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Prayer is often seen as a monologue in which we ASK for God to help, fix or provide stuff. What if we have missed one of the most significant aspects of an "abiding" life with God in prayer... that of Prayer as Thanksgiving and Praise? As George Herbert once wrote: "God, You have given me so much. Give me one more thing – a grateful heart"

Prayer is the first and most important task of a Christ follower. Prayer is an invitation to intimacy. It's a response to grace. Prayer is a collective cry for God to move in our midst, heal our brokenness, save the lost, restore the wayward, forgive our sins and unify our hearts. Prayer is our declaration of dependence! In this multi-week series we long not just to learn about prayer but to grow in our practical experience of it. In fact while the Biblical lessons of prayer are many, they are primarily learned though PRAYING! In prayer we become people who live close to God. People for whom God is everything and for whom God is enough!

There are natural rhythms and seasons where it is wise to reflect on what has come and plan for what is ahead. The beginning of January is one of those obvious times. But instead of making resolutions (which are good intentions that statistically speaking are more likely to fail than not), consider making some GOD intentions... listening to the Spirit for just ONE THING that might make all the difference this year. We'll lead you through some questions that we are believing will clarify your next spiritual step in 2023... you're "one thing"! If you’re new-ish to our community we’d love to welcome you personally. Let us know you’re watching by clicking here www.newmarketalliance.ca/guest Don’t want to miss any NAC news? Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter www.newmarketalliance.ca/updates

Why is there Christmas? It's simple: God loves us deeply and wanted to offer us a way to be reconciled with him. This journey begins with the celebration of the birth of Jesus, who is the Son of God and the saviour of humanity. Jesus was sent to earth to live as a human and ultimately to die on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. Through this act of selfless love, we are forgiven and have eternal life with God. The celebration of Christmas marks the beginning of this journey of salvation through Jesus.

The last three weeks of challenging us this Christmas to UNhurry... to be UNdistracted... to UNplug from all our screens and devices... all of it, has led to this. Answering the "WHY" question. WHY should we be present this Christmas (and beyond)? You'll see that it leaves room in your schedule... space in your heart... room in your mind... to respond to Jesus the way he deserves to be responded to. The way those who encountered him 2000 years ago responded. In joyful, unapologetic, unequivocal, unabashed worship.

Humans have always had hurry. We've always had distractions. We've always had to adjust to new technologies and innovations ("curse this wretched sun-dial). But the last 10 years or so have truly been a seismic change in how we relate to the world and to each other. We carry all the world's knowable information in our pockets. That seems like a good thing... doesn't it? What's most notable though is how our human interactions have changed in the last decade, and very few people are asking... "How are these devices affecting my soul? My faith? My relationship with Jesus?"

It's interesting to scan the predictions of so-called "futurists" from the past to see how they got things wrong. In the 1960s as "time-saving devices" ramped up, there was a genuine concern that by the time we got to 2022, we would have a crisis of too much time on our hands... a crisis of leisure time you could say. Does anyone feel that you have too much time? I didn't think so. I suspect your crisis is closer to mine... feeling like there are not enough hours in the day. A feeling of hurriedness and unsettledness and unfocused. And is there any season where this is more acutely felt than Christmas? Maybe it's not a crisis of finding more hours but prioritizing the hours we each have been given. That we would - as Jesus said - choose the BEST things. The things of eternal value. The things that give life. Don’t want to miss any NAC news? Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter www.newmarketalliance.ca/updates

November 27, 2022 We are afflicted as a culture with a disease! An actual diagnosis called "Hurry Sickness" And is there any time of year when this is more acutely felt than the Christmas Season? This Advent season may we give the BEST gift to our families, to Jesus, and to our own souls: The gift of our unhurried, unplugged & undistracted PRESENCE!

The first couple of weeks of our shame series focused on the causes of shame. Many of you have resonated with some of these sources... toxic churches, toxic upbringings, the lies of our spiritual accuser, among others. Perhaps the biggest impact for some of you might just be the recognition of the shame you carry. You have made the first and most critical step of bringing into the light what was formerly in the dark. (John 3:21, Ephesians 5:13) Sunday we would like to close out this series with some practical steps toward freedom from our shame. I says "steps", because 99 times out of 100 this healing doesn't happen instantly, but by God's grace, even while we are en route to total wholeness, He's using the journey itself to minister to us. Come hear stories of fellow church members on this recovery from Shame. Come receive prayer ministry. You've heard "Shame ON you" for so long. Sunday, may you hear Jesus say: "Shame OFF you"

Academic, popular speaker and expert on the subject Brené Brown, defines shame this way: "Shame is the intensely painful feeling or experience of believing that we are flawed and therefore unworthy of love and belonging." Maybe in our context, we might say: How could God ever love someone like me? How heartbreaking it is in fact that the two biggest sources or roots of our shame often come from places that should be the safest... The Church and Our families You may have been "disowned", in overt or in subtle ways. You may have been labelled and unfairly scolded. Jesus has a life-changing, identity-changing word for you. By his grace, may it travel 18 inches from your head to your heart!

Each year in November, believers around the world participate in special services that focus on the persecuted church. There are an estimated 260 million believers around the world who are experiencing high to extreme forms of persecution. We read the stories of Paul and Stephen and John the Baptist - all persecuted for their faith. Some of you may know the stories of men and women in Church history like John Wycliff or William Tyndale, martyred for their faith. 20th Century martyrs like Jim Elliot and Dietrich Bonhoeffer may be names familiar to some of you. It's hard to believe though that in this most prosperous and "advanced" society, there have never been more Christians persecuted as there are in 2022. Their crime? Loving Jesus. Join us today for a special guest speaker from our NAC family - Jim Rabyniuk - who has been deeply moved recently by this (often under-reported) plight.

