Music Set from 2014

For those of you who really enjoyed worshiping with the songs that Matt & his team lead us in this past weekend, here's the list for you to listen to again! All the songs are by popular worship artists, so you can search iTunes or Amazon to buy the song or their albums.
Click here to listen to the whole playlist on youtube!

• The Same Power - Ben Cantelon
• King of Heaven - Paul Baloche
• Jesus Only Jesus - Chris Tomlin
• I Am Set Free - All Sons & Daughters
• Hosanna - Hillsong
• Forever Reign - Hillsong
• Called Me Higher - All Sons & Daughters
• Build Your Kingdom Here - Rend Collective Experiment
• Awake My Soul - Chris Tomlin
• All The Poor And Powerless - All Sons & Daughters

Going to All Nations

This weekend we'll be talking a lot about mission. "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" Matthew 28. What does that look like in the neighbourhood you live in, at your school, in your workplace, in your family, with your friends, on the street. How do we fulfill this mission in Ontario, in Canada, and across the globe?

At MB Mission we're all about discovering this together. We know it's different for each person, and God has a crazy, exciting, and challenging journey for each of us. This weekend we'll be hearing from global missionaries, and we'll also be sharing about a couple opportunities for those of you who are ready to take a big plunge into this discovery on a global scale.

Our ACTION programs are designed for you. They're all about learning God's heart for the lost, and letting Him change us and mold us to become the light of the world that He has called us to be. Could this be for you? It's a big commitment to take 6-weeks off, and you'll need to do some fundraising, but we believe it's worth it to surrender our time and energy to commit to "making disciples of all nations".

Here's a video from Dave & Louise about how young-adults fit into their vision for global mission.

ACTION from MB Mission on Vimeo.

Post by Jacob - Administrative Assistant with MB Mission Eastern Canada

The Cup is Half Empty?

Often when I think of going on a retreat, I think “How will this benefit me?” or “Will this refresh me, so my life will be more exciting?” The focus usually starts with a selfish desire to see myself be filled or satisfied. I find I come to God more often to ask for things rather than to just soak up His presence.

“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13 NIV).

The Embrace Retreat is about embracing God, neighbour, stranger.  But first, before I’m ready to embrace, I realize I need to let go! Let go of expectations, desires, control, etc. I need to stop drawing from the well of this world, which keeps me coming back empty. I am thirsty for something more than what the world can offer.

As I realize my thirst for God, I become more aware about how much He wants to be a refreshing spring in us. The cup we drink is no longer half empty, but rather welling up with life!

Post by Mike - Young Adults Leadership at Waterloo MB Church

A Dramatic Rescue

I grew up in the 70’s before seat belts and hockey helmets.  

Believe it or not my dad would remove the seat belts from our cars because they were uncomfortable to sit on. Safety was not a big priority. Today I wear my seatbelt, although I feel it confronts my home culture every time.

There is an incredible ad in the U.K. that shows a mother and daughter wrapping their arms around their dad’s waist and shoulder to take the place of the seatbelt he is not wearing. Intervention at its best! Their embrace saves his life.

This missional retreat is about that embrace.  We need to come to know God’s embrace as a dramatic rescue. I need to be aware of the deep peril that my friends and strangers are facing and be prepared to intervene.  This embrace is intimate, it involves touch and strength. It is intentional and has an immediacy to it.

I find myself asking: what is my capacity to intervene? Or is it even my home culture?  Do I position my life to embrace my neighbour? Am I even aware of the peril faced by strangers near me and around the world? How does God want to respond to them through me? How do I need to know God’s embrace today so I can freely extend it to others?

Embrace God, neighbour, stranger.  It saves lives.

Post by Philip - Mission Mobilizer for MB Mission Eastern Canada

Introducing: Dave & Louise Sinclair-Peters

Incase you haven't already checked it out, here's a video to introduce you a bit to Dave & Louise Sinclair-Peters. They'll be joining us at the Embrace retreat weekend this year to share from their experiences in Thailand.

We'll enter into conversation with them about what it looks like to see people come to Christ in the hardest places, seeing the whole kingdom advancing, and caring for the least-reached. Although most of us have experiences with discipling others and being discipled, I often find myself yearning to be challenged in this area, and find ways to grow outside of the bubble I'm in. Let's broaden our perspective together to see the people and needs that we've been missing, and the ones that God is perhaps most passionate about!

Although they serve and do life in Thailand, Dave & Louise get incredible joy from working with young-adults from North America. Check out this story to read a bit about their heart for making disciples in global contexts: Apprentices of the Master (Witness Spring 2012)

Post by Jacob - Administrative Assistant with MB Mission Eastern Canada

God Is At Work. We Are Under Construction.

Recently I have been reading through Genesis and have been amazed at the harmonic relationships that occur at the very beginning of the bible. Relations of God with himself, God with mankind, mankind with nature and mankind with (wo)mankind were all said to be good. All of these perfect relationships give us a clear picture of what is to come and what we can strive for while embracing our God, our neighbour and our stranger while here on this earth.

Genesis 1 and 2 give me a better idea of what God has initially created me to be. Am I there yet? Most certainly not and will not be until face to face with my creator. But I know that God is at work within me, giving me more love and desire to embrace those who are around me. Here is a quote by C.S. Lewis from Mere Christianity:

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”

I look forward to meeting you at the Embrace weekend, where we can share with each other and encourage one another with new ways of how we can love our God, our neighbours and our strangers.

Post by Bethany - Young Adults Leadership at Waterloo MB Church

The Good Samaritan

Last year, along with learning each other’s stories, playing games, tubing, and eating together we opened up Luke’s parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:25-37. Read it.

It made us ask, “Who is the man?” “Where are the robbers now?” And more importantly, “In what ways are we like the priest and the Levite?” “What gets us in the way of us loving our neighbours like the Samaritan?”

The truth is, we suck at being good neighbours. Our excuses are many. The Lord’s command is irrespective of ethnic difference, religious affiliation, disposable income, danger, etc.

I am excited to revisit this year, how to better love my neighbour and learn what God’s embrace looks like.

Parable of the Good Samaritan by Jan Wynants 1670

Post by Darren - Home & Community Groups and Young Adult Ministry at Waterloo MB Church

Embrace Discussion

We're getting close to EMBRACE, and now is the time to start embracing discussion! Although we have some great people joining us this year to share and teach, we are bent on having a retreat that is built on discussion and collaboration, a message that comes from what we read together in scripture, and built on sharing each of our experiences with how God leads us in mission.

If you're just hearing about EMBRACE for the first time, check out the event here and apply soon if you want to come: www.mbmission.org/embrace

We're starting up this blog to get the conversation going early. We know that our theme of embracing God, neighbour, and stranger, are huge, and can't be contained in a weekend. So let's start early! Keep tracking with the posts we put up, and start commenting as you feel led to. We won't leave it here on the blog though, but we'll continue the forum in person when we meet in a couple weeks.

For those of you who joined us for EMBRACE  last year, what is one highlight from the weekend?

Discussion at EMBRACE 2013