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For Those With Ears - Entries from September 2011

Home - Connections - Blogs - For Those With Ears - Entries from September 2011
FriFridaySepSeptember30th2011 Ten Years!
Posted Friday, September 30 2011 @ 8 AM byTodd Dugard Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
"Where have the years gone?" "Has it been that long?" "Wow, time flies!" "Ten years already?"

Don't you just "appreciate" those clichés? They roll out pretty freely when significant birthdays and anniversaries come up on the calendar. The older we get, the more we hear these comebacks. The metaphysical reality is that as we get older, time seems to move more quickly. Seems to. It isn’t really moving any faster.  

Having said that, it has indeed been ten years since a small group of people launched, by God’s grace, Harvest Bible Chapel Barrie. And you ask, “Wow…has it been that long?!” Yes. Yes, it has.  

In September 2001, a little more than a hundred people met at Emma King Elementary School in northwest Barrie to worship him under the theme, “Declaring…Jesus First!” From the start, we have sought to have our eyes on Christ alone. We have sought to have a vertical church that glorifies Jesus Christ and lifts high his name and not our own. For ten years that has been our aim. Sometimes we’ve hit that target and other times…well...we’ve messed up and been focused too much on ourselves.  

And yet, in strength and weakness, God has seen fit to do some amazing things along the way in this his church. We have story after story of people turning their lives over to Christ. Stories of marriage-disasters that have been put back together. Stories of addictions overcome. Stories of peace received in the midst of crushing trials. Stories of healing, of peace, of reconciliation and love.      

And it is time to celebrate all that God has been up to over these ten years. Our elders have announced already that we are celebrating the achievement with five celebration Sundays throughout this ministry year.  The first of those Sundays is upon us, and we are excited about what we will be experiencing in each of those Sundays…and all the ones in between too!  

For sure we are excited to have Pastor Ron Zappia with us from Harvest Bible Chapel in Naperville, Illinois. Ron and his wife Jody were the first ones sent out from Harvest Rolling Meadows to establish the first Harvest church plant in March 2000. That’s a little more than eleven years ago! Where has the time…uh, forget it.   Ron will be opening God’s Word to Colossians 1:9-14 and preaching a message entitled, "First Things First". This is a message for everyday, every year, every step in a Christ-follower’s walk and in the life of a church family like ours. It is always a good idea to refresh our hearts and minds with regard to the basics of our devotion to Christ.  Ron brings a ton of passion to his preaching. I know we will be encouraged and strengthened as we hear from him on Sunday.  

In addition, we will be introducing the first of our Storyline videos. What we know is that everyone at Harvest has a story about how God is working in their lives. These stories are for mutual growth and encouragement. They are given to us to build each other up as we see God at work. I know that you’re going to be blessed by what you see Sunday. More than a few of us will need some tissue as we hear and see this story.  

Jordan has also prepared the team to lead us in some energized worship. Give a listen to the songs for Sunday, read the Colossians passage Ron is preaching on and pray through those verses as you prepare yourself to be here with God’s people to worship Jesus Christ. He is “the radiance of the glory of God!” He is worthy of our celebration and our worship. And he alone is responsible for all the great things that have happened over the years here at Harvest. And we anticipate more of the same as we watch for his soon return.

And while we celebrate here in Barrie on Sunday, the newest Harvest church plant in Canada launches in Niagara. In fact that's Harvest #10 in Canada to further celebrate ten years of Harvest in Canada. Praise God!

To him be glory!  

See you Sunday,  

Todd
ThuThursdaySepSeptember29th2011 Scotland
Posted Thursday, September 29 2011 @ 7 AM byTodd Dugard Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
This post is more than a bit overdue. This past summer Cheryl and I had the opportunity to travel to the amazing country of Scotland to visit our partner church in Glasgow. Along the way were able to have some vacation squeezing in a couple of Sundays of preaching and some great times with our new Scottish friends from Harvest Bible Chapel.



I thought it would be cool to simply share our “top ten” highlights of that trip.  There are actually seventeen.

1. I enjoyed mentioning Al Duncan's name as often as I could in recognition of his role as my Scottish Advisor. This is something that makes most of Al’s friends a bit afraid of what he was giving us by way of advice.  

2. After visiting a number of historic sites, we realized that pretty much all of Scottish history has to do with who killed whom. There are five million Scots in the country today and six million Canadians of Scottish decent so plenty of them survived all the historical carnage.  

3. The bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond really are bonnie.   

4. According to our tour bus driver, buildings that are 150 years old or less are “new construction”.   

5. You can never have enough pipers. Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo was fantastic!   

6. I’ve been speaking English for 47 years. Glaswegian is its own language requiring translation. Even other Scots don’t understand it when Glaswegians speak.  

7. Playing golf at St. Andrews was all you would think it would be. First shot on first tee, into a fairway pot bunker! YES!  



8. The intensity of the Celtic-Rangers rivalry makes the Habs-Leafs thing seem like a schoolyard tiff. I was advised (by Al) not to pick sides lest I never be seen again.  

9. Haggis has gotten a bad rap. Delicious! At least what was served up at The Source in Glasgow. I’d order it again.  

10. If I were King of England, Scotland, Canada and the Realms, the first thing I'd do is order a bigger bed. Great tour of the Royal Yacht Britannia including coffee, scones and clotted cream.  

11. Speaking of coffee! Wow. Amazing. The Scots brew a beautiful cup of coffee. Not only did we not have a bad cup in two weeks, but every cup was amazing.  

12. Glasgow is a much nicer city than Edinburgh. That's what Al Duncan told me to say.   

13. No sightings of Nessie. Except in the gift shop.  

14. Don’t believe the weatherman. It is always sunny and warm in Scotland in the summer. At least that’s what we experienced.  

15. We were loved and shown incredible Scottish hospitality by Pastor Scott and Alison Hamilton. Loved living on Vennard Gardens for a couple of weeks.  

16. A Scottish accent makes worship sound that much more heavenly! Great worship team at Harvest Bible Chapel Glasgow!   

17. So blessed by the prayerfulness, dedication to mission, deep community and love for God’s Word that we experienced at Harvest Bible Chapel Glasgow. God is at work!  

We are excited about this partnership. I have a Skype meeting with Scott bi-weekly, and we are making plans for a team or two to travel to Glasgow in 2012 to support them in their effort to reach their city for Jesus Christ.  

Continue to pray for Harvest Bible Chapel Glasgow. Check out their website and take some time to listen to one or more of Pastor Scott’s messages. 