"Shame on you" "You oughtta be ashamed of yourself" "Have you no shame?" Body-shamed Put to shame Walk of shame "Shame, shame, double shame" In one Pastor's observation, I'm not sure if there's a more prevalent root feeling that robs us of our joy and the "abundant life" that Jesus promised more so than shame. Shame is most often rooted in a lie; A lie that can come from our families, our culture, our churches and the one Revelation calls "The accuser of the Saints" This can be a hard feeling to kick though as the lies come from such persuasive sources. For some, the "prison of shame" even starts to feel like home. The weight of shame is heavy indeed and it happens to be something Jesus already paid for. You were never meant to carry it. Maybe Jesus is saying to us today: "Shame OFF you!"

There's just ONE more aspect of our refreshed Church vision we'd like to share before wrapping up this series. We've been using the early Acts church as a model of sorts, and it's clear the early church was a worshipping church. The Psalms were their worship "playlist" you could say. And while worship through singing is far from the ONLY expression of personal and corporate worship, for some reason God has elevated singing as one of the main ways we can show our love to Him. He even says that He somehow dwells in the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3) The word WORSHIP comes from an old anglo-Saxon word that literally means "Worth-ship"; To give "worth" or "honour" to someone or something. So when it comes to worshipping God, what's the appropriate amount of worth or honour due Him? Today we are actually going to PRACTICE what we PREACH!

There are a couple more aspects of our vision we'd like to share before wrapping up this series. Our "marching orders" and model always come from Jesus Himself who "did not come to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45) It's why we're trying not to use the word "volunteer" as it applies to our Christian calling. Not that there is anything wrong with volunteering - in fact, it's obviously a very GOOD thing - but the word implies that it is optional... something you might do if you have the time and motivation. SERVING on the other hand is the language of Scripture and speaks to the idea of calling and obedience and sacrifice. In the same way that our servant leader Himself, rolled up his sleeves and his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and took on the lowliest job of foot washing. The master serving his followers. We are NAC and we will not only serve IN the church but we will serve AS the Church in our community, lovingly through a 21st-century version of foot washing. #WE ARE NAC

As we talk about the kind of church we want to be... the VISION and MISSION we believe God has given us, it is all sustained through every Church's and disciple's first ministry; PRAYER You will find that you can do much after you pray but you can do nothing until you pray. Prayer is a declaration of dependence. Prayer is an invitation to intimacy. Prayer is a response to grace. Corporate prayer is a collective cry of intercession and petition for God to move in our midst, heal our brokenness, save the lost, restore the wayward, receive our worship, enliven our preaching, forgive our sins, and unify our hearts to fear His name When we don’t pray, we become spiritually dehydrated. So may we be known as a praying church. Join us tomorrow for some inspiration and tools and even some real-world practice. #WE ARE NAC

Everything in the first parts of our re-vamped vision is ultimately leading us to this… To Go! We take our cues from Jesus Himself who when confronted by the uber-religious folks about why he was not only hanging out but PURSUING sinners and those with bad reputations, He told 3 stories in a row about “the lost”, and more importantly, what the Father’s heart is towards the lost. Maybe we’d even call them “The people God misses the most”. And so we long to share that kind of heart. GOING towards and after those who God misses the most. It’s what it means to “GO” and “BE” the church.

September 25th, 2022 I'm sure you've met all kinds of people - more and more lately - who would agree with the sentiment... "I'm good with Jesus, but I don't want anything to do with His Church. It's CHRISTIANS who I'm done with" I dare say we've all had enough hurts and frustrations with people to at least sympathize with that idea. The thing is, Jesus had a Kingdom dream. A dream that involved being part of a PEOPLE. You can see it in His own ministry and in His vision to change the world. It also happens to be the best way to change OURSELVES. Growing in our relationship with God is best experienced by growing in the faith community He's called us to. We really are "better together" It's part of being able to proudly say... #WE ARE NAC

We kick off this new ministry year with a re-vamped, re-imagined vision that will guide us into the next season of our church. What does it mean to truly BE the Church? What does it mean to BE NAC? We think it can be boiled down to 3 things. Simple, but not easy by any means. Find out what it means to be able to say... #WE ARE NAC

Most of our faith is spent in the middle. NOT in the wonderful "honeymoon" phase where everything feels new, exciting and passionate. NOT even near the finish line where the Apostle Paul had finished his race well. It's in the middle where we are tempted to drift. Where things feel "same old-same old". The same can be said for our marriages, vocations, disciplines... perhaps the impetus behind the "midlife crisis". As we come to a new vision this month in what is increasingly feeling like a "re-launch" of NAC following COVID, I want to challenge the majority of us who call Newmarket Alliance their home. Don't give up in the middle. God's not done with us. God's not done with you!

LABOUR DAY WEEKEND! It got me thinking about the two extremes we see many people erring on. The one extreme is seeing your work... your job... as your primary identity. The place where you receive your greatest sense of worth and accomplishment. We see the value we place on this when the first question we ask someone is "So what do you do for a living?" (Guys can be particularly bad for this). At best it's deeply out of balance. At worst, it's actually idolatrous! But the other extreme is looking at our work as just a means to an end; Something to endure. A result of the Genesis "curse". We see a version of this in the newly coined phenomenon of "quiet quitting" which at its best means having some work-life balance and not getting sucked into the rat-rce BUT at it's worst it means putting in the absolute bare minimum to keep your job... perhaps even holding down TWO virtual-work jobs and doing each mediocrely. What if we saw work as a "calling" - a word not just reserved for Pastors and Missionaries. What if we even saw it as a gift from God - the creator of work? What if there was work in HEAVEN - perfect, meaningful, life-giving work. Take this job and LOVE it!