Faith Reflections

Matt Garvin’s ongoing wrestle with faith and life

  • About Me
  • Subjects
    • Marriage
    • Parenting and Family
    • Relationships
    • Relationship with God
    • Politics
    • Values
    • Leadership and Faith
    • Community
    • mission
    • Church
    • Work
    • Calling and Vocation
  • Subscribe to Faith Reflections
  • About Me
  • Subjects
    • Marriage
    • Parenting and Family
    • Relationships
    • Relationship with God
    • Politics
    • Values
    • Leadership and Faith
    • Community
    • mission
    • Church
    • Work
    • Calling and Vocation
  • Subscribe to Faith Reflections
  • Community,  mission,  Relationships

    When our friends become prospects

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    Would I still want to be your friend if you never became a Christian? A reflection on ulterior and ultimate motives, loving our neighbours, and sharing how Jesus meets us in ordinary life and pain.

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    Jesus was Un-Albertan

    May 1, 2017

    The six sick practises we have developed to avoid conflict, which eat away at the church like cancer.

    March 18, 2016

    A Bigger Story: How the Real Gospel Changes Everything

    August 1, 2025
  • Calling and Vocation,  Work

    Work as Love Made Visible: A Biblical View of Work

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    Work is more than a way to earn money, but it was never meant to become our identity. Beginning with the Garden of Eden, this article explores how work reflects the image of God, why Sabbath matters and how our calling continues beyond paid employment.

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    Following Jesus: More Than Willpower, Knowledge, or a Miracle

    February 16, 2025

    Thank God for heroes like Rod Hoople who remind us all what the point of life really is.

    March 17, 2017

    Don’t Be a Christian—Be a Disciple

    February 9, 2025
  • Church,  Marriage,  Relationships,  Values

    Build Your Imperfect Family: Five Practices for Healthier Relationships

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    Family is one of God’s greatest gifts—and one of life’s greatest challenges. There is no perfect family, but through prayer, forgiveness, honesty and grace, we can help build healthier families and churches.

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    Do you know what Eternal Life is?

    November 25, 2023

    There is no question that women have not been seen or valued by the church in the way that Jesus saw or valued them. #ThingsOnlyChristianWomenHear

    April 21, 2017

    We actually need a reformation of Christianity so our institutions better reflect the intention that was always meant to define them

    October 21, 2017
  • Books,  Calling and Vocation,  Values

    You Are Not Your Feelings: Finding Emotional Maturity

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    Our culture encourages us to trust our feelings above almost everything else. But what if our feelings aren’t telling us the whole truth? Drawing on Scripture, Viktor Frankl, Arthur C. Brooks and the example of Jesus, this article explores what emotional maturity looks like and why followers of Jesus can acknowledge every feeling honestly without allowing those feelings to become their master.

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    The role of faith in the formation of willpower and emotional health is one of the strongest arguments against atheism

    April 22, 2016

    Lets stop settling for desires far below what we were created for.

    January 6, 2017

    Faith is the key to your willpower.

    January 8, 2020
  • Books,  Calling and Vocation,  Values

    Getting the Life You Want: Why Happiness Isn’t the Goal

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    Most of us want to be happy, but what if we’ve been aiming at the wrong target? Drawing on our everyday experience, the timeless wisdom of Scripture, and insights from Arthur C. Brooks’ Getting the Life You Want, this article explores why happiness is not simply the absence of sadness, pain, or struggle. Instead, it points us towards something richer—a life marked by enjoyment, purpose, satisfaction, and hope. If Jesus really came so that we might “have life, and have it to the full,” perhaps it’s time to stop chasing happiness and start discovering the whole life he offers.

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    1 Comment

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    Books I read in 2025

    January 3, 2026

    Faith is the key to your willpower.

    January 8, 2020

    The role of faith in the formation of willpower and emotional health is one of the strongest arguments against atheism

    April 22, 2016
  • Bible,  Church

    What Does It REALLY Mean to Live With Hope?

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    We live in a world that tells us to trust ourselves, follow our feelings, and create our own truth. Peter offers a very different vision. Real hope begins with repentance, grows through the work of the Holy Spirit, and becomes visible through lives that love and suffer differently. What if hope is not simply something we believe, but something we live?

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    Why Christianity is not safe

    May 25, 2025

    The Real Beginning of the Church

    April 27, 2025

    The Great Commandment is only possible if we allow ourselves to see.

    April 15, 2016
  • Bible,  Jesus

    The Answer to Your Biggest Problem (It’s Not What You Think)

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    What if the biggest problem in your life isn’t actually your biggest problem? Beneath every struggle is a deeper story shaping how you see yourself, others, and God. This post explores how that story works—and how Jesus invites you into a better one that leads to real life.

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    The Glory of God is missing in your Christianity.