WedWednesdaySepSeptember28th2011 Let the children come
Posted Wednesday, September 28 2011 @ 11 AM byJeannie Coros Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
But Jesus called them to him, saying, "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.” (Luke 18:16)  

When I was little, I played school every chance I got.  My four brothers humoured me, as long as we headed outside to build forts afterward.  When people would ask me “What do you want to be when you grow up?”  I would ALWAYS say, "A mommy and a teacher."  Little did I know what that would look like in my life.  I had no idea that God had a plan for me, until I surrendered myself to Jesus eight years ago. I became acutely aware that my three children were an incredible blessing from the Lord and it was my job to train them up. Wow – ‘a mommy and a teacher’.  

Teaching has taken many forms in my life, however, I have also learned that in order to be an effective teacher you MUST also be a good student. I was blessed to teach the lesson to the Grade 1-3 class this past Sunday. We were studying chapters 6-8 in Judges and learning about how God raised up Gideon to lead the Israelites.  It was incredible to see these children hungry to learn, eager and attentive.  They joyfully pretended to blow their trumpets, smash their clay pots and raise their torches, leading the Israelites to victory over the powerful Midianite army.  We discussed how God used a simple man like Gideon to do incredible things for him.

After our lesson, one sweet young lady in grade 2 prayed for us and for our time together.  I was completely humbled by her unrehearsed, faith-filled, precious words. I started to think about how the children rushed to Jesus, just to be with the Messiah.  They didn’t need to put on their Sunday best, rehearse their lines or get their chores done first.  They didn’t doubt who he was or his power. They didn’t question him, they just wanted to spend time with him.  How often do I miss that?  Am I just as eager to spend time with Jesus?  Do I question his majesty like Gideon?  Do I trust his Word? Do I put my "list" before him?   

Sadly, at times, I do! I’m grateful for the beautiful reminder I was given that I need to have the faith and eagerness of a child every day. I need to believe simply because God says so. I need to always be unrehearsed and unashamed.  I love being a "mommy and a teacher" but more than that, I am a perpetual student. I always need to be ready and willing to learn and grow...UNHINDERED, at the feet of Jesus.  
TueTuesdaySepSeptember27th2011 Liberating Prayer
Posted Tuesday, September 27 2011 @ 7 AM byTodd Dugard Tagged Prayer 0 comments Add comment
We have the banner hanging in our foyer: “Believing firmly in the power of prayer”. We may believe in that power, but are we experiencing that power when we pray? My sense is that prayer still remains a bit flat for us. A bit of a mystery. A bit…boring even.  At our last Night of Prayer I shared a number of “rules” regarding praying in a group that I hope will liberate people from the awkwardness and boredom that so many feel in that kind of setting. I suspect that some do not participate in these prayer gatherings because of some fears they have. I’m hoping these simple suggestions will address these things and help us have vibrant, Spirit-filled prayer gatherings.

1. We don’t pray around the circle. Ever. I have never been a fan of “praying around the circle”. The fact that we may sit in a circle is mere pragmatism…so we can face each other hear what’s being prayed. The shape of the gathering shouldn’t dictate the order. I find it to be presumptuous on what the Spirit may be doing in the lives of those in the group. The circle, not the Spirit, dictates the order of things. Seems wrong to me. 

2. We don’t expect everyone to pray aloud. Last week in our elders meeting, I didn’t pray. I had not had the best day and felt like I wasn’t in the best place. I was in a bit of a wrestling match with the Lord and it would have been a bit hypocritical to pray, in my estimation. I added my “amen” to the prayers of the other elders, but remained silent. Some people don’t feel like they’re ready to pray aloud because they’re new in the faith. I remember the first time I was in such a situation. I was maybe sixteen years old and a new follower of Christ. I had no idea what to say or how to say it. All I know is that as prayer moved around the circle toward me, I didn’t hear a single word of any of the previous prayers and my anxiety level was increasing. I survived. Having said that, there should come a time in every believer’s life, where his or her maturity level leads him or her to pray aloud within a group. If you are growing in your walk with Christ, you should not remain silent forever.

3. You can pray more than once. Among the problems of praying around the circle is the reality that I only get one shot at praying, and so you feel like you need to get out a good one. This is what adds incredible pressure to people who have little experience with this. If the circle-thing is abolished, then people are freed up to pray shorter, more meaningful prayers as things come to their mind and heart. As an added bonus, what you will notice in time is that your prayers become more conversational with the Lord and your intimacy with him will increase.

4. Silence is more than okay. Some of the most memorable and impactful prayer times I have been a part of have included long periods of silence. Most groups consider these to be “awkward silences” as if just sitting in the presence of the Lord is a problem. In prayer, God can often speak to us especially if we are using his Word as the basis for our praying. Don’t feel like you have to jump in when no one is praying. Enjoy the quiet (we get so little of it), and let God speak for a minute or two or more.

5. Find your prayer list in the Bible. Having mentioned using God’s Word as our basis for praying, let me say further that doing this opens up to us an amazing treasure of things to pray about. What I appreciate so much about praying the Scriptures is that you know without a doubt that you’re praying God’s will. When I bring my list, I’m never really sure about that. Having our Bibles open when we pray brings the conversation with the Lord to life.  A great resource to have on this kind of praying is Daniel Henderson’s Transforming Prayer, which is the focus of all of our small group studies right now.

6. Don’t share requests beforehand.  We have all been part of prayer meetings that were 75% sharing requests and 25% praying. God knows what’s on your heart and the people in your prayer group will know when you pray it. They can agree with your prayer and say “amen” …or not…after you pray it. Spend your time talking to God and not each other.

7. Change your posture.  I sit at a desk a lot. When I pray, I really do like to change that up. What we find though is that the standard prayer posture of most Christ-followers is to be in a sitting position, hunched over. I suspect that chiropractors would tell us that we are wrecking ourselves by doing that. I strongly encourage mixing it up. Stand during prayer even if others continue to sit.  Walk around the room if that works. Kneel. Lay flat out on the floor.  I have been part of group prayer meetings with all of these postures being practiced. Don’t be shy about it and don’t worry about what anyone else is doing.

8. Take notes during prayer. One of the most frustrating things that happens to me in prayer is having my mind wander away to what I have to do later. To help with that, I keep a piece of paper in my Bible or use my iPhone to make a quick note. That way I can stop thinking about it until later and get back to prayer. Keeping notes can also be helpful when something someone else is praying prompts me. Maybe I want to pray further about that later, or do something to encourage someone. Jot down a quick note about it and get back to praying.

