupfinder.