Isaiah 40:28-31 Introduction I have been enjoying going through the Old Testament over the past few months on our series on Genesis to Revelation. The Old Testament was the Bible for the early Christians and was regularly quoted by Jesus and Paul. But as we have been going through it, I sometimes feel like we…
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Proverbs 3:5-6 Introduction Have you ever noticed that some people have an uncanny sense of direction and are able to instinctively find places, whereas others have to rely completely on a map or other directions? In our case, it is Amanda who is able to find places fine on our own, while I could still…
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Psalm 22 Introduction I recently came across this quote: “We might impress people with our strengths, but we connect with people through our weaknesses.” (Craig Groeschel) Does that ring true for you? Do you prefer the people around you to only demonstrate strength or are you inspired by people revealing their weaknesses? One of the…
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John 20:11-18 Introduction Easter Sunday is the most important day for Christians. Even more important than Christmas. This is the high point of the Christian calendar. The Christian faith stands or falls on the resurrection. If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, there is no point to Christianity. This is our foundation. The problem is…
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Job 1:20-22 Introduction I think that one of the most annoying things in the market place is the bait and switch. Obviously businesses want to attract as many customers as possible, so they put forth a very attractive offer. The idea is that the potential customer will see the offer as to good to be…
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Nehemiah 1:1-11 Introduction I think that prayer is one of the most natural of things for us to do. When we are placed in a stressful situation, we want to call out to someone for prayer. A number of years ago, I was sitting in the backyard of a hardcore atheist. As we were discussing…
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2 Chronicles 7:11-22 Introduction If you ever have been in a Christian bookstore, you will notice that certain Bible passages naturally lend themselves to works of Christian artwork. You will find banners, posters, t-shirts and so on with just a handful of passages. They may include Psalm 23, the Ten Commandments or the Lord’s Prayer.…
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2 Kings 5:1-19 Introduction Have you ever experienced the joy of helping someone? I’m sure you have. There has been a person in need and you are the right person at the right time to make the difference. I can see a few scenarios of what this may look like. One is when it is…
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1 Samuel 16:1-13 Introduction They say that “You never have a second chance to make a first impression.” This means that in those first moments of meeting someone, we make up our minds about them and it is very difficult to change that impression. Have you ever met a person and immediately had a sense…
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Judges 4 Introduction Who here is a leader? Would it surprise you if I said that all of us are leaders? You do not need to be a pastor or a deacon to be a leader. Leaders are not about titles, they are about influence. I would suggest that anyone who has influence is a…
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Joshua 1:1-9 Introduction Have you ever been forced to leave your comfort zone? Have you had to do something new that you just didn’t feel equipped to do? It could be something minor or major. Both can be terrifying. Many years ago, I was in a Sunday school class led by the pastor of a…
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This sermon was preached by Tyler Fitt at Queen Street Baptist Church.
(Please note that some of the audio is missing) Deuteronomy 5:1-22 Introduction I remember sharing my faith with a high school friend. He identified as either an atheist or a strong agnostic, although he had a Roman Catholic background. His response was that he didn’t need the gospel I was sharing because he was already…
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Numbers 13:17-14:12 Introduction One of the most anxious experiences I had was going for basic training as a chaplain in the army reserves. I was excited about the final result of becoming a chaplain had some concerns about the process. Fortunately I had a friend who was a chaplain and he assured me it was…
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Leviticus 19:1-10 Introduction When I came back to the church, I became involved in a church influenced by the holiness movement. The holiness movement emphasized personal holiness, which is good, but sometimes went beyond what the Bible commanded. So if you asked people what holiness looked like, they would say things like not listening to…
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Exodus 3:1-14 Introduction Many years ago, I played a Bible trivia game with a friend. He had been raised in a very evangelical church. I had already given up on church but thought I might remember a few things from Sunday school. He ended up destroying me in that trivia game. But what I remember…
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Genesis 15:1-6 Introduction One of our children’s favourite movies was the LEGO Movie. At one point in the movie, one character, voiced by Morgan Freeman, says to the main character, “Believe. I know that sounds like a cat poster, but it’s true.” When it comes to Christianity, words like “belief” and “faith” are very important…
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Luke 2:41-52 Introduction There is part of me that wants to preach on this passage specifically about Jesus’ experience in the Temple. For one reason, it is interesting because it is the only story we have of Jesus as a young boy. The other reason is that as a parent it blows my mind that…
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Matthew 5:43-48 Introduction It has been interesting looking at the fruit of the Spirit this Advent. While we may not think of these as traditional Christmas topics, each of the virtues created by the Spirit bring us back to the Jesus that was born in the manger. As I have looked at each of the…
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Matthew 5:3-10 Introduction It is common to hear people talk about how great Christmas is. Not just in terms of celebrating the incarnation and the miracle of the Son of God but in terms of family celebrations. People paint this amazing picture of the entire family together, filled with love and joy and enjoying each…
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Matthew 6:1-4 Introduction When many people think about Christmas, they automatically think about Santa Claus. And yet when Christians reflect upon Advent, we might be trying to push Santa Claus as far away as possible. However, I’m going to invite Santa, or rather St Nicholas who he is based on, back into Advent. You may…
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Matthew 5:38-42 Introduction The season of Advent is a time for us to reflect upon the birth of Jesus. But why do we do this? Is it as simple as finding something beautiful in the Christmas story and of baby Jesus with Joseph and Mary? There is something beautiful in that, but there is in…
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Joshua 5:13-15 Introduction Back in the 1990s, I was working for some very zealous Christians. I had recently come out of atheism and was a spiritual seeker. I was open to God but not prepared to be a Christian. My employers often talked about God and I listened carefully, evaluating the truth of what they…
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Luke 21:1-4 Introduction Some times we think we know what is going on but we really don’t. We think we have the facts but we misunderstand what is actually taking place. I recently heard this story about the author, Arthur Miller, who was recognized by a school mate first as a fellow student and only…
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Luke 20:41-44 Introduction It is possible to understand written or verbal communication by just direct contact with the information. That is how we read newspapers and other media sources. We know nothing about the reporter or author, we just interact with what they present. But understanding the person behind the information can take the communication…
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Introduction I’d like you to think of something that makes You really scared. You’ve just seen something that you can’t unsee or heard a scary noise. You’ve just been in a car accident, you’re going though a less than desirable neighbourhood and you’ve heard gun shots. you heard your best friend has cancer, your child…
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Luke 20:27-40 Introduction Our message is looking at a story of seven brothers who all married the same woman but kept dying after getting married. What kind of message is that for Thanksgiving? We want something up beat. We want something that gets us excited about life and what God has done for us. To…
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Luke 20:20-26 Introduction I have visited many of church members over my twenty or so years of pastoral ministry. I have found that you can tell a lot about a person when you visit them in their home. Some homes are filled with family pictures, some with knick knacks, some with shelves of books. In…
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Luke 20:9-19 Introduction Have you ever experienced rejection in some area of your life? I suspect that there is a specific example that comes to mind at the word rejection. How did that make you feel? As I was thinking about this, I realized that I have a really good grasp of the concept of…
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Galatians 3:26-29 Introduction Did you know that we are doing church all wrong. The church growth experts of a couple of decades ago would have looked at our church and shook their heads in disbelief. This is no way to grow a church. What do I mean by this? A number of years ago, church…
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Matthew 18:21-22 Introduction I would suggest the hardest thing about being a Christian is not the praying or reading the Bible or even telling people about Jesus. I firmly believe that the hardest thing about being a Christian is forgiving people who hurt us. I suspect that as soon as I mention the difficulty of…
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James 5:13-18 Introduction This morning we are looking at the topic of healing. This is an important subject, as this is one of the main concerns during our time of congregational prayer. I would like to start by telling two quick stories. I remember attending a service that was being led by a healing evangelist.…
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Genesis 1:1-2:3 Introduction When I think of the most controversial topics related to faith, if not number one, at least solidly in the top five would be creation. By creation, I mean specifically whether the world we see around us was created in six 24-hour days or over a much longer period. Related to this…
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Revelation 21:1-4 Introduction Have you ever heard the phrase, “so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good”? There is an assumption here that thinking about earthly things are at least more relevant than thinking about heavenly things. This could be turned around and say that that someone is “so earthly minded that they are…
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2 Timothy 4:1-5 Introduction You may or may not know that I’m involved in the area of apologetics. If you are not familiar with apologetics, it is about providing reasons for holding to the Christian faith. It often includes a defence against attacks on the faith. To some, that might seem like a distraction from…
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Romans 13:1-7 Introduction One of the recent criticisms against Christians has been that we are too political. Some may argue that we are not political enough, but the criticism stands. By being too political, I mean that some Christians align too closely with a specific political party. This has especially true in the United States.…
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Philippians 1:12-18 Introduction Life in general has its fill of challenges, in everything from finances to relationships to health to every other aspect. Sometimes we would like to think that Christians are exempt from this. There are certain preachers that do claim this. We are supposed to be kids of the King and so our…
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Romans 5:6-11 Introduction Have you ever heard the phrase “the crux of the matter”? What does that word crux mean? The dictionary definition is “the decisive or most important point at issue.” I took business as my major for my undergraduate degree. Many of the assignments and tests for my courses were case studies. These…
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1 Corinthians 12:4-6 Introduction Some time ago, I encountered a poll on social media about the most difficult doctrine within Christian theology. To me, it was a simple answer. The Trinity. The belief that there is one God and that God consists of three persons: Father, Son and Spirit. If our children or grandchildren wrote…
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Luke 19:45-48 Introduction I grew up in the Anglican church. In addition to our worship services, an important part of our church rhythm was bake sales, yard sales, barbecue fundraisers, spaghetti dinners and so on. It seemed that every month there was some sort of fundraising event going on. I enjoyed it, not just because…
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Luke 19:11-27 Introduction Does anyone here actually hope to be a failure? And if you achieve that, are you then a success? Everyone wants to be a success. Whether that is in work life, family life, or any other area of life. But how do we measure success? How do we know if we have…
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Luke 19:1-10 Introduction I didn’t start wearing glasses until I was in my mid-teens. Not that I was able to see well before then. I remember my grade 9 English teacher making me stand up right in front of the screen to read some text because I couldn’t see it from my desk. Still, it…
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This message was preached by Dr. Gary Nelson for our 185th anniversary service.
Luke 18:35-43 Introduction I almost didn’t preach on this passage. The reason for that is that it would be easy to give it a simple reading that Jesus heals the physically blind. We have a number of people in our congregation that are blind. To be honest, I don’t know what it is like to…
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What a privilege it is for me to be standing here and speaking to you, my church family. Today is a special day, it’s Baptist Women’s Sunday. I haven’t always been a Baptist, but I feel so at home now that I’ve been adopted into this beautiful family of believers. I feel honoured to be…
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Luke 18:18-30 Introduction One of the most frustrating experiences is knowing that someone wants something from you but you don’t know what it is. Expectations without clarity can create tremendous anxiety. I was once hired as an associate pastor at a church and was told that my job was to make sure that the senior…
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Luke 18:15-17 Introduction The image of childlike faith has long been attractive to Christians. My fear is that it has become an excuse for lazy thinking. I’ve known Christians who have boasted that they don’t have to confront the hard questions because they have a childlike faith. They even have a passage to prove it.…
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Luke 18:9-14 Introduction What is the most destructive activity to a church? To listen to the church’s rhetoric over the years, you would think that it was sexual sin. Now I don’t want to downplay that, as the Bible indeed describes that as serious. But the Bible talks just as much, if not more about…
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Acts 10:9-35 Introduction The very first part of our church mission statement is that we are “a welcoming community.” I think it is appropriate that the welcoming part comes first because that could derail the rest of our mission. You might think that even the most unfriendly church could at least worship God. But the…
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1 Corinthians 15:1-22 Introduction There has been a lot of talk in recent years about whether it is time to give up on the label ‘evangelical.’ For many people evangelical refers to being a supporter of Donald Trump or some other narrow definition. There is a thing now called post-evangelical, referring to people who reject…
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Isaiah 53 Introduction I want to tell you that I personally prefer strength to weakness. I have enjoyed exotic food while on a fabulous cruise and I have had to get food from a food bank. I have been in good enough shape to make it through military basic training and have been weak enough…
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Numbers 21:4-9 Introduction Nobody enjoys talking about sin. In fact, experts would probably say that if you want to grow a church, you should probably not talk about sin. It makes people uncomfortable. The problem is that the Bible talks a lot about sin and if we remove sin from the equation, the message of…
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Leviticus 16 Introduction Are you familiar with the concept of the scapegoat? I don’t mean in a biblical or theological manner but as it is commonly used in conversation. My dictionary defines a scapegoat as “a person bearing the blame for the sins, shortcomings, etc. of others, esp. as an expedient.” So a scapegoat is…
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Exodus 12:1-28 Introduction What is your first thought when you see large qualities of blood outside the human body? Probably it is not an appreciation of the pretty colour. About a year ago, we had our daughter over for a visit. At one point, Abby walked out of the bathroom covered in blood. It was…
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Genesis 22:1-19 Introduction Lent is the time when we prepare ourselves for reflection of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. These two events are the foundation for our faith. But none of this was a complete surprise. The Easter events are often described as being “according to the Scriptures.” The only Scriptures those early Christians…
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This sermon was preached by our Outreach Director, Mike Neels and is based on Genesis 13.