9. Whoever opens the prayer time, closes it.  This is simply a practical suggestion to again help with that problem of praying around the circle. With the circle, it was easy to know when the time of prayer was done, but without that order in place, how do you know? Simply have the one who opens the prayer time with his or her prayer also be the one to close it off.

I’m hoping that these suggestions will help liberate our church during our group prayer times, but if you look back, you’ll find some great ideas for making your personal time of prayer each day more vital as well. We can’t afford to not grow in this area of our lives personally and corporately knowing that Ephesians 6:18 makes it so clear that we are to be, “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert, with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.”      
MonMondaySepSeptember26th2011 The Monday blog about Sunday
Posted Monday, September 26 2011 @ 9 AM byEutychus Tagged Monday 0 comments Add comment
Another fine Sunday at Harvest Barrie this weekend, it's always entertaining to walk in and see a different stage set up. It keeps us guessing I suppose... I just hope that those white panels don't make it in front of the band at any point. It be a bit awkward to look at a bunch of shadows of people during worship. Time will tell!

A great sermon yesterday from Pastor Todd also. “Lest We Drift” was the title. It challenged us, asking the question of whether or not we are in tune to what the Lord has for us or are letting ourselves drift away from him and his plan for our lives. He gave us five practical points on how to make sure that we aren’t drifting away.

1. Intentionally listen to God’s Word.
This seems so simple, yet it can be such a struggle for all of us. It’s hard to hear what the Lord has for us in his Word if we aren’t actually in his Word… Let’s certainly keep on top of that.

2.  Implicitly trust what it says to me.
Once we get to the point where we are in the Word, listening to what it has for our lives, another challenge is trusting that what the Word says is true. So often we seek answers that we want, not the one’s that we need to hear…TRUST the Word of the Lord.

3.  Completely lose my self-righteous attitude.
“self-right-eous” adjective – confident of one’s own righteousness, especially when smugly moralistic and intolerant of the opinions and behaviours of others. When we define it, sometimes we develop a greater distaste for it…sounds bad doesn’t it?

4.  Soberly heed the warning leveled at me.
Trust what the Word says! Every transgression/disobedience will receive just retribution. There is no escape from it! You have been warned!

5.  And, easily see God at work in my life.
When we abide by what God’s Word has for us, we see fruit in our lives. Maybe it’s the way we act at work, or at home with our spouses or kids, maybe an in-law that we aren’t so fond of.

When we trust what his Word has for us and abide by it, we can see God@Work in our lives. Let’s set this as our aim this week, friends. Trust in him and what his Word has for us.

U R LOVED.

Eutychus  
FriFridaySepSeptember23rd2011 Lest we drift...
Posted Friday, September 23 2011 @ 9 AM byTodd Dugard Tagged From the Cave 0 comments Add comment
I think I need to be honest and say that I’m finding my walk with Christ to be harder these days than it ever has been. For those who aren’t aware, I’ve been walking with the Lord for more than thirty years now. I was fifteen years old when I heard the message of Jesus Christ. I wanted the emptiness inside me to be filled. And it was. My sins were forgiven and I was given hope for eternity and my walk with Jesus Christ has been filled with abundance from him.

But it hasn’t been easy to walk with Christ. And it hasn’t been getting easier.

Many think that the longer you walk with Christ, the easier it gets. It isn’t true. Believing that lie is the reason that some don’t make it. Early professions of faith give way to the challenges and heartaches of the journey. False expectations of the Christian life devastate those who seem to have embraced the faith but fail to endure in that faith (see what Jesus says about this in Matthew 13:1-9; 18-23).

To be clear, while salvation itself is received in faith alone by grace alone—thus not merited and not earned—it is always evidenced and proven genuine by what we produce in our lives. If there is no evidence that we have been saved, we are not saved. The Bible is clear on this.  And so, while salvation comes freely, there is a cost to walking with him day by day. Jesus told his followers, “In this world you will have trouble.” And he was right. (Ephesians 2:8; James 2:14-17; Romans 6:23; Mark 8:34; John 16:33).

What God has been saying to me as I have been walking with him these past few months and years has been all about enduring through the circumstances of life…both trials and his loving discipline. Neither is pleasant.  Both are for my good and his glory. And during this time it became very evident that walking with him was never guaranteed to get easier. As I said, I have found the opposite to be true. What God wants to see in me is a faith that endures so that I lack nothing that God would have for me (James 1:2-4). The things God wants for me are not always the things that are at the top of the list of what I want for me.

And so it is hard. I’m hoping it is helpful for you to think about this too because I have found that even other Christ-followers can think that hard times in your life are the evidence that God has somehow abandoned you or that his blessing is being withheld because you’re off track spiritually. Somehow they miss seeing that trials are normal and God’s discipline is because he loves us (Hebrews 12:3-11). They miss that our purpose in this life is his glory and not our comfort (read Job 1). Comfort comes later. 

And so, many are tempted to not endure but instead to abandon their profession of faith because walking with Christ is hard. In Hebrews 2:1-4 the preacher uses the word “drift” to describe this abandonment of God and his Word. He calls it, “neglect” of our salvation. And attaches a dire warning to his message.  He appeals to us to “pay much closer attention to what we have heard”. The only assumption I can make when I read those words is that some weren’t paying attention. Some were drifting. Some were neglecting their salvation.

I’m sure we would all say the same of ourselves. It isn’t hard to see how we often drift and neglect the things of God’s Word. How we can become disappointed and discouraged and beaten down by people and circumstances. The remedy is to pay attention. Believe what we hear in God’s Word. If I haven’t said it enough, let me say again…it isn’t easy to do.  

But it's worth it!  Look at the one we follow and serve.  He "upholds the universe by the word of his power" and although the road is hard, as we learned at the beginning of the month, because of God's faithfulness, there is joy.

We will be looking at Hebrews 2:1-4 on Sunday as we gather for worship and continue our series “Truly Epic…Listen Up”. Could I ask you to come early, come prepared by reading the passage, listening to the songs we’ll be singing together and praying for your own response to the Word in advance of arriving? Jesus Christ is “the radiance of the glory of God” and is worthy of our attentive worship.

And make every effort to join the church as we get together on Sunday evening at 6:30 p.m. to demonstrate again that we believe firmly in the power of prayer. In light of our new small group series on Transforming Prayer, this is a great opportunity to put some of that teaching into practice.

See you Sunday,

Todd
ThuThursdaySepSeptember22nd2011 Love that Doesn’t Fluctuate
Posted Thursday, September 22 2011 @ 8 AM byAmy Fotherby Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
God LOVES you...do you know that? Really know that? I know it but am learning it more and more.

I've been reading and studying more about God's great love for me over the past few months and I'm learning a whole new side of who I believe God to be. I've had numerous times in the past few months where I have been completely overwhelmed by his love, his sacrifice, his grace and blessings poured out on me so freely.

I read “One Thousand Gifts” by Ann Voskamp and really had my perspective changed – I’ve started a Thankfulness Journal with a goal to record a minimum of 1000 gifts by the end of next summer – the journal travels with me and the exercise forces me to slow down and SEE the gifts Christ gives me, be thankful for the them and see his love in those gifts.  

I also read this great quote:  

It’s essential for us to think about God’s love today because it is only his love that can grant us the joy that will strengthen our hearts, the courage that will embolden us in our fight against sin and the assurance that will enable us to open up our lives to him so that he might deal powerfully with our unbelief and idolatry. If we’re not completely convinced that his love is ours right now–fully and unalterably ours–we’ll always hide in the shadows, focusing on our performance, fearing his wrath. Prayer will be hard because we won’t want to approach him or be transparent before him. Witnessing will be a chore, for who would want to talk to others about a god who is demanding, angry, or cold? If we don’t consciously live in the light of his love, the gospel will be secondary, virtually meaningless, and Jesus Christ will fade into insignificance. Our faith will become all about us, our performance, and how we think we’re doing, and our transformation will be hindered. What must we remember? Simply that God loves us so much that he crushed his Son so that we might be his and that this love isn’t based on our worthiness or performance. His love doesn’t fluctuate from day-to-day. It was settled the moment he set it upon you before the foundation of the world. God has spoken to us about his love and the gospel in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Will that love transform the way you live today?
~Elyse Fitzpatrick in Because He Loves Me  

I WANT my life to be transformed by God’s love and I want to be a reflection of his love...I want to be radical…To Him Be Glory – in my life and the life of our church. Let’s GO!
WedWednesdaySepSeptember21st2011 Weekend to Remember
Posted Wednesday, September 21 2011 @ 7 AM byRoger Freeman Tagged No tags 4 comments Add comment
“Once upon a time.”  That’s how fairy tales start.  That’s really how every story starts.  That’s how our marriages start.  How the stories finish depend on what we do with them; how we live them out.

For couples willing to do some hard work and learn some good skills, the story can take a good direction and end strong.  Lots of couples have!  New couples, old couples, struggling couples and discouraged couples, and couples with good marriages who want to keep writing great lines together!  Read their stories at FamilyLifeCanada.com/Weekend. 

And now think about your story.  From couples considering getting married to those who have seen some years go by together; from couples with a new page to couples with some difficult chapters already written; there is hope and help to be strong.  A Family Life “Weekend To Remember” is a great way to invest in your marriage and begin writing a brighter future together.  They run from a Friday night to Sunday noon. 

Couples from our church who have been to one and would be glad to share their experience include: Dave and Debbie Eskra, Roger and Margaret Freeman and Ron and Sharon Hartholt.  Find lots more on the Family Life website or drop by Connections on Sunday to get a brochure listing dates and locations and details.

Having a marriage that reflects God’s plan is unlikely to get easier.  It’s a great idea to take a good look at his blueprints.  “He wrote the book.  He wants to write your story.”

Roger
TueTuesdaySepSeptember20th2011 Approved Workers Are Not Ashamed!
Posted Tuesday, September 20 2011 @ 12 PM byJeannie Coros Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
It's Awana time again. Our amazing team of volunteers is so pumped about the start of another great year starting this Wednesday night. For those of you who didn't grow up in Awana, or are not familiar with our mid-week children's program, let me share with you why we LOVE it!

Awana prayer
That all children and youth throughout the world will come to know, love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ.

Awana vision
To be a strategic partner with churches and ministries in a global effort to ensure the opportunity for all children and youth to be evangelized and discipled in Christ

Awana mission
To work with our ministry partners in creating and disseminating integrated programs, tools and training that equip leaders to evangelize and disciple children and youth for Christ

Awana values
We will glorify God and serve the body of Christ by committing ourselves to these values.
  • We proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ with clarity and urgency.
  • We commit to God’s Word as our guide and standard.
  • We treat all people as created and loved by God.
  • We maintain a servant heart in all we do.
  • We manage God’s resources with faithfulness and integrity.
  • We pursue excellence as unto the Lord  
What does that look like at Harvest Barrie?  Well, we have 56 dedicated volunteers who serve faithfully and tirelessly every week.  Our team leaders shepherd a group of children, as they rotate through worship, exciting games, powerful lessons, and handbook time.  Awana handbooks are jammed packed with truth, that leads them to a greater understanding of God, the Bible and who Jesus is.  Children work at, not only memorizing scripture each week but understanding why they should and how they can apply it to their lives.   

Awana is an incredible outreach tool for families.  Children are encouraged to bring their friends, who always receive a warm welcome.  These kids are often from school and the neighbourhood and they love coming back each week to participate in the fun and excitement.   Each year we celebrate with non-Harvest and even unchurched children, who come to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.  So grateful to God for these moments!  
As a family, we have been blessed by Awana.  It’s amazing to see our kids serving together in the program that they enjoyed so much as clubbers.  They are being shepherded by adults who pour into them each week and are godly examples for them.  It’s incredible to watch them foster relationships with Awana kids and come alongside them in their walk with Christ.  God is at work at Awana, we are thankful to be vessels for him.  

Want to know more or perhaps serve in our Awana family?  One of our Awana parents has designed a website specifically for our club which you can access here.   You can register your kids online and find out what’s up and coming this year.  You can also contact Commander Craig at for more information.  

Looking forward to Wednesday night…hope to see you there!!  

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15            
MonMondaySepSeptember19th2011 The Monday blog about Sunday
Posted Monday, September 19 2011 @ 8 AM byEutychus Tagged Monday 0 comments Add comment


What a great Sunday! Loving the new stage set up and the energy I’m sensing in worship each week. And our study in Hebrews is already hitting the mark in my own life…helping me get vertical with my God.

We’ve been hearing about The Valley of Vision off and on for a bit now. Pastor Todd talked about it several weeks ago and he tweets a few excerpts several mornings a week for those who follow him on Twitter or Facebook. As we quietly prepared for worship on Sunday, Jordan read an entire prayer from this powerful collection of Puritan prayers and devotionals. For those who are into e-books, you can get the Kindle version of The Valley of Vision from Amazon for $0.99. 

