Avon Church Podcast

Join Pastor Troy in exploring how to engage difficult texts in the Bible. He unpacks three common filters that colour and distort our interpretive lens, hindering us from interacting with Scripture in open and fresh ways. The three filters are presentism, self-centrism, Bible-centrism. And he offers six questions we can ask to help us engage the Bible more meaningfully. What lenses am I bringing to and imposing upon the text? What did the people in this time & culture understand, assume, believe, fear & value? How is God meeting them where they are at and moving them closer to justice and equality, to the ethics, values and life in the KOG? Who is this good news for? How does this point to Christ? How do I read this through the lens of Jesus - his life, example & teachings.

Join Pastor Stephen as he reflects on Galatians chapter 5. Spoiler: Transformation doesn't happen from the rules of a distant God but from getting to know a loving God's heart.

Join Sarah Whitsed as she unpacks the story of Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah; the five faithful daughters of Zelophehad. Their story is told in Numbers 27 and 36.

Join Pastor Stephen as he unpacks The Book of Hebrews.  If you're interested in joining our discussion time during this recording, here are the verses we explored: Hebrews 1:1-3, Hebrews 7: 23-26, Hebrews 8: 8b-12, Hebrews 9: 11-14, Hebrews 9: 15, Hebrews 10: 16-18, Hebrews 10:19-22, Hebrews 10: 24-25, Hebrews 12: 1-3.

Join Troy in exploring the way of the cross, the power of powerlessness, the victory of love.

Pastor Troy unpacks the grand story of God's liberation - from Genesis to Revelation - and how God sets us free from the Adversary through Jesus' death and resurrection.

Join Pastor Troy as he explores Jesus' teachings on the need to be slow, honest, mindful and succinct when we speak. Matthew 5:33-37

Pastor Troy explores one of the primary emotions that leads to the dark side and how we develop and maintain healthy relationships by "living at the altar." Matt. 5:21-26

Join Pastor Stephen as he unpacks a challenging section of Jesus' sermon around adultery and divorce. Spoiler alter: These verses hold a deeper hidden wisdom about our entire lives. 

Pastor Troy explores Jesus' calling us salt and light - and his introducing a different kind of righteousness in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:13-20

What does it mean to be a Peacemaker? To participate in the world we live in.  Join Pastor Stephen as he explores Part 3 of the Sermon on the Mount.

Join Pastor Troy as he explores the blessing of being meek, merciful, hungry for justice and pure in heart. Matthew 5:5-8

Join Pastor Troy in exploring the meaning of Jesus blessing those who are poor in spirit and mourning.

Pastor Troy introduces the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus' Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Join Pastor Stephen as he unpacks our Avon Covenant and how to become more generous in your life. This year at Avon we are learning to become a community of generosity in our faith, our relationships and our resources.

Sarah Whitsed shares a reflection on the story of Tamar.

Margaret Smart shares a reflection on the story of Bathsheba.

Liisa Farrugia starts off our Jesus' Family HERitage series with her reflections on Rahab's story. 

Join Pastor Troy as he walks us through two ways of engaging Scripture. 1. Ignatian Imaginative Contemplation 2. Anabaptist Community Hermeneutic   Ignatian Imaginative Contemplation  Choose a Bible story from the Gospels. 1. Read it slowly:  Read the passage slowly and thoughtfully, paying attention to words or phrases that stand out to you. 2. Imagine the scene:  Close the text and imagine the scene vividly using all your senses. Visualize the sights, sounds, and smells. Imagine the people involved. 3. Put yourself in the scene:  Become an observer. Imagine you are in the crowd or one of the people mentioned in the story. Notice what is happening, the little details. Reflect on any questions or new perspectives that arise. 4. Interact with Jesus or another character in the scene.  You can ask questions, talk to them or simply be present with them. 5. Converse:  Imagine you’re able to pull Jesus aside and have a conversation with him (or another person from the scene). Ask questions, share your thoughts and feelings from your experience. 6. Reflect:  Consider what God might be saying to you in this passage and what it is asking of you.    Anabaptist Community Hermeneutic: Three Essential Ingredients:  Scripture, Community, Holy Spirit   Focal Point:  What are we sensing the Holy Spirit communicating to us through this passage?   Four Guidelines: 1. Talk to the Spirit AND one another. Form our comments as prayers.  2. Pay attention to where the fruit of the Spirit is flowing in our conversation.  3. Pay attention to the common thread(s) interwoven in our conversation. 4. Is our interpretation helpful? Does it reflect the character & teachings of Jesus?  

Join guest speaker, and Avon congregant, Brent Musser this week. Scripture is a key way for us to connect with God, and yet, for so many of us, scripture can feel overwhelming and inaccessible. Join us for 4 weeks of learning how to read scripture and actually find truth, find life, and find a connection with Christ. 

