Grassroots Church | Thunder Bay, Ontario

We begin our final Apocalypse Unveiled mini-series, When Heaven Comes to Earth, by tracing the Bible’s temple story from Eden to the tabernacle, from Solomon’s temple to Jesus, from the Spirit-filled Church to the New Jerusalem. Revelation 21–22 is not a picture of God abandoning earth, but of heaven and earth finally reunited. The garden expands, the temple reaches its goal and the whole world becomes the dwelling place of God. This is the hope at the heart of Christian faith: not escape from creation, but God making all things new.Download the Discussion Guide

As we prepare for our mini-series into the last 2 chapters of Revelation in which we discuss the new heavens and new earth, we spent this week hearing from folks who can testify to God's Kingdom breaking in within our world, beginning with an update from the work of LifeWater Canada. May you be encouraged and your hope renewed as you listen to these testimonies of his kingdom coming now.

As we begin a miniseries within the larger series on the Apocalypse, we return to our theme of "glimpses of the Kingdom," where we testify to evidence of God's Kingdom showing up in our own lives and community. Today's story is from Matteo and Heidi Pauselli, who share their story of Huntington's Disease, with both the struggles--and unexpected joys--that have emerged along their journey. The Pauselli's are helping to bring awareness to HD with some helpful education on the disease in anticipation of Huntington's Disease Awareness Month in May. If you would like to support their efforts, please donate here: https://p2p.onecause.com/hscnationalwalk/team/thunder-bay-huntingtons-heros

In Revelation 19, Jesus is not revealed as a violent warrior but as the faithful and true Lamb who defeats evil through righteousness, truth and self-giving love. This sermon explores the fall of the Beast, the seriousness of evil and the hope that, because of the resurrection, the Lamb gets the final word.Download Discussion Guide

In this message from Apocalypse Unveiled, we wrestle with Revelation 14 and the meaning of God’s wrath. Reading the passage through the lens of the slain Lamb, we consider Babylon, judgment and how God’s fire may be less about vengeance and more about truth, consequence and refinement.Download Discussion Guide

On Resurrection Sunday, we pause to reflect on the meaning of Jesus’ resurrection and the hope of the final resurrection. Easter is bigger than “going to heaven when we die,” and the risen Jesus points us toward God’s promise to renew our bodies, renew creation and make all things new. The resurrection declares that death is not the end, creation is not abandoned and our hope is not escape, but renewal in Christ!Download the Discussion Guide

On Palm Sunday, we remember that two parades entered Jerusalem: Pilate’s parade of force and intimidation, and Jesus’ parade of humility and peace. In this message, we reflect on the kind of King Jesus is, the kind of power he reveals, and the ongoing temptation to drift back toward the way of domination rather than the way of self-giving love. As Holy Week begins, we are invited again to follow the King on the donkey, not the ruler on the war horse.Download the Discussion Guide

In this personal message, Scott Wiebe looks at the Stages of Faith as developed by Brian McLaren in his book, "Faith After Doubt": Simplicity, Complexity, Perplexity, and Harmony. He examines the role of doubt in leading us through these stages and bringing us closer to God.This message was originally delivered on March 22, 2026.

Acts 8:26-40 tells the story of Philip encountering a traveler who comes to follow Jesus. In this message, guest speaker Scott Baker imagines what Philip might have been thinking and considering during this encounter, and how it can apply to us as we continue to work to follow Jesus. This message was originally delivered March 15, 2026.First PaintingSecond PaintingThird Painting

Revelation 13 exposes two of the enemy’s oldest tactics: fear and deception. One beast uses fear to bend obedience, while the other uses deception to distort worship. In a world shaped by power, anxiety and false appearances, followers of Jesus are called to patient endurance, wise discernment and faithful allegiance to the Lamb.Download the Discussion Guide

In Revelation 12, John pulls back the curtain to reveal the deeper reality behind the brokenness of our world. Evil is not just bad behaviour or terrible people, but a parasitic, accusing force that seeks to corrupt God’s good creation. Yet Revelation refuses to let us be intimidated by it. The dragon cannot defeat Christ, cannot destroy God’s purposes, and cannot overcome the faithful witness of the Church. In the end, victory does not come through violence or fear, but through the blood of the Lamb, courageous testimony, and self-giving love.Download the Discussion Guide

Revelation 8–11 can feel hard to square with the cruciform God revealed at Calvary. With the cross as our lens, the trumpets expose the consequences of vengeance, while the seventh trumpet reveals God’s way: faithful witness in the path of Jesus, until heaven declares, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah.”Download the Discussion Guide