Pastor Todd took us through Hebrews 1:4-11 where we heard that nothing (not even angels) should stand in the way of our worship of Jesus Christ. Like a lot of you, I wrote down something at the end of the teaching time that I’m eager to get rid of in my life because I know it keeps me from worship at times. 

The message helped us see that Jesus is much superior to angels—as cool as they are to us. We went through that “job description” for angels pretty quickly, so if you are one of those people who might want to study that part again this week, here’s the list he worked through:

The unnamed angels who appear most often in Scripture carry out a variety of tasks—all designed to serve God…

  • Worship and praise - This is the main activity portrayed in heaven (Isaiah 6:1-3; Revelation 4-5).
  • Revealing - They serve as messengers to communicate God's will to men. They helped reveal the law to Moses (Acts 7:52-53), and served as the carriers of much of the material in Daniel, and Revelation. 
  • Guiding - Angels gave instructions to Joseph about the birth of Jesus (Matthew 1-2), to the women at the tomb, to Philip (Acts 8:26), and to Cornelius (Acts 10:1-8).
  • Providing - God has used angels to provide physical needs such as food for Hagar (Genesis 21:17-20), Elijah (1 Kings 19:6), and Christ after his temptation (Matthew 4:11).
  • Protecting - Keeping God's people out of physical danger, as in the cases of Daniel and the lions, and his three friends in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3 and 6).
  • Delivering - Getting God's people out of danger once they're in it. Angels released the apostles from prison  in Acts 5, and repeated the process for Peter in Acts 12.
  • Strengthening and encouraging - Angels strengthened Jesus after his temptation (Matt 4:11), encouraged the apostles to keep preaching after releasing them from prison (Acts 5:19-20), and told Paul that everyone on his ship would survive the impending shipwreck (Acts 27:23-25).
  • Answering prayer - God often uses angels as his means of answering the prayers of his people (Daniel 9:20-24; 10:10-12; Acts 12:1-17).
  • Caring for believers at the moment of death - In the story of Lazarus and the rich man, we read that angels carried the spirit of Lazarus to "Abraham's bosom" when he died (Luke 16:22).

Prepared by Dr. John Bechtle

And if you want to dive head first into “angelology” (yup, that’s a real field of study), you should check out Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology. After the service, one couple told me they were pulling out their copy of that book to go deeper into what angels are all about.

Pastor Mike prayed with thanks for the tenth anniversary of Harvest Bible Chapel Barrie…actually the tenth anniversary of Harvest in Canada since we were the first one planted outside of the Chicagoland area. Pastor Todd mentioned at the end that this past Sunday marked the official launch of the church back in 2001. He also let us know that while this past Sunday was pretty low key about that, celebration Sundays are coming up in October, November, February, April and June with some great preachers coming in to help us give glory to God for all he has done.

Some reminders that have been passed on to me to pass on to you while I’m writing…

-       Don’t forget the Memory Project (Get it? Fon’t forget the memory project!). Sign up to receive a weekly reminder by text to your cellphone. We’re still working on Hebrews 1:3 this week;

-       Last Sunday, September 11, Pastor Todd and Pastor Roger took about eight minutes to talk about our new ministry year launch and a bunch of things related to it. You can listen to that short update below.

-       If you’re in a small group already, you’ll be starting the book, Transforming Prayer this week. Everyone is pretty pumped about what this will mean for our church as we live out the pillar, believing firmly in the power of prayer;

-       And finally, (this was a long one!), we have a night of prayer coming up this Sunday, September 25. Our Clearview campus prayer group will be joining the rest of us at Timothy at 6:30 p.m. to begin practicing the things we will be learning in Transforming Prayer.   

That’s it for me for now. Hope you have an amazing week!

Eutychus

 

 Audio 2011 09 11 1115 family chat.mp3
FriFridaySepSeptember16th2011 What’s in the way of Jesus?
Posted Friday, September 16 2011 @ 8 AM byTodd Dugard Tagged From the Cave 2 comments Add comment
We got a good start last Sunday on our year-long series "Truly Epic: Jesus Christ and the power of an indestructible life" in the Book of Hebrews. We launched into a new ministry year, and, if you missed out on being here, I would encourage you to listen to that first message on Hebrews 1:1-3 as it provides a ton of important background to the new series.

I'll remind you that Hebrews is a sermon manuscript with a personal note at the end. Last week we looked at the preacher's introduction and this week we come to his first main point in Hebrews 1:4-14 that Jesus is superior to angels. As I was talking with Pastor Scott Hamilton at Harvest Bible Chapel Glasgow about this message (he preached through Hebrews last year), he gave me this Mark Driscoll line, "Idolatry is taking a good thing, making it a god thing and that's a bad thing."

As that pertains to angels, of course, we know they're more than cool and get some terrific gigs in the Bible. They were created by God to serve us and that’s, using Driscoll’s language, a good thing. But the danger comes when we become too fascinated by anything in the creation…so fascinated that we displace Jesus from the divine position he rightfully deserves in our lives.

And, as we’ll see, it isn’t simply about worshiping angels. It is about anything that can get in the way of Jesus. Even as Christ-followers, we struggle to let Jesus lead our lives and to have him as our singular focus—fixing our eyes on him instead of on things, on circumstances, or on other people. And that can become, in essence, what we worship. Only Jesus is truly epic. If I let anything get in the way, if I worship anything else, I’m choosing the inferior over the superior.

I am eager to be with you on Sunday to work through this passage and hear what God has to say to us all as we “Listen Up” to him. Come early. Come prepared. Some ways you can do that….
-        access weekly sermon resources
-        sign up for our new Scripture memory project
-        listen in advance to the worship songs for this Sunday
-        sign up for the weekend prayer alert

See you Sunday,

Todd
ThuThursdaySepSeptember15th2011 All Sons & Daughters
Posted Thursday, September 15 2011 @ 10 AM byJordan Donald Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
Yes the worship guy’s here with yet another blog post on music! I love music as you well know, and I especially love music that really ministers to me and seems to communicate things to the Lord in such a beautiful word picture or melody. The newest CD from All Sons & Daughters, “Brokenness Aside EP No. 1” is really doing both of those things for me, it’s a short CD with only six songs but all of them are fantastic.