Scripture is a key way for us to connect with God, and yet, for so many of us, scripture can feel overwhelming and inaccessible. Join us for 4 weeks of learning how to read scripture and actually find truth, find life, and find a connection with Christ. 

Scripture is a key way for us to connect with God, and yet, for so many of us, scripture can feel overwhelming and inaccessible. Join us for 4 weeks of learning how to read scripture and actually find truth, find life, and find a connection with Christ. 

Troy talks about pickled eggs, banana peels, peach pits and walking in the Spirit as he explores the idea of our authentic self being who we are in Christ. 

Troy explores the teachings of Jesus to unpack the role of ego and the essential self in our personal and spiritual development. 

Join Troy Watson in exploring the process of losing our self - our bulb / caterpillar identity - to find our authentic self - our inner flower / butterfly... the unique image of God we truly are.

Join Troy as he explores Jesus' teachings on how to discern and fulfill the genuine desires of our authentic self. 

Troy explores the power of our expectations in our lives, how to manage our expectations and how to follow the Jesus' path by learning to expect the unexpected. Lk 14, Mt 6

The first step towards self-awareness is admitting we have a problem, that we have contradictions in our lives and gaps in our self image. We are often surprised to see these contradictions and gaps are gifts that help us explore who we really are - underneath the surface.

Join Pastor Stephen as he explores how we can truly know whether we have a genuine and truth-filled picture of God in our mind or if we are following a counter-fit. It'll be refreshing. 

Liisa and Peter Farrugia share about their learning experience in Rwanda.

Join Pastor Stephen as he unpacks Psalm 8 in a way that reminds us just how beautiful we are in God's eyes. 

Pastor Troy examines two paths outlined in Psalm 1. The path that leads to sustainable joy, contentment and peace and the slippery slope that leads to losing yourself and destruction.

Pastor Troy talks about learning to number our days and transform our fear into wisdom by visualizing and activating the antidotes to fear found in the Psalms.

Join Pastor Troy in exploring the secrets to the best life possible revealed in Psalm 119

Join Pastor Stephen as he unpacks Psalm 77 and how it benefits our prayer life with God. 

Join Pastor Troy in exploring why it seems like Jesus is mean sometimes. We can't understand what Jesus is saying until we understand why he's saying it. 

Freedom is a trumpet... And Galatians 5 tells us how.  Join Pastor Stephen as we talk about real freedom in our lives. 

Join Pastor Troy in exploring the meaning of bad eyes and good eyes in the context of flowing with the Spirit.

Join Pastor Troy in exploring Jesus's teachings on perspective in the Sermon on the Mount 

Join Pastor Stephen as he looks at three encounter stories in The Book of Luke. The lawyer in Luke 10, the Ruler in Luke 18 and Zacheus in Luke 19. 

Join Pastor Stephen as he explores Communion through fresh eyes. Whether you're new to church or not, you'll see some fresh perspectives.

Pastor Troy talks about Star Wars and the inspiration from the book of Ruth for the saying "the force be with you."

Pastor Troy examines and speculates on what Jesus taught 2 unknown disciples for 3 hours on the road to Emmaus.

Pastor Troy talks about hockey fights, dartboards, Latin and Greek terms to unpack what it means that the risen Christ intercedes for us on our behalf.

Join Pastor Stephen as he unpacks the value of praying scripture daily.  Why should we regularly use scripture to connect with God?  Praying scripture connects us and God to our inner selves- our true selves- not our ego selves.  Praying scripture connects us to God, ourselves and the world because 99% of scripture teaches us about God, about ourselves, and how to live differently because of it.  Praying scripture grounds our identity in truth, not in the other voices we hear. Praying scripture gives us a truckload of truth in a very small package. Praying scripture regularly brings it to mind when we need it most.

Pastor Troy unpacks what Jesus models and teaches about praying publicly and proximal intercessory prayer.

Pastor Troy unpacks the conundrum of petitionary prayer and explores how to pray conspiring prayers with the Spirit, that are in line with Scripture and God's nature of uncontrolling love.

Pastor Troy talks about radio signals, natural resonant frequencies and prayer as attunement with the Spirit of Christ. 

Pastor Troy unpacks the art of conversation called prayer. How to talk to God the way Jesus teaches and models. 

In this season of Lent, join us on a journey of prayer! Why do we pray, how do we pray, what baggage do we need to get rid of, and how can we connect to God in a meaningful way?  This week, Stephen shares 4 Foundational Truths to carry on the journey.  1. Prayer is about change. 2. Prayer is about our mindset not our mechanics. 3. Prayer requires vulnerability. 4. We pray through Jesus.