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
Bible, Calling and Vocation, Values

How to free yourself from the oppression of money and time

Jesus calls us to seek His kingdom first, challenging our culture’s obsession with financial security and personal convenience. True discipleship is measured by how we use our money and time.…

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March 16, 2025
Community, Leadership and Faith

If we truly want peace, we need to stop dividing the world into “us” and “them”

Media outlets in North America have become experts at this. A tragedy happens, amateur social media videos are lined up one after the other, professional “experts” give their paid opinions…

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July 8, 2016
Church

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

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…

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April 17, 2026
Citywide Baptist Church
Citywide Baptist Church
What is a Christian?
What is a Christian?
You need a Kingdom Cell
You need a Kingdom Cell
  • 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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    0 Comments

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    I miss my mate, Phil.

    January 11, 2020

    You Are Both Beautiful and Broken

    August 31, 2025

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

    June 28, 2026
  • Community,  Marriage,  U2

    Find Real Friends: How to Build Friendship in a Lonely World

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    We have never had more ways to connect, yet many of us feel increasingly alone. Real friendship begins when we stop waiting to be noticed and take the brave first step of noticing someone else.

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    2 Comments

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    Is group decision making possible?

    January 31, 2026

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

    March 18, 2016

    What is Pokemon Go doing to us?

    August 5, 2016
  • 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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    0 Comments

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    Why Church Isn’t About You (And Why That’s Good News)

    March 22, 2026

    Have we forgotten the three questions of friendship?

    November 16, 2018

    The Awkward Truth about Churches in North America: lots of bonding, not so much bridging.

    April 8, 2017
  • Bible,  Church,  Culture

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

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    Many Christians know the Bible well but still struggle to recognise God’s wisdom in everyday life. This article explores why the church exists not simply to teach truth, but to become a community where believers learn to discern, embody, and live God’s truth together.

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    2 Comments

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    The New Creation: A Vision of Hope and Restoration

    October 20, 2024

    Why do we commemorate the execution of this one man?

    April 14, 2022

    Faithful Witnesses in a World of Deception—The Role of the Church in Revelation

    October 5, 2024
  • 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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    2 Comments

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    Books I read in 2025

    January 3, 2026

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

    June 28, 2026

    Six Ways We Structure Time — And Why It Matters.

    March 4, 2026
  • 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

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

    April 22, 2016

    Faith is the key to your willpower.

    January 8, 2020
  • Bible

    Why Your Suffering Matters: What 1 Peter Teaches About Pain, Growth and Love

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    A return to Broken Hill after 35 years prompted a reflection on how quickly life passes. Drawing on 1 Peter 4, this article explores why suffering is not something to fear, but something God can use to shape us into people who love Him and others more deeply.

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    1 Comment

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

    October 7, 2024

    A Bigger Story: How the Real Gospel Changes Everything

    August 1, 2025

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

    July 13, 2026
  • 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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    0 Comments

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    The Glory of God is missing in your Christianity.

    February 22, 2020

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

    April 6, 2025

    The Real Beginning of the Church

    April 27, 2025
  • Bible,  Politics

    How Should Christians Engage With Politics? A Christian Response to Division and Power

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    Politics can easily shape us more than Jesus does. In a divided world filled with outrage, fear and tribalism, 1 Peter offers a different vision. Followers of Jesus are called to engage politically with truth, humility, justice, mercy and compassion — without placing their hope in power or political tribes.

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    1 Comment

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    How to free yourself from the oppression of money and time

    March 16, 2025

    Beware the False Prophet: Understanding Revelation 13 and the Second Beast

    October 4, 2024

    Why Christianity is not safe

    May 25, 2025
  • 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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    0 Comments

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    The Baby versus the King: A Christmas Revolution

    December 8, 2024

    How Should Christians Engage With Politics? A Christian Response to Division and Power

    May 10, 2026

    Faithful Witnesses in a World of Deception—The Role of the Church in Revelation

    October 5, 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.

    read more
    0 Comments

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    It’s Judgment Day: Understanding the Plagues of Revelation

    October 9, 2024

    The New Creation: A Vision of Hope and Restoration

    October 20, 2024

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

    October 26, 2025
  • Church

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

    /

    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.

    read more
    1 Comment

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    A North Star from which to find our bearings

    September 26, 2023

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

    March 18, 2016

    Why Church Isn’t About You (And Why That’s Good News)

    March 22, 2026
  • Bible

    What Faith Really Looks Like in the Real World

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    Faith is not about strong feelings or certainty. It’s about what you trust when life gets hard. This explores what faith really looks like in the real world.

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    0 Comments

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    Reality is Not What You Think

    August 24, 2025

    Which Version of Christianity Are You Living?

    July 20, 2025

    Why Your Greatest Failure Isn’t the End of Your Story (Lessons from Peter)

    April 5, 2026
  • Bible,  Jesus

    Why Your Greatest Failure Isn’t the End of Your Story (Lessons from Peter)

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    Peter failed in his worst moment—but his story didn’t end there. Discover how Jesus meets him in his failure and asks the question that changes everything: “Do you love me?”

    read more
    1 Comment

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    Why Your Suffering Matters: What 1 Peter Teaches About Pain, Growth and Love

    June 16, 2026

    How Should Christians Engage With Politics? A Christian Response to Division and Power

    May 10, 2026

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

    April 15, 2016
  • Jesus

    Why Is Good Friday Good? (And Why It Matters for Your Life)

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    Why is Good Friday good? Good Friday is called “good” because it reveals how Jesus dealt with the gap between who we are and who we’re meant to be. Through His death, forgiveness and grace are offered—not based on our performance, but on what He has done.

    read more
    1 Comment

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

    May 3, 2026

    Why Your Greatest Failure Isn’t the End of Your Story (Lessons from Peter)

    April 5, 2026
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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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