It’s such a creative recording, not the “cookie cutter” worship CD, although I still love most of those too :-) They really step outside of the box both musically and lyrically in such a beautiful way. The opening track “Alive” paints a picture of us being alive in Christ only because of him, “Soaked in all the grace that we’ve been given, unchained from all that we have done”.  It’s in and through Christ that we even have life, his mercies are new everyday!

“Let It Shine”, speaks of the light shining through the darkness no matter where we are at in life. The second verse is my favorite one, it says “There’s only one way to wash yourself clean, so let the dirt fall and get on your knees”, then the chorus encourages us to let the light (or the love of Christ) shine in our lives. 

“All The Poor and Powerless” is one of my favourite tracks on the record. A re-recorded version off their older CD, it is a song that speaks of the day described in Romans 14:11 that says, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God”. A beautiful picture of that day when everyone will know that our God reigns and we will sing hallelujah to him who’s deserving of all the glory. The song ends with a choir singing hallelujah together and it’s a very powerful moment in the song.

“Brokenness Aside” is the self-titled track. A song that speaks of our Saviour's never ending grace for us. The chorus says, “I am a sinner, if it’s not one thing it’s another, caught up in words and tangled in lies. But you are the Savior and you take brokenness aside and make it beautiful”. No matter our struggles, the Lord’s grace is more than enough for us, and shows us his love even in our darkest times. He is refining us in the hard times and this song is such an amazing reminder of that.

“I Am Set Free” is no doubt a song about our chains being broken and us being covered in our Saviour’s grace. It's another song with the use of a choir that just paints such a beautiful picture of the body of Christ to me. The bridge of the song says, “Yes Lord we are grateful for your grace and for your love”. A cry that needs to be sung by so many of us. We tend to take it for granted so often.

“Your Glory” is the last track on the EP. A song that speaks of the holiness and glory of the Lord, and that very glory causing us to fall on our knees in awe. My favourite line in the song is in the chorus and says, “The heartbeat of my life is to worship in your light”. Such a true lyric that needs to be the prayer in our devos daily, our joy needs to be found in him!

Get this record and let it minister to you in your life. I promise that you will not regret it. Make sure to listen to the lyrics and sing along, and really let them impact the way that you worship and live your life for the Lord. 

Blessings, 

Jordan
WedWednesdaySepSeptember14th2011 9/11 Questions
Posted Wednesday, September 14 2011 @ 10 AM byMike Armstrong Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
Now that we've reached the tenth anniversary of 9/11 you might find that it brings up questions of God's love, goodness, and his power as he relates to his creation.  Maybe you have these questions, or maybe someone you know has raised them.  I came across a great article by Tim Keller who pastors a church right in the heart of NYC.  On a daily basis he is in touch with people who were directly affected by the tragedy ten years ago and have, no doubt, wrestled with these things.    

I find his answers thoughtful, helpful and biblical.  I trust they will be a help to you and those you know.  Enjoy.

Pastor Tim Keller gives some thoughts on questions people are asking.
TueTuesdaySepSeptember13th2011 Training
Posted Tuesday, September 13 2011 @ 8 AM byAmy Fotherby Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
I read a great article recently about the importance of training those who serve in the church, here’s the opening quote:
“The concept of needing tools to make or repair things is not new to us. Mechanics use tools to fix our cars, cooks use tools (utensils) to cook a meal, carpenters use tools to build a house. One of the ways you can tell if you have found a professional or an expert to do a job is to notice if they come equipped with the appropriate tools. (A plumber who asks if he can borrow your wrench would hardly evoke your confidence.)”
Tools are important – bottom line.

As a staff we are SO thankful for those who serve at Harvest Barrie, who join us in practically doing the ministry entrusted to us. We love our volunteer appreciation event in June where we get to celebrate the things that God has done in and through us as we’ve served him throughout the year. We also love fall training day where we spend time doing specific training with the various ministry teams of Harvest Barrie – casting vision, reviewing new (and old) processes, giving you tools, encouraging you, praying with you – it’s all about striving to serve Christ with excellence and doing what we do to fulfill the Great Commission!

If you serve at Harvest Barrie we really want you to join us for the morning of Saturday, October 1 so that we can fill your tool belt! Check out the schedule of the day, if you require on-site childcare and let your ministry leader know that you’re going to be there!

If you don’t YET serve but want to be a part of one of these amazing teams and join us for a great morning!

Pumped for this ministry year and all that God has for us…excited to see us gain some more tools and grow in excellence.

Amy
MonMondaySepSeptember12th2011 The Monday blog about Sunday
Posted Monday, September 12 2011 @ 10 AM byEutychus Tagged Monday 0 comments Add comment
Jesus is everything he says he is!  That new song Jordan led us in has been sticking in my head.  It is colouring everything I think this week.  You can listen to it again below if you need a refresher to get it exactly.  All the new things going on around here are pretty exciting but the one thing that stands out to me every week is God’s presence. 


This book of Hebrews is right down my alley if you know what I mean.  It is all about the supremacy of Jesus Christ.   I can endure because of his indestructible life!  We are going to learn so much by listening to God.  We sure need to do that because there is so much turmoil in this world, both on an international scale and on an individual scale.  I so appreciated Todd’s prayer about 9/11.  Ten years' perspective just underlines how we need all of Jesus!  I’m in for getting the whole message of Jesus.  You can hear Sunday’s start on it on the website.

The new things are sure targeted toward that.  Our small group study of Transforming Prayer will be a great start in seeking God’s face.  I can’t wait to party with my small group this week and then start the study next week.  It will be cool to see new people there for the study.  I picked up my workbook at the bookstore for $5!  Some new small groups are starting too.  I’ll be praying for them.  If you're not in a group, find your spot on the website.

The memory project will help too.  Can Pastor Roger get excited about God’s Word or what?  I signed up for the text reminders.  You can too, right here.  I have started memorizing and it really does stick because I keep thinking about these words:  “After making purification for sins, he sat down.”  Jesus made purification for my sins.  He did it all.  I am so glad I get to worship him with everyone here.  And I’m thankful for those becoming members like I have.  If you are saved and baptized and want to become a member the next Membership@Harvest class is this Sunday at 9 a.m. and for the next two weeks following.   

This week I will be reflecting on Jesus, waiting for our small group study on prayer, memorizing scripture and looking  forward to the men’s breakfast this Saturday, at 8 a.m. at Timothy Christian School.  As always, all the information is on the web site at www.harvestbarrie.ca.

 Peace,

 Eutychus
FriFridaySepSeptember9th2011 Something “Truly Epic” begins Sunday
Posted Friday, September 09 2011 @ 7 AM byTodd Dugard Tagged From the Cave 0 comments Add comment
I admitted this week that I’m a bit afraid of the Book of Hebrews. One of the guys I was with then prayed and acknowledged that the fear I had was a good thing. He’s right.

