Third Sunday of Advent

Sunday Worship Service at 10:00am

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It is the third Sunday of Advent, and on this Sunday of Joy we take a look at what appears to be a message that isn't particularly joyful at all - at the radical and fiery message of John the Baptizer. Is there, for us, good news in this message as the gospel writer, Luke, claims? Let's find out!

Also, if you are at home, you may want to have a candle or a set of advent candles and light one along with us as we do the Advent Candle lighting.

Sundays In November

November 7 - Lost, Then Found

Romans 12: 3-8; Psalm 103:1-13; Matthew 18:10-14

Guest Preacher: Ruth Magnuson, Executive Director of Winnipeg Inner City Missions

Order of Service / Program - Planning to Attend In-Person? Read the Guidelines

Ruth Magnuson has spent her life, as employee or volunteer, within the realm of either service delivery (teacher, program manager, executive director) or as an educator (writer of Bible studies, resources on homelessness, poverty, HIV/AIDS) and almost always in a faith based setting. Outside of that, her first loves are her family including her husband Chris, 4 children and their spouses and 3 grandchildren.

 

November 14 - Press On

Hebrews 10:19-25

Guest Preacher: Kevin Pauls

Order of Service / Program - Planning to Attend In-Person? Read the Guidelines

Kevin Pauls is the Community Youth Minister at Kildonan Community Church in a partnership with Youth For Christ. He leads a ministry called the GOAT, designed to engage with unchurched youth in the West Kildonan/Riverbend community. Kevin is married to Lee and they have three children.

 

November 21 - Tent Life

God has come to dwell with us and through us

Psalm 15; 2 Samuel 7:1-14a; John 1: 14-18

Guest Preacher: Barry Maurer

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Barry Maurer is a husband and father of 3 currently working on his masters degree at Providence seminary.

 

November 28 - First Sunday of Advent

Jeremiah 33:14-16; Luke 21:25-36

Guest Preacher: Rob Dean

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Robert Dean is a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church in Canada. He serves as Associate Professor of Theology and Ethics at Providence Theological Seminary. Rob is married to Melissa and they have two children.

 

Sustaining the Spiritual Life

Theme and Practice: Integration and Praying the Examen

This Sunday we wrap up our series which focused on a number of core practices, including Sabbath, Centring Prayer, Forgiveness, Remembering with Grace, and praying in your neighbourhood. Today talk about sustaining the spiritual life and consider the strange story where Jesus healed someone and it didn't seem to quite work at first. What might that mean for how we engage with our own spirituality?

Another prayer practice is given today, that of the Examen. To learn more, including a model for this way of praying, visit this webpage.

Sunday Worship Service at 10:00am

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Missional Spirituality

Theme and Practice: Paying Attention to Location and Relationships Part 2

This Sunday we look at Acts 16:11-14. At first glance, this text seems fairly innocuous, but there are lots of surprises. Paul and his fellow travellers have been bringing the message about Jesus to different regions, and they had been stalled, when Paul had a dream of a man from Macedonia asking for help. On the basis of the dream, they make their way to the Macedonian city of Philippi and meet not a man, but a woman named Lydia. Lydia is not really needy at all (she’s a business woman), nor is she from Macedonia. But God “opens her heart,” her and her household get baptized, and she insists that Paul and his company stay at her house. She essentially helps start the very first church in Europe. When it comes to seeing what the Holy Spirit is up to in our neighbourhoods, we need to have our eyes wide open and be ready for unexpected people to be key people in God’s story.

Sunday Worship Service at 10:00am

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In and For the Neighbourhood

Theme and Practice: Paying Attention to Location and Relationships Part 1

This Sunday we shift our focus from the inward to the outward. Up until this point, this series has looked at things like Rest, Sabbath, Centring Prayer, our Relationship with God, remembering with grace, and forgiveness. In many ways these are introspective practices, even though they have deep implications for our relationships. But today, and next week, we take a more purposeful look at what it means to pay attention to God’s activity in the places we find ourselves and in the relationships we have. The practice of “noticing God” outside of yourself is at least as important as paying attention the Holy Spirit at work inside you.

Sunday Worship Service at 10:00am

Planning to Attend In-Person? Read the Guidelines

Join Live on YouTube or view it later 

Program / Order of Service

Read the program to follow along

Children’s Ministry Videos

You can access Children’s Ministry Videos here on the Prairie YouTube Channel.

Prayer Requests

If you have prayer requests to be included in our prayers of intercession, please email Matt at matt@prairiechurch.ca

Remembering And Letting Go

Theme and Practice: Thanksgiving and Forgiveness Part 2

This Sunday is Thanksgiving and we will focus on remembering and letting go. The text for this Sunday speaks about not judging, not condemning, but forgiving and giving. We will talk about the difficulties we have in actually forgiving others and ourselves, and we will also engage in a special thanksgiving prayer.

Sunday Worship Service at 10:00am

Planning to Attend In-Person? Read the Guidelines

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Program / Order of Service

Read the program to follow along

Children’s Ministry Videos

You can access Children’s Ministry Videos here on the Prairie YouTube Channel.

Prayer Requests

If you have prayer requests to be included in our prayers of intercession, please email Matt at matt@prairiechurch.ca

Remembering With Grace

Theme and Practice: Thanksgiving and Forgiveness Part 1

This Sunday is world communion Sunday and we will focus on remembering with grace. What was it like for the first followers of Jesus to remember him and how might we remember our own past with grace?

Sunday Worship Service at 10:00am

Planning to Attend In-Person? Read the Guidelines

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Program / Order of Service

Read the program to follow along

Children’s Ministry Videos

You can access Children’s Ministry Videos here on the Prairie YouTube Channel.

Prayer Requests

If you have prayer requests to be included in our prayers of intercession, please email Matt at matt@prairiechurch.ca

By Yourself, But Not Alone

Theme and Practice: Centring Prayer/Being With God Part 2

See Part 1 (With God, Without Agenda) for Podcasts, Books, Resources, and a How-To Guide to Centring Prayer

Continuing with our theme of Being With God, this Sunday we look at times when Jesus went off by himself to pray and how this is a model for our own prayer life that includes solitude.

Sunday Worship Service at 10:00am

Planning to Attend In-Person? Read the Guidelines

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Program / Order of Service

Read the program to follow along

Children’s Ministry Videos

You can access Children’s Ministry Videos here on the Prairie YouTube Channel.

Prayer Requests

If you have prayer requests to be included in our prayers of intercession, please email Matt at matt@prairiechurch.ca

With God, Without Agenda

Theme and Practice: Quieting Yourself and Centring Prayer Part 1

See Below for Podcasts, Books, and Resources on Centring Prayer and Being With God

We begin a theme of quieting yourself and look at a classic text about loving God with heart, soul, mind, and strength. How can you lean into loving God? What does that actually look like, and why is us loving God so important.

Sunday Worship Service at 10:00am

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Centring Prayer / Being With God Resources

Podcasts

Books

A Guide to Centring Prayer

Centering prayer is a form of contemplative prayer where the pray-er seeks to quiet scattered thoughts and desires in the still center of Christ’s presence. ~ Adele Alhberg Calhoun

Centering prayer is a practice that opens us to the gift of contemplative prayer. During Contemplative prayer we sit with God. We open our mind, heart and body to God who is beyond thoughts, words and emotions.

Contemplative prayer is like when we sit with a lover or a friend. No words need to be said. Centering prayer does not replace other forms of prayer. It complements them. It is both a relationship with God and a discipline to foster our relationship with God.

Centring Prayer Exercises:

THE FOUR BASIC GUIDELINES OF CENTERING PRAYER (from Rich Lewis)

  1. Choose a sacred word as the symbol of your intention to consent to God’s presence and action within.

  2. Sitting comfortably and with eyes closed, settle briefly and silently introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God’s presence and action within.

  3. When engaged with your thoughts, return ever-so- gently to the sacred word.

  4. At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes.

A SHORT METHOD (from Adele Alhberg Calhoun)

  1. Settle into a comfortable position and intentionally place yourself in the presence of God.

  2. Choose a simple word, phrase or verse from Scripture that expresses your desire for God. Let this word guard your attention.

  3. Take time to become quiet. Let noisy thoughts go. Gently return your attention to the centre of God’s presence and love by repeating your word. When your thoughts wander, don’t go after them, let the word draw your attention back to Jesus. Be with Jesus.

  4. Rest in the centre of God’s love. Trust that the Holy Spirit who abides in the depths of your spirit to connect you with God.

  5. Take several minutes to come out of prayer. Don’t hurry. Breathe in the presence of Christ. Offer yourself to God for the tasks awaiting you.

Even More on Contemplative Practices…

Contemplative Outreach Website

Centring Prayer App from Contemplative Outreach


Children’s Ministry Videos

You can access Children’s Ministry Videos here on the Prairie YouTube Channel.

Prayer Requests

If you have prayer requests to be included in our prayers of intercession, please email Matt at matt@prairiechurch.ca


Rest for the Weariest

Theme and Practice: Sabbath/Rest Part 2

See Part 1 (Stopping Busy) for Podcasts, Books, Questions, and Ideas on Sabbath and Rest

Continuing with our theme of Sabbath/Rest, this Sunday we look at the Biblical concept of Jubilee and how this ancient idea can still impact our lives and world today.

Sunday Worship Service at 10:00am

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Program / Order of Service

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Children’s Ministry Videos

You can access Children’s Ministry Videos here on the Prairie YouTube Channel.

Prayer Requests

If you have prayer requests to be included in our prayers of intercession, please email Matt at matt@prairiechurch.ca

Stopping Busy

Theme and Practice: Sabbath/Rest

See Podcasts, Books, Questions, and Ideas Below…

This week we are talking about how Sabbath and Rest are absolutely critical to the Spiritual Life. We need to get this one right and we have had a long run of running. This Sunday is about Stopping Busy. A great reminder as we head into what can often be one of the busiest times of the year.

Sunday Worship Service at 10:00am

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Sabbath/Rest Resources

Podcasts

Books

Reflection Questions and Ideas

  1. What are three things you would do on an ideal day off? (Bonus: your answer can’t involve screens)

  2. Experiment with when you take a sabbath. Kate Rademacher describes how she struggled to keep sabbath on Sunday as it became a time for kids to do homework, and for her to begin getting ready for work on Monday. She settled into starting sabbath on Friday night and all day Saturday.

  3. Celebration and Ritual. On Friday evening Kate turns off her phone and covers her computer monitors with a blanket to ritualize the end of work. What might you do to signal to yourself that there is something special about the Sabbath day?

  4. Jewish tradition speaks of the Sabbath as a Queen. Imagine royalty visiting your house each week. Therefore, we dress up, we get ready. There is anticipation and excitement. The Sabbath is not just a day off, it is the queen of days, something to look forward to and be celebrated. How might you celebrate your day of rest as though it is like royalty visiting you?

  5. The Sabbath commandment in Exodus connects our day of rest to the rest that God took on the seventh day. What do we learn from God resting? How might this impact how we rest?

  6. Sabbath is a practice in trusting God. If we take a day off, the world will not fall apart. How might stopping busy in your life help you grow your trust in God?

  7. The Sabbath commandment in Deuteronomy connects our day of rest to remembering the time when God’s people were enslaved and were forced to work every day of the week. How might a sabbath practice help us not become enslaved to work or busyness? How mindful are we of those in our world who are receiving little to no rest because of systems of oppression? In what ways can we seek to change this?

  8. How might we cease contributing to a culture that prizes busy?

Practicalities for Practicing Sabbath

  1. What won’t you do? What counts as work? (Not just a day off from your job! Think about Housework, etc.)

  2. When will you keep Sabbath? Sunday? Friday sundown to Saturday sundown?

  3. How will you prepare / create anticipation? (Do you need to get certain chores done ahead of time? Do you need a ritual or a meal to start off? Turn off your phone, perhaps?)

  4. Where will you be? (At home, a certain room, outdoors, a park?)

  5. Who is with you and do you need to discuss your plan for sabbath ahead of time?

  6. Make observations over time. What are you appreciating? When is it hard to rest? When is it a joy? When is it a chore? What are you learning about God? What are you learning about yourself?

Children’s Ministry Videos

You can access Children’s Ministry Videos here on the Prairie YouTube Channel.

Prayer Requests

If you have prayer requests to be included in our prayers of intercession, please email Matt at matt@prairiechurch.ca

Aug 29 - The Path Behind and the Journey Ahead

Sunday Service LIVE on YouTube at 10:00am

Worship together at 10:00am Sunday on YouTube or view it later 

This Sunday, we will be looking a little at where we have been a as congregation and what is next for us. We will be introducing a new series on Spiritual Practices for September and October, will be sharing about how we will be approaching a formal long-term discernment and planning process, and will have some important updates about our ministry staff.

Program / Order of Service

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Children’s Ministry Videos

You can access Children’s Ministry Videos here on the Prairie YouTube Channel.

Prayer Requests

If you have prayer requests to be included in our prayers of intercession, please email Jen at jen@prairiechurch.ca

July 25 to August 29 - Practices for Living a Whole Life - Series

Sunday Services on YouTube at 10:00am

Go to Prairie’s YouTube Channel

This series makes use of a video series from The Work of the People called “ON OUR WAY: Conversations about Christian Practices for Living a Whole Life.”

Each week, we will include one or two short videos and then the leadership at Prairie will provide a brief conversation or reflection based on the videos.

The reflections and discussions are based on the discussion guide, which you can download here.

During this series most of the music was pre-recorded.

Programs / Order of Service

July 25 - An Invitation

August 1 - Study/Discernment

August 8 - Community/Friendship

August 15 - Care for Creation

August 22 - Our Neighbours of Other Faiths

August 29 - Peacemaking

Children’s Ministry Videos

You can access Children’s Ministry Videos here on the Prairie YouTube Channel.

Prayer Requests

If you have prayer requests to be included in our prayers of intercession, please email Jen at jen@prairiechurch.ca

July 11 - Glorious Grace, Lavish Blessings, and All Things

Sunday Service LIVE on YouTube at 10:00am

Worship together at 10:00am Sunday on YouTube or view it later 

Program / Order of Service

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Children’s Ministry Videos

You can access Children’s Ministry Videos here on the Prairie YouTube Channel.

Prayer Requests

If you have prayer requests to be included in our prayers of intercession, please email Jen at jen@prairiechurch.ca

July 4 - Sent by Christ in a Post-colonial age

Sunday Service LIVE on YouTube at 10:00am

Worship together at 10:00am Sunday on YouTube or view it later 

Program / Order of Service

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Children’s Ministry Videos

You can access Children’s Ministry Videos here on the Prairie YouTube Channel.

Prayer Requests

If you have prayer requests to be included in our prayers of intercession, please email Jen at jen@prairiechurch.ca

June 27 - Mission in Malawi

Sunday Service Premiere on YouTube at 10:00am

Rev. Dr. Blair Bertrand is today's guest preacher. Based in Ottawa, Blair serves as full-time mission staff, staying connected with the PCC’s partners in Malawi. (Read More}

Worship together at 10:00am Sunday on YouTube or view it later 

Program / Order of Service

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Children’s Ministry Videos

You can access Children’s Ministry Videos here on the Prairie YouTube Channel.

Prayer Requests

If you have prayer requests to be included in our prayers of intercession, please email Jen at jen@prairiechurch.ca

June 20 - After the Storm

Sunday Service Live on YouTube at 10:00am

Worship together LIVE at 10:00am Sunday on YouTube or view it later 

Program / Order of Service

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Children’s Ministry Videos

You can access Children’s Ministry Videos here on the Prairie YouTube Channel.

Prayer Requests

If you have prayer requests to be included in our prayers of intercession, please email Jen at jen@prairiechurch.ca

June 13 - Mustard Seed Kingdom

Sunday Service Live on YouTube at 10:00am

Worship together LIVE at 10:00am Sunday on YouTube or view it later 

Program / Order of Service

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Children’s Ministry Videos

You can access Children’s Ministry Videos here on the Prairie YouTube Channel.

Prayer Requests

If you have prayer requests to be included in our prayers of intercession, please email Jen at jen@prairiechurch.ca

June 6 - Hiding in the Garden

Sunday Service Live on YouTube at 10:00am

Today we celebrate communion. Have your elements ready in order to join in.

Worship together LIVE at 10:00am Sunday on YouTube or view it later 

Program / Order of Service

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Children’s Ministry Videos

You can access Children’s Ministry Videos here on the Prairie YouTube Channel.

Prayer Requests

If you have prayer requests to be included in our prayers of intercession, please email Jen at jen@prairiechurch.ca

Our congregation is located in Winnipeg, which is on Treaty One Land, first entrusted by Creator God to the Anishinaabeg, Anishininewuk, Dakota Oyate, Denesuline, Nehethowuk nations, the homeland of the Red River Métis.