I’m currently reading “Under The Unpredictable Plant” by Eugene Peterson. Speaking of the reality of churches
and ministries he writes “Propagandists are abroad in the land lying to us about what congregations are and can be. They are lying for money. They want to make us discontent with what we are doing so we will buy a solution from them that they promIse will restore virility to our impotent congregations. The profit-taking among those who market these spiritual monkey glands indicates that pastoral gullibility in these matters is endless.”

I came across an interesting article from the National Post titled “Putting Abortion Advocates In A Box”. It’s an interesting argument.

You can read the article here

This week is our seventh week for Scripture memorization as a congregation. While it has long been a part of our  Sunday School program for children we have never had a concerted effort for adults to memorize scripture. While we are not handing out gold stars for completion, the rewards of scripture memorization are many and important to spiritual life. Just as our natural bodies need a balanced diet, the spiritual part of us benefits from a spiritual diet that includes reading and memorizing Scripture, the presence of the Holy Spirit (strengthened through prayer and worship) and purity of heart and life, an end result of the first two.

Here’s why memorizing the Scripture will help:

1. It helps to keep us from sin – Psalms 119:11

2. The Word builds faith in our lives – Romans 10:17

3. Assists in sharing your faith – 1 Peter 3:15

4. Fight the enemy with a sharp sword rather than a fragmented sword – Heb. 4:12

5. In times when you don’t have access to a Bible or concordance and need a Scripture.

6. To be prepared for “teaching moments” in life. Deut. 6:4-7

There are many more benefits too numerous to list here. So, this week, exercise your spiritual man – memorize a verse of scripture that will be beneficial down the road.

We’re on Day 2 of our 5 day Daniel fast as we continue to ask God to move in us as individuals, in our church and in our city. Fasting is about disciplining ourselves and as Paul talked about in Corinthians, bring our bodies under subjection.

While the Daniel fast allow all the food that you want, it limits the types of foods and removes caffeine, sugar, dairy, meat, processed foods and solid fats (to name a few) from the diet. In their place are substituted vegetables and fruits along with a variety of other healthy foods.

The common consensus last night and again this morning in the Bible Study seems to be headaches and sleepiness as our bodies adjust to the absence of caffeine and sugar in particular. From some reading that I’ve done it seems that this is a part of the body “detoxing” from some of the foods that we eat.

This is the first time we as a church have had this kind of a fast and we are expecting the prayer and the discipline involved to produce eternal benefits.

“People judge you by your actions, not by your intentions. You may have a heart of gold, but so does a hard boiled egg.”
– Anonymous

The price of pace is peace. Patrick Morley

Barbara Kay, writing for the National Post covers a recently released study by the Vanier Institute on the Family.

Here are some of the interesting points:

• Divorce rates are not as high as we thought. Divorce rates have been coming down since the 1990s and since 1997 have plateaued. In fact, first marriages in Canada have a 67% chance of lasting a lifetime.
• Prof. Ambert finds that there are two kinds of divorce: those resulting from an unhappy marriage, and those resulting from “a weak commitment to marriage.” She found that “some divorces are avoidable and unnecessary” and that “a sizable proportion of marriages that end in divorce were actually quite ‘salvageable,’ even happy, and that many of these ex-spouses are no better off after.”

Another interesting point made is this:

• Why do salvageable marriages end in divorce? Prof. Ambert cites, amongst other reasons: the de-sacralization of marriage, a consequence of religion’s demise, and the rise of secularism; the lack of stigma to divorce and the blame-free ease with which it can be accomplished; and the rise of the ideology of gratification of individual desires. These and other factors have lowered people’s humility and tolerance for compromise.

You can read the article in its entirety Sticking It Out In Marriage

By Mark Batterson

We take the Bible for granted. We have so many Bibles and we read them so little. I hope this challenges that. William Tyndale gave his life to translating the Bible into English. Literally. Tyndale was criticized by the religious establishment. In fact, his Bible translations were burned by the Bishop of London at St. Paul’s Cathedral. His response? Greater resolve to translate the Bible into a common language for the common man. His life mission is epitomized by this rebuke to the religious establishment: "If God spare my life, a boy that driveth the plow shall know more of Scripture than thou dost."

Tyndale was charged with heresy and spent more than a year in a tiny underground prison cell. Eventually he was strangled to death while tied to a stake. Then his body was burned. His dying prayer? He cried out, "Lord, open the King of England’s eyes." That prayer was answered in the next few years when King Henry VIII ordered that a Bible be placed in every Parish Church in Britain. And it was answered again a century later when King James authorized a group of thirty-nine scholars to produce an English translation of the Bible. Tyndale paved the way with his life and death.

My point? You owe it to Tyndale to read your Bible.

And for the record, you are part of the company of translators. Your life is a unique translation of the Bible ready by everyone who knows you. They may never read the Bible, but they will read your life!

Submitted by Blossom Bromfield

(Acts 9:36-42)

In this passage we learn about giving like Dorcas. She was a dressmaker, making garments for the widows. They felt very special so they loved her very much so when she got sick and died they all were grieved.

Dorcas was a disciple of Jesus so can you imagine when they heard Peter was nearby they believed he could do something to help. They sent and got him because they had heard about him and believed he could help in some way.

Dorcas gave her time and also herself. I like that about her!

I also try to do things like this to help the Aids Kids In Africa Darfur. I crochet squares for the grandmothers and now I crochet ponchos. I like doing this, it has become my special project. I started this 2 1/2 years ago and I enjoy it so that is why I picked Dorcas.

Phoebe is not a name that comes to mind when we think of Bible characters yet she played an important role in her time. We find her in Romans 16:1-2 (NIV) “16:1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea. 2 I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me.”

This “ordinary” person is believed to have carried Paul’s letter to the Romans (now known as the book of Romans) to the church at Rome. Such a role would only be filled by a trusted friend and in choosing her Paul conferred on her a great honor. Phoebe was a woman of great influence and generosity living in a seaport town known for its wickedness. She was a servant of the church there, the word servant coming from the Greek word diaconos from which we get our English word “deacon”. In the early Church much was made of service, little of office, and it was more of an honor to be referred to as a servant than as a deaconess. Along with serving in the church she was a person who would go out of her way to help others in need, including the Apostle Paul.

Whether Phoebe laid down her life in Rome as so many of the Christians of her time die, or if she went back to Cenchrea we don’t know. We can be sure that her goodness, loyalty, kindness and willingness to work marked her as a woman whose ministry inspired all whose lives were fortunate enough to be touched by her.