In the truest sense of the word, Hebrews is a literary “epic”. In the original Greek, the language is lofty and grand, and the author masterfully uses images, wordplay, alliteration and other literary devices to creatively communicate his message.

But what is truly epic about the book is the subject matter that comes to us by the inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit. The power is not in the literary beauty, but in the person of Jesus Christ. He is the one who is majestic, awesome, supreme and far superior to anything this world serves up. He is truly epic!

The series starts this Sunday in Hebrews 1:1-3 with the first of four sub-series; this one titled “Listen Up”. The message for this week is “He has spoken”. God has spoken and because he has, we ought to listen. 

And as we gather, we’ll see a new theme for the year as we celebrate 10 years of Harvest in Canada. “To him be glory!” comes from Ephesians 3:20 and expresses our desire to make sure God gets all the credit for anything good that has happened, that is happening and that will happen here at Harvest. He alone is worthy of praise.

Last Sunday we handed out bookmarks that show that new theme and also outline and describe the new teaching series in Hebrews that will take us, Lord willing, to next July.

We’ll also be talking about the new memory verse project which will have us committing to memory eighteen verses/passages from Hebrews over the course of the year. Not only will this help reinforce the things we are learning on Sundays, but in tandem with our small group study in the book “Transforming Prayer”, we’ll have Scripture in our hearts and minds that we can pray through. Check the resources available to help learn the verses.

I’m looking forward to everything God has for us this year and I’m praying for him to do amazing things in our lives, in our families, in our church and in this community. If you haven’t read through Hebrews yet, make that a priority and take some time to look at the first three verses in more depth as we prepare to be together on Sunday. And check out this week’s song list too. We’re singing a new worship song off of Matt Redman’s new album. “Holy” is a powerful song that gets our eyes on God alone. Come ready to sing and worship the Lord.

To him be glory for all these things!

See you Sunday,

Todd        
ThuThursdaySepSeptember8th2011 Special Offering: Nigeria Flood
Posted Thursday, September 08 2011 @ 10 AM byTodd Dugard Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
Last week, a devastating localized flood affected the city of Ibadan, Nigeria. Little in the way of media coverage came our way in Canada, but several online news sources reported on the tragedy:

BBC -Nigeria floods: Ibadan reflects on Eleyele Dam tragedy

CTV - Nigeria tries to recover after flood kills more than 100

Washington Post - Nigeria residents try to recover after deadly flood washed away homes, killed more than 100

While this is a localized, rainy-season event, the loss of life has far exceeded that of the recent hurricane on the east coast of North America. The federal and state governments in Nigeria are not able to respond to the crisis in a way that truly helps their people. In times like this children are most vulnerable.

The flood is of particular concern to us at Harvest Bible Chapel because one of our member families, Dayo and Tinu Idowu, founded an orphanage in Ibadan, Nigeria, and the Children of Promise Orphanage (Chiprom) is one of our global partner ministries.

Dayo wrote to me,
The city of Ibadan, Nigeria the home of children of Promise Ministries orphanage has been besieged by unprecedented flood in many areas. Many lives were lost and lots of property damage. Many people including children have been displaced from their homes. In situations like this children will be the ones to feel the effect most. CHIPROM is embarking on a campaign that will bring relief to some of the children affected and their families supplying them with fresh water and food. Please join us in this effort to rescue and bring relief to those affected.


As a church family and partner with Chiprom, we need to stand with Dayo and Tinu and help them, in the name of Jesus Christ, to care for the people of Ibadan. The elders have decided that on Sunday morning our church family will hold a special HOPE fund offering for this purpose. As always, you can give online through Canada Helps, through your bank's online giving ( ), drop a cheque by the office (258 Bayfield Street) or use the special offering envelope found in the Friendship Register on Sunday.

Our desire is to bless those afflicted in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and for his glory knowing that, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:27 ESV).

Todd  
WedWednesdaySepSeptember7th2011 Who Taught You To Pray?
Posted Wednesday, September 07 2011 @ 11 AM byRoger Freeman Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
Who taught you to pray?  That is one of the first questions we will face when we begin “The Power To Change” in our small groups.  This is a study by Daniel Henderson based on his book “Transforming Prayer.”  We have given out hundreds of copies of the book and are looking forward to getting practical with its teaching!   

The study involves a short DVD session with some followup questions to discuss and a time of practical application by – you got it – praying!  All of our small groups are joining in this effort to be transformed through prayer.  We want you to be in!  We read in Psalm 126 about two kinds of people watching God work.  Verse 2b says, “The Lord has done great things for them.”  But verse 3 says, “The Lord has done great things for us.”  Which group do you want to be in?  Those on the outside looking in or those experiencing God’s presence and power?  I know where I want to be!  

You can go to the web site to see an updated list of our small groups.  They know the doors are open for those who want to join in.  Our hope is that if you are not in a small group right now, you will join! You can sign up for the prayer study at Connections. This Sunday, between our services starting at 10:30 a.m., we have a small group orientation. (It is in the library, behind the coffee).  You can find out more about our small groups and we will help you find yours.  

We are also working at being transformed by God’s Word, through the renewing of our minds.  The memory project will help us grab a firm hold on the book of Hebrews.  You can download the verses to memorize here. 

Let’s join together in firing up prayer and the Word in our lives as we plunge into Hebrews! 
TueTuesdaySepSeptember6th2011 Intentionality
Posted Tuesday, September 06 2011 @ 9 AM byJeannie Coros Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
“Where did the summer go?”  How many times have you heard that this past week?  By now the children are all happily nestled in their classrooms (ya, right!), teachers are back in the groove and parents are breathing a sigh of relief.   

Back to school has always been bitter sweet for me.  I simply LOVE all that summer brings and count it all as extra special blessings from the Lord.  However, as much as I cherish the extra family time, the sun, the beach and the ice cream, I do love to get back into routine as September rolls around.  Back to school symbolizes a fresh start for many, including me.  As I have been working through the book Transforming Prayer this year and looking into God’s Word this summer, one word continues to resound in my thoughts….intentionality.  I need to be MORE intentional.  I certainly need to be much more intentional in my prayer life, as the author describes.  I can’t wait to study this book more closely in small group this fall.   It has already reduced me to tears on countless occasions, as I learn to draw nearer to our great God. 