Revelation keeps flipping our expectations: the one who holds history isn’t a Caesar but a slain Lamb, showing that cruciform love is the power that saves. In Revelation 6, the Lamb opens the seals and the four horsemen appear, not as God’s rage but as a revealing of what empire always produces: conquest, violence, exploitation and death. Then Revelation 7 pauses the chaos to show God sealing his people, as John hears 144,000 but sees a countless multitude from every nation, answering “Who can stand?” Those marked by the Lamb, formed by his self-giving way, trusting the Shepherd who will one day wipe every tear.Download the Discussion Guide

Retired teacher, therapist and now poet, guest speaker Vilma Blenman shares aspects of her life story with the Grassroots community, interspersed with her poetry and reflections on how God has authored and continues to edit and direct her steps. Tune in and be encouraged for this special Sunday message.

In Week 4 of our journey through Revelation, we go deeper into John’s throne room vision and follow as he leads us to expect a King stronger and more impressive than any ruler on earth—only to flip the script with something utterly unexpected. We’re left asking what we actually want in a God, and what that reveals about us and the kind of world we’re trying to build.Download the Discussion Guide

Week 3 of Revelation takes us straight into the uncomfortable truth behind the seven churches: empire doesn’t only conquer with violence, it conquers with comfort. When life feels easy and our needs seem met, we drift, we soften, we stop resisting. Revelation pulls back the curtain on this illusion and reminds us that the Lamb is already reigning — and that the real danger for the church isn’t persecution, but complacency.Download Discussion Guide

In week two of our journey through the Book of Revelation, we wrestle with a hard but necessary truth: faithfulness does not guarantee comfort, safety or success. Drawing on Revelation, Daniel and the prophetic tradition, we discover that allegiance to Jesus often leads to suffering in a broken world. Yet Revelation offers a deeper hope—God is still reigning, the Lamb has already won and faithful witness must endure until the end. The blessing results in not a pain-free life, but the courage to keep following Jesus, resisting empire and holding on to hope--especially in the darkest moments.Download the Discussion Guide

Many of us were handed Revelation through fear: end-times charts, rapture movies, Left Behind and a general sense that this final book of the Bible is a blueprint for catastrophe. In this opening sermon of our new series Apocalypse Unveiled, Pastor Steve names this baggage honestly and then asks us to hit reset, suggesting Revelation is not primarily about escaping the world but, when properly read, it is about calling the Church to faithful witness in the world with a hope that defines us.Download Discussion Guide

For the first message of 2026, Pastor Steve reflects on what we really mean when we say God is “faithful” — not as a guarantee that life goes our way, but as God’s steady presence, love and goodness revealed in Jesus, even through hardship. The message leads into testimonies and a photo slideshow as a “scrapbook of grace” from the past year - however, due to copyright, the slideshow is not available. You can watch it here: https://youtu.be/ix0RxzXUFvoDownload the Discussion Guide

A Psalm 12 reflection (based off of a devotional from Skye Jethani) on hollow boasting and theatrics vs the quiet gravity of a weighty soul. As we head into 2026, the invitation is to trade performance for formation and let our lives bend toward Jesus with integrity, faithfulness and quiet courage, influencing the objects (people) in our spheres of influence. Download the Discussion Guide

As we enter our final week of Advent we turn our focus to love and, specifically, to the God who reveals himself as Immanuel - God With Us. Indeed, it is God's dwelling -- his presence to us that conveys love in the most profound ways. It's also how we are to demonstrate love to one another. It's more important than ever that we are intentional in our presence with others - particularly as our culture can so easily disciple us in the opposite direction of being present. Download the Discussion Guide

The series on Advent continues as we learn how to push against the forces of this world in order to cultivate a lasting joy in our lives. The question many of us have in the backs of our heads during the holidays is "where is the joy that I'm supposed to be experiencing?!" One reason might be that we're too "full" with lesser things, robbing us from finding joy and satisfaction in the feast set before us. What if we treated Advent more like Lent and less like Christmas morning? Tune in as we figure this out together.Download the Discussion Guide

There are forces that actively sow discord and bring about unrest in our lives. Why? Because it's profitable. Moreso than sex, even, according to some marketers. The response to these forces that we're offered at Advent is Jesus, our Peace. Through Jesus, the walls of hostility between us crumble. How do we tap into that and what does it look like in our day to day lives, practically? Join Pastor Steve as he unpacks this for us.Download the Discussion Guide