Luke 18:1-8 Introduction One of the criticisms that I have heard lately is about the frequent offer of “thoughts and prayers” when tragedy strikes. Whether it is a personal health crisis, a natural disaster or a violent terrorist attack, people send out by email and social media messages of “thoughts and prayers.” This really bothers…
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Luke 17:20-37 Introduction If we consider ourselves Christians, it would make sense that we would seek to follow Christ. That means more than just performing the right rituals and ceremonies. It means trying to live like Christ and also sharing the same message that Christ shared. But what was that message? We are told in…
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Luke 17:11-19 Introduction Let’s be honest that there are certain character traits that are rather annoying. We are not going to compile a full list but perhaps we can agree that being unthankful would be near the top. Have you ever known a person who never expressed thanks? I once worked with a leader who…
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Luke 16:19-31 Introduction Last week, we looked at what I consider the most confusing parable. The one we are looking at today is what I would call, a somewhat confusing parable. However, the confusion is for a totally different reason from the unjust manager. What is so confusing about this parable? It concerns two questions:…
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Luke 16:1-15 Introduction What kind of people should be our role models? Who is that you look to to emulate? Who would you point your friends, your children, your grandchildren to in order to illustrate behaviour worth copying? Our North American culture is in a time of rethinking who our heroes should be. In the…
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Luke 15:11-32 Introduction The parable of the prodigal son is one of the most well known parables in the Bible. In fact the phrase prodigal son is a part of popular speech, even for people who never attend church or read the Bible. But this parable is also one of the most misunderstood. I hope…
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John 1:1-14 Introduction We have just celebrated the birth of Jesus. But what exactly happened two thousand years ago? A miracle took place. A miracle much greater than angels appearing to Zechariah, Mary, Joseph and the shepherds. A miracle even much greater than the virgin birth. What happened? The greatest miracle that ever took place…
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Luke 2:1-7 Introduction What is the difference between the birth of Jesus and the births of other gods and heroes in the ancient world as we read in the myths? The big difference is that Jesus is real and those other figures are just imaginary. The Greek and Roman gods never existed but Jesus actually…
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Luke 1:26-38 Introduction Can you think of specific people in your life that have been influential in your spiritual development? When I think about those who have helped me grow, I can think of a number of pastors and professors. Of all the people you thought about, how many were teenagers? I would like to…
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Matthew 1:18-25 Introduction When I was a child growing up in church I would be one of the first to volunteer for one of the roles in the Sunday school Christmas pageant. It is not that I was a keener and that I loved being a part of it. I wanted to grab the best…
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Luke 1:5-25 Introduction Have you ever been in a position when you had some amazing news to share? Something had happened. Perhaps you got engaged or you were expecting a baby or you just got your dream job. When you have big news, who do you tell first? That’s a big decision. For some people,…
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John 4:19-24 Introduction Have you ever heard of the worship wars? This is a phrase that is used to describe conflict within churches over styles of worship music. It was more intense a number of decades ago but still exists to a certain extent today. Basically, there were people who felt that the traditional hymns…
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Psalm 100 Introduction What is it that we are doing here? What do we call this time together? It’s not a Bible study, even though we read the Bible and hopefully learn something from it. It is not fellowship time, although we enjoy being around each other and we are seeking to build community. It…
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This is a reflection on what how Remembrance Day and how the courage of the men and women who sacrificed in war points us toward the ultimate sacrifice and victory of Jesus on the cross.
Romans 8:35-39 Introduction We want God to bless this church. We want God to bless all the churches in our city and surrounding community. We want God to bless every church around the world that calls upon Jesus as Lord. But how do we know if this prayer is answered? How can we know if…
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Romans 1:16-17 Introduction Many children are looking forward to October 31. They enjoy dressing up as their favourite superhero or some other character, and even more the large amounts of sugary treats that they will consume. It is a great time for all. But this October 31 is much more significant than Halloween. Many people…
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Luke 15:1-10 Introduction What is it that gets you excited? What is it that makes you want to give a shout for joy? This won’t surprise many but for me it has to do with books. I love books but there is a specific kind of situation that really makes me happy. From time to…
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Luke 14:25-35 Introduction How much does it cost? When anyone in my family asks me a question, the most likely response that you will get from me is: How much does it cost? My children love to strategize about what presents they want for birthdays and Christmas. They are tech-savvy enough that they can research…
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Luke 13:22-30 Introduction Make sure to stay on the “straight and narrow.” That is a popular saying that comes from the Bible, even when the person saying it doesn’t realize it. But what does that even mean? Most often when people talk about staying on the straight and narrow, they mean that a person should…
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Luke 13:18-21 Introduction This was a big summer for me. For the first time in my life, I had my own vegetable garden. I won’t claim that everything worked, but I had relatively low expectations. My goal was that I would be able to eat just one thing that I had grown from my garden.…
