At What Lengths Will God Go to Meet You?

Hi Church Family,

Take a look at this baptism story set right in the earliest days of the church. Read it for yourself in Acts 8:26-40, because at least three times I found myself thinking "he did what?!" and then kept reading.

Basically there's two guys - Philip and an Ethiopian Official (we aren't given his name). God is about to encounter both of them in profound ways. We meet The Official on his chariot ride home, and he's in the middle of reading a confusing passage of Scripture. All of a sudden he looks out the window and sees this guy Philip running beside him shouting "how's your reading going?" In a short sequence of events, the men begin discussing the gospel of Jesus, and in his joy the Official responds by getting baptized right then as they come to some water by the road.

There's a picture here of the lengths God will go to meet someone in their questioning. Think about it, how did an out-of-breath Philip know to approach this important man at the right time? Only because at the top of the story, an angel visits Philip with specific instructions about where to be and Philip follows through.

Now, most of find this to be an extraordinary and miraculous story... but I have to remind myself: God still moves through us by His Holy Spirit. Prompting us to show people how loved they are, sending us to meet people in their questions about God, and asking us to pray expectant prayers about transformed lives. We just have to be listening and perhaps ready to jump in a little awkwardly and out of breath sometimes.

This month, we've got upcoming baptisms and this story reminded me that maybe God could use me in encouraging someone toward baptism. It's got to be their own choice, but we all need courage and a place to process along the way. We're confident in the safety measures we've put in place and how we intend to set -up during COVID. We've held baptisms a few times throughout the year with smaller numbers and mid-week filming.

If you are thinking about getting baptized, start a conversation with us by filling out the online baptism form or emailing loree.peters@spac.ca.

Listening with you,
Loree Peters, Adult Ministries

From the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sherwood Park Alliance Church has determined to model loving care for all by going above and beyond to reduce the spread. Though public health restrictions afford us some ability to gather in-person, we choose to play a community leadership role by setting aside certain freedoms in order to care for the most vulnerable and protect our health care system. While we look forward to being able to safely gather in person again, Weekend Services, Youth & Kids Ministries, and most Life Group gatherings remain exclusively online (weekend services are broadcast on the website, Facebook, YouTube, and Apple TV). We continue to monitor the provincial phased reopening strategy, believing that as restrictions are gradually lifted, the timing of our own re-launch 2.0 will become clear.

During this time when large group gatherings are limited, we can still be the church! We can embody the love and presence of Christ with our neighbors, family, and friends. We can pray for those who need hope, and we can offer help to those in need of practical support. Our church has never closed, and our mission and vision remains the same - we've just shifted and adapted to a new reality, and we continue to learn.

The church office remains open with essential staff working on site to ensure operational effectiveness. If you have a practical need, a prayer request, or wish to speak to someone about anything, feel free to send an email or call the church office during regular hours. If you have an urgent need for pastoral assistance after hours, you can reach the pastor-on-call at 780-919-7563.
Future COVID-19 updates will be posted in the Announcements, and weekly updates containing the latest on what's happening in and around our church community are published in eNews.

Greg Hochhalter, Lead Pastor

Last weekend, Pastor Greg's message centered around "Petition" as we continued on in the Teach Us to Pray series. Acts 12:1-17, Peter is spared death, James is not. We see the frustrating reality that sometimes God answers in the way we most hope, and sometimes He doesn't. Prayer is a mystery, it's not a magic wand. We have to remember that God is the one who does the answering. If we ask God for something, we must be willing to accept what He gives. If you missed it, or need to catch-up on any of the messages you may have missed, they are available on-demand.

This week, Pastor Greg will focus on Serenity; what about the prayers that don't get answered in the way we wish? This topic can keep a lot of people from faith. The sense that if God is a loving God, why doesn't He DO SOMETHING about "my" situation, or some of the horrific situations we see in our world?! When we talk about prayer, there is likely to be some pain involved.

Join Saturday at 7 pm; Sunday 9 am & 11 am online, Facebook and YouTube.

Lerma drew on the strength and courage of the Lord despite many trials she experienced throughout her life. She suffered from abuse, immigrated to Canada, went through a painful divorce and survived Cancer, but Lerma's faith never faltered. "I always talked to the Lord - prayer is so powerful. " Lerma says with conviction, "the trials made me stronger, and I got to know Him better because of it." Lerma's hope is for people to open their hearts sooner to God, so they don't have endure so much suffering alone knowing God is with them.

Growing up Catholic, and attending church every Sunday, Lerma had a special relationship with God. After meeting Guy and getting connected at Sherwood Park Alliance Church services and Life Groups, Lerma heard the invitation from Jesus and decided to be baptized.

As an infant, the decision to be baptized was made for Lerma; now, as an adult, she wanted to be the one who committed her life to Christ by affirming her acceptance of the Lord and making Him her primary focus.

Lerma marked a new season and proclaimed her love, publicly, for Jesus. "I'm not perfect, but the moment I was baptized, I felt renewed and cleansed; I saw a different life.
Everyone was praying over me and I felt the presence of the Lord-I was so happy!" Lerma knows that her story can give hope to others and her desire is for people to know that it was only because of God that she persevered and is thriving now. "This is Kingdom-living for the rest of my life. I have an intimate relationship with the Lord; I will stand by my faith and never be ashamed of sharing who God is."

"God gives us lots of chances to know Him", says Lerma. Her prayer is for the Lord to work through her by helping others come to know Jesus and His love for us, and by being a positive influence on the lives of others.

If you believe in Jesus, you should get baptized. Baptism declares "I am on a journey to be more like Jesus in all that I do." It invites Jesus' favour on this journey and a new grace to love God and love people. More information...

The first Thursday Night Live was held last night. We heard from our new elders Scott Pierce and Kent Maddigan and learned about their new roles on the Board and how God has been moving in their lives.

The trivia winner was Ruth Tjostheim, who battled her way up the ranks through our three rounds of questions, way to go Ruth!

Next Thursday at 8 pm, tune in as we'll have more special guests and we'll be playing Who Wants to be a Millionaire, hosted by Greg Hochhalter!

If you'd like to be a candidate on next week's show, enter your name into the candidate-draw by texting your first and last name to 587-905-0067 by Wednesday, February 10 at noon.
More information on Thursday Night Live....

Gathering and praying for individuals, church family, our community and world is a powerful and evocative way to express our needs and desires to God. On Wednesday, February 17 at 8 pm, gather online to pray. Registration is required.

The lifeline to God is through prayer-it's how God talks to us, and how we talk to God. No matter our age or stage in life, prayer aligns our hearts with His. Praying with and for each other is a powerful ministry and gift.