Algorithms are everywhere, forming us in ways we're not even aware of. The season of Advent serves as a "training ground" for Jesus followers to push against these forces and to wake us up to a God who is good, who loves us deeply, and who is faithful in his work of redeeming this creation. This is why despair never gets the last word - in Christ, all things are being made new.Download the Discussion Guide

Guest speaker John Peace helps us zoom out to the big story behind our “Glimpses of the Kingdom” series. Echoing Acts 1:1, John reminds us that the mission of the Church today is a continuation of what Jesus began — God’s Big Plan unfolding through ordinary people who stumble forward in faith. Through personal story and gentle invitation, John explores how each of us discerns our place in that story: by paying attention to who we are, listening to the Spirit and to others, and stepping toward the frontiers God puts in front of us — whether that’s befriending a neighbour from another background or showing up in places we’d normally avoid.John offers a hopeful reminder that the Kingdom didn’t start with us and will not end with us. God has been faithfully at work for thousands of years, and we get to play our small part as the Good News continues to reach every corner of the earth.Download the Discussion Guide

Following last Sunday's introduction to the idea of the Kingdom of God coming into our world and our role as a church to encourage each other of this reality in our own lives, this week chairs were pointed toward each other and opportunity was given for community members to share simple and profound moments where this reality was witnessed in our lives. It's a beautiful montage of glimpses that you won't want to miss!Download the Discussion Guide for this message.

What's the purpose of church? One thread throughout the NT is the need to mutually encourage one another - but why do we need to be encouraged? Frankly, because the world is dark and despairing. So how might we best encourage one another? One answer is through pointing each other to evidence of God's Kingdom breaking into this present realm here and now. Download the Discussion Guide

In the final message in this series on spiritual maturity, Pastor Steve provides a recap of the series followed by a look at what reward, what pay-off, awaits those who pursue maturity in Jesus. The two-fold answer, he suggests, are the very things needed in our world today: stability and unity.Download the Discussion Guide for this message.

Visiting speaker Dr. Samuel Sarpiya from Redwood Park Church offers a challenge to discern what God is doing in a deeply polarized world and to respond with faith, wisdom, and courage. Drawing from 1 Chronicles 12:32 and the example of the Tribe of Issachar—who “understood the signs of the times”—Samuel calls followers of Jesus to be spiritually awake, culturally aware, and biblically grounded, offering timely leadership in an age of division and uncertainty.Download the Discussion Guide for this message.

Guest speaker Scott Baker shares some Anishinaabe teachings centred around Sweetgrass and how it can help us treat each other with kindness. This was an interactive activity - hopefully some of what we learned comes across in the audio.To learn more you can go to www.sweetgrassteachings.com. This message was originally delivered on October 19, 2025.Download the Discussion Guide

Being a mature follower of Jesus means cultivating a posture of forgiveness in our lives - such that forgiving becomes a reflex. This is not easy but in Part 5 of our series on maturity, Pastor Steve walks through Matthew 18 to demonstrate how we can begin to do this today.Download the Discussion Guide for this teaching.

In Part 4 of our series on Spiritual Maturity, Pastor Steve moves into the necessary outcome of empathy: love in action. Without it, empathy is mere sentiment. In his first epistle, the elder John reminds the church of the need for love to be more than words and speech. Our profession of love of God (vertical love) is expressed through our tangible acts of love toward one another. Download the Discussion Guide

Part 3 of our series on spiritual maturity continues the conversation on empathy by looking at what Paul considers the barriers to empathy - namely, selfish ambition and vain conceit. Using The Enemies Project (enemiesproject.org), he shows how putting aside these barriers and practicing seeing the world through the eyes of another can yield beautiful healing between people who see the world so completely different! Have a listen!Download the Discussion Guide for this message.

Continuing to explore this "moment" we are in, Pastor Steve suggests a trait many in the church are lacking these days is the ability to empathize with others. It's particularly disconcerting, perhaps, because within the incarnation itself we see the embodiment of empathy. Pastor Steve argues that we should not be afraid of empathy and should embrace it as the means in which we find our way to see the humanity in each other. This is the first part of a 2 part message in this larger series.

We are in a political, cultural, social moment and very oddly it seems the Church has aligned itself with many of the opposite values and virtues of the Kingdom Jesus came to announce. How have we gotten to this point? Pastor Steve suggests it has to do with a lack of spiritual maturity which incidentally is, in some part, because we've misunderstood what it means to be spiritually mature.