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Introduction This is Queen Street Baptist Church. Queen Street BAPTIST Church. We belong to the Canadian BAPTISTS of Ontario and Quebec. What in the world is a Baptist? Many people think that Baptists are simply about using a lot of water for baptisms. But it is so much more than that. There was a school…
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1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Introduction Today we are going to talk about the end-times. Does that sound strange to you? Does talking about the end of the world make you feel uncomfortable? Are you afraid that we might be some kind of a cult? The truth is that we all believe in the end of the…
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A sermon that looks at the blessings and woes in Luke 6:17-26 . Introduction God bless you! When are you most likely to hear that? While we should hear it a lot in church, you probably hear it more when people sneeze. This tradition goes back thousands of years. The ancient Romans would say “Jupiter preserve you”…
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Was Jesus Really God? Introduction It was about two years ago that I applied for the pastoral position at Queen Street Baptist Church. I will confess that it was an interview process different from many others in my experience. Not that previous search committees were unfriendly, but I felt a particular connection with this one.…
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Joshua 6:12-21 Introduction I want you to imagine that a friend or family member comes to you and announces they have decided to start reading the Bible. You are overjoyed, after all, it is the Good Book. You begin to wonder where they will start. Will they begin with some of those beautiful Psalms? Will…
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A sermon based on Mark 11:1-11. Introduction I have been stuck in traffic many times in my life. Once I was even an hour and a half late for church when I was commuting to Toronto. But there is one traffic jam that sticks in my mind, and not just for the exotic locale. Amanda…
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Genesis 2:4-7 Introduction This is a topic that I approach with fear and trembling. The reason for this is that those who have opinions on this, hold those opinions very strongly. One group will believe that all those who take science seriously must hold one position and the other group will believe all those who…
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Hebrews 11:1-6 Introduction Does God exist? There are some outspoken atheists who will loudly proclaim that God does not exist. They purchase advertising space on buses to get their “good news” out that God does not exist. While certain atheists are very vocal about and antagonistic against faith in God, their number is actually quite…
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A sermon based on Luke 12:35-48 Introduction What is our motivation for doing good? Do we find that we do the right thing mostly when others are watching or can we do it when no one is around? I used to work in a warehouse. While the actual work was not that fun, there were…
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A sermon based on Luke 12:49-53 Introduction Who was Jesus and what was he really like? I fear that we have created a flannel graph Jesus. What I mean by that is that we have described Jesus in a way that is attractive to children. “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells…
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A sermon based on John 20:24-31 and preached at Queen Street Baptist Church. Introduction There is no lack of bad news for us these days. We have a regular diet of crimes, wars and terrorism. There is so much of it that it takes a lot to shock us anymore. I recently came across one…
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A sermon based on Mark 11:1-11 and preached at Queen Street Baptist Church. Introduction Did you know that you know some Hebrew? If you have ever used the words amen or hallelujah, you are using some Hebrew. They are the words for truth and praise the Lord. Even oy is a Hebrew word for woe.…
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A sermon based on Psalm 139 and preached at Queen Street Baptist Church. Introduction There are certain Psalms that stand out because of their beautiful language and the depth of their reflection. Psalm 23 is one, Psalm 121 that we looked at last week is another. Near the top of the list would be Psalm 139.…
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A sermon based on Psalm 121 and preached at Queen Street Baptist Church. Introduction I love the Psalms. What I appreciate about them is that they wrestle with what it means to trust God in real life. There is no pretend or make-believe when it comes to the challenges of life. The Psalmist presents reality in…
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A sermon based on Luke 11:1-4 and preached at Queen Street Baptist Church. Introduction When I was in the army and would be on course, we would often be taught by what we called a SME. SME stood for subject matter expert. It was acknowledged that there were certain people who had special knowledge of…
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A sermon based on Luke 10:38-42 and preached at Queen Street Baptist Church. Introduction One of the hardest things about being a parent is that my children do not act the way I did when I was their age. They fight, bicker and get jealous. Not once as a child did I ever get in…
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A sermon preached at Queen Street Baptist Church. Introduction If there is one piece of technology that I love, it is my GPS. That little box saves me so much on stress. I remember the days of unfolding a map while I was driving, trying to figure out where I was with one eye and…
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A message based on Luke 10:1-12 and preached at Queen Street Baptist Church. Introduction On January, 2, 2017, exactly one third of a religious group called, United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing died. This group, more commonly known as the Shakers, went from three people down to two people. How did the once…
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A message based on Luke 9:51-56 and preached at Queen Street Baptist Church. Introduction We have all experienced rejection at some point in our life. It could have been asking someone out on a date, applying for a job or at the very least, asking something from our parents when we were children. There is…
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