I need to be intentional about spending time with God – as life gets busier over the next few weeks, I need to set this critical time aside each day and savour it. My words, my actions and my thoughts, all need to be intentional.  In everything I do and say, I need to be pleasing to the Lord – that’s not easy for me.  It’s what I desire, but I can give in too easily to my emotions. I need to be intentional about my role as a wife and mother.  My husband and children are gifts from God, I need to be so careful to ensure that my priorities are in order and that I am truly my husbands helper.  I have come to realize that you always need to be a few steps ahead of your children or you are left in the dust.  I need to be intentional about parenting my kids ALL THE TIME and not just when it’s convenient for me.

I certainly need to be intentional about the Great Commission.  I need to always be ready to give an account for the joy I have in my life and share the great news of our mighty Saviour with others.  My walk with the Lord needs to be an example; especially to the sweet children I have the privilege of shepherding on a weekly basis.  The Lord has blessed me immensely with my position at Harvest, and I pray that I will never take lightly the task that is before me.  I need to be intentional!  

God was intentional when he created me, “for I know the plans I have for you, declares he Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).  Oh, how thankful I am that he is sovereign and in control – I need to continue to step up INTENTIONALY and make every moment count – for his glory alone!
MonMondaySepSeptember5th2011 The Monday blog about Sunday
Posted Monday, September 05 2011 @ 7 AM byEutychus Tagged Monday 0 comments Add comment
It was cool to have Pastor Todd back in the house this Sunday - there's no doubt that the message from Psalm 126 was a challenge but also a real encouragement too.  The sober truth we all need to recognize is that our lives will be marked with tears.  In a sin-sickened world, that's the reality.  But the awesome thing for believers is that we have the ability to experience joy in the midst of all that.  Not just happiness, but real joy.  It's kind of a crazy thing to realize that unbelievers don't have the ability to experience joy.  There can be such confusion around the difference between happiness and joy but Todd showed us some characteristics of each that help bring clarity:

3 Characteristics of Happiness
-Temporary
-Rooted in circumstances
-An emotion

3 Characteristics of Joy
-Eternal
-Rooted in a relationship with Christ
-It's a spiritual state of being

We also sang a great song called 'Glorious'.



And a lot of people have been enjoying the new Matt Redman album 10,000 Reasons.  We're going to be introducing 'Holy' off that album next week on launch Sunday so it would be a great idea to pick up this album and get familiar with it.

Don't forget to be there next Sunday as we kick off our year - bring friends, family and perfect strangers off the street if you need to - we want as many people as possible to be exposed to the glory of God as we start off a new ministry year.

See you then!

Eutychus
FriFridaySepSeptember2nd2011 The “Not Going Back” Epilogue
Posted Friday, September 02 2011 @ 8 AM byTodd Dugard Tagged From the Cave 0 comments Add comment
Our journey into the world of post-exilic Israel started back in January when we opened the book of 2 Chronicles and worked through a difficult message that recounted the reasons for the exile. For seventy years the people of Israel were scattered among pagan nations. No land of their own. No Temple. No feast days and celebrations. No government. No identity.

In Ezra we saw the first returnees get to work on rebuilding the Temple under much opposition—rebuilding their worship. In Nehemiah it was essentially more of the same, except that they were building the walls of Jerusalem—rebuilding their community, their identity. The book of Esther reminded us that God is forever faithful even when I fail.

For the people of Harvest Bible Chapel this was an important series given our recent history. We too were in exile. We too had been disciplined. God was faithful.

There’s no doubt that over the past months since we started this series that we have been noticing a reviving in the church. There is life again. We’ve noticed a momentum building through the spring. What is so cool is that it didn’t let up all summer. Each Sunday was vital and fresh and people have told me that they knew they were missing something great when they were away for a week or two.

We’ve declared categorically that we are Not Going Back to the way it was before. God has something new for us. We are hoping that lessons have been learned. The cost to get there has been high. The title of the post-exilic series has become our motto, our motivation, our war cry. We are Not Going Back!

And so, on this Labour Day weekend, we come to the final message in this series from Psalm 126. The epilogue is a song about the return from exile that the Jews would sing as they approached and climbed the hills up to Jerusalem. Thus it is a “Song of Ascents” as you will see in your Bible. Like all music, it was designed to express the heart and evoke emotion. It was designed to help us remember our history and rehearse the truth. Its purpose was to have us, in song, repeat our pledge, our desire, and our plea to our faithful God. 

The psalm essentially reminds us that, by default, our lives are marked by tears; but because God is faithful, it can also be marked by joy. I am hoping that everyone who hears this message on Sunday will grasp the reality that none of us are where we should be in the first place and that God’s offer of restoration is the inconceivable reality of his faithfulness toward us.

Be sure to check out the song list for our time in worship and come prepared for what God is going to do in our midst.

After a great six-week break from preaching, I’m eager to get back at it. I’m looking forward to being with our church family, and I’m praying that God will meet with us and show us his presence, power and provision.

See you Sunday,

Todd
ThuThursdaySepSeptember1st2011 The Heavy Hand of the Lord
Posted Thursday, September 01 2011 @ 2 PM byMike Armstrong Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
There's nothing quite like living in willful disobedience to the Lord.  On the outside we can often fool ourselves and others into thinking that sin is the path to freedom and enjoyment.  And sure, it can feel that way for a while. But true followers of Christ will never feel completely comfortable living in opposition to God.  There will be that nagging sense that we're blowing it.  We no longer sense the intimacy of God's presence with us.  Sometimes we're even affected physically in the form of stress and even sickness.  God uses those things in our lives to show us that we're off the path - that we're not living in a way that honours Christ and makes our lives truly better.  In these times God is trying to expose the darkness of our hearts and show us the true nature of our sin.  Psalm 32 confirms this in verse three when it says, "For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.  For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer."  It's heavy and burdensome to get caught up in sin and not do anything about it.

I've had some really good conversations with people recently who have discovered the joy in repentance.  They've discovered what verse five says: "I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,' and you forgave the iniquity of my sin."  Know that it's only through confession/repentance to God (and others: James 5:16) where we can have the burden of sin lifted.  The burden won't go away any other way.  You can't get rid of it through behaving extra well in other areas of your life.  You can't make it go away by trying to make a deal with God.  You can't make it disappear by ignoring it either.  

The heavy hand of the Lord can be just that - heavy.  It can be uncomfortable and painful and stressful and all of that.  But when we finally yield to him through repentance we can experience what Psalm 32 opens with - "Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.  Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, in whose spirit there is no deceit."
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