His Glory and Our Good: He is the ONLY true God. How does believing in God as the only true God change how you live? Are there parts of you that are drawn to follow other "gods"? And what good things do you experience by living in the glory of his only-ness?Di Ottawa Valley Community Church

Ahren kicks off a new sermon series called: "His Glory and Our Good." These messages parallel our small group study materials, highlighting aspect of who God is and looking at how those truths change us and impact our lives for the better. In this first part, Ahren speaks about what it means to seek God first.…

Philippians 4:6-7 is what we might call a "panic-to-peace" liturgy. When we pray and give thanks, we will find our troubles transformed into a transcendent sense of peace, knowing that we have a good God who is in control.Di Ottawa Valley Community Church

What is it about Jesus that makes a disciple want to run after him? Ahren takes us through the story of Matthew the tax collector to see why even one who was considered a sinner and a social outcast would still want to follow Jesus and surrender his life to live Jesus' way.Di Ottawa Valley Community Church

Sins for which we haven't sought forgiveness are like credit card debts: they create a burden on us, and that burden increases with time. Ian shares his personal experience with learning to give forgiveness, according to God's commands, in order to experience more abundant grace.Di Ottawa Valley Community Church

What does it look like to be a disciple? Ahren takes us through the stories of Jesus calling the apostles to show us what made them suitable disciples, and how we can adopt these attitudes and heart postures to become better disciples of Christ.Di Ottawa Valley Community Church

Our goals as a church are changing. Ahren explans why we feel that the "why" behind OVC's existence - our motivation and mission - is changing. God is calling us to spend less time growing and more time building strong foundations of discipleship.Di Ottawa Valley Community Church

We were made to glorify God. We are most fully ourselves when we delight in his glory. But what does "glory" really mean? And why were we made to glorify? Those are the questions Ahren addresses in this sermon.Di Ottawa Valley Community Church

God is both transcendent and immanent - mighty and intimate. We tend to place him somewhere on a spectrum between the two, but the reality is that he is completely both. Will you let him show you who he really is?Di Ottawa Valley Community Church

Although we are in this age of brokenness, we are not of it. It is Jesus' intention to make this world new, and to make us new with it. Vince reminds us that, when things seem dark, we have comfort in Jesus and we are called to be the light in the darkness.Di Ottawa Valley Community Church

Giving forgiveness isn't easy. But it is the only way to be able to receive forgiveness from God. And, as Ian shares from his personal testimony, it is the only way to live free from the hurt and sin that has been directed at us so that we can fully worship and live in intimate relationship with God.…

People are prone to conflict. Even within our own Christian communities, we encounter hurt and brokenness. Kathleen speaks on the importance of Christ-likeness and spiritual transformation for making us into the kind of people who can become the loving community that God desires us to be.Di Ottawa Valley Community Church

Jack shares about his experience attending YWAM and how God taught him to trust, obey, and turn his focus outward as he went deeper in discipleship.Di Ottawa Valley Community Church

"They live upon the earth, but they are citizens of heaven." With Canada Day approaching, Ahren teaches us what scripture says about how God and his people relate to the nations and governments of this world.Di Ottawa Valley Community Church

For Father's Day, Ian brings us a special message on the Father's love. The primary image of our relationship with God in the New Testament is God as our Father. Some of us have good relationships with our fathers, many of us experience brokenness, but all of us need to experience God's fatherly love.…

We are brothers and sisters in Christ; we are a family brought together by our allegiance to Christ, working toward a shared purpose. In this sermon, Ahren talks about how God instructs us to interact as a family, and how that plays out in churches today.Di Ottawa Valley Community Church

To understand what communion is and why we take it, we must also understand what it means to be a communion. We are connected to, and belong with, all believers from all times and places.Di Ottawa Valley Community Church

In a discussion-style sermon, Ahren teaches about the concept of being "born again." Step into the story of Nicodemus to understand how to be part of what God is doing, the importance of spiritual transformation, and what it means to believe in Jesus.Di Ottawa Valley Community Church

