TCM Spikeback volleyball tournament

Do you like playing volleyball? Would you like to help send kids to Toronto City Mission's Sonshine Day Camp this summer? We are inviting you to come join us as we play at TCM's Spikeback volleyball tournament on Sat. March 28 from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

For the past two years, it has been a great inter-generational experience with pretty competitive volleyball. Players must be at least 16 years old and all teams are required to raise a minimum of $1,250 to qualify for the tournament, which we work on raising together. This is the equivalent cost of sending 10 children to Sonshine Day camp for 1 week.

We are honoured to continue to partner with TCM by participating in this tournament and by actually sending a mission team every summer for over 15 years.

If you're interested, please let Julie know by Jan 18 so we can start planning. For more info on the tournament, please visit this page.

Small group feedback

Our time bound autumn small groups have recently come to a close and we are looking for your feedback. Whether you participated in a group, considered joining, or chose not to this season, your input is welcome and needed.

Please fill out this short survey.

General service help

We are looking for help with several maintenance projects at the church:

• Many of the lights in the Inner Court need to be replaced.

• We received a donation of chairs for the front foyer that need a deep cleaning.

If you are able to contribute a few hours of your time, please contact Pastor Willi or Vince.

Easter baptism sign-up

If you’re interested in getting baptized this Easter on April 5 or are simply wondering what baptism is all about, contact any of our leaders or email Katey before Jan 18.

Last day to donate for your 2025 tax receipt

Thank you for your commitment and generosity to our church this year. The last day for donations to be included in your 2025 tax receipt will be:

• December 28 for cash and cheques, and

• December 31 for EFT (by 1 p.m.) & Tithe.ly (by 11:59 p.m.)

Please note that effective Dec 29, 2025, all cheque donations made to the church have to be in our new incorporated name “East Toronto Community Baptist Church”. No short form please (e.g. ETCBC). Thank you for your continuous support to our ministries. 

Advent reflection #4: Love (Pastor Willi)

By Pastor Willi

Psalm 80:1-7; 17-19

1 - Hear us, Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock.
You who sit enthroned between the cherubim,
shine forth 2 - before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Awaken your might;
come and save us.

3 - Restore us, O God;
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.

4 - How long, Lord God Almighty,
will your anger smolder
against the prayers of your people?

5 - You have fed them with the bread of tears;
you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.

6 - You have made us an object of derision to our neighbors,
and our enemies mock us.

7 - Restore us, God Almighty;
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.

17 - Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,
the son of man you have raised up for yourself.

18 - Then we will not turn away from you;
revive us, and we will call on your name.

19 - Restore us, Lord God Almighty;
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.

It’s the final week of Advent, and the theme is love. But Psalm 80 feels like a strange place to end. This passage is a lament, a cry for help, not a celebration. At first glance, it seems out of step with the feelings we often associate with love during this season.

But maybe that’s the point. Advent love, like the love of God, doesn’t ignore reality. It doesn’t insist on positive emotions or that we pretend everything is fine. The psalmist doesn't pretend things are fine. He pleads, “Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.” This is a call out to God that names what’s broken and still believes God cares enough to respond.

Psalm 80 stretches our understanding of what Advent love looks like. It’s not just about personal peace or private devotion. It’s communal. The cry is “restore us,” not just “restore me.” The psalmist’s vision is bigger than for the individual. It’s about a people being revived, about light breaking into the shared places in need of hope. Advent love does not arrive in ideal conditions. It arrives in the middle of lament and begins the slow work of restoration.

Questions

• Where in your life or community are you longing for God’s restoring presence?

• What is one way you can share God’s love this week by offering presence and care to someone who is worn down?

Advent reflection #3: Joy (Jordan Tang)

By Jordan Tang

Psalm 14:5-10

5 - Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.

6 - He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
he remains faithful forever.

7 - He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,

8 - the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
the Lord loves the righteous.

9 - The Lord watches over the foreigner
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

10 - The Lord reigns forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the Lord.

I often ask myself what does it mean to be blessed. In some translations, it uses the word happy instead of blessed. When Jacob is mentioned, this conjures up images of Jacob as he wrestled with God in Genesis 32 until daybreak. Jacob would not leave until he was blessed. This blessing was “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” Being blessed by God completely changed the course of Jacob’s life and he became the father of the nation of Israel.

The greatness of God is praised as he is the Maker and is faithful forever. He cares for the oppressed, feeds the hungry, sets prisoners free and gives sight to the blind. He lifts up those who are bowed down, watches over the foreigner, orphans and widows. Before Jesus, these references may not have had the same meaning. Jesus healed the blind in Matthew 9:27-29. He made a woman straight who had been bent down in Luke 13:11-13. In Luke 7:10, Jesus heals the centurion’s servant without even needing to see the servant. In Luke 7:14-15, Jesus raised a widow’s dead son to life. In Matthew 21:12, Jesus overturned the tables of money changers and those selling doves that were turning a house of prayer into a den of robbers.

The passage concludes with praise of the Lord with a proclamation of the Lord reigning forever. In 2 Samuel 5, David conquers the fortress of Zion. Zion becomes the city of David and marks a transition of Jerusalem becoming the centre of Israel.

Questions

• Where do we search for help and place our hope?

• What does it mean to be blessed and does this blessing affect our life?

• How do we praise God in our daily lives?

• When we pray the Lord’s prayer, we ask for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Looking at this passage, what can we see about God’s will and what steps can we take to help it manifest on earth?

Matthew 11:2-11

2 - When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples 3 - to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

4 - Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 - The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6 - Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

7 - As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 8 - If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. 9 - Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 - This is the one about whom it is written:

“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.’

11 - Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

This passage makes me reflect about the expectations of the people and what the Messiah should be. John or perhaps his disciples might be even in need of bigger assurance because John was in jail after speaking out against Herod and his unlawful marriage to his brother’s wife after dismissing his own wife. With the Hebrew people being conquered and controlled by Romans, the expectation might be for a great warrior to lead the people out from under Roman rule. Instead, Jesus described “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.”

Jesus goes on to speak about John as a prophet who will “prepare your way”. He also describes John as being greater than anyone born of women. At the end, it provides a great reassurance for those who will be in the kingdom of heaven that they will be greater than John. This foreshadows what would later happen with Jesus’ love and sacrifice.

Questions

• What expectations do we have? Do expectations for God and for others in our life cause us to be disappointed what’s actually happening?

• John was a prophet who acted as the herald to prepare the way for the Messiah. What are we prepared for? What does being prepared mean for a child of God?

ETCBC office hours during the holidays

Please note the church offices will be closed during the holidays — from Dec. 24 afternoon to Jan. 2, and will reopen on Jan. 5. The staff will be working remotely with a more flexible schedule. Please rest assured that pastoral care continues to be available over this end-of-year period.