Pastor's Blog

Jesus' journey to the cross, often referred to as Jesus' Passion, join our troop of the broke, lost, hurting, and the lonely as we follow Jesus to His CROSS. Passion Week...Jesus

James shares his heart regarding living in The Way of New Life. James, Jesus' half brother and the leader of the early church in Jerusalem penned this message to encourage the scattered tribes of Israel that were under severe religious persecution and fled to the surrounding pagan nations.

The Greatest Reason To Give Thanks... During Thanksgiving the ramp up to Christmas becomes most evident when go to the local mall or big box retail stores like Target, Walmart, TJ Max, and the like. We American's show our thankfulness by going on spending spree's mostly buying gifts for loved ones and friends, and sometimes, perhaps treating ourselves to a few special things that are written in our letters to Santa. Maybe we're celebrating our good fortune by spending our fortune? Maybe we're just glad we are surviving corona? Maybe we're just escaping the trauma we endured during the election? Whatever it is...we Americans celebrate Thanksgiving by spending, Black Friday, am I right.

A survey through the Gospel of Mark, we glimpse Jesus Christ, the God-Man, unleashing His Holy offering rescue for the unholy world, that's me and you.

Walking in the way of rescue is what life with Jesus is all about, it's not about the "Golden Ticket" to heaven, it's about real relationship with God!

Christ in the Hebrew Seder, join your Matt's House Church family this Resurrection Sunday at the Arbutus Town Hall 1349 Stevens Avenue; Luncheon to follow immediately!

Humanism, is defined as an outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters. We are reaping the consequences of what we've sown, but will we, humans take responsibility for what we've sown?

Who or what is your idol? It matters. Most of the time we don't think of life in terms of idols, but we all have them. If we slow down, and take a moment to evaluate our existence here on planet earth what we give our lives away to will soon become apparent. Really, anything or anyone can be an idol. What's an idol, you ask?

The Fire-Storms of life happen, they are inevitable! How do you withstand them in a world where humanity is quickly, but surely losing its moorings: truth, character, dignity, morality and values no longer matter. "Where have all the good men gone and where are all the gods... ," as a song from my youth once put it... In a world where it's all about "Me" we've lost the strength of community that aids in facing the Fire-Storms of daily life. "The street wise hercules," often only found in video games, marvel movies, grid-iron gladiators and books, there demand begs a question, why are we crave a virtual or alternate reality world where we embody the spirit of heroic, non-existent beings?

The samaritan woman, one who was "Lit" by her encounter with Christ, was the least likely candidate to bring light to her people, but that's who Jesus most often chooses.

"To Be Lit," a candle that chooses to be "Lit," to be light, to walk according to the Spirit, in the Spirit, becomes light to a dark and hurting world, this is the story of the "Good Samaritan."

The Light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. The incarnation of Christ, the Light, who shines in the darkness of humanity, which has not understood this Light...Christ, the Word who was with God in the beginning.

Come have an encounter with God, He is not far off, the Bible communicates over and over again God is near, join us for a walk with God, it's time you and he had a talk.

The Beauty of The Cross

Jesus revealing the Father's true heart toward lost and hurting humanity, and exposing an ugliness that lays within each of our hearts a self-righteous spirit that judges itself better than and therefore more deserving than another.

We are all lost, God searches for and rescues, and when you become a rescued one who was once a lost one, you become willing to let go of this world, it's demands and even relational ties to walk with a lost one so that they might be found! A selfless whatever it takes, now thats a counter cultural revolutionary movement of LOVE!

Out Casts Invited! Often we like to think our society and even the church is inclusive. The corporate world, governments, cause crusaders from every walk of life love throwing that word around claiming they are inclusive, want to become inclusive or they are intentionally exclusive. As the father of a "Differing Abilities" son...

As humans, because of our capacity to reason, because of our physical strength, because our ability to create we think we are enough to make thinks RIGHT. But is that true, are we enough to make things right? And more importantly, are we enough to keep things right? What about you, is a life well spent, spent on the making and keeping things right?

When, in moments of silence, we finally facedown ourselves with no audience to impress or to fool and let the mask ,we’ve been hiding behind down, we are reminded that we are broken!

The paralytic and the four that went to great lengths to deliver their friend to Jesus for forgiveness & healing, digging and lowering him through a roof, we see a picture of desperation.

It's surrendering to Christ's rule in your life in utter obedience because of God's demonstrated love for you and your absolute trust in Him that we are empowered to practice what we profess, living out the Gospel of Christ in an, world impacting way, through our daily interactions with our neighbors.

Meet a God who is ABSOLUTELY COMMITTED to you and powerfully demonstrates His commitment, not just in words but deeds! He SHOWS UP, guaranteed!

A series of messages that examine the life of Abram, the father of the nation of Israel and of all humanity, as he struggles through learning to do life trusting God instead of himself. Join our Matt's House family on the Get Real journey of a life-time! Nothing and no one will challenge or change you life the God of Abraham.

If your honest, you've probably ridden your life down into the flames pretending that you've still got it together, eventually there is a moment of truth that dangles there in front of you like a life persevere. The question then is simple, do I surrender to my reality and grab it; or do I keep pretending and drown?

Change is born out of a surrendered heart and suffering, though not our first choice, is a clear pathway to change both in you and your circumstances.

The verdict is in NOT GUILTY! We are invited to step into Christ’s Righteousness and exchange our: Sin, Guilt, Shame, Brokenness and Death because of Christ’s finished work at the cross "Change" is a REAL possibility. It is time to EMBRACE the life that you are living regardless of what it seems to throw at you. Remember if God is For YOU, then who has the power to really stand against God and His will in your life? NO ONE!

Somehow we want "Change" to be instant, just like we like our food, our purchases, our fun! We hate to wait...we hate when we don't get what we want when we want it. But "Change" doesn't always work that way, does it? So what do we do, just give up, realize we are doomed and that things just never get better? No, following Jesus as He encounters folks that are utterly hopeless, just might change how you look at change. Change = A supernaturally powered life long journey of becoming who you were always designed to "Be."

Over the next 3 weeks of this new series we will take a deeper look at where we've come from, our mission, core values, and where God has us going. If your new to The House then this will help bring you up to speed and hopefully encourage you to join the journey that God has invited us all to live out in our daily lives!

A REAL LIFE look at sex, love, marriage, singleness, culture, family and YOU! It's going to get REAL and HONEST. So choose to join the conversation and bring who you are into the journey!

In a letter to Followers of Christ living in the city of Colossai, Paul implores his fledgling church to cling to Christ and Christ's way which is absolutely superior to their old way of doing life. Paul also, challenges you and me, as modern day Followers to be dependent on Christ alone and His power to transform our lives!

The "Truth" bites! All of us have tangled with truth, if your human that is, and it most often is NOT EASY, but if we deal with it we change, life gets simpler!

Our new series, based on John Burke's, book, "Mud and The Masterpiece" will take us on a journey into our own mess, and God's deep desire to bring restoration at the Master's hands and it will help us to be more like Christ in how we demonstrate the love of God in a broken and messed up world.

26 years later, I'm still grateful for God's gift! Not only a partner in day to day life, but a partner in the highest priority any life can have...

400 years of Silence, the Levites, the priests and the workers continued there ministry daily at the Temple. This day started off normal for all intents and purposes,

I did a bit of work today on website redesign. Working through the brief description of Matt's House Church I wrestled with the word REAL. Being REAL is one of the values that our church planting Core Team believed was critical to people feeling welcome at Matt’s House, a safe place to be who you...