For Mother's Day, Ahren takes us through the scriptures in which God uses female or mothering images to describe himself before taking us through the story of Hannah to show how God understands the mothering journey.Di Ottawa Valley Community Church

Paul uses the image of adoption numerous times in his writing to describe our relationship to the family of God. This week, Ahren introduces our new series by exploring what adoption meant in New Testament culture and how that helps us understand our relationship with God.Di Ottawa Valley Community Church

God wants us to be in relationship with him because we need him - not because he needs us. When he seeks to get our attention, it is often because we really need his attention. But, we can't always stay on top of the mountains in God's presence because it's too much for us to handle. Things in our lives will cause us to experience a disconnect; tha…

What does the Ascension mean for us as believers? So often, we stop the Easter story at the Resurrection, but the Ascension also has major implications on how we live and on our eternity. When the God-Man returned to Heaven in bodily form, he brought a bit of earth (a bit of us) back with Him. And he made a place for us to one day be there with him…

What exactly is grace? And what does God's grace look like when applied in a practical way in our lives? Ian explains 9 key points of grace and how he has seen them manifested in his life and in the lives of people around him.Di Ottawa Valley Community Church

For Palm Sunday, we are looking at Jesus' statement that he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. When Thomas asked how to get to where Jesus was going, Jesus said, "I am the way." Much like Jesus' journey into Jerusalem, our journey through life may not always be glorious or easy, but if we follow Jesus as the way, we can rest assured in the hope o…

When Jesus said, "I am the Good Shepherd," he was differentiating himself from those who were shepherding his people, Israel (and from those who shepherd us today). But he was also pointing out an important aspect of our relationship to him: in order to be under his care, we have to be willing to be under his ownership and direction.…

Do you know the voice of your saviour? He alone is the door to abundant life, but we can easily be led astray by thieves and robbers if we are not familiar with our Shepherd's voice.Di Ottawa Valley Community Church

What are we filling up on? That's the question we're asking in part 2 of our discussion on "I am the bread of life." It's also the question at the heart of Lent: are we filling up on God, or something that ultimately won't satisfy?Di Ottawa Valley Community Church

As we enter into Lent, our desire is to understand who Jesus is and how that changes how we see ourselves. There are 7 "I am" statements that Jesus makes in the book of John. We're beginning with, "I am the bread of life."Di Ottawa Valley Community Church

Continuing our mini-series, "Epic: Tales from the Old Testament," Ahren leads us on a close examination of the story of Elijah under the broom tree to understand how God meets us where we're at.Di Ottawa Valley Community Church

Which kind of offering are you giving God? Digging deep into Romans 11:33 - 12:9, Ahren leads a discussion looking at what Paul has to say about our place in the body of Christ and how we are to serve self-sacrificially in gratitude for God's mercies.Di Ottawa Valley Community Church

We're starting a new series entitled, "Epic: Tales from the Old Testament," looking at obscure or lesser-known stories from the Old Testament and what they have to teach us (after all, they were included in scripture for a reason). First up, Ahren discusses the healing of Naaman in 1 Kings 5:1-19.Di Ottawa Valley Community Church

This week, Vince brings us a message on the Psalms and how they can be applied to our lives, our prayer time, and our worship.Di Ottawa Valley Community Church

We're kicking off the new year with our favourite annual trafition: pastor on the hot seat. Ahren fields questions from members of the congregation and does his best to answer them on the spot.Di Ottawa Valley Community Church

Part 4 of our Advent series is Emmanuel: God with us in the field. Looking at the story of the shepherds who first received the announcement of Jesus' birth, Ahren reminds us that our place of work should be dedicated to God, and our gifts are our sacrifices to Him. How do you respond to this reality?…

The third part of our Advent series is Emmanuel: God with us in the seeking. Looking at the story of the wise men, Ahren digs deeper to explore their journey of seeking Jesus, and how God met them in many ways throughout the process, bringing them joy and guiding them to their ultimate destination: a place of worship. We can learn a lot about our o…