Grassroots begins the fall with a child dedication service, providing an opportunity for Pastor Steve to remind us of how the entirety of the church--parents and the rest of us alike--have a role to play in teaching and showing what it means to help raise these little ones in the faith.

Our final message in our summer series is a conversation with Joseph Modi! Follow along as we see the role faith has played in Joseph's life from his youth growing up as a refugee in Uganda, to studies in Jordan, Egypt and finally to Thunder Bay, where e has called home since stepping on Canadian soil 20+ years ago!

As we continue the summer series getting to know each other through listening to the stories and faith journeys of one another, today we get to hear from Marianne Jones! Marianne is simply an amazing human. With a deep passion for the arts, listen in on this important conversation to see how faith and the arts have intersected in Marianne's life. You will be richly blessed - promise!

As we carry on with our summer series discovering the faith journeys of those from within our church community, we get to listen to Amy Purton, a relatively new Christian, share about how she came to faith over the past year and what this journey has meant for her. Amy is a retired palliative care nurse who lives with her husband and two German shepherds in Kaministiqua.

Before theology or anything else concerning our faith exists, there is story. It is the great connective tissue between our lived experience and our beliefs. Guest speaker Brad Woods, professional storyteller, shares a message on the power of story and its ability to impact us, encouraging all of us to be willing to share our stories.

Our summer series commences with a different approach to Sunday sermons. Less sermony and more interview-y/podcast-y. We'll be listening to Pastor Steve have a conversation with various Grassrooters on their faith journeys, showing what faith looks like in the every day life of our community. The first conversation is with Russell Pinson, husband and father of 2 young girls, who shares about the work he's done on the intersection of faith and vocation/work, among other topics. Tune in!

Visiting speaker Michael Pahl suggests truth Christian spirituality should be centered on the person of Jesus - rather than on concerns with who is in and who is out. That said, there are many Jesus' we could "centre" on so which one should we choose? Listen in and find out!

As we close the series, Pastor Steve offers a challenge to consider pain and suffering not as an obstacle to be avoided at all cost in our pursuit of happiness, but, in fact, as a gift to be embraced as it serves as an invitation to deeper meaning and forming us into the likeness of Jesus.

Using John Mark Comer's "multi-polar view" approach to understanding theodicy, Pastor Steve uses the 5 different wills that help us understand, at least in part, why evil and suffering exists in our world, conceding, once more that a perfect theodicy is beyond our grasp as humans. This message helps set up the final message in this series in which we seek to find meaning in our suffering.Download the Discussion Guide

Pastor Steve continues to develop a hopeful and robust theodicy by looking at the idea of God being "all powerful." Using a "theology of the cross," he looks at how God's strength and power is not revealed through control or domination but instead through the self-emptying and vulnerability we see at Calvary. This "kenotic" love is not just shown at the incarnation but in fact points to who God is at his core. Download Discussion Guide for this Message

The series in Theodicy continues with Part 4 as Pastor Steve begins to address the question of suffering with a loving God directly through beginning with a discussion on God's sovereignty. What is God's will? Does it always get accomplished? How much free will do we have? These and other questions are raised and discussed as Pastor Steve dives into theological waters discussing Calvinism and Arminianism.

Cory presents the next part in our series on theodicy. Using scripture, theology, psychology, and literature, he explores how suffering unravels our sense of order, plunging us into chaos. Yet, he argues, the biblical story holds both chaos and order in tension, showing us a God who enters the chaos through Christ’s suffering and redeems it through resurrection. Through Genesis, Job, and the wisdom literature, Cory reflects on how we rebuild meaning after trauma, and how Christian hope enables us to remember order—even when surrounded by disorder.Download the Discussion Guide for this message.

Guest speaker Cory Hoogsteen continues our series on suffering. He looks at the calling for all Christians to address suffering with witness, lament, and solidarity. Then he looks at how one of the causes of suffering is the human need for loving relationships.This message was originally delivered on June 1, 2025.

As Pastor Steve begins a new series exploring the various ways we try to reconcile a loving, all-powerful God with a world of evil and suffering, he begins by confronting the hard truth that the answer to "Why?" is not what we most yearn for in our suffering. Download the Discussion Guide for this message.

The 3-part series on the politics of Jesus concludes with an investigation into Romans 13:1-7 - one of the most challenging passages of scripture concerning government and authorities and the believers' responsibility to submit to it. Listen in as Pastor Steve provides insight into what this looks like for those whose allegiance belongs first to the Kingdom of God.Download the Discussion Guide for this episode.