Sermons from Harvest Bible Chapel - Barrie

What if I told you that everything related to experiencing freedom, security, beauty, having a sense of purpose and completeness as a person, being at peace, as well as having healthy and fulfilling relationships is all found in just 22 verses of the Bible? Would you believe it? In fact, Genesis 2:4-25 has all of that and more. As we look at what the LORD God has done for humanity in this week’s message, we’ll find more than a few principles that will help us navigate the world we live in now. In creating man and woman, planting a garden for them to live in, filling the world with beautiful things, establishing boundaries, and giving us the opportunity for both human and divine relationships, God reveals to us everything we could ever need. Series: Genesis – The Things That Are Revealed Message: 5 – A Garden In Eden Text: Genesis 2:4-25 Todd Dugard Harvest Bible Chapel June 14, 2026 What the LORD God has done… …his very life in me. (v. 4-7) Simple Outline of History: • God’s gives us the perfect creation (Genesis 1-2) • Humanity ruins it (Genesis 3) • The long struggle to return to Eden (Genesis 4-Revelation 20) • God restores what was lost (Revelation 21-22) If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world. – C. S. Lewis We all long for [Eden], and we are constantly glimpsing it: our whole nature at its best and least corrupted, its gentlest and most humane, is still soaked with the sense of exile. – J. R. R. Tolkien …his incredible beauty around me. (v. 8-15) …his loving boundaries for me. (v. 16-17) The destiny of the human creation is to live in God’s world, with God’s other creatures, on God’s terms. – W. Brueggemann When God says, “Don’t,” he means, “Don’t hurt yourself.” Genesis 4:7 …his perfect provision completing me. (v. 18-25) For resources relating to the Genesis series, go to harvestbible.ca/resources and scroll down to "Genesis."

What do we need faith for? Is it only for our eternal hope? Is it something that holds us over while we wait for the end? Or is it something dynamic and necessary for now? In Acts 27, the trials are all done, and Paul is put on a ship to Rome for his appeal to Caesar. The voyage is anything but routine. Storms hit. Bad decisions are made. And the crew and passengers find themselves shipwrecked on the island nation of Malta. What keeps Paul going throughout is his faith in God. It carries him through hard, hopeless, and dangerous situations, and through moments when circumstances open the door for him to lead and speak for Christ. What we’ll see in the passage is that faith, grounded in Christ, provides all we need to navigate the various challenges we face in life. I’m looking forward to unpacking that with you. Series: The Book of Acts Message: 68 – I Have Faith In God Text: Acts 27:1-44 Todd Dugard Harvest Bible Chapel February 8, 2026 When my faith is grounded in Christ… ...he blesses me when it’s hard (v. 1-12) ...he encourages me when it’s hopeless (v. 13-20) The deepest things that I have learned in my own life have come from the deepest suffering. And out of the deepest waters and the hottest fires have come the deepest things that I know about God. - Elizabeth Elliot, Suffering is Never for Nothing ...he empowers me when it’s an open door (v. 21-38) 2 Corinthians 12:9a 2 Corinthians 12:9b-10 ...he protects me when it’s dangerous (v. 39-44) ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Foxe's Book of Martyrs: Christian Classics https://www.amazon.ca/Foxes-Book-Martyrs-Christian-Classics/dp/B0C6WDZY5R

There is an Icelandair ad that started circulating this month where a rep goes to the streets of London with photos of Iceland, asking people whether the photos are AI generated or real. Go ahead and watch it, but you may end up booking a trip if you do! The punchline of the ad is that they’re all real photos; no AI. Iceland is stunningly beautiful. The ad validates the issue: we’re at a place where we can’t trust our eyes or our ears. AI has compromised our senses. We don’t know what’s true, what’s real. In one sense, though, this isn’t new. When Jesus was explaining why he spoke in parables, he said, “Because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” People in his day had a hard time figuring out what was true and what wasn’t. In our passage this week, Acts 26:12-23, the Apostle Paul is giving yet another defence of the gospel before a tribunal. Leveraging his own story, he spoke of spiritual light revealing the truth that the people in darkness needed to hear. Paul, in fact, was commissioned by God to, "open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” That’s the message. We need to have our eyes opened by the Holy Spirit to see the truth. It’s a critical message at a time when truth is hard to figure out. Series: The Book of Acts Message: 66 – Open Their Eyes Text: Acts 26:12-23 Todd Dugard Harvest Bible Chapel January 25, 2026 John 20:29 When my spiritual eyes are opened… …God stops me in my tracks (v. 12-14a) Romans 3:10b-12 Ephesians 2:8-9 Remember, therefore, it is not your hold of Christ that saves you—it is Christ; it is not your joy in Christ that saves you—it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, though that is the instrument—it is Christ’s blood and merits; therefore, look not so much to your hand with which you are grasping Christ, as to Christ; look not to your hope, but to Jesus, the source of your hope; look not to your faith, but to Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith. We will never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. - Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening (Morning June 28) …speaks his word to me (v. 14b) Goad: verb; is to provoke or compel someone to do something; eg. I goaded my friend to jump off the bridge; I goaded my wife to try sushi. Simul justus et peccator; At the same time saint and sinner. Hebrews 4:12-13 …revealing his Son, Jesus Christ (v. 15) Acts 4:11-12 …and turning me around (v. 16-23)

What do you know about Jesus? I’m assuming that you know that he lived, died, and rose from the grave. That’s essential and a core belief for a Christian. Those three details are, in fact, so well-known that many unbelievers would be able to articulate them. That’s what happened in Acts 25. Having been placed in custody by the Romans, partly for his protection and partly because they didn’t know what to do with him, the Apostle Paul spent the next two years there. At the end of Felix’s stint as governor, Festus inherited the situation and brought King Agrippa into the matter with Paul, who once again gave a defence of himself, his faith, and the gospel to those in power. And it was Festus who affirmed basic Christian doctrine to Agrippa as he briefed him. But it isn’t enough to know what to believe. These beliefs must be lived and transformative to those who affirm them. As we look at this passage on Sunday and consider “a certain Jesus who was dead,” the hope is that we’ll all see that believing him means recognizing that he is worth living for, dying for, and talking about. Series: The Book of Acts Message: 64 – A Certain Jesus Who Was Dead Text: Acts 25:1-27 Todd Dugard Harvest Bible Chapel January 11, 2026 What do I know about Jesus? …that he lived? (v. 19a) [Jesus Christ] certainly existed, as virtually every competent scholar of antiquity, Christian or non-Christian, agrees, based on certain and clear evidence. - Bart Ehrman …that he died? (v. 19b) …that he rose from the grave? (v. 19c) …and that he’s worth… …living for? (v. 1-10, 11b-18) Hebrews 4:15 John 1:14 Philippians 1:21 …dying for? (v. 11a) Philippians 1:21 He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. - Jim Elliot …and talking about? (v. 20-27) 1 Peter 3:15 Talking about Jesus with unbelievers… 1. Pray for opportunities to come your way 2. Offer to meet to talk 3. Listen to their story 4. Tell your own story of coming to Christ 5. Have key Scriptures ready to share the gospel 6. Use resources when stumped by a question 7. Point them to our website, YouTube channel 8. Invite them to join you for a service 9. Be courageous to ask them to express faith in Christ Additional Resources: Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot https://a.co/d/3hutGVP End of the Spear (DVD) Available from Amazon.com Harvest Resources harvestbible.ca/resources Harvest Teaching Harvestbible.ca/teaching https://www.youtube.com/@HarvestBibleChapelBarrie Could God be the Answer https://www.trygod.ca/