In the second week of our Advent series, Ahren speaks on what it means to have God with us in moments of decision. Looking at Joseph's careful and difficult decision about whether to marry Mary (Matthew 1:18-25), we see that sometimes God's way is one we may never have even considered. God's way also isn't always the easiest one. Where might you be…

As we come into the advent season, we will be exploring the theme of Emmanuel: God With Us. In this first sermon of the series, Ahren speaks on God with us in the waiting. When there is hurt or brokenness, when we feel lost, abandoned, or hopeless, even then we can trust in the promises of God and the hope of His return. Not only that, but we can c…

No one can live without hope. At a time when our world and our culture feel so lost in hopelessness, Vince reminds us that we have the only true source of hope in Christ's resurrection and his Spirit present within us. And that hope is not only for us, but for the world, as He is coming again to make all things right.…

To continue our series on discipleship, Ahren addresses our societal mistrust of authority (and other people in general) and how this hinders our willingness to let other people speak into our lives. But one important issue this raises is the role and responsibility of Christian leaders and disciplers, and how that should look biblically.…

How are we to find the time and energy needed for true discipleship? It seems that chronic exhaustion has become a normal part of our lives and culture. We're exhausted from living life in a way that God never intended for us to live. God offers something different: true rest, and running without weariness, when we rely on him.…

Rooted: Growing Up and Growing Deep, is a sermon series on the importance of discipleship. In this talk, Ahren spoke on the Christ-likeness that defines disciples and how that requires holding a very unique, and often hard-to-accept, tension of truth and compassion, of humility and honesty. It's a balancing act – a narrow path, but one that leads t…

Every man needs a fatherly voice in their life. For Timothy, that voice was Paul, his spiritual father. In honour of Father's Day, Ahren takes us through an examination of Paul's letters to Timothy to see the godly and fatherly advice that he has for Timothy and, by extension, all Christian men. Through Paul's words, we are reminded of God's hope a…

The redemptive power of God is the only force in the universe that can transform your identity. Peter was reminded of this in his conversation with Jesus on the beach. Despite all his grandiose promises to follow Jesus and give his life for the mission, Peter fell short. But when Jesus presented him with this opportunity for redemption, he realized…

The gospel of John features many stories of Jesus' disciples wrestling with their faith. One of the most memorable accounts is that of Peter denying Jesus during His trial, leading up to the crucifixion. Ahren explains how this story serves as a beautiful reminder that, even when we fail God or refuse to own our faith, He still loves us and is work…

Doubting Thomas often gets a bad rap. But John uses his story as the linchpin for his entire gospel account, which was carefully written to highlight specific accounts that would persuade readers that Jesus was Christ and the Son of God. Why? Because we all wrestle with ownership of our faith from time to time. And Thomas' story not only reminds us…

To help us celebrate Mother's Day, we are joined by special guest speaker Beryl Orok, who is speaking on the important role that God has given to mothers. While acknowledging how difficult this day can be for some, Beryl reminds us of some powerful examples from the Bible of mothers who followed God's leading and example in caring for their familie…

This week, we're joined by three special guests: Murray Cornelius (Executive Director for Internatioal Missions at the PAOC), Pastor Munetsi Zowa, and Bishop Never Muparutsa. They share a little bit with us about the impact of international missions, particularly in Zimbabwe, and how they have seen the church growing. Bishop Never then takes some t…

What keeps us from seeing Jesus? That's the question Ahren answers this week while looking at the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35). In this passage, we encounter some disciples leaving Jerusalem after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, but what they don't realize is that Jesus is walking alongside them. Why can't they see …

Guest speaker David Ruis, Director of Vineyard Canada, shares some words of wisdom and encouragement with us from the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13). In our foolishness, we tend to plan our lives out without ever knowing what's coming ahead. When we do, we can easily become overwhelmed when things change unexpectedly. But, through thi…

After the disciples found the empty tomb, 62 personal encounters with Jesus were recorded. Why does the validity of the accounts of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection matter? Ahren explains what the truth of the Easter story means for our lives and how that should change the way we live.Di Ottawa Valley Community Church