    February 22, 2020

    The Grand Design of Revelation—Judgment, Redemption, and New Creation

    October 7, 2024

    Why Nations Rise and Fall

    December 17, 2024
  • Bible,  Church,  Values

    Why Following Your Feelings Isn’t Working (and What to Do Instead)

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    We’re often told to follow our feelings, but the Bible suggests something more complex. Our inner world is shaped by many influences—some healthy, some not—and real life is found not in following every feeling, but in anchoring our hope in God.

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    The New Creation: A Vision of Hope and Restoration

    October 20, 2024

    The clash of Kingdoms in Acts 3-4

    May 11, 2025

    The Answer to Your Biggest Problem (It’s Not What You Think)

    May 3, 2026
  • Church

    The Church as a Community of Truth: How We Learn to See Together

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    We’ve never had more access to truth—and yet less clarity about what is true. What if the issue isn’t just what we believe, but how we learn to see? This post explores why the church must become a community of truth, discerning and following Jesus together.

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    Will the Christian church look in the mirror to discover things have changed?

    February 12, 2016

    This is an important moment for the church to have a long hard look at itself and how it relates to same sex attracted people.

    August 26, 2017

    What Does It REALLY Mean to Live With Hope?

    May 24, 2026
  • Culture,  Leadership and Faith,  Politics

    Two Kinds of Power: Why Love Is Stronger Than Control

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    We are living in a moment where power matters more than ever. But there are two kinds of power: the power to control and the power to love. Which one shapes your life?mili

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    The Church as a Community of Truth: Learning to Discern Together

    July 13, 2026

    Listening as Mercy: Why It Changes Everything

    February 22, 2026

    Why the Lights of Christmas Change Everything

    December 14, 2025
  • Relationship with God

    The Way Requires Training

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    Following Jesus is not just about belief or good intentions. The New Testament describes Christianity as “the Way” — a lived pattern of life. Spiritual growth requires training, intentional practices, and daily alignment with the kingdom we have already been brought into by grace.

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    Freedom from the lies that keep us in locked in a small, self centred and broken world.

    January 22, 2016

    Which Version of Christianity Are You Living?

    July 20, 2025
    Some of our church

    If we are not continually seeking and learning and changing, we are not actually followers of Jesus, and we are certainly not seeking first the Kingdom of God.

    July 21, 2017
  • Bible,  Calling and Vocation,  Church

    Why You Can’t Trust Yourself—And What Ephesians 2 Teaches Instead

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    We’re told to “trust ourselves,” but Paul says otherwise. In Ephesians 2, he uncovers the truth about the world, the flesh, and the devil—and the grace that gives us a new identity in Christ. When we stop building on self and trust him instead, everything changes.

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    1 Comment

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    Ephesians 4: A Vision of Church Most of Us Have Never Seen

    November 9, 2025

    Lessons for the Church Today: Insights from Revelation’s Seven Churches

    October 7, 2024

    Seven Signs You Are Living in Babylon

    September 28, 2024
  • Bible,  Calling and Vocation,  mission

    Rethinking the “Great Commission”: 5 Surprising Truths Christians Overlook

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    Most Christians think Jesus’ mission was simply to “go and preach.” But the real Great Commission calls us to much more—a life of apprenticeship, trust, and courage. Discover five surprising truths that reveal what Jesus actually meant when He said “Go.”

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    1 Comment

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    Choosing the Right Reality in a World of Illusions

    October 27, 2024

    The Real Beginning of the Church

    April 27, 2025

    Finding True Joy at Christmas: The Gift of “With”

    December 25, 2024
  • Bible,  Calling and Vocation

    You Are Both Beautiful and Broken

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    The first chapters of Genesis reveal a profound truth: you are both beautiful and broken. Made in God’s image, you carry incredible value. But you also wrestle with sin, shame, and brokenness. The good news is grace meets you in that tension—and it changes everything.

    read more
    1 Comment

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    The Answer to Your Biggest Problem (It’s Not What You Think)

    May 3, 2026

    A Bigger Story: How the Real Gospel Changes Everything

    August 1, 2025

    Heaven on Earth, we need it now. I’m sick of all of this, hanging around.

    April 29, 2016
  • Bible

    It’s Not About You: Living the True Story of Jesus

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    We don’t find life by adding Jesus to our story—we find it by surrendering to His. The gospel isn’t about self-help or personal fulfillment. It’s about Jesus as Lord. When we root our lives in Him, we’re set free from false promises and finally discover who we were made to be.

    read more
    2 Comments

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    It’s Judgment Day: Understanding the Plagues of Revelation

    October 9, 2024

    Lessons for the Church Today: Insights from Revelation’s Seven Churches

    October 7, 2024

    The Grand Design of Revelation—Judgment, Redemption, and New Creation

    October 7, 2024
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Sites worth seeing

  • Citywide Baptist Church
  • Citywide YouTube Channel
  • Citywide's Facebook page
  • Elizabeth Campbell's blog
  • Fusion Canada
  • Where are we in God's Story? (Eric Kregel's blog)
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